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my rating |
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| 0062242938
| 9780062242938
| B00RLR9TSE
| 3.93
| 18,829
| Sep 22, 2015
| Sep 22, 2015
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it was ok
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2.5 stars Oh how I wish I had loved this more. Rae Carson and I have had a kind of rocky relationship till now. Though I wouldn't say I really disliked 2.5 stars Oh how I wish I had loved this more. Rae Carson and I have had a kind of rocky relationship till now. Though I wouldn't say I really disliked the Fire and Thorns series, I was never really impressed, and the hype completely baffled me. Despite that, I decided to give Walk on Earth a Stranger a shot, hoping that different characters in a different setting with a different story would finally let me fall in love with this author like almost all of my friends are. But... unfortunately... I'm still unimpressed. Walk on Earth a Stranger is a perfectly adequate and average novel, but when I read books, I want more. Walk on Earth a Stranger is a historical fiction/fantasy story about the California gold rush and the many pioneers who set out across the country hoping to reach the fortunes they've always dreamed of. Our main character, Leah, has a secret, magical gift: she can sense when gold is near. This gift however, leads to the murder of her parents by her uncle, who hopes to exploit her. Desperate to stay out of his manipulative clutches, she runs away to take on the trail herself. Though no part of this book really made me mad, disappointed, or squeamish (the childbirth scene notwithstanding), every part of it just screamed average to me. Leah's a pretty good main character, but I didn't fall in love with her. I appreciate her thirst for independence - going so far as dress like a boy to give herself more freedom to escape from her uncle - and the lengths she goes to to protect and help others. She takes on tough manual labor and work that no woman chooses or is allowed to do, and she kicks some men's butts at it. But other than that, her personality didn't really sparkle. She's not particularly witty or funny or charming. Maybe I was lacking a sense of complexity in her character and her voice. Plot-wise, I was mildly entertained but also a bit let down. I mean, the beginning was really strong - Leah discovering her parents' murder, the small-town Georgian atmosphere, the appearance of her shady Uncle, and her decision to don the guise of a boy to escape from it all. But after that, it was walking. And walking. And riding a horse. And riding a boat. And riding a wagon. And walking. I mean, she meets people along the way, and there are some interesting interactions there, but they're traveling for the entire book. A lot of people die along the way - the trail providing all the risks you'll know from The Oregon Trail game: cholera, childbirth, stampeding buffalo, measles, Native Americans, land and weather conditions - but for some reason, I just had not forged an emotional connection to any of them, so I didn't even blink. It felt like the plot had no peaks or valleys. No build up to exciting climaxes. Leah's magical gift of goldscrying was hardly used, just as a thing she was hiding from other people that occasionally helped find things. She didn't even meet her uncle again until the very end of the book, for all of like five minutes. There's no big conflict in this book aside from man vs. nature, and I'm sorry, it turns out that that isn't enough to enthrall me. I liked some of the nostalgia winks to The Oregon Trail, but I was also growing increasingly more bored. It's like this whole book is just a set up for the series, but I have no idea what the long run plot is even going to be. In the bad way. It feels kind of pointless. What I will say is nice is the diversity. Carson includes a lot of characters from different backgrounds, but she doesn't forget the historical context and inherent prejudices. Leah's best friend and love interest, Jefferson, is of mixed race decent: half-Native American, half-Caucasian. The company they join to travel west includes families of Southern conservatives, a slave owner and his slave, French-Canadian immigrants, German immigrants, a zealous priest, and "confirmed bachelors" - a charming name for gay men. As such, Carson manages to tackle a lot of topics of racial tensions, gay rights, and feminism, and she does this in authentic-feeling ways with a modern, humanist perspective. If anything, I have the utmost respect for that - and I loved how at the end of the book, the characters that remained managed to become a charming family of misfits. There's a couple of scenes that made me really proud of them and of Leah. But that romance? It gave me exactly zero feels. Which is also a weird thing, because it is very clearly a friends-to-something-more kind of romance, which ordinarily would totally be my thing. But you barely see the friendship that had built up for years. It's further complicated because by the time Leah and Jefferson meet up with the company to travel west, he's kind of infatuated with another girl. So there's not much romance either. There are small moments that I suppose should set my shippy heart on fire, but I just shrugged. I think that might have something to do with the fact that (a) Jefferson ran off after a rushed, out-of-the-blue proposal (for convenience) to Leah at the start of the novel, leaving her alone to deal with the deaths of her parents, (b) the fact that after that he seemed infatuated with someone else (which he might be retconning later, because screw you), and (c) the fact that Leah seems to really just see him as a friend until she sees him fawning over Therese. This... is supposed to make me cheer for them? I can see why some might, but I just will not. Here's the part where I decide to break up with Rae Carson. As far as historical fiction (and fantasy) goes, I tend to expect more from the writing. Carson's writing has always seemed rather simplistic to me, and in Walk on Earth a Stranger, it struck an additional nerve as she frequently and casually threw in modern terms that absolutely would not fit into the time period. That's jarring to me and pulls me out of the story. Neither do I feel like the magic was explored well enough or described in beautiful, engrossing ways. It was just a thing. Kind of there. In the background. What other kinds of magic exist and how this shapes the world is a complete mystery for now. But other than that, I think it's a style issue. I can't seem to bond with her characters, no matter how hard I try. I'll never be more than slightly impressed in passing. Her plot-lines do not have enough action for me, and there's not enough character growth or swoon-worthy romance to make up for it. I can totally understand why a lot of people swear by this author, but I can't keep forcing myself to read these books that are never much better than "okay" for me, in a desperate attempt to understand the hype. So for now... Goodbye, Rae Carson. May you have much better luck with other readers. Summing Up: Walk on Earth a Stranger was never bad enough for me to decide to stop reading, but by the time I finished, I realized that I was pretty bored the whole way through. There wasn't enough of a story for me, and I just couldn't connect to the characters or the romance. I will, however, give a big thumbs up to the diversity. And though I appreciated finally getting a book exploiting my nostalgic feelings about The Oregon Trail, I should have realized that a story about traveling for miles and miles and miles and miles might inherently be a bit boring. GIF it to me straight! [image] Recommended To: Rae Carson's established fanbase. *An electronic advance review copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the contents of the review. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Aug 17, 2015
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Aug 21, 2015
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Apr 30, 2015
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Kindle Edition
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| 1595148035
| 4.25
| 306,745
| Apr 28, 2015
| Apr 28, 2015
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it was ok
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2 stars An Ember in the Ashes is easily one of the most hyped up 2015 debuts / releases overall. Ever since it was announced, people have been clamorin 2 stars An Ember in the Ashes is easily one of the most hyped up 2015 debuts / releases overall. Ever since it was announced, people have been clamoring for the book - excited by this "Gladiator style" high stakes middle eastern-inspired fantasy. So, obviously, this book had a lot to live up to. Fellow bloggers who read this before me have been excitedly shouting about its perfection. Unfortunately, it didn't really work for me. An Ember in the Ashes tells a fantasy story from two points of view: Laia and Elias. Laia is a Scholar - a native resident of the area which has been conquered by the Martial Empire. The story starts off when in the middle of the night, her brother is taken on suspicion of being a part of the rebellion - and her grandparents are killed. She turns to the rebellion herself, promising to become a spy for them masquerading as a slave if they'll help her save her brother. Elias is a Mask - a warrior of the Martial Empire. However, he was raised by the tribes and hates his heritage, planning to desert the army until he lands in a competition to become the next emperor. Four trials stand in his way between him and a destiny he isn't sure he would want anyway. Now, here's the thing: this book falls short in every way imaginable to me - writing, world building, characterization, romance, and plot. It's never really aggravatingly bad, but it's just average and underwhelming, so the fact that I've seen this book being heralded as "the next J.K. Rowling" is extremely frustrating to me. First up: writing and world building. These kind of fall together because what I was lacking all throughout the book is a real engrossing setting and atmosphere. There wasn't really enough description, so it was really hard to picture things in my mind. Like, at a certain point Elias is riding in a "carriage" and later he says his grandfather "drove off". The only descriptor we get is that it's ebony. But is it a horse-drawn carriage? Or something else? A car? I don't know things. Like, the Masks have silver masks that morph with their faces.. but how does that work? Is it the full face or just the eyes? Do they have silver lips? Elias pulls his off at the neck, so... wut? The setting also confused me. It's clearly inspired by the middle east - which is supported by the existence of such mythological creatures as jinn, efrit, wraiths, etc. These creatures themselves are kind of cool, though usually their descriptors are glossed over as well - for many I was just picture masses of shadows and stuff, not really inspiring. But, for the middle east, it seems like there are hardly any POC characters. The majority are described as having white blond hair, silver hair, red hair, and I was just confused out my mind. I was trying to rationalize it, if the Martial Empire was like a European-esque nation that invaded a middle eastern-esque nation, but that wasn't consistent when one of the rebels(!!) has red hair. I was baffled. For what I thought would be a beautifully diverse high fantasy, this definitely failed. Second: characters. They bored me. I'm a big character reader, and I definitely think that if you're more of a plot reader, you won't have as much of an issue as I did, but these characters were so boring. They just don't have personalities that really spark, you know? A lot of the time, it felt like they were just letting things happen to them, letting the plot carry them along, so I didn't feel a strong connection. And it ties into the next point... The romance. Or, "WTF WHY SO MUCH CHEMISTRY-LESS ROMANCE?" Let's be upfront about this: there are not one but TWO love triangles in this book. Laia and Elias obviously have to get tangled up in each other because they're the two main characters. Laia also has a little thing going on with a rebel boy though, and Elias quickly comes to realize that his best friend Helene has feelings for him. But every. side. is so devoid of passion and chemistry. And I would say that's a LOT of romance for a book that's so heavy and dark - with slavery, war, rebellion, a Gladiator-type competition, etc. Now, romance isn't the focus, but that really only makes it worse because it keeps being thrown into the equation without any real development. The characters are also so bland that I can't imagine why they would be so drawn to each other when they have so many other important things going on. "It must be a purely physical thing," says my brain, desperately trying to rationalize it. Actually, I did have a passing admiration for Helene, who is a Mask also - the only female in her year. She was so bad ass and strong, but then they threw in this romance, and she got all jealous and became all petty.... and then she was kind of written off. So... way to go. Seriously. Finally: plot. The plot was undeniably the strongest aspect of the novel. When I started reading, it was incredibly easy to just immerse myself and read 100 pages in one sitting. That's kind of a big deal for me. But, on the other hand, when I put it down, I often waited three days or so to pick it back up because I just didn't feel connected to the characters. The book is split into a number of parts, and the first is admittedly a bit slow, but by part two the Trials started, and it was action-packed and quite entertaining. And Laia's spying storyline has enough twists and turns to keep people entertained as well - though I saw through some of those elements. However, the ending was again incredibly disappointing. It left so much unresolved, and that just pissed me off (especially considering the length of this monster). As I'm typing, this book is still a standalone in the sense that a sequel has not yet been contracted. But please believe me when I say that this is the start of a series, no doubt about it. First off: (view spoiler)[Laia's brother is still in jail (hide spoiler)]. Then there's just the fact that this world is still in peril - the oppression isn't resolved at all. The background for that is also still left in the dark. There was one infodumpy chapter where some myth was revealed about a mythological creature that is pulling the strings, but then we never saw that character again! This is not a standalone at all - so keep that in mind. You may want to wait until it's sure a sequel is coming (which I'm 90% sure will happen, because hype) before you pick this up. Summing Up: This is a lengthy review, but An Ember in the Ashes is not all bad. The plot did keep me entertained, for the most part, and the story itself is quite unique. But I do believe it is massively over-hyped. The characters bored me, the romance was excruciatingly bland, the world building was a murky mess, and the story left way too much unresolved at the end. My disappointment just increases when I think that this is the book that people have been raving about for the past six months or so. Wow... I really expected more. GIF it to me straight! [image] Recommended To: Fantasy fans who care more about plot than characters. *A review copy was provided by American Book Center in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the contents of the review. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Apr 10, 2015
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Apr 20, 2015
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Nov 03, 2014
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Hardcover
