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
The first one was bad. What did I think? :o Well, I did not think, and it's not my fault. Completely. My friend and I pretty oftWhy am I reading this?
The first one was bad. What did I think? :o Well, I did not think, and it's not my fault. Completely. My friend and I pretty often switch our e-readers, and we just did. I told her about reading the first one in the series, along with the problems I had and she told me to read the rest of the series with a bit of threatening and laughing. So I did. Because I figured it could not be much worse than the first one was.
Man, was I wrong?
Where I liked the main female character more than the previous one, I seriously wanted to chuck the book out of the window.
There is not much I'm going to say about this book, but I need to say one thing.
My Russian is a bit rusty (okay, a lot).
But even I see that the author butchered it!
moy chernovolosyy koroleva
moy - is used for a male
chernovolosyy - also for a male
koroleva - and suddenly a Queen. A female.
It is not something that is in English, so I get it that it is confusing. But trust me, it looks really really bad.
There were more problems with Russian, but I think this is enough to illustrate. And the thing that bugs me is the fact that if I was writing anything and had a sentence in a language, I do not speak I would get a native speaker to check it for me. Honestly, it would take me thirty seconds to go to Facebook, find a local Expat group and I bet if I posted a question "Hello, writing a book/story. How would you say this sentence xx in Russian? Thank you!" And I'm telling you, you would get tens of answers! Was it hard? No. I have no idea why the author did not do that.
Another thing that bugs me. The main male calls the girl "his blyad". I'm not going to go into the fact this word has really, really bad connotation. But the thing that made me angry is the fact this is a five-letter word, and the author managed to mistype it three times as "blayd". And actually, it is as first used in the wrong spelling and it really confused me. No one edited this book or what? You do not need to speak Russian to see that there are two different spellings for one word!
Nope, nope, nope.
Btw, every book had so many people betraying Bratva; I'm sort of surprised there is anyone left. Or that they are not in jail, seeing that they are so many people just waiting to betray them for the right price tag.
Why is my life so difficult? I love Stylo Fantome. I loved the Kane series, I was really surprised by the Mercenaries, and then The Bad Ones found itsWhy is my life so difficult? I love Stylo Fantome. I loved the Kane series, I was really surprised by the Mercenaries, and then The Bad Ones found its way among my all-time favourite books. But then it was a bit like hitting rock bottom with the Twin Estate which I did not even finish.
But I was excited about Church, it sounded great. Something a bit like The Bad Ones, I expected it to be great. And then... nothing happened. Where The Bad Ones went right, this went wrong.
To be honest, I still feel Church was supposed to be something like The Bad Ones, and I believe it may have worked. But the problem was that the characters were not fit for this. Where Dulcie was the big bad wolf, Emma was just... broken beyond repair and even her brilliant moments were so low I sort of wished it would just end.
You see when the book started I hated Margo, how anyone could be such a horrible mother but as the book progressed I found out that I was more indifferent towards her. Why? Because Emma was so... I don't have a word for it. I just don't like her character. I don't know why. I want to call her stupid. But really, she is not stupid. I want to call her weak. But really, she is not. I want to call her many things, but she is none of it. And there is the problem. She is insignificant. She has no real personality. She has nothing I could catch on and maybe like her for it or even despise her. I like characters I can hate. But there is nothing. I feel nothing for the characters which is a huge problem for me.
There are many things I could talk about that make no sense and were brushed off when they sure should have caused a huge problem. But I won't go there.
I liked Church or the promise of Church, but he did not live up to it. The same could be said about the whole book.
Though, I will read the second book just because the ending made a bit curious and I want to know what will happen next. Maybe this book is only suffering the fate of second books in trilogies. It is just filling, the set up for the real story.
I know that the author wanted to show the ugly truth of what life sometimes is but it did not work for me at all.
Several typos found and when I see a typo there is something really wrong....more
Okay, someone titled this book wrong. It should be "Bound by Aria's stupidity".
Where I was a bit okay with Aria being dumb in the first book since shOkay, someone titled this book wrong. It should be "Bound by Aria's stupidity".
Where I was a bit okay with Aria being dumb in the first book since she was still young and was sheltered all her life, here it was a tad too annoying. Scratch the "tad", it's unbelievable how stupid someone can be.
