What can I say? It was a novelization of the movie. In some ways it was better than the movie, but it still had to follow the movie. So, while the booWhat can I say? It was a novelization of the movie. In some ways it was better than the movie, but it still had to follow the movie. So, while the book provided some nice insight it still had to include the dialogue from the movie.
On the other hand I could envision and read that dialogue in a less wooden and poorly delivered fashion, but either certain lines were just that cringe worthy or I can't delete how they're recited from my brain.
But to be fair it wasn't awful. It wasn't great either. (But again it's a novelization of the movie, so what can the author do?) For the material it was working with it did a great job at preventing different insights. It allowed us to get into certain characters heads during different scenes. Also little extra bits of background fluff like a couple of chapters showing what little Anakin was doing before a spaceship of very attractive Jedi landed on his planet.
Ah, but the book still has Jar Jar complete with his dialogue written out. Again. Movie. What can you do?
End of the day I got the refresher and information I wanted without having to watch the movie again, so at least there's that. ...more
I think I'm being generous because literally anything would feel like salvation in comparison to what I've read lately.
I think of all the 'ShadowhuntI think I'm being generous because literally anything would feel like salvation in comparison to what I've read lately.
I think of all the 'Shadowhunter Academy' novellas so far this one felt like it belonged in the premise of this series. All the other's have been either a story about Herondales or stories within stories about other characters.
I mean it's still an obvious commercial for the upcoming series. And while Simon's sentiments on the treatment of faeries are appreciated it still feels a bit hollow when the person he is talking about is Mark Blackthorn.
I mean seriously can't we portray a good guy fairy who isn't also part Shadowhunter?
Anyway, the plot here is Simon gets captured by faeries during a mission. Turns out one of the faeries there is Mark Blackthorn.
Mark babbles like a drunken Mad Hatter to Simon for a bit to garner sympathy for his plight. (Gotta sell that upcoming series you know.) He aids in Simon's escape and Simon goes with Isabelle to a wedding.
Aline and Helen's wedding. And I'm really just 'meh' about this whole wedding. Like yay a wedding of a same-sex couple that you didn't bother developing at all. Really, other than being told that the two of them love each other so much I know dick all about these girls.
All and all it's just more fishing to attempt to get us interested in the Blackthorn family, so that we'll read the Dark Artifices. But I'll concede that it wasn't the worst one of the bunch. While it might not exactly deserve three stars, I also didn't want to place it on the same level as the other ones I gave two stars to.
I kind of don't want to stick it on the same level as the ones I gave three stars to either, but it is what it is. This one completed my reading challenge for the year for me, so that makes me happy and I'll just leave the rating where it is. ...more
This series has gotten better. (Book one was a disaster.) The writing has improved. There are spots of well thought of world building. However, there This series has gotten better. (Book one was a disaster.) The writing has improved. There are spots of well thought of world building. However, there are still some points holding it back from really engaging me.
It took me, what felt like, forever to get through this book. I hesitate to say I got bored, but I got bored. The book's multiple story lines and method of cycling through those story lines with each chapter made it hard for me to focus. I've dealt with this form before in books with no trouble it was just that all these characters were spending so much time wallowing in their backstories and tragic pasts that it was eating away at valuable plot time.
I'm not kidding. Maas handed out tragedy to everyone. I don't mind the tragic past part so much give their backgrounds and what has been happening, but I don't want to hear about it every chapter. I don't want to read pages upon pages of Caelena reminding us how empty she is.
Yeah, our protagonist spends a lot of her time being dead inside. It's riveting.
It wasted time. It slowed the pace down. Half the chapter would be a character reflecting on the past, and their pain and the last two pages would tease us with something interesting only to end on a 'cliffhanger'. Once I had cycled through all the other character's chapters with the same pattern, I was too irritated to care what happened next.
Oh, and the chapters with the witches felt like a pointless 'How To Train Your Dragon' spinoff. I'm not going to scoff completely at their inclusion. I feel like I underestimated Maas and her ability to weave plot points and bring them all together. I assume that the witches inclusion will be more pertinent as the series continues and their purpose in this book was to lay a bit more groundwork.
Better to ease me into them a bit than just toss them in later and expect me to care.
I will be interested to see where this series goes. It's improving that much I'm certain. Annoyances I had earlier in the series are either being improved on, being dialed back, or removed altogether. So it won't be a chore now for me to continue with the series. (Will still probably long as hell, but I won't cry about it.)
