Audio book was great to listen to- just too much sci-fi for my tastes. Story was very unique and interesting concept.

This book seemed promising for me, a lover of sci fi. The beginning opened fast paced and interesting. The plot seemed well thought out and mysterious. But around 1/3 of the way in, it fell off for me.

Jet meets other people with EM (his strange disease) and one non EM-friend. There’s very little background on the characters so it’s hard to form a connection to any of them. I wasn’t really upset when they were killed off.

Other issues i had with this book were the sports references. These futuristic college students play a game called Blaze, which the book focused on way too much, (think Harry Potter and quidditch but not as interesting). Too much time spent in a play-by-play that i totally zoned out on.

And the ending…I’m confused. So confused. I just barely understand. Maybe you’ll have better luck.

Also, i didn’t love the narrator of this audiobook. I’m not sure why they choose a British narrator for an American author. The differentiation between character voices was hard for me to follow, non-American or not, the narrator just didn’t do it for me. With so many characters, two or more narrators would have been clearer for me

Wint created a character driven blend of sci fi and dark academia with the first installment in this series. The world building was thoughtful and I’m interested to see where this goes!

I had some problems with this one.
I wanted to like it.
It sounds amazing.

It fell flat for me.

The idea was super intriguing. Individuals born different, glowing eyes, waiting to die. Abandoned & alone.

The delivery: meh.
Nothing happened.
No questions were answered.
No real drama or emotion.
I kept waiting for it.
I kept waiting.
Continued waiting.
Still waiting.

Even the big reveal at the end was flat & pointless and made no sense.

Maybe Im not smart enough to understand it.

***Audio ARC provided by the publisher via Netgalley.co.uk in return for an honest review ***

Whilst fantasy isn't my usual go to genre, I really enjoyed this book. So much so that partway through my listen I requested the 2nd novel in the series so I think that speaks for itself!

The book centres around Jet Stroud who has a condition called ephebus mortem. Jet knows very little about his condition or why it has caused him to be rejected by his family and society at large but has been accepted to Skylight University hoping to learn more and that's where it all starts...

I listened to the audio narration and whilst the narrator didn't stand out for being brilliant he was certainly adequate to get the story across in an enjoyable way.

Jet Stroud is a new student at Skylight University. He lives with a rare condition known as ephebus mortem, also called the "youthful death", which is expected to kill him before he turns 24. With the help of the few other EM students, Jet is determined to find a cure. What he does uncover stretches into the past farther than he ever imagined.

As the clues to this mystery were placed and discovered, the reader is able to piece together their own theories of what is happening. I loved the use of art as information, they mysterious artist long dead and unfamiliar to the rest of the characters in the book. As each piece of the conspiracy is uncovered, the reader is pulled one step closer to the solution, the next step.

I thought the world building for this story was a little weak. I often felt like the unfamiliar environment did not add to the story: it would have been just as well told in a familiar setting with the addition of a mysterious disease. The space element was unnecessary. Maybe it comes in to play more in subsequent installments?

And... maybe I missed this, or am too picky...? or something, but "affect" is a verb. "Effect" is a noun. Shouldn't this title be The Prism Effect?

Thanks to Netgalley for an ARC of this book.

Rating: PG for a little language, violence, age of characters
Recommend: students who enjoy sci-fi / fantasy mystery stories.

Thank you NetGalley for a free copy in exchange for an honest review.
This was hard to follow for me, maybe because I listened to it instead of reading a paper copy. The main thing I picked up on was that there's a group of people that have glowing eyes that always die before turning 24. The main group of characters is trying to figure out why these people are dying.

There is no lack of YA dystopian book series these days. J. Wint has entered the fray with “The Prism Affect”, the first book in The Skylight Series.

This audiobook, adeptly narrated by Simon Relph, was only 7 hours and 40 minutes long. Relph did a good job with the various characters voices, excepting one character that I couldn’t distinguish (Texan drawl? Mild Australian?). The story follows the usual line. There are no surprises here.

Two and a half stars. I wanted to like this book, but I lost interest around the halfway mark. The audiobook would have been much better served without the sound effects, which, while muted and very much in the background, sounded cheesy and did not add to the story at all. I did not find the characters relatable or the plot compelling. My thanks to Jason Wint via Netgalley.

#ThePrismAffect #Netgalley #KindlesAllTheWayDown #KatzAllTheWayDown #ifcatscouldread #booksandcats #catsandbooks #booksandcatstagram #catsandbookstagram
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I found The Prism Affect on NetGalley's audiobook read now section. Jet has a rare condition that will lead to his death by his 24th birthday. After starting college Jet gathers the other students with this condition and they learn all that they can about it. That's when the sci-fi aspect kicks in.

