I can't say I was expecting to love this book, but I was hoping I would. Some of my bookish friends read it and didn't like it, but I had to read it aI can't say I was expecting to love this book, but I was hoping I would. Some of my bookish friends read it and didn't like it, but I had to read it and see for myself. I love sci-fi and next to books set in space come books about clones, so of course, I had to read this one.
The world-building wasn't even that bad, I just felt the whole time like something was missing. Dhalia shares her face with 4999 other clones in her year and shoving any kind of emotion would result in the whole generation being marked as defect and scraped. That was all working pretty good until she met Trigger.
That's where all my problems started. I didn't get their attraction. I didn't get their fascination with each other, and I most definitely didn't get their insta-love. Even their dialogues were cringe-worthy.
This being said, the story ended with a cliffhanger and I kinda want to know what happens next in the duology so I might read the next book sometime.
I am really unsure of how I felt about Beyond the Red. I guess I did like it to some extenThis review is also posted on my blog, Anatea's Bookshelf.
I am really unsure of how I felt about Beyond the Red. I guess I did like it to some extent, but there were a lot of things that bothered me and I wasn't a huge fan of them. To start it off, I thought this was going to be an EPIC SCI-FI book. I mean it's on another planet and it has ALIENS, so it had to be sci-fi. Yes, I thought it had an epic vibe, but more on the EPIC FANTASY side. Yes, you read that right. Maybe it was just me, but Beyond of Red has kings, queens, slaves, rebels, battles, castles. In my mind, I was imagining it all in kind of Egyptian medieval style (is that even a period? - okay, you know what I mean). Maybe it did have some sci-fi elements like nanites technology and cool and unusual animals, but that's about it.
After the Sepharon aliens under the lead of Kora attack a human desert village, many of the humans end up as slaves. Among them is also Eros, a half-human, half-Sepharon guy, who seems to be despised by the both sides. Since the things aren't perfect in the territory of Elja and the people aren't satisfied with their queen Kora, she makes Eros her personal guard/slave to protect her from her evil brother who wants the throne all for himself. But when someone tries to poison Koras betrothed and they're accused of the crime, they have to flee and maybe face even bigger danger outside.
There are not actually lots of things that I liked in this book, but one of them was that it was fast paced and I kinda seemed to just fly through it even though I didn't enjoy a lot of things. I just kept turning the pages and hoping it would get better - but it never did. Yes, it was fast paced and there was a lot of action and you just wanted to know what happens next - even though if the things were really predictable - but there was always that little voice in my head that kept whispering all the things that bother me and I just couldn't overlook them.
Beyond the Red is one of those sci-fi/fantasy books that just starts from nowhere and the whole time you're wondering what the heck is happening, who is who, where are they, what is it that they do. I mean we do get a little bit of information, but as I read one thought was constantly on my mind. This book needs more world building, I have just too many questions. And just to fill you in, half of those weren't even answered later in the book.
Another thing - or is it better to say another person - that bothered me to no end was Kora, our queen. She was supposed to be this fierce and strong ruler, or at least, that's how she is described. But all I have seen from Kora through the book is that she was quite the opposite from fierce. Her brother had his way with her and she did nothing to stop him, her people wanted to throw her off the throne, and she did nothing to stop it, she couldn't even utter one word when it came to defending an innocent person. She was the fucking queen, she should have at least tried doing something.
There's one more thing I want to mention. Love. Which also isn't quite the best in Beyond the Red. We have our love interests, Eros and Kora. Everything between them happens so fast (insta, if you're wondering). Almost immediately, they're on first name basis. That wouldn't be so weird if she weren't the alien queen, and he despised half-blood slave. Then they're kissing. And then, everything between them stops altogether. This is where the even-more-insta-love-triangle starts. Kora is to marry one of the royals, who just happens to fall in love with her in just a few days. Talk about weird. I had a feeling the author wanted to accomplish many things, but she just ended up ruining everything. Dear authors, please notice our plea - anything insta is never good.
I wanted to give Beyond the Red 2.5 stars, but since I don't do half stars, I had to round it up. This is where the real struggle comes in. Do I round it up or down? Originally, I gave it 3 stars, but after I slept on it, I decided it is more 2 stars than it is 3. Yes, I did like the plot to some extent. You could maybe even say that I enjoyed the plot, but the rest of the book just felt "meh". There was nothing else worthy of good in this book.
