As a whole Jon Krakauer has an enjoyable style but there were a couple things that kept me from really enjoying the book.
One is that it felt a bit jumpy. That is it seemed he tended to skip from one thing to the other and at times I had trouble with the flip flop between more recent times and the times further in the past.
The second issue for me was that this book would be better suited for someone who knows very little about mormonism. For me over half the book was telling me things I already knew. This is no fault of the authors just a simple heads up to any others looking to read it.
One is that it felt a bit jumpy. That is it seemed he tended to skip from one thing to the other and at times I had trouble with the flip flop between more recent times and the times further in the past.
The second issue for me was that this book would be better suited for someone who knows very little about mormonism. For me over half the book was telling me things I already knew. This is no fault of the authors just a simple heads up to any others looking to read it.
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: The Classic Regency Romance - Now with Ultraviolent Zombie Mayhem! by Seth Grahame-Smith
If I could I would give negative stars that's how much I disliked this book.
Eloisa James had me giggling several times. Her writing is very easy going and funny. I rather enjoyed this book as a fun little side reading. The characters where well developed and the sparing going on between beast and beauty was witty and amusing.
I feel like this Fairy Tales was a bit forced. To me it wasn't nearly as witty or humorous as her first two. The first one was my favorite and the second followed closely after. This third was just ok. I don't regret reading it but I am glad I didn't spend money on it and instead borrowed it from the library.
I think she saw the success of the first two and enjoyed writing them so felt the need to push out a third. I feel it is rather forced and maybe even a bit hurried. Again it was not bad but not great like her first two either
I think she saw the success of the first two and enjoyed writing them so felt the need to push out a third. I feel it is rather forced and maybe even a bit hurried. Again it was not bad but not great like her first two either
Good book about the connection between sisters no matter how different they are or far apart they seem.
This book kept me turning the pages. With well developed characters, great writing, and a plot with a good pace to it. Recommended for fantasy fans who like strong female leads.
Eloisa James' characters are some of the most witty I have read in a long time. There have been very few books that have actually made me laugh out loud, this was one of them. Previous romance novels I have read have been brimming with characters filled with fluff. This is definitely not the case here. I found myself almost wishing that the two wouldn't give in simply so I could continue to read more of the word duels they had between each other. I also most say I thoroughly enjoy the fact her female characters are always smart, strong-willed, and able to hold their own.
Clever and spunky this is a definite one I'd recommend.
Clever and spunky this is a definite one I'd recommend.
This book had potential but was about 200 or so pages too long. In fact it would have been a much better story if it was all about Scourge since he was the best character of them all. Nothing really happened through the whole book. The first several hundred pages I enjoyed it, about halfway through I begin to wonder when something actiony would happen, and after halfway little things started to annoy me and reading it was like trying to wade through waist deep mud. Also what's with calling characters by first and last name. If there is only one Jenn and she is the main character why is she referred to as Jenn Nalynn throughout the book. I don't call my friends by their first and last names, it's not natural.
So Whisper isn't your everyday dystopian young adult novel. Whisper is disfigured with a bad cleft but nonetheless she is beautiful. The novel isn't what I would call fast paced or action filled but it hooks you with believable characters and a wonderful heroine. Whisper was not perfect but that is what made her so awesome. She actually grew throughout the book and she took you right along with her. In a time when the focus for young girl's role models seems to be so focused on looks or who is dating who Whisper is a breath of fresh air. She is relatable and will teach young girls reading this that they should love themselves because there is more to being awesome then looks.
I wanted to like this book but I couldn't.
The first half of the book is basically filled with the main character, Jacob's, back and forth on rather or not his grandfathers stories were all fantastical and rather or not, if they indeed are, he is angry with his grandfather.
To me this whole first part was a rather large waste of my time. We all know they are real off the bat so we just have to read about him juggling it. I get that it was probably to try and establish character depth and connection but it didn't work for me.
To me the whole story felt a bit like the author had found all this cool old pictures and wrote the story around them instead of really developing a good story and then finding pictures that work.
Finally, aside from the cool old photos, it feels like something that has been done many times before and done a lot better
The first half of the book is basically filled with the main character, Jacob's, back and forth on rather or not his grandfathers stories were all fantastical and rather or not, if they indeed are, he is angry with his grandfather.
To me this whole first part was a rather large waste of my time. We all know they are real off the bat so we just have to read about him juggling it. I get that it was probably to try and establish character depth and connection but it didn't work for me.
To me the whole story felt a bit like the author had found all this cool old pictures and wrote the story around them instead of really developing a good story and then finding pictures that work.
Finally, aside from the cool old photos, it feels like something that has been done many times before and done a lot better
This is tough for me but sadly I'm giving this book only 2 out of 5 stars.
I had so much trouble getting through this book if you couldn't tell by the huge gap between the last review and this one. I confess I skimmed through the last quarter of it because I just couldn't do it anymore. I have so many other books on my to read it seemed like such a waste to try and muck about with this one longer. This is sad to me because I so badly wanted to love these books as much as I loved Pierce's other Tortall books but alas it was not meant to be. I still have the third and final one left but I am going to put off trying to start that one for a while and hope that is better than the other two.
This book was slow and plodding. The crime/mystery wasn't nearly as interesting as the first books and it was really predictable. Now to be fair I am not a fan of mysteries. Her previous books were more fantasy and this seems more like a mystery series then a fantasy one. So if you are into mysteries you might feel 100% different about the whole thing then I did.
The other issue is, again, the diary format. Diary format is a really really tough one to pull of successfully especially in a novel that requires a lot of world building. It is hard to make the reader believe the diary format when so much has to be recorded. As it was all the characters except Achoo, the scent hound, fell totally flat. Even Pounce wasn't very good in the places he was in. There are also gaps between the two. For show more example in the first novel it is played as though no one but Beka can hear Pounce but in the second one he is talking to everyone pretty much even those who aren't that close to Beka but that seemingly isn't very surprising to any of them. Personally I'd be a little more shocked if I heard my cat talking in my head suddenly. Another example is in the first novel she wasn't able to really communicate with the pigeons ghost's. Beka could hear them but not talk to any of them except for the ghost of the child she knew and that was with some difficulty. All of a sudden in the second books she converses with all the ghosts with ease.
I really don't know what else to say about this book. I might recommend it to those who like mysteries but, unfortunately, that isn't me at all. Personally I would more highly recommend just skipping the Beka Cooper series and reading the other ones in the Tortall series. show less
I had so much trouble getting through this book if you couldn't tell by the huge gap between the last review and this one. I confess I skimmed through the last quarter of it because I just couldn't do it anymore. I have so many other books on my to read it seemed like such a waste to try and muck about with this one longer. This is sad to me because I so badly wanted to love these books as much as I loved Pierce's other Tortall books but alas it was not meant to be. I still have the third and final one left but I am going to put off trying to start that one for a while and hope that is better than the other two.
This book was slow and plodding. The crime/mystery wasn't nearly as interesting as the first books and it was really predictable. Now to be fair I am not a fan of mysteries. Her previous books were more fantasy and this seems more like a mystery series then a fantasy one. So if you are into mysteries you might feel 100% different about the whole thing then I did.
