Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press | Wednesday Books for eARC; invited to review via e-mail.
DNF at Chapter Nine // 24%
â–� POV: First, througThanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press | Wednesday Books for eARC; invited to review via e-mail.
DNF at Chapter Nine // 24%
â–� POV: First, through our main character, Terra. â–� Setting: North Heights, senior year
Not too sure about writing style, kind of too...boring. Which is a shame, and frankly surprising, because the concept has so much promise. Not I just cannot gel with it. Great cover art, though.
EDIT: After reading through other eARC reviews, I agree that the predetermined age group may enjoy this, but it was too "cheesy" for 40 year-old me....more
DNF - Between the typos and the inability to connect to characters, I gave up at 50% (especially empowered after reading similar complaints on earlierDNF - Between the typos and the inability to connect to characters, I gave up at 50% (especially empowered after reading similar complaints on earlier reviews)
Thanks to NETGALLEY and Del Rey/Random House for eARC
Plot: 4 -- had potential, I was ready to be hooked Characters: 2 Writing Style: 3 Cover: 5 Enjoyment: 2
� 4 parts, first person POV, historical fantasy � Main character is Ruying who is either 19 or 20, we're told both. Learn on the first page she wields Death magic; she's a twin and orphan. � Typos in the form of tense changes were frequent and made reading a little jarring � Inner dialogue was just far too repetitive...more
- Humanoid artwork is meh, nothing awful, but nothing amazing. Honestly has an uncanny valley feel to itEDELWEISS & Andrews McMeel Publishing eARC
- Humanoid artwork is meh, nothing awful, but nothing amazing. Honestly has an uncanny valley feel to it, like the faces are AI generated or something. Same for the backgrounds and random items. However, the flower art is lovely. But there is a lack of flow/connectedness
- Glad the demigods etc are taller, as they should be.
- Found at least one contradiction with Shira about helping Iris on first day; refuses to assist the new girl but then asks Iris if she wants to be shown around...
I adore the concept, truly, but lost interest about halfway through. Characters are almost flat, the romance lacks explanation. And the inconsistency with choosing which swears to show or edit was a bit puzzling. As such, I will not be continuing this series. ...more
Story 1: Jumped around, confusing, didn't finish reading. Story 2: Awkward dialog, stiff. Story 3: Enjoyed. Fun story about a constellatiBOOKSIRENS ARC
Story 1: Jumped around, confusing, didn't finish reading. Story 2: Awkward dialog, stiff. Story 3: Enjoyed. Fun story about a constellation. Story 4: It was alright, a little too short. Story 5: Confusing AF without names and same pronouns in same sentence. Weird. Story 6: Had potential, but poorly written with overusing eye rolls and grimacing and typos (could be translator's fault). Choppy and awkward. Confusing. Story 7: Contradictions.
Gave up after the seventh story; most were lacking which was a bummer because mythology/folklore/folktales are my jam. Alas. ...more
DID NOT FINISH - Stopped at 55% ; Too many typos and errors, making it distracting, and more importantly, the speech was just fNETGALLEY & TOR ARC
DID NOT FINISH - Stopped at 55% ; Too many typos and errors, making it distracting, and more importantly, the speech was just far too awkward or stilted, making it one of those 'people don't talk like this' faults. It would have been understandable if the book were translated, however it's not. At least, not that I was able to discern.
� Third person POV told through numerous characters from a child on up to an elder. � Setting - Mexico, New York � Features: Gods, ghosts/apparitions/specters, seeing auras, tzitzimitl, possession. Which is my jam, but damn. Disappointed. I love the cover? And how the name ties into the novel. I did learn some cultural goodies. � "Simply having it near her made her feel good, euphoric–� not happy, really, but she felt a certain warmth and tingling in her chest, like when she waited for Christmas when she was younger."-- Sooo relatable!...more
Plot: I say 5 for concept and what it could have been, what I wanted it to be. Characters: 2 Writing Style: 2 Cover: 5 Enjoyment: 1? Even wriNETGALLEY ARC
Plot: I say 5 for concept and what it could have been, what I wanted it to be. Characters: 2 Writing Style: 2 Cover: 5 Enjoyment: 1? Even writing this up was annoying. Buyable/Re-readable?: Nope.
