I finished this yesterday but it's so forgettable I didn't even remember to mark it as Read. I don't have much to say, typical insta-love (Xander was I finished this yesterday but it's so forgettable I didn't even remember to mark it as Read. I don't have much to say, typical insta-love (Xander was ridiculously clingy from the get-go and had zero reason to pursue Ryn after she's brash to him, let alone take her on wAcKy adventures like the ~train surfing~ bit like a Manic Pixie Dream Boy) YA book that desperately wants to be quirky and fun (everything Xander convinces Ryn to do, the New Year's party, Siri and Jimmy's bingo, Troy the boy genius that can only speak about pedestrian Physics that literally everyone knows like Schrodinger's Cat) but also wants to be ~hard hitting~ and involve death and grief somehow, that the main character ends up getting over in a matter of a few hours of hanging out with a romantic interest, despite having had professional therapy for an entire year- all she needed was a boyfriend, see! Love can fix you!
Special shoutout to the scene of a 20 year old woman making out with 13 year old Troy that's played for "it's OK because he's mature for his age and he's being made a man" (no, it's an adult kissing a child that didn't consent to it and even if he had said the word "yes", still can't give informed consent because he's....... a child.........,) like Emer said. Honestly, Troy's character was completely useless in this book and could have been omitted entirely, his scenes added nothing to the book and the kiss, in particular, was even offensive. Why.
Honestly, the book just lost me in the ~train surfing~ scene, and it never got my attention again. It was too quirky, too convenient (just something they can do together! Basically their first date!), and went against Ryn's characterization at the time.
At least the book mentioned the Denver airport conspiracy and didn't waste the setting completely, I guess. Hurray for small favours. I also liked the way Lottie was written, you could see why Ryn was so enamoured with her but also notice that the friendship wasn't as healthy as you'd expect....more
A pretty cute graphic novel. Not really what I expected, and that's both good and bad.
I expected more of a horror story taking place in the hotel, notA pretty cute graphic novel. Not really what I expected, and that's both good and bad.
I expected more of a horror story taking place in the hotel, not dimension- hopping to fantasy worlds. And that's the "bad" part of my review: I'm not a fan of those stories. I don't like fantasy worlds, I don't like dimension- travelling, I'm not interested in that kind of worldbuilding, and definitely not when it's based on "A family has hidden depths and secrets that kids stumble on and then they all work it out by cooperating". WOW, never seen THAT before.
Not to mention that the writing was pretty cliche. For example, Charlotte, the blonde kid on the cover, is adopted, and she gets to say "You're not my real sibling!" pretty early on... it was uncalled for and extremely cliche, especially because this is one of those "Your family is the people you choose and home is where those people are" stories.
On the other hand, the art is pretty great (apart from some clearly rushed panels), and I liked that Grandma Lupé got to kick ass. You don't see old women being badass a lot. Also, the fact that (view spoiler)[Grandpa Lupé was the "damsel in distress" in this one, and not his wife. (hide spoiler)] Now THAT was a cliche that the story completely subverted, I was very happy about that.
All in all, not a bad story, just not the story for me.
**Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a free copy of this book**...more
Honestly? This book reads exactly as it looks. You're not getting a deep literary masterpiece that you'll make sure to keep in your bookcase to pass oHonestly? This book reads exactly as it looks. You're not getting a deep literary masterpiece that you'll make sure to keep in your bookcase to pass on to your kids later on for wisdom, but it's not pretending to be one. It's a fast, easy, turn-your-brain-off entertaining (and predictable) read, and that's exactly what I needed at this point in time.
There was nothing actually WRONG with it, but I'm still going to give it 2 stars, a pretty "low" rating, because I just can't justify anything more. The actual rating is probably a 2.5....more
Just as interesting and well-written as the previous books. I'm enjoying this series A LOT.
It's missing two stars even though I loved it because the eJust as interesting and well-written as the previous books. I'm enjoying this series A LOT.
It's missing two stars even though I loved it because the ending was very abrupt, and many events were missing from the narrative for no reason. Maybe the ending is supposed to be "shockingly sudden" (but still, we also didn't get any of (view spoiler)[Lundy as a bird trying to get her body back, (hide spoiler)] which was also important, IMO), but it didn't have that particular effect on me.