But let's start from the beginning.
Blurb: When Aria betrays Luca by going behind his back for her family When I read this I was disappointed because all I wanted to say was "again?" First for Gianna and then for Lily, and now again, the girl never learns her lesson.
Actually reading the book: I was surprised (and not pleasantly) to find that the majority of the book was only books 2,3,4 and 5 from Aria's or Luca's POV. I would say 3/5 of this book was a repetition of the series. Then we finally get some new content. (view spoiler)[And Aria again goes behind Luca's back for her family! How dumb this girl is? Seriously, how was she able to think that her plan was a good one! And she gets alive out of it. She just hopped on a plane, went to Chicago and expected to somehow snatch her brother and bring him to New York! I repeat, how dumb this girl is? And she's surprised that Luca is mad. And then the story moves and Luca is a bad guy in the situation? NO! Come on, if he is supposed to be the Capo, he cannot have a wife that goes into the enemy territory and repeatedly goes behind his back, and in the process, she steals money from the Famiglia. She should be dead for it! (hide spoiler)]
This is my main problem. And I will repeat it; Aria is dumb!
Luca spends so much time repeating that he cannot be soft and that no one can see his weakness. But then he goes and acts like a fool just because Aria makes puppy eyes. (view spoiler)[Like when Fabiano contacts them as an Enforcer for Camorra and asks for a meeting. And for some reason, Luca takes Aria with him... WHY?! (hide spoiler)]
As for Fabian, I'm actually interested in his story, so, I may give it a shot. Mainly because I hope he kills their father. (view spoiler)[However, I do not like Fabiano. Is he as dumb as Aria or what? He blames them for the way their father treated him. As if that idiot treated his daughters any better. And if I remember correctly, they offered him to go with them. He decided to stay in Chicago! (hide spoiler)]
Also, I'm interested in Remo Falcone; he seemed like the devil Luca was supposed to be. But let's see. (view spoiler)[However, the book here makes no sense at all. Remo comes and asks Luca not to interfere when he takes over the Camorra. And he sort of hints that maybe in the future that could be allies. But suddenly a couple of years forward they are not on friendly terms, definitely closer to the war than not. WHY?! (Okay, I guess this might be because I did not read book 5 in this series. But if I consider how much was repeated in this book, I don't get why this was not. (hide spoiler)]
As for Dante, I was never his fan but now? Probably even less. (view spoiler)[ I don't know what his plan was, but from where I stand it seems like when he found out Aria was pregnant he did not felt like personally using (okay, I should have said hurting, he definitely used her!) a pregnant woman. However, he sends her back to Luca and makes sure he gets pictures that look as if she cheated on Luca with Dante, with his enemy! And if you consider that Dante sees Luca as a monster, then I would say that Dante was hoping that Luca would snap and hurt Aria that much that she would miscarry or he would kill her and the baby as well. That much for not hurting women, especially a pregnant one. Anyone... I still don't get how anyone even for a moment could have thought that Aria has an affair with Dante like when? How? One would think that Luca would notice if his wife was going to Chicago from time to time without him... (hide spoiler)]
(view spoiler)[In the end, Aria and Luca have two kids that no one knows about and Luca is trying to keep them hidden from the world. And I'm asking for how long? How do they think this will work? The son is Luca's heir, for how long is he going to hide him? (hide spoiler)]...more
I’d hoped I could marry for love now that my sisters had already been married off for tactical reasons.
“Gianna and I married for political reasons. W I’d hoped I could marry for love now that my sisters had already been married off for tactical reasons.
“Gianna and I married for political reasons. Why should Lily not be allowed to marry someone she wants?”
And I'm done with this series. I cannot take this any longer. How come that everyone suddenly turned so stupid? Like with the hope she'll be able to marry for love. Who could have even thought that after reading more than a page about their father? They all say how cruel he is and then they hope he'll be nice? Come on! And the huge love story that started back then when Lily fell from Romero when she was like 14- years-old or whatever? Nope, there was nothing between them, felt forced and stupid.
“Mother told me to be happy shortly before she died. And Romero makes me happy. I want to be with him.”
