Look who's back just in time to make this my last book of 2020. And how fitting is that? (Side note, thank you, everyone, for your kind messages regarLook who's back just in time to make this my last book of 2020. And how fitting is that? (Side note, thank you, everyone, for your kind messages regarding why I was MIA here. I'm well and healthy as one can be at this time. However, GR became somewhat a toxic environment for me in the last couple of months and I just needed a break. I will go more into detail in my review of 2020. But I just wanted to say thank you.)
So, this was a buddy-read with the amazing Antonella, thankfully she supported me through this. And thanks to her I managed to leave this book in 2020 because that's exactly where it belongs to.
After the last book was such a great disappointment to me, I had zero expectations for this book. I just wanted to finish this series. (Since once again it was promised that this would be the last book and thankfully that seems to be the truth for once.) I'm going to be brief, I don't want to waste much time here. Plus, I wasted all of my patience on the previous books.
So, here are my feelings, opinions and things that came to my mind while reading. (Again, I repeat my personal opinions and feelings which means this review is subjective to me.)
Oh, so we are flipping the script again? What a surprise! Not. Suddenly Calliope is the poor little victim who is so hurt but she's trying to save everyone. You see, she is such a good girl. So smart, selfless but no one gets it how much she gives! Because no one apparently gets anything in these books. Just Calliope and Ethan, only them. And Ethan is the string master and he knew everything, he pieced everything together. And certainly, no one is being bothered by how Calliope was humiliating him in the past book? What A strong boss.
And suddenly every single character besides those two does not have a single brain cell left to share between all of them. I have to say that whatever I felt about any of the characters in the previous books is gone. They are all bad, stupid and just pathetic. Wyatt, Helen, Nari, Sedric, Darcy, Neil, Evelyn just everyone and yes that includes Mel and Liam.
Let me tell you, by including them this series stopped being about the children. It just meant that there was no story for the children to be strong enough to carry without the parents there. And yes, even Mel and Liam are completely lost to me. Their own series became unreadable to me. Because I'm sorry but Mel was just such a brat that I had a very vivid flashback to Olivia.
And when I'm talking about people not having a single brain cell that includes the villains in this book. Because... what did they do? The biggest ace in their sleeve, the meanest meanie did what? (view spoiler)[Oh, he shot himself, how terrifying! (hide spoiler)]
Which brings me to another thing, what really happened in this book? Not much, a lot of talking. Some people died for the show of it. And nothing. I was bored out of my mind, it was dragging so much! It was just an eye-roll fest, nothing to be excited about, not even angry! I just kept eyeing the progress bar and hoping that it would move faster. And again, with so many flashbacks... or should I say rather rewriting what was said in the previous books?
Also, back to the characters. I feel like if you were to take each of the books in the children series and change the names of each character in each book (Meaning, because I know I'm making zero sense, that Ethan would be Ethan in book 1. Marc in book 2. Joseph in book 3 and so on. Calliope in book 4, Martha in book 5, Jessica in book 6 etc.) they would rather like completely different characters. There is no continuity in them.
Okay, these two spoilers are regarding the deaths in this book. The first one is more general, more just my feeling about how deaths were handled in this book. No name is dropped but by reading the spoiler you may get a slight idea about who lives and who does not. The second spoiler is a real spoiler with a name in it, so, beware. (view spoiler)[I mentioned some people dying and yeah, in my opinion, those were just token kills, like, see this world is so ruthless! People die. Well, you took the easy hits. (hide spoiler)](view spoiler)[ Honestly, Liam being paralyzed from waist down? Is this the best the author can do? Because it really did feel like she was too afraid of killing any of the main four that she just injured him. (hide spoiler)]
So, overall, a book I had no expectations for managed to disappoint me by how bad it was. However, I'm glad that I can leave this series in 2020. It's finally done and I do not have to drop it and then wonder what if the author managed to come up with something decent. (She did not if you are wondering.) A couple of years ago this author was one of my favourites which was the reason why I kept giving her chances. But honestly, it's time to let it go.
Oh, and almost forgot the book was again very poorly edited, a lot of typos/missing words. Which is kind of the norm with these books but since it was dragging so much, I tended to notice more.