I am looking forward to the next book in the series, it's one of my favourites for sure!...more
This book was a lot better than I expected. I was honestly expecting something along the lines of "teenager ends up being the overpowered Chosen One aThis book was a lot better than I expected. I was honestly expecting something along the lines of "teenager ends up being the overpowered Chosen One and saves the world!" and (view spoiler)[while that was TRUE, (hide spoiler)] it was a much subtler and, dare I say it, realistic approach. The book surprised me.
The characters were likeable and well written, the plot was kinda generic but still interesting, and the writing wasn't spectacular, but it did its job. I'm going to be continuing on with the series right away....more
Um... 'twas alright. I read it quickly, easily and rather pleasantly, but I don't think I'll remember most of it in 2 days. I'm already beginning to fUm... 'twas alright. I read it quickly, easily and rather pleasantly, but I don't think I'll remember most of it in 2 days. I'm already beginning to forget it.
The character development was atrocious, any character that wasn't April May was a cardboard cutout that only existed whenever she needed them. Sure, it can be argued that the book is written from her POV and that's how she saw people (because ~fame corrupted her!~), but it's still lazy writing to want to have a massive cast and a central plot about people working together, and then not developing said cast because the priority was......
....to write a book mostly about fame and the consequences of it. It's not the author's fault that I wasn't very interested in his thinly-veiled fame memoir (I don't think he's personally been harassed online, but he's close friends with Carlos Maza and Lindsay Ellis, who have been) or his preaching about extremism (which, to be perfectly clear, is necessary), but I came to this book for the aliens, not the "Oh no! I'm addicted to my fame! I make so much money but I alienate the people close to me because I'm a dumb shit!" narrative. I don't care, never have, never will. The aliens were a teeny tiny part of the book, and while that meant that they stayed mysterious (something always welcome), that also meant that we didn't get nearly enough of them for a "first contact" story.
Slow start, engrossing middle, ridiculously stupid ending, that almost ruined the entire book for me.
Did Maggie Stiefv3 stars for a rather "meh" read.
Slow start, engrossing middle, ridiculously stupid ending, that almost ruined the entire book for me.
Did Maggie Stiefvater kinda copy this book (Brenna Yovanoff is her friend) when she wrote All the Crooked Saints? Because the "stoic unemotional powerful girl and vaguely naive/ good intentioned/ traumatized boy" is straight outta this book, but written way worse than here. Awkward....more
Figured I should finally write a review for this, on the 5th month anniversary of my reading it!
I don't really have much to say, which is the reason wFigured I should finally write a review for this, on the 5th month anniversary of my reading it!
I don't really have much to say, which is the reason why I didn't write this review sooner (I usually write my reviews immediately when I have strong feelings about the book) When a book is just "OK" I don't really have anything to say.
This book was funny and entertaining, but it really wasn't anything particularly impactful, at least to me. I don't think it's pretending to be impactful, either. (WOW is this review extremely vague). I really liked the challenges that the players went through and I like that Jane gave herself a persona so that the people would like and remember her (pretty clever if you ask me), but I definitely didn't like (view spoiler)[the extremely predictable plot twist "Jane gets back in the game after she's eliminated"- who didn't see this coming? She's the protagonist and POV character! (hide spoiler)]
I recommend it for people who need a light and entertaining read....more
I was just looking at the big piece of paper hanging on my wall to shame me, titled "REVIEWS I STILL HAVEN'T WRITTEN". I've decided to tackle that lisI was just looking at the big piece of paper hanging on my wall to shame me, titled "REVIEWS I STILL HAVEN'T WRITTEN". I've decided to tackle that list before it becomes long enough to consume me like a python.
