This was a rather hard review to write. I have to say that it seems that with hyped/popular books, it seems that I either love them or hate them; unfoThis was a rather hard review to write. I have to say that it seems that with hyped/popular books, it seems that I either love them or hate them; unfortunately, this was the latter.
This book having an average 4,15* and 4,11* friends' average rating, seemed like a sure good read. Especially since even people who I "always" agree with seemed to like this book, the thing is while many people recommended this book to me, I still cannot blame it on having too high expectations for it. I honestly did not expect anything from this book. Yet, it did disappoint me.
I have to put the only/most positive thing right here at the beginning; the cover is truly gorgeous.
Back to why writing this review was hard, and it connects to why I found reading this book hard. It was hard to care for it. It took me a long time to finish; I fell asleep several times, I found different things to do rather than reading this. And when I was finished, it was hard to find the will to write this review because the book just left my mind. I usually think a lot about the books I read; I replay scenes in my mind etc. but not this one. I did not think about this book once since I finished it.
I found the story building and the background setting lacking. There was so little. Clearly, it was inspired by France even if it's totally fictional land. And for some reason, characters drop French here and there. Why is it necessary to say that they had chocolat chaud? Just say hot chocolate. Why they suddenly "speak" French? It does not make the book or the setting more french. Same with "they were hunters, Chasseurs." So, they were hunters, hunters [in French]. What?
Also, since Belterra is clearly fictional why the religion is so clearly Catholic with the Bible and everything? It's just such a strange middle ground. On one hand, going full fiction creating a new kingdom but then sticking the Bible in there.
(view spoiler)[So, basically, the reason why she got into this mess is that she needed to pee real bad. Yeah, she had a ring which makes her invisible, she knew that there would be a huge crowd and wanted to remain unseen. Seems like a splendid moment when to use the said ring. But now, she just goes there and hopes no one notices her. And I'm asking why!? It seems to make no sense. Why not use the ring now? Or any other time when she needed to be unseen. Why? What's the point of the ring if clearly that's the right moment for it, but Lou does not use it just to "move" the plot. (hide spoiler)]
A few people told me that the romance part is the best thing about this book. I have to speak about it as well. (Btw, I just noticed that I did not mention anything about the characters so far.) I don't like the romance part of this book; I don't get it. I don't see it. It feels very artificial. It does not help that I did not really feel them getting closer together more like deciding "we're married, so, we should care for each other and love each other." Did not really work for me. Plus, Reid seemed to have a personality of a blank page which did not help much. Note, I finished this review and only after that, I realised that I did not really talk about Lou. So, here I am with not much to say. She goes for a thief to a wife pretty fast, and while I like the glimpse, we got of her at the beginning of the book that person never returned.
(view spoiler)[As for the ending, Coco is just like "my aunt is La Voisin". and everybody is so shocked but why should the reader care about this revelation since this La Voisin was mentioned not once in the whole book? Sort of kills the supposed cliffhanger. (Yes, I know that La Voisin was a real person and that goes back to the sprinkling France into a clearly fictional land. Speaking French here and there and giving things and people French names does not make it France-like.) Same at the beginning Lou was like "She's after me", and I'm so over the pronounce game. (hide spoiler)]
But since this review was so far rather negative, I would like to mention a few more things which were the reason why this has two stars from me and not one. The magic system had potential. I was interested in the difference between the Dames Rouges and Dames Blanches since in the "legend" only the latter were mentioned. And I could get behind Beau and Coco that seemed like a potential for a fun arc. But then the author was clearly pushing Ansel to the mix, and I cannot suffer through another book just to get a love triangle or Coco ending with Ansel.
So, yes, this is me saying that I won't be continuing with this series. And yes, I know that this review is a mess, but I just cannot find the will to spend any more time trying to make it more presentable.
Reaction after finishing:
Big Titty Liddy? What was even that? Who thought that that was a good idea?
RTC but I can say that I was not a fan of this one....more
I started reading this on October 11, 2019. The beginning totally blew my mind; it was that great.
