Fury

MY THOUGHTS
This was a very thrilling books and I easily sped through it! It has a thriller, horror vibe to it, with a mythology twist to it!

This book follows two completely different people: Em and Chase. Em is best friends with Gabby. Em has a crush on Gabby's boyfriend, Zach, and when Gabby leaves town for break, Em and Zach begin to do things. Things that a girl probably shouldn't be doing with her best friend's boyfriend. 
Chase lives in a trailer park and has tried very hard to ignore his poor life and be the popular persona. Then Chase meets a girl, Ty, and Ty becomes everything for him. But Chase has done something very cruel and his involvement with Ty might cause everything to unravel. 
Both Em and Chase are being haunted and stalked by three girls. These girls want them to pay for what they've done and are not beyond killing for it.

I already mentioned that his book is like a horror/thriller hybrid, with a touch of mythology. The mythology in this book is very strong, but this book had so many realistic elements. Sure, it's much darker than real life, but the elements that caused the two to be chosen, the setting, and even the events were very real. Even the more paranormal parts felt real. This book was incredibly intense! The pacing isn't incredibly fast, but I actually liked that. The pacing slowly lead up, getting darker and darker as the book went on, until you finally get to the really intense moments. I love it when a book does that. And so I also sped through the book, wanting to see what will happen to the characters. It's kind of like when you know something horrible will happen but you can't help but watch.

As for characters, there was an interesting mix. I liked Em and while I don't approve of cheating, I don't think she deserved any of this and I was rooting for her to make it through. I felt bad for Chase at first and I did like him. You don't know until practically the end what he did that was so bad and it is very horrible. I hate him for it, but he didn't really deserve it either and It's obvious that he feels guilty about it. 

For other characters, Zach is a jerk. Really. I think that they should've gone after him instead of Em. I liked Gabby and I liked their friendship, even though we didn't get to see much of it. My favorite character though is JD. He's kind of Em's childhood friend and neighbor and I loved their relationship and I loved how sweet and goofy JD was!

Lastly, I would like to say that I liked how the book ended. 

IN CONCLUSION
Overall, this was a very thrilling book that keep me turning the pages! It was very dark and incorporated mythology in an interesting way. I am very curious as to what will happen net and definitely plan on continuing the series!

After reading a book, you always have one reaction that sort of eclipses the others. Mine was:...

Fury was a pretty good read. The characters were interesting, the plot was good, but...there seemed to be something lacking in it. See, the author describes the book as being more of a Greek Mythology type book, but that particular aspect didn't really show up until a good ways in the book.

I don't know what everyone else knows about The Furies, but here's what I know. The Furies are three girls who basically punish people for their wrong deeds. And they all have different strong points. One, deals with Jealousy, another anger, and the last death. In the novell, the three furies didn't seem to have a specific job.

Here are some points that I didn't really like. An issue I had with the book, was Em's parents. The girl gets into a car wreck and they let her go and drive again. My parents wouldn't have let me do it, but it makes sense. She gets into another car wreck, and then she says she's going out again. ARE THEY SERIOUS? Something is seriously wrong with that girl's car, and if I were her parents, I wouldn't have let her drive for A WHILE. And one of the main characters dies seemingly unnecessarily.

Things I did like about this book: definitely the cover. The cover catches your eye and makes you want to at least pick the book up and figure out what it's about. I also liked Emily. She made some decisions that we can all say that we wouldn't have done, but honestly, sometimes you can't tell when you're in the moment. Her relationship with Zach would have blindsided even the best of us. I think we could all tell that something was going to happen with JD, but it was played out better than I thought. .

Even if you don't know if you'll like the book, pick it up. It's pretty good. And there BETTER be a sequel because there were a lot of points that left me hanging.

I'm not at all sure how I feel about Fury. The story was done well, but there were some...unpleasant (my attempt to not be a spoiler) things I wasn't a fan of simply because they weren't pleasant. Yeah, I like a good pleasant story sometimes. That being said, I think the unpleasantries were good for the story. Okay, I'm done being all weird and cryptic now.

