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| 3.46
| 31,405
| Oct 06, 2015
| Oct 18, 2015
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did not like it
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No stars. Disclaimer: I read to about 65%. Skim read to about 90% and read to the end. Also, this review will contain spoilers for the alternate ending No stars. Disclaimer: I read to about 65%. Skim read to about 90% and read to the end. Also, this review will contain spoilers for the alternate ending that are not in spoiler tags. Years ago, when Twilight was in its prime, someone told me that Breaking Dawn was never supposed to happen. That it was the book where Stephenie Meyer was given free reign to do whatever she wanted because the series was so popular, everyone would buy it regardless of quality, and rake in big dough-cheese for her and her publishers. I don't really know how true that assumption is, but dammit if isn't true for Life and Death. Take me for example: I own all of the Twilight books, have read Twilight (just the first book) a total of 4 times, 5 if you include this (and I do), written about some of the good that came of the series (I'm not always a fire-breathing bitch queen), made fun of it, enjoyed parts of it, loathed chucks of it and everything else in between. I also attempted to re-read the series back in 2012 for this little thing I started called Project: HindSight, and had so much fun reviewing Midnight Sun (I really wish she'd finish that), but by the time I got to New Moon (the book I dislike the most), I just couldn't continue on and abandoned the project. Over the past few years, I've settled on generally disliking everything Twilight stands for while holding onto a morbid fascination and, begrudgingly, bestowing some sort of respect for a series that put YA literature on the map. So when I heard of Life and Death, literally the day it released, I knew I'd buy it. No questions asked. I was hoping many of the issues I had with Twilight would be corrected with this version. It had so much potential to be great! I never expected there to be huge drastic changes to the story -- I did expect it to be pretty much the same as Twilight, so believe me when I say that was the least of its problems. I won't bother reviewing this book, because it's essentially the same as Twilight and I've already written a review for that. Just swap around the pronouns in your head as you read it. In the forward, Stephenie Meyer opens with this: "But I’ve always maintained that it would have made no difference if the human were male and the vampire female— it’s still the same story. Gender and species aside, Twilight has always been a story about the magic and obsession and frenzy of first love." I don't think she was very successful. There were times when I wondered what Meyer was truly trying to accomplish here. Was she trying to basically say her novel features an unhealthy relationship even with roles reversed? As in, "Hey guys, my book is horrible either way!" Or was her goal to further highlight how Twilight had a lot of instances of sexism, including sexual violence against women? Because if so, then I suppose, yeah, she was successful. Here's a general run down: Beau is your classic Gary Stu who falls for The Ultimate Manic Pixie Dream Girl, Edythe. He has no aspirations to do or be anything until he spots the love of his life in his high school cafeteria. Not much has changed with our young, desperate lovers except for their pronouns, but Edythe is still a jerk/control freak/stalker and somehow less creepy than Edward. And Beau is still a very weak character and as interesting as the dirt beneath my shoe. There is an alternate ending which is essentially a pathetic attempt to pack New Moon and Eclipse into a clusterfuck of info-dumping. But more on that later. What I really want to talk about is the treatment of the female characters. I don't know how this was even possible, but reading Life and Death actually made me hate Twilight even more than I originally did. This is mostly because it became shockingly evident that certain scenes (sexual assault) were purposefully left out in this version because the characters didn't have vaginas. Lovely. Bella's attempted rape scene has now turned into Beau's assault scene. If you remember, in Twilight, while Bella is getting lost in Port Angeles, she runs into a group of drunk men who attempt to sexually assault her. This is made clear by their jeers ("Don't be like that, sugar.") and Edward's later dialogue. But for Beau, his assailants are a mix between female and male and have the intention of beating him up because they think he is a cop. The section is entirely re-written with more dialogue, a gun and threats of death. Then there is Rosalie's rape scene, now changed to Royal's assault scene. Instead of Royal being raped, he's tricked during the wedding and beat up within an inch of his life. Now, one could argue the time period and say, "Well, that's happened back then. It's just how things were." And, maybe, before I read Life and Death I could have seen that point. But when the two biggest instances of female sexual assault are completely left out when you swap the genders, oy, that's an issue. Now that is not to say I wanted to see men get rape in Life and Death. It's just a glaring problem where I now see those scenes as "Literary Rape," used as plot devices to add depth and sympathy to Rosalie's character, and to give Edward a reason to look super heroic in the face of rapists. Maggie Stiefvater said it best in This is a Post About Literary Rape: "I’m talking about novels where the rape scene could just as easily be any other sort of violent scene and it only becomes about sex because there’s a woman involved. If the genders were swapped, a rape scene wouldn’t have happened. The author would’ve come up with a different sort of scenario/ backstory/ defining moment for a male character." That is exactly what happened here. One could argue that Meyer wrote a more progressive version of Twilight with Life and Death and that's partly true to an extent. Edythe does appear to try to make her relationship with Beau as equal as possible. But there are constant references to the gender changes as if Meyer is trying to prove something to the reader, and they only seemed to further resign me to the fact that Meyer has no idea what she's doing. (Bold is mine.) His straight gold hair was wound into a bun on the back of his head, but there was nothing feminine about it— somehow it made him look even more like a man. [image] I fumbled for my wallet. [image] She turned toward the cafeteria, swinging her bag into place. It was like Meyer was shouting me, "DO I IMPRESS YOU?!" And I kept going: [image] In the hands of a more skilled writer, this might have been pulled off flawlessly. I found the changes she made with Beau's narration interesting. Meyer mentioned in the Forward that Bella is more flowery with her words, where Beau is not. This is a complete understatement. The one thing Twilight actually had going for it, was the occasionally pretty quote. I say occasional, because the novel contains too many short, simple sentences than I usually like in my books. In Life and Death's case, the writing has been watered down so much that it feels on par with See Spot Run. And I don't necessarily think this is a gender thing. Just because a character is a boy, doesn't mean he can't be articulate or well-versed. “Bonnie, there’s something you didn’t know about me.… I used to smell really good to vampires.” Corny. So very corny. It's not uncommon to discover popular YA authors' inability to write convincing male POVs. *cough*Veronica Roth*cough* And I learned from Midnight Sun, that it's not exactly Meyer's forte either, but c'mon! This was really bad, even for her. The there's Beau's obsession with Edythe's unhealthy* body. Oh, god, I'm so disgusted with this part, and I don't really understand why it was included. "Her pale arms, her slim shoulders, the fragile-looking twigs of her collarbones, the vulnerable hollows above them, the swanlike column of her neck, the gentle swell of her breasts— don’t stare, don’t stare— and the ribs I could nearly count under the thin cotton. She was too perfect, I realized with a crushing wave of despair. There was no way this goddess could ever belong with me." Is this supposed to show Beau's unrealistic expectations of women's bodies? That only vampires can achieve this level of "perfection" that society constantly forces on us? Because there is no other explanation that works well here and I'm really trying to give Meyer the benefit of the doubt and throw her a bone. The issue with this theory is, there's no indication in the book that this is an unrealistic view. Actually quite the opposite happens later in that same scene: I had a new definition of beauty. Sigh. I don't think I need to go into why this is problematic, so I'll just leave that there for your critique. *Unhealthy, as in for majority of women, this is an unattainable beauty standard. Apologies if that came off as body shaming women/girls where that is their healthy. I'm speaking specifically about society's constant pressure on women and girls to be as thin as possible, many times to the detriment of their physical and emotional health. When Beau describes Edythe, he focuses so heavily on the sharp angles of her bones and it perpetuates the idea that these characteristics make her more beautiful than others. I find these descriptions irresponsible and feel there could have been a better way to describe her. So let's talk about the ending. This part will have spoilers beyond this point. This is your one and only warning. Yes, it's re-written -- horribly, if I'm being honest. During the scene with the ballet studio (which, BTW, Beau didn't take ballet as a kid because HE'S A BOY. *eyeroll*), everything is pretty much similar expect for the fact that Edythe can't suck out all the venom out of Beau's body, leaving him only one possible future: becoming a vampire super early and living happily ever after with his BAE, Edythe. I wouldn't have had an issue with the change if it had actually been written without the massive amounts of info-dumping. It reads like Meyer decided last minute that she wanted to only do 2 chapters of the gender swap (which she mentions in the Forward), realized she spent all of her deadline time on re-writing the entire book, and quickly wrote an ending hours before she emailed it to her editor. She crams the werewolf history, volturi history, rules of being a vampire, and Beau's human funeral altogether and it's just so goddamn messy. It also makes the insta-love look even worse because at least Bella had 3 other books and a pining Jacob to consider leaving Edward. It was just an overall hot ass mess that seemed so out of place. This is why I said they just let Meyer do whatever the hell she wants; half that stuff would have never flown with a debut novel or any novel that desired to actually be, you know, good. Would I recommend this and should you read it? Hard to say. My first response is, "Oh, god, no. Don't waste your money." $12.99 is an unacceptable price for an ebook (thank goodness for Kindle returns!). It doesn't really offer anything vital to the Twilight fandom/universe and is generally a horrible piece of writing that I want to fling stones at. But then the other half of me enjoys the suffering of my fellow book lovers and is considering purchasing this as a gag joke to both of my lovely co-bloggers. Because that's really all this trite, wish-fulfilling, wankfest of a re-imaginging is good for, and I really, really need to stop being so damn curious about everything. But anyway, I'm rambling when all I really want to say is... the ball's in your court now, E.L. James. I eagerly await your newest, [image] ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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not set
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Oct 09, 2015
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Oct 06, 2015
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Hardcover
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| 4.25
| 13,253
| Mar 31, 2015
| Mar 31, 2015
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did not like it
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Actual rating: 1.5 stars. The romance isn't too bad in this one if you forget the fact that it's an Insta love romance. It has a good amount of cringe Actual rating: 1.5 stars. The romance isn't too bad in this one if you forget the fact that it's an Insta love romance. It has a good amount of cringe worthy moments that'll make you vomit in your mouth, same amount of wish fulfillment wankery and moments of intense eye rolling. But this time with sexy times! Sex in a bed! Sex in a dirt hole! Sex against a tree! Whoo hoo, sex, baby, yeah! >_> So why did I read it despite disliking the first book? Answer: The narrator is pretty great and it was free on Kindle Unlimited. I was curious on where the story would go, so I decided to give it a chance, and I was entertained. I can see why people like the book even though it's not really my cup of tea. And yet, I'll probably end up listening to the last book, because at this point, why not? I almost gave Sea of Stars 2 stars because it is a better novel than the first. But thanks to that ridiculous plot twist at the end, I'm knocking off half a star. Review to come. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Aug 05, 2015
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Aug 08, 2015
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Aug 05, 2015
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Audible Audio
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| B00M4KRSI6
| unknown
| 4.46
| 1,073,216
| Sep 02, 2014
| Sep 02, 2014
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did not like it
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Reasons why I didn't like this book: - It was dull as dirt - It was waaaaaaaay too long - I was so tired of the angst, no matter how justified it was - Ro Reasons why I didn't like this book: - It was dull as dirt - It was waaaaaaaay too long - I was so tired of the angst, no matter how justified it was - Rowan is overrated. There, I said it. - I fell asleep listening to the audiobook over 15 times. 7 alone for the last 10%. - The chapters with the witches felt SO POINTLESS. (BTW, the king outlawed magic, but witches are okay? dafuq? Oh well, I don't care.) - I feel like each book follows the same plot: Celena trains. Celena fights with cute guy. Mysterious monster is killing people. Celena kills monster. Fin. UGH. I CAN'T. [image] ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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May 20, 2015
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Jul 2015
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May 20, 2015
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Audible Audio
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| 1595147632
| 9781595147639
| 1595147632
| 3.38
| 16,405
| Nov 10, 2015
| Nov 10, 2015
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did not like it
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DNF. This was equal parts boring and horrible. Mead essentially relies of the readers' knowledge and perception of Asian culture because there is abso DNF. This was equal parts boring and horrible. Mead essentially relies of the readers' knowledge and perception of Asian culture because there is absolutely no world building to be found. I was excited initially for this because it seemed like Mead was branching out. Unfortunately, this turned out to be a complete waste of time and words can not express how disappointing this was. I hate to sound harsh, but it really felt like this was written overnight aimlessly. I kept trying to power through to the end, because maybe it would get better. Sadly, no. It just became a chore and more mentally painful with each page I read. Sometimes you just have to know when to quit. I keep looking for the magic I felt while reading Shadow Kiss (her best book IMO), but I'm beginning to think that was a fluke. In any case, Soundless is not her best work, not by a long shot. ----------- Thoughts before reading: Someone in marketing must have fallen asleep at their desk, because how did I not know about this until now?! Richelle Mead is one of my all time favorite authors and I'm so excited to see her do something totally different! I must acquire this book. ...more |
Notes are private!
