A large part of me wants to give this book a 1 star, but that part of me would be denying that I WAS interested enough just to see how this damn serieA large part of me wants to give this book a 1 star, but that part of me would be denying that I WAS interested enough just to see how this damn series finally ends, so I'll settle with two stars.
Man there was just so much wrong with these books but I think my main issue was that this was a love (and I use this word lightly) story with a dash of dystopian thrown in just to keep the plot moving. The plot was so pathetic I was almost in tears from laughing. The ending took 2.5 milliseconds to wrap itself up.
Pages upon pages of metaphors and similes that were either too convoluded to remain meaningful, or they were so juvenile that I felt embarrassed reading them. I also take MAJOR ISSUE with one particular point in our disaster of a love triangle. MAJOR ISSUE. I don't even know why a character like this asshole needs to exist, but as it was so eloquently put but another character, he is "a bland, utterly replaceable automaton." And if you've made it this far I think you all know just who I am speaking of.
I'm just glad this series is over. It was fun in parts, but there were flaws left, right, and center and it was just too much for me to seriously recommend to anyone....more
**spoiler alert** I really wanted to like this series more than I did. I didn't hate it. I think that despite its strong points, its weak points reall**spoiler alert** I really wanted to like this series more than I did. I didn't hate it. I think that despite its strong points, its weak points really affected my rating. I wanna say that overall I really appreciated the heavy Russian influence on this story, and I really liked the Grisha Magic system.
As for this installment, I once again feel as though Nikolai and the Darkling (maybe Baghra also) carried the majority of my interest. I loved the Darkling's history, I liked the show of religious influence that came out in Tolya and Temar, but as a whole I found myself largely uninvested in the fate of these characters?
I also felt very disappointed by the ending - Mal should have died, in my opinion. I just hate how that fucking resurrection loophole brought him back. I have disliked Mal since the beginning, and I feel like allowing Alina to live a happily ever after with him is really contradictory to all that self discovery she did in the previous installments.
It's like "Oh just kidding forget all that stuff I said Mal and I can figure it out, I'm sure." Alina, Mal is awful please stop.
It's nice that they opened an orphanage, I suppose. But I just feel everything came together too nicely. It's not a realistic representation of the devastation, and that sometimes messes with my suspension of disbelief.
And in general I was pretty bored with the pursuit of the firebird. I dunno, it just wasn't super compelling and I threw up in my mouth a little bit every time the focus shifted to Mal & Alina's relationship.
I wish I could say I enjoyed this more, and I would definitely recommend it for someone less picky than myself. It could also have to do with the fact that my expectations for the series were higher, but regardless I'm stoked to begin Six of Crows soon!...more
The reason I am giving this book a 2 stars is because I expected so much more from both this book & this series overall and I am not very satisfied wiThe reason I am giving this book a 2 stars is because I expected so much more from both this book & this series overall and I am not very satisfied with the development or the ending. Schwab had so much potential going into this series, but ultimately I find myself very let down.
I honestly don't know how to review this book without spoilers and so from this point on there will be unmarked spoilers for the entire series.
***SPOILER ALERT TURN BACK NOW***
I feel as though this final installment was very disjointed.
We've got:
✔Perspectives tossed in here and there that ultimately amount to nothing. ✔Unnecessary emphasis on characters who haven't mattered at all in the first and second books. ✔A plot that takes almost 400 pages to really get going. ✔Questions raised without answers given. ✔A villain who feels neither scary, nor provides a real reason for his being a villain.
So the story begins right where A Gathering of Shadows leaves off. Lila runs off to save Kell and immediately kills Ojka. What was the purpose of creating this neat character, giving us a glimpse of her background, just to kill her off immediately? It felt rather pointless??
Then we spend the next almost 400 pages listening to Kell brood, Alucard jab at Kell while he broods, Rhy float around from room to room (after he avoids death again), and being incessantly reminded that Lila is a cool chick.
If you guys don't already know, Kell and I don't get along. I don't sympathize with his plight, and I find him unnecessarily mopey in most of his scenes (especially in the second book).
I don't mind Alucard, but I find his character to be a bit static. Even by the end of this book, he doesn't grow into anything new and he doesn't really participate in the action scenes in a meaningful way. His sole existence in this story is to create drama for Kell, Rhy, and Lila.
Rhy, though not one of my favorite characters, undeniably experiences the most growth of the four over the course of the book. He evolves his perspective on being given a second chance at life, and ultimately comes to understand what it means to be king. SO bravo I guess on that front?
Lila... Ugh. I want to like Lila so much but she's basically the same Lila we met on the streets in Grey London all those pages back.
Lila's character on her own doesn't bother me as much as the way the Schwab handles telling us about her. I got weary of reading phrases like "thief-soft footsteps" and "she was a mystery" used to describe her. Like... I get it. She's interesting & capable. You don't need to keep reminding me.
