Name: Sasha's review of Year One by Nora Roberts
Item: Year One
Rating: 3
Author: Sasha

Nora Roberts

They call it The Doom - a deadly pandemic that starts in the cold Scottish countryside. There's something mysterious about the way it spreads. As billions fall sick and die, some survivors discover strange and wonderful new powers. Lana, a New York chef, can move things with her will. Fred can summon light in the darkness. But not everyone uses this newfound magic for good. As "Uncannys" from both sides are rounded up for testing, Lana, her boyfriend Max and their friends must search for a safe haven. In this brand-new world, love, friendship and betrayal await them all.

Year One

Annabella

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER (December 2017) A stunning new novel from the #1 New York Times bestselling author Nora Roberts—Year One is an epic of hope and horror, chaos and magick, and a journey that will unite a desperate group of people to fight the battle of their lives... It began on New Year’s Eve. The sickness came on suddenly, and spread quickly. The fear spread even faster. Within weeks, everything people counted on began to fail them. The electrical grid sputtered; law and government collapsed—and more than half of the world’s population was decimated. Where there had been order, there was now chaos. And as the power of science and technology receded, magick rose up in its place. Some of it is good, like the witchcraft worked by Lana Bingham, practicing in the loft apartment she shares with her lover, Max. Some of it is unimaginably evil, and it can lurk anywhere, around a corner, in fetid tunnels beneath the river—or in the ones you know and love the most. As word spreads that neither the immune nor the gifted are safe from the authorities who patrol the ravaged streets, and with nothing left to count on but each other, Lana and Max make their way out of a wrecked New York City. At the same time, other travelers are heading west too, into a new frontier. Chuck, a tech genius trying to hack his way through a world gone offline. Arlys, a journalist who has lost her audience but uses pen and paper to record the truth. Fred, her young colleague, possessed of burgeoning abilities and an optimism that seems out of place in this bleak landscape. And Rachel and Jonah, a resourceful doctor and a paramedic who fend off despair with their determination to keep a young mother and three infants in their care alive. In a world of survivors where every stranger encountered could be either a savage or a savior, none of them knows exactly where they are heading, or why. But a purpose awaits them that will shape their lives and the lives of all those who remain. The end has come. The beginning comes next.

Chronicles of The One

What a shame. It started off so good and then took a weird turn.

Sasha

Where there had been order, there was now chaos. The sickness came on suddenly, and spread quickly. Within weeks, everything people counted on began to fail them. As the power of science and technology receded, magic rose up in its place. In a world of survivors where every stranger encountered could be either a savage or a saviour, none of them knows exactly where they are heading, or why. But a purpose awaits them that will shape their lives and the lives of all those who remainches Print run 1,000,000.

Chronicles of the One

Hanna Rybchynska

Solid 4 stars!

This book is crazy! I felt that the book started really good, creepy, and uncomfortable. But in the middle, it was a little slow, and the end wasn't great! 

Here we have a modern world that is infected by a virus that has 100% of mortality. However, there are some people that are immune and these people start to develop magical ability. Some of the people already knew that they had power and some are still developing it. Here we see a lot of characters and how they survive in this new crazy world. How they start to build the communities and how there are a lot of people who just want to do evil and destroy everything. 

Nevertheless, the reading is very captivating and exciting. There are a lot of super tense moments and we just want them to end. 

The best part of this book is that the writer is not afraid of giving complicated and often deadly challenges to her characters.

Ryan 

Melissa Palmer

Book #6 Read in 2018
Year One by Nora Roberts

This is the first in a new series and is a mix of paranormal, dystopian, romance and action. That makes it a book to recommend to a variety of readers. I enjoyed it and will continue with this series. A plague (called Doom) is killing people; some are immune. The immune may or may not have magical powers. There is a mix of good magic and dark magic. This book has something for everyone!

I thought that this book was good when I read it 

Lexy 

Ashley Janssen

I just didn't care about the characters. I kept wishing I was reading The Stand. Not going to continue.

Todd Luallen

Wow! I really didn't like this book. Roberts is way too popular to criticize her style, but for me that was the reason I won't be coming back to her books. So many details that I just didn't care about. Whole chapters devoted to two people sitting down to dinner or gathering food. The story seemed to move at the pace of a snail. I'm glad I had the chance to read one of the most prolific writers in American fiction, but I won't be continuing the journey.

Celeste Richardson

You can find this review and more at Novel Notions. 


  November 2019 update
: I just finished reading this book for the third time. I have loved it more every time I've read through it, which I think speaks volumes about any book. But this story in particular is something special. Yes, it's about the end of the world. Or rather, an end. It's also about what is reborn from the ashes. It's about love and loss and joy and grief and community and hard work and light battling against the darkness. It's about family, both born and found. It's about fighting for what is right no matter what, and no matter how terrible the odds are stacked against you. I honestly feel that this series is the most powerful story Nora has ever told. If she really nails the final book, this will be in among my top ten favorite series I've read in my entire life. Have I raved about it enough yet? I'm going to leave my original review untouched, but I had to add something about how incredibly well this series lends itself to rereads and deep thought and provoking genuine emotions without ever playing games with your heart. And now, without further ado, here's what I thought of the book in December of 2017, when it was first published.