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0
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not set
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not set
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Apr 11, 2015
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Hardcover
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| 1481280767
| 9781481280761
| 1481280767
| 3.85
| 57,875
| Dec 14, 2012
| Dec 17, 2012
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did not like it
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I went into this book like a person between jobs, bored of their last venture and not yet ready to dive into anything too serious. I knew exactly what
I went into this book like a person between jobs, bored of their last venture and not yet ready to dive into anything too serious. I knew exactly what I was getting myself into and my expectations were appropriately set for mindless entertainment. I know this may seem like a strange thing for some people and I'm sure many would wonder why I decided to read a book I was sure to dislike. The simple explanation would lie somewhere between "Because I felt like it" and "Because I paid for it." But for those of you who aren't as easily pacified, I'll say this: Reading books like this is like inviting your friends over for a night of popcorn, ice cream and really, really terrible horror movies. It takes itself so seriously, that you can't take it seriously. And instead of scaring you, the intentional outcome, it has the reverse effect, providing you and your friends endless fodder for punch lines to new jokes and puns equally as terrible as its source material. But the moral question, of course, must be considered. Is this fair to the author? And to that I would have to reply in the affirmative and point such cynics in the direction of my Amazon receipt. A Shade of Vampire isn't a book that I would recommend or even one that I could see myself coming back to. It's served it's purpose of being different enough from what I usually read, breaking up the monotony. It entertained me and now I shall entertain you. (Also, spoiler alert.) Here we go. Twilight. There. I've already shot, mangled and killed the Fat Elephant in the room right out the gate. I'm not pulling the "T" card strictly because this book is about vampires and forbidden love. Plenty of other Paranormal Romance books have those qualities and still maintain their independence from the pop culture phenomenon. I bring it up because it's inevitable and follows similar book canon. As such, I created a Choose Your Own Adventure based on A Shade of Vampire. Choose Your Own Adventure: A Shade of Vampire 1. You're walking through the park alone, feeling down and under appreciated by family and friends. A handsome stranger comes out of nowhere. He's creepy, invades your space and asks you name. You: A. Tell him your name and force yourself not to run away because you'll show your friends and family! So what if he turns out to be some psycho serial killer. You're 16 and invincible and living on the wild side for once. WHOO-HOOO! YEAH BABY! (Proceed to #2) B. Run, because he could be some psycho serial killer. (Proceed to #6) 2. Okay, so that was totally not smart and now you're tied up to a post in a basement. Turns out they want to pamper, primp and prime you for this important Vampire Prince. You vow to be smart from now on about your decisions. You are brought before the Prince along with several other girls, made up for the sole purpose of sexual objectification. You're scared and nervous, so you hold one of the other girl's hands. The Prince notices this gesture and singles you out! Oh noz! He slams you against the wall hard, ready to suck you dry. You: A. Tell yourself you are not the victim here, despite clearly being in a victim-like situation. It's something your Yoda, best friend used to always tell you. So naturally you tell the Prince, who just can't seem to control his thirst even though he really, really wants to, that he is also not a victim. You do all this with a clear head even though Vampire Fangs are breaths away from your throat. Also, you are a Mary Sue. (Proceed to #3) B. Think about the great life you had and go down fighting like the lion you are. You die. GAME OVER. 3. Whew! Somehow that worked! Who knew your Yoda best friend's advice could come in handy against a Vampire Prince with a tortured past?! As a result, the Prince has taking a liking to you and gives you the plush room right next to his in his pimped out tree house (because where else would a vampire sleep? A coffin? Yeah, right). In fact, he's drawn to you and you to him. But you have to get home, so when the Prince thinks you're sleeping, you: A. Miraculously find a hoodie and pair of shorts in your closet that's conveniently filled with cocktail dresses, find a way down the treehouse, and make a run for it... all on the same page! Who needs details? You have no idea where you're going, but you'll find a way. You're the heroine after all! (Proceed to #4) B. Buy out the opportune time. You get to know the Prince and find out as much as you can about the secluded town to help plot your escape. All things come to those who are smart. (Proceed to #6) 4. This was a bad idea. You didn't realize this was an island with no way of escape! WAAAA WAAA! They even have a fence as tall as the wall of China! UGH. Damn Vamps! If only you had attempted to learn more about this place, maybe you could have anticipated this and prepared better. Alas, you are a dunderhead. Oh, no! Here come two guards. You: A. Think about name-dropping your powerful master's name in the hopes that it'll put fear into their hearts, but you allow yourself to be interrupted because something has to encourage this ridiculous plot along. This is it. Your death is coming. (Proceed to #5) B. Run. You Die. GAME OVER, silly girl. 5. One of the guards has his fangs in your neck. Just as you are mentally saying goodbye to your life, the Vampire Prince comes out of nowhere and rips you away from the attackers. Then some serious Indiana Jones type shit happens. [image] You're scared, hurt and mentally cursing yourself for yet another terrible decision. Vampire Prince makes you drink his blood to heal yourself and takes you back to your fancy prison. He tells you never to run away again and that you are his. You: Fall in love because he seems like a nice guy underneath it all. GAME OVER. 6. Congrats! You're probably not a dunderhead, but will most likely still die because you're playing by cliché YA rules. May the odds be ever in your favor. The basic plot for A Shade of Vampire is Sofia coming to accept Derek and help heal him. I'm generally not a fan of those type of books because it creates an imbalance in the relationship and breeds co-dependence. The next thing you know the characters are proclaiming their undying love and saying things like they'll never love another or how they can't be without that person. Of course, you also have the fact that Derek wants to EAT Sofia. And somehow after 400 years of not drinking blood, he's able to resist Sofia because she's different. No other woman -- and believe me when I say that I've been with many -- had the same effect that Sofia Claremont has on me. [...] She'd only recently entered my life, yet it felt like I'd known her for ages. OH REALLY? I've already stopped even thinking about a life that doesn't have Derek Novak in it. [image] What made me angry was the not so subtle sexism and slut shaming that went on. Sofia is a member of Prince Derek's harem and other Vamps in the town assume she's sleeping with him, because HAREM, and all that. Sofia is oblivious to this until a member of the Prince's guard says she's doing a good job of pleasing him. And she replies: "That's not... I would never!" I spluttered. Then we have Derek's brother, Lucas, who wants nothing more than to rape and kill Sofia. Every time he showed up in a scene he made these intentions clear. Because it's not enough that he wanted to drink her blood and kill her, he has to want to rape her too. The lust was unmistakable. He was practically undressing her with those eyes and I could tell that Sofia felt it based on how she sat there tense and unmoving. But why does Lucas want Sofia so bad? WHAT'S HIS MOTIVATION? Her blood smells good just wasn't a good enough for me. But that brings us to the novel's biggest issue. Regardless of the clichés, A Shade of Vampire could have been decent if the writing had been tighter and not had sentences like this: I was aware of it all, and yet, I wasn't. It was almost like everything was happening to another person, and yet it was me. WUT. Let me help you: "It was surreal." The characters could have also used some development besides the usual descriptions. Sofia is a girl who can do no wrong, a pure virgin, The One to Change Derek, selfless, not used to attention, etc. The only unique thing about her is her Low Latent Inhibition disorder, which basically amounts to nothing more than a really good memory. I kept wondering if it would somehow relate to the plot or have some other use, but it's kinda like Nora's iron pills from Hush, Hush. They serve no other purpose than being present. (OH. And there just happens to be a witch on the vampire island who also was a psychologist and able to diagnose this disorder. I swear this book was written with an Easy Button.) The underlying plot with the war between the other covens and Vampire Hunters would have been more interesting if it had more page time instead of just being casually mentioned once or twice. This is certainly not the worst book I've ever read, but I can't really recommend it to anyone either unless you're bored or a huge Twilight/Hush, Hush fan. And even then, this book may be too ridiculous to be true. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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not set
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Jul 26, 2014
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Jul 10, 2014
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Paperback
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| 0062324675
| 9780062324672
| 0062324675
| 3.96
| 60,741
| Feb 10, 2015
| Feb 10, 2015
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it was ok
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I came really close to DNFing this book at 96% on principle alone because I was fed one thing in the beginning of the novel, only to be force fed some
I came really close to DNFing this book at 96% on principle alone because I was fed one thing in the beginning of the novel, only to be force fed something entirely different by the end. My Heart and Other Black Holes had so much potential--a lot of novel accurately described what it feels like to be depressed. So I was expecting a novel about discovering yourself, overcoming depression and finding something to live for. I was excited for it because it's a topic that needs more awareness and understanding. And for about 60% of the book, I got just that, but somewhere along the way, My Heart and Other Black Holes got ridiculously lost and confused. What happened? Be warned: Unhidden spoilers and very personal feelings ahead. Aysel is battling depression in the aftermath of a public tragedy that befell her family. Her father murdered their small town's star athlete, and as a result Aysel carries a burden of guilt of the incident. There's also a part of her that wonders if she, too, will end up like her father. She suffers in silence, never allowing anyone in, even former friends that stood by her after the tragedy, convincing herself that it's for their benefit to not be associated with her. In fact, she's convinced her own mother and siblings would be better off without her, too, going as far to remind her younger sister that they are half-siblings whenever she can. Her pain is real, and as someone who has suffered from depression and social isolation for the past 7 years and anxiety issues for longer than I can remember, I could relate to the "black slug" that she continues to reference throughout the novel. Depression is a hard thing to describe to someone who has never experienced it, and until I personally dealt with it, I can honestly say that I had no idea. Even to this day, I find it difficult to fully explain it to my husband who, bless his little heart, tries his very best to be as understanding as humanly possible. Fully understanding would involve him feeling this heavy thing and I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy, let alone him. But it's great that he listens and it's even better that he's there and has that want to understand. So as I was reading, I found little quotes that perfectly described feelings that I've felt and I read them out loud to him. Depression is like a heaviness that you can't ever escape. It crushes down on you, making even the smallest things like tying your shoes or chewing on toast seem like a twenty-mile hike uphill. Depression is a part of you; it's in your bones and your blood. If I know anything about it, this is what I know: It's impossible to escape. Aysel's voice felt very true to her situation and worked well with a topic as heavy as this. It never felt like it needed more or less of that something for me to connect with what Aysel was saying because I completely understood where she was coming from. I've been there; I'm still there. What people never understand is that depression isn't about the outside; it's about the inside. Something inside me is wrong. Sure, there are things in my life that make me feel alone, but nothing makes me feel more isolated and terrified than my own voice in my head. I also loved how Roman described how he felt about missing his little sister because it reminds me of how I feel when I think of my little brother. The hardest moments are when I miss her in the future. After my brother passed away, for a long time, I had moments where it was like a part of my mind was still in denial. I'd see a commercial and absentmindedly think, "Oh man, wait till I tell Steve about this" and then remember that I couldn't do that and have a long cry. Sometimes I still do that and it hurts so much because life has gone on without him, I've gone on without him, and that feels wrong and unfair. So I completely related to Roman's grief of losing a sibling. And strangely, even though, this book made me remember certain feelings, it never depressed me. It was more like a bunch of "I know that feel, bro" moments while reading. This is where Warga excels in My Heart and Other Black Holes and why the first 50% is so dead on. It's also why I said I was loving it around that marker. Unfortunately, it went downhill from there. Sometimes I just want to have a heart to heart with the book I'm reading. I want to invite it to tea and a spot on my comfy couch and tell them one thing: Look, I know you're a YA novel, but you don't always have to have a romance. With the introduction to Roman, a boy who Aysel finds on a Suicide Partners forum, we get romance. Now, this is partly my fault, because if I actually read blurbs like a normal person before starting a book, I would have seen this part and ran the other way: Even though Aysel and Roman have nothing in common, they slowly start to fill in each others' broken lives. But as their suicide pact becomes more concrete, Aysel begins to question whether she really wants to go through with it. Ultimately, she must choose between wanting to die or trying to convince Roman to live so they can discover the potential of their energy together. This is problematic for me on so many levels. 1. Romanticization I want to make this clear: I am not saying any of this is authorial intent. As soon as you introduce teenage romance to a a topic as heavy as this, you run this risk of it being romanticized. I saw moments of this when Roman started saying things like: "You're you. You get it. you get all of it. And you're sad like me, and screwed up as that is, it's pretty beautiful." He reaches over and brushes his hand across my face, touching my hair. "You're like a gray sky. You're beautiful, even though you don't want to be." This gave me pause because one of the reasons why Roman liked Aysel was because she was depressed and wanted to kill herself. But I was willing to let this go because at this point it seemed like only Roman had these twisted feelings while Aysel was bothered by it. But he was wrong. It's not that I don't want to be. But I never wanted to be beautiful because I was sad. FrozenRobot of all people should know that there is nothing beautiful or endearing or glamorous about sadness. Sadness is only ugly, and anyone who thinks otherwise doesn't get it. I was further bothered when other characters started pairing the couple off, telling them they looked cute together. But I still had hope because Aysel hadn't completely lost her grip on reality... yet. If I have a boyfriend, his name is Death. And I'm pretty sure Roman is in love with him, too. It's like a love triangle gone wrong. Or maybe it's a love triangle gone right: we both get the guy on April 7. I would have much preferred if the romance was left completely out. What Aysel needed was understanding and a person she could talk to. If there's one thing I've learned about depression, it's that it can't be conquered alone. Having someone who can relate to your own situation, who knows exactly how you're feeling, without having to spell it out to them, is invaluable. I have a person like that in my life and she is amazing and thoughtful and strong and she's probably reading this review right now, wondering if I'm talking about her. (Yes, it's you, Kat.) I literally don't know what I'd do if I had never met her. She is my person. So I get the need for her to connect to someone. It does help, but this needed to be accomplished without romanticizing the situation and it wasn't. It's basically the same way I felt about The Fault in Our Stars : great idea, but the romance distracted from the central conflict and somehow made it all about their love. (Which is why I've been saying that Me, Earl and the Dying Girl is a much better alternative to The Fault in Our Stars.) Introducing this romance cheapened the story and the connection I thought I had to the characters. All of a sudden Roman is kissing Aysel, telling her how he wishes things could be different for them in another universe, but that she better not flake out on him come April 7th, that it changes nothing. It went from Aysel overcoming her demons and finding a reason to live to I'm in love with Roman, but he still wants to kill himself, let me save him with the new found love in my heart. And just no. 2. Love is the Cure-All There comes a point in My Heart and Other Black Holes where Aysel has this AH-HA moment (ironically, sometime after kissing Roman--gag me) and decides she really doesn't want to die after all. Apparently, all it took was someone telling her it wasn't her fault for what her father did and she magically gets over her depression. Why? Because someone she has grown to care about accepted her and changed her in less than a month. There was way too much change in her attitude and outlook on life and not enough catalyst to justify it. That deeply bothered me. I understand that she made a commitment to be stronger than her sadness, it was a great start. But depression is more than just sadness and is not something you can just decide to "get over" one day, especially if you've been suffering for years and are at the point where you are contemplating suicide. If the word "sad" were a bucket, depression would overflow it ten times over. Being depressed isn't a choice, it's a disease, a war within yourself. One where everyday is its own battle. It's not something that can be overcome by love alone. As awesome as that sounds, it's unrealistic. 