Outside of the main cast, we get chapters devoted to random one-time characters that don't really add up to anything, and we get chapters about King Maxim & Queen Emira & Tieren that... don't really add up to anything.
Throwing in perspectives like Nasi, a little girl from White London who admired Ojka, did absolutely nothing for the plot or the world building. This character appears two times, around page 140 and around page 520, but her existence bears no consequence on the story.
Using this character to explain more about Ojka's background could have worked, but since ultimately Ojka didn't end up mattering either it amounted to nothing more than a waste of time.
Adding perspectives like Ned Tuttle & King George IV was so incredibly boring, since once again nothing of consequence happens in Grey London while this plot unfolds.
Writing about Maxim and Emira was too little, too late for me. For the first two books, we've known these two to be side characters. This sudden shift to semi-main character status was jolting.
We only scratched the surfaces of the King's and Queen's lives, and there simply wasn't enough there for me to connect to. I felt completely unattached to them, so their eventual deaths were reduced to plot devices for Rhy's development instead of being meaningful on their own.
After a huge stretch of monotony, the plot finally gets itself going when the crew arrives at the floating black market. Here is where I started to become interested in where the story would go. The Inheritor was an interesting solution even if its existence felt very tailored for defeating Osaron.
For the last 200 pages I was engaged, but pretty disappointed that the resolution of the plot played out exactly the way it was supposed to. Hell, it played out better than it was supposed to really, seeing as Holland survived to see the plan through to completion.
No twists. No surprises. Our four main characters all survive. The end.
Now I'm left wondering:
What about Kell's past? Sure he decided he was better off not knowing about his true parents, but what about me as the reader? Resolving this question with Kell deciding he doesn't need the information was lazy on part of the author.
What about Lila? Where did she come from? How did an Antari originate in Grey London? How did she lose her eye, and why? No, we are too busy being reassured that Lila is sly and mischievous and special to worry about her past, I suppose.
How did the original tokens get into the different Londons? Can we know a little more history so that these worlds don't all feel like cardboard?
What exactly caused Osaron to manifest into Vitari? Shouldn't we be looking for a solution to this problem since this is the second time it's happened? Maybe a way to eliminate the threat that Black London poses by just existing as a magical black hole that spits out perilous villains every so often?
And that brings me to Osaron himself. He just doesn't scare me.
When I read A Darker Shade of Magic, for the first 100 or so pages I was totally and completely enticed by the threat that Osaron presented. His unwanted presence felt menacing and dangerous in Red London and I was intrigued.
But by A Conjuring of Light, he's still... just possessing people? Sure, they're chanting some creepy shit. Sure, he's killed a couple unimportant side characters.
But... Is that all you got?
Oh, and he creates an obsidian replica of the palace for... posturing? Intimidation?
Once all the citizens of Red London are asleep, he's back to being a temperamental, smoke bitch until he's defeated at the end, which wraps up nicely and neatly and quickly in the last 50 or so pages of the book.
I'm not impressed by Osaron.
All three of these books suffer severely from pacing issues, on both a microcosmic and macrocosmic scale. Each book begins with a slow to medium pace, then concludes in a rapid whirlwind of events which is jarring to say the least.
The series takes place over the course of what, a couple months? Maybe 4? Sometimes this can work, but in this case I don't feel it did.
I wish Lila had been gone for two years instead of two months. It would've made much more sense for her to come back after two years of studying with Alucard to feel confident enough to enter the Essen Tasch.
It would've given all of these characters time to grow into people I cared about.
Now, perhaps you noticed I have been neglecting to mention Holland.
That's because Holland was undoubtedly the star of the show.
Holland's moments were such a treat for me. I was immediately entranced by him, and I drank in every one of his stories that Schwab graced us with.
We get his backstory. We understand his motivations. We glimpse the events that have shaped him, hardened him, softened him. Holland's development causes the others' to pale by comparison.
He possessed a depth I could sink my claws into. His death in the Silver Woods was beautifully tragic, and wonderfully appropriate. I just wanted to wrap him in my arms and die with him.
If this series had been about Holland, I would likely be giving it 5 stars right now.
Aside from Holland, Schwab's writing once again is absolutely stunning. This is an author who always impresses me with her writing style. She is whimsical in her descriptions, unique in how she conveys emotion to her readers. I am truly a fan of reading her words.
But this series just did not deliver for me. I craved more intensity. I needed more unpredictability. I wanted meaningful characters that danced their way into my heart & a rich world that beckoned me to keep turning the pages.
What I found here was a superb concept with a less-than-superb execution....more
So I'm a little bit torn on how harshly I should judge this book. I realize it's early fantasy, and so I understand it's not going to compare to some So I'm a little bit torn on how harshly I should judge this book. I realize it's early fantasy, and so I understand it's not going to compare to some of the newer fantasy books I've read. But at the same time, masterpieces like Lord of the Rings were written and published before this... So...
I wanted to rate this a 3 stars, but the further I got into it, the more I realized I would be lying if I rated it anything above a 2 stars.