Anyway, this is more of a rant just after finishing reading this book (just to finish review before midnight, am I the book Cinderella?), so, I might change/add some things later. Sorry, if I make zero sense, it was done in a rush!...more
So, I recently re-read the Dirty series and it made me think about trying another book by Meghan March and this was the first the Internet algorithm sSo, I recently re-read the Dirty series and it made me think about trying another book by Meghan March and this was the first the Internet algorithm sent my way.
And I have to say that I'm rather disappointed.
There was a lot of similarities between the two series, to the point that I'm wondering if the author has a certain "template" a certain setting which she uses.
However, what I missed the most about this one was the easy readability the Dirty series possesses. I found it hard to connect with the main characters. Especially, Keira, she was seriously bordering on the unlikeable line. (Side note: I hated the nickname Ke-ke and I cringed every time I saw it.) And maybe a bit ironical but I felt like Mount lacked a certain presence about himself on the page. Which is funny since he was supposedly portraited as a huge alpha male. But still, I found him more tolerable than Keira. He's definitely an interesting character and I would be interested in knowing more about his past. However, if that comes at the price of Keira being there as well I think that I will rather pass on that. Plus, the terms of their relationship really make me uncomfortable.
The cliffhanger/twisted at the end was rather unexpected even though it is a bit of cliché.
While there might be some things which I would like to know more about... I do not find this series worth continuing. So, anybody knows good spoiler-filled reviews for book two and three?...more
Well, I wanted to rate this book 2⭐ , but then I sat here and asked myself what is the extra star for? And I could not come up with an answer.
So, I wWell, I wanted to rate this book 2⭐ , but then I sat here and asked myself what is the extra star for? And I could not come up with an answer.
So, I wanted to read this book since it *was* the last one in this series. I was somewhere around the 40% mark, and I thought that the story was really dragging and nothing was happening, well, nothing which would move the story closer to the end and resolving everything. (And I believe that was one of the issues I had with Vicious Minds Part 1, I thought that there was so much unnecessary stuff that if half of it were cut there would be no need for book five.) And this book really seemed to have the same problem. And what a shock. This is not that last book! It had to be pointed out to me because I had no idea. I would absolutely finish this book, and then I would stare at the: "To Be Continued". Why?
Every character is just destroyed, completely shredded to little idiots only to built up Calliope. (view spoiler)[Even Liam and Mel, I mean they were shooting at her in a room, and they were not able to get her? (hide spoiler)] I mean Calliope supposedly teased Ethan in public, I would say more that she humiliated him, to be honest. At this point, Ethan is Calliope's Ivy. (view spoiler)[And I'm sure that the author has an explanation ready, how he did it only so that he can get what is his ultimate goal and whatever. The point is that Ethan just turned into a totally meek character who is just there to play second fiddle to Calliope. (hide spoiler)] And I do not care how the next (not going to call it last just to be sure) book is going to spin this. That he was again lying in his POV? Oh, and I almost forgot, since I'm talking about Ethan here (somehow this is just Calliope show now), let's just mention that I do not feel any chemistry between him and Calliope. None.
So, to probably the biggest thing that happened in this book which was basically almost at the end of it. (view spoiler)[ Calliope kills Coraline and I honestly thought that she was poisoning her for some time because she was coughing at one scene (maybe Cora was sick again?) but no, Calliope stabbed her. Plus then Mel and Liam attack Calliope. (hide spoiler)] And right after that I just went to cook lunch. It was probably the most *shocking* moment, and only a couple of chapters left, and I did not care one bit.
And that's the problem. With everything going on. With trying to build-up Calliope. And maybe to even trump the Ruthless People? Like to show that the children's series can be more ruthless and more everything than the original. Unfortunately, for me, it does not work. It makes it forced. Unbelievable. Even artificial. Sort of like a fake version of the story? And slowly while reading this book, I realised that I did not care for anything. Not for the story. Not for the characters. Not who's going to die, live, rule and whatever. And not just in this series, this includes the Ruthless People as well, one of my most re-read series ever.
I just cannot find it me to be interested in the story anymore because no matter what the next spin of the events will be, I won't trust it.