The ending alone was done really abrupt and it's not even sure if there's going to be the next book. I think I saw somewhere that the author said it depends on sales. I guess we'll see, even though I'm not really sure if I am going to be reading the sequel even if there is one. I mean, why would you end your book this open, if you're not even sure there's going to be a next one? That's just kinda mean.
And to answer this, would I recommend this book? Probably not, no.
Into the Dim is one of those books that left me absolutely confused and I had no idea at first if I liked the book or if it was just another book in the sea of other books that I will forget about in a month. Writing the review usually helps me sort out my thoughts. It was the same with this one. There were a few elements that I liked, but there were like waaaay more ones that I didn't like. Time travel books are usually complex and to allow some slips in the plot you'd need a kick-ass main character, preferably great support characters and swoon-worthy romance if there is one. My main problems in this book were the things that should have been amazing. And then some more. I won't even mention that this book was supposed to be the Outlander for teens. I won't even go there.
After Hope's mother goes missing and is presumed dead, she gets an invitation to spend a summer with her aunt in Scottland, which isn't even questionable since her father decided to travel the world with his new girlfriend. When Hope finally got to Scottland, she meets a guy who is taking pictures of her, her aunt is not even home and everything seems to be so secretive, but she can't figure out what everyone is secretive about. Finally, she accidently stumbles into a room she wasn't supposed to find and everyone else decides to let her in on a secret. Her family are time travelers, have been for generations. The interesting thing is, her mom is not actually dead. She is stuck somewhere in twelfth-century London and Hope is the only one who can help save her, but the thing is, she only has a week to prepare for such a hard trip and overcoming all of her phobias might not be an easy task.
I have to say, this book is 428 pages long, but I read it in fairly short time. I kept turning the pages wanting to know what happens next. No actually, scratch that. I kept turning the pages wanting something exciting to finally happen. And while I did enjoy the plot to some extent, I couldn't help but be irritated with soooo many things. Right off the bat, I was annoyed with all of the Scottish talk/accent. What's up with that? I felt like in some sentences I needed a dictionary to be able to fully understand what was written. We could have definitely gone without that. I'm not even sure if people talk that way in Scottland, do you, Scottish people?
I already mentioned this earlier, but I really disliked our main character Hope. She was this girl on whom everything depended. She knew everything about everything, she had photographic memory, she knew all archaic languages (should I even try to question the possibility of this?!?) and she was socially awkward. Of course, she was. Can you try to guess what else she was? Homeschooled, you ask? Bingo! Hope is such a stereotypical I am so bad at everything even though I am really smart and I don't know I'm beautiful kinda girl. It's starting to get really annoying to have every second character be like this. Where did the confidence go? She also had all those phobias that could have made things a little better if the author went a bit deeper into that subject. Unfortunately, she didn't, so it just made things worse because it became just one of the many things that were left unexplored and flat. Hope is definitely fighting for the first place in the-most-irritating-characters-ever category along with Kora from Beyond the Red.
I won't say much about romance, mostly because I didn't like it at all. I didn't get it at all. I didn't feel it at all. It was like when someone tries to pair you up with a guy you don't like and he doesn't like you back, but you still have to be together. No connection whatsoever. And of course, it had to have an insta-romance feel to it. Just giving you a heads up.
The plot was actually the only thing that I liked to some extent, although it could have been much better. Everything was so simplified and even though it's a YA book, I think the teens are much more than capable to understand more complex explanations. 12th century London was a bit disappointing, though. I don't think a normal person back then could have gotten to the queen that easily. It was all done a little bit naively and without checking first if a situation like that would be possible in real life. I still enjoyed some parts.
I hate it when finally we get a time-travel book and then it turns to not be that good. I am sorry to say, but I won't be recommending this one to anyone else. But if you're just like me, you probably won't trust anything anyone says about a book you really want to read, then go ahead and read it. You may even like it more than I did. But do let me know if you did.
I had high expectations from this book, and usually, when I have high expectations from a book it doesn't deliver. On the Edge was no exception to that rule. I really wanted to love this book. It had every potential to become a book that I loved, forbidden romance - check, crazy gang business - check, action - check, but even all that wasn't enough. All I kept thinking is how Simone Elkeles managed to create so much better and much more enjoyable book with all the same elements.