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| 0008179999
| 9780008179991
| 0008179999
| 4.22
| 102,472
| Aug 09, 2016
| Aug 11, 2016
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it was ok
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2 stars I did it. I killed the beast - this 600+ page monster of a novel. It took me three weeks to get through it I did it. I killed the beast - this 600+ page monster of a novel. It took me three weeks to get through it When I saw an opportunity to read the much hyped Nevernight early, I LITERALLY jumped at the chance. I did love the first book I read by Kristoff, Stormdancer, and at the time, a bloody book about assassins in a dark fantasy world sounded like a fantastic idea. I feel like a lot of us fantasy readers on the older end of young adult, who sometimes cross over to adult, are all kind of tempted by that, right? We love a fierce main character who isn't afraid to take a life - who stands for something and will let nothing and no one stand in her way to achieve it. Revenge fantasies sound both dark and fascinating. So imagine my surprise when this book just didn't really work for me on any level. The first thing to know about Kristoff: he likes his fantasy elaborate and wordy. The number of pages should have already given part of that away, but this is not the kind of fantasy that's easy to jump into or action-packed from the get go. Instead, the book takes over 100 pages to actually get going. That's when Mia finally reaches the Red Church, where she trains to be an assassin. Before that it's all world building and character development infodumps, about half of them in flashback form. Now, if you know me, you know I'm not the biggest flashback fan. So this was already working my last nerve, and I struggled to keep going. This book could have been so condensed, oh my god, I can't even. [image] The writing style is kind of odd. Yeah, it's elaborate and some may call it purple at some times. But my detachment with the writing goes even further than that. Kristoff randomly interjects his own dark and snarky humor throughout the book. Not enough to give the narration a unique and consistent voice, but just sporadically, in random sentences and footnotes which make you kind of scratch your head a little bit. Oh yeah, FOOTNOTES. Because there wasn't enough room for world building in the 600 page text, he also needed footnotes for more random facts and background information about the world that have absolutely no influence on the story and are neither interesting nor amusing. Exhibit A: But with the weight of her unneeded companions shed, Mia's camels travelled all the swifter, spitting and snorting and making whatever noise it is that camels make as they ran.[72] (Note that some footnotes were so long they spilled over onto the next page. I'm not even joking.) And that's another thing, to keep his world consistent, Kristoff changes up the slang in an otherwise pretty modern way of speaking. This world has three suns, and the religion is devoted to Aa, the God of Light. Mia, as an assassin, serves Niah, the Goddess of Night. Instead of hell, there's the "abyss", which everyone naturally shortens to "'byss" when they say, "What the 'byss is going on?" (which they say A LOT). I appreciate the efforts to create a new world with consistent terminology and understand, mostly, where it comes from, but this really annoyed me. Also, two sorcerer characters speak Shakespearean English, so really this is all over the place. The story picks up... a little. When Mia finally reaches the Red Church, it does get marginally more interesting. IMHO we don't get to see nearly enough of their lessons - those parts are kind of sped through or skipped for whatever reason - but it is an interesting setting. They do fierce training in combat, poison, seduction, and thievery. It's not at all a Hogwarts, and this is no nurturing environment. From the outset, students are whittled away - most of them dying as a result of their training or as an added mystery. I found some enjoyment in these scenes because all of the characters were rightly suspicious and combative towards each other - and yet, Mia still manages to strike up connections with select people. All the while, she's not stupid enough to forget that she's there on a mission, and they're all actually competing for four assassin positions. The teachers set up some ruthless and potentially fatal tests for the group, and Mia navigates them really well, proving on more than one occasion that she's smart as well as dangerous - physically but also psychologically. Forced romance is forced. I'm of two minds about this. I liked certain romantic scenes because - hell, that's when it really became clear this is an adult book. There is some serious hotness going on, and Kristoff writes it surprisingly well. But I did not care much for Tric, the character. And as Mia develops feelings for him, but adamantly denies said feelings, but figures she needs to learn about sex and seduction, so what the heck, let's have pleasure for the sake of pleasure... It feels forced. I kind of would have liked her to be wholly focused on her mission to be an assassin. I did not ship this. I also didn't unship it. I just didn't care for it. Do not tease me with "the most shocking plot twist ever." As the UK advance copies were sent out, photos appeared online that the publisher had included a note at a certain page number that YES that shocking thing did just happen, and people should definitely post about it on social media with their shocked faces. Now, this does not work on me. Because for one, now I know something SUPER SHOCKING is supposed to happen. And then, I know the page number where it should happen. My mind goes off without my permission and dissects everything, thinking up one million options of shocking plot twists, and ultimately deciding what would be the most awesome. And no, it's never the most awesome thing. So yeah. I was not surprised. Considering the setting and the shady nature of literally every character in this book, I more or less expected exactly what happened to happen. My pick for a more awesome plot twist? (view spoiler)[That Mister Kindly was somehow taking over control of Mia without her knowledge and killing the people. Which would have been SUPER AWESOME because then the second book would be all about an internal struggle with this darkin and... yeah. (hide spoiler)] [image] Where exactly was this book supposed to wow me? This is one of the most hyped novels of 2016. And yet... here I am. Let's see how this book did. - Writing? Too long, overwrought, odd style. I have to be in the right mood to be able to read super dense high fantasy, and I definitely was not. - World building? Interesting, though too elaborate. Weird mix of Venetian and Middle Eastern terms/descriptions? Dunno how I feel about that. - Characters? Mia gets a firm nod of respect from me, but the rest I don't really care about. - Romance? Decently hot, though I don't care for the ship. I know it's en vogue to ship couples who have sex for the heck of it without feelings, but I am not really that kind of shipper. - Plot? Alternates between intense, gory, high stakes action, intriguing mystery, and the slowest filler material. - Twists? Did not even blink. So... that's a hard no. Summing Up: I think I've adequately explained why this book didn't work for me, but I get why it exists. This book is like what would happen if Arya Stark got to be in an even darker and bloodier House of Black and White. It's playing on the trends in the book world to love assassins, blood and gore, casual sex, and revenge plots. In that sense, it's brilliantly calculated and constructed. But it feels like I saw through all of it... and I was not impressed. Over-hyped and overrated? I would say so. I mean, you know you're pretty much over a book when the sentence, "After all, this tale is only one of three," makes you visibly cringe and audibly groan. No thank you. GIF it to me straight! [image] Recommended To: Fans of denser fantasy, like A Song of Ice and Fire, or, hell, Stormdancer. *An advance review copy was provided by the American Book Center in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the contents of the review. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Jul 05, 2016
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Jul 25, 2016
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Sep 23, 2014
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Hardcover
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| 1594746125
| 9781594746123
| 1594746125
| 4.06
| 243,266
| 2014
| Jan 14, 2014
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it was ok
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2 stars Sigh. [image] This is one of those series that gets raved about all the time by everyone. It's one of the bestselling YA series of all time. And 2 stars Sigh. [image] This is one of those series that gets raved about all the time by everyone. It's one of the bestselling YA series of all time. And in theory there's nothing that "wrong" with it. But I do not get everyone's fascination. Not one bit. I enjoyed the first book quite a bit, but right from the start, Hollow City was not the same. There was more action at the start, so arguably it should be exciting. But in terms of plot and world building, this is very much a middle book. They're chasing down Miss Peregrine the whole time, but dawdling here and there and not really advancing the story until the very end. The end is arguably exciting and intense. There are some new areas and characters as well - most notably, peculiar animals - and there are a ton of interesting photographs again. But a cool concept does not necessarily equal an engaged reader. My problem with the book is mostly the same as it was in the first - I still feel very disconnected from the characters. At the beginning, I was getting a bit more engaged as the other peculiar children got considerably more page-time. But Jacob remains a very blah character to me. I don't get much personality from him. His powers are increasing exponentially which makes him very conveniently formidable. But he still makes really dumb mistakes sometimes, (view spoiler)[like NOT killing the hollow the instant he saw it in the iced up building (hide spoiler)]. The worst, though, is the romance. Because I feel a great big ZIP, ZERO, ZILCH, for Jacob and Emma. The book is not overly sappy in romance - in fact, I was wondering more than once why they felt so strongly about each other when there were barely any romantic moments to back it up - but when it comes down to it, it's blown out of proportion at the worst of times. And it caused me to basically lose all respect for Jacob. "Why do you think I stayed instead of going home? It wasn't because of my grandfather or some stupid sense of duty - not really - or because I hated my parents or didn't appreciate my home and all the nice things we had. I stayed because of you!" Actually, a pathetic loser is exactly what you sound like, Jacob. Honestly, you do not have the serious love connection to be giving up your entire life and putting yourself in constant jeopardy for one girl. You should be the tiniest bit motivated to ACTUALLY SAVE THE WORLD. Honestly. This romance feels so forced that I basically unship it now. And as the cherry on top, the world building in this is so confusing, it's honestly given me headaches. So they left the loop in the loop's actual time, so the peculiar kids DON'T age up (even though they're still over 80 years old?). Then when Emma tries to give Jacob his escape clause, she says that Miss Peregrine could manipulate a loop to bring him back to his own time. But when they exit the London loop in the crypt, someone else has to walk ahead of Jacob, because if he crossed first, they would all end up in the present time? IT MAKES ABSOLUTELY NO SENSE and I'm sick of trying to figure it out. Summing Up: I'm the black sheep. Baaaa. Honestly, this book wasn't that bad while I was reading it. It was a bit slow and not the most engaging, but the story and concept held enough mystery to keep me reading. But particularly the ending with its cringe-worthy romance and the headache-inducing world building makes me look back on this book with the utmost skepticism. I honestly don't get the hype. I just don't. GIF it to me straight [image] Recommended To: Ugh, ask someone else. *A finished copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the contents of the review. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Jun 06, 2016
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Jun 09, 2016
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Aug 28, 2014
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Hardcover
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| 0142428175
| 9780142428177
| 0142428175
| 4.37
| 291,558
| Dec 07, 2010
| Dec 07, 2010
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did not like it
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1 star [image] In spite of this somewhat happy achievement of finishing a series, Last Sacrifice was one of the most painful things for me to read. Nay, 1 star [image] In spite of this somewhat happy achievement of finishing a series, Last Sacrifice was one of the most painful things for me to read. Nay, listen to. Listen to. And check out the book info - yeah SEVENTEEN HOURS LONG. Painfully long, horrendously boring, and leading to the most clichéd and sickening ending. I should have stopped after book 3. I honestly do not know why I did this to myself. It's one of the worst decisions I've ever made. I don't even really want to talk about this anymore because for the majority of listening to this audiobook, I was yelling, "FUCK YOU ROSE!" out loud and making gagging sounds and I don't want to relive a single second of it. But, okay, here are some THINGS you have to accept if you have any hopes of liking this book and, ultimately, this series. 1. Dimitri is a GOD. And Rose will remind you of this any chance she gets. He is the strongest fighter ever. He has a god-like body. And obviously his god status absolves him of anything he did in Siberia. He was not himself. (view spoiler)[Indeed, Rose killing Victor was MUCH worse than any of the things Dimitri did. Victor was just a stand up guy, after all. (hide spoiler)] Dimitri is flawless. (Admittedly, I also have extreme difficulty finding him even remotely attractive because of the creepy and cringeworthy Russian accent the narrator gives him.) 2. Rose is the best ever. She's not annoying at all. She's hot, and every guy understandably falls at her feet. The guy at the crazy hippie commune instaloving all over her? Yeah, that was cool. I can totally get that. And it's not like she selfishly uses everyone around her to further her own and Lissa's agenda. Adrian, Jill, they're just peasants compared to Rose - tools to be used. And she makes great speeches, especially when getting to dramatically reveal a surprise murderer, and no, that certain murderer's relative didn't deserve to get a heads up about that. 3. Rose and Dimitri are (view spoiler)[meant to be together. (hide spoiler)] (view spoiler)[They are the perfect match. There is no equal. Chemistry? Meh. That guy kidnapped and tortured you? Meh. His personality isn't super boring either. He's a god and their souls are linked so none of this matters. (hide spoiler)] 4. Adrian? (view spoiler)[I mean he's nice. But he's not Dimitri. So that makes it completely okay to cheat on him. (hide spoiler)] (view spoiler)[I can't keep up my sarcasm for this point because I wanted to smash shit into walls when Rose honestly CHEATS on Adrian. Not that her emotional cheating all the time before that was okay, and yeah, the way she was using him just because she couldn't bare to be alone for five seconds also pissed me off. But she CHEATS on him. She has SEX with Dimitri, while in a relationship with Adrian. And then she hardly feels guilty about it at all, because, I mean, come on, it's Dimitri, and we're made for each other, and I'll just deal with Adrian later - after he's of no more use to me. When she finally has that conversation with him and he is RIGHTFULLY outraged, she has the nerve to sound like the most condescending bitch in the world. I hate you, Rose. I seriously hate you. You don't deserve even a shred of Adrian's love. (hide spoiler)] 5. Lissa is goodness incarnate. And that makes her so cool and interesting. Man, it's so awesome when characters are completely freaking flawless and perfect. That didn't make the plot here completely predictable as fuck. It made Lissa the opposite of the most boring character ever. I would totally give my life to protect her. SHE COMES FIRST. 6. Stories that drag on and on and on are super awesome. 17 hours is still pretty short in my eyes. And I mean, it was only like 70% romantic melodrama. God how I wish there had been more. Summing Up: This book pissed me the fuck off. Clearly. I can't even with this shit. You don't read Richelle Mead books for plot. It was so thin here, and it dragged on for ages. The twists and conclusions were either completely predictable (and thus boring) or pulled out of thin air with no basis and probably leaving plenty of plot holes behind. But I wouldn't even know that, because I stopped caring. You read Richelle Mead books for romance, and if you are not on the right ship, you will continually want to vomit your brains out. I thought I would be excited to be able to move on to Bloodlines now, and I still think I have a better chance of liking that series, but I need a break. I need space. It's not you, it's me. I just need the right kind of balance in my life. And other break-up clichés that Rose uses unironically. GIF it to me straight! Last Sacrifice, more like... [image] Recommended To: People who are on THE RIGHT SHIP. The cliché ship. The boring as fuck ship. Yeah. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Sep 21, 2014