The characters were a great fit for the story, but that's not the same as likable. In fact, I really wasn't a fan of a lot of the characters. I hated Zack and I really wasn't a fan of Emily. They both got under my skin and just completely irked me off. The other characters weren't so bad but I didn't really like them either, well, except for JD. I really liked JD and wished there's been more of him.

The writing was great. It had a touch of creepiness, but it wasn't really scary. The snowy, Maine setting really brought an unexpectedly eerie feeling I never would have thought of. It took a little bit to get into Fury part of the story, but the set-up isn't at all boring.

Final Thoughts: While I was hoping for a little different outcome, this was a fantastic start to the trilogy. The creepy factor is subtle but spectacular. You may not believe me, but the crappy characters make for a really good story (crappy as in generally unlikable and not badly written).

Previously published on my blog: http://fictionfervor.wordpress.com/2012/07/03/review-fury-by-elizabeth-miles/

Fury took me by surprise. I wasn’t expecting much from this book, and the only thing I really knew about it was that it was about the Furies from Greek mythology. Great idea, but when I first opened the book, I wasn’t sure how Elizabeth Miles was going to work it out.

But Fury is such a haunting debut–one that constantly finds ways to surprise you when you’re off guard.

I was really enchanted with the idea this book was set on: three girls–the Furies–haunt a town where they inflict revenge on people who make deadly mistakes. For instance, take Em and Chase. Em cheated with her best friend’s boyfriend; and Chase publicly humiliated his childhood friend, leading to her suicide. So when a girl starts stalking Em and embarrassing photos of Chase are shown around school, you know that the Furies are out to get them. Because someone has to pay.

I love the Furies. Even though they’re so EVIL and so CRUEL, I love them. Because they’re interesting characters whose complete lack of compassion makes them the perfect villains. The normal kids, however, aren’t exactly so interesting. I was often fed up with Em–she always acted like a “nice” kind of person, yet she kissed her best friend’s boyfriend (I mean, hello?)–and while I felt like Chase was more of a round character, he was always so caught up in being perfect and being part of the in-crowd. Really, I don’t think high school drama is THAT big of a deal.

I hated Zach. The end. Gabby was a very flat character too, serving only as Em’s best friend and popular girl. But I loved JD. I’m sorry, I always fall for the guy-who’s-the-girl’s-childhood-friend type. Because it’s always so hilarious that the girl never realized, and the guy is always so sweet and understanding. Makes me want to squeal.

What I was really surprised about this book was the sort of horror aspect to it. Mind you, it’s not incredibly scary, really, but I’ve always had a certain paranoia with stalkers. Sometimes I feel like someone’s staring at me, and I turn around to see no one there … Yes, freaky. But yeah, since Em had to deal a lot with one of the Furies stalking her, it freaked me out. Probably it’s just me, though, haha.

And, lastly, the book was a tad bit predictable at times. I could figure out what was going to happen at several times, but other times the book really did throw me completely off guard. Strange, eh?

Fury was a fantastic take on Greek mythology–one that took more of a haunting quality to it. Though the characters felt underdeveloped, the idea and plotline were remarkable. I would be glad to get my hands on the sequel.

Source: ARC won from giveaway

I was super excited to read Fury, even though I knew absolutely nothing about it. Why? The drool-worthy cover. Well, this isn't the first time a pretty cover has led me astray. At first, I thought the cover was a total liar. It suggests fantasy and there was nothing too overt for a long time. I saw it coming, but it wasn't very interesting to me.The fantasy elements really felt rather secondary.

The first couple hundred pages of this book are like reading Gossip Girl or some other series about spoiled rich kids being spoiled and rich and obnoxious. Ugh. I hated Em from the beginning, with her stabbing her best friend in the back and her constantly getting her nerdy friend who's in love with her to drive her to parties. Why don't you help your friend JD be popular rather than mostly only hanging out with him in private? Chase is worse with his constant focus on popularity and getting into girls' pants. Worst of all by far is Zack, the cheating man ho that needs to just gtfo.

The book did get a little bit better, but I never really cared. The plot and characters remained sub par. There just were not any people that I cared about at all. A lot of it was predictable, but there were a couple of twists that did manage to catch me by surprise. The story alternates between chapters from Em's point of view and chapters from Chase's. The ending of Fury suggests that a sequel is inevitable, but I do not much care. I wish she'd wrapped it up in one, because I definitely was not interested enough to want to read another book, even though there's mythology in it.