3. Loose Ends Aysel did have people in her life who was trying to reach out to her before Roman entered into the picture. Instead of the reader seeing Aysel get the closure she's been desperately craving, we get Aysel worried over Roman and his suicide attempt. Of course, this is why the romance felt so out of place and inappropriate to me: it monopolized the central conflict--Aysel's battle--and morphed into it being about Aysel saving Roman with love. What I wanted was more closure with Aysel and her family. I was hoping we'd get to see them visiting her dad, finally letting her sister Georgia into her life, reconnecting with her mother, seeing a doctor for her problems. Asyel's broken family life was one of the biggest things that led to her depression and I was very disappointed to see this not addressed in the end. (Side note: I am scratching my head at Aysel's mother's decision making. She willingly left her daughter with her father knowing that he had violent tendencies? Never reached out to her further when she got remarried and had more kids? And then she was shocked to learn about her depression? Shocked that Aysel didn't come to her? HUH?) By that time I was at 96% of the novel, I wanted to rage quit because I knew the book couldn't pull off what I needed it to. I was right because the final scene is full of Roman in the hospital after his failed suicide attempt and Aysel there confessing her love. "Because loving you saved me. It's made me see myself differently, see the world differently. I owe you everything for that." So much no. My Heart and Other Black Holes could have been amazing. It could have been the book I'd recommend to really help people understand what it feels like to be depressed. The descriptions of grief were spot on and genuine. But the glamorized-suicidal-romantic-teen-love-fest killed any hope of redemption. I love a hope-filled story as much as the next person, and oh how I wish depression could just be cured with a little bit of love. I wish loving my husband and kids and them loving me in return could fix me. Love is a lot of things, but it is not a magic pill. This is real life, and real life is a lot more complicated and messy than that. What My Heart and Other Black Holes does do is give off a false hope with the road it took to achieving it almost impossible to attain. And that, frankly, depresses the hell out of me. ARC provided by publisher in exchange for an honest review. More reviews and other fantastical things at Cuddlebuggery. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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not set
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Apr 17, 2015
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Jun 20, 2014
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Hardcover
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| 1595148035
| 4.25
| 306,765
| Apr 28, 2015
| Apr 28, 2015
|
it was ok
| My original review for this book consisted of the following statement: Ugh. So boring. And for some reason those three words have kinda pissed peeps off My original review for this book consisted of the following statement: Ugh. So boring. And for some reason those three words have kinda pissed peeps off and landed me in some hot water elsewhere. But no matter. I feel like enough time has passed for me to give my true feelings. So here they are: This book is mediocre. There's nothing special about it. Nothing groundbreaking is contained in its pages. In other words, it's average. And that's what a 2 star rating for me is. I'm one of those reviewers who actually goes by the Goodreads ratings. 2 stars means I liked it, but it wasn't awesome. It also means I can see why others liked it. What it doesn't mean is that the book has no redeemable qualities or that your love for it is misplaced. I also want to point out that I really like Sabaa Tahir and have had the wonderful opportunity to meet her in person. She's truly lovely and I'm happy her novel has done so well. So take several seats if you've come here to troll me. Good day, sir. So anyway, now that that's out of the way, back to An Ember in the Ashes. Sometimes the problem with being a book blogger is that I know too much. Publishers love getting bloggers involved in campaigns to help promote their books because it's a fantastic way to generate hype and buzz for a title. Unfortunately for me, this sometimes means books are overhyped BEFORE I even get an ARC, let alone a finished copy. So the expectations I had for An Ember in the Ashes were ridiculously high and probably impossible to meet. I think my primary issue with An Ember in the Ashes is that it bit off more than it could chew and, therefore, only began to scratch the surface. The halfway developed characters made for uninteresting, multi-POV narration. Even though I listened to the audio version, it only mildly helped the situation. And usually when I run into characters who aren't fleshed out completely, there's the plot to compensate, but not even that worked for me because everything moved at a snail's pace with no clear indication which direction the finish line lay. Laia's role as a rebel was probably my least favorite aspect of the novel. Not only was she absolutely dreadful at it, but the rebels seemed shocked to find Laia hurt on a number of occasions. Things like this was worthy of an eyebrow raise because Laia was attempting to spy on the most dangerous person in the story, The Commandant, knowing that their previous spies were tortured and killed. So why are Laia's bruises a surprise? Elias' POV was no better, to be honest. He spent most of his time mulling over his constant mommy issues and romantic feelings for his best friend. So basically, it was a lot of wangst that I could have done without. Also, he pulls a bit of a dick move that momentarily made me saw red. Not to mention Elias' character arc seems to revolve around a Prophecy and I'm just kinda over that in YA right now. Still, since this is a 2-star review, there are some things that I did like. - The commandant was a fantastic character. Deliciously evil and sadistic in all the right ways. She seemed to remain the most consistent and interesting throughout the book and I found myself enjoying scenes that she cameoed in. - Elias' best friend, Helena. Even though I didn't exactly care for the romance, I enjoy the tension it created and that it caused his best friend to have more page time. She was such a badass and I loved her. Also, I started seeing some forms of a love rhombus and oh god please don't. - The battle near the end was a surprise I did not expect. Tahir ended up killing off a few side characters I didn't realize I actually cared about. The audio narration was especially wonderful during that part. All in all, it's not terrible, but also not knock-your-socks-off-amazing either. I don't feel invested enough to read the sequel since I found this one to be such a chore to get through in the first place. However, if I start seeing whispers of a Laia and Helena ship starting to form in book two, I might just need to rethink everything I thought I knew. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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not set
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Apr 24, 2015
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Jan 20, 2014
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Hardcover
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| 0062059947
| 9780062059949
| 0062059947
| 4.08
| 1,615,084
| Apr 24, 2012
| Mar 26, 2013
|
did not like it
|
I read this book for one reason: To find out why it's a New York Times Best-selling series. After drinking several beers and banging my head against t
I read this book for one reason: To find out why it's a New York Times Best-selling series. After drinking several beers and banging my head against the wall after reading The Selection, I can kinda see why. And to be fair, it's probably not the absolute worst book I've read. (I mean, there's still that time I read Starcrossed by Josephine Angelini...) Still, it is by no means something that I'd recommend. I know it might seem like I detested The Selection based on my status updates, but to be perfectly honest, I haven't had this much fun reading a terrible book since Midnight Sun . Reasons Why This Book is Made of LOLZ: Character names: If there's one thing that I just don't understand about The Selection, it's why more creativity couldn't be used on character names. Really, I'm not asking for much here, but America SINGER? Character names based on their occupation? WHY? What's funny is when other characters ask America what she does for a living because THEY HAVE NO IDEA WHAT IT COULD POSSIBLY BE. House of Mary Sues: It might not surprise you that this book is about a super special snowflake, but did you know that virtually ALL the characters are just as special? The competition in The Selection isn't just about which girl can win Maxon's heart. Oh no. It's about who's the most special of them all! And since most of them are so damn selfless, they end up tripping over themselves, giving each other compliment after compliment. ("No, you're the prettiest! You'd make such a great Queen. I'm nothing but a cardboard cutout excuse for a supporting character." *giggle*) I shit you not. In fact, even Maxon and Aspen are competing, too. In my hands I hold a royal flush of Mary Sues. The love triangle: I almost always dislike love triangles. It turns the female character into someone who can only focus on the two boys and becomes a much less interesting person. Her entire story revolves around the boys and which one is the "most perfect" for her. In effect, she is defined by this love triangle and her story becomes a shipping war. I was hoping The Selection wouldn't fall into that trap and was ecstatic that America was leaving Aspen behind when she left to live at the palace. But I knew things couldn't be that simple since he eventually shows up at the right fucking moment to add unnecessary romantic tension. Because what a coincidence that a poor boy, who's a glorified custodian, would find his way all the way to the palace and a guard right outside America's door! WOW! It must be fate... or perhaps bad writing. Let's go with the latter. So now we have both boys back into America's life. What's a 16-year-old to do? Who are you going to choose, America?! "No, I'm not choosing him or you. I'm choosing me." Bullshit. America spends majority of the book struggling with who to choose. And I would wager that the other books have the very same struggle. If there is one thing this book was good at, it was its predictability. Also, did I mention how America has never had a female friend? The explanation for this is that she is always working and was homeschooled. But someone she made time to have a steady boyfriend (Aspen) for 2 years. She even mentions his sisters, but apparently, they aren't friends. Even more, I found it super strange that she mentions that Maxon would have been someone she befriended at home had he been a neighbor. So I guess America only had time to make male friends back at home. It's after she is forced to be around other females that she makes female friends. The thing about her female friends is that the only thing they ever talk about is Maxon. Though he is a supporting character to America, he holds the center of this novel, making it complete one-dimensional, lacking any character depth. It's a real shame because the premise of The Selection isn't entirely a horrible one. But instead, Cass sets up a plot that is so staged that I couldn't possibly take it seriously. Supporting characters are weaker to make America seem stronger. Supporting character make ridiculous suggestions so America can seem smarter. Rebels attack the palace for... reasons not expanded on because it has nothing to do with the romance. But, hey, those scenes make America look like a leader, so why not? (What really kills me is how America tells Maxon that she "just needs time" to get over her ex-boyfriend, but he has no idea it's Aspen, the very guard he stationed right outside her bedroom at night. And she doesn't seem to have any inclination to tell Maxon either. Also, Maxon doesn't own a set of balls.) Like I said earlier, I can sort of see the appeal of this book and I've been told it's really popular among younger readers. Two hot boys, pretty dresses, a light and fluffy read. There is nothing wrong with these things. I occasionally like them in my books as well, depending on what kind of mood I'm in. But I would have liked the novel to be about more than just a girl choosing between each guy. We know nothing about her beaus outside of how "cute" they are to America. What are their traits, strengths, morals? How do they individually enhance America's life? What do these male characters represent on a larger scale? How do they even differ? The Selection doesn't even begin to touch on any of those questions because the story doesn't actually leave you with any to ponder. What it does leave you with is a promise of a love triangle from hell and a sinking sense that the remainder of the series could only be one thing: a waste of time. My paperback came with a sneak peek of book 2 and I was very underwhelmed even more than I was with The Selection. She starts off book 2 with the difficult choice of Maxon or Aspen. I think I will spare myself. So the question is: Is this book worth a read? In my opinion, no. Alternately, there's The Jewel that has a very similar feel, but is an overall stronger novel in every possible way. Read that instead. Steph... out! More reviews and other fantastical things at Cuddlebuggery. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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not set
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Jan 30, 2015
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Sep 23, 2013
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Paperback
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| 3.91
| 20,222
| Sep 15, 2013
| Sep 17, 2013
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did not like it
|
DNF. I thought for sure I would love this since a few of my friends highly recommended it to me, but I hated it. The main characters are terrible and
DNF. I thought for sure I would love this since a few of my friends highly recommended it to me, but I hated it. The main characters are terrible and underdeveloped. Let me count the ways: Iolanthe is virtually a Mary Sue and can do no wrong. She is The One with the power to save them because of reasons and has the BEST of luck. *wink, wink* Prince Titus is a spoiled brat that wants everything his way. He even tries to manipulate Iolanthe several times to get her to do things by preying on her feelings. There’s also a romance that came out of nowhere, horrible world building (GAH, this is a fantasy novel, FFS!) and info-dumping all over the place. Also, I hated the narration. Maybe I should have not gone with the audio, but I tried the print too and it’s just a big old NOPE for me. [image] ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Dec 29, 2013
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Dec 31, 2013
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Sep 22, 2013
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Hardcover
| |||||||||||||||||
| 9780990013808
| B00G4USKJ8
| 3.49
| 222
| Oct 23, 2013
| Oct 29, 2013
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did not like it
|
Actual rating: 1.5 stars I should start this review with a disclaimer: I am friendly with this author and I have a lot of respect for her as a fellow b Actual rating: 1.5 stars I should start this review with a disclaimer: I am friendly with this author and I have a lot of respect for her as a fellow blogger. However, I hope to review this book with as little bias as possible. Also, this is a review of an early e-ARC and I've been informed that the finished copy may have had a few significant changes. I'll try and indicated that, but I haven't checked the e-ARC against the finished copy, so please keep that in mind while reading this review. Initially I was very excited to start Unbreathable because not only is Sci-Fi one of my favorite genres, but I also love when books take place on different planets or in space. I figured Unbreathable would fit the bill since it's toted at a Sci-Fi adventure. Unfortunately, I didn't end up loving it as much as I thought I would. 1. Pacing About half of Unbreathable's problems could have been solved if the pacing was a little slower. The beginning was entirely too fast and didn't give the reader a chance to get to know the main character, Lissa. Instead, we are dumped into a situation, given a brief background and expected to simply keep up with the events that followed. The problem with that was that Lissa supposedly undergoes quite a bit of character development after she starts combat training. Afterwards, we are told how much of a shy girl she was, how she was now stronger and more confident. But since we didn't get to know Lissa before that event, there was nothing there for me to make that connection or see that growth. Laziaf's writing style also conflicted with the pacing. The use of short sentences and very descriptive passages was lovely by itself, but made the book feel like it should have been moving slower vs. the events happening back to back. 2. Character Development I didn't connect with any of the characters and disliked them for the most part. There's an evil queen, an evil brother, the love interest, the girl with the power to save everyone. It was all very run of the mill and lacked depth. Why was the queen evil? What was her motivation? It felt like she was evil for the sake of being evil. There was also Mia's character that confused me. What was her purpose besides being a filler character? There wasn't anything more to these characters besides what their role involved plot-wise. Why did Lissa seem to forgive everyone, even the bad guys? Oh, you've killed off people forever and even tried to kill Lissa and her family/friends and now you're dying or you're sorry? No problem! Lissa will forgive you! Not every character can be redeemable, but that is exactly what happened in Unbreathable. It didn't make Lissa seem forgiving or mature, but the contrary: naïve and lacking self-preservation. 3. The Romance & Plot If you prefer your Sci-Fi with a stronger romantic focus, then there is a chance Unbreathable will be for you. However, if you are like me and prefer the romance to take a backseat to the plot and action, Unbreathable may disappoint you. Even though the events and plot moves fast, the romantic scenes were well-written and were clearly the strongest parts of the novel. In fact, if Laziaf's next novel were a contemporary romance, I'd be all over it. As for Unbreathable's romance, it tried to do entirely too much. There was the main romantic arc between Lissa and Julian that could have been sweet had it had proper time to develop. Then, there was the side romance between Lissa and Rowen that was strange, creepy and uncomfortable. At the same time, the main focus of the book is supposed to be the race for earth, but those parts are rushed just to get to the next kissing scene (the best parts of the novel were the kissing scenes). I would have liked if Unbreathable made up its mind on what kind of book it wanted to be. Did it want to be an epic love story with a Sci-Fi backdrop (Space Opera) or did it want to be the action novel that it was marketed as? Trying to accomplish both of these things, left the book wide open to plot holes and, ultimately, feeling incomplete for me. I didn't really buy the love between Julian and Lissa, though, this may be due to the beginning moving too fast. Their feelings did seem to develop very strongly and quickly, allowing Lissa to call Julian "The One" not long into their relationship. This was very unbelievable to me since Lissa had been raised in isolation from everyone besides her father. She had zero experience with boys and love (something she admits to), but somehow ends up falling for one of the first boys she interacts with. Then, enter Rowen, the bad boy. I believe his romance with Lissa was introduced to give Lissa more choices, but he was not redeemable in my eyes and I really don't understand why Lissa liked him, and eventually, confessed to loving him in the span of a few days. (This may be one of the things that is changed in the final copy.) I just couldn't ship these peeps. In conclusion, Unbreathable didn't measure up to my expectations. I needed more plot, more character development and better world building to connect to the story. While the premise promised an exciting adventure, I found it lacked the action and finesse to pull it all together. e-ARC was provided by the author for an honest review. More reviews and other fantastical things at Cuddlebuggery Book Blog. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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not set