And I mean that. The author could take every single character I loved, kill them all and I would be like, yeah and? This spin-off or more precisely adding more books to it destroyed all characters for me, even Mel and Liam.
And the thing is I wish the events made me angry because then I would at least feel something towards this book. J.J. books usually made me feel so much, laugh, be angry and even cry, so, this emptiness is just shocking, and this really is a 1⭐ from me. ...more
Really conflicted here. I love the message, but I do not like the rest.
Explaining all the issues of *Oh, I just noticed that this is my #750 review!*
Really conflicted here. I love the message, but I do not like the rest.
Explaining all the issues of Fake News and what it involves, Media, Politics, how we get fooled, how media get fooled etc. This is a very strong point. My favourite was IV Part which focused on the history of fake news; I just wish it was a bit more detailed.
However, I have to say that I disliked the art, and I found the text hard to read. As for the art, I expected something with a similar vibe to the cover. Plus, I did not entirely like the tone of the book. It is shelved as "nonfiction (Adult)", but I totally disagree. The way things were said and explained, I thought for a moment that it was targeted at a younger audience. It was just irritating.
Overall, I would probably rate this somewhere between 2,5 and 3 stars.
***Advance Review Copy generously provided through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.***...more
After finishing Twisted Hearts, I was rather unsure if I want to read this book or continue with this whole series. (Well, not a series what is it eveAfter finishing Twisted Hearts, I was rather unsure if I want to read this book or continue with this whole series. (Well, not a series what is it even? Since we had two series and now a stand-alone.) But then I thought that I sort of liked the little glimpses we got on Guilia and Cassio in the Camorra series, so, yeah, I decided to read it.
(Why do I have a feeling that it's pretty obvious what I'm going to say about this book since I started this review with this "Explanation"?)
Anyway, I really liked the first third. It was fun, and I thought "redemption"! Guilia was super fun, one of the best female characters in this whole... thing. She knew who she was; she had personality, hobbies (I'll get more to that later), personal style and opinion. I enjoyed the push and pull between her and Cassio. It was interesting to see how they would make this work. Plus the situation (Cassio already having two kids) was so different from all the other books in the previous series. It was just the shiny new thing. Don't get me wrong; I was annoyed by Cassio's behaviour but... at least was not as bland as for the rest of the book.
And the thing I need to say here is that I thought that I disliked Guilia's parents in Kiara's books but let me tell you now that I'm 100 % sure that I cannot stand them even a bit.
But then it started to drag. For multiple reasons.
And the biggest one was that I was not feeling Guilia and Cassio; I did not feel any chemistry between them. In the first third, maybe a bit but then for the rest of the book? No, nothing. Plus he still kept thinking about her as a child and teen which was killing any chance for some chemistry. And every time he called her "honey"... I just could not, it felt so weird and not fitting.
For me, this is not Guilia's and Cassio's book. It's Guilia's and Cassio's children's book. Because this was a story about how Cassio got the perfect nanny for his kids. You see, she never really held a child before but same for one child crying the first time she held her and the second one acting a bit aggressively the next day she's Mary Poppins! She even got a previously untrained (and clearly neglected) dog to listen to her commands! Anyway, I do not get what the huge deal was that Cassio needed a wife to care for his children. He just needed a better staff. Like, what sort of staff who cares for the kids was just so bad that they did not go shopping for six months to buy the children new clothes which fits them. (Well, actually only the two-year-old boy had small clothes, somehow the infant had appropriately sized clothes.) You don't need a wife to buy clothes for your children, just get a better staff!