My main issue is that I was bored for at least 80% of this book, and so I can't in all good conscience rate it higher.
This story has all the usual fantasy elements. War torn lands. Magical races. Prophecy. Chosen One.
That in itself is not a criticism. These elements are all very expected when I pick up a high fantasy novel. But there was nothing new here.
Nothing surprised me. No new twists. There were one or two interesting revelations, but no "Oh my god!" moments. When there are a laundry list of expected tropes and themes all crammed together into a novel, I need there to also be a few stand out features that compel me to care.
The writing style was also incredibly rudimentary. Some of the dialogue was... weird to say the least. Take this example:
"I don't care if we listen to the words of a pox-ridden whore whose brain is riddled with the diseases of her trade!"
Yea that's not an awkward thing to scream out in a perfectly serious situation...
I'm very confused by the author's choice to write in third person omniscient perspective for the entirety of this novel. More than once, situations were set up in one character's mind and immediately addressed in another character's mind. It went sort of like this:
Character 1: -does a risky thing- Character 2: "Ah yes that was precisely the only acceptable thing that could've happened in this situation."
It felt cheesy, and like the author desperately wanted me to believe her characterization by confirming it with her other characters. And it needed to be laid out plainly, just to be sure we didn't miss it.
There were only two characters I genuinely connected with. Otherwise this book is teeming with pompous assholes. I like morally gray characters, but these people don't seem redeemable. It's just the first installment, so I'll try to withhold judgment, but I didn't enjoy reading about most of them.
Overall, this wasn't my kind of story. It was too bland, and it took me TWO MONTHS to finally slog through it.
Buddy read this with the boos, Sarah and Celeste! Thank you guys for patiently waiting for me to finish a whole month after you both did!...more
I think it's an understatement to say I am disappointed.
The premise of this sounded pretty neat. Skinshifting? An International motorcycle race? AI think it's an understatement to say I am disappointed.
The premise of this sounded pretty neat. Skinshifting? An International motorcycle race? A Jewish girl's sole purpose to assassinate Fuhrer Hitler?
That sounds badass.
Honestly though, I was really bored for an overwhelming majority of this book. I kept hoping that with a little patience this story would take off, but for me it just didn't.
Literally the only interesting sections in the story dealt with the main character's past. Yael has a tattoo of wolves on her arm, one for each person she's lost under the brutal rule of Adolf Hitler. Learning about these characters was heartfelt, and I did enjoy those bits.
Between those little glimpses of her past we have a lot of internal monologue about personal identity, which was relevant but boring. Mandatory interaction with hot guy character/love interest. And overall a very uneventful race to the finish line.
I am not someone who often predicts endings or twists. I'm bad at it. Plus, I think it's easy to get caught up in guessing what will happen when you should just enjoy the story and see where it goes. However, I saw this ending coming a mile away because there was really nowhere else for it to go. When I am able to guess one of the only twists in this story without even a moment of concentrated effort, that is a problem.
I'm giving it a 2 stars because the premise was interesting, and there were some small parts I actively enjoyed. Overall though, not my cup of tea.
Syrup is the story of the ups and downs (and downs and downs and downs) of a man, Scat, who is desperate to gain fame and fortune. While trying to pitSyrup is the story of the ups and downs (and downs and downs and downs) of a man, Scat, who is desperate to gain fame and fortune. While trying to pitch his idea for a new flavor of Coca Cola, Scat finds himself quickly learning how cutthroat the world of corporate marketing can be and discovering how he may have to conform in order to accomplish his dreams.
So I have read a couple of Maxx Barry's books, and I will say that reading only one will not give you a good grasp on what to expect from any of the others. I feel as though the underlying theme that threads them all together is Barry's scathing sarcasm/sense of humor. In this case, the witty humor was the only thing that really kept me going.
You can tell that it was a debut novel because all of the characters sort of blend together. Even with their separate names I had to keep reminding myself who was who in relation to Scat. The characters that did stand out, I really didn't care for at all. Now, let me clarify that I realize characters do not have to be likable in order to be well-written. Some of the best I've read I would gladly push off a cliff if I were forced to interact with them in my real life. But these characters usually have a degree or two of complexity that makes you contemplate their actions, they have some driving force behind why they are unlikable. In this case however, almost everyone was flat out awful, self-centered, and mean just for the sake of being so.
As for Scat's characterization, it was confusing at best. Sometimes he was confident, capable, and reliable and then a few pages later he was bumbling, nearsighted, and hot-tempered. It would have made sense if he had steadily risen from zero to hero, gaining experience and learning from his mistakes, but instead he seemed to quickly oscillate between the two.
I also struggled to stay engaged with this plot. You could argue that Syrup is a character driven novel, but I would say it's really more half and half. So, with the character aspect shot, I was relying on the story to pick up the slack. Unfortunately, I just couldn't invest myself in Scat's success. The pacing was a little jerky, and some plot points seemed to exist solely for the sake of progression.