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Oct 13, 2013
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Aug 22, 2013
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ebook
| |||||||||||||||
| 1490322345
| 9781490322346
| 1490322345
| 2.92
| 84
| Jul 13, 2013
| Jul 26, 2013
|
did not like it
|
Actual rating: ZERO STARS. There is always a certain nervousness that comes with being the first critical review of a book. Not only are you instantly Actual rating: ZERO STARS. There is always a certain nervousness that comes with being the first critical review of a book. Not only are you instantly the black sheep, but you may be worried how others will react. Now, combine that fear with the fact that your review may make a rather bold statement. Perhaps, it's something along the lines of accusing the book of being a direct rip off of one of the world's most beloved children's novels: Harry Potter. But, yeah, I'm about to take it there. I was recommended this book by a fellow "blogger" or so I thought at the time. No matter. I'm determined to let this book stand on its own merits, which are few and far between. I was told this book was an amazing new series. That it was original, exciting, funny, entertaining, etc. Adela Arthur and the Creator's Clock isn't any of those things. Right from the beginning, before I was bitch slapped with glaring HP similarities, my eyes were accosted by poor use of the English language in the prologue. There were sentences repeated in an overall general condescending tone, choppy writing style that mostly consisted of very simple sentences and awkward sentence structure that was clearly attempting to be prestigious. Never have I ever encountered so many cons within just the first 5 pages of a book. But here I was. I had accepted this book for review and when I get print copies, I feel this moral obligation to finish or at least give it the good college try. Yet, as I continued to read, the novel never improved. With almost every character or plot deceive, there was a clear reference to either Chronicles of Narnia or Harry Potter, the latter stronger than the former. Shall we do a quick check list? (I attempted to draw a vinn diagram, but there were too many similarities and it wouldn't all fit in the middle.) -MC is orphaned by the villain (the mother risks her life to save the MC) -MC grows up away from her "magical" world -MC finds out she belongs to a very powerful family -MC is the only one who can stop the villain -MC goes back to her world and studies at a boarding school castle that has 4 houses (each mirroring one of Hogwarts') -Everyone seems to be afraid of saying the villain's name except for the headmaster -There is a Hermione like character named Hector -There is a Malfoy like character who attempts to a form friendship with the MC because of her powerful family. MC refuses, embarrassing the Malfoy like character. -Villain has a special interest in coming for MC and attempts to enter into MC's mind -MC must take "mind defense" private lessons to keep villain out of her mind -MC joins the school's sports team (think Quidditch, but under water) -MC finds out her mother was a legend at the school's sport and everyone tells her, "It's in your blood!" -The school's dining hall is just as magical as Hogwarts', changing its decor magically -The school is run by elves -The villain mind controls a student to cause the MC problems at the school -At Christmas, the MC receives a mysterious gift that was her late father's accompanied with an anonymous note -One of the MC's school books screams. (I mean, c'mon. Really?!) -The villain has Deatheater like companions. They even travel in black, hooded robes. -Everyone seems to know the MC's name ("It's Adela Arthur!") -Birds deliver the mail -Adela and her posse end up in a forbidden forest, fighting an ogre, rescuing unicorns. *sigh* (There are more smaller references, but I honestly can't be fucked to pour any more energy into this book to list them.) Now, sure there were some differences like the MC's blatant lack of self-preservation that would rival Bella Swan's. After a classmate dies from an attack from a creature from her home world, she discovers that she must go back and fight the villain that no one can seem to defeat. The same villain that appears to be eating her people for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Does it matter to her that she knows nothing of her power or her world? No! Does it matter that many people sacrificed their lives for her so that she never had to come back to have her "mighty power" taken by the villain? NO! But what does Adela do when she finally gets to her world? She complains about the burden of all the responsibilities she now has. She misses the human world. Why did she ever journey to this evil place? OH WOE IS ME. MY LIFE SUCKS! To put it bluntly, Adela is a brat and whenever she whines hard enough about anything, another character comes around or a plot device shows up to solve her problems. To say this was frustrating is an understatement. Since I was apparently reading a proof, I can't comment too much on the grammar used. However, there were many instances in the narrative when repeat phrases or sentences over again on the same page or improper use of inflection. If character is yelling at another one, why not use exclamation points? Why is the reader constantly told by the narrator how a sentence is to be interpreted? This kind of writing style didn't work for me and made me consider on more than one occasion to whip out my red pen. The world building leaves much to be desired, though, this is partly because there is hardly any world building at all. The most the reader is told is a very general story on how the magical world was formed and how the villain came into power (think: Voldemort). After that, Adela and the reader find out more by little info-dumps from other characters that often didn't work well with the novel's swift pacing. In conclusion: I personally could only find one small redeeming factor: the author's attempts to include a lot of equally strong female characters. However, the cons heavily out way that one small ray of light. I've never gone so far as to tell another reader to not read a book, but in this case, I really can't make a good argument for someone to waste their time reading a Harry Potter knock-off. If you're looking to relive the magical world in which J.K. Rowling worked incredibly hard on for years, my advice would be to blow the dust off of the Philosopher's Stone, journey back to Hogwarts and don't look back. **Small note on the controversy surrounding this book and author** I'm not sure if I should be extremely creeped out that someone went to such great lengths to get me to read a book or incredibly flattered that someone valued my opinion so much that they took to stalking me with various account across various social media avenues. P.S. Why is there a big fat grammatical error in the title (On the cover)? Yikes. ARC was received from the author for an honest review. More reviews and other fantastical things at Cuddlebuggery Book Blog. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Jul 10, 2013
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Jul 25, 2013
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Jul 07, 2013
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Paperback
| ||||||||||||||
| 0062118811
| 9780062118813
| 0062118811
| 3.82
| 2,742
| Sep 17, 2013
| Sep 17, 2013
|
did not like it
| Actual rating: 1.5 stars One of the biggest reasons for me wanting to read 3:59 was because it took place in a location very familiar to me. Like many Actual rating: 1.5 stars One of the biggest reasons for me wanting to read 3:59 was because it took place in a location very familiar to me. Like many other readers, when I hear about a book that's set in my state or near my hometown, I feel this incessant need to read it by any means necessary. Unfortunately, 3:59 proved to be one big fat disappointment. The book follows science wiz Josie Bryne who starts having dreams at 3:59 of a girl who looks just like her. As her own life begins to fall apart around her (she finds her boyfriend and best friend sleeping together, her parents divorce and she loses her job), she desperately wants the life she catches glimpses of when she sleeps. The girl Jo seems to have everything Josie wants: A perfect boyfriend, happily married parents and a perfect life. But when she finally gets the opportunity to cross over to Jo's world, she learns things are far from perfect. This sounded like such an interesting concept with it being pitched as Parent Trap meets Event Horizon. I don't even know what Event Horizon is (Okay, so Kat says it's a really scary horror movie. 3:59 is neither of those things.), but Parent Trap (the one with Lindsay Lohan before her life took a decided turn for the worse) is one of my all-time favorite movies. Throw in some sci-fi alternate universe action and I'm totally there. Sadly, 3:59 bares no resemblance to Parent Trap at all and I really need for Harper to stop this whole "Awesome movie/book/concept" meets "Even more Awesome movie/book/concept" thing that they do. Frankly, they are usually so far off and misleading. It's like they're overcompensating for their novels. And let me tell you, there was some serious overcompensating going on for 3:59. The Writing Style: So I took 3:59 with me one afternoon while I journeyed on the metro to my favorite children's book store. I read exactly 5 pages and had a sinking suspicion that this book was not going to be my thang. The writing style immediately had a very choppy weird feeling that never felt natural or smooth even as the novel progressed. There were inner monologues from the narrator found in between each section of dialogue, making the exchange seem very long. Someone would say something to Josie and then there'd be a paragraph monologue about what she was thinking or a bit of info-dumping. I couldn't help but to wonder what Josie would be doing in these time spans instead of answering the character's question. Was she staring at them while her brain worked to keep up with her mouth? Perhaps. Flat Characters: I don't think there is a single character in this book that I liked or saw growth from. Everyone remained exactly the same from beginning to end. The narrator tells us that Josie had changed, that she was smarter and stronger, but I never got a sense of any of that. Each character had one trait that they encompassed and that's basically what they were for the entire novel. The Plot: 3:59 relies heavily on science to explain why things are the way they are. It's supposed to be clearly logical. Josie and her friend, Penelope, are supposed to appear smart. And I do appreciate McNeil having intelligent female protagonists solving the mystery. My problem was that since the science behind the book was so very complex, I had an extremely hard time seeing a high school student (or several of them!) knowing that much at such a young age. Is everyone a physics prodigy and able to keep up with all those formulas? Josie just happens to know more physics than her teachers? But, okay. Maybe I could get behind this idea if all the science jargon didn't create so many opportunities to info dump. Let's be honest, hardly any readers will know what Josie knows. So whenever Josie and Penelope went off of their science talk, there was conveniently another character in the room asking for the For Dummies version. Look, I am not the kind of reader who is easily impressed with an author's ability to recite Big Science Words. So I need to be able to see some type of explanation, and I never really got that. Instead, I got more questions: Where did the mirror in Jo's room come from despite Josie never having one in her room until she moved it there? Why did Josie only start having the dreams recently even though the connection to both worlds had been open for 6 months? Then we move on to the actual logical fails 3:59 was filled with. There's this part in the book where Josie and Nick go on a tour of Fort Meade (a highly guarded military facility that houses different government divisions like NSA) where they are given a tour by one of the Directors. Somehow, Josie convinces the Director (because he's attracted to her) to give them a tour of a floor they have no business being on. Somehow, conveniently the halls are deserted. That is so inaccurate, I can't even. Then she conveniently leaves her purse on that floor in the bathroom only to later bat her eyelashes at the Director for his access card so she can retrieve it alone. I understand that this is fiction, but Josie was given way too many free passes in this novel. I don't care if she batted her eyelashes so hard that her eyes got stuck in a permanent twitch, there is no way someone is handing over their security badge at the Fort. And there is no way she would make it back up to that same off-limits floor with no one stopping her. You can't just walk around the Fort unescorted. It doesn't happen for security reasons. Where was the research done here? But I get it. Sometimes you just have to go with it when it comes to some books (hard as that is for me most times). This book was supposed to be built around scientific logic, so I expected basic common sense rules to be applied in other aspects as well. Clearly, I was asking too much because later in the book, Josie just thinks to ask her father (in the alternate universe) to steal a government laser from Fort Meade. The exchange went ridiculously something like this: "Hey, daddy? Can you steal that government laser for the highly guarded military facility? I need it. I love you so much! xoxoxo!" "Anything for you, princess! Shall I pick you up some Burger King on the way out the Fort?" Are you kidding? For Josie to be so smart, I am actually surprised she thought this was legit a possibility even after her real mother specifically told her to trust no one. Then, right after a character is brutally eaten to death by the nox (creatures that haunt the alternate universe and eat people) right in front of Josie and Nick, these fools start making out right there. Things get hot and heavy, Josie has a moment when she realizes she's in love and she reaches up and grabs the dude's severed ankle. "OMG, I freakin' love this guy I'm making out with!" "This is so hot." "Oh, shit. Is that a foot? Gah! How did this body get here?!" "Oh, right. He just died." Gag me, please. It was there 3:59 and I had a strange turn of events. The book went from giving me a lot of these moments: [image] To where I could barely suppress a laugh: [image] Honestly, though, I was still being entertained... just not in the way the author probably intended it. Insta-Love: So as if this couldn't get any worse, this happens: She'd never felt this way with her ex-boyfriend. This was something different. Something deeper. Even though they had only known each other a few days, Nick knew her better than anyone else, and loved her even more because of it. - Quoted from 3:59 ARC, page 348. Sure, sure. She's in love with this guy even though they've had maybe a handful of conversations (all of them related to the plot and had nothing to do with actually finding out things about each other), one of which was sparked by him pointing a gun at her. Boyfriend of the year! I never once felt the connection between the two. They were these character stuck in this situation and randomly, romance was thrown in because, hey, every YA book has to have its romance. (Obviously, that was sarcasm.) But in the end, the romance didn't add anything extra to the reading experience and felt contrived and forced. Predictability: However, I might have even forgiven all of that if only the entire mystery hadn't been so predictable. I know 3:59 is being pitched as a sci-fi thriller, but I never once felt the urgency because things were so painfully obvious. I knew who the bad guy was, what happened to her parents, who was attacking the humans, etc. Josie is depicted as a really smart protagonist, but again, spouting off science words is not enough if the reader is two steps ahead of your detective. The really sad part is that the mystery wasn't bad at all, but really lacked better foreshadowing and a much tighter plot. If I've already figured out the mystery by 50%, there's really no reason for me to stick around. Not only was the plot predictable, but the character actions. And this is where I feel good old fashion character growth would have helped. Josie, as trusting and sweet as she was depicted, was, frankly, TSTL. I don't think this was intentional, but when you keep telling the reader how smart your character is, but they continually do really dumb things, it rarely works for me. To Conclude: In the end, 3:59 didn't live up to my expectations. Had the plot and mystery been tighter, the characters better developed and the romance cleaned up, I would have probably really loved this one. Would I recommend this? My first reaction is, "Eh, no." But I do think if the above doesn't bother you much in novels, you may enjoy this one. I would, instead, strongly recommend checking out a sample to see if the writing style works for you and then abandoning all sense of logic at page one. 1 star because it's not the worst book I've read .5 star for somehow keeping me entertained despite my frustrations ARC was received from the publisher via Young Adult Books Central. More reviews and other fantastical things at Cuddlebuggery Book Blog. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Aug 03, 2013