The other issue is, again, the diary format. Diary format is a really really tough one to pull of successfully especially in a novel that requires a lot of world building. It is hard to make the reader believe the diary format when so much has to be recorded. As it was all the characters except Achoo, the scent hound, fell totally flat. Even Pounce wasn't very good in the places he was in. There are also gaps between the two. For show more example in the first novel it is played as though no one but Beka can hear Pounce but in the second one he is talking to everyone pretty much even those who aren't that close to Beka but that seemingly isn't very surprising to any of them. Personally I'd be a little more shocked if I heard my cat talking in my head suddenly. Another example is in the first novel she wasn't able to really communicate with the pigeons ghost's. Beka could hear them but not talk to any of them except for the ghost of the child she knew and that was with some difficulty. All of a sudden in the second books she converses with all the ghosts with ease.
I really don't know what else to say about this book. I might recommend it to those who like mysteries but, unfortunately, that isn't me at all. Personally I would more highly recommend just skipping the Beka Cooper series and reading the other ones in the Tortall series. show less
We have another 3 out of 5 stars with Hawksong. I'm wondering if there is something wrong with me now. This is the second book in a row where I felt the ending just didn't do it for me. On that note I'm gonna give a general warning that this review might be spoilerish though I won't be giving anything away that the majority wouldn't be able to guess before hand.
Hawksong is told from the point of view of Danica Shardae. Danica is royalty among the avian shapeshifters and takes the form of a hawk. For centuries a war has been going on between her kind and the serpiente, i.e. the snake shapeshifters. To end the war Danica and the ruler of the serpiente, Zane Cobra Cobriana, decide to unite in marriage or pair bonding as they call it. Bonus points if you can guess what Zane's shifter form is.
Obviously, this alliance creates complications. You can't take centuries of misunderstanding, distrust, fear, and hate away with a simple proclamation of marriage. Here in lies my main reason I didn't love this story. It read something like a really well written short story in that there was no real build up. I have mentioned before I love romances that create a lot of romantic tension between the characters so when they do finally let it out it is like a dam breaking. That is one of the main reasons I have an unhealthy obsession with asian dramas, the build up is what they specialize in. This had none. It went from I don't trust you or love you to suddenly I both trust you and love you. show more Yes there were reason for it, it wasn't completely out of the blue. However the reader isn't really that privy to the reasons. Actually, for Zane we has a thing for Danica other than she is pretty and later he realizes she cares about people. I felt like there should have been more on what made him realize this and what he went through. For Danica he does something that we are privy to in a fleeting way and suddenly she loves him and the "mystery" is wrapped up thus ending the story in a wam bam thank you mam kind of way.
Despite the impression my last giant paragraph may have given I did enjoy this book. It was another fun but rather shallow read with lots of potential to be something greater. The characters had the beginnings of chemistry together and if Zane had been developed a bit more I feel like he could be awesome. Danica was a good female lead in that she wasn't shallow, she held her own, stayed true to character, was smart, and genuinely cared about peace.
I would recommend Hawksong to others if they want a quick easy read between more serious ones. It only took me 2 days to finish so it definitely isn't something that will eat up a ton of your time. I probably would have finished it in 1 day if I didn't have to work. show less
Hawksong is told from the point of view of Danica Shardae. Danica is royalty among the avian shapeshifters and takes the form of a hawk. For centuries a war has been going on between her kind and the serpiente, i.e. the snake shapeshifters. To end the war Danica and the ruler of the serpiente, Zane Cobra Cobriana, decide to unite in marriage or pair bonding as they call it. Bonus points if you can guess what Zane's shifter form is.
Obviously, this alliance creates complications. You can't take centuries of misunderstanding, distrust, fear, and hate away with a simple proclamation of marriage. Here in lies my main reason I didn't love this story. It read something like a really well written short story in that there was no real build up. I have mentioned before I love romances that create a lot of romantic tension between the characters so when they do finally let it out it is like a dam breaking. That is one of the main reasons I have an unhealthy obsession with asian dramas, the build up is what they specialize in. This had none. It went from I don't trust you or love you to suddenly I both trust you and love you. show more Yes there were reason for it, it wasn't completely out of the blue. However the reader isn't really that privy to the reasons. Actually, for Zane we has a thing for Danica other than she is pretty and later he realizes she cares about people. I felt like there should have been more on what made him realize this and what he went through. For Danica he does something that we are privy to in a fleeting way and suddenly she loves him and the "mystery" is wrapped up thus ending the story in a wam bam thank you mam kind of way.
Despite the impression my last giant paragraph may have given I did enjoy this book. It was another fun but rather shallow read with lots of potential to be something greater. The characters had the beginnings of chemistry together and if Zane had been developed a bit more I feel like he could be awesome. Danica was a good female lead in that she wasn't shallow, she held her own, stayed true to character, was smart, and genuinely cared about peace.
I would recommend Hawksong to others if they want a quick easy read between more serious ones. It only took me 2 days to finish so it definitely isn't something that will eat up a ton of your time. I probably would have finished it in 1 day if I didn't have to work. show less
Oh book, book, book, book... you were so very close to being 4 stars. It was bumped down to three though and by no real fault of the author.
I will start by saying I did enjoy this book. I finished it within 2 days and, as usual, I loved the descriptions of the world. I had a love hate relationship with Lord Stanley and I really enjoyed hearing about Jacquetta's daughters and what had become of them.
The book was an easy read and kept a good pace. There was only one point where I felt that it slowed down a bit and I had to force myself not to skim some pages.
I do believe that people were very bored back then. It seems like there was a constant back and forth on who should be king and that might have been avoided if people weren't as bored. I mean I could be wrong. There could still be battles between the nobles of England to take over the throne. That's pretty much what the book comes down to though. I'm king, no I'm king, no I'm king, and so on and so forth. I like the intrigue and I like reading how characters deal with it but if that's not your thing skip this book!
Now onto the reason I gave this 3 instead of 4 stars. The main character, I hated her so much... flames there were flames around my face. Seriously though, I am a tolerant person. I even found Lord Stanley awesomely conniving and I enjoyed his back handedness. He was probably my favorite character in fact. What I cannot tolerate is hypocrites and people who don't own up to their own mistakes/faults. Margaret show more was that to an extreme I have rarely seen in any character. She would constantly berate others for various "sins" and go on about how saintly she was and how she had the voice of God and the Virgin Mary on her side. She had an obsession with Joan of Arc but not for the right reasons or the reasons she tried to claim. She was obsessed with Joan of Arc because she wanted the recognition and the power. She speaks ill of others for being vain or greedy but she was the most power hungry character in the whole book. There was one point where I thought she would realize that she had sinned. I thought finally she realized she was vain and had done awful things not because her son on the throne was God's will but because it was hers. Alas, she immediately said that the only reason she was being punished for sin was because she made the mistake of associating with others who had sinned. Really!? Really lady!??