I wanted to like this more than I did. I had seen so many people reference this series and Harry Dresden and I wanted to be a part of that. Though theI wanted to like this more than I did. I had seen so many people reference this series and Harry Dresden and I wanted to be a part of that. Though the entire time, I just felt completely 'meh' while reading this. It wasn't bad it just wasn't as good as I was hoping it would be.
As much as Harry Dresden tried to present himself as a chivalrous guy all I could think was misogynist. He would claim to be old fashioned, which doesn't make it any better. Old fashioned is what relatives will try to spin my Grandfather's behavior when he's making comments about women's roles.
This book and main character's attitude toward women was off-putting. I feel as if the author intended for him to be viewed as a cool rouge like character, but most of the time I just found him sad.
I think it was also safe to say that the author doesn't have a firm grasp on how to write women outside of generic female stereotypes.
All things aside this book wasn't bad I just don't think the enthusiasm, that was there for others, was present for me. I will continue on to see if it gets any better, but I'm not in a hurry to get to the next one. ...more
The only reason I found this book enjoyable at all was because of the support characters. Those three stars? They're for them. The ones who actually cThe only reason I found this book enjoyable at all was because of the support characters. Those three stars? They're for them. The ones who actually cared about the plot. Cared about the fate of the Nevernever. Literally cared about something other than Ash.
No stars for Meghan though because she was a whiny, bratty little twit who is clearly too stupid to live anyway.
We pick up where the last book left off. Ash has made good on his and Meghan's contract and is taking her to the Unseelie court. Meghan narrates that he seems conflicted and that she doesn't think he really wants to take her there. Ash flat out tells her that romances between the two courts are against the rules and they'd be in HUGE trouble. He tells her that the Unseelie court views emotions as weakness and would be used to tear her apart.
So what does Meghan do once they get to the court and Ash starts behaving as if he wants nothing to do with her? Cries and whines about how he's being sooooo mean. And he must have only been only acting when he said he loved her to get her back to the Winter Court.
She never once considers the very obvious possibility that the rules and court are as ruthless as he explained and that he's protecting both their asses by pretending in front of everyone that there's nothing going on there.
And I could have actually gotten behind her resolve to try and play along with the court. To steel her emotions and do what she has to do. If it had lasted more than a couple pages. As soon as someone so much as mentions Ash she's a simpering little pile.
I enjoyed all the parts where Ash wasn't present. Where Meghan wasn't pouting about Ash 24/7. Though as soon as he turned up in the story again Meghan became the same drip I knew her to be. Their romance is so forced and based on nothing that I can't get on board with it. This book even finds a way to make dragging Ash and Meghan to her old high school's Winter Formal a relevant plot event.
They're a boring couple with nothing going for them. We're never shown them bonding over anything. Having any common interests. By all accounts, Meghan is more compatible with the other leg of the feebly attempted love triangle, Puck. Though that wouldn't be forbidden and angsty so obviously not as 'fun.'
The ending just proves what a useless character Meghan is. (view spoiler)[With a war with the Iron Fey looming and the fate of Nevernever in the balance Meghan decides to be banished with her boring love interest instead of actually staying behind to save the realm. (hide spoiler)]
I battled with myself when it came to giving this book two stars or three and finally just decided on three. In spite of Meghan being a total log of a character, the secondary characters were interesting enough and did things that didn't involve whining about romantic entanglements. Plus the writing itself was pretty decent so I decided to be a little generous with my stars. ...more
Man, I really didn't know what to rate this book. I both liked and didn't like it at the same time. I ended up going with three stars because looking Man, I really didn't know what to rate this book. I both liked and didn't like it at the same time. I ended up going with three stars because looking at what I had recently given three stars too I decided that it didn't belong with those books.
I think what really held me back here is that I feel like this book has potential. I think the idea itself is interesting. When I first heard about this book before it was published, I read the blurb and was like 'yes, please.'
What hurt it for me was I didn't really like either 'main' character. Adelina kept jumping from bore to idiotic to anger filled rage monster. She makes bad choices the entire book, but at the very least that have consequences (for now).
Her eventual love interest is your typical stoic male who in my opinion is kind of an asshole. I don't really understand their attraction to one another. So they both kind of fall meh for me.
I like the secondary characters though and they seemed to have a bit more personality than Adelina herself. Makes me wish the book had focused on them more.
Given how it all ends. I'm on the fence. I feel like it can go one of two ways. More disappointment or potentially really good. So I'll probably be continuing on, but I won't be eagerly awaiting this next installment. And one of the main reasons I'll even be picking up the next installment are the secondary characters. ...more
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