It was an interesting read. It felt like it was aimed toward middle grade towards the beginning but once the sci-fi aspect really kicked in I could see why it was deemed teen/young adult.

The Prism Effect was a 3.5 star rating for me. Definitely a fun quick read

Jet Stroud suffers from a mysterious condition (ephebus mortem) that no-one he knows of has ever survived. While he isn't physically ill, he is different. He can see and sense things. His eyes glow. When he goes to Skylight University, he is determined to learn more about ephebus mortem and finds a few fellow students with the same condition. As the groups starts investigating, they soon realize that something beyond just a medical condition is going on. They are part of something strange and a little sinister.

I really enjoyed the story setting and plot idea. The world building was interesting and different. I liked the attention to detail in the descriptions of the setting and the sports and a number of other little things. The narrator was very good and was pleasant to listen to. Unfortunately the characters fell a little flat for me. The relationships didn't feel very real. Their interactions were often a little stiff and awkward to read. The last few chapters also felt a little too rushed and the information given to Jet about who he is and his history was confusing. I didn't quite understand how all of it fit together. I suppose more will be explained in the next book(s) but I did want a little more clarity towards the end. Even so, I am still intrigued enough to read the next book.

This the first book in a fantasy trilogy, ‘The Skylight Trilogy’. I listened to an audio version; once I speeded it up I enjoyed the narration; interestingly there are little bits of added music to raise the tension of the story. The style of writing is definitely aimed at Teenagers and has an American based school and sport futuristic setting, but as a Scottish Adult I found this okay too. Without giving spoilers, this first book is about students searching for a cure for a medical condition that considerably shortens their life expectancy, and means they are outcasts within normal society. This is the unique part to this book. The rest brings nothing particularly new in this genre. But is still an enjoyable read, with enough suspense, intrigue, characters with developed back stories and twists to keep you reading to the end. Thank you to Jason Wint and NetGalley for letting me listen to an audio ARC. I’m off to read book two - The Skylight Fallout. The views expressed are mine and freely given.

Jet has always felt like an outsider. He has a rare condition that leaves his eyes glowing, and legend has it that he’ll be dead by the time he’s 24. It is also believed that his condition is contagious and that he’ll begin hallucinating and becoming delusional as he grows older, so people give him a wide berth. But when he reaches the Skylight Academy, he begins to research and learn more about his condition. He meets other students like him and learns that his hallucinations may not be singular to him. What exactly will he learn about his condition? What do certain rare paintings have to do with it? And will he be able to survive the upcoming years?

This is a difficult one for me to review. I enjoyed the concept – it was unique and felt like it should be really interesting. I loved the idea of a condition that ostracized a group of people and enjoyed watching them learn the reality behind their condition. But though the concept was great, it fell flat for me.

The characters were lacking. They didn’t have much depth, and there wasn’t much to really draw me in to their stories. There was no emotional connection with them at all. The book was also a little sports-centric towards the beginning. Though I don’t mind sports, I don’t tend to like books that do a play-by-play of sports matches like this one did

I listened to the audiobook version of this work. In all honesty, I disliked the narrator. There wasn’t much differentiation between characters’ voices, which made it difficult to feel like they had unique personalities. I think this added to the disconnection and the lack of relatability I felt towards the characters. There were also sound effects included throughout the narration – some of these were fun, but there were many instances where the sound effects didn’t match up with the story, so overall they detracted from the narrative.

I didn’t enjoy this work. I have a feeling that it may due to the audio narration, so I may try reading a written copy of it instead. If you’re interested in dystopian fiction, science fiction, or overcoming the odds, this is probably a good read for you. But I don’t recommend the audiobook version.

I received a complimentary copy of this work through NetGalley. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Interesting story line. The narrator is good but there are quiet background noises and music that don’t fit with the narration. I would have preferred it to just be quiet and only have the narrator read. Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to an advanced copy!

The concept of this book drew me in immediately. A post apocalyptic world battling a disease that you cannot survive past the age of 24!

I was getting serious Divergent or Matched vibes with this one. I loved learning about this new world and the struggles faced by the characters, however I had a difficult time getting through this one due to the narrator. I had the audio version of this story and I feel that did not justice to the author. I will be reading a physical copy of this in the future as I know it was solely the narration that threw me off.