I’ve been meaning to read Christopher Pike’s work(s) for some time; whenever I went to the library I would see his novels sitting on the shelf.[image]
I’ve been meaning to read Christopher Pike’s work(s) for some time; whenever I went to the library I would see his novels sitting on the shelf. For some reason, I’ve never gotten around to checking them out. On Monday I finally forced myself to with this since I have been craving to read something with vampires. . . . I wish I could have avoided this book for a little while longer. I wish I never would have forced myself to do so—as I was clearly being held back from renting this out for a reason. If only I had kept making my way through the YA novels waiting to be read and checked out something else instead of reading this.
Pike’s writing isn’t terrible, but his stories are.
If you like your paranormal novels with modern day vampires in expensive name brand clothing, a foreign twist with religious beliefs and a ridiculous plethora of insta-love, by all means have a go at Thirst. ...more
DNF at 50%--I'm sorry, I couldn't force myself to finish.
I saved myself the torture by watching Le Hérisson, an adaptation of this. The film was marveDNF at 50%--I'm sorry, I couldn't force myself to finish.
I saved myself the torture by watching Le Hérisson, an adaptation of this. The film was marvellous, poignant and thought-provoking; The Elegance of the Hedgehog was odious, slow, and pretentious. "Pretentious" has been said in almost every single review for this novel and that's because it was. It's too wordy and pedantic. Just because I found the book wordy didn't mean I didn't understand the words used, I understood them just fine; however, it felt like I was being tortured with it's overly descriptive passages and its pretentiousness.
I felt as though Barbery was happy to have received her degree in Philosophy and happy to know she knew her vocabulary so she showed it off. I'm sorry, but just because you add words like "loquacious" and "disquisition" in what could have been a simple sentence doesn't give you the I'm-smarter-than-thou badge of honour.
***Some examples of it's pedantic-ness***
"'Renee,' he replied, with as much gravity as he could muster, showing himself to be more loquacious during the long disquisition to come than he would ever be again..."
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"For the conventional aspiration to see tradition maintained and the contingent disapproval of anything that might remotely evoke newly required wealth--ostentatious interior decoration, the installation of stereo equipment, excessive use of meals delivered from the traiteur--were in open competition with a deeper hunger, deep in the gusts of all these benighted souls blinded by boredom..."
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"...I enjoy reading the leaflets that come with medication, the respite provided by the precision of each technical term, which convey the illusion of meticulousness ans a frisson of simplicity, and elicit a spatiotemporal dimension free of any striving for beauty, creative angst or the never-ending and hopeless aspiration to the sublime."
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I flipped to three random pages and found these three annoying passages at the drop of a hat. I've just given you a taste of this novel, now imagine 325 pages filled with this mess.
Every paged I turned I was just like:
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I watch Amélie religiously because it's my all-time favourite film. I wanted to experience a read that was atmospheric, colourful and absolutely breath-taking like this film. I looked up "Books similar to Amélie" on Google and this book was recommended. Just because a novel/film takes place in Paris, it doesn't make it similar to another novel/film that takes place in Paris. It doesn't.
The characters in The Elegance of the Hedgehog were flat and boring. None of them held my interest. I don't care that there's a precocious 12-year-old girl in here with "profound thoughts" and neither do I care about a boring concierge who's an autodidact. I think the reason for me liking the film a lot more than this is due to the fact the concierge and the little girl didn't talk so much. ...more
Books are one of the most amazing ways to travel to the past. I love reading---especially historical fiction (if it's written well). Especially when iBooks are one of the most amazing ways to travel to the past. I love reading---especially historical fiction (if it's written well). Especially when it's an atmospheric read and it feels as though I'm actually there in that time period. It requires an abundant amount of research as well as actually visiting the places you're writing about to get a feel to it and make your writing more rich and believable. Writing historical fiction--or any novels, really--has to be shown rather than told.
This is All the Light We Cannot See's downfall. The writing wasn't horrible, it just bored me. It did not feel as though I were being teleported to Germany and Paris and Saint-Malo. I could not feel chills going up and down my spine reading about the bombings in France, her being occupied, and me experiencing being in Hitler Youth.
This book has an absolute lovely synopsis, but that's as far as I will go to give a compliment. I DNFed on page 135. Once again, another overhyped book that failed to meet my expectations. Had the same damn boring experience with The Book Thief.
I was so excited to start reading this, too. Sigh. (view spoiler)[Good thing I didn't buy this as I was planning to. (hide spoiler)]
"A book to rival TWILIGHT and VAMPIRE DIARIES, and one that will have you wanting to keep reading until the very last page! If you are into adventure,"A book to rival TWILIGHT and VAMPIRE DIARIES, and one that will have you wanting to keep reading until the very last page! If you are into adventure, love and vampires this book is the one for you!"