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Oct 19, 2014
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Aug 19, 2014
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Audio CD
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| 0374384711
| 9780374384715
| 4.09
| 67,076
| Mar 03, 2015
| Mar 03, 2015
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liked it
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3 stars Oh, oh, The Winner's Crime. This is certainly one of the most hyped up young adult series at the moment, and yet again I find myself not necess 3 stars Oh, oh, The Winner's Crime. This is certainly one of the most hyped up young adult series at the moment, and yet again I find myself not necessarily the black sheep - because I do like it - but the puzzled sheep, who really doesn't understand the raving love for this series. With a slow, slow plot of convenience, with far too much focus on a romance I don't ship too much, The Winner's Crime was enjoyable but suffered a bit from middle book syndrome. I think I should be upfront with my main stumbling block for this series: I'm not really invested in the romance. I did like Kestrel and Arin in the first book, and certainly the positions they were in led to some sexual tension and chemistry. But only some. I wasn't completely sold on it, and to me the relationship development just skipped a few steps in the first book to make me full fledged ship it. Unfortunately, The Winner's Crime did not really fix that for me. And while otherwise I could ignore my passive liking for the ship, this series is turning out way too romance-heavy for me to focus on the rest. Now, there are other things going on, and for most of The Winner's Crime, Kestrel and Arin are in different cities. But they think about each other all the time. And it becomes pretty sappy in how the smallest things will remind them of each other. For example: Kestrel is standing on a box while her dressmaker fits her for a dress, and of course this reminds her of an auctioning block, and how Arin stood on one of them once. Yeah. That happens in pretty much every other scene from both points of view. If you're not invested in this ship, you're just going to end up raising your eyebrows like, "Really?" It's hard for me to care about them since they don't really have much interaction in this book to suddenly convince me of how they need to be together. (Though, I'll admit that balcony scene did make my heart flutter just a little.) Certainly if you do have those feelings, likely every one of these moments will fill your heart with pain. But I am of a different mind. And I think the other reason why I have trouble shipping this romance is because I care next to nothing about Arin. Kestrel I love, and certainly when she's busy with political scheming, I am so impressed by her intelligence and strategic brilliance. She's a force to be reckoned with, and I do admire her. Arin to me just has no personality. I hardly care about him at all. For most of The Winner's Crime, aside from these romantic musings about each other, it felt like nothing was happening. The plot seemed aimless if not nonexistent. I just didn't really get where anything was going. I wanted there to be more political scheming, but even with Kestrel's new position, she barely gets any new insights. She's just as clueless as the Herrani. I like courtly politics, and spying and scheming is definitely my jam, but it felt random in this book. They make such leaps and jump to such conclusions that in my mind would never be logical. Like, out of nowhere, Arin realizes that a clue could be found in who makes a correct (or highly specific, and thus likely correct) bet on what Kestrel's wedding dress looks like. Because obviously the emperor would trade knowledge about her wedding dress for favors from politicians. It's just bogus and bizarre and why would anyone think of that? And the rest of the political scheming and spying is so diluted... it felt like 80% of this book was filler material. But. The ending was killer. The ending really was awesome, when I could ignore the obvious plot holes in how the whole spying/scheming thing led up to it. The stakes were suddenly really high, and Kestrel's emotional distress got to me. It was really exciting and I couldn't stop reading, and I am thrilled to think about where this story is now heading. For much of The Winner's Crime Kestrel was in a position where she just couldn't do much... but that's about to change. I think the last book will (hopefully) blow us all away. Extra shout outs for things that I adored: Prince Verex, who starts out distant and resentful but actually becomes a trusting friend and adviser to Kestrel. Kestrel is trapped by her position, but Verex has even more experience with the emperor's threats and control issues, and he's not as stupid and blind about it as you may think at first. (And the scene with the puppy omggggggg.) Roshar and Arin's banterful friendship did help to lighten the mood, and I wish there had been more of that. And Kestrel's complicated relationship with her father. I get a lot of feels from father-daughter relationships, and this one is such a complex rollercoaster, but I adore it. It really helps those themes of duty vs. love, and please hold my heart now. Summing Up: While I did enjoy The Winner's Crime, particularly after it's strong ending, I have my reservations about it too. If you're not fully on board the Kestrel/Arin ship, their endless longing for each other and countless needless misunderstandings will make this romance feel just a bit contrived. The plot here is almost too slow to make up for it. But that ending... it's worth it. I can't wait to see where we go next! GIF it to me straight! [image] Recommended To: The Kestrel/Arin shippers, certainly. *An electronic review copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the contents of the review. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Feb 20, 2015
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Feb 22, 2015
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Apr 25, 2014
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ebook
| |||||||||||||||
| 1423171039
| 9781423171034
| 1423171039
| 3.94
| 21,575
| Dec 23, 2014
| Dec 23, 2014
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it was ok
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2.5 stars Though the hype sort of kept me from full-fledged fangirling over These Broken Stars , I definitely still enjoyed that book immensely. Unf 2.5 stars Though the hype sort of kept me from full-fledged fangirling over These Broken Stars , I definitely still enjoyed that book immensely. Unfortunately, This Shattered World did not exactly live up to its predecessor. Though the sci-fi aspects were still pretty cool, the characters just didn't charm me. This Shattered World takes place in the same universe as These Broken Stars a few months later, on a new planet called Avon. Avon is in the process of terraforming (a sci-fi concept I still completely love) but it seems to be stuck in the developing stages. The main characters this time around are Jubilee (AKA Lee), a soldier who is charged with keeping the planet safe and peaceful, and Flynn, the leader of the rebellion - native inhabitants who want independence. The two sides are currently at a rocky ceasefire, but the conflict goes deep - and so we have a star-crossed lovers situation. That's ultimately my biggest problem here: the romance was too obvious, cliché, and prevalent for me. Considering the fact that there is an actual war going on, I got annoyed by Jubilee and Flynn's preoccupations with each other. And while it's not instalove, the second they meet, you just know they're going to be endgame. And while the road is not easy and definitely rocky, it was still too obvious for me. I just didn't care. It didn't really have a spark or intense chemistry to me - not enough to warrant their infatuation in the midst of all that fighting and the mystery of what's going on on the planet. If they had just been enemies who became unlikely friends and allies, that would have worked better for me. The jump to romance just reeked of Romeo & Juliet level sap. I'm not saying it's terrible - but it definitely did not get me to ship it. I don't hate it either - I just don't care. Part of my indifference also stems from the fact that I didn't particularly like either of them as characters either. Jubilee was doing all right as a strong, independent fighter, but then that romance thing came along... I was also so confused about her dream-like passages in between chapters. I mean, it plays a role in the story, but it just confused me more than anything. I ended up skimming over those passages after a while because they were so nonsensical (and sappy about Flynn). Flynn was just... too good for me. I know I'm supposed to be charmed by his honor and desire to find peace and everything, but he just became kind of boring to me. And the biggest problem is that Jubilee and Flynn's chapters read largely the same. The only real reason you're able to tell them apart is because they so often think of the other. I kind of felt that way about These Broken Stars with Lilac and Tarver's voices as well, but here it's even more of an issue, which worries me a bit about this writing partnership. But the book wins points on its world building and plot. I really like the universe that Kaufman and Spooner have built: the terraforming planet, the Fury that infects the soldiers with murderous rage, the mystery of the vanishing island, the continuing threat of LaRoux Industries... it kept me on my toes and interested to find out more. There are some more eyebrow raising things though - like the bizarre strong influence of the Irish on Avon. This is HUNDREDS of years in the future - no matter what Earth is like right now, I'm pretty sure these people, who have been on Avon for generations, would not feel so ...Irish. The plot is also really convenient and simplistic at times, like when (view spoiler)[Flynn is going to make a galaxy-wide broadcast, and he somehow knows exactly which buttons to push to do that based on a memory of his mother doing it in front of him as a tiny little kid. In any case, what was his mother doing making galaxy-wide broadcasts? How does any of this makes sense? (hide spoiler)] The execution of the story is all still told in a rather exciting and intriguing way, but it loses some logic points here and there. (view spoiler)[I will never get over how ridiculous it was for Jubilee to seriously say to the whispers that she'll help them wipe out the galaxy so long as they don't kill Flynn right then and there. No. That they'll save you two for last is definitely worth killing humanity. (hide spoiler)] I was, however, really thrilled that Lilac and Tarver both make appearances in this book with meaningful roles. I remembered how much I did like them in These Broken Stars and they're so cute together! It pretty much makes me wish the series would just have continued with them though, because they're so much more interesting than Jubilee and Flynn. Summing Up: I hate to say it, but it's true: I'm disappointed in This Shattered World. It had one too many logic fails and was bogged down with some boring main characters and sappy romance. The universe Kaufman and Spooner have built still has a lot of potential - and I loved getting to see the pieces moving, getting ready for a final conflict in the last book of the series. I think it'll be plenty dramatic and explosive. I just hope that the characters will be more interesting than Jubilee and Flynn, and that Lilac and Tarver will come back to be awesome. Thinking on it now, I'm pretty sure This Shattered World suffered from some serious middle book syndrome, and ultimately its significance in the series will be minimal, but I will be reading the next one anyway. GIF it to me straight! [image] Recommended To: Fans of Romeo and Juliet-style romances. *Bound manuscript provided by the publisher at BEA. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the contents of the review. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Nov 24, 2014
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Nov 29, 2014
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Mar 12, 2014
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Hardcover
| ||||||||||||||
| 159514174X
| 9781595141743
| 159514174X
| 4.11
| 656,458
| Aug 16, 2007
| Jan 01, 2007
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liked it