Basically what it comes down to is this book is a great read about an awful woman. show less
I will start by saying I did enjoy this book. I finished it within 2 days and, as usual, I loved the descriptions of the world. I had a love hate relationship with Lord Stanley and I really enjoyed hearing about Jacquetta's daughters and what had become of them.
The book was an easy read and kept a good pace. There was only one point where I felt that it slowed down a bit and I had to force myself not to skim some pages.
I do believe that people were very bored back then. It seems like there was a constant back and forth on who should be king and that might have been avoided if people weren't as bored. I mean I could be wrong. There could still be battles between the nobles of England to take over the throne. That's pretty much what the book comes down to though. I'm king, no I'm king, no I'm king, and so on and so forth. I like the intrigue and I like reading how characters deal with it but if that's not your thing skip this book!
Now onto the reason I gave this 3 instead of 4 stars. The main character, I hated her so much... flames there were flames around my face. Seriously though, I am a tolerant person. I even found Lord Stanley awesomely conniving and I enjoyed his back handedness. He was probably my favorite character in fact. What I cannot tolerate is hypocrites and people who don't own up to their own mistakes/faults. Margaret show more was that to an extreme I have rarely seen in any character. She would constantly berate others for various "sins" and go on about how saintly she was and how she had the voice of God and the Virgin Mary on her side. She had an obsession with Joan of Arc but not for the right reasons or the reasons she tried to claim. She was obsessed with Joan of Arc because she wanted the recognition and the power. She speaks ill of others for being vain or greedy but she was the most power hungry character in the whole book. There was one point where I thought she would realize that she had sinned. I thought finally she realized she was vain and had done awful things not because her son on the throne was God's will but because it was hers. Alas, she immediately said that the only reason she was being punished for sin was because she made the mistake of associating with others who had sinned. Really!? Really lady!??
Basically what it comes down to is this book is a great read about an awful woman. show less
I was so excited for this book but then so very underwhelmed.
You want to know why?
No?
Well I shall tell you anyways.
This book is set at the time of the War of the Roses in the mid 1400s England and France but mainly England. The book is about Jacquetta or so it claims. Which brings us right into my biggest complaint about his book. Jacquetta, Lady Rivers, feels like a secondary character throughout most of the book. She just happens to associate and be friends with people that are doing exciting things and is able to hear about them, sometimes see them even *le gasp*, and tell us about them. I'm sorry there is one part near the end of the book where she is apparently the best person to negotiate because London adores her due to her being beautiful. Yup, that's right. Jacquetta is adored because she is gorgeous. We are lead to believe she is also very smart. I could see this but it was really never developed. This led Jacquetta to be a beautiful breeding mule throughout the majority of the book. I'm serious. It follows a formula. The love of her life goes to a battle, she stays with the queen and finds stuff out second hand while being pregnant, she has the baby, love of life comes home, and repeat. 14 times this happens. That's right. That poor woman popped out 14 kids in a time with no pain killers. Yet, she still somehow managed to feel like a secondary character throughout her entire book.
Another pet peeve with this book is the titles and the constant changing of show more them. Note to all potential writers of historical fiction, pick if you want to use a characters title or their name and stick with it. There are way too many similar names and titles as it is during this time. It makes it that much harder to keep track of them when one moment the person is Edmund Beaufort and next referred to as the Duke of Somerset. I know I should be able to keep track of who is who but with so many people it is difficult when it flip flops.
All that said it is still worth a read for lovers of historical fiction. Anyone who has read Phillipa Gregory knows she is not called the Queen of royal fiction for nothing. She truly can give you a great image of what the world was like at the time. The battle scene descriptions were epic in this book. This leads me to believe that the lack of development for Jacquetta was mainly due to a lack of research material about her. Needless to say the battles would have a better amount of recorded history then a woman of the time no matter how impressive she was. It should also be noted some of the other characters were really well developed and kept the story moving. One major one being Queen Margaret who goes from wide eyed little girl to revenge seeking Queen of death. I feel like Phillipa Gregory might have had better luck writing from Queen Margaret's point of view.
All in all I would give this book 2 out of 5 stars. I don't regret reading it but I didn't adore it either. If you aren't a lover of history I would probably skip this one but if you do love history I'd pick it up. It is a quick read and an interesting look into the beginning of the War of the Roses. show less
You want to know why?
No?
Well I shall tell you anyways.
This book is set at the time of the War of the Roses in the mid 1400s England and France but mainly England. The book is about Jacquetta or so it claims. Which brings us right into my biggest complaint about his book. Jacquetta, Lady Rivers, feels like a secondary character throughout most of the book. She just happens to associate and be friends with people that are doing exciting things and is able to hear about them, sometimes see them even *le gasp*, and tell us about them. I'm sorry there is one part near the end of the book where she is apparently the best person to negotiate because London adores her due to her being beautiful. Yup, that's right. Jacquetta is adored because she is gorgeous. We are lead to believe she is also very smart. I could see this but it was really never developed. This led Jacquetta to be a beautiful breeding mule throughout the majority of the book. I'm serious. It follows a formula. The love of her life goes to a battle, she stays with the queen and finds stuff out second hand while being pregnant, she has the baby, love of life comes home, and repeat. 14 times this happens. That's right. That poor woman popped out 14 kids in a time with no pain killers. Yet, she still somehow managed to feel like a secondary character throughout her entire book.
Another pet peeve with this book is the titles and the constant changing of show more them. Note to all potential writers of historical fiction, pick if you want to use a characters title or their name and stick with it. There are way too many similar names and titles as it is during this time. It makes it that much harder to keep track of them when one moment the person is Edmund Beaufort and next referred to as the Duke of Somerset. I know I should be able to keep track of who is who but with so many people it is difficult when it flip flops.
All that said it is still worth a read for lovers of historical fiction. Anyone who has read Phillipa Gregory knows she is not called the Queen of royal fiction for nothing. She truly can give you a great image of what the world was like at the time. The battle scene descriptions were epic in this book. This leads me to believe that the lack of development for Jacquetta was mainly due to a lack of research material about her. Needless to say the battles would have a better amount of recorded history then a woman of the time no matter how impressive she was. It should also be noted some of the other characters were really well developed and kept the story moving. One major one being Queen Margaret who goes from wide eyed little girl to revenge seeking Queen of death. I feel like Phillipa Gregory might have had better luck writing from Queen Margaret's point of view.
All in all I would give this book 2 out of 5 stars. I don't regret reading it but I didn't adore it either. If you aren't a lover of history I would probably skip this one but if you do love history I'd pick it up. It is a quick read and an interesting look into the beginning of the War of the Roses. show less
I need to preface this whole thing by saying if you haven’t read Anna Dressed in Blood go do that now. Seriously, drop everything and go read that book! Also I wouldn’t recommend reading this review before reading the first book. I will try to keep it fairly unspoilery but it is nearly impossible to not give away something from the first book when reviewing the second and final one. So you have been warned.
I LOVE this series. I’m sad it had to end with only two books but maybe it is best to end with a bang then drag it on like certain other series have done. For Girl of Nightmares I give 4 out of 5 stars.