And then Armin appeared I just could not stand him. I started reading this on October 11, 2019. The beginning totally blew my mind; it was that great.
And then Armin appeared I just could not stand him. So, I took a break. Then it was almost the end of July 2020; it felt like this book would remain on my Currently reading shelf forever. So, I sort of challenged myself.
August 3, 2020, and I did manage to finish this! Really proud moment for me.
While I did manage to finish this, I still cannot rate this very high if only because of how long it took me to read this.
Anyway, the beginning was amazing. Then it started to drag. Then my problem was removed, and it started to pick up. I loved the Above. It certainly had the potential to be great. I enjoyed all the different creatures and everything.
But then the story shifted once again, and it was again hard to care. I can absolutely acknowledge that the story ended on a high. There is a pretty decent built up for the next book. However, here is a bit of the usual "it's me, not the book" and it's just the reason that I do not care. So many things are unanswered. What will happen to everyone? What is even going on? This is absolutely an open ending. And yet, I'm fine with not knowing. If you ask me now, the answer will be no. No, I won't be reading the next book.
But despite all of this, I certainly think that many may and will enjoy this book. It just did not sit right with me.
Also, what is "the Third Reich" in the blurb? My mind totally went to the Third Reich of 1933 - 1945, which is the reason why I was interested in the story. The Third Reich and magic sounded intriguing. But either I missed something, or the Third Reich was only in the blurb.
***Advance Review Copy generously provided through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review....more
***Advance Review Copy generously provided through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I very much believe that my assessment or impression fro***Advance Review Copy generously provided through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I very much believe that my assessment or impression from this book is clouded/influenced by two things. I enjoy this dark or even cruel humour, some people may find it horrible or even disgusting, and I totally respect that. Furthermore, I was in a bit of a down mood, did not want to go to sleep, I did not enjoy the movie my family was watching, I did not feel like reading, so I went to NetGalley to see if I could find some comics or something similar to this. This caught my attention because the colour was the same as my mood, down and the picture is pretty much me. So, it completely fitted me at the moment.
Apparently, this comics is also published online, but I never saw it before.
I cannot say that I laughed aloud at any of this, but most of the time I had a bit of a smirk. Sometimes I was a bit missing the point, and when I finally found it, it was usually hilarious.
My favourites were the "space" Roomba, ghost bedbugs, snails doing drugs and burying at sea.
But as I said, this book is definitely not for everybody....more
EDIT: This book maybe did not win the Goodreads Choice Awards but it's my winner the Best Young Adult Fantasy & Science Fiction category and that's enoEDIT: This book maybe did not win the Goodreads Choice Awards but it's my winner the Best Young Adult Fantasy & Science Fiction category and that's enough for me. EDIT: Finding out that this book did not make it into the final round of the Goodreads Choice Awards. [image]
EDIT:
[image] IT WORKED! YES!YES!YES! You cannot imagine how happy I'm when I go to see the second round of the Goodreads Choice Awards and The Shadows Between Us are nominated in the Best Young Adult Fantasy & Science Fiction. The write-in worked!
EDIT: Wow, I have to say that I was quite surprised that I did not see this book nominated in Young Adult Fantasy for the Goodreads Choice Awards. So, let's see if there is some power in the write-in option.
ORIGINAL: Was this book perfect? No. Did this book deliver on everything I've expected from it? No. Do I care? No. Why? Because it was such a long time since I enjoyed "YA"/fantasy book so much as I did enjoy this one.
As I previously mentioned, I was sold when this book was labelled as "Slytherin".
If only he knew I have my sights set a bit higher than that.
Yeah, I was hyped when I started this book, and the beginning was so good, I had problems to remember to breathe, and then I was close to hyperventilating. It was everything my Slytherin heart wanted.
"People are staring." "That's the point, isn't it?"
Alessandra was the kind of character I wanted. I'm so over the shocked girls who have no idea why people think that they are pretty or don't want to be in the situation 'cause they just want a nice simple life. Who are shocked by the evil people and don't get it why people are just so mean. Finally, a character who is very self-aware, has a goal, is ambitious and does not care what it takes to get what they want. Love it, and I need more books like this. I also loved every single time Alessandra chewed up someone or schemed.