Alright, I made it 47% and just can't go any further. I already pushed myself for Reasons and have met my limit. The concept is just...it has so much potential. Like, it's said the old Gods (my sic) turned themselves mortal in order to have sex with actual mortals to then produce witches and thus spread magic throughout the world. And that a witch can keep their powers if turned into a vampire by a certain age. Like...I wanted and expected to enjoy the heckin' heck out of this book. I was not immediately drawn in and was honestly bored most of the time. How a book about witches, vampires, and magic can be dull is...IDEK. I felt that the author's hand-holding was somewhat insulting, in terms of repeated information. And things are repeated A LOT. I debated counting but became so annoyed that I sometimes skimmed just to be done quicker. It almost read like badly written fan-fiction. Somewhat akin to Stephanie Meyer overusing and/or wrongly using a word, so too does Flores with 'gulp' (and possibly 'scoff'). 'Gulp' is used twenty-three times in 368 pages. I couldn't throw this book across the room, because that would mean throwing my Nook, but I sure wanted to. I instead took to venting to my husband about about infuriating the read was. The characters don't speak naturally, using names while addressing one another far too often. And the contradictions, ugh. Example being, Ava says she hasn't seen any animals and yet Kaye's chapter is mentioning animals...or the writer contradicting the world's rules (I.E. vampire healing). The character actions are overly dramatic and borderline aggressive. There was a point (in chapter 14) where another character was apparently trapped and the way in which it was written was extremely confusing and only made known after some paragraphs.
The romance comes about abruptly, without much of a hint or build. Almost like it was an afterthought forced into the narrative for reasons.
We get alternating chapter narrators in first person between Ava and Kaye. Each chapter has a starter blurb in italics from an in-world source (training book, journal, etc). Those were the only part I enjoyed, heh. And the use of a Book of Mormon name was neat? And the mother and step-father of Ava are perfectly ruthless villains. Step-dad fits that fairy tale trope and kind of reminds me of a Doctor Frankenstein type.
Oh, right, and this is supposedly a re-imagining of Rapunzel, and yet Ava is out of the tower in, like, three seconds. So.
[image]
P.S. Here's another example of the poor writing, ala the usage of the word "Look" -
�Look, I have no love for vampires, unlike my mother,� Kaye continues. “But I will honor her wishes to protect those of you who may deserve a second chance. You are running away, I assume?�
The impersonal way she speaks with me feels like she’s punching me in the gut several times over. She’s so different from before. “You were going to kill me, too,� I say, the words coming out of me in a flustered rush. Her green eyes flash in the light of the flames, but she doesn’t reply. I’ve spent years reading lies and half truths from my mother and Zenos. This doesn’t seem like a lie, yet doubt still tugs at me. The sound of underbrush being hacked down nearby and a triumphant whoop cut through the air. I shrink away, my back hitting the closest tree.
“Do you want them to find you or not?� Kaye asks, sending a panicked glance over her shoulder toward the source of the sound. �Look, it’s obvious you’re running away, you don’t even have any shoes. I will escort you to the nearest town—Chrysalis—and if any witches come across us, I will explain that you are mine....."
545 words later -
�Look.� Kaye levels her gaze at me, with an urgent cut to her voice. “Either we go together now, or I burn you where you stand.�
And ‘Look� is used to start another sentence again 3 pages later.
NETGALLEY ARC ▲▼▲▼ DID NOT FINISH! Stopped at 30% / Ch 10 (and this was attempt number two)
Plot: The concept gets a 5. I wanted this book so badlyNETGALLEY ARC ▲▼▲▼ DID NOT FINISH! Stopped at 30% / Ch 10 (and this was attempt number two)
Plot: The concept gets a 5. I wanted this book so badly and just...could not. Characters: 2 Writing Style: 3 Cover: 5 Enjoyment: 2 Buyable/Re-readable?: Not for me.