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Twilight? No.
Vampire Diaries? The books? Hell no. The TV series? Absolutely not.
Speshul 18 year old Caitlin only wants to be an anonymity at her high school. Speshul Caitlin is too “weird” for people. Too boring. Too plain. Nothing speshul about speshul Caitlin.
“… she felt alone. Not because she was the only white girl – she actually preferred that. Some of her closest friends had been Black, Spanish, Asian, Indian – and some of her meanest frienemies had been white.”
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PAUSE. I’m going to have to stop this passage right there. Is this author kidding me? Is she really pulling out the race card? Is she really making Blacks, Spanish, etc., out to be feral individuals? I mean, the author clearly stated everyone in her new high school were acting like wild animals: attacking each other, screaming and yelling, etc…. AND NONE OF THEM ARE WHITE. So she tries to pull out the “oh I had friends who were black” “Oh I had friends who were Spanish” “Oh I had friends who were Asian” shit to make us give her the OK to write offensive shit like this. Give me a break. I saw right through this horribly plotted, banal, and pathetic writing.
This was, by far, one of the most unrealistic and idiotic books I’ve ever read. Bob-wired gates at a high school? Dozens of policemen armed with weapons at the front entrance barking off orders? A FUCKING METAL DETECTOR? BARS AND FUCKING CAGES ON ALL THE WINDOWS? Really?!
“That’s right, Barack! Give the white girl your seat” One kid yelled. “Your name is Barack?” I asked the boy. “No, that’s just what they call me. They think I look like Obama”.
I dropped the fucking book right here. Fuck this dumb ass book. Fuck this dumb ass writing. I can’t tell which is sad – the fact that the author wrote this or the fact that thousands of people love this book (I read this on wattpad, btw). I’m done with the world....more
Franchement, je suis tellement déçue. Les années 20 m’intéressent beaucoup à cause de la musique, de la mode, du langage, Mon petit avis en français :
Franchement, je suis tellement déçue. Les années 20 m’intéressent beaucoup à cause de la musique, de la mode, du langage, et de l’époque en général. Par contre, je n’en ai pas du tout reçu. Enzo (un homme principal) était très abusif, impoli et désagréable vers Tiny (la femme principale). Je me fâche parce que Tiny ne s’est souciée pas ! Pourqoui ? Elle était vachement occupée avec la beauté d’Enzo, elle l'a pardonné de nombreuses fois. Elle ne semble pas avoir vingt ans à mon avis mais plutôt avoir 13 ans. Tiny a fait un fromage de toutes les choses !
L’histoire entière a manqué originalité. Je souhaite que Tiny ait choisi Joey au lieu d’Enzo. Je lui préfère. Cette histoire-ci n'était guère romantique et les descriptions de la mode, speakeasies, et tout ça étaient limités.
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My review in English:
I've got 99 problems and this book is all of them.
***Before I begin, I'd like to say this review is going to have light spoilers. Also, I will write about some of the "sex" scenes that took place in here and, unfortunately, there is swearing. If this bothers you, do not continue to read this review.***
I know I said I was going to start writing my reviews in French along with my English translation to improve it, but my brain is far too preoccupied with words I need to say in my mother tongue. But one thing I can say in French about this book: j’ai détesté ce putain de livre de merde ! (view spoiler)[and pardon my French... pun intended. (hide spoiler)]
It's hard for me to write this, because I have so many things I want to write about. Therefore, this review is going to get chaotic.
I'm sorry, was this supposed to be about the Jazz Age or Tiny's hormones? Was I supposed to get lost inside the descriptions of the speakeasies, music, language, occasional one-night-stands, mafias, and everything that's supposed to be about the Jazz Age or was I supposed to feel "hot"/"swooned" from these pathetic (and hilarious) sex scenes and Tiny's incessant fangirling about how handsome the abusing and sexually manipulative asshole Enzo was?
No, not this Enzo:
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Because this Enzo made me swoon.
I'm talking about this douchebag:
"Then he spun me around, twisting my right arm behind my back and crushing my chest to the wall."
And this:
"His grip tightened on my forearm. Threading his other hand into my hair, he made a fist at the base of my skull and tip my head back. 'I don't think you'll want your sister to hear the conversation we're going to have.' He spoke softly, venom oozing between his words. My scalp stung as he tightened his fingers."
He did a lot more abusive shit than this, yet Tiny doesn't give two complete fucks because he's handsome. No really, she makes excuses for him because he's just so gotdamn handsome despite the fact he's holding her father hostage.
"I tossed everything onto the bed. 'But the situation is a little strange.' 'Why?' [said Evelyn] 'Well, he's got a girl, for one. And he's sort of got my father too--he's Angel DiFore's son.' Evelyn's jaw dropped open. 'Tiny, are you crazy? Don't you think it's a little dangerous to be fooling around with him?' 'More than a little,' I said, unbuttoning my blouse. 'But you'll understand when you see him.'"