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Aug 08, 2013
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Jun 17, 2013
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Hardcover
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| 3.95
| 757,361
| Sep 10, 2013
| Sep 10, 2013
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it was ok
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It's time for Rainbow Rowell and I to break up. I didn't want to admit it, but after reading all of her books now, I can safely say her writing style j It's time for Rainbow Rowell and I to break up. I didn't want to admit it, but after reading all of her books now, I can safely say her writing style just isn't for me. It's like that time I cheerfully broke up with Cassandra Clare, though, admittedly, over different reasons. But this time it hurts. It wounds me to realize that I can't join in with all my friends, ride the Rainbow iz Queen bandwagon, roll around in a meadow of flowers that magically whispers witty Rainbow Rowell quotes and feast at the Fangirl banquet. I know it may seem foolish to be disappointed. I mean, what can a person physically do? No book can be universally loved and I did give it the good old college try. Here's the thing: For all intents and purposes, I should have loved Fangirl. The strange thing about my reading experience with Fangirl is that I actually deeply connected with all of the characters on a personal level. As a person who suffers from anxiety and has dealt with a father who was admitted to a mental hospital when I was a teen, I sympathized with Cath. I remembered those feelings of craving independence from my sibling as Wren did. I understand having an intense passion for a fandom and being at midnight parties, waiting for the next book in your favorite series. I even connected with Laura's inability to handle life as a mom. In a lot of ways, quite a few of the experiences these characters dealt with, I have dealt with. For that reason alone, I gave this book an extra star. Unfortunately, that was not enough for me. Rainbow Rowell lives and breathes characters. They are fluid, realistic (for the most part... Eleanor & Park excluded), memorable, flawed, and relatable. These aren't the type of characters that stay on the page. They shout, scream and jump out at you because Rowell is just that good. But it's also her flaw because that's all she writes, characters. In fact, many times it feels like her stories have neither a beginning or an ending, with the reader viewing a piece of a character's life through a small window of time. So I'm convinced that Rowell can't plot her way out of a brown paper bag. I know that might anger some of you, but hear me out. Fangirl is a very character-driven novel and doesn't actually have a plot. Rowell's created these characters, placed them in situations and forced them to react to said situations. She's great at that. But where does the book go from there? Which direction are the characters moving? What are they moving towards? What's the goal of the novel? These are some questions I've asked myself through every one of her books. And I often feel like I'm floundering around in her prose like someone who's gone swimming in the ocean drunk. Everything around these characters is static. Only they move from point A to point B to further the story along. Because of this, if you don't happen to fall in love with the characters early on, the story doesn't work. Rainbow Rowell's characters ARE her stories. One thing positive that came out of reading all of Rowell's books is that, I've learned that I am not the character-driven sort of reader. I'm more of a reader that needs a strong plot to see me to the end of the book. I can deal with unlikable characters or characters that have issues if the plot can save the day. I have the patience of a fruit fly and if I'm expected to sit around reading about a character who is waiting for something to happen to them, then forget it. You've lost me as a reader. The second issue I had with Fangirl was Rowell, once again, tip-toeing around elephants in her stories. Her novels are so focused on her characters that she never addresses things that feel essential to the plot. With Fangirl is was the slash fic and how it relates to fandom. With Landline it was the magical phone. With Eleanor and Park it was race and Park's self acceptance. It's the same formula for each of her books over and over again. Step 1: Develop characters for half the book! Step 2: Introduce something heavy to center my quirky characters around something. Step 3: End the book without tying up loose ends because they served my purpose and Honey Rainbow don't care. It's the most frustrating thing about her books! It's like she dances around the heavy stuff on purpose! There is almost always something that feels deliberately left out, basically anything that could remotely make the story more interesting. Which leads me to my third point... Fangirl is boring. While I could relate to Cath, she is the dullest person to read about ever. The only scenes that she showed life with was either with her dad or Levi when she suddenly had a personality and wanted to be witty. Those scenes were the best in the book and what kept me reading. But they were few and far between and I started to question why this book was over 400 pages. Not even the fan fiction or cute romance could save this book. And let's talk about this Simon and Baz fan fiction. Clearly it is a homage to Harry Potter, yet, Harry Potter happens to exist in the same universe as Simon Snow? No, I don't buy that. That's a plotberg if I ever saw one. The fan fiction sections in the novel really didn't do much for me. This isn't because it wasn't good, but because it didn't have enough page time for me to attempt to connect with the Simon and Baz. I did feel like bashing my head in when Cath would read Levi the long sections of her fic, so I guess they did spawn some type of emotional reaction in me, albeit, not a positive one. Also, did Cath ever finish her fic? Rowell wrote so much about Simon and Baz and just completely left that open... AGAIN FRUSTRATING. Side note: I'm really curious to see how Rowell manages to write Carry On, Cath's fan fiction of Simon Snow, without people directly comparing it to Harry Potter. I mean, essentially it's Draco/Harry fic. But since monetizing fan fiction is now a thing, *cough* Cassandra Clare, E.L. James *cough* who am I to stop her? To conclude, Fangirl ultimately let me down, but I'm not entirely disappointed that I read it. I learned something about myself as a reader and I did gain a few good laughs from the clever banter. I wouldn't call this a terrible book, and hey, it was better than Eleanor and Park. So there's always that. I'm such a goddamn hipster, I swear. More reviews and other fantastical things at Cuddlebuggery. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Jan 19, 2015
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Jan 27, 2015
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Apr 28, 2013
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Kindle Edition
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| 006213017X
| 9780062130174
| 006213017X
| 3.59
| 762
| Apr 22, 2014
| May 27, 2014
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it was ok
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SO DISAPPOINTED! I loved Arclight and couldn't wait to read this, but it let me down big time. Biggest issue: it wasn't very exciting for me. I don't
SO DISAPPOINTED! I loved Arclight and couldn't wait to read this, but it let me down big time. Biggest issue: it wasn't very exciting for me. I don't know if I was just in one of those reading slump moods, or if it was Meridian, but something wasn't working out. Everything moved so slowly and I found myself losing interest as the book went on. Quite a few times, I almost DNF'd just to spare myself, but I was really curious about the ending and if Marina would end up with the guy I shipped her with. NOPE. T_T [image] ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Apr 12, 2014
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May 03, 2014
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Apr 17, 2013
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Hardcover
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| 0061255637
| 9780061255632
| 0061255637
| 2.97
| 2,220
| May 21, 2013
| May 21, 2013
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did not like it
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EDIT: Okay, here's the thing, I feel the need to clarify a few things. This review is in no way, shape or form alluding to the fact that the author is
EDIT: Okay, here's the thing, I feel the need to clarify a few things. This review is in no way, shape or form alluding to the fact that the author is sexist. Are there characters in the novel that are depicted as sexist? Yes. Do I think the author is sexist and that he was trying to write a sexist book? No. Did the book come off as sexist to me? Yes. This is just an interpretation of the novel and has nothing to do with the author's intention. Just so we're clear. -------------- Actual rating: NO STARS I can't believe I survived. Should I laugh? Cry? Definitely both. [image] Full disclosure: I went into this book with a suspicion that I might not enjoy it after my bookish twin panned it. But since I requested this book and was sent a paper ARC from the publisher, I thought I'd try to go in with an open mind and try it out. That was probably not the best decision I've ever made in life. It goes without saying that this review will be long, contain spoilers and quotes that might possibly make your eyes bleed. RUN WHILE YOU STILL CAN. There are two reasons why I felt I NEEDED to have this book. (1) Just look at that cover! (2) The blurb made it sound like a fun summer read. On both of those counts I was mislead, but especially when it came to the blurb. If you think this book has romance, guess again. If you think it will keep you on the edge of your seat, guess again. If you expect this book to be coherent in any fashion, guess again! What you will get with September Girls is an anti-climatic plot, slut shaming, gendered language, poorly represented feminism and sexism. Oh and penises. Isn't it everything you could have hoped and dreamed for in a mermaid novel? Terrible Characters: Okay so the book follows this boy named Sam. His mother has just left him, his brother, Jeff, and his dad for some mysterious placed called Women's Land (more on that in a bit.) Sam's dad quits his job and they journey to this strange beach that is brimming with girls. Not just any girls. Highly sexualized, blond, perky breasted, toned-bottomed, tanned girls. And guess what? They all want Sam. Sam, who slut shames, starting from page 25 where he reminisces about groping a girl's breasts "through her deliberately slutty Alice in Wonderland costume." Sam, you can't feel a girl up and then slut shame her once you've gotten what you want, silly! Then you have Jeff, who's only care in the world is having sex as much as possible over the summer. He doesn't particularly care who it's with as long as she is hot and preferably drunk. You know, the usual standards. "Oh, who gives a fuck," Jeff said. "The point is they're hot and they're here. I hope they're already drunk when we get to the party. I hope they are ready for a piece of this." He groped his crotch obnoxiously. Such an outstanding gentleman. Ladies, don't rush this stud all at once! Sebastian was a really random character who didn't even have physical presence in the book, but I've decided I hated him slightly more than the others. You see, Sebastian was just full of dating advice for Sam. And when in doubt, Sam would always wonder what his good old buddy would say. Oh, Sebastian, I'm such a boring character with absolutely no depth or personality and this hottie is talking to me. What should I say? "Girls like to talk about themselves. If you can't think of anything to say, just ask some dumb question about nothing, and if you're lucky she'll go off and you won't have to say anything else for another ten minutes and she'll think you're a great listener." He's like a Dr. Phil, I swear. He clearly understands the complexity of the female mind. But... I think I might be falling for her even though we've only interacted a few times. I'm thinking about her all the time, but she seems smart and appears to be ignoring me. What now?! Should I go looking for her, find out where she lives, visit her at her work place until she relents? "Wait, this is all over some girl? Don't be such a fucking vagina, dude! I mean, dude! You go to the beach for a month and you turn into a human tampon!" What a guy! I just love it when someone uses the name of my genitals to insult someone! For those of you like me with small female minds, that roughly translated as: [image] Were any of the above quotes supposed think, "Oh hells yeah. These guys sound so authentic. This book is so--" Wait, let me see what the back of the ARC says. Oh yeah, "poetic and punchy, sarcastic and true," says Sara Shepard. Well, damn. Who am I to argue with that logic and quotes that were clearly "sarcastic and true." I suppose I'm just a sensitive little female with no humor bone in her body. In fact, I have no bones. I am made of tampons. What I really don't understand is why Madison couldn't make any of his characters likable. Having your male characters degrade women with their words at any chance they get isn't authentic. It's insulting to both genders and a disservice to humanity. Anti-climatic plot: There were times when September Girls attempted to actually tell a story. The only problem is that almost nothing ever happens. Oh, I lied. Sam does do things. Here is his routine: -Wake up -Monologue -Walk around the beach -Monologue -Have women thrown at his feet -Monologue -Stare at a Girl's "heart-shaped ass." *raging boner* That slut. -Monologue -Come home -Skip monologue. The Price is Right is on. -Monologue -Jerk off -Ahhhh... sweet self-satisfaction! -Sleep [image] Oh shit, I hope not! Slut Shaming: September Girls' biggest problem would have to be the amount of slut shaming and the overall deeming attitude toward women. (And if you are unfamiliar with what slut shaming is, here is a great article at The Book Lantern.) Jeff just looks at them as conquest, something to satisfy his pleasure. Sebastian can't be fucked to show any human decency. And Sam follows after the other two, except he takes it a step further when his brother starts hanging out more with a certain Girl named Kristle: "He had clearly entangled himself in that dire pussy-web he'd warned me about on our first night here." That's right, guys! Beware the female "pussy-web." It'll gettcha! What kills me about this is that it isn't assumed that his brother may like Kristle just because she's a person. Instead, they reason that if a guy falls for a girl it is strictly because of what she is offering sexually, therefore, objectifying her. "And by the way, Kristle's a total slut, so I hope you haven't caught anything from her yet." Tell us how you really feel, Sam. "Okay, she's not a slut," I said testily. "Just a skank." So glad we got that cleared up! Not only do the men in this novel have a blatant disrespect for women and slut shame, but the Girls do as well. The one Girl who does this the most is one special ray of sunshine named DeeDee. Now, mostly DeeDee just talks a bunch of shit and makes about as much sense as a screen door on a submarine. She was also their resident Ho-olgist. She knew all about dem hos in the bible. Those are her favorite stories. Dem hos. See if you can keep up with the poetry she's spittin': "I like the parts about hos, even if they always come to a bad end. Eat a fucking apple, you're a ho. Open a box, you're a ho. Some guy looks at you: turn to stone, ho. See you later, ho. It's always the same. The best one is Lilith--also a ho, but a different kind of ho. She went and got her own little thing going, and for that she gets to be an eternal demon queen, lucky her. No one likes a ho. Except when they do, which, obviously, is most of the time. Doesn't make a difference; she always gets hers eventually." Wut. "Is that really in the Bible?" The ho... with the apple. I... HUH? [image] "God," DeeDee said, reaching for an ashtray and stubbing out her cigarette. I couldn't take my eyes off her. "Kristle can be so ridiculous. But who knows what I'd do without her. Total ho, by the way--not that I'm judging; I actually like hos myself. Maybe I am one--I barely know what counts anymore. Being blond certainly never helped anyone's case." She's probably even got hos in different area codes. I wouldn't put it past her. Poor Representation of Feminism: And this is the part that really made me rage. So Sam's mom was a housewife from what I gather from the book. Now the thing is, when you are a parent or mate that stays home, it can be very easy to fall into the rut of *exclusively* taking care of everyone else and forgetting your needs too. Moreover, everyone else in the household might forget. That's why it's so important to find a hobby, get outside the house, do things for yourself for your own sanity and health. There is a scene where Sam and DeeDee are talking about housewives and how she feels being a housewife would be fun because they don't work and they are apparently "free." Sam has a monologue moment where he says "my mother spouted about something called the Feminine Mystique" and he considered it "pure shit." Then he goes on to say this: "If you were housewives you could just sit around all day with your feet in footbaths full of Epsom salts." This is a common misconception of the role of a housewife and it's one of the most under-appreciated jobs a person can ever have. That passage is problematic and further perpetuates the stereotype of a housewife being lazy and doing nothing all day. I REALLY don't appreciate the attempted humor here when in the 1950s, suburban living had a very high rate of suicides among women. (Richard Yates highlighted this a bit in his novel Revolutionary Road. There was also a film adaptation where the DiCaprio/Winslet duo wrecked havoc on my feels yet again!) Managing the home and kids while being separated from society literally drove some women insane. Even in today's world, women who stay at home suffer more emotionally then their working counterparts. Back in May of 2012, Gallup.com did a survey of over 60,000 US women between the ages of 18-64 and their results were depressing. Stay-at-home moms also lag behind employed moms in terms of their daily positive emotions: They are less likely to say they smiled or laughed a lot, learned something interesting, and experienced enjoyment and happiness "yesterday." Additionally, they are less likely than employed moms to rate their lives highly enough to be considered "thriving." - Gallup.com Mothers at home also can have feelings of worthlessness and lack of accomplishment. Many of what they do, volunteering in schools and taking care of the children, goes ignored in our society. I think it was in very poor taste for Madison to use this as joke fodder in his novel. Sam was only one step away from calling her a "bored housewife." At this point nothing should surprise you in this book when it is nothing BUT female stereotypes. So his mom stayed home to take care of her family until one day she discovered FaceBook. First, she would post things on his FaceBook wall, but then she moved onto Farmville (which I hear is ridiculously addictive). He complains about her always being in the basement on the computer all day playing this game. And when she's not playing, she's always talking about it. But according to Sam, the real problem starts when she makes friends. Because his mother having a life is definitely a major problem! I guess he expected his mother to do his laundry and cook him dinner forever and ever! "She got all interested in this weird crap that she wouldn't have been able to tell you about before. She's reading all this poetry; she has a Tumblr, although I avoided looking at it. She won't shut up about this thing called the SCUM Manifesto..." Sounds to me like his mother developed a hobby and found a means to have other human interaction. And hey, that's a good thing! In the Gallup study, stay-at-home moms found other ways to cope with depression by continuing education, blogging and joining the gym to have some social time with others. - CBS Atlantica What I also dislike is the reason why she decided to leave her family. Madison had an opportunity to show feminism in a positive light, but he instead showed an extremist. Right after she reads SCUM Manifesto this happens: "Then one day I'm getting ready for school and she knocks on my door with a bag packed and she tells me she's going to live at something called Women's Land, where no one ever has to talk to men." Of course. Here is evil feminism breaking up a perfectly good family. I supposed this is just as good a time to reveal my master plan. Ladies, are you ready take over the world, moving all men underground only to be used for breeding, whist women rule the world? Muahahahahahaha! [image] The next section spoils the ending, so click only if you are burning with curiosity or rage. Either will do. (view spoiler)["Save us with your Mighty-Joe-Young Penis!" The Girls are all bound to this little beach by a curse placed on them by their father for... reasons. I didn't really understand why this was, but I think it had something to do with seeking revenge on their mother. BTW, their dad is the Endlessness and their mother is the Deepness. Don't ask me what that means. Anyway, it's really not important. What's important is this curse because it's the reason for why the Girls are so sexual. The book has sections where the Girls narrate and they describe this "knife" they have. This supposed "knife" is basically good looks. Perky breasts, perfect butt, blond, overall hotness. This is another stereotype I picked up on where women, who approach men instead of waiting for a guy or use their looks to gain things, are looked at as "predators." But, of course, when the summer ends the Girls go into some weird lethargic state where their hair skin become dull and their faces sullen. No boys, no "knife." So basically this is how I pictured them: [image] The only way each one of them to break the curse is if they have sex with a virgin boy. And they can't even initiate the encounter. They have to wait for Sam to talk to them first. So let's recap here: Not only do the Girls not have a choice when it comes to breaking the curse (well, they kinda do: break it or die), but it must be done by a male penis swooping in to liberate them. Their sexuality is not their own. It is owned by men. Excuse me for a moment. [image] (hide spoiler)] I mean, goddamn! I really think this book hit on almost every way to demean a women. That is quite a feat considering I never thought I'd read a book that offended me more than Fifty Shades of Grey . Congrats, September Girls! You get the new title of Worst Book I've Ever Read right up there next to Revealing Eden . If it isn't obvious, this book is terrible and I could never recommend it with a good conscious. But what do I know? Both Kirkus and Publisher's Weekly thought it was brilliant and gave it glowing reviews. Clearly, this is the sign of the end of the world because here's the truth: Reading September Girls was like being swept away by the ocean and drowni-- CLEAR! [image] ARC was received via publisher for an honest review. No monies or favors were exchanged, though, I guess that's pretty obvious. More reviews and other fantastical things at Cuddlebuggery Book Blog. Also, check out Debby's review from The Snuggly Orange for an even bigger aneurysm. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Apr 11, 2013
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Apr 24, 2013
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Oct 28, 2012
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Hardcover
| ||||||||||||||
| 0983650322
| 9780983650324
| 0983650322
| 2.00
| 991
| Oct 01, 2011
| Jan 10, 2012
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did not like it
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Well, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but you failed. Badly. To say Revealing Eden is offensive is such a massive understatement. I couldn't even stomach more that a few pages at a time. It was like taking a spork to your eye, but then it breaks leaving you with only the handle to carry out your dark deed. Even with the obvious racism aside, the Revealing Eden is simply not good. From the dialogue to the characters to the plot, it was very badly written. A tragic mess. There are a few things you should know before reading this review: 1. I am an African-American. 2. I went into this book knowing I would probably dislike it. Why? -Because I'm obviously masochistic. -Because I'm taking one for the team. You're welcome. -Because Foyt made a statement that not many African-Americans had read her book. Here I am and yes, we still exist. 3. I will most likely address a few statements made by Foyt about her novel as it pertains to Revealing Eden. 4. Oh, and this review is kinda long. Sorry about that. LOADS to cover. >.< Apparently, according to Victoria Foyt the population of white people have plummeted due to an increase in sun radiation, leaving black people in charge. My first issue was with the lack of science in that premise. (And no. Throwing out random scientific names of insects, animals and plants does not signify that you've done your homework.) If the sun's radiation was *that* bad, being black won't do you that much good. What's even more odd is that for majority of the novel, Eden is hanging out outside in the sun without her coating (more on that later). I kept waiting for her to complain about how hot it was or that her skin felt burnt, but it never happened. Her father is working in a lab attempting to genetically alter people so that they have animal traits and no one has created a better sunblock or, I don't know, CURED CANCER?! Where is the logic in that? Whites in this novel are considered a burden to society since they have such a low rate of survival. If one does not have a mate by age 18, they are to be sentenced to death. There seems to be an obvious solution to this hypothetical problem: breed out the weaker genetics. But instead white people are oppressed just for the sake of oppression. And even though Eden knows she has had two mating offers, she refuses to accept either one, choosing to wait for her "Dark Prince" in hopes that he will pick up her mating option. Her reasoning? "Because I don't want my child to be all Pearl. I'd rather be dead than mate with one of my kind." *sigh* I can't believe I have to break this down, but if a black person and a white person have a baby, that doesn't automatically guarantee a dark-skinned baby. In fact, some may have very fair complexion. Funny thing the way genetics works. But what did I expect? Almost all the dark-skinned people in Revealing Eden were black as night. The one person who is mentioned with brown skin is assumed to be mixed. *Shaking my head* It was then I should have realized that logic was not going to be Revealing Eden's strong point. In order for Eden to fit in, she walks around with a coating of "Midnight Luster" on her skin and hair. She talks about dying her hair black and I couldn't figure out why she was doing that. Doesn't Foyt know that black peoples' hair is not actually black? Is that a common misconception even today? It's weird because it's something I've never thought of before. Sure, there are some whose hair is black, but it's not very common at all. It was the little things like that were I noticed a trend beginning: Foyt did absolutely no research on African-Americans or any other race for that matter. It is very evident by her constant reliance on black stereotypes applied even to white characters. *Warning: Many quote-inducing headdesking ahead. Applying black stereotypes to a white female to generate sympathy for the main character: "White people were lazy good-for-nothings with weak genetics." A black woman's figure categorizing her status in society: "Voluptuous, with raisin-colored skin, everything about Ashina screamed ruling class." *facepalm*: "On the main stage a band of Coals performed in whiteface." Oh and I can't forget about the constant theme running rampant that black people are out to get the white people. As if black people, that are now in charge, have nothing else better to do with their time than antagonize others. White women everywhere are doing the "White Woman's Workout." >_> Every black person in the world is out to get white people: "She suspected that each and every Coal passerby wanted to hurt her..." [image] It's always black people: "All of a sudden, she heard two men behind her. Coals, she figured by their careless, drunken laughter." Songs about black men raping a white girl: Little Pearly whirly, [image] Even more rape comparisons: She felt more violated than if she'd been raped. Go on and scream. Let it out. [image] And on and on it goes. But then it gets worse when because there doesn't seem to be any indication that slavery or the Civil Rights Movement ever happened. How was she being oppressed? Well as far as I can tell, white people were well-fed, had their own places, had jobs etc. The biggest thing against them was the mating age, having to wear their "coating" (I'm not sure if that was a law or anything) and getting rude remarks from black people. On a few occasions Eden even wishes the world could go back to a time where white people were free to go outside with their white skin without being persecuted. She frequently says that a black person couldn't possibly understand what it was like to be in her shoes. *slow blink* "Someday, when you're locked up in a cage, Bramford, maybe you'll understand what it feels like to be an outcast." Yeah, that's not offensive at all. Not one bit. #sarcasm And then there is the issue of the FFP A.K.A. the Federation of Free People, "a militant organization of Coals that vowed to rid the planet of Pearls." Pause. *deep breaths* How am I supposed to take that? The Federation of FREE People? Get me off this planet. I'm just going to leave that alone before I start seeing blood-red. Too late, I just saw red. Excuse me. [image] Okay, sorry about that. That was a tad awkward. I also want to address the titles given to the races. White- Pearls Asian- Ambers Latino- Tiger Eyes Black- Coals Albino- Cottons Are you kidding me? Coals? As in black as coals? Pearls? As in precious pieces of jewelry? Cotton? As in what my ancestors were forced to pick in the fields? Do I even need to explain how offensive that is? And Foyt's response to the backlash of these titles? "Why are whites called Pearls, while blacks are called Coals? Imagine a gritty, post-apocalyptic world where all that matters is survival. What good will a pearl do you when luxury items have no use? Coal has energy, fire, and real value. It is durable and strong, not easily crushed like a pearl. Pearl is a pejorative term here. Coals are admired. Coals oppress Pearls because they fear that those with light skin will add to a population unable to survive “The Heat,” and drain meager resources." [image] No, no, no, no. NO! You do not give a title that has been used as a racial slur to a people who have been oppressed. You do not do that. And if you think any of that is okay, something is deeply wrong with you. By no stretch of the imagination can "Pearl" be considered a racial slur. Unless, along with common sense, this society has happened to lose every dictionary in existance. In which case, I shall provide the definition. pearl1 [purl] noun 1. a smooth, rounded bead formed within the shells of certain mollusks and composed of the mineral aragonite or calcite in a matrix, deposited in concentric layers as a protective coating around an irritating foreign object: valued as a gem when lustrous and finely colored. Compare cultured pearl. 2. something resembling this, as various synthetic substances for use in costume jewelry. 3. something similar in form, luster, etc., as a dewdrop or a capsule of medicine. 4. something precious or choice; the finest example of anything: pearls of wisdom. 5. a very pale gray approaching white but commonly with a bluish tinge. Yup, that is just the title I would give to a group that is being oppressed. Tell them they're worthless while giving them a name that literally means precious. Moreover, if "Coal" supposed to be a positive title, highlighting their strengths, then why is "Cotton" considered derogatory? By definition cotton is a very useful resource. It's strong, durable, able to withstand cold and hot temperatures. So what's the deal here? Only Cottons, the derogatory word for albinos, were lower, and they were extinct. I don't think for a second Fyot didn't know what she was doing when she wrote that because in the beginning of the novel she calls "Coal" a racial slur herself. Before she knew it, she blurted out an incendiary racial slur. "Gets your hands off of me, you damn Coal!" First of all, I'm surprised she was still alive after saying that to someone of the elite class. Surely if Pearls are so worthless and oppressed, there would be severe consequences for an action like that? Second, Foyt is again baking her cake and trying to stuff her face with it too. Which one is it? It's either a positive term or a racial slur. It cannot be both. I'll tell you what I think. I think Foyt was just trying to smooth things over with her choice of words. And failed, I might add, because my bullshit meter is about to explode. In the second half of the novel I had no idea what was going on half the time. The scenes were very jumbled with no clear direction of where the plot was headed. World building left way too many holes in the story. Because surely there are more races on Earth that just the ones listed in Revealing Eden. Character interactions were much of the same confusion. But I think that it mostly had to do with the fact that Eden was a fucking idiot. Her stupidity burned. For real. [image] From this day forward I can never say Bella Swan was the worst. Eden is the worst protagonist I have ever read. Not only does she completely miss the point over and over again, regardless of how many times it is spelled out, but she is extremely selfish and all around unlikable. There is a scene in the novel where Eden happens across an anaconda and I felt myself rooting for the snake. Sadly, he didn't win. *weeps* One thing that was clear was how Eden suddenly became attracted to Bramford after he became half beast. One minute she is talking about how sexy he is and the next she is calling him names, even after he saves her life several times. (Bold is mine.) That dumb beast had been gone since yesterday afternoon. Also she likes to ride him like an animal: She sunk her fingers into his long silky hair, like reins on a horse. As if she controlled the beast. Eden knew it wasn't true, but she enjoyed the illusion just the same. What. The. Hell. A black man is turned into an animal and you have your white protagonist daydreaming about riding him like a frickin' pony? I just... can't. When I finally finished reading Revealing Eden I had to ask myself what kind of person would think any of this would be remotely okay? Foyt says: "So yes, this book is meant to provoke the white community that has never experienced racism or been oppressed because they have been in the majority in this country." I take issue with the white community only able to be provoked by featuring a white girl who is oppressed by black people using the very same stereotypes we fight against everyday. So, yes. I taking extreme offense to that. If Foyt is indeed "color blind" as she claims then making readers connect with a black character shouldn't be a problem for her. But instead she chose to "turn racism on its head" and say, "Black folk, I know you guys have dealt with some really rough shit in the past, but what if it happened to white people?" No, just no. The African-American community exists *because* of the oppression. It is our history, our roots. It is the one thing that must be left alone. You can't just take that away from us and apply it yourselves and make us look like the bad guys in your novel! This is one of the few times where I had to sit back and wonder who could possibly enjoy this book. "And if you ask if all these reviewers are white then consider that you have a racist point of view." Oh, really? Racist point of view? Racism isn't dead. It's something that many of us has to face everyday. As a people, it is ingrained in our society that our features are less desirable than that of whites. There are somethings some people will never understand. They have never had to walk in the shoes of another race and therefore they have limited understanding on what it means to be a Person of Color. When you get followed around in a clothing store because of your skin color, when you can't go into the 7-11 with your hoodie on, when a job tells you your natural hair is "unprofessional," when your 4-year-old daughter asks you why her hair doesn't "go down like a princess" as if hers could never be considered as such, when you see celebrities of your race white washed in ad campaigns, when your male relatives are arrested for looking suspicious, when you see your grandparents cry after Obama was elected because they thought they would never live to see the day where a black man held office, when you know there are some parts of the country where you are just not welcome because of your skin color, or when you walk down the aisle of your local book store and all you see on the book covers are white people, with a small section devoted to African-Americans, you realize you are living in a white world. Racist point of view? Wherever would one have gotten that? I think this goes without saying: NO STARS FOR YOU! *SARCASM ALERT* You didn't think I'd just leave it on that unhappy note did you? Pfft, as if! Ay yo, if black people truly ruled da world we damn sure wouldn't be toting 'round some whack name like "Coals." Naw, we'd go for something MUCH more gangsta like, Chocolate Thundas. Then we'd go n' elect Snoop Dogg as our president and Dave Chappelle as our VP, ya feel meh? We'd give women back control of their bodies. We'd legalize MJ and the national anthem would be "Young, Wild and Free." We'd move the capital to the ATL, where we like to "throw dem bones." Grillz would be covered by dental insurance. Free health care to all citizens. Oppress white people? Naw, we ain't got time fo' dat shit, man! We'd be too busy spending our reparation money from da Gov'ment, giving back to the economy. Chicken spots n' drive through liquor stores would be on every corner. You welcome! (So what, we get drunk...). 12pm would be a mandatory nation wide nap time, which no one would pay any attention to. Fuck the system! (So what, we don't sleep...). Though dey should 'cause "The Itis" is a very serious condition affecting 1 out of 2 black folk e'rywhere. And finally, random flash mob dances would be to songs like "Lean Wit It, Rock Wit It" and "We Fly High" (We just havin' fun and we don't care who sees...). We stay fly. No lie. You know dis... [image] Book was provided by publisher/author via NetGalley for an honest review. More reviews and other fantastical things at Cuddlebuggery Book Blog. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Aug 03, 2012