I really appreciate that Barry uses this novel to shine a light on the despicable and underhanded methods that can be used by those in corporate marketing; working in this type of industry can really desensitize a person and distance them from the audiences they so desperately want to appeal to, and I think Barry captured that truth well. Ultimately though, this was my least favorite of his novels. I would recommend Machine Man or Lexicon over this one if you want to experience that sense of humor I mentioned earlier in a more interesting setting....more
It pains me on a personal level to give a book with such a stunning cover such a low rating, but I cannot deny my prActual Rating: 2.5 Stars
Ya know...
It pains me on a personal level to give a book with such a stunning cover such a low rating, but I cannot deny my problems with it no matter how much I love V.E. Schwab's book covers or her writing.
This book has such an intriguing premise.
Imagine this:
Monsters manifesting into existence as a result of sin. A city literally divided between two leaders, both with their own ideas about how to protect their citizens. Kate, desperately trying to prove her savagery and be the devil her father always wanted her to be. August, a Sunai monster, hopelessly clinging to his wish to be human.
And on top of this badass premise, no fucking love story.
But for all of those unique elements, this book could not be saved from its own mediocrity.
When I read Vicious, it really set Schwab apart for me. That story is captivating with dynamic and believable characters.
I appreciate what Schwab sets out to do here. Kate is a cutthroat, stubborn & impulsive. August is quiet and contemplative, a lover of music. These two seem amazing on paper, but for some reason I remain unconvinced.
I adore their ambitions. It sounds great to have a female lead yearning to be a proper villain. It sounds excellent to have a male lead who is vulnerable and searching for his humanity.
But somewhere in the process of breathing life into these characters, Schwab missed the mark.
No matter how much I wanted to care about these characters, I didn't. I couldn't. They didn't feel real. Even with Schwab's amazing talent for weaving words together I cannot in all good conscience tell you that this book will blow you away.
The writing is to die for. Schwab's style is gorgeous and fluid in a way that only a master of writing can achieve.
However, the story, the characterization, and unfortunately even the world building will leave you feeling like something crucial is missing.
I don't know that I'll be continuing on with this series. There were a handful of excellent moments, but whether or not they are enough to salvage my interest will have to wait until June.
and other reviews of mine can be found on !...more
I went into this book with basically no expectations.
Outside of the preview I saw for the movie starring Robert Pattinson & ReActual Rating: 1.5 Stars
I went into this book with basically no expectations.
Outside of the preview I saw for the movie starring Robert Pattinson & Reese Witherspoon years ago, I didn't even know what this book was about. Turns out this is a story is set in the 1920's & told from the dual perspectives of Jacob Jankowski when he is 23 & 90 (or maybe 93).
On one hand, the story follows young Jacob right after his parents are both taken from him in a freak car accident. Laden with grief, he abandons his studies & joins the circus. Older Jacob, now bound to the care of a nursing home, reflects on the events of his life & slow dehumanization that occurs after one reaches a certain age.
I have to say, I hardly connected with this book at all. After the initial tragedy of Jacob's parent's deaths, I lost all interest in his life as part of the circus. The story is written well enough, but I didn't find the idea very compelling & I just did not care about his relationships & rivalries with other characters.
You may assume older Jacob's part of the book would be even less interesting by nature, but surprisingly these were the only parts I found myself engaging with. As an old, sarcastic man, Jacob contemplates how the elderly often revert back to the status of young children in the eyes of society. These ideas are simultaneously hilarious & disheartening, and achieved their goal in making me ponder how we treat our elders.
My reading experience with Water for Elephants can only be described as depressing as hell.
There's a lot of unnecessary violence in this story, & some explicit sex scenes that felt entirely pointless. I saw where the author was trying to go, but ultimately the events that take place on both fronts felt contrived.
Sometimes I have moments while reading "Adult" books where I feel as though the author is nervous their book won't be considered "Adult" enough if they don't throw in some blood, gore, & sex. This is the feeling this book gave me. It just wasn't essential to the characterization & it did nothing to salvage my feelings of distaste about the plot in general.
At the end it is revealed that the entirety of young Jacob's experience in the circus takes place in 3.5 months, and I couldn't help but find that laughable. In such a short space of time so much over the top drama takes place without the stabilizing sense of humanity that would've given me a reason to care about this story.
Other than older Jacob's sections, the only other real praise I can muster for this book is the writing. Gruen has a graphic style of writing that really worked for this circus setting.
Otherwise, I don't think this is one I'll be recommending to anyone in the future....more
It's times like this I really wish Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ had half-star options because this one is a true 2.5 for me. I feel like this is Actual Rating: 2.5 Stars
It's times like this I really wish Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ had half-star options because this one is a true 2.5 for me. I feel like this is a little bit of a "it's me, not you" situation, but not so much so that I can convince myself to round up my rating.