No, Tiny, I don't understand. Frankly, I don't care that he's oh-so-handsome either because a) he's got a girl (as you've clearly stated and seen). b) he's holding your father hostage. c) he's abusive. and d) he's bloody awful at trying to swoon me: "I won't stop until you let me have my way. First with my fingers. Then with my tongue. Then with my big, hard cock" (186). Honest to god I laughed out loud in public and a woman looked at me like I was crazy. I was not amused throughout this entire read. Right off the back there's "insta-love." Tiny sounded like a 13-year-old. Every little thing turned her on: from smoking a cigarette to a single look. She even got jealous of her own little sister when Joey was teaching her how to cook.
I hated Tiny. She's not a heroine, she's not a bad-ass flapper. Actually, Tiny reminds me of me when I was 12-years-old. I was a poser. I walked around holding a skateboard thinking I was one those skaters and wearing my brothers' tee-shirts (i.e. Metallica, Slipknot, Rage Against the Machine, etc.) In reality, I never knew how to ride a board, and I could only name one song from each of those bands previously mentioned. This is how Tiny was. She could wear the beads, the headbands, the red lipstick, and short dresses. She could attend to the speakeasies and try to speak like a flapper, but in the end, she's not. Rosie, on the other hand, was a flapper; it sucks that she appeared in this book 2 times. However, those two appearances were gold.
This book is nothing like the Jazz Age. I'm disappointed by this, too. I adore the era, the women, the fashion, the language, the music... everything. I only received a taste from this with the occasional mafias, a description of a speakeasy, and Rosie (seriously, I loved this character).
Why? Why do authors have to write about abusive relationships with a weak heroine? Why do they market this shit?
Tiny was a genuinely stupid protagonist, she was.
Exhibit A:
"We cleaned up and walked over to Bridget's where she served us meatloaf, green beans, and mash potatoes . . . watching Mary Grace gobble it all up, a wave of guilt washed over me. I never served meals like this--how the hell did you turn meat into loaf anyway?"
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Exhibit B:
"'You know, eventually you're going to have to tell me about him." She winked at me over her shoulder. 'Maybe it's not Joey, but there certainly is someone. I can smell it.' My heart stopped. Could she really smell Enzo on me? I sniffed my arm."
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I could go on for a very long time about this fictional character, but I'm not even going to waste my time.
I knew what I was getting into regarding the love-triangle between Joey, Enzo, and Tiny. The synopsis clearly states this, but I didn't mind because it's the 1920s--a flapper never went out with just one guy. They wanted to live their lives and hold on to their youth. Life was just too short for them so they did as they pleased. But I wasn't expecting the love-triangle to be this fucking pathetic. How was Tiny having such a difficult choosing who she wanted? Joey--the guy who had her back through all the bullshit that started going down regarding her father, the guy who's actually a gentleman and said things that did make me smirk... or Enzo--(read aforementioned passages of this asshole)?
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-sighs- This book sucked. If you want to read something that's really about the Jazz Age, read The Diviners, Bright Young Things, and Vixen instead.
I cannot believe I wasted $9 on this. SMH. ...more
Now, you might say 2 1/2 stars is a bad rating… maybe a book that should be ‘avoided’. On the contrary, my rating system is different: 2 1/2 2.5 stars
Now, you might say 2 1/2 stars is a bad rating… maybe a book that should be ‘avoided’. On the contrary, my rating system is different: 2 1/2 stars is neither bad nor good. It’s both a positive and negative thing. This review helps curious readers make a decision about picking this up and keeping an open mind whilst reading.
It is understandable why people would either love or hate this book. This has so many flaws that makes readers lose their patience with continuing with the story. So many flaws. I honestly don’t know how to write this review because I have a lot of stuff I want to talk about/cover. So… brace yourselves, my friends, this is going to be a semi-lengthy post.
_____________________________________________
Every reader knows that books’ greatest hamartias are:
++ Insta-love ++ Love triangles/angst ++ Too many alternating PoVs — especially if it’s not done well ++ When the readers are left with questions that are [still] unanswered ++ A story that’s not wholly original/unique ++ Frustrating/flat characters ++ Confusing/unimportant/unnecessary flashbacks ++ When the world building isn’t thoroughly created/written
… I think y’all are getting the picture.
With that being said: The 100 suffers from everything that I stated above (minus the love triangle [kind of], but the angst is present).
I hope Kass Morgan will be rid of the unnecessary flashbacks in the second instalment. It takes up 35% of the story which made me skim through the flashes or skip them entirely (only reading the end. Even after reading the end of the flashbacks I got the gist of the significance). Also, Glass’s point of view was superfluous. I’m still scratching my head, wondering why the hell Morgan gave her an important role to play in this story. In all honesty, I skimmed through her PoVs and I have to say you’re not going to miss much if you decide to do the same.