So, Cassio. He's a major idiot. His obsessive and controlling behaviour was way too much. I secretly hoped that Guilia would set all the clothes he wanted her to wear on fire. Everybody, including Cassio, kept saying how cruel Cassio is but the problem is that we did not really get to see it. Since there was almost no "mafia business" in this book we did not get to see Cassio in working mode and therefore it was just the talk, he certainly did not do the walk. So, and now to the big plot-twist! (view spoiler)[ The whole Gaia thing and poor Cassio being all broken because he's just so evil and he's the reason his wife killed herself. I'm sorry, it was just so pitiful that I did not care at all. Gaia was probably made to be the villain in Cassio's story. But it was so over the top that it did not work. Plus it very much felt like Cassio's perspective. All I have to say is that: There are always three sides to a story. Yours, Theirs and The Truth. Maybe the whole issue comes from Gaia sleeping with her half-brother! Like, please don't? At least make it a step-brother if anything. So, because of this, it just felt so forced to make Gaia as bad as possible that it became a satire. It just got so much in a bad way that I stopped caring about the whole situation. (Minus the half-brother thing because no.) But I was more upset by how Cassio was treating the dog than anything to do with Gaia. Plus the fact that the children are not Cassio's just screams another book in future. (hide spoiler)]
Now to Guilia's hobbies I mentioned earlier. She mentions liking Pilates but not once in the whole book she's seen exercising. She loves to paint; she brought canvases with her. She sets up a studio and paints once. When she moves in, she mentions adding colour to the kids' rooms, and I expected her to have a bonding scene with the kids where they paint on the walls. Which would totally fit the story and her hobbies would be more than just a farce.
The book ends with a nine years time jump which disconnects the story and the characters. At the moment I found it boring and just dragging.
As for the rating, I'm going to leave it at three stars (rather weak) and only because I rated the Twisted Hearts two stars. And despite my problems with this book, Twisted Hearts was just way worse....more
***Advance Review Copy generously provided through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.***
Okay, this book had the unlucky fate that I read this***Advance Review Copy generously provided through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.***
Okay, this book had the unlucky fate that I read this right after the Awkward Yeti which is a very tough competition and this book just could not compete.
I actually did not realise I knew this artist before but while reading this I realised that I knew so many of the strips which was not very good. (I stated several times before that I do prefer if these online arts to a book have more new content than what was previously posted online). Which is actually rather strange since I could not find a media where I would be following the artist. And Honestly, I maybe chuckled once while reading this, very disappointed. This book did not seem to have a theme, something to tie the strips together. So, it was a bit content dump. While I can understand that some of the comics were not my kind of humour but sometimes I even struggled to see what was supposed to be funny there.
In the end, I was mostly skimming through since I did not want to DNF this one....more
I'm very conflicted about this book, to be honest.
On one side, I really enjoyed the fantasy element of the story and the plot. It was fun; I was inteI'm very conflicted about this book, to be honest.
On one side, I really enjoyed the fantasy element of the story and the plot. It was fun; I was interested in it.
Yeah, the "villain" was a tad bit too obvious but still. I wanted to learn more about the different kingdoms. More battles and maybe even war. I found it really enticing how opposite and yet the same Elzira's and Ryke's powers were.
And I was sort of excited for the "hate" and push-and-pull between those two, but unfortunately, that disappeared pretty quickly.
But on the other side, I had a lot of issues with this book. Pretty soon, I started to think that this felt like the first draft. It needed some editing. But as the story progressed, it got worse. Suddenly a completely new plot was added to the story, but it was only brushed over. It was just mentioned, and that felt like a great shame. It also added to a certain feeling where the story seemed slightly jumpy and disconnected. If this book was taken and rewritten to a double its length, I believe that it would be a pretty good fantasy.
And then the cringeworthiness (is that even a word?). A lot of dialogue and scenes between Elzira and Ryke were just cringeworthy. Sometimes I had problems reading without wanting to gag a bit....more
Okay... excuse me if I make zero sense... I am somewhat sleep-deprived. (I may edit this review after I catch a quick nap! I kept thinking about what Okay... excuse me if I make zero sense... I am somewhat sleep-deprived. (I may edit this review after I catch a quick nap! I kept thinking about what I wanted to write before I fell asleep and now I feel like I forgot half of it.)
Right away, I want to say that this was an amazing series, one I did not believe I would enjoy as much as I did. And I believe I will re-read it one day. But that said I had some issues with the finale.
Since I read the second book, I was making theories. I wondered what would happen. Months of this torture!
When I saw that this book is only 300 pages, I was terrified; clearly, that is not enough! But the good thing is that the plot really starts right away! No need to wait for the halfway mark. In this sense, this book is the best in the series.