This novel is about Cas’ quest to save Anna from whatever awful place she got stuck in after saving Cas and his friends at the end of the last book. Anna was actually not in much of the book. This was a bit disappointing because I loved Anna. This one did develop the other characters more like Thomas and Carmel as well as focusing on their relationships as a trio with Cas.
The descriptions of ghosts and haunted places was still awesome. The only down side was probably only a downside for someone as crazy nerdy as me. The author moved the suicide forest. The Suicide Forest, or Aokigahara, is a 14 sq mile forest located at the base of Mount Fuji in Japan. It is not located near Glasgow, Scotland. You can not just pick up and move an entire forest because it suites your characters needs. I even wanted to give the benefit of the doubt and googled to see if Scotland had show more anything similar and it does not. Blake would have been better off just creating her own haunted forest with a bunch of ghosts then moving a well known haunted forest to a different country.
That said overall I did enjoy this book, though not as much as I enjoyed the first. Kendare Blake does a great job at creepy descriptions and at developing realistic characters and character relationships. The ghosts descriptions are particularly awesome.
I would recommend this book series for anyone who likes paranormal. It isn’t really scary but it is a great and interesting read and a refreshing book in the haunting/ghost hunter genre. show less
I LOVE this series. I’m sad it had to end with only two books but maybe it is best to end with a bang then drag it on like certain other series have done. For Girl of Nightmares I give 4 out of 5 stars.
This novel is about Cas’ quest to save Anna from whatever awful place she got stuck in after saving Cas and his friends at the end of the last book. Anna was actually not in much of the book. This was a bit disappointing because I loved Anna. This one did develop the other characters more like Thomas and Carmel as well as focusing on their relationships as a trio with Cas.
The descriptions of ghosts and haunted places was still awesome. The only down side was probably only a downside for someone as crazy nerdy as me. The author moved the suicide forest. The Suicide Forest, or Aokigahara, is a 14 sq mile forest located at the base of Mount Fuji in Japan. It is not located near Glasgow, Scotland. You can not just pick up and move an entire forest because it suites your characters needs. I even wanted to give the benefit of the doubt and googled to see if Scotland had show more anything similar and it does not. Blake would have been better off just creating her own haunted forest with a bunch of ghosts then moving a well known haunted forest to a different country.
That said overall I did enjoy this book, though not as much as I enjoyed the first. Kendare Blake does a great job at creepy descriptions and at developing realistic characters and character relationships. The ghosts descriptions are particularly awesome.
I would recommend this book series for anyone who likes paranormal. It isn’t really scary but it is a great and interesting read and a refreshing book in the haunting/ghost hunter genre. show less
I like this book quite a bit. I didn't love it but I am definitely happy I picked it up. I finished it in two days so it is a fairly quick and easy read. Some reviewers say they felt it started slow but I had no issue with it. Though, honestly, that could partly be because of the previous book I read which I will not get into here haha.
So in this book we have the main character, Haven Terra. Not gonna lie little bit of a weird name to me but not as weird as America Singer which is in fact a main character in another book series. I can't complain too much about her name or the other main characters of Lance, Dante, Aurelia, and Lucian. In fact I really though the name Lucian fit that character and Aurelia fit well also. That said the names for most of the Outfit members were ridiculous including Raphaella and Calliope which I don't even know how you would say the second one. I think the only male Outfit name we got was Beckett so that was normal I suppose.
Anyhoot, the story itself was good even though there were moments where I just kind of had to suspend all belief or roll my eyes a bit. It is somewhat off that while Haven is described as being a nerd with no interest what so ever in fashion that she can describe in crazy detail outfits and hairstyles. That is one of the pit falls for authors who chose the first person, you want to give the reader a good image of the world and people but that can be challenging to do without going out of the characters personality type show more in some cases. It didn't bother me too much but it was something that I noted in my head as I was reading.
This is also not action filled at all. If you are looking for something with tons of kick-butt angel/demon action that is not this. A lot of it is ease dropping and running around doing chores. It kinda reminds me of Skyrim or Fallout where you are constantly running errands for people but less exciting because she didn't have to fight anyone on the errands. This is really a YA romance above all else but not like Twilight in that the girl can stand on her own. (Don't shoot me down for not liking Twilight and thinking Bella is a nitwit. It is just my opinion so don't take it personal.)
I was pleasantly surprised by the fact that I couldn't figure out who she would ultimately end up with till towards the end of the book. Usually I can pick out the one the main character will go for within the first 1/3 or so of the book but in this case I wasn't sure, which is fairly refreshing.
Sorry this is a fairly short review. Honestly it is hard for me to write reviews when a book doesn't really irritate me or wow me. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes the whole angel/demon thing and wants an easy YA romance read but still likes their main females to have some independent thought. show less
So in this book we have the main character, Haven Terra. Not gonna lie little bit of a weird name to me but not as weird as America Singer which is in fact a main character in another book series. I can't complain too much about her name or the other main characters of Lance, Dante, Aurelia, and Lucian. In fact I really though the name Lucian fit that character and Aurelia fit well also. That said the names for most of the Outfit members were ridiculous including Raphaella and Calliope which I don't even know how you would say the second one. I think the only male Outfit name we got was Beckett so that was normal I suppose.
Anyhoot, the story itself was good even though there were moments where I just kind of had to suspend all belief or roll my eyes a bit. It is somewhat off that while Haven is described as being a nerd with no interest what so ever in fashion that she can describe in crazy detail outfits and hairstyles. That is one of the pit falls for authors who chose the first person, you want to give the reader a good image of the world and people but that can be challenging to do without going out of the characters personality type show more in some cases. It didn't bother me too much but it was something that I noted in my head as I was reading.
This is also not action filled at all. If you are looking for something with tons of kick-butt angel/demon action that is not this. A lot of it is ease dropping and running around doing chores. It kinda reminds me of Skyrim or Fallout where you are constantly running errands for people but less exciting because she didn't have to fight anyone on the errands. This is really a YA romance above all else but not like Twilight in that the girl can stand on her own. (Don't shoot me down for not liking Twilight and thinking Bella is a nitwit. It is just my opinion so don't take it personal.)
I was pleasantly surprised by the fact that I couldn't figure out who she would ultimately end up with till towards the end of the book. Usually I can pick out the one the main character will go for within the first 1/3 or so of the book but in this case I wasn't sure, which is fairly refreshing.
Sorry this is a fairly short review. Honestly it is hard for me to write reviews when a book doesn't really irritate me or wow me. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes the whole angel/demon thing and wants an easy YA romance read but still likes their main females to have some independent thought. show less
I know I am the majority on this but...
This was horrible. Granted I did not manage to finish it but I have no desire to. After getting through the first hundred or so pages I found myself still disliking all the characters except perhaps Shep and occasionally America. I read other reviews on here in the hopes of finding it was worth reading and the characters would reach some amazing transformation. Instead the first review has a quote from the book where Travis breaks into a stalkeresk violent rage over Abby leaving him after sleeping with him. He can one night stand every girl on campus but if a girl ever does it to him it is so justified that he wig out. *rolls eyes*
I hate the idea that I am supposed to be attracted to an overly possessive, playboy, violent, ass because I guess he had a bad childhood so it is ok. Plus we like bad boys. Uhmm no I don't. I don't like books that teach girls this behavior is ok and even attractive. I can't stress enough how disgusting that is for me.