� Need to include the disclaimer that I am not Black, and therefore may have received this differently.
� This book would have been so amazing! It has generational, light, and shadow magic branches, which sound neat as heck, coupled with Mages, Queens, Cardinals, etc. Generational has a focus on the Moon, Light the Sun...ugh, I wanted to bask in all of it. � Three voices - 1st POV for twins, Cris and Clem, 3rd for Val. Not sure why Mom and Granny, etc are in present tense vs her mom, etc. That style made for awkward reading, honestly. Thus far (chapter three), not much of a difference in voices. Plus, a Zachary, Lenora, Jean-Louise. � Like some name choices. � Stop telling me the same things over and over, please. � A ton of cursing� like, I get younger characters, but everyone swears a questionable amount (and I love to use curse words), including adults around younger characters. Like, every character is angsty AF (or badass or bold or insert similar adjective here, since the characters were all similar, so much so I would forget whose chapter I was reading). � Ch. 2 - Confusing scene with Cris re: Oz - loves him and then gets into major accusation fight? IDEK. � A few run-on sentences. � Ch. 6 - The character states they can't do anything to stop their aunt...but then tries to intervene. ?? � Overusing the whole "it's all up to me" burden. � Overusing "Can't tell him, I'll lose him, he'll hate me," blah, blah, blah. � Points for discussing lynching, mental illness (a character takes and openly discusses anxiety meds)....more
Oof, I just cannot finish this one. A little too much God for my taste, a little too much of characters' voices blenNETGALLEY ARC DNF ; made it to 23%.
Oof, I just cannot finish this one. A little too much God for my taste, a little too much of characters' voices blending, and a little too much, uh, instant trusting and the like (example - Ysa spilling details to the two knights; wasn't believable or rational, in my opinion). I didn't know it was YA, nor that it was part of a series, although according to the author the three installments can be read alone, for anyone interested. But this novel does bring back characters from the previous novels, so take that as you will. It felt too easy? Maybe that's the word I am wanting? Like how on competition shows, they accuse some competitors as playing it too safe. That's similar to how this novel feels; bland. Safe. I wanted to like it, seeing as I love me some Brothers Grimm and Sleeping Beauty, however, I didn't enjoy it enough to stick it through.
I liked the character names and the cover, though, for what it's worth....more
Ignore the star rating, because I made it to 42% before giving up. I'm simply not gelling with the stories and it may very well be that INETGALLEY ARC
Ignore the star rating, because I made it to 42% before giving up. I'm simply not gelling with the stories and it may very well be that I am outside of the demographic (and that's one reason I don't want to mark stars, since it's not the author's fault). That said, Chang is a lovely writer and has a way with words that leaves me hoping this collection of stories reaches the ears it needs to, the hearts it speaks to. I did, at least, learn some foreign words
Could not finish; got to page 199/386 (according to Digital Editions) \ 55% (Kindle \ Chapter 23
I tried, because it had its moments and tNETGALLEY ARC
Could not finish; got to page 199/386 (according to Digital Editions) \ 55% (Kindle \ Chapter 23
I tried, because it had its moments and the concept is what instantly lured me in. To the point that I barely even read the synopsis once I knew it's a RRP book with more culture exposure (and thus, more pantheons!). I even thought, well maybe I'll at least finish the first installment but I likely won't finish the series, and yet, I kept being able to walk away from it in order to knock out other ARCs (and those two books I *didn't* want to walk away from). But there's this odd underlying awkwardness to it. I remember trying to articulate my feelings with my husband and only being able to come up with it just feels awkward. Like, if it were a movie, maybe it'd be similar to a made-for-television or straight-to-VHS/DVD/etc movie. I don't know if that if that evenly properly sums it up, but it's all I have right now. I had moments of confusion, thinking I had missed something, and then the longer I read, the more characters started to feel like copies of one another, lacking enough of a voice to feel like individual characters. I for sure lost track of ages, because young adults and adults read the same. Pacing was weird, transitions jarring...overall, disappointed.