However, with the book being this short, I feel like something is missing. When I turned the last page, I felt sad because it could not be the last page. After all, there were so many things that needed to be resolved. Here is the list of things I believe are sort of missing from the book: (view spoiler)[ Jude's mortality? She kept mentioning Oak being king one day but... I still wish there was something about Jude becoming immortal. I don't know, it not being mentioned at all is sort of sad in a way. She won't grow old as long as she stays in the Elfhame but still... I expected her to gain the faery immortality since she's connected to the crown and land. Talking about Oak and them wanting him being the High King one day. So, why did Jude think it was smart giving Madoc unrestricted approach to Oak? He can hammer a lot of nonsense into him, then Oak will become king and breaks the whole land. Not really smart. Plus I'm not really sure how Jude worded Madoc's exile but could it be possible that Oak could be able to pardon him once he becomes the High King? What about Lady Asha and what she did. She was build up as this untrustworthy character, and then she was left out. In the previous book, they kept hinting something about Jude's mother, some secret or something but it was mentioned basically once in this book and then nothing of it. Taryn's pregnancy. Exactly why was Taryn made pregnant if it has no connection to the story? I at least expected the child to be born in the epilogue. But honestly, there would be no difference if she were pregnant or not. I needed more of Jude and Cardan's relationship; they went from supposed enemies to sleeping together, then the whole thing happened and then the super cheezy ending. And not much was shown in a way how their relationship is going to work. Jude's revenge! She seemed like such a revenge-driven character, and then it was mostly omitted from the story. (hide spoiler)]
Okay, so somehow I jumped right to the end of this book. I have no idea why I did that.
This book needed more Cardan; I felt like there was not enough of him in the whole book.
Then, Locke, you might know that I actually liked him and his devious ways. So, I have to say that (view spoiler)[ killing him off the page seems very, very lazy to me. He deserved more, and I wanted more conflict on the page with him! I was actually surprised how much he was involved in the story. I did not guess his connection to the Ghost nor his involvement in Jude's kidnapping, and it is a shame that we learned about that once he was gone. (hide spoiler)]
I very much enjoyed how action-packed this book was. It was super easy to read, and the first time I stopped for a moment, I was halfway through the book. The pages just flew!
The cover is a masterpiece, and I would never ever guessed how fantastically it represents the story. That's something... I can only clap, very well done. (view spoiler)[ I did not see that coming, at all. I kept thinking: "The earring! It's going to turn into a spider and bite Cardan! Do something, Jude! And then he turned into a serpent! I was shocked, and I could not stop laughing! That was brilliant. (hide spoiler)] I did not expect this moment at all, but it was the only one in the whole book.
And then there is my main grievance with this book. (view spoiler)[ What did I expect from this book? To be torn apart, even to cry. But now... everything seemed to end so cheesily happy that I'm actually disappointed. No one actually suffered, no huge sacrifices. Taryn, after being absolutely useless and backstabbing for two books, is suddenly pardoned. Gets an estate and what? Nothing. I would expect Jude to get some sort of revenge! No matter how useful Taryn pretended to be in this book! And then you can expect that the Ghost will make a move and they will live happily ever after with Taryn. I would have no problem with this "relationship" if it did not appear out of nowhere!
Vivi and Heather get together. Despite everything. Yeah, fantastic.
Madoc may have been punished but in a very unpunished way. I wanted someone to suffer! Also, the way he just stopped fighting seemed a bit out of character for him.
And the epilogue could not be more cheezy and super happy. Let's buy pizza and take Cardan to the mortal lands for a visit who suddenly behaves like someone completely else.
It just did not seem right that everyone ended so happy. No one died. Jude even managed to play nice with Nicasia because both love Cardan. I actually wish the Roach would have died; it would make it more realistic. I expected him to because he got poisoned and then everybody was staying alive, no one got hurt, no one betrayed Jude and those who betrayed her started to come to her side. I expected some sacrifice but nope. (hide spoiler)]
Right now, I feel that this was somewhat anticlimactic. And too easy....more
I'm not really sure how to start this... Bardugo's books always sound like something I'm going to love. Her characters sound like the type of characteI'm not really sure how to start this... Bardugo's books always sound like something I'm going to love. Her characters sound like the type of characters I'm going to adore. However, in the past, I started two of her books, and I do not believe I did get past chapter three in either of those.