So if you don't like girls who are push overs and men who are violently and stalker possessive I'd avoid this book, if you're into that go for it. I would suggest not making the mistake of buying it like I did and just get it from a library or something first. Ugh.
This was horrible. Granted I did not manage to finish it but I have no desire to. After getting through the first hundred or so pages I found myself still disliking all the characters except perhaps Shep and occasionally America. I read other reviews on here in the hopes of finding it was worth reading and the characters would reach some amazing transformation. Instead the first review has a quote from the book where Travis breaks into a stalkeresk violent rage over Abby leaving him after sleeping with him. He can one night stand every girl on campus but if a girl ever does it to him it is so justified that he wig out. *rolls eyes*
I hate the idea that I am supposed to be attracted to an overly possessive, playboy, violent, ass because I guess he had a bad childhood so it is ok. Plus we like bad boys. Uhmm no I don't. I don't like books that teach girls this behavior is ok and even attractive. I can't stress enough how disgusting that is for me.
So if you don't like girls who are push overs and men who are violently and stalker possessive I'd avoid this book, if you're into that go for it. I would suggest not making the mistake of buying it like I did and just get it from a library or something first. Ugh.
Good news all, it isn't me it was the books! Moloka'i has finally broken the trend and gets a 4 out of 5 stars. That isn't just because I am super hyped for my honeymoon in Kauai either. Though, not gonna lie, I did get stupid excited all 5 times Kauai was mentioned. Yes, sadly it was only mentioned a few times. The star of the show being Moloka'i followed by Honolulu and Maui. I should also put a bit of a disclaimer on this review that my knowledge of Hawaiian history is very very limited so this review is based on the enjoyment of the read more than how historically accurate it was or wasn't. Anyways on to the review.
Moloka'i is an island between Maui and O'ahu that was used to exile quarantine those with leprosy, or as we know it now Hansen's disease. The leper settlement was located in the area of Kalaupapa from 1866 to 1969. The book opens in 1891 on the island of Honolulu where we are introduced to our main character, Rachel, at the age of 6. It is at the age of 7 that Rachel develops Hansen's and is sent to Moloka'i and from there the story really begins.
On Moloka'i we follow Rachel as she grows and learns. We see her find joy in times where it would be all to easy to fall into irreversible despair. We see her meet every challenge that comes her way in a very human and raw way. There is one point where, as an adult, she almost gives up but is saved by a dear friend. That moment I wondered if I would have been able to do the same after I had been through everything show more she had. I feel like that loss she suffered would have pushed me right over the edge no matter what anyone tried to comfort me with.
This book isn't all despair and sadness, though there is a lot of it, there is also plenty of beauty and joy. The description of the island and it's people are simply beautiful. There were times I felt I could hear the waves and smell the ocean breeze. There are people on the island with Rachel who did let the disease and their exile turn them into something rotten much like the disease changed their flesh but there were even more who made the best of the situation. Many who learned to make a new and stronger 'ohana, family, of the people on the island with them. I love when people band together to make something beautiful of something that is so horrendous and unjust.
If I had to sum this book up using one word it would be bittersweet. I can't remember the last book I read that did such a beautiful job of showing the power of the human spirit when faced with heartbreak after heartbreak. If you are looking for a happy and light read go elsewhere but if you are looking for a read full of emotional depth that will make your own heart ache at times pick up this one. show less
Moloka'i is an island between Maui and O'ahu that was used to exile quarantine those with leprosy, or as we know it now Hansen's disease. The leper settlement was located in the area of Kalaupapa from 1866 to 1969. The book opens in 1891 on the island of Honolulu where we are introduced to our main character, Rachel, at the age of 6. It is at the age of 7 that Rachel develops Hansen's and is sent to Moloka'i and from there the story really begins.
On Moloka'i we follow Rachel as she grows and learns. We see her find joy in times where it would be all to easy to fall into irreversible despair. We see her meet every challenge that comes her way in a very human and raw way. There is one point where, as an adult, she almost gives up but is saved by a dear friend. That moment I wondered if I would have been able to do the same after I had been through everything show more she had. I feel like that loss she suffered would have pushed me right over the edge no matter what anyone tried to comfort me with.
This book isn't all despair and sadness, though there is a lot of it, there is also plenty of beauty and joy. The description of the island and it's people are simply beautiful. There were times I felt I could hear the waves and smell the ocean breeze. There are people on the island with Rachel who did let the disease and their exile turn them into something rotten much like the disease changed their flesh but there were even more who made the best of the situation. Many who learned to make a new and stronger 'ohana, family, of the people on the island with them. I love when people band together to make something beautiful of something that is so horrendous and unjust.
If I had to sum this book up using one word it would be bittersweet. I can't remember the last book I read that did such a beautiful job of showing the power of the human spirit when faced with heartbreak after heartbreak. If you are looking for a happy and light read go elsewhere but if you are looking for a read full of emotional depth that will make your own heart ache at times pick up this one. show less
I really enjoyed this story more than I initially thought I would. Usually I either like a fantasy element or historical fiction that takes place in the 1800s at the latest. I tend to get bored with books where the main focus is romance or just everyday life. This book was different.
For one thing the writing is wonderful. The descriptions of the places, people, and food was enough to pull me right into the book. Not only that but Enza and Ciro were both well flushed out characters. Even the more minor characters had dimension. While I did not like Ciro much when he was a teen till he grew up in his early twenties I liked how real he was. Ciro was handsome but not perfect and like I said his character grew through the book which seems rare in male characters for some reason. Enza I loved through the whole thing. She is smart, family-oriented, and strong. She is the type of woman I would be proud to have as a role-model if I ever had a daughter.
I would give this book four stars but I felt it dragged on a bit too long. I feel like it should have stopped around 70% It just kind of lost my interest after that. The writing was still beautiful but it felt a bit forced at that point to me. Almost like trying to combine two books into one or something.
Still all in all a great book and one I am very glad I picked up.
For one thing the writing is wonderful. The descriptions of the places, people, and food was enough to pull me right into the book. Not only that but Enza and Ciro were both well flushed out characters. Even the more minor characters had dimension. While I did not like Ciro much when he was a teen till he grew up in his early twenties I liked how real he was. Ciro was handsome but not perfect and like I said his character grew through the book which seems rare in male characters for some reason. Enza I loved through the whole thing. She is smart, family-oriented, and strong. She is the type of woman I would be proud to have as a role-model if I ever had a daughter.
I would give this book four stars but I felt it dragged on a bit too long. I feel like it should have stopped around 70% It just kind of lost my interest after that. The writing was still beautiful but it felt a bit forced at that point to me. Almost like trying to combine two books into one or something.
Still all in all a great book and one I am very glad I picked up.