The worst part is, despite the quirky opening paragraph above, I have nothing of value to share about the book. I don't even remember it all that well, and most of what I remember is things I didn't like (for example, some generic training/ "the team succesfully defeats the threat" montages, or the cringy as all hell (view spoiler)[every couple is having sex AT THE SAME TIME! montage at the end of the book (hide spoiler)])
Maybe I should have re-read the book before writing the review but ain't nobody got time for that when my TBR list is miles long....more
Now, this is a great sequel if I ever saw one. I really don't have much to say other than I loved it, and that it did everything I wanted and expectedNow, this is a great sequel if I ever saw one. I really don't have much to say other than I loved it, and that it did everything I wanted and expected it to do....more
Figured I should finally write a review for this book, because, well, I dislike not having written a review for all of my "Read" books, even if it's jFigured I should finally write a review for this book, because, well, I dislike not having written a review for all of my "Read" books, even if it's just a poorly written sentence. So, here goes:
Very lush and a feast for the imagination, but long-winded and frankly, kinda overrated....more
4 stars, even though I was expecting to give it a full 5.
It's pretty obvious, at least to me, that Victoria Schwab most definitely wanted to make this4 stars, even though I was expecting to give it a full 5.
It's pretty obvious, at least to me, that Victoria Schwab most definitely wanted to make this series a trilogy, but had to wrap it up as a duology almost at the last second. She makes a point of showing us stuff that she clearly wants to expand on (Prosperity, Soro, Sloan's obssession with Kate, and August's angst, to name a few), only to hurriedly end everything at the final 50 pages. It's like she was forced to end the series at the second book, but didn't want to go back and rewrite eveything she had written so far, so we got.... this lowkey dumpster fire, that I still thoroughly enjoyed somehow.
Despite its faults, Our Dark Duet still made my my Best of 2018 list, because I love this series and these characters A LOT. The books made the list easily, because they are immersive, imaginative, and frankly wonderful. This Savage Song was better, but Our Dark Duet isn't that far behind. It's just that it's not as good as it could have been....more
EDIT months later: I decided to bump up the rating and give it a full 5 stars after all, because it's since earned a place on my "Favourites" shelf.
WeEDIT months later: I decided to bump up the rating and give it a full 5 stars after all, because it's since earned a place on my "Favourites" shelf.
Well, what can I say? This was one of the best reading experiences I've had in a long time now. In general, 2018 hasn't been a great reading year for me.
This was my first ever Victoria Schwab book, and I have to say, she lived up to the hype. Her writing is incredibly evocative and lyrical, without reaching purple prose levels, sounding pompous and pretentious. I was able to get lost in her world easily, and didn't even notice the pages zooming by, until I was on the 100th page or so. I was able to visualize her characters and the city easily (although I do think that the city needed a map in the first pages of the book or something) And that's the sign of a good author.
I loved every bit of information we got about the monster kinds, and the world itself. The worldbuilding was wonderful and I liked that the monsters were both clearly unnatural, and also, somehow, familiar. They didn't really feel like much of a threat, but they still provided some awesome nightmare fuel imagery. I especially liked the way the Sunai are created.
Now, the characters are simultaneously the best and the weakest part of the book. They're not that amazingly fleshed out, but they're all intriguing and well written. Of course, our protagonists, Kate and August, are canonically almost invincible and weirdly powerful for 16 year olds, but hey! I still liked their relationship and its development, and a special shoutout goes to the fact that there's no insta-love plot point, like it could have easily been, and like it is in many YA books. The adults are largely incompetent (another weak part of the book), and there's nothing much to say about them, other than (view spoiler)[Harker going down too easily for a man of his reputation and allure. (hide spoiler)] Those are also the reasons why the book gets 4 and not 5 stars from me.
I'm looking forward to reading the second book of the duology. As in, I need it yesterday.
(P.S. This book reminded me of Shutter by Courtney Alameda a lot- if you liked this book, you can check that one out too if you'd like!)...more
4 stars. It only loses 1 star because it was too short and I felt it was over in a jiffy.
Do you have a really close friend, with whom you've shared ma4 stars. It only loses 1 star because it was too short and I felt it was over in a jiffy.
Do you have a really close friend, with whom you've shared many conversations, nonsensical and funny but also serious at the same time? If so, you'll see yourself and your friend in this manga. I know I did. I thought it was incredibly relatable, funny (the humour in this was right up my alley), and, honestly, very entertaining to read. Even though it sounds silly, I really enjoyed seeing myself in this, even though I'm obviously not a high school boy. It was nice to see that other people have silly conversations like that, too.
**Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a free copy of this book to review**...more
The reasons why the book didn't get a full 5 stars from me were: 1. Esa was criminally underused, I was so looki4 solid (unclaimed) stars for this one.