What I did not expect was to get more characters like that in the book.
See that all the men who accompanied us on our outing are hanged.
The King is just as ambitious. And at that point, I practically want to propose to this book.
Plus the fact that Alessandra has an obsession with pretty dresses which she creates for herself, (Which made me realise how rare it is for female characters to have hobbies besides reading.) and that the friendships are a surprisingly fun and great addition to the story are not helping to me not being obsessed.
There were several side plots which kept the story moving, so, I never really felt like nothing was happening.
So, where did it go wrong? Because yeah, I love this book, but there are things which irked me, to say the least.
First, the main "villain" (if you do not count Alessandra as the villain of the story) was very obvious. Plus the reason or explanation behind their actions was pretty easy to guess as well. I'm not angry by it, just disappointed.
Second, Alessandra started great, but then I felt like a bit of her disappeared. The part which had a plan and was ready for everything. (view spoiler)[Like, please, if you get poison to kill someone and then change your mind, don't just chuck it somewhere. (hide spoiler)] The dumb move is the season.
Third, I did not really feel like we got a good grasp on the background, on the setting, and sometimes things just felt a bit confusing. But yeah, I get it, it's standalone, and while I may have some grief with the lack of world setting, I love the author for keeping it a standalone.
Fourth, Kallias just sometimes felt a bit too mushy.
And now, fifth and last, the ending. What is it with endings? I hoped for a different ending. More original. (view spoiler)[ It was again way too roses and pink. Everything was well and happy. And I just felt like something had to give. Something bad. Or just some huge power move. Just something which would leave me speechless the moment I would close the book. Only being able to say WOW. But this was a very forgettable ending. Average. (hide spoiler)] And while I had four more issues with this book. The ending is the reason why I took one star away.
------------------------------------------------------------------- Honestly? I'm still sad that I was declined for an ARC. ...more
***Advance Review Copy generously provided through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Unfortunately, I did not find this book to be overly ori***Advance Review Copy generously provided through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Unfortunately, I did not find this book to be overly original. I think that I already heard all of these tips, exercises etc.
However, the thing that was driving me crazy (mainly because I was reading this on a screen) was the yellow designs on black. The brightness was on the minimum and I have a screen filter but it was still a bit hurtful. I would very much appreciate if the visual part of this book was re-done.
But the organisation of this book is rather well-done!...more
***Advance Review Copy generously provided through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Edit: I just noticed that this book is mine 1300 book ra***Advance Review Copy generously provided through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Edit: I just noticed that this book is mine 1300 book rated and I think I am actually pretty happy that this milestone got a five-star rating.
Okay, now I'm angry at myself. I got this book in May, but it took me until now to read it.
And I'm speechless.
The segregation, Jim Crow and then the Civil Rights Movement. I read so much about those, and it still surprises me how much I still do not know. It's a fascinating topic and terrifying at the same time. Of course, I'm not an American, so, my perspective is a bit different. Sometimes this feels like a very distant history to me, which is not. I believe that the distance (different continent) makes it seem that way since I do not have any real connection to that part of history, space, relatives, or something.
Back to the story. We all heard about Rosa Parks, and it surprised me that there was someone who may have inspired her. I never heard about Claudette Colvin, and it made me rethink what I know about the desegregation movement. Going through this story, I realised that I was familiar with so many people, even Fred Gray but not her. I also knew the Browder v. Gayle case but still not her. Terrifying how easy is it to fade.
"Your actions alone speak volumes; there's no need to speak."
"Everyone clapped for Rosa Parks, but she wasn't asked to speak."
(Both referring to Rosa Parks)
I really need to refresh my knowledge of the movement. Because I never realised how women were sidelined in it. How Claudette Colvin was feared to tarnish its image because she was pregnant, unmarried teenager.