This book tells the story of what happened after Cleopatra took her life from her daughters view. It follows Selene, her twin Helios, and their younger brother as they are taken by Octavian to Rome. The story follows Selene as she struggles with the loss of everything she knew and how to keep true to herself in the face of so much change.
This book was wonderful.
I loved Selene. I loved watching her grow into herself throughout the course of this book and find her inner strength despite being torn and scared. I love a character who actually is forced to grow throughout a book and Stephanie Dray did an amazing job with this portrayal of Selene Cleopatra.
I have also always had a love for all things ancient and a fascination with Cleopatra's story. Another strong point for this book is how beautifully the world of ancient times is brought to life. It was detailed without being overdone and I could picture clearly the world they were in.
This book was wonderful.
I loved Selene. I loved watching her grow into herself throughout the course of this book and find her inner strength despite being torn and scared. I love a character who actually is forced to grow throughout a book and Stephanie Dray did an amazing job with this portrayal of Selene Cleopatra.
I have also always had a love for all things ancient and a fascination with Cleopatra's story. Another strong point for this book is how beautifully the world of ancient times is brought to life. It was detailed without being overdone and I could picture clearly the world they were in.
I fell in love with Eloisa James' fairy tale series because I found the heroines witty and loved what strong personalities they were. They were the type of women who stood their ground. This heroine did not seem at all like the previous to me. In fact I found her pretty boring. Other then the letter she rights to Gowan in the beginning I think she is a forgettable character. I usually don't read a lot of romance novels because I find most the characters are the same. Usually Eloisa James' seemed to do different heroines but in this book the heroine seemed like your typical one and it made the book just ok. It was not horrible but it did not meet my hopes either
Serena is set in Appalachia, Virginia in 1929. The main characters are the Pembertons, Serena and Serena's husband who even she just calls Pemberton. In fact I don't even remember if a first name was ever even mentioned for him. Anyways, the Pembertons are logging tycoons. They find the destruction of mass amounts of land not only acceptable but beautiful. Do they not sound very nice? Well I'm not going to delude you, they are not, not even a tiny bit. Serena though is the Queen B. She has better business sense then her husband and all the men who work for them. She is strong willed, no nonsense, smart, and if you give her trouble she will have you killed. In fact much of the conflict of this story is between people trying to preserve land for future generations while the Pembertons want nothing more then to rape the landscape and leave it bare then once there is nothing left Serena is determined to move to Brazil and do the same there.
The story doesn't at any point pretend to be a happy bright tale. The first chapter has Pemberton and Serena getting off a train to be met by the woman Pemberton got pregnant before leaving and marrying Serena. The woman's father is there too with a knife looking for justice. At Serena's prompting Pemberton fights the father and slices open his guts effectively spilling his intestines out in front of the poor pregnant woman Rachel. From there we move on to some brutal animal cruelty. All this made more brutal by the authors ability to show show more not tell. I swear I was there in some of the scenes. I could literally smell the scents of fresh cut wood or animal fur, I could feel the breeze. Ron Rash is that good. Which makes all the brutality of this book that much worse. It is one of those that makes you cringe but you can't put down.
There are some good characters and it isn't all bleak. There were times that I let out a giggle. This is not common for me to giggle aloud at a book so that tells you something also. These moments were mainly found when we had the chapters from the workers point of view. Specifically Snipes and his crew. Snipes who is one of the most colorful, I mean that literally, men I have ever read in literature thinks he is some great scholar and the back and forth between him and his loggers makes some highly amusing moments. It also makes the whole thing feel even more real to see Serena and Pemberton from an outside perspective.
I know I harped on this earlier but the descriptions in this book... wow. The author spent a good portion of his life in Appalachia and it shows. Like I said I felt like I was there. The descriptions were that good. One of the biggest rants you will hear me say about a book I dislike is when a book tells and doesn't show. Not once did I feel like the author was holding my hand and telling me, he was showing and letting my mind paint the scenes.
Now for the few negative things. I think it might have been more realistic to stop a couple chapters earlier. I don't want to go into detail about it because it might give spoilers but I believe most of you will understand what I mean once you read it. I will say this wasn't because I got bored towards the end and felt it dragged on. I just felt with the overall tone of the story it might have been more fitting to end it a bit more open ended if you will. Also I dislike that women in literature seem to always be stuck as either the saint or the ultimate evil. Why can't you be a strong independent woman and be able to stand up for yourself without being a horrible homicidal sociopath?
Considering I only had those two complaints about this book I would recommend it to pretty much anyone. If you are an animal lover like me the parts with animal cruelty will be hard to get through but I believe they were a necessary part of the story to truly develop the Pembertons escalating sociopathy. Also since pretty much all were hunting related at that time it wouldn't have been seen as animal cruelty and to some who hunt now it probably still wouldn't be. Since I am a veg eater and definitely not a hunter those moments were rough for me. The writing truly was some of the most beautiful I have read in a long time. So give it a go. I'm 90% sure you won't regret it ;) show less
The story doesn't at any point pretend to be a happy bright tale. The first chapter has Pemberton and Serena getting off a train to be met by the woman Pemberton got pregnant before leaving and marrying Serena. The woman's father is there too with a knife looking for justice. At Serena's prompting Pemberton fights the father and slices open his guts effectively spilling his intestines out in front of the poor pregnant woman Rachel. From there we move on to some brutal animal cruelty. All this made more brutal by the authors ability to show show more not tell. I swear I was there in some of the scenes. I could literally smell the scents of fresh cut wood or animal fur, I could feel the breeze. Ron Rash is that good. Which makes all the brutality of this book that much worse. It is one of those that makes you cringe but you can't put down.
There are some good characters and it isn't all bleak. There were times that I let out a giggle. This is not common for me to giggle aloud at a book so that tells you something also. These moments were mainly found when we had the chapters from the workers point of view. Specifically Snipes and his crew. Snipes who is one of the most colorful, I mean that literally, men I have ever read in literature thinks he is some great scholar and the back and forth between him and his loggers makes some highly amusing moments. It also makes the whole thing feel even more real to see Serena and Pemberton from an outside perspective.
I know I harped on this earlier but the descriptions in this book... wow. The author spent a good portion of his life in Appalachia and it shows. Like I said I felt like I was there. The descriptions were that good. One of the biggest rants you will hear me say about a book I dislike is when a book tells and doesn't show. Not once did I feel like the author was holding my hand and telling me, he was showing and letting my mind paint the scenes.
Now for the few negative things. I think it might have been more realistic to stop a couple chapters earlier. I don't want to go into detail about it because it might give spoilers but I believe most of you will understand what I mean once you read it. I will say this wasn't because I got bored towards the end and felt it dragged on. I just felt with the overall tone of the story it might have been more fitting to end it a bit more open ended if you will. Also I dislike that women in literature seem to always be stuck as either the saint or the ultimate evil. Why can't you be a strong independent woman and be able to stand up for yourself without being a horrible homicidal sociopath?