  Original review
:

You had me scared there for a while, Nora, but you came through. Just in a way that was different from what I was expecting.

Have you ever picked up a book by an author you love and when you start reading it you keep having to remind yourself that said author wrote it? That was what I struggled with at the beginning of this book. Yes, the writing style I had come to love was still undoubtedly present. There’s just something about Nora’s prose that always resonates with me. As I’ve stated in previous reviews of her work, Nora’s novel’s are like a bubble bath for my brain; they’re what I turn to when I’m stressed or sick or just in the mood for comfort.

So, when I started reading Year One, I was thrown for a bit of a loop. Yes, I read the synopsis and knew it was going to be different for her, but I failed to comprehend just how different it would be. I was getting the prose I love, but with a plot that honestly hearkened back to Stephen King’s The Stand more than any other book I’ve ever read. Now, The Stand is one of my favorite books of all time. But reading something so similar to it in the voice of my comfort author made for some severe cognitive dissonance right out of the gate.

However, once I got adjusted to the bleakness of the plot and accepted the fact that Nora would actually be killing off an insane amount of characters for her, I really appreciated the story. Again, this book bore a remarkable resemblance to The Stand, but in no way felt derivative of the aforementioned novel. Where King’s plague was developed by science and the aftermath proved to be a spiritual battleground, Nora’s plague was rooted in magic, as was the aftermath.

Seeing people learn for the first time that they are witches or elves or fairies, while they are struggling to deal with the fallout of a plague that wipe out massive amounts of the population, was 
  a truly unique twist on the apocalyptic plague storyline
 that has been so popular for the past decade or so. And seeing those people choose sides, joining either the Light or the Dark, was a study in human nature. As was the reaction of normal humans who survived the Doom (as it’s called) to these magical beings, termed the Uncanny.

One of my favorite things about The Stand was witnessing survivors finding each other and trying to rebuild society in the small community they created. That same societal rebuilding was present here, and it was a joy to read after the horror and darkness of the Doom. That’s not to say that there was no more darkness; darkness can find its way in through the smallest of cracks. But watching our various main characters meet up and begin rebuilding was a beautiful testament to the resilience of mankind. And 
  while darkness may on occasion win a battle, light will always win the war.


This was the first volume of a new trilogy, and I’m interested to see how the rest plays out. Nora has been taking her work in a vastly different direction, turning slightly aside from the feel-good stories she’s become known for and instead digging into current issues and hard topics, raising questions and shining light into darkness. At least, this is what I gather from the books she released the past few years, as well as those slated for publication soon. I might not agree with the spirituality presented in the majority of her novels, but I do agree with the worldview: even in the darkest of times, there is always hope. I’m looking forward to seeing how far she takes this new approach, even though I’m still trying to adjust to it.

While I’m not comfortable with the change yet, and I mourn the change just a little, I really respect the willingness to try a new direction in spite of having such a large fan base so used to (and expectant of) a certain type of book. Also, for the first time in her career, Nora has published a book without a central romance, which I think it incredibly gutsy. Upon my second reading, I'm still blown away by the risks Nora took with this book, and how well those risks paid off. Because of her dedication to her craft after writing over 200 books, I’ll always be a die-hard fan. Thank you for stretching your wings, Nora, and for sharing the story. I can’t wait for the next installment!

Review originally written December 2017.

You can purchase a copy of the book here, with free shipping worldwide!

courtney garrison

I don’t even think I will do this book justice with this review. I really only picked this up after the drama with Nora and Tomi a few weeks ago to see how good Nora’s books really were. Everyone had come out of the wood works on twitter saying her books were amazing so I grabbed a copy and dug in.

This was fantastic, everything from the world to the characters. Nora has a way of writing it all together so you visually see and feel everything. The world and the magic were all so amazing I couldn’t put the book down.

You follow different pathways for each set of characters. Lana and Max are a couple trying to escape the doom and raiders while trying to learn their new abilities. Jonah (paramedic) and Rachel (a doctor) are doing there best to help people when Katie gives births to twins and takes on an orphaned baby from the hospital, they all have to find a way to escape safely. Arlys and Fred are escaping New York after Arlys gave her last broadcast telling the truth that over 2 billion people have died from the doom. Everyone is trying to escape New York and get some where that’s safe.

What really through me for a loop was discovering that some of the people immune developed powers. They were elves, fairies, witches, sorcerers, etc. watching them deal with the plague, death and raiders on top of getting these powers was amazing and really different from most apocalyptic novels I’ve read. Nora’s Plague was rooted in Magic. It put a spin on the book I wasn’t expecting and I fell in love with it even more.

