This book could not be more of a plagiarized Hunger Games if the author tried. Also Red Queen, Shatter mMe, The Darkest Minds, Defy the Night. It’s alThis book could not be more of a plagiarized Hunger Games if the author tried. Also Red Queen, Shatter mMe, The Darkest Minds, Defy the Night. It’s all those books with all the scenes from those books with characters with different names and some gender swapping. It’s one thing to take inspiration from a book, quite another two little use the same scenes in your book....more
I was totally bored. Where is the plot? There's not chemistry with the two main characters. The narrator was better with the male voices than the femaI was totally bored. Where is the plot? There's not chemistry with the two main characters. The narrator was better with the male voices than the female voices! ...more
I truly wanted to like this book. I was excited for an own voices book about a POC. And for it to be fantasy, which is one of my favorite genres. I loI truly wanted to like this book. I was excited for an own voices book about a POC. And for it to be fantasy, which is one of my favorite genres. I love dark academia, as well. Unfortunately, it just did not settle well with me. I felt the language was forced more than authentic. Like it was being used because it had to be used to make a point, rather than used because that is truly how the characters spoke. I felt the book was hitting on all the stereotypes people want to get away from. The world building wasn't there at all; super important when you're writing fantasy. I feel like the author didn't do his research at all when it came to magical systems and how they might be perceived or used in a modern world. And, the elements that were used were almost directly from Harry Potter. It was unoriginal. The characters were poorly developed, as well. I had zero connection to them. I could not find empathy for them. And, most of all, it felt like it was being written by a white person who was trying their hardest to write as a Black person. What a shame as this book, having been done right, could have really been special for young Black boys and for those wanting to learn more about POC. Finally, this book could have gone through a lot more editing. I feel if it had, the above surely would have been realized and changes could have been made to make it feel more genuine. I see it slated to be a trilogy and I hope the publisher and author can see the constructive criticism in the reviews that are posted and use them to their advantage. Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin RandomHouse for providing me with a copy of this book to read and give my honest review....more
I just cannot handle the: writing, relationship (like ewww...he was with your sister for all that time and now you're finding attraction to him?), whiI just cannot handle the: writing, relationship (like ewww...he was with your sister for all that time and now you're finding attraction to him?), whining, plot holes, and so much more. How this is such a highly rated book I have no idea!...more
I just can't. The writing is very cringe. The love scene was ridiculous with zero percent spice and 100% forced intimacy. Just not for me.I just can't. The writing is very cringe. The love scene was ridiculous with zero percent spice and 100% forced intimacy. Just not for me....more
Unfortunately, I had to DNF. The writing just was not for me. It needed way too much honing to help draw me in. I know it's YA but it was more juvenileUnfortunately, I had to DNF. The writing just was not for me. It needed way too much honing to help draw me in. I know it's YA but it was more juvenile than I had anticipated. I had no connection to the characters mostly because I didn't understand their relationships (they were. not fleshed out at all). ...more
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me with an egalley of this book to read and give an honest review. The opinions expressed Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me with an egalley of this book to read and give an honest review. The opinions expressed here are my own. Ellie splits her life according to two things: Ellie at home and Ellie at the hospital. She doesn't want them overlapping. But when they crash into each other, she's forced to take a good look at her friends, boyfriend, and those who surround her while she's undergoing testing and treatment for her current bought of illness. Can she learn something new this time around? I was excited to read a story about someone with chronic illness. The summary made the book seem like we'd be seeing a lot of Ellie's life overlapping. And, while there was some, much of the focus is on her hospital stay and the people she interacts with there. I will say, I'm not sure how she kept so much a secret from her friends. I cannot see how this would happen with a chronic illness. How could she not see this would cause problems when things were revealed to her friends and boyfriend. It just made no sense to me. And how can she even know what they will and will not understand and accept if she never allows them to see who she really is. Her chronic illness should not define her but at the same time it is part of who she is and sharing this with those you care for would be essential for me. Ellie's character honestly annoyed me. She was super jaded. And while I can understand this, she just didn't seem to even want to grow. She's super stubborn and barely sees the good around her. I was super frustrated with her during the whole story. I will say. I scanned much of the book towards the end just to get through it. The pacing for the story was super slow and I felt like I was always waiting for something to happen and it just never did. Overall, I didn't love the progression of the story. I'm sure it's for some but just wasn't really for me. CHF 1/4/24...more
Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for providing me with an egalley of this title to read and give an honest review. Ellie and her family's deli aThank you to NetGalley and Random House for providing me with an egalley of this title to read and give an honest review. Ellie and her family's deli are in trouble, the big moguls are coming in and they will be pushed out because of this new chain store. But Ellie wants to stop it. She makes a pact with Theo, the real estate head's son, who also happens to work for the company, to be fake engaged to him so they can both get their end game: her deli remains and he gets to do other things with the property in question. Will they fall for each other in the process? I love the idea of fake dating in a book. It always leads to so much more. I really wanted to love this one because of the tropes; fake dating, enemies to lovers. Two people united in the same cause and slowly becoming attracted to each other. But it just didn't work for me. First, what I liked. I liked the idea of the big family and how close the FMC was with them. I liked their support of her. I liked that she was willing to give up her dream in order to make sure her family's legacy was ok. Now on to the things that really made this title cringe worthy for me. My first issue with this title is the writing. It's super prolific, which would be great if it wasn't supposed to be a fun romance. There were huge descriptions right in the middle of characters having conversations. I can understand interjecting with information, but these were long and drawn out descriptions that were paragraphs long. It totally took me out of the story. I kept forgetting what the characters were even discussing. And then the dialogue seemed super forced between the MMC and FMC. My next issue was the romance. It just didn't seem genuine or organic. I didn't feel the chemistry at all. The couple went from scheming together to sex in no time, with no lead up. Did the FMC give an inkling she might be attracted to him, yes. Some tingles and stomach dropping. But I didn't see that from the MMC at all. Zero attraction to lead to what happened. And then there's the character development. It just was not there. Not only as stated with the romance above, but also with the characters in general. I just didn't see who they were. And the FMC was super negative and whiny. Then there's the introduction of the sub story with another girl who wants to be with the MMC and the FMC is going to help her. And the FMC agrees, even though she clearly has some feels for the MMC. And this is after she's already had sex with him, as well. I just didn't understand the need for this subplot at all. I will admit I skimmed from about 70% on. I was hoping the characters and plot would be redeemed but it just didn't happen. The theme was just so unbelievable, the characters flat, the pacing super slow, the writing unnecessarily wordy. Overall, this one was just not for me....more
Thank you to NetGalley and Spencer Hill Press for providing me with a copy of this egalley to read and give an honest review. The opinions expressed hThank you to NetGalley and Spencer Hill Press for providing me with a copy of this egalley to read and give an honest review. The opinions expressed here are my own. I requested this book because Spencer Hill Press is a small publishing house and thought perhaps they would have different stories than what I was seeing in main stream YA. Also, the concept of a girl who made a deal and has her memories wiped was really intriguing. To be honest from the get go, this book was just not for me and I ended up DNFing because life is too short to read books I don't like. So the following opinions are what I didn't enjoy for what I did read and why I just could not go on. The characters: I didn't like any of them. I could not connect. They were not realistic for me. They didn't make me have any empathy for them. Isabel's character is immature for someone so "old". Do I get her memories get wiped, I do, and maybe this is why she is the way she is. But I just found it annoying and it made her seem so much younger than she really is. Dominic, ick, he's like an old man. Again, do I get the years upon years he's experienced, yes, but I still felt creepy with him and Isabel having a love interest in each other. Plus, insta-love. Usually, I can get past this type of thing if it's done really well because, let's face it, yes, people can have a connection that leads to this quickly, But it just didn't sit right with me for these two. The writing: overly done. And by that I mean so much drama because perhaps that is what the author thought would draw the readers in. But it just does not work. It comes off as immature and annoying. Overall, I would tell others to skip this but to each their own. DNF at 45%....more
Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks for providing me with a copy of this book to read and give an honest review. I will admit, I had no idea this boThank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks for providing me with a copy of this book to read and give an honest review. I will admit, I had no idea this book had been published before in 2016. I kind of wish I'd had that information before beginning it. Not sure why the publisher chose to publish is again, to be honest, since I had to DNF at 40% First I want to say there was so much potential. When I read the blurb, I got all the feels. It seemed like it would be such a great story. Romance, first time love, true love, a twist, and more. But it just didn't hit the mark for me. I usually love a dual POV. It gives the author a lot to work with as far as plot goes. It's easier to get the know the characters but also allows the author to build tension since the characters see things differently. I was hopeful this would help me understand the relationship between Rune and Poppy. It just served to show me the relationship was very codependent and actually a bit creepy on the side of Rune. The way he talks about Poppy and how he acts with her is super possessive and made me feel like he would be angry if she ever thought to be with anyone else. I could not connect with either character and I had no empathy for them. They just didn't seem realistic. I won't get into tons of spoilers but the 15 year old characters share something that just didn't feel right. It actually made me cringe. When I started to get The Fault in Our Stars vibe I got excited. Maybe it would turn around, Maybe it would get better. But it wasn't that book (which I loved) or the characters of that book (who I also loved). It just felt like it was trying to be that book and it was not even close. Then there are the chapter lengths and the fact that the chapters take you nowhere.. It's the same information presented over and over. 40 minutes for one chapter? No thank you. It threw off the pacing and didn't add to the plot in any way. Once I go to 40% I decided to go and look at some reviews, which is when I realized this book was published prior. I also realized many people were feeling the same way I was and had the same complaints about how the book was set up and progressing. The writing was sub par for me, as well. I don't feel like the author has a grasp of how to tell her story without dumping information that is not useful and pacing the story so it moves. The best part of this book was Poppy's relationship with her grandmother and the adventure she sends her on. Other than that, I just didn't feel a connection or a want continue reading. Perhaps others will love this one (I did see some 4 and 5 star reviews) but I did not....more
Thank you NetGalley and Disney-Hyperion for providing me with a copy of this egalley to read and give my honest review. The opinions expressed here arThank you NetGalley and Disney-Hyperion for providing me with a copy of this egalley to read and give my honest review. The opinions expressed here are my own. You'd be hard pressed to find someone who didn't know the story of Aladdin. Especially the Disney version with its knock your socks off funny Genie. I will not be shy in saying I loved this movie so had high expectations of a retelling where the villain gets to have his story told. I'm a sucker for finding out why the villain acts as they do. Unfortunately, I just did not love this story. At least the part of it I got through. The first 25% or so of the book is an exact retelling of Aladdin. Almost word for word what you get in the movie. And, while I'm all for rehashing some of what I know as a reminder, it's just not what I was expecting. I was expecting a different tale from the start. But I didn't get that. I found the characters childish, which, given it's a Disney inspired retelling, I kind of get. But the characters are definitely supposed to be YA in this story and I was expecting more of that aspect. I was expecting more maturity. But the book reads as a middle grade. And how the characters are portrayed didn't make me feel warm and fuzzy, or have any connection to them at all. They had no passion; they had no umph. Their dialogue literally felt flat, like a piece of cardboard. And let's not talk about the insta-love, which I get for a movie, but for a book there can be so much more. The plot line lacked in keeping me interested. There was no hook from the start. Just the story I know very well. This was definitely not the epic fantasy retelling of a beloved story I know well at all. Unfortunately, it was a DNF at 40% for me....more