And then this book came, I fell love in with the cover. The blurb seemed fantastic. Reviews came, and it seemed so twisted, I book I would love. Then I noticed that the friends' average rating was way lower than the global one, and I was unsure. Should I read it or not?
Thankfully, Alex being the hero she is offered me a buddy read. So, I finally had a reason to read the book. And you know, it was time to know for good. To finish Bardugo's book. Either to fall in love with her work or to finally accept that her books are not for me.
So, I was finally able to pick up this book. And, now I'm unsure how to write this review. I keep going back, thinking that something is missing. But this is what it is.
I felt like CinemaSins (or BookSins?) every time I thought "hmm, narration." There was so much narration, description of unnecessary things and a lot of it felt like it was just told instead of shown. I got bored, really, really fast. I was reading very slowly, and I was not really interested in the story right from the beginning, which probably was not the best thing. And then Alex DNFed on me and I wondered if I should as well. But I had a goal, to finish a Bardugo book.
I started skimming certain parts which were dragging which helped a lot.
I cannot really say that there is really a moment where the story picks up. It always felt like there was something coming, some tension, some revelation and then the next chapter crashed down, and I was sad that for a moment I thought it would get more interesting.
There was so much said about this book being "adult" and how to expect gruesome things etc. Which were there... but somehow did not leave any impression. This connects to the main feeling I got from this book "plastic" and "flat". It should have been horrible, but it was sort of... just there? (view spoiler)[Even the moment when the guy ate from the toilet. Which feels super yucky just writing down had no effect on my while reading. (hide spoiler)]
If you read the spoiler, you saw that I referred to that person as that guy... which is because I had a terrible time trying to remember the names of the majority of characters. Sometimes after several chapters, a character was mentioned, and I was unsure which one was it, and I had to go back to see who they were and what they did.
Darlington... What can I say? Even people who disliked this book seemed to love Darlington. And you know what? I did not. For a character (view spoiler)[which actually was not in the story, only in the strange flashbacks from his POV (hide spoiler)] I really disliked him. I just could not get to like him. He was annoying, and I wished Alex would punch him. I was glad that he was gone (view spoiler)[I just wish his POV would have stopped soon and he would remain lost. (hide spoiler)] I have no idea how to describe him. On one side he has a bit of Hermione Granger feel to him. And on the other, he feels a bit like the usual bad/mysterious boy which he really was not. And the mix did not really work.
As for the villain. Well, I got two suspects. One became suspect to me the moment they appeared on the page. Because they just behaved suspiciously and the character was otherwise really out of the place even if others were put around to make it like there is a reason for this person to be in focus. It just seemed rather obvious. Then I got a second character I started to distrust. Because they just tried to keep everything way too hush hush. (view spoiler)[What a surprise that there were two villains who were not connected to each other and I guessed both of them. However, I have to say that I also had a moment of stupidity there. The moment Daisy was mentioned, I thought: "That's funny, the author got two characters named after the same flower only in different languages. I wonder if she did that on purpose or it is a coincidence." (hide spoiler)]...more
I think someone cursed me because lately, I'm facing too many disappointing books, I do not like this.
So, at first, I was really curious about this bI think someone cursed me because lately, I'm facing too many disappointing books, I do not like this.
So, at first, I was really curious about this book. I have to say that I was a bit nervous about the number of other books this book was compared to.
"Game of Thrones meets Red Rising in a debut young adult fantasy that's full of rivalry, romance... and dragons."
"Inspired by Plato’s Republic"
"the story is pitched as Aegon Targaryen and Hermione Granger with dragons, set in the aftermath of a bloody revolution."
Because once a book is so heavily compared to other (popular) books, it better to really deliver.
And for me, it did not. It's simple as that.