The reasons why the book didn't get a full 5 stars from me were: 1. Esa was criminally underused, I was so looking forward to getting awesome telekinesis scenes from her; I have a soft spot for telekinesis, it's my favourite super power and the one I wish I had the most (that, and telepathy) 2. The fact that the plot consisted of fight scene after fight scene grew tiring after a while, plus... 3. ...How every single one of Jane's Batman Gambits paid off nicely, she took risk after risk and basically no one got hurt by them (well, no one we knew, right? Cheers if you get the reference) 4. (view spoiler)[Jane acting like she was going to die at the end was a bit melodramatic, it was pretty obvious that nothing would happen to the the POV protagonist, especially since we know that the book is the first of a series. (hide spoiler)] 5. A personal pet peeve of mine is fight scenes of our protagonists VS something monstrous and mindless that comes in hordes, so they can just shoot and hit stuff to look cool, and there was a section of the book revolving around this. 6. Jane's big "name reveal" scene wasn't that big, we already knew her name from the blurb?
And what did I like? Everything else.
I don't usually go for sci-fi fantasy books, but I do pick one once in a while, and I was so very pleasantly surprised by this! I liked the characters, the humor, the worldbuilding, the writing. Preacher was my favourite, and I couldn't help but picture her like Danger from X-Men: [image] (I'm 85% sure that Drew Williams has read Joss Whedon's run of Astonishing X-Men; not only was Preacher similar to Danger, but the very last scene in the (view spoiler)[fusion reactor (hide spoiler)] was simiar to the one in the ending of the "Unstoppable" arc. I'd be surprised if there is no connection)
Also, I adored reading about the details of the different species of the world.
I'm not gonna lie, I just flat out started the book because it has the word "telekinetic" on the blurb. Sadly, the book didn't deliver much on that front, but I'm pretty sure we'll be meeting other superpowered kids in the next book(s). There's a lot of stuff that the author can explore in the next installment (for example: Jane's mysterious mentor that is cryptically mentioned a few times throughout, or Jane's mysterious past in general, or the other children of the Justified, etc)
I'm very interested to see what happens next!
**Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a free copy of this book**...more
The beginning had more promise than it finally delivered, and I kinda hated the social justice/ Internet lingo (for example, "hel3 stars. Pretty cool.
The beginning had more promise than it finally delivered, and I kinda hated the social justice/ Internet lingo (for example, "hella" popped up more than once, and I cringed every time) Not to mention that Mila's powers being oh so powerful was so very convenient for the plot, and the girls going to public places willingly, even though they understood that no one should know they were reanimated, was stupid as shit. Major suspension of disbelief needed at times, even though you go into the book knowing that, because.... y'know... "reanimated corpses" is kinda nonchalantly in the book description, like it's no biggie.
(view spoiler)[I started suspecting Xander shortly before he was revealed to be the antagonist, not because there was clever foreshadowing, but because Caleb was such an obvious red herring. His (Caleb's) heel face turn wasn't very believable, either. (hide spoiler)]
My favourite character ended up being, surprisingly, Queen Bee June. Loved every word that came out of her mouth, with my favourite quote being:
"You ran off," Riley says. "To threaten your friends." "Not my friends," June snaps. "Not anymore. I don't forgive. I'm a Taurus."
And I really liked that (view spoiler)[the girls were rotting far faster by the end, when the spell had all but worn off. (hide spoiler)]
All in all, a pretty cool and fast read. Just had some issues I couldn't look past....more
EDIT June 2019 (everything below was written on September 2018): I'm changing the rating from a 4 to a 3 because this was so utterly forgettable. I waEDIT June 2019 (everything below was written on September 2018): I'm changing the rating from a 4 to a 3 because this was so utterly forgettable. I was thinking about it because my copy of Bedlam just arrived and I'm going to begin reading it soon, and I can hardly remember anything about its predecessor, Midnight. NOT a good look for the book, if I may say so myself.
_______________________
Believe me, my friends, no one was more surprised than I that I didn't hate this!
Midnight is actually closer to 3 stars than the 4 I gave it, but I'm feelin' generous today. Derek Landy made an effort (unlike his complete lack of it in Resurrection) and he should be rewarded for it. Pat pat, Landy.