The best part of the book was the cover, at least for me. However, if you love stories about spoiled teens and their drama, along with some vengeance tales to boot, you'll probably love Fury.

First off, let me just say this don't read Fury expecting a book all about revenge. Fury is a rather slow book, the majority of it spent fleshing out what the two characters have done wrong to deserve their Furies wrath. And that's okay. Because Fury wouldn't have worked (in my opinion) unless it was a slow-style book.

We have two main characters, with the main narration being Em and the other being Chase. Both come from different upbringings (Em being rich, Chase being poor) but are both a part of that popular group in school thanks to their friends and talents (Chase is quarterback set to be captain and Em's best friends with Gabby, the nice, popular girl). And both are being hunted down by the Furies.

The part I liked most about Fury was that the writing made it possible for me to fly through this book. I'm not entirely into character-driven plots, but the effortless narration of both Em and Chase really made it easy to read. I found their voices were authentic and there was only really one or two moments when I shook my head at the dialogue which didn't entirely sound real.

The part that I felt let down Fury was the description. Or in other words, lack of showing and too much of telling. A lot of the stories were told, incorporated into the book when the scenario was mentioned. There was also a lack of description in general besides how often it's snowing. I found the few moments of fast-paced action were, however, well done and I really enjoyed them. I just hope the sequel will have more background (not snow!) from Miles.

Other than that I really enjoyed reading Fury and feel slightly bad that I hadn't gotten to it sooner than before. And after that last scene, I am anxiously waiting to read the sequel Envy and the third book Eternity.(

Eh. There was a lot of hype focused on this book and I feel a bit let down. It was pretty good, don't get me wrong, it just wasn't as great as I hoped it would be. I do love the cover, though. It's gorgeous and fits the book perfectly. However, it should have the other "Furies" featured, not just the main one.

Essentially, Em and Chase are two high school students that have screwed up and have big secrets. Some more extreme than others. Since they've messed up, the Furies have arrived to make them pay. There is this veil of mystery throughout the book that really doesn't get resolved. (i.e. the events in the Prologue never fully get explained) The story is actually two separate stories that alternate. Em has cheated with her best friend's boyfriend, which is a big no-no. Chase has a darker secret, hence his more extreme punishment. As far as the Furies go, the sentencing was pretty fair. But there were some really weird scenes. The one that stands out the most takes place in the woods and involves red paint. Totally bizarre.

I liked the characters well enough. The betrayal of Em was believable, because it was set up well. I even get Chase and his need to stay under the radar AND be popular. But my favorite character was JD. I just loved him! Another total win for "normal" guys in books. Kinda geeky (ok really geeky), average looks, but stellar personality. He was a welcome addition to the book. The others really didn't do much for me. I want to know more about Drea, but she was so minor in the story that it almost seems like she doesn't belong. Same with Sasha. Obviously these two are crucial to the events in the story, and yet they have hardly any face time. I didn't like that.

I also didn't like how readily available alcohol was for these high school students. I really wasn't buying that. I know boundaries have broken down and all, but laws are still intact. Am I really supposed to believe that every under aged character has easy access to hard liquor? I don't think so. I also don't buy the lack of parental involvement. The parents let their kids just roam freely without any concern. Please. That crap does not happen in real life. Am I really to believe that the parents willingly let their kids drive in blizzards without any concern? The whole family dynamic wasn't very believable.

I highly suspect that this will be a series. There were some elements that were not resolved in the end. I"m not too sure where the next book is going to go, however. I know at least one character is going to meet the Furies again, but where Em falls into the plot is a mystery. She claims that she's going to make the Furies pay. (ironic, right?) I guess if there has to be another book, then hopefully Drea will be more prominent. It's another interesting take on mythology. BUT, if anyone says this is a retelling of the Persephone myth, I am going to look at them like they're crazy. The Persephone element was only evident in the last five pages of the book. I would hardly call this a Persephone story, but I guarantee that book #2 takes that turn. It's wide open.