Considering I only had those two complaints about this book I would recommend it to pretty much anyone. If you are an animal lover like me the parts with animal cruelty will be hard to get through but I believe they were a necessary part of the story to truly develop the Pembertons escalating sociopathy. Also since pretty much all were hunting related at that time it wouldn't have been seen as animal cruelty and to some who hunt now it probably still wouldn't be. Since I am a veg eater and definitely not a hunter those moments were rough for me. The writing truly was some of the most beautiful I have read in a long time. So give it a go. I'm 90% sure you won't regret it ;) show less
Pretending to be someone you're not is never easy. Pretending to be someone you're not when your life depends on it is even harder and add being in that odd stage of life between child and adult you have the potential for a good story.
Alexa or Alex, as her fellow soldiers know her, is a girl masquerading as a boy. She is doing this because in her world being an orphan apparently means one of two things. If you are a boy you become a kings soldier. If you are a girl you become essentially a breeding mule for the kings private guard. No wonder she decided to be a boy.
Alexa is good with a sword, really good, suspend your belief good. She beats her unbeatable captain right away at a young age. She is immediately put in the dashing but arrogant princes guards. Dashing for sure but is there more to this arrogant prince then meets the eye? What about her dashing fellow guard Rylan? It is difficult being a girl pretending to be a boy when surrounded by men you have crushes on.
So let me start by saying I am probably prejudice or something starting out. Honestly lots have said they expected Mulan type and I see that but my first thought was Alanna from Tamora Pierce's [book:The Song of the Lioness Quartet|492490]. I wonder if Larson read this series also as I could see some points that did remind me of the series. That could just be me though since Tamora Pierce's series is now and forever a serious love of mine. So with that if I hadn't had such high hopes based on reading show more Pierce's series I might have given this book a four. I didn't love it but I definitely didn't hate it.
There is a level of predictability to the book. Also lots of repeats of love feelings from Alexa and she always seems so baffled by them even after the hundredth time. "What is this?? My pulse is quickening? Why what why??" I guess I would have liked it if the action was more action and didn't have any of the sprinkled in suddenly romance. I would have liked someone as sword loving as Alexa to focus on the fighting first and then her love feelings.
Also on the topic of Alexa, she is a bit too amazing. I like characters who have flaws and who aren't super amazing and undefeatable right off the bat. I would have liked to know she worked hard to be the best not that she was just the best immediately. She does have a fear of the forest and snakes but from what I can tell those are her only fears and aside from being mentioned they honestly don't seem to affect her much at all in actuality.
Those were the negatives for me. As a whole I'm not sorry at all that I read this book and I will get the second. I know this is the authors first book and I hope she reads and takes advice from the many reviewers. I think she has potential to be a great author and I will be keeping an eye on new stuff from her. show less
Alexa or Alex, as her fellow soldiers know her, is a girl masquerading as a boy. She is doing this because in her world being an orphan apparently means one of two things. If you are a boy you become a kings soldier. If you are a girl you become essentially a breeding mule for the kings private guard. No wonder she decided to be a boy.
Alexa is good with a sword, really good, suspend your belief good. She beats her unbeatable captain right away at a young age. She is immediately put in the dashing but arrogant princes guards. Dashing for sure but is there more to this arrogant prince then meets the eye? What about her dashing fellow guard Rylan? It is difficult being a girl pretending to be a boy when surrounded by men you have crushes on.
So let me start by saying I am probably prejudice or something starting out. Honestly lots have said they expected Mulan type and I see that but my first thought was Alanna from Tamora Pierce's [book:The Song of the Lioness Quartet|492490]. I wonder if Larson read this series also as I could see some points that did remind me of the series. That could just be me though since Tamora Pierce's series is now and forever a serious love of mine. So with that if I hadn't had such high hopes based on reading show more Pierce's series I might have given this book a four. I didn't love it but I definitely didn't hate it.
There is a level of predictability to the book. Also lots of repeats of love feelings from Alexa and she always seems so baffled by them even after the hundredth time. "What is this?? My pulse is quickening? Why what why??" I guess I would have liked it if the action was more action and didn't have any of the sprinkled in suddenly romance. I would have liked someone as sword loving as Alexa to focus on the fighting first and then her love feelings.
Also on the topic of Alexa, she is a bit too amazing. I like characters who have flaws and who aren't super amazing and undefeatable right off the bat. I would have liked to know she worked hard to be the best not that she was just the best immediately. She does have a fear of the forest and snakes but from what I can tell those are her only fears and aside from being mentioned they honestly don't seem to affect her much at all in actuality.
Those were the negatives for me. As a whole I'm not sorry at all that I read this book and I will get the second. I know this is the authors first book and I hope she reads and takes advice from the many reviewers. I think she has potential to be a great author and I will be keeping an eye on new stuff from her. show less
Summerlong is not a book filled with action, suspense, steamy romance, or even mystery.
I had guessed at the theme of it and true identity of Lioness within the first few chapters. It was confirmed for me before I even got half way and I frightened my cat with my loud declaration of "I knew it!" Personally I adore mythology and one of my favorites was the story of Persephone and Hades, so knowing that Lioness was Persephone on the run just made me more eager to continue reading.
That said this book is a beautifully written work. Beagle truly has a way with words. The only way I can describe it is lyrical. I found myself carried away by the story and the people in it. All the characters felt like real people. Granted there were moments where the dialogue was too lyrical, beautiful writing making people speak as most people wouldn't in life, but it wasn't enough to pull me from the characters or their story.
I also think the length is perfect for the novel. Not only does it make it a nice quick read but if it had been much longer I could see it taking away from the story itself. Some stories are meant to be shorter than others.
All in all I'm very happy I picked up this book and I would recommend it to anyone looking for a read with a focus on real human relationships, faults and all, with a sprinkling of the fantastical.
I had guessed at the theme of it and true identity of Lioness within the first few chapters. It was confirmed for me before I even got half way and I frightened my cat with my loud declaration of "I knew it!" Personally I adore mythology and one of my favorites was the story of Persephone and Hades, so knowing that Lioness was Persephone on the run just made me more eager to continue reading.
That said this book is a beautifully written work. Beagle truly has a way with words. The only way I can describe it is lyrical. I found myself carried away by the story and the people in it. All the characters felt like real people. Granted there were moments where the dialogue was too lyrical, beautiful writing making people speak as most people wouldn't in life, but it wasn't enough to pull me from the characters or their story.
I also think the length is perfect for the novel. Not only does it make it a nice quick read but if it had been much longer I could see it taking away from the story itself. Some stories are meant to be shorter than others.
All in all I'm very happy I picked up this book and I would recommend it to anyone looking for a read with a focus on real human relationships, faults and all, with a sprinkling of the fantastical.
The dangers that face the world can, every one of them, be traced back to science. The salvations that may save the world will, every one of them, be traced back to science. - Isaac Asimov
It is the year 2027 and we are introduced to a world were not having a parasite in your system is considered out of the norm. The world over sanitized itself to the point of making humans basically unable to fight off even minor illness. Then entered SymboGen Coporation with their magic parasite pill. The world is seen through the eyes of Sal Mitchell who was rescued from death after a horrible car accident by one of the parasites being put in her. Due to SymboGen saving her she is now subjected to constant tests, therapy sessions, and general poking and prodding from the company SymboGen. Her world is as normal as can be expected when everyone has parasites and you have no memory before six years ago. Suddenly everything changes though with something called the sleeping illness. This, my friends, is where the story begins.