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Aug 18, 2012
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Jul 29, 2012
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Hardcover
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| 0062125958
| 9780062125958
| 0062125958
| 3.44
| 2,054
| Jan 08, 2013
| Jan 08, 2013
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did not like it
| I feel like I'm in a slump right now. I've been craving some sci-fi, but they last two books have done less than impress me. What is going on? What do I feel like I'm in a slump right now. I've been craving some sci-fi, but they last two books have done less than impress me. What is going on? What do I have to do, start lowering my standards? Is it too hard to ask for a dynamic cast of characters, action, drama, mystery and romance?! Oh...wait. Didn't this book promise me that? Huh. Well, let's get one thing out the way right now. That blurb is misleading. But before we get into all that, I want to take you on a flashback. Yes, a flashback. Back to yester-year... I don't know why, but I have this soft spot for robots. Perhaps even more than the average person should. Every time I see a book or TV show about them, I have this strong uncontrollable urge to read/watch it. Now, a few years back, there was this show that came on FOX called The Sarah Conner Chronicles that showed John Conner's life as a teen on the run with his mom. I faithfully DVR'd it every week. I thought it was gripping and amazing. Though, clearly my opinion mattered very little because the show was eventually moved to Friday night - which is the kiss of death in TV land - and then, later cancelled. I was pretty bummed out about it. I mean, why do they cancel all the good shows? WHY? *ahem* Right, so about Revolution 19, because I'm betting you didn't click this review to find out my life story and robots (or did you?). Believe it or not, the above paragraph had a point. The point being, when I heard about Revolution 19 I knew I had to have it. I was SO excited and hoped that I could somehow fill the void in my robotic heart that FOX left in my chest like a leaking hole of utter despair. But I was failed again! A-a-and the hole just keeps getting bigger with every awful YA sci-fi book I read until I feel like it's just gonna swallow me whole and I can't breathe and I'm sitting in a corner, singing a Justin Timberlake song, crying a river and, and, and.... oh dear. It's like I've become the Anti-Steph: Bella Swan. I've become emotionally compromised. Quick! Someone get Spock! [image] Long story short, Revolution 19 disappointed me for three very good reasons. The Characters: So the blurb says, "With a dynamic cast of characters..." Okay, yeah. Let's go with that and pretend that was the case here. Maybe, just maybe this book could have gotten 2 stars from me if I cared about one character. But the truth of the matter is that none were developed enough. Ever heard of the phrase 'one track mind'? That's similar to how I found these characters. They were all 'one track-traited'. The three protagonists are each given basic traits that they embody throughout the novel. Kevin (13) likes technology, Cass (15) is athletic and Nick (17) is brave/stubborn/fearless/determined/stupid? That's all we know about these characters and it seemed that was all they knew about themselves too. Take, for example, Kevin. Everything was going to shit and all he could think about at times was, "Oh! Is that a 3D TV? Check out the resolution on this!" He did this every time and new, shiny piece of equipment was introduced like clockwork. Nick chose any and every opportunity to do something stupid at the personal risk of people trying to help him. He displays a blatant disrespect for the family that takes him and his siblings in by sneaking out and disobeying their rules of remaining hidden from the robots. But he's labeled as being brave. Is he remorseful for the trouble he causes them? Not in the slightest because he does it over and over again. I have a feeling that this novel was extended thanks to the sheer stupidity of most of his decisions. Don't get me wrong, I expect a certain level of mistakes being made by a teen cast (or any cast of characters for that matter), but I also expect common sense to be utilized. And then there is Cass, whose role I'm not entirely convinced was needed besides Rosenblum throwing an athletic girl into the story just to say, "Hey, look! Progression!" Great. She can run. But, of course, she gets subtly sexually harassed by two characters, one of whom throws so many sexual innuendos at her, that she later ends up liking. Of course. The other one really disturbed me: The kids find some guy living in the woods, who stares at Cass the entire time, licking his lips. She folds her arms over her chest and the narrative alludes to her being uncomfortable. Who wouldn't? That was the book's first biggest strike for me. Some dystopian/post-apocalyptic novels do this thing that irritates me: Female character + sexual harassment (minor or on larger scale) = LOOK HOW BAD MY WORLD IS! I just do not like how female characters are used like that. And one could argue that her role will be larger in book two (based on the ending), but it just feels like a convenient way to include her into the story line. Or better yet, move the plot along when it's clear her role serves no other purpose. The supporting cast only serve to provide a way out to the main characters. Every time they get in trouble we are then introduced to another character that has just the skill set needed to get them out of the fix they're in. They have no substance, especially Lexie, who claims she risks her life for them because she is bored and is looking for some fun. -_- Right. Furthermore, there is no romance. A couple of smiles dispersed throughout the novel and two kisses made of random, do not equal romance. The Writing: Definitely not my cup of tea. I like my narrative with a little more depth and complexity than Revolution 19 offered. Have you ever read a movie script before? That's how this book reads. It's very fast paced and not in the sense that things are just happening rather quick. It's more of an issue of things not being properly explained, giving off an over all rushed feeling. Though this should not surprise me since Revolution 19 was planned from the beginning to be both a YA series and film. And in that respect, I could see this working well on-screen with good actors, but it didn't translate well in book form. For example, there is virtually no world building and it feels like the author is heavily relying on the reader's knowledge of The Terminator to build his story. There is a brief prologue saying robots took over world and that's pretty much all you get. Let me not forget the weird slang/terminology of the time period that seemed entirely forced and distracting. The Robots: I knew going into this book that the author and company was pulling heavily on The Terminator to create this story. And I was okay with that because in my mind I got to see scary robots destroying things, chasing little humans around. Not unreasonable, right? Well imagine my surprise when robots are described as having flat and featureless faces except for rectangular openings for their eyes. Oh and did I mention they roll? So basically, the world has been taken over by a bunch of Wall-es, huh? [image] Oh, whoops! They are also 8ft tall. So the more accurate depiction would be Number 5 from Short Circuit . [image] Awesome. Mankind gets enslaved by evil robots, whose true crime will be reminding us forevermore of bad 80's movies. The world is so screwed. (Okay, so I totally loved that movie, but that is besides the point, people!) I mean, is that even remotely scary? The other 'bots' are no better as just pieces of metal that hovers. But the thing that gets me, is that the robots take themselves so seriously that they TALK IN ALL CAPS. All the while, I'm thinking why are humans afraid of these robots? Oh, right. Their "lasers". *snort* You remember that moment in Toy Story where Woody is chewing out Buzz at the gas station? Well, every time one of those 'bots' came rolling around I'm like: [image] Random Thing that Has Nothing to do With the Story, but Still Annoyed Me: Why is the cover model a girl? (Yes, it's a girl as she is wearing eyeliner, eye shadow and mascara on the cover.) In the novel, it's Nick that has the robotic eye and I'm pretty sure he is of Y chromosome variety. Cover, y u lie 2 meh? In conclusion, I'm sad this didn't do much for me and I can't say I'd really recommend it to anyone either. When it all boiled down to it, Revolution 19 is a lackluster novel with a premise that had potential, but instead yielded a boring plot, boring cast of characters and equally boring robots. I will have to continue on my search for fabulous YA Sci-Fi reads. Unfortunately, this was not one of them. ARC was provided by the publisher for an honest review. More reviews and other fantastical things at Cuddlebuggery Book Blog. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Dec 14, 2012
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Dec 18, 2012
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Jul 07, 2012
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Hardcover
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| 0545284104
| 9780545284103
| 0545284104
| 3.68
| 40,142
| Apr 26, 2011
| Apr 26, 2011
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did not like it
| NO STARS. I've heard a lot about Meg Cabot's books. And it may surprise people to know that this was actually my first Meg Cabot novel. I'm not complet NO STARS. I've heard a lot about Meg Cabot's books. And it may surprise people to know that this was actually my first Meg Cabot novel. I'm not completely unfamiliar with her works. One of my favorite movies of all time was adapted from one of her novels-- The Princess Diaries. All that being said, I think I made a huge mistake in having Abandon pop my Cabot novel "cherry". Insta... love. Guys, this book has INSTA LOVE! [image] Deep breaths, Stephanie. Deep. Breaths. It took me till page 300 to realize why I felt like I wanted to give up reading Abandon several times. And really that's pathetic that I didn't see it. I mean, I really should have peeped that way earlier. But it's not my fault because Abandon was so hard to even follow thanks to Pierce's convoluted ramblings about her pathetic life and her intermittently reminding herself to check yourself before you wreck yourself. This book left me confused, angry and HIGHLY disturbed. Therefore, this review will have major spoilers. Deal with it and let's explore these emotions. "What Just Happened?" It's probably not a good sign for a reader to finish your novel and not have a single clue what the point was. Not even an inkling for what you were trying to accomplish. And believe me. I wanted so much to understand and like this book, but the narration ran circles around my wee little mind. The entire first half of the novel has Pierce alluding to several past scenes as if the reader knows what was going on. Pierce would say something like, "Oh and I don't want anything to happen like it did that one time." And I'm sitting here thinking, "Oh yeah? What? What happened?! Tell me already!" I get what Cabot was trying to do, but it didn't work for me. And it definitely didn't need to go on for majority of the book. That was just cruel and wrong. It made me incredibly frustrated. Now, the parts that did manage to make some type of sense were cancelled out by Pierce's sheer stupidity. Saw dust for brains. I really don't want to say it, b-b-but.... BELLA! *gasp* And that, my friends, brings me to the anger. "What We Have Here is a Failure to Communicate!" No, what we have here is just a failure. Pierce is one of the worst heroines I've read this year. Now, keep in mind I read both Starcrossed and Fifty Shades of Grey so far, so that's saying something. And not a good something. Moving on. Pierce meets John, a death deity, when she is a just seven-years-old. Later, when she dies at age fifteen, she sees him in the Underworld and he recognizes her too. They have a brief conversation which goes a little something like this: "Omg, it's so cold and wet here." "Hey, you wanna get outta here?" "Sure, whateves." *poof* [image] So what does her do? He whisks her away to his bedroom, dresses her in a white dress and gives her the biggest diamond he could Check yourself before you wreck yourself. Meanwhile, a year and a half later... They meet again... in a graveyard, where this poor, unfortunate soul seems to hang out. Of course, that doesn't stop our heroine from asking the all important, universal question: "Why me?" Are you kidding me? But I have to remember, the problem with Pierce is that she's so stupid, she doesn't realize how stupid she is. Instead of running away from the crazed stalker, she apologizes to him for throwing the tea in his face. You know, when she was busy escaping. Pop quiz: What do you get when you mix not-so-bright heroine with a gallon of selfless? Mary-Sue. [image] So, yeah, the graveyard. Here they are, in the rain, having a "lover's spat" over... well, I'm not exactly sure why they were fighting, but John ends up getting semi-violent, throwing her diamond and demolishing the cemetery gate. Lovely guy. Do you see why this book made me angry? Here we have yet another YA heroine with a controlling, violent male, trying to not be involved with him, and she's apologizing for getting away. Unbelievable. It was at that point where I really didn't think this novel could get any worse. Until, of course, I got to the disturbing part. The Return of Pedobear (I wish I were joking): Somehow the cemetery sexton gets involved and Pierce opens up and confides in him. She goes on and on about how he randomly has shown up in her life, how he scares her, how he's a nightmare, how bad things happen when he's around, etc. Do you know what he says to her after that? "So if I might make a suggestion for all our sakes, why don't you try"--his brown eyes were pleading--"just being a little sweeter to that boy?" Yes, that's right girls. When you are in an abusive relationship, trying to escape, it's not his fault. It's totally your fault for not being sweet enough to him. Because there is no such thing as personal accountability and it is your job to make sure he remains calm enough to not destroy you and everyone you love in a hurricane. But don't worry. He loves you. Gag me. Check yourself before you wreck yourself. Excuse me while I rage across my living room. Ohhhhh... but it gets better. I mentioned before how I didn't recognize the insta-love until page 300. That might seem really strange. And it is. It's mostly because Pierce and John spent so much time trying to "non-avoid" each other and argue that I completely didn't see it. Well, on page 300 John confesses his love to Pierce. His LOVE, people. Pause. Love? What love? In all of their encounters (six by my count, including when she was seven), they probably spent no more than thirty minutes together at a given time. And I'm being generous. And then I remember Pierce's dear, sweet granny. The one that took her to the graveyard when she was seven, in hopes that John would run into Pierce and--I hope you're sitting down for this one--fall in love with her. At seven-years-old. That's why he kidnapped her, because he was in love with her. He stalked her because he was in love with her. He got violent when she ran away screaming from him because he was in love with her. He fell in love with her at seven-years-old. Shall I check myself before I wreck myself now too? HUH?! [image] Eeny, meeny, miney, moe. Catch a kiddie by the toe... Then in order to protect her from the Furies, he kidnaps her again (to the bedroom!), changes her clothes (AGAIN) and tells her she must stay there forever with him. But don't worry it's for her protection. Totally legit. And this time he even remembers to lock the door. She smiles. The end. I know that this is a retelling of Persephone. I get that. But this is in no way, shape or form okay with me. Abandon had everything I hate in a book. Controlling, violent, abusive male. Check. Submissive, passive heroine with very little common sense. Check. Insta-love. check. Mary-sue. Check. Poor plot. Check. Why? Why do I continue to see the same awful tropes over and over? Why are impressionable, young girls consistently being marketed these types of book? Please, please make it stop. Give them strong, independent heroines, loving love interests, safe and healthy relationships. Dear Literary gods, Hear my pleas. Can you do me a solid and provide more alcohol and chocolate if I continue to run into these books? [image] A finished copy was provided by the publisher for review purposes. Thank you! More reviews and other fantastical things at Cuddlebuggery Book Blog. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Jun 30, 2012
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Jul 12, 2012
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Jun 19, 2012
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Hardcover
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| 0062091093
| 9780062091093
| 0062091093
| 3.50
| 3,880
| Jan 02, 2013
| Jan 02, 2013
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it was ok