I thought that Gianna was dumb, but Lily takes the cake. This is just completely ridiculous. Luca actually won the Scuderi lottery. He got the only Scuderi girl that is not absolutely annoying and does not act on pure emotions. (view spoiler)[Except for some dumb decisions like helping Gianna run and then hiding Lily's secret. (hide spoiler)]
I went against his direct orders after all. That’s still a crime.”
Yes! He went against his boss, against direct orders. And after three books where Luca was painted as monster etc. he should have just put a bullet in his head and shipped Lily off to her father. This makes no sense. Same with "I won't go to war with Outfit because of this" and then suddenly "Fine, the war is happening no matter what."
Also, there are a lot of inconsistencies. Like the girl, Rocco (view spoiler)[ is going to marry (hide spoiler)] goes from being named Ramona to Maria. That's just sloppy.
So no, this series is so OVER for me. Nothing makes sense, and the characters just get more annoying with each other book in the series....more
Genuine Fraud. I cannot say about the "genuine" part, but this book is definitely a fraud.
It pains me to say this because I was blown away by We WereGenuine Fraud. I cannot say about the "genuine" part, but this book is definitely a fraud.
It pains me to say this because I was blown away by We Were Liars. It's in my TOP 10. But this is like someone else wrote it. Okay, I could feel a certain similarity in the plot twist, but it's nowhere near We Were Liars.
I read several reviews, and it seems that pretty often people who liked We Were Liars were disappointed by this one. But on the other hand, people who were not impressed by We Were Liars found this one to be better. So, if you did not like We Were Liars, this might be a better one for you.
And I want to write a long review, explaining what went wrong for me but... it seems like everything went wrong. ...more
Well, I don't know what to say. I wasn't really a fan of the previous book, especially because I never found a way how to like Hartley. But the HUGE cWell, I don't know what to say. I wasn't really a fan of the previous book, especially because I never found a way how to like Hartley. But the HUGE cliffhanger forced me to read this book asap. Well, after finishing my review, I feel like I'm even generous with my rating. Funny thing that I always realize how angry a book made me only when I write the review.
Let's start from the beginning. The whole "(view spoiler)[ amnesia thing (hide spoiler)]" it only seemed to me like the author didn't know what to do with the plot and thought that this would be an amazing plot or solution. Well, no, sorry, it was not.
I'm not a doctor but (view spoiler)[, so she remembers nothing, and they just send her to school? Like nothing happened, you would expect some sort of counseling and "transition," tests what she remembers and what not. I get that her parents are assholes, but I would think that this would alert social services or someone that a girl who remembers nothing is just sent to school. Same with Sebastian, he woke from god knows how long coma a guy that is going to trial for murder just gets him out of the hospital and then he is in school like a couple of days later. (hide spoiler)] Really don't get that and I would be really surprised if that were how that worked in the US. (view spoiler)[Talking about a guy who committed a murder. It was said that he was also being charged with an attempt to kill Ella as well. - Btw, when did he try to kill her? Because what happened at the end of the Twisted Palace did not seem like attempted murder to me. But still, she is a major witness in the case. He should not be allowed anywhere near her! But he can just come to the house where she lives? No restrictions on that? Seriously? (hide spoiler)] And since I'm already talking about the lack of action from CPS or anyone for that matter, let's add other issues. (view spoiler)[ So, at the end Hartley's dad is dead, her mother just packs her backs and goes away as well as her older sister. And no social services, CPS or anyone is involved when she leaves Dylan, her 13-year-old daughter with the family of the guy her 17-year-old daughter is dating? And do not tell me that it's the money. The case was under media scrutiny; they would definitely report on that. (hide spoiler)]
Okay, this feels like this review is going to be full of spoilers.
(view spoiler)[ I won't really comment on Callum going to Dubai to close a deal when his son is in a comma. If Sebastian was in a comma like for a month or so then okay but it was what? Days? Week? And he was off and left Easton in charge of everyone. As if he wasn't drinking all the time and Callum was aware of that. You would guess he would at least force Gideon or Reed to come back. (hide spoiler)]
As for Easton. In the last book, I was really angry about his behavior towards Ella. And to be honest several times in this book it was even worse than in the previous one. As well as his behavior altogether. (view spoiler)[He made no sense at all. He was just making things worse on purpose and then trying to excuse himself. (hide spoiler)]
Okay, so little miss Hartley. Still, don't like her. And have nothing much to say about her. Only that her actions were sometimes really stupid and forced her to do things were complicated. Maybe she should keep her mouth shut, just maybe sometimes.