These alternating point of views was endurable, but, dude, can Morgan please make them a little longer with a gotdamn point? This is science fiction (in a way), but the “romance” grabs the story’s importance (and rather amazing premise) and gives us this sappy teenage angst.
(view spoiler)[And come, the fuck, ON -- you really expect me to just go along with Wells and Clarke's love-hate relationship? In the space of 10 fucking pages it's:
Clarke: No, fuck you Wells I will never forgive you. Wells: But I came to Earth for you. Clarke: LOL NO1 CURR.
*one page later*
Clarke: Bellamy, I like you. *kisses* Wells (sees the kiss): How dare she do this to me! I will win her back.
*one page later*
Bellamy: Even though I have no idea who you are, no girl has ever made me feel this way. Clarke: I like you, but I still love Wells. Bellamy: Bitch. Clarke: *le cries* *le runs back to Wells*
Wells: I love you. Clarke: I love you, too.
*3 pages later* Clarke: HOW DARE YOU WELLS I WILL NEVER FORGIVE YOU I HATE YOU! Wells: I will win her back. (hide spoiler)]
And the story ends there.
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Morgan’s writing is amazing, but her imagination for creating a world entirely of her own is not. It’s somewhat unoriginal; The 100 reminded me of Across the Universe by Beth Revis… but better. Kind of. There’s some world building, however, since the story goes by swiftly and the romance is thickly present, it is not noticeable — which is very unfortunate because no one can possibly deny the amazing concept of the story: after a nuclear war (or whatever) on Earth, humans boarded a ship. A century passes and the people are content with living outer space on there. However, 100 teens will be sent to Earth to see if there’s still life on the planet. 100 teens who’ve been labelled “criminals”. For some of the teens, this is not a bad sentence; some have been wanderlust — craving to be off the ship they’ve spent their whole life on. When the teens arrive, things seem pretty normal. Only problem? Food shortage as well as medicine shortage… not to mention the older teens trying “take charge”… and the animals that have evolved.
Bellamy stood with an animal carcass draped over hid shoulders, a trail of blood in his wake.
A deer. Wells’s eyes travelled over the lifeless animal, taking in its soft brown fur, spindly legs, delicately tapered ears. As Bellamy moved toward them, the deer’s head swayed back and forth from it’s limp neck — but it never made a full arc, because each time it swung back, it knocked against something else.
It was another head, swinging from another slender neck. The deer had two heads.
Kass Morgan should have wrote this book in third person PoV. If you’re going to write about 100 teens going to a planet that hasn’t been set foot on in a hundred years, you have a shitload of explaining to do. We don’t want to read about some angst-y, poor-excuse-of-a-love-triangle bullcrap story. We want to be mindfucked and have an adrenaline rush whilst reading this. This could have been one of those stories that’d leave you biting your nails and wondering what’s going to happen next. Morgan, in your next book, keep the fucking flashbacks to yourself (or possibly shorten them to a paragraph summary). Also, can we please have some more action and nerve racking shit? I mean, we’re back on Earth, we need to be scared shitless about the life on the uninhabited planet because we have no idea what’s going to happen and no idea how to survive a place we don’t really know much about. Get rid of the fucking romance. That’s the thing with novels nowadays: they have this brilliant premise, yet the icky romance completely decimates the entire story. I PROMISE, it’s totally fine when romance isn’t present when having a novel such as this. I feel that authors think we want that for every single novel. We don’t.
I’m not really a big fan of science fiction; I enjoy fantasy, paranormal, and historical fiction more. But I can’t lie and say this was a horrible one. This has the potential, but everything I’ve stated above ruins the story and then some. I’m praying to the book gods and Kass Morgan that the sequel will be a whole lot better than this. I love and hate this book at the same time. Would I recommend this? I honestly don’t know. It’s all up to you. If you want to give it a shot, or not. It’s not that shocking The 100 is being adapted into a television series as we speak (I have a feeling it’s going to become a guilty pleasure of mine). Hell, it probably might be better than the book....more
Not only do I feel annoyed, frustrated, and angry, I feel CHEATED. Cheated and tricked. I've read so maCover and synopsis fraud strikes ... yet again.
Not only do I feel annoyed, frustrated, and angry, I feel CHEATED. Cheated and tricked. I've read so many lovely reviews talking about how amazing All Our Yesterdays was. The total mind fuckery they've experienced whilst reading this; yet, queerly, the mind fuckery I've experienced wasn't in a positive way. There's no polite way to say this, but... I hated this book. And now I'm going to ask, again, what story has everyone else read? What did they love that I didn't? Why does it feel like I've read something else entirely? What am I not getting?