This is a quest story starring self-centered, uber-brat, Prince Jalan Kendeth & large, lovable father-figure Viking, Snorri. Now, one of my personal struggles with this set up was that it felt very similar to Disney's The Emperor's New Groove but with more Norse mythology. And more zombies. Or maybe the zombies canonically exist in Norse mythology, I don't claim to be an expert in that realm.
Anyway, for a lot of people I'm sure that comparison sounds encouraging. In some ways it is a good thing, but while reading I felt a lot less engaged in this story than I am every time I re-watch The Emperor's New Groove.
[image]
On the positive side, the comedy aspect in this book is S T E L L A R. I completely enjoyed Jalan's egocentric sense of humor. His number one priority is himself, and it was hilariously brilliant to watch him navigate this incredibly inconvenient turn of events.
The story is cleverly written & that was definitely another high point for me. I appreciate Lawrence's ability create visuals without become too wordy & felt his style of description really fit the humorous nature of the story.
On the negative side, I never felt myself become interested in the plot of the story whatsoever. I consistently floated in and out of concentrating on what was happening, often only pulled back in when Jalan made a comedic observation.
The Norse mythology influence didn't strike me as particularly unique or remarkable; it seemed like the story relied too heavily on the audience's knowledge of the Norse tales to flesh out the world instead of actually presenting something new.
Something that was brought to my attention later that I didn't completely realize while reading is that the setting is actually Earth? Or post-apocalyptic Europe?
As a result some of the elements included, such as Jesus the religious figure & some modern idioms, ended up feeling quite disjointed from what I typically expect in my Fantasy. Kudos for trying something different, but this in combination with the Norse influence didn't do much for me in the world building department.
I kept waiting to fall in love with this but unfortunately I never fully connected to the book. I'm sure the next installment will be a riot, but I'm just not committed enough to the story itself to stick around for the amusement.
I've heard from a handful of people that this story is more enjoyable if you've read Lawrence's series The Broken Empire beforehand, so if you pick this up keep that in mind!...more
ALSO THERE MAY BE MILD SPOILERS FROM BOOK 1, I TRIED TO TAG THEM! YOU'VE BEEN Actual Rating: 2.5 Stars
*CAUTION: SOME SWEARING BECAUSE I'M KINDA ANGRY*
ALSO THERE MAY BE MILD SPOILERS FROM BOOK 1, I TRIED TO TAG THEM! YOU'VE BEEN WARNED!
The reason I'm giving this a 2.5 stars is because I really enjoyed some of the characterization present here. I really don't care about what's going on with the central plot, unfortunately. I think Bardugo did a better job fleshing out her world in this installment, and when I say that I mean the locations mentioned and the political atmosphere came into clearer focus. Overall, not the worst thing I've ever read but nothing to rave about.
The best parts of this series by far are the Darkling and Nikolai Lantsov. I loved both of these characters so much, even though the Darkling is hardly in this one. Nikolai is hilarious, witty, and passionate about the salvation of his country. Several times it's shown just how capable a leader Nikolai is, my favorite in particular being (view spoiler)[when he calls out Vasily for falling into the trap set by the Darkling and completely fucking up everything Alina and Nikolai were working toward at the Little Palace. (hide spoiler)]
(view spoiler)[I, however, do not like that Nikolai seems to be romantically interested in Alina. WHY BOY??(hide spoiler)] I have yet to understand why all these boys are falling head over heels for Alina Starkov? I mean sure she's naturally powerful *eye roll* and occasionally she makes a funny, but she's also super whiny. She throws fits and wallows in self-pity and I don't find it flattering.
The Darkling is mysterious, alluring, and honest. I desperately want to know exactly what he's got planned. In Shadow and Bone Alina concluded that he wants to (view spoiler)[use his power to wipe out democracy in a sense, so that it will end the possibility of war. (hide spoiler)] But I want to know more. He only showed up a few times in this book but when he did I was instantly excited!
Now for Mal. Angry, controlling, self-centered Mal. Please forgive me, but if Mal would pull his head out of his asshole for five seconds... no, not even then would I find him appealing in any way. It absolutely disgusts me that he's legitimately a love interest in the story?? Multiple times I saw Alina disregarding and reasoning away her own feelings in order to appease Mal. EW.
This kid is supposedly super well acclimated to change, fits in everywhere, a natural at many things. And yet, when the current situation isn't all about Mal he becomes a whiny little pissbaby.
"Alina, have you ever considered maybe I'm not destined to be anything great alongside you?" Uhm, no Mal I haven't considered that because I'm trying to save the fucking world.
He's jealous of Nikolai, he's jealous of the Darkling, he's jealous that Alina is actually important to a great cause & that means they can't spend *quality time* together strolling down by the lake or some shit... MAL PLEASE CHILL.
And maybe he's meant to be awful, but I just want to elaborate on something that really irks me about YA fantasy in particular. It seems like female MC's are almost always heavily defined by their relationship to their male counterparts. They're always simultaneously coming into their own while realizing one male in the love geometry accepts them for who they are and the other one holds them back from their *true potential*.