But, let's get back to On the Edge. We have Maddie Diaz as our main character. One night as she takes a shortcut through a park, she witnesses something terrible. A couple of guys from Reyes gang attacked a local homeless guy, who died afterward and Maddie was an only witness. She decides to identify the guys who attacked the homeless guy, even though she knows that she put a target on her back and is just waiting on when they would get her. When they finally do, she is rescued by the secret rival gang Destinos, whom everybody thought was a myth. The only thing Maddie remembers from when she was rescued is Lobo, the guy who helped her, and as she later finds out is the leader of the Destinos, but he can't reveal his true identity and Maddie also likes this one guy Ortiz who works at the store nearby her place.
I can't say that I didn't enjoy the book as a whole, but there are a lot of things that just didn't sit good with me. I was actually struggling quite a bit in rating On the Edge, but then finally decided to give it 2 stars as I just couldn't get over some of the things, even though I did enjoy some parts as cliche as they were.
The main problem I had with this book is the unrealistic gang scene. This is mostly WHY I have been excited about On the Edge, because it featured gangs, an element which I don't think is used enough in YA novels. There SHOULD be more books that feature gangs! But, as I said, Allison van Diepen didn't do it the right way. The reason why I thought the gang scene is unrealistic is this: how can 12 guys, who call themselves Destinos and work as an "undercover, secret gang (?!)", stir up so major shit that they mess up with everything that Los Reyes do, and we're talking here about the leading gang of Miami, which means they have a well-established business in dealing with drugs and girls trafficking. Also, the leader of Reyes, Salazar, was so easy to find and take out. It all sounds a little bit unbelievable to me. Had this part been a little better I am sure I would have loved this book.
Another thing that I kinda had a problem with is the romance. This should have been a type of a forbidden romance where they can't be together, but want to, and they'd do anything to be together. At least, that's what I thought this book should be. But instead, what we got is pretty much an insta-love hidden by the words of forbidden romance. Let me explain it to you. So we know Maddie had this connection with Lobo when he saved her (this was around 35% mark) and she can't stop thinking about who he could be behind the mask (but, really, it was obvious immediately). But, already somewhere around 50% into the book, they can't be apart anymore, the real identity is revealed and Maddie is totally in with the Destinos. WTF?
I had a few more things that I wanted to mention, but this review is already getting too long, so I am only going to mention one more thing. There are two characters in the book, Eric & Julia, for whom I felt like there is something I'm missing. So I went looking into other books by Allison van Diepen and found out there is a book named Snitch which features the two characters mentioned. I WAS MAD when I found out about that! It's like they wanted for us not to know about Snitch, because they didn't mention it anywhere. It's like if you'd read Isla and the Happily Ever After without reading Anna and the French Kiss. It doesn't work that way, because the information we get isn't complete and we always feel like we're missing out on something but we can't put our finger on it. It's huge to do something like that to some people!
With all of this said, I cannot say I enjoyed this book. Were there moments I really did like? Yes, there were, but everything else prevails. I would say if you want to read a great book that features gangs, you should try with Perfect Chemistry series by Simone Elkeles. If you already read the Perfect Chemistry and you still want to give this one a try, well nothing is stopping you, and you may even like it.
This is the book I was really excited to read and it's the kind of book that usually ends up on my favorites shelf. The key word being usually. There are always exceptions to that rule and Tabula Rasa was one of them. This is the kind of book that had so much potential, a great description that makes you want to read the book right away, and it even started out really great, BUT it all went downhill from there. I ended up NOT LIKING the book that started out really great! It is a rare occasion when I rate a book as 'I don't like it' and it usually means that I basically didn't like anything and I couldn't find a single thing I could hold on to and rate it as 'meh'. Yes, Tabula Rasa was one of those rare books.
What goes on in Tabula Rasa is that Sarah is currently placed in some kind of hospital which specializes in removing unwanted memories, usually ones that are really bad and from some kind of traumatic experience and it's better not to have to deal with them or remember them. The thing is that Sarah almost has no memories of her life before the hospital, but then the attack on the hospital happens and Sarah finds three pills with a note to drink them. Then her memory starts to come back slowly, and while she's trying to put the pieces together, she has to retrieve one new pill that she crushed from the hospital, with the little help of a boy she just met and one of the patients.