I think I should mention the negatives first, to get them out of the way: the book was far too long for its content, particularly the second half of (view spoiler)[Valkyrie fighting Cadaverous Gant in his "house" (hide spoiler)]. The fight went on for way too long, not to mention that the fight at the end of The Dying of the Light was already extremely similar to this? Why did it have to be so long and also feel like major deja vu?
Secondly, even Derek Landy himself now regrets introducing Omen, and used him as little as possible, just to remind us that he's not dead yet. Even Valkyrie snapped at him like "You're useless (to the plot and this upcoming fight), sit down, play dead, we'll pretend you don't exist". I'm sorry, Omen, but no one cares that you're here and no one really looks forward to your POV chapters. No one is reading the "reboot" series because they want to see more of Omen.
Never was annoying as ever, acts like the stereotypical "sassy gay friend" (even though they're not gay), and keeps being rude to Omen. (I know I was rude to him too in the previous paragraph, but I'm not his friend. I'm excused.) At least this time, Never wasn't screaming about their "gender identity" as much. Thank God for small favours!
I rather liked Abyssinia, shockingly, but near the end I realized that she talks exactly like China, and that dampened my enthusiasm for her a bit. Not to mention her random skintight bodysuit, exactly like Darquesse's.
(view spoiler)[I can't say I appreciated the possibility of Skulduggery being the father of her child, and him being rather nonchalant about it, especially since the loss of his ACTUAL wife and child is a major plot point. But we'll have to see how this works out. I'm really hoping that Abyssinia's lying. (hide spoiler)]
The "Bring Darquesse back" Sebastian guy's plot continued to be annoying, just like Never. I didn't like it when it was first introduced, I still don't like it now. The fact that (view spoiler)[Tanith (hide spoiler)] helped that guy with his laughable mission, and didn't kill him like she was threatening him to, had me like: [image]
I'm also calling it now: he's probably going to be revealed to have liquefactive necrosis. The condition was mentioned several times in the book, as was his inability to take off his suit and mask "for health reasons". I'm calling it.
I think this is it, so moving on to the positives, I basically liked everything else.
I liked how Valkyrie's Sensitive powers were handled (even though I still hate the way that was introduced, and the offscreen deaths of the major Sensitives), I liked her hanging out with her family, I liked her scavenger hunt in the second half, I liked that she was less than thrilled to be in the middle of violence after all that happened to her. Alice was a delight, and I can't say that I mind that (view spoiler)[Landy seems to be going for a "Creepy Child" with her from now on (hide spoiler)]. I mean, check this out:
"Let Alice go", said Valkyrie. "[.....] She can't hurt you" Cadaverous smiled. "Neither can you, Valkyrie. Not in here. In here, you're as ineffectual as a five-year-old." "I'm seven", Alice said from behind the door.
Speaking of that, the jokes are back! I can't say that their absence played a huge part in my disliking of Resurrection, but I do prefer it when they're here. My favourite joke was this (I really did laugh out loud):
Skulduggery: "Did I ever tell you that I lost my skull once?" Temper sighed. "Yeah, you did. Goblins ran away with it." "And for years afterwards, I wore a replacement skull. For years, I walked around with a different head. The jaw was different, the cheekbones were different, the nasal aperture was hilariously off- I'm still surprised people recognized me at all." "Maybe the fact that you were a skeleton....."
The Flannery parts were minimal (as with Never, thank God for small favours), the "end of chapter corresponds with the beginning of the next" gimmick only happened, I think, once (when Valkyrie needs someone to babysit Alice, and Omen raises his hand in class in the very opposite page), and, very important, no shiptastic moments of "Valduggery". Win, win, win.
I really, really do hope that the next books in the second series are closer to "Midnight" than "Resurrection". I really, really do. Because with this, my faith in the series is mostly restored. It's no wonder, since after Resurrection my expectations were at ankle height, but still....more
Barely 2 stars. Maggie tried SO HARD in this one, and that was her downfall.
This is another attempt at being OH SO QUIRKY, a Stiefvater trademark, it Barely 2 stars. Maggie tried SO HARD in this one, and that was her downfall.