Almost all of Alina's development as a character is centralized around her struggle to maintain being Mal's girlfriend now that she's noticed some of her darker traits. She also fights with herself about flirting with Nikolai and about accepting that she and the Darkling have a lot in common. But she never really reflects on her own solitary decisions and changes, on what she truly wants for herself.
That being said, there was some good things about this book but overall it didn't really deliver like I hoped it would. I'm going to finish this series if not solely so I can see what's up with the Darkling and so I can start Six of Crows as soon as possible!...more
My actual rating of this book is probably closer to 2.5 stars because I didn't really hate it. It was ok, but nothing to tell your friends about. It hMy actual rating of this book is probably closer to 2.5 stars because I didn't really hate it. It was ok, but nothing to tell your friends about. It hasn't even happened yet but I just know that a love triangle will be in this series eventually. The ending felt a bit X-Men ish and the whole thing felt like things were happening for the convenience of the romantic plot rather than the dystopian plot. My least favorite aspect of this book was the writing style, just too much purple prose and repetition for my liking. It's like, I want to continue on in this series just to know what happens but I don't wanna put in the time or effort to do so because it was overall, just meh....more
I have to admit, I listened to the audiobook for Uprooted and I was very unimpressed by the narrator for this story. I would say the narrator definiteI have to admit, I listened to the audiobook for Uprooted and I was very unimpressed by the narrator for this story. I would say the narrator definitely contributed to my rating of this book. Her pronunciation had me lost, rewinding multiple times to re-hear parts of a sentence, confused about who was speaking, and overall completely frustrated.
On top of that, I was not incredibly enamored by the the story. It wasn't that it was boring necessarily, it just wasn't interesting either. I felt myself listening intently to some places but nodding off in others. The whole story felt like a shamble with grey areas of explanation and a constantly shifting end goal.
I am of the opinion that our main character here is a bit too Mary Sue-ish for my liking. Overall not the worst thing I've ever read but I certainly had higher hopes for this one. Maybe one day I'll go back and read the physical copy to see if my opinion changes....more
I originally intended to write a full review for this one, but I don't think I will now. My feelings boil down to this:
This waActual Rating: 2.5 Stars
I originally intended to write a full review for this one, but I don't think I will now. My feelings boil down to this:
This wasn't as bad as it could have been but it still wasn't good for me. I'm sorry, I wanted to love this & there were some parts I didn't mind, but mostly it was just ehhhh. But hey, this one is the highest rated SJM book on my shelf, that's got to mean something right?
I've read A Court of Mist and Fury & I wasn't really a fan of it, either. If you're interested you can read my full review of that one here. I go into much more detail about why this series isn't for me. ...more
Uhh... WELL. I don't really know what went wrong with me and this book.
I was supposed to enjoy it.
I was supposed to really enjoy it.
I was totally eUhh... WELL. I don't really know what went wrong with me and this book.
I was supposed to enjoy it.
I was supposed to really enjoy it.
I was totally expecting to really enjoy it.
But sadly, I didn't.
I have heard so much praise for author Cinda Williams Chima, but for now I'm left wishing I could see what so many others have seen in her books.
I actually had a weird experience where I was under the impression that this series was a completely different story than it turned out to be. I'm sure that's the result of reading hundreds of synopses between the first time The Demon King crossed my radar & the time I finally picked it up.
Standing at the end of this book, I can't even remember what story I expected to read when I began. But me getting something I did not (or forgot to) expect is not the fault of the book. I should've just reread the damn synopsis like a regular person would.
Anyway, we follow two main protagonists:
Han, former leader of a thieving street gang, primary caretaker of his younger sister & mother, curious type willing to take possession of any ol' amulet even though might potentially kill him.
Rasia, princess heir to the Fells, cares about making the lives of her citizens better, has too many love interests.
Both of these protagonists are, predictably, 15-17 years of age.
I feel mostly indifferent about both of them. Their personalities end up feeling inevitable because I've seen them so many times before. No one is unbearable to read about, and both have plenty of potential to grow into people I may care about in the future, but for now they're just sort of there for me.
I've talked about this before, but one thing I usually can't deal with in Young Adult books is unrealistic characterization vs age. Han apparently accomplished status as a gang leader, lived it up, and decided to retire from that life all before fully completing puberty. And I just???
Why do we keep doing things like this, authors?
This is part of the reason I couldn't fully take Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo seriously either, though that book is much better than this one on many fronts.
But I always get this disjointed feeling when I am told I'm supposed to view 12-17 year old characters as hardened, badass, criminal types, but conversely shown they still possess an overwhelmingly juvenile mindset.
Around halfway through, there is a scene that squicked me out which involved a male character copping a feel of a female character's ass. In response, the female victim... well she proceeds to have sympathetic thoughts about the male character & how he's probably misunderstood. He's even on the board as a love interest in some capacity.
Uhm, no? *huge sigh*
I'm just tired of things like this, friends. It's not cute, it's gross.
