Soooo disappointed. I was supposed to be, I don't know? Charmed by language? Swayed by gotic-ish ambiance? Won by occasional magic? Well, not really. Soooo disappointed. I was supposed to be, I don't know? Charmed by language? Swayed by gotic-ish ambiance? Won by occasional magic? Well, not really. The story was boring and predictable, the main character boring and without any story arc or character building, her actions and abilities given without context or explanation other that "Oh because I'm my grandmother's granddaughter".
I just wanted a light summer read, and got hit in the head instead...
There are many things I can forgive a book. Lousy world building, one dimensionalI just wanted a light summer read, and got hit in the head instead...
There are many things I can forgive a book. Lousy world building, one dimensional characters, crappy dialogue... Really, I'm a forgiving spirit. Give me some sense of humour, someone to like and a story to enjoy, and I'm in.
BUT. In this book there is literally nothing to like. The main character is as sloppy as it gets, the love interest is a walking and talking cliché, world building is basically non existent. Technically, story takes place in Scotland in late 19th century and the author marks that by using 5 Scottish words and sending characters to a ball :D Seriously, if you want to write a period piece, do your research.
Up to 40% of the book nothing happened, then for a few pages I got a little bit interested, and then again nothing. Boo. Even the finale grande was so obvious and stiff that I was just happy to finish with this piece of boredom.
This will be one review for the whole series because it does not deserve better.
OMG. Why this was SO bad.
I often read shitty stuff, seriously, not aThis will be one review for the whole series because it does not deserve better.
OMG. Why this was SO bad.
I often read shitty stuff, seriously, not all my books are Pulitzer candidates.
But THIS.
The main character is not only badly written, but also awful as a person, doing awful things, being self-centered a-hole all the time and still getting all the love. The story arc is as toxic as it gets in old YA, and I kept reading hoping that the author will give us some Bardugo-like twist, making the characters see their mistakes, immaturity, whatever, and finish the story with something actually making sense. But no, thank you, it was bad till the end.
It was not even guilty pleasure, I had no pleasure reading this....more
Meh. The characters were so one dimensional that at some point as a reader I just wanted to bang my head against the table. And it's worse - they wereMeh. The characters were so one dimensional that at some point as a reader I just wanted to bang my head against the table. And it's worse - they were described. You barely ever get a chance to actually recreate them in your head from dialogues and actions, it's all given to you by the author. MEH.
The good things? Social workers showed as competent, authorities as someone you contact when needed, and therapy as something that works. Props for that, no sarcasm.
And FFS, Nikita is a male name. MALE. Not everything that ends with an A in Russian is female. Ugh....more
What a MASSIVE disappointment. I sat down to read a nice retelling, and got really lousy written young adult romance.
Don't get me wrong, I'm a big faWhat a MASSIVE disappointment. I sat down to read a nice retelling, and got really lousy written young adult romance.
Don't get me wrong, I'm a big fan of young adult.
But. You don't build a relationship- any kind of relationship- between the characters by writing "We became friends in the next two years". That's just being lazy. And the retelling part? Taking a story and retelling it in an interesting way requires skill. Here there was no world-building behind the name dump, no character building behind people being nice or bad or talented. The only imaginative things came from... Well, the story that was being retold.
I only gave this book two stars because one star is reserved for super-crappy books. This one was just super-boring. ...more
What a massive disappointment. I'm not even Ukrainian and I know this book is shit.
First, forget about the implied "journey through the history of UkWhat a massive disappointment. I'm not even Ukrainian and I know this book is shit.
First, forget about the implied "journey through the history of Ukraine". The author picked some bits and pieces that sell well - Holodomor, Holocaust, a bit about Kiev, a bit about Lviv, something about Crimea... There is not structure, no continuity, no depth - the only readable parts are those when she quotes external sources. Her analysis is sometimes so shallow I had to check her actual credentials (and ruin my assumptions about Oxford education).
In official notes you can find a phrase saying that "Anna Reid combines research and her own experiences to chart Ukraine's tragic past" - WELL. No charting was done, five articles on random subjects are not charting. AND the book would be definitely better without "her own experiences" as they are continuously condescending, silly and/or offensive. If felt like reading a blog of a person that went to a country once and is coming back to tell you stories.
Seriously, you can get a better understanding of Ukrainian history if you read Wikipedia on Ukraine, Poland and Russia, as the histories are entwined. This thing - it's as good as quotes it contains.
If anyone knows a good book on Ukrainian history (in English, Polish or French) please let me know, I now regret transporting this one with me when I moved. Thought I was bringing a piece of history of my family with me, ended up with annoying crap. ...more
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