| Actual rating is around 1.5 stars On the back of my ARC it reads: "It's Graceling meets Eon in this action-packed fantasy adventure by debut au Actual rating is around 1.5 stars On the back of my ARC it reads: "It's Graceling meets Eon in this action-packed fantasy adventure by debut author Ellen Oh." In all honesty, I think that statement does a huge disservice to all three novels. And because of that one little sentence, I went into Prophecy expecting something epic with rich descriptions, epic fight scenes and a main character worth rooting for. Unfortunately, I found none of that. I tried to love Prophecy. Truly, I did, but it just never worked out and I'm really sad it didn't because I love Ellen to bits. Prophecy and I had a very rocky time together that could mirror a relationship from a Taylor Swift song. The saddest part of it all is that I know I could have enjoyed this novel a lot more if it weren't for three very important factors. The Characters: Cookie cut-out, cardboard characters. That's the best way to describe every last character in Prophecy. Sure, the bare bones was there. We have Kira, the main character, who is a strong, warrior girl. Her sworn duty is to protect her younger cousin and Crowned Prince, Taejo, from any and all harm. She is also hated by everyone in the land, despite the fact that her job is also to protect those very people from demon attacks. In fact, the people call her The Demon Slayer, which is kind of funny considering we are told the people are kept in ignorance of the existence of demons. So why do the people call her that? No clue. It really never made much sense, and really, that's the least of Prophecy's problems. All of this is TOLD to the reader in the first two chapters. What does Kira like to do? Fight demons. Does she have any long-term aspirations? Protect the Prince forever and ever. Is that nobel? Sure. But how is it really any different from Bella's obsession with Edward? I'm not sure it is. The other characters are no better. We are given a brief introduction to Kira's mom and we are TOLD how kind she is. We are TOLD her dad is a great general. And Taejo. Taejo is the most infuriating character out of the bunch and only serves as a damsel in distress to give Kira something to do since her life long goal only includes taking a bullet for him. In the beginning, I gave him the benefit of the doubt, but as the novel wore on, I began to wonder if he possessed any sort of training at all or courage or bravery or balls. Apparently, none of those things. And don't get me wrong. I love a strong female character that saves herself and friends, but not at the expense of the others looking useless or helpless. The rest of the characters did show promise, but they were never fleshed out and served more as sidekicks than anything else. For example, the love interest, Jaewon, I did like. He seemed to have a good story behind him. Troubled past filled with pain and a chance for redemption. Unfortunately, it was never really tapped into. Though, perhaps Oh is saving that for the subsequent novels along with the romance that was never fully formed, but instead thrown in at a blasé sort of way. Because of that, I felt the little line where he says he'd "always do whatever she asked" was a little much. Why would he? What sort of connection did he develop with Kira with their brief interactions in between fight scenes? However, I will say that I did appreciate the romance not being in the forefront. Show. Don't Tell: Immediately, from the first chapter I had a sneaky suspicion that this would be an issue. Readers are told entirely too much about the characters instead of getting to know them for themselves. With every character we are introduced to, the reader is told what kind of person he or she is. There is no surprise with thinking one character is good, but later turning to the dark side. It made Prophecy incredibly predictable and with flat characters, the element of surprise could have saved this novel. I'm supposed to like Taejo because he is young and the prince and is good. But I don't. I'm supposed to like their uncle, King of the neighboring Kingdom of Guru. Then Kira decides she doesn't trust him because slight ruthless nature, but it doesn't matter because I never liked him anyway. I'm supposed to like Kira because she is the main character who has poor self-esteem and must find her way in a kingdom that doesn't appreciate her. But I don't. See the problem here? I'm not shown enough about the characters to actually develop any feelings toward them one way or another. Also, because there was mostly telling the fight scenes were shorter and less descriptive than what I would have liked, making them just as eventful as if they were all frolicking through a meadow. This caused the pacing to feel very off at times. One paragraph they are fighting, then the next it's suddenly over and they're walking to an inn. Basic Writing: And even with the other negatives, I could have enjoyed it more if the writing style meshed better with me. This is the biggest problem with it being compared to Eon and Graceling. It's like a little kid trying to put daddy's pants on. He looks awfully cute in it, but just isn't ready to wear those digs. This is where I really think Prophecy would have been better marketed to the Middle Grade audience instead. There is just way too much hand-holding and explaining terms that are better left inferred to my liking. Prophecy does a lot of what Stormdancer did, where it used foreign terms (in this case Korean) that readers my not be familiar with. If there was more showing, the reader could have easily used context clues to guess the meaning. It just felt like there was a lot of "talking down" to the reader and it completely turned me off to the story. This lead to a very basic plot with predictable twists, causing the heroine to appear very slow on the uptake. And that in turn caused me moments of great frustration similar to when Eona couldn't figure out how to call her dragon for majority of a 531 page novel. *headdesk* (Oh, hey, look! There's the comparison.) Sad to say, veteran high fantasy and critical readers will not be impressed by this. Still, while Prophecy did hold significant faults for me, I do appreciate the amount of research Oh obviously invested into the novel. She had a clear outline of her world building and it showed. And there were a few lines that made me chuckle. I just wish there had been a little more time to develop everything. Truthfully, Prophecy isn't a bad novel and if my daughter was around age 10, it'd be a book I would buy her. For anyone else, I highly recommend anyone considering it to seek out a sample chapter first. But as for me? It's not really my thing. Maybe the series will get better in the next book. Maybe all my concerns are cleared up. But Prophecy and I are like a pair of incompatible, bickering lovers. Fine on our own, just not so great together. And we're probably "never ever, ever getting back together." An ARC was provided by the publisher for an honest review. More reviews and other fantastical things at Cuddlebuggery Book Blog. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Nov 05, 2012
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Nov 18, 2012
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May 09, 2012
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Hardcover
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| 054762834X
| 9780547628349
| 054762834X
| 3.89
| 106,595
| Apr 03, 2012
| Apr 03, 2012
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liked it
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Actual rating 2.5 stars Grave Mercy started out very strong for me with its historical roots. I instantly loved Ismae and could empathize with her blea Actual rating 2.5 stars Grave Mercy started out very strong for me with its historical roots. I instantly loved Ismae and could empathize with her bleak outlook on life. The novel had strong characters, a good plot, and political intrigue. I mean, c'mon! An assassin nun?! A badass premise like that is just begging to be read and loved. So what in heaven's name went wrong for me? Why am I only giving this book 2.5 stars? Well, I'll start with what I actually liked first. I did like all the characters, especially Ismae. It's a big deal for me to like the heroine since I usually hate them due to their inability to use their brains. But not Ismae, she's a smart cookie. This isn't shocking since I'd wager it does require a certain amount of neurons to assassinate someone. And while she does carry prejudices against men due to her harsh childhood, there is a good amount of character growth for her. So, gold star for her. Duval, the love interest, while initially not appealing to my co-blogger, won me over fairly easily. And for all those wondering, the "His" in "His Fair Assassin" is not referring to Duval. It refers to Ismae's god, Mortain. At least, I'm pretty sure. Lol. I also really liked the plot and the historic features. I can tell LaFevers did lot of research and it truly does show. Many of the characters in the novel are real people and the events occurring, real events. I felt it was a nice change in pace to the usual YA books I've read. But the good points just weren't enough for me to love this book. Unfortunately, the negatives outweigh the positives. *sigh* Another book falls short of badassery. First of all, I probably would never have picked up this book on my own if Kennedy hadn't suggested a read-a-long. I choose to avoid historic fiction for a myriad of reasons, the most important being: It's just not my cup of tea. When I have to sit down and think about the setting, time period, a huge cast of characters I have to keep up with, political talk, yada, yada, yada... it just turns me right off. It's too much. And I don't like having to concentrate while reading for enjoyment. In this case, I liked it, but then, I didn't like it. For the first portion of the novel, I was unsure of *when* in history this book took place. Personally, I cannot sit back and enjoy a novel if it feels like I'm missing a crucial part of the story. And the time period was important for me. European history is just not my forte, so I took to Wikipedia looking for answers. Unfortunately for me, I now knew how the story would eventually end unless Levers decided to deviate from history. But at least I knew the time period is the late 1480s. Yay for me. Boo that I had to work so hard to find the answer. Anyway, that was the first strike. The second? Boredom. Right around 40% the high from the strong beginning began to fade and along with it, my eyelids closed more often then I'd like them too. Ismae is a trained killer, but there wasn't much killing going on. In fact, there was mostly too much talking about the political plans being made to ward of the French from invasion. Honestly, I couldn't care less about any of that. I WANTED BLOOD. Then it got boring. Ismae spent more time talking about all her cool weapons, than using them. She'd go on and on about her poisons and how she could kill someone with this weapon or that poison. I wanted her to take a page from Nike. [image] No excuses, Ismae! *FRUSTRATION* What good is an assassin nun that just wanders the castle?! Do something! Anything. Do the Macarena. Sing a Ke$ha song! [image] But, I was still interested enough to continue on and I'm glad I did, because it started getting interesting. However, that leads me to my forth point... This book was entirely too predictable. Could the bad guy be anymore obvious? LaFevers pretty much dangled him in front of us the entire novel like a carrot, so by the time the main characters goes, "It was you!" you're thinking, "It's about time." And that really made me sad because I thought, "There was no way it can be who I think it is. It's just too easy. There has to be one last plot twist." Sadly, there wasn't one and because of that, I think the ending suffered greatly. Speaking of the ending, it felt incredibly rushed to me. All conflicts came to a more or less, hurried happy ending. As soon as the baddie is caught the book has nothing more to do then fall back on its underdeveloped romance between Ismae and Duval. That's not to say I disliked Duval and Ismae. I actually liked both characters a great deal, but together? Not so much. Grave Mercy spent entirely too much time revolving around the mystery and not much time developing the relationship. I think the book needed to make its mind up: Romance or plot. It couldn't have both believably, in this case. *mild spoilers* But the part I really disliked about the book was the scene where Ismae had to purge poison from Duval's body by having sex with him. I was relatively enjoying the book up until that point. When I read that scene I rolled my eyes so hard. I mean, really?! REALLY?! She is a nun assassin and the biggest gift Mortain gives her involves her sexuality? She becomes a human bezoar! Would ya look at that? A woman's body really can be objectified in almost any profession! Awesome. \(-_-)/ The next book appears to be about Sybella, who I thought would have had a bigger role in this installment. The mystery surrounding the girl was thrown at the reader several times and we are given no information about her assignment. Same goes for Annith's story. I found that incredibly frustrating. I realize this is supposed to be a series and perhaps their stories will be told in the sequels, but leaving those gaps made Grave Mercy seem incomplete. I can't help to think the book would have been stronger as a stand alone novel instead of stretching their stories out over three books. So, will I continue on with this series? At this time, probably not. But I would still recommend it to others looking for a change-up in their usual YA readings, especially those who enjoy historic fiction with romance and a pleasant splash of paranormal. More reviews and other fantastically awesome things at Cuddlebuggery Book Blog ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Mar 19, 2012
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Apr 02, 2012
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Mar 19, 2012
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Hardcover
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my rating |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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| 3.46
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did not like it
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Oct 09, 2015
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Oct 06, 2015
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| 4.25
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did not like it
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Aug 08, 2015
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Aug 05, 2015
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| 4.46
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did not like it
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Jul 2015
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May 20, 2015
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| 3.38
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did not like it
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not set
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Apr 11, 2015
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| 3.85
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did not like it
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Jul 26, 2014
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Jul 10, 2014
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| 3.96
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it was ok
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Apr 17, 2015
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Jun 20, 2014
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| 4.25
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it was ok
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Apr 24, 2015
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Jan 20, 2014
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| 4.08
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did not like it
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Jan 30, 2015
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Sep 23, 2013
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| 3.91
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did not like it
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Dec 31, 2013
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Sep 22, 2013
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| 3.49
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did not like it
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Oct 13, 2013
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Aug 22, 2013
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| 2.92
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did not like it
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Jul 25, 2013
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Jul 07, 2013
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| 3.82
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did not like it
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Aug 08, 2013
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Jun 17, 2013
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|||||
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| 3.95
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it was ok
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Jan 27, 2015
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Apr 28, 2013
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| 3.59
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it was ok
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May 03, 2014
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Apr 17, 2013
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| 2.97
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did not like it
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Apr 24, 2013
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Oct 28, 2012
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| 2.00
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did not like it
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Aug 18, 2012
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Jul 29, 2012
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| 3.44
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did not like it
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Dec 18, 2012
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Jul 07, 2012
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|||||
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| 3.68
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did not like it
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Jul 12, 2012
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Jun 19, 2012
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|||||
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| 3.50
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it was ok
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Nov 18, 2012
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May 09, 2012
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|||||
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| 3.89
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liked it
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Apr 02, 2012
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Mar 19, 2012
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