A secret plot by the Illuminati? Ages-old monuments hidden all over Rome? Italian history? Freaking ambigrams?? It's like the book was written for me.A secret plot by the Illuminati? Ages-old monuments hidden all over Rome? Italian history? Freaking ambigrams?? It's like the book was written for me.
The story itself is a masterpiece. I love when people build these intricate "treasure hunts" based on actual symbols and clues that we can see around us, much like National Treasure. Nothing but props to Dan Brown for that part of the book. It does, however, lose a star for turning a bit YA every once in a while. It's very well written for most of the book, but certain passages would suddenly seem like they were written for a younger audience, or that Brown didn't expect us to be able to follow what was going on. These passages happened most often during flashbacks or when he was trying to explain something. Every once in a while the dialogue became a little YA too. It doesn't take too much away from the product as a whole, but it does prevent it from being a five-star book, in my opinion.
I also don't really consider this a mystery. For one, though we don't know who the mastermind is, we do know who the assassin is the whole time. Most of the mystery comes from Langdon and Vetra trying to figure out the Path of Illumination. But the reader doesn't really get too involved in figuring that out, because unless you're an Illuminati enthusiast and Italian history buff, you only get the information Brown gives you , as he gives it to you. There's really no way to figure it out before Langon does. That doesn't lessen the story by any means, but I don't consider it a mystery, just a work of fiction. I still recommend it to anyone interested in religious or symbolic history. ...more
My first real foray into the romantacy genre, I think. After the first chapter, I thought it was going to be terrible. After the second chapter, I thoMy first real foray into the romantacy genre, I think. After the first chapter, I thought it was going to be terrible. After the second chapter, I thought it was going to be hilarious. It was actually better than I expected, but still not great.
I did end up liking the overall plot, and some of the reveals at the end made up for my prior grievances. But overall I felt like we needed less inner dialogue and more character development.
I think that’s why this genre is going to be tough for me: I don’t like hearing the protagonist’s inner voice every single time something happens. First person perspectives too easily fall into that trap.
Overall it’s a fine book, but I like it less than other ⭐️⭐️⭐️ books I’ve rated. 2.5 stars would be appropriate, but for Goodreads it’s a ⭐️⭐️...more
It started strong, but I lost interest about midway through, and I didn’t love the ending.
By the end of the book I still don’t really understand how It started strong, but I lost interest about midway through, and I didn’t love the ending.
By the end of the book I still don’t really understand how witch magic works: what all can they do, and what are the limitations? Same thing with the demons. World building not super developed.
The book could have been vastly improved with less of Emilia’s inner dialogue—could have been quite a bit shorter too. I didn’t need everything spelled out or her reaction to every little thing that happened.
But mostly I think I just couldn’t buy into Emilia’s motivations and actions. Her nonna is a pretty powerful witch that seems to know everything, but she never goes to her for help? Her primary motivation is her love for her family, but she never spends any time with them, and just randomly disappears for several weeks without telling anyone? And her twin is her best friend, but somehow did a whole bunch of stuff pre-book without Emilia’s inclination at all?
Real fun and fast read with a ton geeky references for the nerds in all of us. I really did love it, but frankly I can’t give it five starts because tReal fun and fast read with a ton geeky references for the nerds in all of us. I really did love it, but frankly I can’t give it five starts because the plot is just a liiiiittle shallow.
The world is so fun and the characters are likeable, but this Willy Wonka remake would be much better as an actual video game. Finding the keys and entering the gates generally just boiled down to Wade being awesome at video games and knowing everything about the 80s, including literally every word of several movies.
Some of it was just a little too convenient. But that didn’t stop it from being a great read!...more
Really enjoyed this. It’s so fun diving into the world of Final Fantasy VII and learning more about the backstories of the characters. I’m not a diehaReally enjoyed this. It’s so fun diving into the world of Final Fantasy VII and learning more about the backstories of the characters. I’m not a diehard fan by any means; I’ve only played the game once, and haven’t played any of the spinoffs, but generally the novel gave just enough to remind me how things connected to the game.
Tifa’s story was far more interesting than Aerith’s in my opinion, and it read better. While Tifa had a goal, Aerith’s story was sort of just things that were happening; it was unclear where we were going or when the story would end.
The epilogue story a little weird. I found it difficult to follow, and it felt sort of thrown with little purpose.
I would be tempted to give it 5 stars on Tifa’s half of the novel, but the rest of brings the overall story down to 4 stars. Still very enjoyable and would recommend to Final Fantasy fans....more
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