In the beginning, I really struggled with the characters. I was unsure if I really enjoyed Lee's POV because just in his first POV, I was annoyed by Annie before we even really meet her. She was just so heavily mentioned that I could not stand her. But in the end, I prefered Lee's POV to Annie's. His character was calmer, more reasonable and less... sensitive in a sense. I felt like Annie was always annoyed by something or someone.
Here, I need to share my favourite quote from this book which really made me giggle at the moment. "Maybe you could be my maidservant or something." "I don't know how to be a maidservant." "I think they just wash things. You're really good at that. Want to plan the trip with me."
However, I have to say that the first chapter was one of the lowest points of the book. It gets slightly better after that, but it still dragged. In all honesty, the book had few "interesting" moments when you thought something would happen and you turned the page and... nothing. Something really started to happen around the 84% mark. And then it all got super rushed. Not sure if it really made any kind of sense. I guess it was supposed to hype the reader for the rest of the series, which did not work, at least for me because I have no plans on continuing with this series.
As I mentioned above, I turned the page, and nothing happened, that's because so much happened off-page. When Lee was somewhere doing something interesting, we got Annie's POV instead. And then we would get some sort of recap of what the other experienced. And even sometimes when the things were happening on-page, I felt like they were not really happening more like we were told and it was described to us what was going on.
As for the books to which it was compared to, I do not get those. I see the comparison and mention of Plato's Republic and the French Revolution, even Blitz and I personally saw some similarity with the Russian Revolution. And this aspect was really good, probably the strongest point of the book. But the rest, Hermione Granger (I suppose that was Annie, but I don't really see it), Game of Thrones... No, nowhere near.
The story may have been good. The idea is good, but I did not enjoy the execution. And the writing is nowhere near the books mentioned above. Those "name-dropping" popular books may have done a huge disservice to the author and the book.
Beyond this, it might be slightly spoiler-ish! But spoiler will be still under the spoiler tag.
The whole book felt just like background noise to Lee/Annie drama. And I cannot stand them as a couple. I like them standing up for each other, but they do not work together as a couple. Annie spends the majority of the book being offended/annoyed/worried or whatever by something Lee did, did not do, how he moved his muscle or whatever. (view spoiler)[ I think that the Lee and Crissa relationship makes way more sense. As for Annie, I don't really get her with Duck, but even that's better than Lee. (hide spoiler)]
In all this, Power was the best character. He was my favourite, he was the only one who made any kind of sense, had a motive and somehow felt like a real character. Plus he was one of the few who could think for himself. (view spoiler)[ Though I do not 100% buy his support of Annie as the Commander. As for Annie being a Commander, I did not get nor liked how Lee handed her that position in the end. It felt really cheap. As for Power, I wonder why he sort of "saved" Lee in the end. (hide spoiler)]
As for dragons, you're probably wondering "this book has dragons, there is a dragon on a cover, why are you not mentioning the dragons?" Well. I sort of did not feel the dragon were that important. Harry Potter was more excited about his broom than these characters about their dragons. They were just tucked somewhere unless they needed to fly on them... And, they were just missing personality if that makes sense.
(view spoiler)[ Okay, so Lee is a son of a dragon lord, supposed to be killed off during the Palace Day. He thinks that the new leader saved his life, but he actually ordered his throat to be slit, which is an interesting turn of events. However, Annie noted how he looked similar to his father, many of the Golds knew his father way better than Annie did, even the new leader, I'm surprised no one noted the similarity. As for Lee's family, let's talk about Julia, I'm really surprised that she got killed off so fast. I expected her to play a more important role in the series, the family standing against each other. Plus she was possibly flying her dragon for longer than Lee, and I suppose she would get better tutors. And still, Lee's win felt very cheap. So, what I would like to see is Lee finding out that Lee killed his cousin for a person who did not save him but ordered his murder. (hide spoiler)]
What I enjoyed and it ties it to the French Revolution inspiration... The idea of bad guys. New regime which replaces the bad old one. Does that make them the good guys? It sort of shows that good and evil in certain cases can be a point of view. Depending on where you stand in one regime, you can see it as a good and others may see it as evil. That was very well done. It just shows that so much is just shades of grey, not white and black. Plus when they were pressured, they reach out to the practices of the previous regime to reach their goals. This was a good idea, and I wished it was more explored along with the idea of different social groups.