I would like to thank NetGalley and Sourcebooks for providing me with an egalley of this book to read and give an honest review. The opinions expresseI would like to thank NetGalley and Sourcebooks for providing me with an egalley of this book to read and give an honest review. The opinions expressed here are my own. Determined to leave the island that has trapped her as the Kinkiller's daughter, Krescent agrees to an underground expedition through darkness and filled with unknown enemies both animal and human. She's wiling to sacrifice whatever she can to be able to start a new life away from the tarnish of her parent's legacy. But will she make it out alive when all the odds seemed stacked against her. What I did like: the description. I would not have picked this book up if it didn't sound interesting. I loved the idea of the underground adventure. It reminded me a bit of David Estes Dwellers series. And the cover, that is some beautiful art. But after these two things, my love for this title stopped. I have to say I was not a fan of this book. I really wanted to like it but I felt it was lacking in so many different areas. First, the world building. This book is fantasy and in any fantasy book, world building is key to hooking someone into reading it. I feel like there was not enough background in this book to build that up for me and make me care. How did her world come into existence? What were the circumstances of the separation of classes? We do get some background on this but just not enough to make me understand why it is important to the story. Krescent has had to take on the legacy of her parents which has kept her in debt and down on her luck. But it's unclear what exactly happened or why that would truly effect her. I definitely got a Hunger Games feel from this one, but it was just a feel. Nothing about the book comes close to how that series progressed. The action scenes were confusing. When I read a book with this much action, I want to see it in my mind ,but I just could not picture it. This was mostly due to not being able to picture the underground area where this takes place. Also, I wasn't able to really feel the tension these scenes were supposed to help me feel. The writing style is flat. It didn't help me with connecting to the story or the characters. I was fairly bored the entire time and had to push and scan to get through some parts. I had no connection with the characters. I know I was supposed to feel some kind of empathy for Krescent, but I just didn't care about her or her horrible life. And the romance between her and Rivan? Nope, wasn't feeling that either. I didn't feel any of the relationships were fleshed out, but especially this one since it was supposed to be of more importance to us. There are also some plot holes that I just could not get over. All of a sudden Rivan is there? How? She's able to gather all the group's belongings without alerting those on watch? Again, how? My biggest gripe with this title is I was waiting for something truly mind blowing to happen to make it worth the struggle of reading it and that just never happened for me. Unfortunately, I took many long breaks to put this book down and read other things hoping I could pick it back up and get into it. But that just didn't happen for me. I ended up speed reading to get a feel for what was happening hoping there would be an area that would peak my interest and the book would come to life for me. But that didn't happen. Maybe it was the writing, maybe it was the story, maybe it's just not for me. I didn't not have a chance to read this author's other book so I'm not sure if I would like that one better. I will not be featuring this on my blog at this time....more
I want to thank NetGalley and Dutton Adult for providing me with an egalley of this book to read and give my honest review. The opinions expressed herI want to thank NetGalley and Dutton Adult for providing me with an egalley of this book to read and give my honest review. The opinions expressed her are my own. I will start by saying I did not finish this book. I just was not into it and was actually a bit board. This makes me sad because I really want to like this author but looking back at her other books that I've tried to read, I think I just do not like her writing. I read the first book in her Vampire Academy, twice, in the hopes of maybe having missed something (everyone loves them so much) but I just do not like it,. For me, the writing style was monotone. I felt like the author was narrating the story but really didn't care about it all that much. I just could not connect. It made me un-empathetic to the characters and not interested in their story of the plot. It also made the pacing super slow. I had no draw to pick it up and read it. I also didn't understand the world. Actually, I felt like the world building just was not there and so I had no idea what it looked like. The characters did nothing for me, Usually I enjoy a dual POV because it helps me to truly understand the characters, their emotions, and how they see the story. It also creates a tension that I like, but I didn't get that here. Overall just not my cup of tea....more
Loading...