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3 stars I start this review with the utmost trepidation because... well here's a book that pretty much every YA reader on the planet loves. It has craz 3 stars I start this review with the utmost trepidation because... well here's a book that pretty much every YA reader on the planet loves. It has crazy amounts of crazy fans and, well, I didn't think it was fantastic. It wasn't bad either. It did make me want to bash my head against the wall at some points (we'll get to that), but some other points were genuinely good. But did it have me jumping out of my chair, bursting with joy, ecstatic about the awesome? Far from it. Let's add some context of my reading situation, because I don't want to lead you on. I am not a vampire fan. In fact, I'm pretty much a vampire hater. I get creeped out by them, I don't think sucking blood is sexy, it's just not for me. So I was planning to just avoid this, and never read it (as with all books with 'vampires' in the title/synopsis), but no. *tsks* My friends couldn't leave well enough alone. They were all like: [image] And the awesome Judith made me an offer I couldn't refuse (ha) by sending the book to me so I wouldn't even have to buy it or find some other place to borrow it. So obviously, I had to read it. But by that time I was curious. I mean, I might like it. I might hate it. Curiosity was getting the better of me. So while I was still very skeptical about it, I set off on my reading journey, deciding to liveblog it on Twitter (#vampirehaterreadsVA) to provide some LOLs or impressions. My problem with Vampire Academy surprisingly is not the vampire aspect. Usually, I'm, like, vampires? [image] And I was scared, when I started reading, that already on page 3 there was a "feeding" scene. I thought it wouldn't end well. But the vampire aspect is rather tame, to be honest. As Rose herself is not a vampire but a Dhampir, a half-blood vampire bodyguard, that typical stuff is kept largely out of the picture. In fact, I quite liked these vampires. Much better than Twilight, in any case. These vampires are harmed by the sun, can wield elemental magic, and have an old fashioned monarchical, classist society. I do kind of dislike that their saliva is like a drug to the people they feed on, but... I managed to ignore that for the most part. So what was my biggest problem with Vampire Academy? What made me want to throw the book across the room and bash my head against the wall sometimes? Rose. Yes, I know, you're all gaping at the screen right now. "How could she say that??? Rose is the most badass character ever!!!" Well, tough. [image] You should already be proud of me that it's not the vampire thing bugging me. But here's the thing with Rose. Everyone says she's badass. Sure, she's reckless, loud, honest and won't take shit from anybody. But. There's a fine line between being awesomely badass and being obnoxiously cocky and conceited. And I feel like Rose crosses that line many, many times. Some examples of what I mean: The incident had given me a dangerous reputation, in addition to my smartass one. The story had gained legendary status, and I liked to imagine that it was still being told around campfires late at night. - Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead Natalie was nice but also one of the most uninteresting people I knew. - Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead I knew I was pretty, but to Moroi boys, my body was more than just pretty: it was sexy in a risqué way. - Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead He was boring, yes, but safe. Just like Natalie. How come all the harmless people were so lame? - Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead I knew perfectly well that there weren't a lot of girls at this school who looked as good in a bra as I did. - Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead [image] Now, okay, you're all probably still glaring at me. Because, yes, to a certain extent it is refreshing to have a main character with a bit higher self-esteem than most. But when it's page after page of comments like this... Seriously, in some parts, on each page Rose was belittling different characters in her narrations, particularly Natalie - all the time. I got sick of her attitude. I wanted to throw the book across the room. It's a brand of cocky I can't take. Now, I want to be perfectly honest: had I not borrowed this book from Judith, and had it not had all this praise from everyone who's read it, I would have given up. That's how badly she pissed me off. All the time I was reading, I just kept thinking... [image] Luckily... I can say that she did seem to have grown a little by the end of the book. But I'm still extremely weary of her. She still needs a reality check and a slap across the face. (Also, the way she's so flirty and devil-may-care with her sexual reputation really bothered me for the fact that she was still a virgin.) So I kept reading and kept reading... I didn't really know why. It's a really simple read, compulsively readable, one might say. I was sometimes annoyed by the juvenile narrations, but I set that aside, just because it read so quickly. But yeah, the writing style leaves more to be desired. The plot never really hooked me either. I kept waiting and waiting to be sucked in or blown away, but it never happened. I had no clue where the story was going (and not in the good way, in the "where the hell is my plot?" way) and there was no real mystery sucking me in either. I was reading this just to read it because I'd promised friends I would. The plot was just... boring? average? However, this negativity all out of the way, there were things I liked too. I liked Christian - he was probably my favorite character, because his devil may care attitude closely resembled my own attitude while reading this. I gradually warmed up to Dimitri, though I am not a screaming fangirl for him by any means. Lissa was really intriguing to me, and I think she's mostly why I kept reading, all things said and done. Her friendship with Rose was... interesting. I like it, for the most part. The last quarter of the book was truly enjoyable though. Things finally started happening - interesting things (and not childish boarding school bitch wars). The romance between Rose and Dimitri certainly is hot. There's no getting around that. It definitely caught my attention, and I enjoyed it. And, as I said, Rose appeared to have grown a little. Action-esque plot things happened, some reveals were made, but nothing really blew my mind. It was fun to read, but, turning to the final page, I was still waiting to be wowed. Summing Up: This is... a guilty pleasure read. Certainly, it has mass market appeal, proven by the screaming fangirls and glowing reviews. While it did have points of merit, I'm still not blown away. It was an all right read, but, to me, not really worth of all the hype. It's a fast and easily digestible read, there's hot boys, but Rose remains a stumbling block for me. Will I continue with the series? I honestly don't know. I've heard it gets better and better, and the third book is particularly amazing, but I don't know if it's really worth my time if I'm not convinced here. And I don't know if Rose will really grow or if she will just continue to irritate me. Maybe I'll pick the second book up when I have cleared out my to-read list, have some free time, and want some nice romance on a rainy day. Because, yeah, I'd probably just be reading it for the romance. GIF it to me straight! [image] Recommended To: Err... I don't know. I'm probably the black sheep here. Most readers would like it. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Jun 24, 2013
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Jun 26, 2013
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Jun 15, 2013
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Paperback
| ||||||||||||||
| 0374384673
| 9780374384678
| 0374384673
| 3.95
| 111,349
| Mar 04, 2014
| Mar 04, 2014
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really liked it
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4 stars The Winner's Curse is easily the most hyped up 2014 release so far, and it's not hard to see why. Indeed this book is fantastic, and it will ap 4 stars The Winner's Curse is easily the most hyped up 2014 release so far, and it's not hard to see why. Indeed this book is fantastic, and it will appeal to pretty much every young adult reader out there. Although I feel like the hype did raise my expectations too high, and it was impossible for the book to live up to that perfectly, I definitely loved this book. The Winner's Curse comes out swinging, with a fantastic main character. Kestrel is extremely intelligent. Though she isn't that powerful physically, her gift is her mind, which she uses to analyze the people around her and strategize to get things her way. I absolutely loved that. She has a snarky side that I definitely appreciate, and overall it was really easy to find a connection to her. I mean, she's also a music lover and a piano player. Props to you, girl. I loved being in her head. And I loved seeing her interact with other characters, like Enai and Jess. The secondary characters overall were really well fleshed out. It took me a tiny bit longer to get used to Arin, from whose point of view we also get to read. He is the slave that Kestrel buys, and, as the blurb indicates, finds growing affection for his mistress. I liked the uniqueness of that premise - the forbidden romance, the mistress and her slave. It was definitely new and intriguing, at least for me. In any case, it was wonderfully executed. Arin starts off dark and surly, but gradually begins to lighten up. I was definitely intrigued by him, because he's clearly hiding quite a few secrets. So it's fair to say that he grew on me as time went by. This romance is set in a beautifully depicted world. Kestrel, a Valorian, is a native of a vast empire that has been conquering and colonizing much of the world. She lives in the land of the Herrani - who were obliterated in a war, with any survivors placed into slavery. Now the Valorians live like royals. Picture your basic historical fiction read with social calls, courtly duties and intrigue, arranged marriages, balls, dancing, duels, rumors, gossiping, etc. Now, while I really liked the setting that we got, I was under the impression that this was a high fantasy. It's not. It's fantasy in the sense that it takes place in a world that doesn't exist. But there's no magic, no magical creatures, none of that. So. Just FYI. The plot was interesting too. I really appreciated getting to see more political aspects in such a fantasy world, and the scheming that takes place behind the scenes. Kestrel gets a good view of this, as her father is the general, and she's grown up being fed military strategy and history. Fantasy doesn't usually go for that kind of side so I appreciated it. There was a fair bit of action too (though I expected a bit more) -- moments where Kestrel shows exactly what a badass she is. Overall, however, the book is not action-based - it delves more into the characters, their emotions, and their relationships. It's more introspective, which I enjoyed, even if it wasn't quite what I expected. It gave a great message about slavery, racial tension, and human rights; and of trying to see things from someone else's perspective. I think for this book to have is full "blows you away" effect, you have to be a majorly heavy shipper of the romance. And I guess that's what's holding me back from fully being over the moon about it. It really took quite a while for the romance to grow on me. I can't exactly pinpoint why. But it just wasn't as beautiful as I expected? In the face of some amazing OTPs that I've already found this year (Nyx and Ignifex; Will and Vicky) this one pales a bit in comparison. The dynamic between Kestrel and Arin took a while to appeal to me. I felt like, for me, it wasn't that effective because it seemed to try to go for a hate-to-love route, but it skipped some crucial steps, and right away was more on the love side of things. But towards the end of the book, I was definitely a fan. Yay for awesome kissy scenes. Yayyyy. I have to say, the ending made me very excited, because for sure the next book will delve more into the politics, scheming, manipulation that I kind of expected to see more of here. (Here, there was just a bit too much time spent with the characters sitting around or locked up - to let the romance blossom.) I think that's mostly what I was waiting on in this one that didn't quite deliver. I'm familiar with the winner's curse, as a business student, so it's not like that part was particularly eye opening or mind blowing to me. I wanted more scheming. And, of course, in the sequel the forbidden romance will for sure get good. That ending was awesome, totally not a cliffhanger, and very promising. So I'm pretty darn pumped. Summing Up: Overall, I definitely enjoyed The Winner's Curse. Did the massive amount of hype leave me a tiny bit disappointed? Yes. But I have little to complain about other than that I want more: more romantic development, more politics and scheming, and more time with these characters. So I'm still extremely satisfied and excited to see where the series goes next. I love the world Rutkoski created, and Kestrel seriously kicks butt. It's definitely a Debby Book -- it just isn't my favorite book of all time, which, with the hype, I was kind of expecting. GIF it to me straight! [image] Recommended To: Fans of politics and (historical) romance. ** ARC was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect the rating or contents of the review. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Feb 03, 2014
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Feb 05, 2014
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Jun 02, 2013
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Hardcover
| ||||||||||||||
| 1250030951
| 9781250030955
| 1250030951
| 3.95
| 757,346
| Sep 10, 2013
| Sep 10, 2013
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really liked it
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4 stars If you've been around the reading community for the past 3-4 months, you'll have heard about Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell. It was inescapable. The 4 stars If you've been around the reading community for the past 3-4 months, you'll have heard about Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell. It was inescapable. The hype was everywhere. Everyone was buying it. Everyone was reading it. Everyone was rating it 4-5 stars. Despite me having pre-ordered it, thanks to the wonderful (read: awful) service of the Book Depository, it took a month and a half before this book was finally in my hands. But off we went on this reading adventure. As a bookworm, and a fangirl, it wasn't hard at all to find a connection to Cath. I could see a lot of myself in her, including the introverted behavior and distancing oneself from others. Her love for the Simon Snow fandom reminded me of my younger years, obsessed with of course Harry Potter but also various anime and manga. Rainbow Rowell's writing shone through and made her personality even more endearing. Truly, I get the fuss over Rainbow Rowell's writing style now. I have given in to buying Attachments, and I have Eleanor & Park on my wishlist. Anyway, the book is filled with cute, and if you don't giggle or squee at certain points, well, you're missing out. Levi is absolutely adorable. I loved that the romance part of this book wasn't all head on, in your face, and obvious. No, I loved Levi from the first mention, but it wasn't clear that he would be the love interest. His relationship with Cath develops at a snail's pace, but that made it so much more heartfelt and realistic. For Cath, an introvert who is not used to letting people in, this was the only way to believably get her into a relationship. But oh how adorable were those two together? Serious, serious love. I also want to praise the realism of not only the college setting (this is how to do New Adult, folks), but also the family dynamics. While the sisterly bickering did at times get a bit bothersome, I could see the realism in it as I also don't have the best relationship with my sister. And analyzing the dynamic between twins? Definitely intriguing. But Cath's relationship with her father was super endearing. I really loved how that element turned out. Family is important, guys, and I feel like in almost all the books I read it's always about the mother needing help. Fatherly love ftw, okay? Okay. I definitely enjoyed this book a whole, whole lot, but I felt a tiny bit let down at the end. Why? I didn't feel like there had been enough change on Cath's part. Like, I recognize the fact that at the end she has Levi, her sister, and Reagan (who is made of awesome, like seriously), but at the end she still kind of remains in her shell and her fandom world. I mean, I don't think she should suddenly have transitioned into the most outgoing person in the world, but I definitely feel like there could have been more development there. The kind of contemporary that I love the most is the kind where there's an overarching message that inspires me to make changes in my own life - or reflect on past decisions. I didn't really have that with Fangirl like I did with Adorkable , Golden , Just One Day , This Song Will Save Your Life , etc., and that is ultimately the reason why this won't be as high on my favorites list as those other ones. And a final small complaint is that, after a while, the fanfiction excerpts or excerpts from the Simon Snow books between chapters became rather pointless. At first they were kind of fun, but the novelty wore off quickly. As they hardly added to the story, I considered skipping them. They weren't that enjoyable. Summing Up: Fangirl is a book I'll happily recommend to people looking for a light contemporary. The romance is so adorable, so even though the book was surprisingly long, I didn't have any trouble getting through it. And for a primarily romance-focused book, that says a lot for me. Anyway, I hardly think that you need my recommendation to go and pick this book up, because it's getting praise from all sides, but I'll toss my hat in the ring as well. It's a great read. Rainbow Rowell's writing is fantastic. While it's not an absolute favorite, it's a book I'll happily reread and call a Debby Book. GIF it to me straight! [image] Recommended To: Introverted fangirls, which should mean all of you, right? ;) ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Oct 19, 2013