Over-hyping a book is somewhat precarious — if disappointed, the reader may end up hating the book more than they should because they not only expected something so much more, but they had high hopes. Yes, I'm talking about myself and maybe for other people. Of course, there's some good stuff in All Our Yesterdays -- okay I'm lying, I'm lying to myself to make myself see sense. I can't bring myself to give this two stars because I'll be lying to myself. The concept of this book is the only thing that's great. Usually I'll say to a book I've finished that I didn't like much, "it's not you, it's me", but this time, book, "it's not me, it's YOU".
Leading back to the statement "there's nothing good about this book": I did enjoy the first few chapters of Em narrating. It was very promising. However, once I'm introduced to Marina, All Our Yesterdays goes downhill rapidly. So much angst, so many things were very offending, so many times the book was trailing off the plot into an entirely new territory that I found vexatious.
A drain and a girl... prisoner, more like.
There's something strange about this particular drain in Em's cell that she wants to uncover, she knows this drain has some hidden secrets inside. When she gets the drain open, there's a paper with a list of attempts tried and failed. Strike outs, notes-to-self, sentences she can't read since the writing has faded. Apart from that, one sentence sends chills down her spine: You have to kill him.
When I read the synopsis, All Our Yesterdays became exceedingly predictable. I knew who "him" and "the doctor" was and I knew how the story was going to end. The minute the characters were introduced, I knew. Obvious, much? I predicated more things, but I'm not going to say because I'd spoil the story. The characters were not only flat and underdeveloped, but they were annoying. Especially Em and Marina (view spoiler)[even though they're the same person. (hide spoiler)], my god, I couldn't stop rolling my eyes. Incessantly I kept putting All Our Yesterdays down, not wanting to go on. I don't know why I finished.
I wasn't really feeling the whole "time travelling" thing, either. And I'm really interested in this scientific theory. This was just... bad. I will not be picking up the next book....more
Gabriel's Inferno had a promising prologue (I realise the prologue has nothing to do with the story. And am I the only one who thought this was going Gabriel's Inferno had a promising prologue (I realise the prologue has nothing to do with the story. And am I the only one who thought this was going to be dealing with vampires or something?). Unfortunately, the book didn't turn out as I hoped.
I only read up to page sixty and dropped the book. I couldn't go on. This is how things went down:
Gabriel: Jewl-ee-ahh, you incompetent swine, answer my question! Julia: *keeps head down on desk and scribbles furiously* *blushes* Gabriel: Yew r a stoopid girl! Y u no speak english?!
a long description has been made about how blue and cold Gabriel's eyes are
Julia: *blushes* Gabriel: stoopid gurl. Paul (don't know his point of the story): jewl-ee-ah look at meh note. "Emerson's an ass" Julia: *smiles* *blushes* Gabriel: see meh in my office after class, jewl-ee-ah, you stoopid girl. Julia: *blushes* okies.
after class
Paul (who is this guy anyway?): jewl-ee-ah sorry for getting you in trouble *pouts* don't worry, I got ur back against mean old professor gabriel. I'm stronggg *walks away*
five pages later
Gabriel: you filthy human being. You don't deserve to sit in a comfortable chair in MY office. Sit in dat metal one. Julia: *blushes* *trips over air and spills the contents from her purse on the floor* *slowly retrieves the items* *sits in metal chair* Gabriel: *looks at Julia disdainfully* you're filthy. I don't want you in my class anymores. Julia: *blushes* *drops the items from her purse again* Gabriel: aren't you a human being? Or just stoopid? Julia: *blushes* sowwies, dr. Emerson. Gabriel: it's PROFESSOR, you stoopid girl! Only the pricks are called "doctors". Julia: *blushes* yes, professor. Gabriel: *looks at her as though she's a pile of maggots and worms* I saw the note paul gave you. *throws the note on the floor in front of her foot* Julia: *blushes* *picks the note up* sowwies.
a long description is written about how sexy Gabriel is
Gabriel: leave. Julia: *blushes* *stands up and trips over air, spilling the contents from her purse.... again* Gabriel: FUUUUUUUUUUUUUU-!!!!!
Five pages later
Gabriel: you're poor. Julia: *bows head* *blushes* sowwies. Gabriel: I didn't mean it. *blushes*
Julia's thoughts: his eyes are gorgeously blue. He's so sexy. No teacher has ever dressed in fashionable clothing such as he.