The first half of the book is really slow and almost pointless.
We got some mandatory Felicity drama. Again sort of doing the same to get rid of the mean girl as Ella did. (view spoiler)[ Really don't get the Kyle thing. So Felicity set it up, and her parents just went with it? I understand that Kyle did it for money but don't understand why he punched her. Makes no sense at all. (hide spoiler)]
Then there is Steve who just won't go away. And I already voiced some of my issues about him in some of the previous spoilers. But let's add another. (view spoiler)[ So he has an ankle bracelet to monitor where he goes. And put that together with the fact that he should not be allowed anywhere near Ella he should be in jail for being at Royal's place. But okay, let'S pretend he could just order Ella in his car and all would be fine. Then to his suicide, come on, that was only a stupid way how to finish the book and close the Steve's issue without writing about the trial. (hide spoiler)]
(view spoiler)[Also, Steve just goes crazy, shooting anything and everything. It also gets revealed that Easton is apparently his son. Which was suggested in the previous book by Hartley's father. I didn't believe it because a) didn't really think the author would go for the Ella and Easton kiss and b)in the first three books it was hinted that the twins were more like Steve so it would make more sense if it were them than Easton. (hide spoiler)]
Also about Hartley's father who was just behaving really stupidly and I'm sort of surprised he managed to go on with it as long as he did. (view spoiler)[He also said that he pushed Hartley at the hospital that caused her amnesia. (really convenient) But I re-read her fall, and I do not see how he could push her without anyone seeing it. They were looking at her! (hide spoiler)]
Hopefully my last issue with the book. The twins and Lauren and anything altogether. Since the author revealed that the Royals were over, no more books, no-extras no nothing I'm really confused and maybe even angry because we always got just hints on them. A built up of their story to get people interested, and I really wanted to know more about them. And the author is just like: No book for them. Okay, then at least please explain the things in this book! (view spoiler)[ The author just threw there that Lauren broke up with them which made me really angry. It was same as with Steve. Just deleting the character so I don't have to bother with an explanation. And I thought I was angry after the previous book when Lauren went from the sweet and nice girl to a complete opposite manipulative monster. But this got me angry even more. (hide spoiler)]
Also (view spoiler)[Sebastian woke up after being super angry and rude which is understandable but we won't ever know if he gets better or what. (hide spoiler)]
Wow, after letting all of my anger out I sort of wonder if there is really something I've liked about the book. Also, as some people already pointed out there were some really unnecessary typos in the book....more
EDIT 30/08/2017: I okay, something was bugging me since reading this, so I went back to TP to check. (view spoiler)[At the end of TP, Ella and Reed arEDIT 30/08/2017: I okay, something was bugging me since reading this, so I went back to TP to check. (view spoiler)[At the end of TP, Ella and Reed are talking about Gideon coming home for dinner and that they're going to tell him how Ella paid Dinah off. Yet, here Gideon is surprised that Ella knew about the pictures. So, how it is? Did the author forgot or just Ella and Reed changed their mind in the time to walk down the stairs? (hide spoiler)]
It was so much fun receiving each Friday a chapter. A lot of issues were opened here (view spoiler)[Steve - I thought he was supposed to be in jail and that he gave his money to Ella so he had nothing to bail himself out. Or am I missing something? (hide spoiler)] and sort of unanswered. Otherwise, it was fine. Just the last chapter. It killed me. So damn cheesy. :D
Also, I don't quite get the relationship between the two of them. Gideon at one point says that Ella came and just twisted his brother or whatever. Well, Gideon is basically Savannah's lapdog, it's laughable....more
Let's just say that after reading this book I was unable to see a tulip without having a strong urge to kick it. 🌷🌷🌷🌷🌷🌷Let's just say that after reading this book I was unable to see a tulip without having a strong urge to kick it. 🌷🌷🌷🌷🌷🌷...more
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