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Oct 22, 2013
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Apr 26, 2013
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Hardcover
| ||||||||||||||
| 1250012570
| 9781250012579
| 1250012570
| 3.94
| 1,197,587
| Apr 12, 2012
| Feb 26, 2013
|
it was ok
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2 oranges This is one of those books that I'd put off reading for a super long time because the hype was so intense. I mean, I got it as a present with 2 oranges This is one of those books that I'd put off reading for a super long time because the hype was so intense. I mean, I got it as a present with a vigorous side of book pushing ^^; And I am grateful, but it's not quite a slam dunk for me. Partially the book suffered because I read it too slowly. I took almost a month to read this book. That's not really the best pace when the story kind of requires you to be swept up in the wave of feels, and I'm sure that if I read it quicker I would have more of an emotional attachment. But aside from that, this book is just so... sweet. Eleanor and Park are sweet. They're obviously experiencing their first serious romance, and they both become quite sentimental and clingy. Sentiment is not really my thing. For Eleanor it's all very understandable, and I am sympathetic because of her home situation. But the overall tone of the romance is that she just can't believe he's even interested in her and feels like she doesn't deserve him. And that, to me, is a little exhausting. I don't feel like she ever got to that character growth part where she realizes that she is worthy of love and she is a person deserving of attention, respect, and admiration. That definitely would have made me love this more. I also feel like a lot of details in the book just weren't fleshed out. Why did Tina hate her so much? Why, for that matter, were all the kids so rude to her? "They're just bullies. That's what bullies do," seems to be the explanation, but that's kind of disappointing. What was with Park's dad's obsession with him driving stick shift? Seriously, random. Why, for that matter, did he seem to dislike him so much? There could have been so much more depth to get me engrossed in these characters. Having read Fangirl and loving that book completely, I guess my expectations were a bit higher than this. The hype also helped that along. But I couldn't relate as much to these characters and I feel less impressed by Rowell's writing style. It was enjoyable, sure, and not a bad book. I can imagine fans of sweet first romance stories could easily get swept up in this, and I did feel some anxiety towards the climax of the book - a good sign. But I want a little more depth and a little more banter in my romances. (Sorry Daph ;_____;) ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Jun 07, 2017
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Jul 2017
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Mar 27, 2013
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Hardcover
| ||||||||||||||
| 4.13
| 166,008
| Apr 02, 2013
| Apr 02, 2013
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it was ok
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2.5 stars When this book first came out in February, it had an amazing amount of hype. Praise was thrown around everywhere, this book was apparently ju 2.5 stars When this book first came out in February, it had an amazing amount of hype. Praise was thrown around everywhere, this book was apparently just amazing, and one of the best things the New Adult genre had to offer. Soon afterwards it was picked up by HarperCollins to be published for real. All that buzz, all that hype, and the fact that I love Jennifer's Lux series, meant I had to read this one at some point. Ultimately, however, I'm not too impressed. It was good but not great, and I'll probably forget about it before too long. This was my first foray into the New Adult genre, which many readers have either been praising the crap out of or been extremely skeptical about. I fall under the latter category. I appreciated the somewhat heavier topics covered in this book (rape, suicide, drinking, sex) and the college setting, which was a nice change of pace. But for all intents and purposes this felt very much like a young adult contemporary romance with some erotica thrown in. At some points it just felt like Wait for You was trying too hard. And what do I mean by that? Something kept me from really being absorbed by the story, and that left me on the outside, looking in, ready to question anything. From pop culture references (Harry Potter, Supernatural, etc) to over-the-top cliché romance. The one thing I may just remember about this book was this really weird scene. Avery had gotten drunk, and Cam was in her apartment taking care of her. She throws up in the bathroom until there's nothing left, and he decides she needs to change her clothes to get into bed. But with the literal excuse of I don't know where you keep your clean clothes he instead takes off HIS SHIRT (so...yay... we can ogle his hot body again) and makes her wear it, cuing this awkward scene of him undressing her, but being modest about it sort of and turning around at points but... seriously? smh. I appreciated the obvious struggles Avery was going through and her resistance to trusting people considering her past, and that ultimately made her story rather endearing. But in terms of personality, I didn't really connect with her. And Cam chases after her, asking her out almost every day for months. I honestly just didn't understand why and when he tried to explain it himself, the reason was basically that she was different and beautiful. But honestly, you don't chase after someone for so long without a good reason. I am a skeptic, I know, and I don't read pure romance often, but contrived romance like this is the reason why. While I get some of the hype about Cam, in that he is wonderfully patient and supportive, hot, funny, etc... he bothered me at times too. Not just by how he was so completely smitten with Avery (without good reason), but his insistence on calling her "sweetheart". He first did so around the second or third time that they met. And then it just continued. It didn't sound natural to me, and every time he repeated it, I cringed. I dislike pet names. But in this case it also just clashed with the image I had of him and made the dialogue sound stilted. Ultimately my frustration with Wait for You stems from how slow it moves. And I don't mean that I wanted to get to the hot, erotic scenes faster, that's not the point. I mean that Avery's resistance to trusting others was believable, but it dragged on for way too long, leading to too many almost-hot scenes before backing off again. It took too long for her to get that reality check she so desperately needed. And while they tried to keep what happened to her a sort of mystery that gradually unraveled, I basically had it figured out in the first quarter of the book. Knowing what happened to her but still waiting for that inevitable confrontation scene where it all comes out is just plain frustrating. Summing Up: The New Adult genre may not be for me after all. I'm not one to shy away from sexy scenes, no, but I felt like this was just trying too hard. The romance was at times great and at times completely cringe-worthy. I will praise the realism and the effort to tackle some tougher issues, and ultimately I think a lot of readers in college (or later) will like it, as it is rather easy to relate to. But for me, this was purely a one-shot escapism book: entertaining for a while, but I'll forget about it soon. The characters and the romance were not amazing enough to get my praise. GIF it to me straight! [image] Still waiting to be wowed... Recommended To: 18+ fans of contemporary romance. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Jul 10, 2013
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Jul 12, 2013
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Mar 20, 2013
|
Nook
| |||||||||||||||||
| 0399162410
| 9780399162411
| 0399162410
| 4.01
| 464,311
| May 07, 2013
| May 07, 2013
|
did not like it
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1 star. That's right, 1 star. Did I s-s-stutter? WARNING: This review contains spoilers. I've hidden the big ones. Proceed at your own risk. I think The 1 star. That's right, 1 star. Did I s-s-stutter? WARNING: This review contains spoilers. I've hidden the big ones. Proceed at your own risk. I think The 5th Wave was the most hyped up non-sequel book of 2013. In my opinion, at least, it definitely was. (Well there's These Broken Stars too, but I think The 5th Wave was bigger.) As I am writing this, my friend average on Goodreads is 4.04. I... how... I... no. [image] The hype train can kindly go fuck itself and get the hell out of my life forever and always. As you may have noticed by now, and by my rating, I am not a fan. And it wasn't even that I had majorly high expectations. No. I made a conscious decision not to pick this up right after its release. I waited and waited. By the time it became our January book club pick, I remembered almost nothing about this book. Except, of course, that almost everyone rated it with four or five stars. Which usually would be a pretty safe indicator that I would like it too. I mean, we're not talking about four or five ratings here - I just counted, and that's 70 ratings. I feel deceived. *sobs* So needless to say, I thought this would be good. Aside from all the high ratings, it's science fiction! There's aliens! The apocalypse! They've almost won and conquered the Earth! This should be awesome! It's like War of the Worlds! But no. For me, it definitely wasn't. This book never even reached 3 star territory for me. It just didn't. Let's do this review with a breakdown, interview style. [image] Did you like the writing? Good to cover this first - uh, no. It takes a special kind of gift to make an apocalypse, aliens taking over and annihilating the human race, boring. I was bored. I can't even pin-point what it was exactly but the writing was extremely bland to me. I didn't feel any connection to the characters. And then they started switching points of view, there was also pretty much no contrast. First person, where the characters sound identical. Bad sign. If I stopped reading halfway through a POV section and later picked it back up, I had to double check which character was speaking. That bad. Not only that, but the boringness almost put me into a reading slump. I had no desire to continue to read. The only reason I pushed through is because this was a book club book. But what about the plot, Debby? I mean, it's an alien apocalypse. That's got to have caught your attention. Caught it and lost it again very quickly. Look, I'm all for aliens taking over the universe, but again, it just became so. boring. The beginning was the best part. I enjoyed seeing through Cassie's eyes what happened in the first four waves. It was a bit creepy, it was dark. Hey, here's an idea? Why couldn't we have had the book set in that time? Watch the first four waves happen in real time? Because honestly I would have been all over that shit. Now, it's just Cassie. Alone in the world. Looking for her brother, Sam. But the action and suspense and, even, dare I say it, HORROR that I was looking for was almost eliminated entirely due to the asdfjkl;asdjfkl;-worthy romance. But we'll get to that. On the other hand, there's Ben or, as he goes by his nickname, Zombie. He gets caught up in a sect that's being trained to fight back against the invasion. But it all moves so. terribly. slowly. This added to my boredom and lack of desire to read. You'd think there would be this pressing suspense that would keep me on the edge of my seat, but no. There never really was. [image] Okay, so what's up? Why you hatin' on the romance? How is nobody else hating on the romance, to be honest? It's taken straight out of a paranormal romance book and I cannot bring myself to care. Not only is it pretty much devoid of all chemistry, it frustrated me to no end. First off, Evan is a creepy little fucker who feels the need to stand outside Cassie's door constantly. When she tells him to go away, he ignores her. He is a fucking stalker, reaching Edward-levels of stalkage. Cassie infuriatingly ogles him even though, with the end of the world, she should have other priorities. Then she has mood swings that drove me up the wall and made no freaking sense at all. "What? We weren't even takling about that! And why would you want to go with me, Evan? Since you think he's dead?" How... What... HUH?!? But fair enough, Cassie pretty quickly realizes that something is off about Evan. She tiptoes around the idea that (view spoiler)[maybe, just maybe, quite possibly, he might be a Silencer. (hide spoiler)] Just, you know, for 300 pages. It only took about 10 pages for me to figure it out, but okay. While she is suspicious of him, she narrates the ten thousand questions she wants to ask him, but never asks them. Even when things start getting revealed, she continues that and UGH CAN YOU NOT. [image] Meanwhile, Evan is nursing her back to health, and THAT LITTLE SHIT keeps telling her that she wouldn't survive without him. Literally. Literally he tells her that. WOW. I LOVE BEING TOLD I'M HELPLESS. THAT'S THE FUCKING DREAM. She never even says anything back to that either. (And yes, I know she's injured at the time.) No, only a paragraph later she again muses about how fucking beautiful he looks. Even though by this time she knows (view spoiler)[he is bad news. THAT HE'S A KILLER. THAT HE'S WANTED TO KILL HER. (hide spoiler)] At times, Yancey attempts to make Cassie look like she's strong and independent, but then the romance comes in and paints her as a completely useless human being and any chance I had at liking her was eliminated. [image] Did it at least pick up in the end? Uhhh, not really. To be honest, the plot is the only thing that kept me reading, because I did want to know where the aliens came from and what their plan and motivation was. (Also I'd already wasted four reading days, and I did not feel like giving this a DNF by that point.) When the reveals started happening I just started headdesking. It was lame. (view spoiler)[The aliens didn't feel like quietly being downloaded into humans and living out their lives, so obviously the only logical alternative was to annihilate the human race and... then? UGH. LAME. Also, the big leader of the alien race just walks around outside and leads missions himself in the field? NOT LIKELY. (hide spoiler)] [image] Not only that, the lame ass attempt at a last action sequence was filled with plot holes. Cassie, a sixteen year old, pretends to be TWELVE to get into Camp Haven. Who the fuck would buy that? Then, apparently, after they insert the implant -- "The incision is very small. She'll probably seal it with glue." -- that sounds super sanitary. Then with a fade to black move, Cassie magically gets into the ventilation system -- without a screwdriver or anything. Ugh, I was just paying attention to all these little details and plot holes because I was entirely unamused by this over-hyped novel. Summing Up: Honestly I would have been better off reading a two paragraph plot summary on a Wikipedia page or something. That was the only remotely interesting thing, and it would have saved me 4 reading days. I could have skipped the bland characters, boring as hell writing, and irksome romance. I would have been a happy bunny. But no. The hype train had me completely deceived. No amount of money in the world could get me to pick up the sequel at this point, especially knowing that there is love triangle approaching, if not a love-square. This paranormal romance that's disguising itself as a high-stakes frightening alien apocalypse book is not fooling me. Nope. GIF it to me straight! [image] ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Jan 23, 2014