Seeing them all go through this journey throughout the book I didn’t have any hope in humanity. Everyone was so cruel and evil, killing, raping, vandalizing, etc. when a new character would come along I waited until they tried to do something horrible. I’ve honestly never had that feeling while reading a book before, congrats Nora 👏🏻

One thing that does happen after a massive disaster or plague is people trying to rebuild. The community and everyone coming together actually gave me hope for all of them.

This book is dark is certain scenes. There is constant mention of murder and some talks over rape, but it doesn’t go in to detail or get badly graphic. I would still avoid if that is something that triggers you. There is also one scene of suicide, and talk of a past suicide so if that bothers you in anyway please skip.

Overall I love this book and gave it five stars. I can not wait to pick up the second book and honestly if I didn’t have so many arcs to catch up on I’d be reading it now

TW - Murder, Rape, Death, Violence.

Christina Rose Sullivan

Thomas George

Year one is like a lot of other apocalyptic and post-apocalypse kinda books... A group of survivors start a shelter and so on and so forth. What makes it different is the elements of magic/ sorcery and the involvement of a lot of mythological characters. The birth of a prophesied savior gives the book a biblical touch. The book is written very well and all new character and brought in very smoothly. Can't wait to read the next book. 

Malora Kilgore

First book in the Chronicles of the One trilogy. I was hooked from the first sentence. Definitely a must read! 

danielle bush

I was really worried I wasn't going to like this book. Mostly because I really love everything else she has written both as herself and jd robb and I knew this book was going to different.. While it was different, it had all of the things that she does that I love. There is a hint of magic that seems to grow stronger through the story, and the chosen one trope. It is also full of tragedy and emotion. A story of people coming together. 
Year One did have more tragedy than her usual books. Alot of people die first from the initial illness then from just some people acting out in the worst possible ways.. One character in particular that was devastating in my opinon, as he had become on of my favorites. 
With the glimpse at the end of this book that gives a hint of what could be happening in time next book im definitely interested in continuing on in the series and see where it all goes.

Cheryl Hedlund

3.5 This gave me strong The Stand atmosphere, especially the first third. Year One isn't as gruesomely descriptive of bodily fluids or gore. I am totally fine with a lower level of that. Instead of horror, Nora Roberts gives us a fantasy apocalypse. A percentage of the pandemic survivors develop magickal powers and become actual fae, elves, pixies, witches/wizards. This has all the plot beats you would expect. The collapse happens pretty fast, then escape and traveling to safe places and wanting to build community. The dangers of violent groups of scavengers. It becomes a struggle between the evil humans and magickal beings and the good humans and magickal beings. Nothing is particularly unexpected. The prose is straightforward and compulsively readable. Even though I could generally see what was coming in the broad strokes, I wanted to know how and when. I wanted to know how the characters would get through (or maybe not). The characters were pretty boilerplate and very clearly on the light or dark side. But I really enjoyed the rollicking apocalypse adventure of it all and the struggle to not just survive, but come together and build something. It was hopeful in tone. There are light romantic subplots, not surprising. This is the first of a series, so far three books. The ending sets up some expectations for the structure of the larger story, which is an epic fantasy style. While nothing blew me away, I had so much fun reading this book. It was like watching a movie and I found the familiarity of the story conventions comforting instead of annoying.

Judy Hudgins

Was a bit depressed during the 'set-up' in the book. However, it got more and more interesting and more and more magical. I can't wait see what happens next for Lana and the world. But it is thought-provoking as the brutality and prejudice against the 'Uncanny' takes place. Some parallels in today's world.

Casie Blevins

I liked it. I am going to finish the series because I am invested in finding out what happens in the world but I dont know that I will seek out this author for further books. There are just some odd things about the writing that are jarring. Odd choices in dialogue, odd grammar, that make things stiff. And odd choices in the plot, like ignoring that women have to expel the afterbirth.

Wendy M Holt

Carla Aquino

This was interesting...I didn't expect this to be about a global pandemic. Actually, I had no expectations because this was a book club read so I never even read the synopsis because I was going to read it regardless. I started of reading traditionally and then I had to stop cause I am a wuss and got a little scared so then I switched over to audiobook. this was actually probably only the 3rd or 4th audiobook that I have listened to in its entirety. I normally have trouble listening to audio books and always pick picking up an actual book over listening to one. Most of the times it is because I will mostly likely forget what I listened to and at the end I will have no clue what the book was about. This was not the case with this audio book, I rather enjoyed it and couldn't stop listening.

Angi Cox

Read 80% and gave up. Reminiscent of The Stand. Characters pretty one dimensional. Predictable.

Brianna Brown

How wonderfully appropriate to have read this during an actual real life pandemic. 🙃

Annabella &
Year One by Nora Roberts

Reviews

Join the club

Annabella &Year One by Nora Roberts

Reviews

Join the club

Annabella &
Year One by Nora Roberts