Points for inclusivity and normalizing it (and it not being what made the character the character), as well as culture blending and further exposure to various sorts. And pretty awesome title....more
I thoroughly enjoyed the HSM films and was just geeked as all get out for the show. Upon watching said show, however, I was disappointed NETGALLEY ARC
I thoroughly enjoyed the HSM films and was just geeked as all get out for the show. Upon watching said show, however, I was disappointed and couldn't finish it. I requested this book with the hopes of getting some fun HSM tidbits, but alas, there was one, maybe two moments that were related to the originals.
My biggest issue with this book? Every character sounded the same. Though each character gets their own chapters, there was a severe lack of diversity between each voice. I even tried reading the chapters without looking to see which character was telling the story this time, only to find that it felt like reading a book from the point of view of the same person. At which point, I started skimming through for any HSM parts because I couldn't deal with much more.
It stands to reason that if you're a fan of the show, you may enjoy reading this book. It's a very, very quick read....more
I kept trying to get into this book (downloaded in 2017 and it's 2020 now), thinking I simply wasn't in the right mood or headspace, but alas, it's juI kept trying to get into this book (downloaded in 2017 and it's 2020 now), thinking I simply wasn't in the right mood or headspace, but alas, it's just not vibing with me. I'm bummed out, because my adoration for mythologies is endless, but I did what I could....more
I'm on the fence, where on one side, the book is quite interesting and I was learning delicious history, yet on the other side, the formaNetGalley ARC
I'm on the fence, where on one side, the book is quite interesting and I was learning delicious history, yet on the other side, the formatting/pace/writing style of the book was slowing me down or plain just holding me back from wanting to continue. And sadly, the latter won. It's an odd juxtaposition of feeling like I'm reading a list of facts, but a list that's really well written. So, 2.5 stars that I will post as 3.
Another issue I took that's worth noting is how some facts were presented, in that they would be stated only to be followed with something that said the thing, etc likely didn't happen because of such-and-such, like the pettiness of the writer. It was confusing if not misleading, because I'm preparing myself to remember these facts, but then have to try and dismiss it because oops, not true. I felt it would have been better to lead with the dismissal and then state the possible fact or gossip....more
I mean...when a book that's aimed for 8-12 year-olds talks about 'hooking up'...IDEK. The conversations between characters felt unnaturalNETGALLEY ARC
I mean...when a book that's aimed for 8-12 year-olds talks about 'hooking up'...IDEK. The conversations between characters felt unnatural and, at times, a little too simple.
I liked the adaptations of modern things in our lives being incorporated into animalesque representations and the cute drawings before each chapter. That was about it....more
-sighs- I was pulled in by the concept of this book, but truthfully, it was a let down. It didnLet Tina sum this one up for me -
[image][image] [image]
-sighs- I was pulled in by the concept of this book, but truthfully, it was a let down. It didn't...I don't know, it didn't sit right. And was extremely difficult to read; Turtle Boy made me uncomfortable. And I also didn't much feel like there was a difference in voices, be it the kids or the adults and regardless of gender. A lot of awkwardness and grimacing on my end. It sadly got to the point where I couldn't take any more, and though I pushed myself to get to exactly 50%, I had to stop. Because it was feeling more like a chore, and with my stress/anxiety/depression levels higher than normal, some reading sessions would accentuate that, triggering an almost dread, and that's never fair nor fun.
I very much hope that this book resonates with others, that maybe it simply wasn't my jam, because again, the concept of befriending a terminally ill patient and finishing their Bucket List is a heartwarming and altruistic thing that is my cup of tea. Wolkenstein just didn't execute it correctly. HOWEVER, I very much appreciated the exposure to Jewish culture; that bit was well crafted....more
A Broken Zebra
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