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Feb 2014
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Feb 25, 2013
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Hardcover
| ||||||||||||||
| 0007424833
| 9780007424832
| 0007424833
| 3.96
| 1,645,571
| Mar 03, 2005
| Mar 31, 2011
|
did not like it
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1.5 stars Here we go, issue 328597 in "The Chronicles of Debby, the Heartless Bitch". As much as I hoped that I would fall in love with Looking for Ala 1.5 stars Here we go, issue 328597 in "The Chronicles of Debby, the Heartless Bitch". As much as I hoped that I would fall in love with Looking for Alaska like almost everyone else and be reduced to a sobbing mess as I was practically promised I would be... it just didn't work out. Grief stories are officially not for me. I should say up front that I've already read The Fault in Our Stars and An Abundance of Katherines by John Green, and thus, I am familiar with his writing style and devices he typically uses. And that's issue number one. His characters are all extremely similar. We have the intelligent and witty main character, the manic pixie dream girl love interest, and the sidekick best friend who has moments of quirkiness and vulgarity. Admittedly, The Fault in Our Stars is rather different and unique, but I've heard that Paper Towns has this same pattern too. To sum it up: I just wasn't impressed with the characters in Looking for Alaska, I didn't connect to them, and I couldn't bring myself to actively care for them either. Particularly the main character, Miles, I just didn't give a rat's ass about. He had instalove feelings for Alaska and meanwhile pretty much stomped all over the feelings of Lara, who liked him for some totally inexplicable reason. But perhaps the most memorable scene in this whole freaking book to me - showing that this book seriously didn't work for me - is this brutally awkward blowjob scene. Lara wants to give Miles a blowjob (after they're dating exactly one day), then she sticks his dick in her mouth and freezes. "Now what?" she asks. She asks if she should bite. Miles doesn't know either - no, due to the heat of the moment, all memories of porn have been swept away. So they go and ask Alaska. She laughs and explains it to them. And then they go and do it. [image] Words cannot describe the very many issues I have with this scene. It just plain made me feel extremely uncomfortable and.... No. Just no. NO. But John Green's strength is in his writing style, and that is obvious. The man definitely has a way with words, and his prose is beautifully fluid. While this didn't have quite as many quotable quotes as The Fault in Our Stars, it wasn't hard to just revel in the prose. I did, however, have trouble connecting to the story. Not only were the character's John's standard mix, and thus, in my mind, boring, but being a fan of the Vlogbrothers on YouTube meant that I could see John in everything. In hobbies and interests he wound into the story. In references mentioned in his videos. The curse of knowledge surely had its effect on me. I kept getting drawn out of the story because of all these connections, and I can't help but wish I knew nothing about John so that this wouldn't have bothered me. Now we come to the plot. It's hard to talk about it without spoiling things but... I thought it was rather obvious what was going to happen. There was a lot of foreshadowing that I picked up on, and instead of it being subtle and beautiful, because I wasn't too connected to the characters or engrossed in the story, as an outsider looking in, I clearly saw the traces of the author's plotting, setting up the domino pieces in exactly the right layout to let it all fall down. So, when it happened, I didn't even blink. The shock factor had been eliminated due to the foreshadowing. Summing Up: Like most grief stories, your liking of Looking for Alaska will hinge on your ability to connect with the characters and feel empathy for their situation. None of this happened for me. I'm sure you may want to yell at me, that I missed the point of this book or whatever, but no, I get it. I get why people like it. But it just isn't my thing. And it likely never will be. Arguably, I would have been more impressed if I read this a couple years ago, but now, with my reading experience... nope. GIF it to me straight! [image] Recommended To: Fans of If I Stay/Where She Went by Gayle Forman. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Dec 17, 2013
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Dec 19, 2013
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Dec 01, 2012
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Paperback
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| 4.11
| 952,734
| Aug 07, 2008
| Mar 24, 2009
|
it was ok
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2 stars *sigh* - that's the only appropriate way to start this review. Now I gave City of Bones 3.5 stars, and was even sort of debating giving it an e 2 stars *sigh* - that's the only appropriate way to start this review. Now I gave City of Bones 3.5 stars, and was even sort of debating giving it an extra star, and now I'm thinking that even 3.5 was too many. I've reached a few conclusions about why that is: first off, I've definitely reached my YA bullshit quota for the month, and need a break from that. And secondly, I've realized that The Mortal Instruments are guilty pleasure books. Except this time I felt none of the pleasure in it. By this term I mean to say that these books are fine if your read them really quickly and don't ever stop to question anything. But halfway through the book, my patience was wearing thing, and I started paying attention to the flaws. And there were a bunch of them. The only thing that really caused me full enjoyment in this book were the romantic scenes. I guess I'm a sucker, but boy Cassandra Clare knows how to describe two people kissing. And the rest of the book was just a bit bland, also filled with plot elements I just don't agree with. Sadly those kissing scenes were few and far between and wrapped with this melodrama that just asdfjkl; Let me be clear, I didn't mind the incest *that* much. I managed to get myself over that part. But especially the epilogue just killed everything for me. Simon greets her with hey baby and then says he wants to break up. And Jace is holding her hand and then says he will just be a brother to her and she "feels a pang in her chest" and oh geez. Just. Ugh. [image] Simon turning into a vampire is one example of a plot element I really hated. How stupidly lame. So now there's not a single mundane person in their group. I really liked that element. I understand that people mixed up in this world eventually become a part of it and everything, but in the SECOND BOOK? Also a VAMPIRE jesus, why. This just comes back to remind me that paranormal romance SO ISN'T MY THING. [image] The switching of points of view really bothered me. I don't know, I told myself it shouldn't bother me because we get a whole view of the story, know everything that's going on, and that's a good thing! But it still bothered me. I think what it was is that they switched points of view too often and each view point was too short (I'm especially referring to the middle bit, where there were something like four different viewpoints). It was just really jarring. Especially when some view points are really action packed and then others are really boring (*cough*SimonandMaia*cough*). I'm going to take a hater moment and lay it on Maia. I really dislike her as a character. Where the hell did she come from, and all of a sudden I'm supposed to feel sympathy for her? And her stupid crush on Simon, WHAT? Where did THAT come from? Seriously, you spoke to him for like two seconds? I'm calling bullshit. She's only there to resolve the stupid love triangle and give Simon someone else, well you know what, the Romeo and Juliet vampire x werewolf love drama is really not appealing nor interesting to me. Just, NO. [image] In terms of worldbuilding, the book is seriously lacking. Seriously, you make this beautiful world of magic and demons and you take NO time to build it up. Which leaves me with all these questions. The world has potential but doesn't use any of it. Like, for example, the seraph blades? Seriously, they have such a "mighty" kind of name, you'd think they're pretty rare, but Jace produces like 1384957346209 of them and tosses them away like they're nothing. What is up with that? And the runes. Okay, putting aside how lame it is that Clary can make her own runes - these ancient magic spells, how do they work? Seriously, no thought is put into them. Even just an image of the different runes they use would be a nice addition. It just feels like, at any time CC can invent a new trick, spell, weapon, whatever and just NO EXPLANATION. Well you know what? [image] I'm growing impervious to your bullshit. Summing Up: To be honest, it's not the worst series in the world. It's definitely better than Twilight. But it's hard for me to really like it. Reading this book, I really had to force myself to keep reading, to not give up. And in the end there were still many unanswered questions that kind of make me want to continue with the series, but to think that I'd have to sit through so much bullshit again... I don't know if I want to. So I'm not putting it on my dropped series bookshelf yet. I'll put City of Glass on my to-read list, but it's not high on that list. And I have an excuse for that, seeing as the next three months are filled with new releases I've been dying for. Recommended To: Huge fans of City of Bones. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Sep 17, 2012
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Sep 25, 2012
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Sep 17, 2012
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ebook
| |||||||||||||||||
| 1101552247
| 9781101552247
| B005ERIS80
| 4.01
| 54,573
| Jan 10, 2012
| Jan 10, 2012
|
did not like it
|
1 star The one star rating may be a little harsh since I didn't finish it, but I just can't deal with it, and I really tried. I don't understand why pe 1 star The one star rating may be a little harsh since I didn't finish it, but I just can't deal with it, and I really tried. I don't understand why people are in love with this series. I wasn't convinced after Across the Universe and while reading this my apathy only grew. Not only do I not feel any sort of connection or liking towards either Elder or Amy, I find their relationship so asdfjkl; annoying. I just found myself rolling my eyes the entire time. It may be that I've reached my YA capacity again and need to mix it up with more adult books - that does tend to happen to me. There comes a time when my ability to accept bullshit fails. Like I'd mentioned in my review of Across the Universe I just don't understand why Amy is still attracted to/not repulsed by Elder, or refuses to show any sign of a backbone. Like, one moment she says she blames him (rightfully so) for waking her up, but then she still loves him. There's so little development to their relationship that I can't buy it. I just can't. But the characters (or should I say lack of personalities) are to me inexcusable. The personalities are so static and so undeveloped, I can't handle it. To me, if I finish a book (or in this case get halfway through the sequel) and still can't think of one good adjective (besides, in this case, stupid, annoying, or ignorant) to describe the personalities of the main characters, that book is nothing for me. But yeah, I got almost half way, didn't enjoy a second of it and just gave up. I was only growing more annoyed reading it. And while what bothered me the most was the characters, the story couldn't hold my attention either. After officially giving up, I read some other reviews and saw similar criticisms - also indicating it didn't get any better. And I spoiled the story for myself by looking at plot summaries and the "twists" sounded like plot elements I'd *headdesk* at. So yeah. TL;DR: this series just isn't for me. This is not how I like my sci-fi, or basically any series at all. Recommended To: Absolutely no one. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Jul 16, 2012
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Aug 21, 2012
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Jul 16, 2012
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ebook
| ||||||||||||||
| 3.80
| 3,619,190
| Jul 16, 1951
| 2010
|
did not like it
|