Even when individual situations between characters are meant to be dramatic or interesting, I just could not force myself to engage.
This was my face while I trekked my way through this book:
[image]
The only thing I truly liked here was the political elements (surprise, surprise).
I wanted to hear more about the war in the South & the details of the conflict. I wanted to see more of the relationship between the people of the Clans and the people of Fellsmarch. I wanted more worldbuilding.
But unfortunately, time that could've been spent further developing the landscape of this series was wasted on silly relationship nonsense & small scale conflicts, neither of which captured my interest in any meaningful capacity.
I've heard from many fans that this first book is difficult to get through, but I am concerned that the parts most people found difficult are the only parts I seemed to care about (aka the political situation). I may get around to trying out The Exiled Queen, I may not. Either way, a pretty disappointing beginning.
Buddy read this with the gorgeous Wren! Here's a link to her review, if you're interested. �...more
Harry August cannot die. Well, not in the typical sense. Whenever he reaches the end of his life, he is reborn again to live tActual Rating: 2.5 Stars
Harry August cannot die. Well, not in the typical sense. Whenever he reaches the end of his life, he is reborn again to live the same stretch of life over. Around age 3-4, he can recall all the details, knowledge, and experiences he gained from his previous life. This tale explores Harry's struggle to gain understanding of what he is, how his condition is important, and his eventual involvement in trying to prevent the destruction of the world he knows.
I really don't know where it went wrong for me and this book. I think the premise was much more interesting than the execution. It was written well, but I struggled to stay engaged. The book really wanted me to care about its endgame but I just didn't. This story is not uninteresting as a whole, but I just didn't feel any of the emotions necessary for a story like this to work. I really feel that this is one to read and judge for yourself....more
So, I've read 14 full-length novels and 2 novellas by Brandon Sanderson, and this is the one that didn't do it for me.
My one glowing posit*deep sigh*
So, I've read 14 full-length novels and 2 novellas by Brandon Sanderson, and this is the one that didn't do it for me.
My one glowing positive is that, once again, Sanderson presents his readers with a fascinating magic system. Think Chalk Zone with more violence!
Rithmatists are a chosen elite, trained from a young age & charged with protecting civilization by way of breathing life into mathematically intricate chalk sketches. These sketches rely on the precision & intent of the artist, and I really enjoyed the illustrations in the book that made this system feel that much more real.
Unfortunately, I can't say much for the rest of the book.
Despite the allure of the magic system, I still never found myself putting down roots in this world. It may be because the complexity of the chalk magic didn't mesh well with the simplicity of the other elements in the story.
Joel is a 16-year-old student at a prestigious academy with a student body that has integrated Rithmatists and regular kids. He is passionate about Rithmatic study, though he has no abilities of his own. Melody is 16-year-old Rithmatist with a quirky personality & seems to be a bit of a redheaded stepchild in the Rithmatist community at the school.
I guess I don't mind either of these characters, but something about both of them seems incredibly derivative. I just felt as though I'd met them countless times before in other works. The most noteworthy aspect of their friendship is that it's just that: a friendship. It's nice to see a Young Adult story where two main characters of opposite gender can just exist without a shoehorned kissing scene, but otherwise, I don't see myself thinking about either of them much past the time it takes me to write this review.
Speaking of the genre, something about this book felt very Middle Grade. That's probably not a negative for the general reader, but me? I'm not really a fan of Middle Grade.
Joel & Melody could've just as easily fulfilled their roles if they were 12 or 13. In fact, I think I would've enjoyed the story a bit more if the protagonists had been younger because the plot felt so much like something out of Percy Jackson and the Olympians or The Children of the Red King.
I suppose it was the atmosphere more than anything else. It was like one of the early Harry Potter installments in that the plot wove itself around a mysterious occurrence at a "magical school," which is then solved by children in tandem with a handful of adults who are clearly segregated into "good adults" and "bad adults."
I found myself yawning through most of the book. The story was written with all the skill we can expect from Sanderson, but I did not feel as compelled as I normally do to stay engaged with the developments. Long conversations & mostly annoying banter between the MC's had me feeling utterly bored.
The last 10% of the story finally shows off the excellent magic system in some great action sequences that held my attention pretty well, but as far as the mystery goes I wasn't surprised by the time I reached the conclusion. I'm not saying I guessed what would happen in specific details, but my reaction was a very weak "Oh, yea ok. No more fight scenes?"
What can I say, sometimes you connect with a book & sometimes you don't. I've had excellent luck with Sanderson's other works, but this one just couldn't sweep me off my feet!...more
I find this a very difficult book to review because on one hand, it's subject matter is very important, on the other, I really didn't enjoy it very muI find this a very difficult book to review because on one hand, it's subject matter is very important, on the other, I really didn't enjoy it very much.
There were times when I sympathized with the main character, Leonard Peacock. But an overwhelming amount of the time I found him pretty unlikable. And maybe that is how he's supposed to come off, I really don't know. It just made it difficult for me to understand him sometimes.