Gabriel: join me for dinner since you don't have any food. And dress nice. Julia: okies. *blushes*
ten pages later
Paul: how did it go with the professor? Julia: *blushes* Paul: I like you, shy wabbit. Julia: *blushes*
Gabriel (from afar, watching them): how dare paul swoop in and take her from me. I never take a woman against her will, but she's so beautiful I just want to kiss her, that stoopid girl.
five pages later
Julia: OH EM GEE I REMEMBERS PROFESSOR EMERSON!1!!11!!
five pages later
Rachel: Gabriel, come wiff me to my house for dinner, brother. And jewl-ee-ah's coming to cuz she's my fwendd. Julia: *blushes*
five pages later
Rachel: jewl-ee-ah tell meh what's going on with you an Gabriel! Why didn't you tell him who you were? Julia: *bursts into tears* I tawt he'd remembers meh. But he doesn't. *sobs*
Okay I give the hell up, I can't do it. Point is: this book was absolutely stupid. Gabriel treats Julia like shit, and Julia accepts it because he's sexy. The story held no meaning, at all. Gabriel is a creep; Julia is a weak moron. it's honestly hard to believe Gabriel is a man in his thirties and Julia is twenty-three. they acted like six year old children! blushing on every page for the dumbest things and Gabriel never failed to remind her she was poor. what a dick....more
Now I know why people would either love it or hate it.
I think saying Samantha Shannon is the next J.K. Rowling makes me question the credibil2.5 stars
Now I know why people would either love it or hate it.
I think saying Samantha Shannon is the next J.K. Rowling makes me question the credibility of the publishers. You can't just say an author is the next J.K. Rowling because the book is fantasy with "magic". Why did they really label Miss Shannon as the next J.K. Rowling? Because she's making The Bone Season into 7 books? Because she wrote a book that would take us on an unforgettable journey like the HP series? Or maybe to sell the shit out of this book?
Whether or not you have an answer, I am still left disappointed.
I understand why people would love this:
- The many different clairvoyance described in this book. - It kind of has some originality going on here. - Made up terms. - Whenever action took place, it's wholly entertaining. Miss Shannon can write some seriously great action scenes. - The protagonist's attitude. She's sort of badass, but more strong-willed (in a really good way). - Decent writing. - The hype. Admit it, you can't help but fall into the hype and go a little crazy, as well.
Then again, I understand why people would hate this:
- The made up terms (it can be frustrating and confusing most of the time. They have a glossary at the back of the book, but many will see this as problem and will be annoyed at constantly having to go back and forth. Or if someone's using a kindle or have an ebook it could be a problem). - The Bone Season really is overly descriptive. I feel Miss Shannon tried a bit too hard with trying to make her story breathtaking and unforgettable. The writing dragged on, becoming hard to continue reading on. If she toned down with being descriptive on everything, I might have enjoyed this more and wouldn't be bored. - Though I stated it's somewhat original, The Bone Season does have its inspiration from some books; one of them being Divergent, IMO. - This book was a roller coaster. One minute I was really enjoying it; the next I found myself trying to stay awake. - THE. HYPE. Yes, my friends, the hype for this book is insane.
So, I can't recommend this because I don't know what you'd want or what you expect to get from this. Maybe you'll fall head-over-heels in love with The Bone Season, maybe not. Usually, I am quick to recommend/not recommend a book, but for this one? I honestly don't know.
I might be picking up the second book, I'm in no rush. I'm questioning whether this should be made into seven books. ...more
I'm absolutely disappointed with In the After. This was not what I expected at all. What started off fast-paced, and nail-bitingly awesom1.5 stars
I'm absolutely disappointed with In the After. This was not what I expected at all. What started off fast-paced, and nail-bitingly awesome ended up being a complete bore.
How did the story go from this
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a girl watching television on a normal day; suddenly the broadcast is interrupted with the President talking about an attack -- showing the people a small footage of an alien. The girl is home alone when this happens. Her mother was off working for the government and her father shopping. The lines are dead, leaving her with no way of contacting her friends or mom. Thus, the survival begins as people are being killed, going into hiding, and doing God knows what else. Fortunately for the girl, her father was an eco-friendly geek who installed solar-panels (hello, lights!) and her mother a cautious woman who installed an electric fence around the house (hello, protection against the aliens!)
to this
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Honestly. I know Amy and Baby were supposed to go to a compound, but I did not expect the author to just give me a new story entirely. No really, it felt like I was reading some dystopian novel I've read multiple times: children being divided into Classes depending on their age, wearing the same jumpsuits, weird technology, etc. I think Lunetta just occasionally threw in the term "They" or "Them" to remind us that we're reading a story on alien invasion. Sorry, Lunetta, but you didn't fool me. The premise of the story fell flat on its face.
The beginning of the story (pages 1 - 135) I give it 4 stars because it was very promising, but from pages 136 - 455 it's a 1.5 out of 5 stars. If I wanted to read something such as the given pages, maybe it would have been a 3. But, unfortunately, I was in no mood for dystopia... or whatever the hell I received. Also, what was the point of those flashbacks starting from part 2 of the story till the end? Lunetta gave us three stories... in ONE!