This is another attempt at being OH SO QUIRKY, a Stiefvater trademark, it seems. She did it in all 4 books of The Raven Cycle, particularly with Blue's character, but it's off the charts in this one. Let me paint a picture of some of the characters for you:
Beatriz Soria, the emotionless, super calculating psychic, has a secret language that she made up with her father, that is comprised solely of whistling notes instead of words.
Earnest and hardworking Pete has a heart condition, probably because his heart is SO BIG because he wants to help everyone, see? He travels in the desert so he can insta-fall in love with Beatriz the Emotionless, and he is just SO NICE that the desert itself, which is sentient BTW, falls in love with him at first sight.
Daniel the Saint is also so very nice, but he's also badass, he's got tattoos on his fingers! He's also a rebel that goes against his families wishes because he's ~in love~, and then he basically disappears from the book. That's all the characterization you get.
But it's Diablo Diablo that gets the short end of the stick the most. Even though he's the DJ of the radio station, we're still told multiple times that it's Beatriz's truck, Beatriz's ingenuity that got the station running, Joaquin with the edgy nickname is just.... there?
There are many other colourful characters, and Maggie Stiefvater gets very creative with the descriptions of the various miracles, but they appear in the background of the story, hardly at all. That goes for the members of the Soria family as well. Disappointing, to say the least.
In my opinion, the entire book is an attempt to be as quirky as possible while writing a bland insta-love story, with an ~epic ending with a lesson~ at the end. The book was very sterotypically YA, and no amount of quirkiness was able to hide that.
As a recent graduate, post-uni depression has hit me HARD, so I thought I had found the perfect book in this, but nope. Lou wasn't in any way relatablAs a recent graduate, post-uni depression has hit me HARD, so I thought I had found the perfect book in this, but nope. Lou wasn't in any way relatable, the family is super rich and spending an extraordinary amount of money in every turn; it's clear that the only reason why she wants to find a job is to get some "HA, in your face! I'm so independent!" points, like that one friend she keeps badmouthing but secretly wants to be like, and NOT because she has any actual need for that money. She doesn't really do much except for grumbling about her weight and reacting to her surroundings.
Plus, her "problem" is that she can't tell her mom about her loving, supporting boyfriend, because... he isn't pretty? What fresh hell is this?? How vapid can one be??
Honestly, "vapid" is the best adjective for this book. The only reason why it's getting 2 and not 1 star is because it was funny occasionally.
**Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a free copy of this book**...more
To begin with, I wasn't a fan of the choppy sentences and the super small chapters, but I get that this is something that is maybe/ probably cDNF @28.
To begin with, I wasn't a fan of the choppy sentences and the super small chapters, but I get that this is something that is maybe/ probably corrected in the editing process, so I'll just move past that.
I liked the description of glam rock with a space twist, and the big role that the music played (at least in the first chapter or so), BUT, this is a Manic Pixie Dream Girl Story.
I didn't even have to read further than 28% to realize that, because from the moment Anna Z properly met our protagonist (who is undoubtedly male; more on this later) she started delivering those manic monologues, which, I suppose, were there to make her "weird" and "an outcast" and "a thinker", but just served to make her eye-rollingly (yes, that's a phrase) annoying in my eyes. I get that these are supposed to be pretentious teenagers, but I felt that the author was completely playing them straight. BOY, do I have some special feelings for the authors who play their stories completely straight!
About the protagonist's, Davi's, gender: I've seen other reviewers say that the author left it vague, but in my opinion he was not only male, but an Author Avatar, at that, like all Manic Pixie Dream Girl stories. There's a point when the protagonist comments on other boys wearing makeup and such, and he's like "No, I'm not like that, I'm not like those other boys" (sigh)
And apart from that (this is a first-person narrative, through Davi's eyes), he also slyly judges every single female character on whether or not she's physically attractive. There are many instances of this even in the small percentage of the book I read! Hey, you could argue that Davi could have easily been female (because judging people's attractiveness is definitely not a male characteristic), but.... Maybe this was just me, but I got a very male vibe from Davi, and the judging was in the very distinct "How bangable is she" male bro-fashion.
Seriously, Manic Pixie Dream Girl stories should stay in the early 2000s, where they belong.
**Many thanks to NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book to read!**...more
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