1 star Why is this a classic? Why is this one of the "great" American novels? Jesus, did this book make me want to throw my e-reader across the room. I 1 star Why is this a classic? Why is this one of the "great" American novels? Jesus, did this book make me want to throw my e-reader across the room. I don't get it. So, a little bit of context: I read this for one of my book club's classics months. I had heard from multiple people that it's horrible, and that I would not enjoy it, but I was curious anyway. That mainly came from two reasons: (1) it's such a highly regarded classic, and I felt kind of bad not having read it, and (2) it's noted as having inspired (or at least a large influence on) The Perks of Being a Wallflower, which is undoubtedly one of my favorite books of all time. To point 1, I say, literary people, I don't get you; and to point 2, I say, teachers, start teaching Perks instead. This book is stupid. Actually, in going to describe it, I'm struck with the urge to use old Holden's annoying narrative style and all. If you haven't read the book, you may not understand, so I'll try to resist. You see, Holden Caulfield is one of the most annoying, idiotic, hypocritical douchebags I've ever encountered. And yeah, I'm sure that was the point. The Catcher in the Rye follows his story about how he got kicked out of his boarding school for failing everything (generally he didn't bother to try at all). Basically, he goes around New York and just has one gigantic rant about how everyone he sees, EVERYONE, is a moron and a phony - before and after and sometimes during asking these people for favors and hanging out with them. He's so hypocritical that it's just about the most painful thing ever to read. To make it worse, his narrative style is extremely juvenile, repetitive and grating. He's constantly using the same phrases: "and all", "or anything", sort of", "I swear", "for Chrissakes", "moron", ""phony", "old [character name]", "it just about killed me", "it drives me crazy", etc. I'm thinking about how people went through Fifty Shades of Grey and counted the frequencies of phrases like "her inner goddess" or whatever being used - and the same could and should be done for The Catcher in the Rye. It's - so - annoying. Granted, he is 16, so part of this could be considered his personality, and it was written in the fifties - so what the hell do I know about how they spoke back then. But if it was like this, god am I happy to be living in the now. Aside from his annoying ranting, Holden's actions speak even louder to the fact that something's not right with this guy. He calls people morons and then invites them to go out for drinks or to the movies. He meets a stranger and they talk for two seconds, so he asks him to go get a drink. He smokes about 3 packs of cigarettes in one day. He's arrogant about his own intelligence when it appears he has none. He's outraged when people don't serve him alcohol in bars, despite being 16. And it seems like he has ADD: not just in his ranting can he easily get distracted and go off on a tangent, but he'll be doing one thing and then decide, "Hey! I should call up this girl right now, in the middle of the night, because she just popped into my head." It's confusing and messy, but I suppose it did kind of keep me reading, because the hint of something being wrong with him created a mystery that I wanted solved. But the ending is probably the most aggravating part of all. (view spoiler)[All throughout the book, you can tell there's something not right with Holden. He talks about getting depressed, he even gets sicker and sicker in the last few pages, literally going to throw up and breaking out in sweats out of the blue. He references his dead brother, a classmate who committed suicide, his old teacher appears to try to molest him. And then. The freaking. Book. Ends. He seriously just cuts it out with a, "Well, that's all I'm going to tell you," and indicates that he's in the hospital for SOMETHING. Jesus, fuck, seriously?? I don't get ittttt. I'd very much like to know what's wrong with him, in hopes that maybe I could bring myself to care JUST A LITTLE about him. Maybe I could empathize. JUST A LITTLE. Buuut no. (hide spoiler)] That aside, worse is the fact that even at the end, Holden didn't learn anything at all. He ends the book complaining yet again about how people were asking him if he would apply himself next year, and explaining that he didn't know because that's only something you know when you do it. That. NO. JUST. UGH. That's a decision you are able to make in advance! No wonder you flunk - even now you won't try. You know what? Fuck you, Holden. I don't give two shits what happens to you. The way it is, this book just boils down to rich white people problems. Apparently I am unable to read any more into this. Where's a good English teacher when you need one? Seriously though, things shouldn't be THIS open ended. The set up isn't done well enough to help me figure it out, and I don't feel like I can trust Holden's voice even for a second. Again: choose Perks instead. Summing Up: In the words of Holden Caulfield: This book just about KILLED me. That old Holden Caulfield is such a goddamn moron. He doesn't even realize he's sort of the world's most judgmental prick and all. Nothing happened but this goddamn rant about how everyone in the freaking world is so moronic, and the idiot didn't even learn anything for Chrissakes. It just about drives me crazy! He's the biggest phony of them all, and if I ever hear that word again it's too soon. I swear, how anyone is able to like and praise this book or anything is beyond me. (I realize you are free to like whatever books you like, and if this is a favorite of yours - that's fine! I just don't get it. If you want to try to respectfully explain it to me in the comments, feel free.) GIF it to me straight! [image] Recommended To: Don't! Read The Perks of Being a Wallflower instead. And flip off anyone who gets judgmental about that. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Aug 11, 2014
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Aug 12, 2014
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Jun 09, 2012
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ebook
| |||||||||||||||||
| 3.60
| 1,079,828
| Oct 22, 2013
| Oct 22, 2013
|
did not like it
|
1 star Deep breaths, Debby. Just.. deep breaths. [image] Before I launch into what is sure to be a rant about all the different ways I dislike this train 1 star Deep breaths, Debby. Just.. deep breaths. [image] Before I launch into what is sure to be a rant about all the different ways I dislike this train wreck of a book and series and how undeserving I believe it is of the hype it gets, let me be upfront with you guys. I did not have high expectations for this book. I practically had no expectations, to be honest. After I was thoroughly disillusioned by Insurgent, I knew that more likely than not, Allegiant would be just as bad, if not worse, for me to read. That would be why I put it off for 10 months and finally listened to it on audiobook - I knew I wouldn't be able to get myself through reading it by myself because anything would be more interesting. But I did still want to read this just so I could know exactly how over-hyped and painful this series is (spoiler: very) and so I could finally stop flinching at any hint of spoilers regarding the ending. Indeed, I entered this unspoiled. It's a miracle. I know. But that did not save my opinion of this book. [image] Allegiant picks up where Insurgent left off and continues the trend of all the things I hated and desperately wanted to attribute to second book syndrome. But alas. First of all, there's the plot. Well, actually, there kind of isn't. Because is it just me, or is this book 90% dialogue? Seriously and for reals. It's talking talking talking and infodump after infodump as Roth tries to put together this story of how this dystopia came to be. Her world building is truly painful. Dystopian fiction is supposed to be rooted in our reality - the Divergent story takes place not too far in our future. But this whole genetically pure, genetically defected storyline? PURE. BULLSHIT. Genetics do not work like this. They do not determine our complete personalities and they don't just get defected or evolved over time because you prime the population to behave in certain ways. I don't need to be a freaking scientist to know that this shit is not right. She could have used it as a good platform for a nature vs. nurture argument, but she didn't. You know, Tahereh Mafi in Ignite Me I think struggled with the same issues - she wanted to have a dystopian world but couldn't create a logical build up for how that world came to be. Even though it let me down a bit, I was forgiving, because she didn't spend too much time trying to convince the reader that it all made sense. She knew it didn't, but the series itself had a way more important story of character growth. Roth, in Allegiant, hammers and hammers about this genetic defect idea and that's what makes it so absolutely painful to listen to. It's completely unconvincing to anyone who knows anything about genetics, for one, but then she tries to build up this Bureau of Genetic Welfare, established by the government, of all these high ranking scientists who BELIEVE THIS BULLSHIT? No. I'm sorry. No. Anyone with common sense would know this is stupid, so the whole fact that scientists have been running these experiments for decades, nay GENERATIONS, is impossible to swallow. This would not happen. Never. And you might say, "Well, it's all propaganda and stuff, the whole population was convinced of this!" The propaganda argument kind of loses its power when the highly educated, who are leading these experiments, believe it too. They should know it's a bullshit story but be pursuing it anyway for some nefarious purpose. And to that point - then how did Tris and her band of teenage kids see through it all? Oh yeah, because they're SPESHUL. [image] But back to that plot, and the fact that there is none. It makes a 500+ page book (or almost 12 hours on audio) extremely painful to get through when nothing happens, especially considering one of the things I liked about the first book was the level of action it brought. In Allegiant the characters talk and talk and talk. They find out more about this bullshit genetics story, they recognize it's bullshit to some extent, then talk and talk. There's one scene right around the halfway point of the book that has SOME action with some heartbreaking consequences, and then they talk and talk and talk again until around 90% when a climax is pulled out of thin air. With all the talking did come some revelations and infodumps, but they were pretty cyclical in nature. There's deception within deception within deception -- it's DE-...ception. Crap, that didn't work. Um, there's a rebellion against a rebellion inside the city and a rebellion against a rebellion against a rebellion, followed by a rebellion outside the city. Every turn is supposed to be surprising and bring a new level of intrigue, but after a while it just became annoying and I wanted to scream, "MAKE UP YOUR MIND ALREADY." The plot was tired and stretched and full of inconsistencies, lacking believability. The worst part for me, though, is the romance. I'm sorry, but do people really ship Tris and Four? They are the most dysfunctional couple ever. All they do is argue. There are multiple chapters in here where they seriously have extensive juvenile arguments of, "I was right and you wouldn't listen!" "You wouldn't trust me, how could you!" "WELL I WAS RIGHT!" "YOU WERE JEALOUS OF THAT OTHER GIRL!" "NO I WASN'T, I WAS RIGHT." *tears out hair* Tris, you literally said in your POV chapter that she was pretty and you felt a pang you attributed to jealousy. FOR FUCK'S SAKE. At least since I was listening to this on audio, I had both hands free for a DOUBLE FACEPALM OF DOOM. [image] But seriously, all they do is argue. How am I supposed to find them a good couple? They suck at being a couple. They recognize at some point that they need to do better, decide to stop keeping secrets, but then Four sneaks off to make some discovery on his own without alerting Tris - and when he does get back and tell her about it SHE GETS MAD and they argue again before one of them stomps off. They don't know how to have a calm, normal conversation. In fact, when they're not fighting, the only thing they do, pretty much, is make out and profess their love. It's like there's nothing between them but physical attraction. They're a couple made for those people who think that fighting is good for a relationship because you come out stronger in the end each time. You know what's also good for a relationship? Being able to STOP FIGHTING. Tris and Four, congratulations, you're up there on the list of most dysfunctional relationships I've ever read - right next to Edward and Bella. But good lord, Tris is a terrible main character anyway. Any shred of liking I still held for her from the first book completely disappeared over the course of Allegiant. She's so stubborn, stupid, and reckless. She's magically gifted - her resistance against the serums? BULLCRAP. She's convinced of her righteousness and is SUPER vindictive. Her grudge against Caleb? MAJOR OVERKILL. You would not believe the vein throbbing in my forehead at the kind of ABUSE she gives him for what happened in Insurgent. Yes, he betrayed her, but he's also a teenager who was being deceived by authority figures. And for fuck's sake, HE'S YOUR BROTHER. Tris is similarly terrible to Peter, Needa, and even Four at times, and it just made me want to punch her in the face. It's ridiculous the grudges she holds when she killed Will. By her own standards, no one would ever have forgiven her for that. The other characters don't fair much better. Four, I think, is pretty ridiculous - mostly because of the relationship dynamic with Tris which is so unhealthy. It didn't help that his narrator, Aaron Stanford, made things really awkward for me by going into a falsetto voice any time there was a female speaking in a Four POV chapter. Thaaat was awkward. It's extremely uncomfortable to think of him as even a little bit sexy after that, though I mostly stopped liking him in Insurgent as well. The only characters that I still remotely liked were Tori (view spoiler)[which was unfortunate since she was around for only about 5 minutes (hide spoiler)], Uriah (view spoiler)[SERIOUSLY? You couldn't have killed off ANYONE ELSE? You had to kill the HUMORISTIC BADASS? FUCK YOU. (hide spoiler)], Christina (who holds my Candor heart and is the only one who sees SENSE), and eventually Caleb, because I felt so much sympathy for the level of shit he was forced to take. But it really freaking sucks when you're reading a story and don't care about anyone in it - especially in a dystopia, where the objective is to save/fix the world. [image] Which brings me to that ending. Well, as I said, I was unspoiled, so yes, it did take me by surprise. If anything, probably the only good thing I can say about this book is that I would give props to Roth for pushing the limits and trying something new. (view spoiler)[Though we talk a big game about hero's sacrifices and stuff, YA is pretty mellow in letting its main characters always come through unharmed. I suppose, though, that it did help that I cared less than 0% about Tris and Four and their romance. (hide spoiler)] I can only think that this will have a good impact on future YA series, because it will raise the stakes and keep people guessing. But it did feel like a Hail Mary to me because SO LITTLE had happened in the plot before that point. There was no real build up to this - which one could argue works to make the surprise greater - but I personally like to see some craftsmanship in the story. It felt a bit cheap to me, and it may be my pessimistic brain and how I hate the hype around this series, but it feels like this is just something to keep people talking. People will rant and rave about this for years, the biggest shocker in YA, and if any authors should attempt anything similar, their books will certainly be compared to Allegiant. That's just... Ugh. But, okay, shocker accomplished - let's just say that solves everything, plot complete, HALLELUJAH. But... no. God, I hate how that half-brained plan somehow fixed everything. That would not solve any of this issues in this society. Come on. (view spoiler)[The Bureau is set up by the government, the government still has some level of control. You think if they find out all these people lost their memories they're just going to let that go and forget about the experiments? It's a nationwide freaking belief - this genetic defect thing - you think the government's just going to shrug it off? Chicago is suddenly open to all to come and go? They all live in (relative) peace because the Bureau lost its memories? PLEASE. (hide spoiler)] So much is unresolved and just swept under the rug, it genuinely makes me furious. This. Story. Sucks. (imo plzkthnxbai) Summing Up: I have one positive thing to say: I can put this series on my list of completed series. Aaaaand that's it. *headdesk* I genuinely liked Divergent but the series as a whole is a train wreck. I would not have finished this book if I didn't listen to it - I had enough trouble pushing through it as it is. It was even more terrible than I expected and I truly mean it when I say that I hated every minute (except for maybe a small smirk I had at the twist). So much eye rolling and face palming. But I did it. It is done. I can move on with my life and pretend this never happened. GIF it to me straight! [image] [image] Recommended To: I think it goes without saying that I would not subject people to this. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Aug 03, 2014