The first 135 pages will leave you thinking and prepare you for any possible alien invasion (if you believe that such exist or would happen). What would you do if you found out your town was invaded by aliens? How would you react? These creatures were not original, but still terrifying. They move faster than pretty much anything, they don't kill the victims first before they devour them... they eat while they're still alive -- basking in their victims screams. They only come out in the sun since they can't really see in the dark, which is a plus, but they can hear a noise from miles away. You have to be quiet as well as stealthy to go scavenging for food.
I wish Lunetta kept to the premise, this would have been one hell of a story. It has a lot of potential... which is why I'm going to read the sequel, but I'm in no rush....more
I honestly have no idea as to the fuck... piece of shit... stopped reading on page 222... had high hopes for this shit.... romance happened too fas[image]
I honestly have no idea as to the fuck... piece of shit... stopped reading on page 222... had high hopes for this shit.... romance happened too fast... no sense made whatsoever... don't get the plot... was going to write review... can't find brain cells... i see the light.... strayed..... what?
(view spoiler)[I dropped the book when she gets hit by a car and gets up, throws up the devil horns, and says "hail satan" (hide spoiler)]
You call this a romance? (I'm writing this on my phone, so excuse any grammatical errors and whatnot.)
Can someone please tell me whether 1.5 stars
You call this a romance? (I'm writing this on my phone, so excuse any grammatical errors and whatnot.)
Can someone please tell me whether or not I'm reading the same story as everyone else? I'm really wondering what the hell, exactly, did everyone read. Look at the average user ratings, 90% of the people enjoyed this and, yet again, I'm in the minority confused as hell. The romance in this novel was beyond shit. I truly am sorry for bashing it, but the girl has only known the boy for three days -- THREE EFFING DAYS and they barely exlained anything to each other about themselves at all. I usually think the YA novels I read were insta-love, but this book puts the cherry on top of it all. Not only that, but I don't like poetry, so this book made me even more annoyed. If you love poetry and insta-INSTA-romance, then this book is definitely for you.
On a brighter note, despite my low rating, this was an easy read and I read it straight through. Usually I never finish a 1 star novel, so that's saying something. Also, I really liked Eddie and the protagonist's little brother, that's the reason for my .5. Other than that, the rest of the characters were boring to me. The effort Ms Hoover put into crafting them was a good try, but it seemed force. I do understand the hurt and pain Lake and...oh damn.... I forgot her boyfriend's name... oh well -- I understand the pain they're going through so maybe that's the reason why they both "fell in love" so quickly because they needed each other. However, I simply did not enjoy it; that was a crazy plot twist, but in the end, it failed to continue with it's awesomeness. I won't be checking out book two, there was no reason for a second novel.
Ok, fine, I admit I was smiling and laughing like an idiot a few times, but that's it and that's also part of the reason for my .5... NOW I remember Lake's boyfriend's name: Will. Yeah, I didn't like him at all. Sorry not sorry....more
I had high hopes for this. Mehhhhh, this book was OK. Nothing special. I really loved the fact the male interest wasn't a big douchebag (he wasn't eveI had high hopes for this. Mehhhhh, this book was OK. Nothing special. I really loved the fact the male interest wasn't a big douchebag (he wasn't even a little bit of a douchebag, either) because he's rich and pretty like all the other YA male leads. Thumbs up for that. The protagonist, Caymen, was all right. Though in the beginning I wanted to smack the shit out of her for being too sarcastic (which is weird because I can be a pretty sarcastic person even when it's not the time to be), but I got used to it. This book is either a hit or miss; can't say I recommend it, can't say I don't.
She knows her mom can’t find out—she wouldn’t approve. She’d much rather Caymen hang out with the local rocker who hasn’t been raised by money. But just when Xander’s attention and loyalty are about to convince Caymen that being rich isn’t a character flaw, she finds out that money is a much bigger part of their relationship than she’d ever realized. And that Xander’s not the only one she should’ve been worried about.
May I please read this? Why wait until July? I can't stand the distance between us...
I'm going to save my time, eyeballs, and brain cells. My sister finished this book only to be pissed off and extremely disappointed.
(view spoiler)[ThI'm going to save my time, eyeballs, and brain cells. My sister finished this book only to be pissed off and extremely disappointed.
(view spoiler)[There's incest (father having sex with his son, son feeling up his cousin, the little 6 year old sister feeling up the big brother, etc.) (hide spoiler)]
Haha, this book can burn. And why the hell is this YA?...more
For the people who love this book, stay off my little rant. Please.
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I have come to the conclusion that I no longer will be reading New Adult booFor the people who love this book, stay off my little rant. Please.