***Advance Review Copy generously provided through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.***...more
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.
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.
Okay, let me tell you that this confused me, a lot. At f***Advance Review Copy generously provided through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Okay, let me tell you that this confused me, a lot. At first, I had to download this book like five times because I thought that I was doing something wrong. That was not Lucifer but Sandman! However, after reading some reviews, I realised that really one-quarter of this Lucifer Volume is about Sandman, which I mostly skipped because I read it just recently.
I have to say that I know Sandman way better than I do know Lucifer, but I still managed to get what was going on fairly quickly. But I was not invested in the story until the last 20 pages or so.
Plus my everlasting issue with Lucifer stories is that since I'm not a native speaker, I have a very, very hard time grasping what Mazikeen is saying....more
***Advance Review Copy generously provided through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I believe I stopped reading this around 85%, so, this is***Advance Review Copy generously provided through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I believe I stopped reading this around 85%, so, this is not a DNF.
At first, I was rather excited; however, as I progressed, the excitement diminished. Mainly at the point when I realised that many of these things which were featured in this book were in the literature textbook, we had in high-school. And other things I would note as "common knowledge"(not the right word... basically things most book worms know just by searching new books, reading and due to the existence of Wikipedia), very few things were surprising to me, and suddenly I had to push myself through this book.
I'm going to give this two stars if only for the excitement I had at the beginning. Unfortunately, for me, this book is pointless....more
I have a bit of hate-love relationship with all these books. I don't want to read them because they usually make me very angry but at the same time, II have a bit of hate-love relationship with all these books. I don't want to read them because they usually make me very angry but at the same time, I sort of like them?
However, even I have limits. I started reading this and then I realised that I don't want to read this one.
I'm not interested in Growl. I don't like him. I don't want to like him. I just want the Falcones to get him with a red bow on his head to do with whatever they wish....more
***Advance Review Copy generously provided through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I love Sleeping Beauty, and I love ballet. So, this seem***Advance Review Copy generously provided through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I love Sleeping Beauty, and I love ballet. So, this seemed like the perfect combo for me.
Unfortunately, that did not happen. I was not a fan of the art; the colours were somewhat off for my liking. And this was not my favourite Sleeping beauty retelling at all.
While I got the premise, I did not enjoy it or found it that clever. In certain parts, I got a bit of Cinderella vibes for some reason. And I had a strong urge to just skip through this story....more
***Advance Review Copy generously provided through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Stop Looking at Your Phone always has two parts, first, ***Advance Review Copy generously provided through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Stop Looking at Your Phone always has two parts, first, it shows the scenario the wrong way featuring the phone and then the second one shows that you are supposed to put your phone away. Should this be humorous? I'm not certain; I did not laugh nor smiled even once while "Reading" this.
And it's funny that once (or was it twice?) the author basically said: "put the phone away and watch the tv." And that's better how?
The drawings were not good at all and reminded me of those evacuation directions you have on a plane, but even those are better cause those are colourful!
The author tried very hard and failed miserably.
And I cannot not mention the part about the weather. A) shows that it's snowing and the guy is dressed for beach cause his phone is telling him that it's hot outside. B) The correct way is to look out of the window and see and dress according to what you see. Well, right now it's sunny outside, and it looks like a fabulous spring day, so, maybe a dress? But guess what? It's actually freezing outside!
***Advance Review Copy generously provided through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I was not aware of Pie Comics before reading this comic.***Advance Review Copy generously provided through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I was not aware of Pie Comics before reading this comic. Therefore, I was expecting a lot of original work. However, it all seems a bit overplayed or redundant.
My favourite was the very first strip, and then it went a bit downhill. I liked one here and there, but nothing really stuck out or seemed that great.
I'm sorry to say that I believe that there are much better comic-strip books out there. This needs a lot of work; I believe there are certain strips that should be redone or even pulled out of the book. I worry a bit how this comic will hold up against the million comic-strip books that are out there.
I love this kind of comics books; however, the humour in this one was not my cup of tea, but I can imagine that some people may like it. The best thing about this book is the cover which is better done than the art inside which is a pity.
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