I know that this summary probably sounds really good to you, and it really does... But let me explain WHY I DIDN'T LIKE Tabula Rasa and why I deducted the rating the way I did. You'll see, there is a perfectly reasonable explanation why I did what I did.
From 5 to 4 stars - If you look in the description of this book, it promises us "The Bourne Identity meets Divergent". I was looking forward to a book like that, BUT don't let them fool you. Tabula Rasa is nothing like the The Bourne Identity or Divergent. The only thing I can maybe find that they have in common is the genre, thriller and dystopia. I was also promised "a Katniss-esque heroine fighting to regain her memories and stay alive", but Sarah is far from that. I'm not sure I could even compare the two. With this being said, I don't see how this book could appeal to the fans of above mentioned books.
From 4 to 3 stars - Another big problem I had with this book has much to do with the setting, the characters, the pacing and the not knowing anything. At this point, I was already starting to get frustrated. The characters were there just to exist, with no personality or whatsoever. The worldbuilding was explained just so you could have a little knowledge of why are some of the things happening, but it is far, far away from a good, strong worldbuilding.
From 3 to 2 stars - ENTER INSTALOVE (ohhaii)! I think Tabula Rasa has one of the most instantaneous instaloves I have ever encountered. By instalove, I consider romance when two people declare their love after just knowing each other for a week or maybe a month. But this book TOPS IT ALL!
"I knew him three days. That's all. But I think I've fallen in love with him since then."
Yes, you read that correctly. They were in love after just 3 days, and may I mention it came out of the blue? In those 3 days, they spent so little time together because one of them was always either: A) unconscious, B) asleep or C) just out of it/in some foggy state. Before they were in love, you could barely notice they liked each other or cared about the other, but yeah, the were in love. AFTER THREE DAYS!
From 2 to 1 stars - Wtf was that ending? What was the point of it all? Was that supposed to be funny? Sarcastic? Sad? A happy ending? An open ending? I don't get it. I believe this was one of the worst endings I have ever read. I'm sorry to be this harsh, but this is just the portrayal of how I felt upon finishing Tabula Rasa.
I really don't like writing negative reviews for a book, but I think my readers deserve to know how I truly felt about a book, and decide for themselves if they still want to give the book a chance. Two opinions are never the same and they differ. If I didn't like this books, it doesn't mean that someone else also wouldn't.
The only thing amazing about this book is its beautiful cover, everything else is pretty muchThis review is also posted on my blog, Anatea's Bookshelf
The only thing amazing about this book is its beautiful cover, everything else is pretty much the opposite. The Promise of Amazing is not so amazing after all, so don't get your hopes up with this book and disregard the title.
The Promise of Amazing starts when Wren performs Heimlich on Grayson and that's how they meet. The rest of the book is pretty much about how they love each other. Insta-love, you ask? Unfortunately, yes. You could even say, mega-insta-love. Normaly, I could overlook insta-love when it makes just a little bit sense. But with this book, it's not the case. The whole romance felt forced. On their first date, Wren couldn't stand Grayson and she left, but two days later, Grayson was all she could think about. Just like that, out of the blue sky! You see, to me, that feels forced. I also couldn't feel any connection between them.
I actually couldn't connect with them either. Wren was your typical quiet girl. She did what she was told, even though she didn't like being told, but she never stick up for herself. Just plain and boring character. Nothing there to say I liked that about her or I disliked that about ther. While with Grayson, I can say I disliked a lot of things about him. I can say I disliked his whole character. From his actions to the way he talked. "That's too bad, 'cause Ima-out, my friendah." Who talks like that? Is that supposed to make me like him?
The good thing about The Promise of Amazing was that it was a fast-paced and a pretty quick read. If it was slow, I think I would have abandoned it. There was always something happening, even though I often got the feeling that everything was forced and just thrown in to keep the story going. But there were some parts that I liked, even got me laugh a few times.
All in all, I don't think this book is The Promise of Amazing for me, but for someone else it may be. If insta-love doesn't bother you, maybe you could even enjoy this book....more
Loading...