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Aug 10, 2014
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Jun 09, 2012
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Audiobook
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| 1101046341
| 9781101046340
| 3.92
| 926,123
| Apr 02, 2009
| Apr 02, 2009
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it was ok
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2 stars I blame the hype machine. Part of me wants to be really cynical right now and scream, "Keep your opinions to yourselves people!" But in truth, 2 stars I blame the hype machine. Part of me wants to be really cynical right now and scream, "Keep your opinions to yourselves people!" But in truth, I think this is more of a case of "It's not you, it's me." Don't get me wrong, this is a good book, for sure. But it never made me gasp, cry, or any one of a million emotions seemingly everyone had promised me I'd have. If I Stay is a very original and daring story. It takes a concept that just hasn't been done before, really, and does it really well. The decision Mia faces is dramatic, thought provoking, heartfelt, albeit at times depressing. A lot of people, fascinated with near-death experiences and life/death decisions, will love this book. Sadly, it's time for me to come to terms with the fact that I'm not really one of those people. I think my personal beliefs got in the way of this one. I'm not a big believer of out-of-body experiences. I think I'm just too skeptical for that. And while I know this is a book, and it doesn't have to be true (I read enough fantasy as it is), it didn't convince me. I think I had trouble not only with the concept, but also with Mia's arguments against "staying". I didn't feel they were strong enough to justify her consideration of that option for most of the novel. I just couldn't connect to Mia. I think this is partly because we're thrown right into the accident. We barely get to see any of Mia, her personality and her family, before it happens, and that makes it difficult for me to find a connection to her while I'm simultaneously trying to figure out what is happening. But even afterwards, her memories make her seem really bland and boring. I suppose that was intended to show that this can happen to a regular every-day girl, but if I'm reading a book I still want to be wowed and charmed by the main character. And the same happened with her romance with Adam. It felt rather lukewarm. The time jumps didn't work for me. I liked how each visitor or occurence in the hospital triggers a memory of Mia's past, and some of them definitely worked, but some didn't. Some felt really out of place, and it didn't help that the memories weren't in chronological order either. That really made it especially hard to get swept up into the relationship between Adam and Mia. Some parts of the writing just made me raise an eyebrow. Don't get me wrong, Gayle is definitely a great writer. Her talent pretty much floats off the page. But I could sort of tell this was her debut. Passages like Adam and Mia "playing each other" like they were instruments? What was that supposed to be? I mean, I am a music freak and a fan of romance but that just seemed really awkward to me. And Mia describes one of the nurses as having "blue-black skin". Ummm... wut. The last 5-10 pages were better than the rest of the novel combined. I wish it all had that kind of spark. The rest of the novel was this big, slow build up to that moment, but while you're reading, it's difficult to tell that. I kept waiting to be wowed and it just took forever to (sort of) get there. While I get the idea of building to a climax, usually there's still some highs and lows on that journey to the climax, and I guess I just missed that. This book may have been too subtle for my liking. Summing Up: This heartfelt journey was a narrow miss for me. I think my opinion of this book is so lukewarm because I spent most of the novel waiting for the other shoe to drop. Which means I need to move on to the sequel right away, which I was planning on doing anyway. I think the consequences of Mia's decision will ultimately touch my heart more than the process of reaching that decision. So we'll see if Where She Went can sway me. I can only hope this review doesn't change your opinions of me, and I'll be hiding in my cave, terrified of your comments, for the next couple days. (JK, please, explain to me what everyone's fascination with this book is. Am I missing something? Recommended To: People interested in the concept of out-of-body experiences and life/death decisions. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Mar 06, 2013
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Mar 10, 2013
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Apr 15, 2012
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ebook
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| 0062093320
| 9780062093325
| 0062093320
| 3.78
| 82,460
| Sep 20, 2011
| Sep 20, 2011
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liked it
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3 stars The Girl of Fire and Thorns surely hits all the marks on the checklist of "YA high fantasy novels"; however, something about it just lacked tha 3 stars The Girl of Fire and Thorns surely hits all the marks on the checklist of "YA high fantasy novels"; however, something about it just lacked that spark that would make this a truly memorable novel that has me coming back for more. It never really wow-ed me, which, I guess, I really expected to happen. (Maybe it is once again due to the many people who swore I'd absolutely love this novel.) So my opinion is overall rather mixed. The plot of the novel is the gem that gets a bit overshadowed by the smaller, more annoying bits. But we'll get to that. So Elisa is first forced into a marriage with King Alejandro and experiences court life, trying to figure out which role she is best suited to play. Then, she is kidnapped as one of many parties decides they need to use her, being God's chosen, to save their people. There is a great deal of mystery concerning what her task is, as God's chosen, and she has a fair bit of struggle with that. The pacing is perfect, and at no point does the novel become boring. There is no info-dumping and no long descriptive passages of traveling as one might expect of a high fantasy. Perhaps the best part of Rae Carson's storytelling ability is her decision to take risks. Characters die in this book. Characters you grow close to. That really keeps you on your toes and makes the story much more exciting. The characterizations left me wishing for more. Though Elisa was an intriguing main character - a somewhat spoiled princess harshly confronted with reality - I found it difficult to sympathize with her for some reason (maybe because she was too quick to go back to some of her princess-y ways after escaping the desert, and I hoped she'd be more strong and independent based on her experiences). I must say as well that at first I was intrigued by Rae Carson's choice to make Elisa, to be blunt, fat. I thought it was an interesting choice that could well work in this world and may, in YA, create some more positive feelings about different body types. But no. After being ridiculed in the castle for her body shape (which, I would argue, doesn't fit in a high fantasy medieval-like setting - where traditionally the more heavy set people were envied because they had enough food to eat to become so fat) Elisa then travels through the desert under harsh conditions and loses almost all of that extra weight. Umm... seriously, what was the point of this then? My main issue with the love interests is that, to be honest, Humberto and Hector are identical. Their characters are exactly the same. They regard Elisa in the same way. They have the same kinds of interactions with her. It's all too obvious. Maybe I would not have thought this if I didn't have *some* clue as to how the romance goes in The Crown of Embers, but I still think it's really sad. However, aside from an "I love you" that was maybe a bit too quick, the romance was handled rather nicely and didn't take dominance over the rest of the story. And it's not a love triangle... really. If that's what you're worried about. So there's something to be said for that. The omnipresence of religion started off as interesting, gradually became lightly irritating, and then, ultimately, rather annoying. I'm not a religious person, and to have to read statements like, "God will show me the way" or "have faith, that's all you need" or "just pray, just keep praying" all throughout 300 pages is exhausting (not to mention how it sounds like Elisa and her maid Ximena seriously do nothing else with their lives other than read the Scriptura Sancta... seriously). Now I know, this is a fantasy and a vastly different world than our own, where the presence of magic almost inherently asks for a religion or god. I just felt it was overdone to the point where I almost dreaded continuing. The point is, the existence of this God is poorly developed and not yet well integrated in the world building. (The world building, overall, to me, was lackluster and rather average.) But I think that, this time, is due to the fact this is a series. Which kind of makes me sigh. Summing Up: Ultimately, while this book screams "AVERAGE" to me, I think the series holds a lot of potential. I'm going to give it the benefit of the doubt and continue anyway. Elisa had a lot of character growth to get through in this novel, and I think I'll like how the events of the first book shaped her for the rest of the series. The conclusion definitely gave me hope that I will like The Crown of Embers better. Recommended To: Fans of classic high fantasies who aren't afraid of a few clichés, or people who want to try the genre for the first time. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Apr 26, 2013
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May 02, 2013
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Apr 14, 2012
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Kindle Edition
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my rating |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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| 3.93
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it was ok
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Aug 21, 2015
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Apr 30, 2015
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| 4.25
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it was ok
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Apr 20, 2015
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Nov 03, 2014
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| 4.22
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it was ok
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Jul 25, 2016
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Sep 23, 2014
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| 4.06
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it was ok
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Jun 09, 2016
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Aug 28, 2014
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| 4.37
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did not like it
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Oct 19, 2014
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Aug 19, 2014
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|||||
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| 4.09
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liked it
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Feb 22, 2015
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Apr 25, 2014
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| 3.94
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it was ok
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Nov 29, 2014
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Mar 12, 2014
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| 4.11
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liked it
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Jun 26, 2013
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Jun 15, 2013
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| 3.95
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really liked it
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Feb 05, 2014
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Jun 02, 2013
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| 3.95
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really liked it
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Oct 22, 2013
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Apr 26, 2013
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| 3.94
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it was ok
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Jul 2017
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Mar 27, 2013
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| 4.13
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it was ok
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Jul 12, 2013
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Mar 20, 2013
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| 4.01
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did not like it
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Feb 2014
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Feb 25, 2013
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| 3.96
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did not like it
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Dec 19, 2013
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Dec 01, 2012
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| 4.11
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it was ok
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Sep 25, 2012
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Sep 17, 2012
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| 4.01
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did not like it
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Aug 21, 2012
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Jul 16, 2012
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| 3.80
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did not like it
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Aug 12, 2014
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Jun 09, 2012
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| 3.60
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did not like it
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Aug 10, 2014
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Jun 09, 2012
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| 3.92
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it was ok
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Mar 10, 2013
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Apr 15, 2012
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| 3.78
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liked it
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May 02, 2013
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Apr 14, 2012
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