I felt similarly when I read Thirteen Reasons Why, ultimately sad but unconvinced. I am starting to think that perhaps books the deal intimately with suicide in this manner are not for me. I didn't look forward to reading it, and I'm relieved to be finished with it now.
It's not that the book was awful, or written poorly, or any of those usual things that earn a lower rating from me. It's not that I wasn't able to grasp the ideas here, or feel pangs of empathy/compassion (because Leonard has been dealt a shitty hand in life).
I just don't think I was able to feel the emotions I was meant to feel deeply enough for a book like this to have a lasting impact.
Also, I have a real problem with the structure of the physical copy of this book. All throughout the book there are these random footnotes, often times smack dab in the middle of a sentence. It made the reading experience very tedious, and I honestly saw no reason the footnotes should be footnotes. They would've fit fine into the paragraph as an extra sentence because it was a stream-of-consciousness writing style anyway?
Then almost 3/4 of the way into the book we start seeing experimentation with words being scattered all over the page for dramatic effect, but there was no consistency & it came off sort of forced.
To top it all off, there are a couple letters written from the future to the main character placed between the chapters of the present storyline, and until the very end it's just hella confusing. I had no clue what I was supposed to gather from these letters, and even now I feel no closure with the present story nor about the letters.
The structure just made me feel like I was jumping around everywhere. My eyes were all over the page, I was in the present then in the future, my concentration was constantly interrupted.
That's about as deep as I'll go into my problems with this one, because I truly believe this is a decent book that may speak volumes to other people. It just largely wasn't my thing....more
"You no longer have the luxury of being a lovesick teenager."
This book was pretty disappointing.
I felt as **spoiler alert** Actual Rating: 1.5 Stars
"You no longer have the luxury of being a lovesick teenager."
This book was pretty disappointing.
I felt as though the world building was SO sloppy, like... Ok. Everyone hates cyborgs... But why? Why do we all have this unspoken hatred for people who have been mechanically modified so that they can go on living?
Maybe this book was supposed to represent the difficulties of those with prosthetics in our world of people who stare and are frightened of what they don't understand? I don't know but either way I wish the author had been more clear on why exactly people in this world hate cyborgs.
Was there some event that triggered a repulsion to mechanical devices? In that case shouldn't the world not be 100% reliant on the technology it claims to despise?
It actually seemed pretty neat & efficient to be a cyborg, in my opinion.
Also I was really disappointed with the character development in this book. SO BLAND!
There is never any explanation as to why Cinder and Peony have a positive relationship. If Pearl was raised by Audri to hate Cinder then it's very likely Peony would hate Cinder also. Right??
& There's never any explanation of who Audri is or what she does, it's like the author relies wholly on the reader knowing the story of Cinderella well enough to fill in the blanks she leaves, which is rather lazy.
There's Kai, who is perfect in every way even though Cinder hardly knows him or anything about him outside of his royal status and heart stopping smile. His personality is hardly elaborated on whatsoever. There's a plague ravaging the world, his father just died from it, Queen Levana is threatening war, and he's worried about whether or not a mechanic girl he just met will go to the coronation ball with him? I'm sorry but that's just a completely ridiculous proposition for the reader to accept.
Dr. Erland has escaped from a world where certain people were put to death because of their status as a "Shell" and yet his genius idea to find the Lunar Princess is to propose a draft that does that very same thing to cyborgs? It seems highly unlikely to me that a man who narrowly escaped death and suffering would be content to inflict more death and suffering? At least when it's clear we're also supposed to sympathize with him.
Now to the plot. I felt as though most of these characters just sort of ambled along in a disjointed and tired storyline. I never connected with any of them on a personal level, never felt happy or sad for them, never felt as though I couldn't already guess what would happen.
The big reveal about Cinder being the Lunar Princess was altogether disappointing as it was pretty obvious the second Dr. Erland told her she was of Lunar origins. Also, is it just the earth and the moon that are currently colonized? If so how did the moon become populated with people who have this bioelectric gift?
Just so much about this book didn't sit well with me. I detest when an author presents me with a group of characters that continuously make poor, thoughtless decisions and don't have any clear direction in which to grow.
Maybe I'm asking too much? I realize it's just the first book. But I my curiosity should be piqued, I should not be flat out confused and irritated over the world building (or lack thereof) this early in any series.
I gave the book a 1.5 stars because I think the concept was a solid attempt to retell a story in an interesting way, but ultimately Meyer delivered a dull and predictable fairytale....more
I was supposed to like this book. It's about a mysterious book store for crying out loud! It was chalk full of things that I usually enjoy. But fUgh.
I was supposed to like this book. It's about a mysterious book store for crying out loud! It was chalk full of things that I usually enjoy. But for some reason this one really didn't grab me. It was an interesting synopsis without an interesting execution.
Mary ~Ravager of Tomes~
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Books:
2-star
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