I'm glad that Claudette is now (hopefully) getting the recognition she deserves and at the same time, I wonder if there are more of these heroes who faded in the background.
I also liked the visual; colours were well chosen to accompany the story. The art was simple enough that the book would be accessible to children, but at the same time, it was realistic enough that adult reader is not distracted by it....more
***Advance Review Copy generously provided through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.***
"Escape the trap of comparison and learn to feel conf***Advance Review Copy generously provided through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.***
"Escape the trap of comparison and learn to feel confident with Beauty Inside Out" this sentence made me want to read this book despite it clearly being a religious book which is not usually my cup of tea. But on the other hand, I thought that it might be an interesting perspective on this issue.
However, I should have known better, for me, it was way too religious, to the extent that I could not really focus on the book.
I do not think that this is a bad book but that I'm not the right audience for it and I should have known better before picking it up....more
Well, I'm not really a list keeper, don't get me wrong, I create lists all the time, I just cannot keep them from getting lost.
This book of lists wasWell, I'm not really a list keeper, don't get me wrong, I create lists all the time, I just cannot keep them from getting lost.
This book of lists was very pretty to look at, aesthetically pleasing and I kept thinking that it be wonderful to have lists like that, however, I also know that I'm unable to create pretty lists like this. Also, I'm not that kind of a person who keeps a list of my achievements...
However, it has everything you would expect from a visual book like this.
***Advance Review Copy generously provided through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.***...more
***Advance Review Copy generously provided through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.***
Unfortunately, I did not enjoy this, not even one bit***Advance Review Copy generously provided through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.***
Unfortunately, I did not enjoy this, not even one bit. Rachel was annoying me so badly, I was dreading to turn another page to read more. After reading more than a couple of pages, I just wanted to chuck the book across the room (do not this if you're reading on an electronic device!). I did not find anything original about this story, seemed over-done and beaten to death.
I don't really get the "how to make" at the beginning of every chapter. Maybe it was supposed to make it a more "mummy" book. Maybe.
I may not be the intended audience for this book (however I usually like these, but lately all of them are starting to look the same), and since I was unable to read all of it or most of it, I won't rate this book, I'll only move it to my DNF shelve....more
***Advance Review Copy generously provided through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.***
Unfortunately, after loving the first "scene", my int***Advance Review Copy generously provided through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.***
Unfortunately, after loving the first "scene", my interest in this or any enjoyment went downhill and I was unable to read more than 10 or 15%. It was very tedious and tiring to read, too much focusing on the mundane life and the nun part of the story. In all honesty, I expected something completely different than what was delivered. The art is enjoyable, though. But still I feel like DNFing and not rating is the better option here....more
***Advance Review Copy generously provided through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.***
Not what I expected at all. I thought that it would e***Advance Review Copy generously provided through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.***
Not what I expected at all. I thought that it would explain how to draw land and sea. However, this was about colours which should be used to achieve the best results. Don't get me wrong, this was spectacular to look at, and when I get better at drawing landscape, I may return to this to better understand the colours. But this is not at all for beginners; I would say that this is pushing the lines of advanced. But anyway, I'm going to have a look at it again, because those paintings were just too gorgeous....more
***Advance Review Copy generously provided through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
There is not much I can say... I already read so many bo***Advance Review Copy generously provided through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
There is not much I can say... I already read so many books from this "collection", and most of them are so good! And this one is not an exception, loved how they showed, how to draw the flowers from different angles, I've always struggled with that! ...more
***Advance Review Copy generously provided through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I'm very unsure about how to rate this cookbook; it's so***Advance Review Copy generously provided through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I'm very unsure about how to rate this cookbook; it's somewhere between 2 and 3 stars.
Unfortunately, there was very little I liked about this cookbook.
Let's start with what I liked.
The cover is gorgeous! A lot of amazing tips inside. Fries. The green-bean burger.
What I did not like. I prefer cookbooks, which mostly have a picture for each dish included. This one did not. The picture on the cover is definitely the yummiest one! Unfortunately, some pictures and even recipes seemed very unappealing to me. To name a few, there is the Quiche Lorraine Burger and Cherry Oatmeal burger. Not a fan.