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I have come to the conclusion that I no longer will be reading New Adult books for various reasons: *Same plot *Same Mary Sue that needs saving *Bad boy saves Mary Sue and falls in love for the first time *Bad boy with a muscle massed body *Bad boy hair falling over the eyes *Bad boy and Mary Sue pretends to hate each other but in the end they wind up ripping each others' clothes off
The list is endless. Sure, I've read plenty of Young Adult literature with the same plot, which is why I tend to steer clear from the "complete fuckery" section. (speaking of which, I just created a new shelf called "complete fuckery" yay!)
Now, so many things happened in the thirty pages I've read that was just an absolute MESS. Yes, I've only read up to page 33; most of y'all will say I'm nowhere near qualified to give my opinion on this book. Nevertheless, I paid for the book, and I can review it if I damn well please. If you see this as a problem, please click on a happier review because, obviously, this will not be a happy one.
The characters are flat as well as underdeveloped and I pretty much know everything that's going to happen in Easy (it's an easy plot to predict... yes, pun intended).
Jacqueline's ex-boyfriend, Kennedy, is the smartest; biggest douchebag I've ever came across. "I want to pursue my career in law and politics and everyone knows how the worst thing a political candidate can do is become embroiled in a sexual scandal. So I'm basically breaking up with you so I can bang all the chicks here so I can keep my sexual desires dormant in the future."
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Really, Kennedy? Really?
Jacqueline is a complete idiot for so many reasons: *She skips class for two weeks because her Kennedy dumped her. yeah, I guess having a boyfriend is more important than your education. Girls, follow in Jacqueline's pathetic footsteps! *She didn't want to call the cops after the attempted rape (which happened in the very beginning, so it's no spoiler) because she "didn't want the cops ruining the Halloween party and everyone would blame her". Okay, Jacqueline. Random people's acceptance is more important than your life and your body. No big deal. Don't worry, you've done the right thing by not telling. *She was dressed up as a slutty devil for Halloween. Honestly, a SLUTTY. DEVIL. I give up. Halloween is the best day of the year and you choose to be a slut? I mean, Kingsley explains it all so well. *She was completely weak and whiny.
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Now, I'm not telling you to avoid this book, but if reasons (stated above) grinds your gears then my advice would be to not read it. Save your money, save your time, save your brain cells, and save your fucking eyeballs.
What a HUGE disappointment. Stopped on page 280, skimmed the rest.
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***Before I start*** let me say the writing was not terrible and the first foWhat a HUGE disappointment. Stopped on page 280, skimmed the rest.
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***Before I start*** let me say the writing was not terrible and the first forty pages were simply stunning. Also, I can see why many people would love this, so this review isn't trying to exhort you to change your views/love for this novel. With that being said:
I've been in this situation before: being drawn in by the gorgeous cover, exciting synopsis, glittery praises and entering this book with extremely high expectations only to be let down by the unbearable, dreadful, and annoying story with flat characters as well as a sad excuse of a romance... I've been there before, but WHERE?... ah, yes, All Our Yesterdays. I know this is such a banal thing to say -- and it's been said countless times by many, many, people (including myself) -- but, I really wanted to like this. I've been waiting for its release impatiently; it hurts so much to put this on my "I hate this book" shelf.
Lilac became and insufferable female lead after the crash of the Icarus, constantly pushing Tarver away then leading him on, pushing then leading... like one would do when pushing someone else on a swing; mentioning how her father would do "this" if he found out or would do "that" if he ever saw... constantly.
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Lilac, do me a favour and shut up. Forget about what father would do and think about how the hell would you get off the terraformed planet alive... and in one piece, I might add. Not only that, but one page she would talk about how much Tarver hates her and how her feelings were mutual; the next it's how badly she wants to tell him how she really likes him. The oscillating "he love me, he loves me not" "I hate him, I hate him not" became tiring. She was a weak protagonist. Always slowing Tarver down.
Tarver was an OK character, he started off pretty amazing then became boring after the crash. He never failed to say, "Lilac has never been more beautiful" whenever the opportunity would arise.
I did not like this romance at all, despite the fact this wasn't an insta-love (I'll give points for that).
About 75% of These Broken Stars was about trying to survive on this godforsaken and uninhabited planet/jungle, which I didn't like. I know I've read many Dystopia novels about survival, but this was tedious to read and I could not enjoy it. I can acknowledge that it's realistic, but...
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And do not get me started on that out-of-the-blue paranormal twist! After reading 280 pages it was not explained; after skimming I still didn't see any answers/explanations on why these "whispers" suddenly started happening... unless there were explanations and I missed it for skimming. Nevertheless, I will not be picking up the second installment, unfortunately. The ending of this doesn't pique my curiosity, either. (sighs) Honest to God, I'm losing hope for the Dypostia and Science Fiction genre....more
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