Tuesday 24 September 2013

The Samantha Project Series Review.

Today I have a little something special.  I was graciously given a copy of the Series "The Samantha Project" for my honest review.


I started reading The Samantha Project and turned the pages so quickly that in just a matter of a few hours I had finished the book.  I immediately grabbed book 2 to find out what would happen next.  Now I'll give you a bit about the books.  Both what I liked and didn't like.


The very first thing I have to say is I loved the way the author wrote the dialogue!  I enjoyed the characters even though at first I felt Samantha was a little too perfect a student/child.  But then when things started happening I understood why she was the way she was.  I loved Colin her boyfriend. I also liked how the time period was one we could relate to, it was in the now.  Not years from now on some odd planet.  And with all the genetic manipulation going on in today's world I could actually see this being true.  This book has a lot of twists and turns and will keep you wondering what's going to happen next.  There are also many horrible things that happen in this book and I must say that it is not a book for younger kids.  For instance I wouldn't want my 10 year old to read it but I would let my 16 year old read it without a problem.

All in all book was for me was a successfully written story that captivated my attention and had me flipping pages and on the edge of my seat enough for me to immediately grab book 2.

Book 2 picks up exactly where book one left off.  Samantha and Eric are trying to find a way to stop the ticking time bomb which is inside them.  I won't give too much away because there are things you will already know by this point that you discover in book 1.  Suffice it to say this was again a well written and suspenseful story.  This book deals with some more mature issues in regards to teens.  There were references to sex in this book that were missing from the first book.  But it was done in a manner that was definitely tasteful and also quite realistically necessary to the plot.  I think the entire genetic manipulation aspect of things remind me of a few of the TV shows I enjoyed and maybe that is why my attention is grabbed with this book.  I have to say that the characters show quite a bit of growth in this book.  Once again the author has successfully created a world that is both dangerous and yet realistic to our modern day world.  I have to say I finished this book in about 4 hours and grabbed book 3. Yes I spent an entire day and half the night reading this series.

Now last but not least is the final book.  This book once again picks up exactly where we left off in book 2.  The story has become much more complex.  Luckily the author actually went into details about genetic manipulation and the entire scientific aspect was made simple for even the most unscientific.  So references made in this book are quite easy to understand.

This series was one giant jigsaw puzzle.  I figured out a few things long before the end of the book.  This book WILL keep you on the edge of your seat.  The growth of the characters is wonderfully done.  Erik, Brittany, Colin all change and mature as they handle the different situations thrown at them.  Even the adults show some growth which I liked.  Now what I didn't like is that in parts of this series it seems that Samantha just doesn't show the same growth that the other characters show.  For someone who is supposedly so genetically enhanced she seems very weak willed and wishy-washy at times.  At other times she seems to be highly sexually oriented and mature.  It's a very strange mix.  She does finally show growth and she does finally seem to come into her own.  Which is a good thing.  Now in my personal opinion if this is the final book it feels unfinished.  I'm not exactly sure why, it just seemed after everything we went through that the ending felt anti-climactic for me.  
Now I did enjoy this series, and if I had to give a rating on the entire series I would give it a 4.  Book 1 and 2 I enjoyed more than book 3.  There is a LOT of scientific details in all three books.  Information regarding Genetics, DNA, and other science is thrown around quite a lot.  If you don't like books where you actually can learn something then this series is not for you.  I however didn't find it too distracting to have small information dumps about something that I actually knew something about and enjoyed the thought that if we could just change a few things in a person's DNA we could create super humans.  Although at the same time I am totally against that due in part to playing God, and in part to the simple fact that just because we can do something doesn't mean we should do it.

I give this series a very series 4 stars total and suggest to anyone who enjoys science fiction or even romance stories that this series is a good solid read.  Again this is not a book for younger than 16 due to some of the graphic dialogues in the books.

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