Not a dislike, more like confusion, what is it with the garlic powder in everything, why not just normal garlic? I see it in so many recipes, and I'm so confused. We never used garlic powder at home, so, what's the difference?
***Advance Review Copy generously provided through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Well, isn't the fox on the cover just gorgeous?
I was in***Advance Review Copy generously provided through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Well, isn't the fox on the cover just gorgeous?
I was interested in this book because I was never really good at using coloured pencils. I always messed up, I had no idea how to do dimensions... or just how to draw pretty.
During reading this I doodled a bit and it looked way better! Yay!
Unfortunately, I can already say that coloured pencils are too much hassle for me. So, I don't think I'll be going back to this. However, it is good to know how to do it....more
***Advance Review Copy generously provided through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Now, hopefully, my mum will let me use her serger. Thoug***Advance Review Copy generously provided through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Now, hopefully, my mum will let me use her serger. Though it got me confused for a moment because I always knew this thing as an overlock, so I had to google to find out that serger is an overlock.
This introduction to serger was very well done and very clear to absolute beginners. Cause I think it's even generous calling myself a beginner. ...more
***Advance Review Copy generously provided through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
At first, I was not really sure about this one. I did no***Advance Review Copy generously provided through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
At first, I was not really sure about this one. I did not feel like it was providing me with enough description. Sometimes I have felt a bit confused, however, as the book proceeded, it got better, and I managed to appreciate this book. I liked the tips on how to use several tools.
But my favourite thing was when the author explains how to draw a human body in proportion. In other words, how many heads the other body parts have....more
During my "artsy" moments I tried acrylic only several times, never really liking it. I hoped that this book would get me a better insight into acryliDuring my "artsy" moments I tried acrylic only several times, never really liking it. I hoped that this book would get me a better insight into acrylic and maybe I would find a new appreciation for it.
Spoiler Alert: that did not happen.
I read several books from this edition and liked most of them; I always felt like they gave a lot of step by step information. However, this one had me a bit lost. And I did not feel like it was really basics. Especially on only 46 pages or so. Too much information and not enough explanations.
It might be that I do not "feel" the acrylic. I want to love it, but there is something inside me that probably has an aversion to this technique and refuses to learn more.
Well, it means fewer art supplies that I need to buy and store.
Not sure if I would recommend this book to learn about acrylic, I feel like you need some knowledge before reading this one....more
***Advance Review Copy generously provided through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
What can I say? The cover is just selling the cookbook!
H***Advance Review Copy generously provided through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
What can I say? The cover is just selling the cookbook!
However, after reading it, I'm not sold.
I have to start by saying that I'm not a vegan, I just don't eat meat. However, I'm all in for a full vegan food, those tend to be so delicious! But I'm not a fan of dishes like vegan some-traditional-meat-dish-where-the-meat-is-replaced-with-tofu/seitan-or-whatever. I prefer it when the recipes do not try to be a meat dish without the meat, especially with Czech traditional dishes where you usually have a lot of heavy sauces.
As for this cookbook, I wrote down several recipes which I'm going to try. Especially with Cauliflower! I love Cauliflower.
But this cookbook is crying for more pictures; there are only a few which are lovely. I wish there was more of them because it would show the dishes way better.
All cookbooks I ever bought had a picture for all or at least 95% recipes. I need to see what I'm going to cook....more
***Advance Review Copy generously provided through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I am speechless. One of the best cookbooks I saw in a ve***Advance Review Copy generously provided through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I am speechless. One of the best cookbooks I saw in a very long time!
Unfortunately, the majority of the recipes are beyond my culinary skills, and I know that I would fail with the majority of these. My plan right now is to purchase this cookbook, and once I get better I'll get to cook all of these recipes!
The author took so much care to introduce every main ingredient - the cookbook is divided by main ingredients as chapters. My favourite is the mushroom part which is something I'm familiar with, and I'll be able to try.
Loading...
