Location: Denmark
Member Since:
Feb. 08, 2011
Iben Jakobsen
Where to find Iben Jakobsen online
Smashwords book reviews by Iben Jakobsen
-
The Mind Readers, Book 1
on March 20, 2011
The first half of the book had me a bit dubious. Cameron was a bit too accepting of anything these perfect strangers told her and, having never been a big fan of romance or teenage obsession and girls falling for guys solely because they're beautiful, that also put me off it a bit. However it's all explained and it was quite a revelation to both me and Cameron what comes next. The main characters are quite well fleshed out, and I loved the struggle of emotions between Cameron and Lewis in particular. However it got a bit trivial trying to discern who's truly the bad guy and who you can safely trust, and I feel that the mind reading capabilities were also over-used. Maybe I just expected differently, but it suddenly almost felt like I was reading an X-Men comics, where people can do all sorts with their minds, rather than just being "limited" to reading the thoughts of others. Some weak points throughout the book, but overall I really liked it and the final cliffhanger just hooked me utterly. There'd better be more coming! http://boroughofbooks.blogspot.com/2011/02/mind-readers-by-lori-brighton.html
-
Between The Land And The Sea
on Aug. 04, 2011
With the exception of some goofy films here and there I haven't seen or read anything mermaid related since HC Andersen's tale of the Little Mermaid (Danish, by the way) and Disney's much more child-friendly version. Between the Land and the Sea was a very sweet return to the mermaid genre and works really well as a YA book about a girl who comes to face with her own identity and despite the very generic Goodreads summary, the love story in it is very sweet and believable. It's not all sticky sweetness though, not at all, there's both action and adventure beautifully woven into the threads as Marina steps into character. Marina's discovery of her mermaid ancestry is quite gripping and her way of dealing with it as well as finally being in a proper school surrounded by people her age after years of travelling with her dad, was enjoyable to follow. Though a bit too easy, the friendships seem genuine and I grew to care about all the main characters. Marina is in many ways your typical heroine; she's good and selfless, loyal and brave - sometimes to a fault. Her sidekicks Megan and Cruz are both enjoyable and though they aren't delved much further into, I came to like them. Ethan is a steaming hot hunk of *ahem*... Ethan is really nice too.The characters are a tiny bit too generic, the main ones each being amazing in his or her field of interest, but overall the story and their places in it works out very well. The take on the mermaids was great. I loved how feral they were, so untouched by the oblivious humans, albeit some of them might feel the lure of a mortal life with all its ups and downs. All in all, as the plot graph below also shows the story had me hooked all the way through and it was a quick but very enjoyable read. I don't think mermaids will become the new vampire black, but so much the better. The ending was predictably sweet and very much left me wanting to read on.
-
The Moon And The Tide
on Aug. 04, 2011
Marina's tales #2, The Moon and the Tide, picks up the story shortly after we left it in the first book and despite a slightly rocky start I was soon fully engrossed in it yet again. I had a few misgivings in the first book but they were mostly explained and eradicated in the second. It carries on the story of Marina coming to grips with her ancestry and who she is and what she can expect and it holds a substantial larger amount of action than the first book. Like the first book though there is still a heavy amount of surfing and though I wouldn't know one end of surfboard from the other Anderson manages to describe the sport so well that I can easily imagine the water, the colours and the pure energy. My one pet peeve is Ethan whom I just don't like. I can't put a finger on it precisely, he's just too protective, too soppy, too sweet and too much (but maybe I'm just a bitter old crone ;) I really enjoyed the book and will recommend it to all that enjoy YA literature and would like a great series with a great handle on mermaids, the sea and a strong capable heroine. I truly can't wait to get my hands on the third book in the series, The Fate of the Muse, which is expected in the summer of 2011.