Well sorta.
So first off let me say that I did enjoy this book and it did keep my turning the pages. That said, this is not a zombie book in my eyes. If you are looking for a deliciously gory eat your brains zombie book this is not it folks. In fact not much happened even in the form of violent action from the sleeping illness till I think over half way and then it was sporadic scenes till near the end.
With that out of the way, the characters are good. While Sal did show more seem a bit unrealistic at times, I didn't mind so much. After all there isn't really a standard for someone who is in her situation,a parasite in a human shell. She even was cute in much of her fumbling newness. In the beginning it seemed the author was trying to hard for the cute but later she just kind of let it develop in its own way and that worked.
The concept as a whole was well executed and, to me at least, very believable. I could actually see a big pharmaceutical company developing something like this and that is actually what drew me to the book in the first place. The company was evil but in the way any money hungry corporate entity is evil. The bad guy was not made ridiculous which was refreshing.
My favorite part of the book was Tansy. Oh my gosh did I love her. Maybe that means I have a twisted mind but she is the reason I almost gave the book four stars. Her antics made me laugh and she is such an out there character but since she is not a main character it isn't overwhelming.
All in all this was a good read, if a predictable one. I would have liked a bit more zombie type action to it but I certainly don't regret picking it up and will be picking up the second one in the series. show less
It is the year 2027 and we are introduced to a world were not having a parasite in your system is considered out of the norm. The world over sanitized itself to the point of making humans basically unable to fight off even minor illness. Then entered SymboGen Coporation with their magic parasite pill. The world is seen through the eyes of Sal Mitchell who was rescued from death after a horrible car accident by one of the parasites being put in her. Due to SymboGen saving her she is now subjected to constant tests, therapy sessions, and general poking and prodding from the company SymboGen. Her world is as normal as can be expected when everyone has parasites and you have no memory before six years ago. Suddenly everything changes though with something called the sleeping illness. This, my friends, is where the story begins.
Well sorta.
So first off let me say that I did enjoy this book and it did keep my turning the pages. That said, this is not a zombie book in my eyes. If you are looking for a deliciously gory eat your brains zombie book this is not it folks. In fact not much happened even in the form of violent action from the sleeping illness till I think over half way and then it was sporadic scenes till near the end.
With that out of the way, the characters are good. While Sal did show more seem a bit unrealistic at times, I didn't mind so much. After all there isn't really a standard for someone who is in her situation,
The concept as a whole was well executed and, to me at least, very believable. I could actually see a big pharmaceutical company developing something like this and that is actually what drew me to the book in the first place. The company was evil but in the way any money hungry corporate entity is evil. The bad guy was not made ridiculous which was refreshing.
My favorite part of the book was Tansy. Oh my gosh did I love her. Maybe that means I have a twisted mind but she is the reason I almost gave the book four stars. Her antics made me laugh and she is such an out there character but since she is not a main character it isn't overwhelming.
All in all this was a good read, if a predictable one. I would have liked a bit more zombie type action to it but I certainly don't regret picking it up and will be picking up the second one in the series. show less
Not a horrible book but not amazing either. I just have lost interest in books that involve girls whose entire worlds revolve around a guy or guys and that is the whole moving point of the story. I like strong female leads that hold their own and when there is romance it is not the thing that defines there lives it is something that happens while they are experiencing whatever trail or challenge they are trying to get through/defeat.
Also I got this book because I am fan of the Persephone Hades myth but found that while their were mentions of the myth it wasn't really what I was looking for it. I guess I was hoping for a fiction based on it where the strong and untouchable lord of the underworld softens and ends up eventually falling for a strong independent woman who eventually falls for him as well. Though Cole does hint at falling for against his original character it is only hinted at and Cole really isn't nearly as much of a hard souled, cold, demon being to begin with. He is soft to me from the start, like the glittery vampires of Meyer's. Not my cup of tea.
Also I got this book because I am fan of the Persephone Hades myth but found that while their were mentions of the myth it wasn't really what I was looking for it. I guess I was hoping for a fiction based on it where the strong and untouchable lord of the underworld softens and ends up eventually falling for a strong independent woman who eventually falls for him as well. Though Cole does hint at falling for against his original character it is only hinted at and Cole really isn't nearly as much of a hard souled, cold, demon being to begin with. He is soft to me from the start, like the glittery vampires of Meyer's. Not my cup of tea.
Alright all now I am 90% convinced it is me. I have yet another 3 out of 5 book here. Although with this one it wasn't another case of a rushed ending at least.
I don't really know why they called it Portrait of an Unknown Woman since the art aspect of it played precious little role in the book over all. Maybe it is my fault for expecting something similar to Tracy Chevalier's books, one of the best known of those being Girl with a Pearl Earring. It seemed to me that this book was possibly trying to hard to not be a romance because that is what it was. It was a historical romance. There is nothing wrong with that but since it kept trying to be something else the romance parts were lacking and so was everything else.
The book is about Sir Thomas More's foster daughter Meg Gigs and her two loves. It also largely deals with her conflicting feelings about More's fight against heretics.
I question the historical accuracy. I don't know how to go into that without giving away spoilers. I'll just say it goes into a really well known historical mystery and gives an idea of what might have happened playing it off as fact and a fairly large factor in the overall story. Now I don't mind this. It is a really interesting concept but the problem is, again, it isn't played out. It is touched on and than skipped over for other things.
There was one constant theme throughout and that was Sir Thomas More's growing extremism and anti-heretic craziness. This brings me to one of the reasons this show more review is a hard one for me to write. I know some about Sir Thomas More but mainly just in passing with regards to him and King Henry. I don't really know anything about the More's themselves and I was looking forward to learning more. What I read from other reviews would indicate that this is not the book to learn that from. I could see that as being true simply given Meg Gig's character's tendency to change often.
I will say I enjoyed the writing style. The overall flow, word usage, and descriptions all made this book pleasant to read. Honestly without those it probably would have gotten 2 stars instead of 3 but I have to give credit where it is due. show less
I don't really know why they called it Portrait of an Unknown Woman since the art aspect of it played precious little role in the book over all. Maybe it is my fault for expecting something similar to Tracy Chevalier's books, one of the best known of those being Girl with a Pearl Earring. It seemed to me that this book was possibly trying to hard to not be a romance because that is what it was. It was a historical romance. There is nothing wrong with that but since it kept trying to be something else the romance parts were lacking and so was everything else.
The book is about Sir Thomas More's foster daughter Meg Gigs and her two loves. It also largely deals with her conflicting feelings about More's fight against heretics.
I question the historical accuracy. I don't know how to go into that without giving away spoilers. I'll just say it goes into a really well known historical mystery and gives an idea of what might have happened playing it off as fact and a fairly large factor in the overall story. Now I don't mind this. It is a really interesting concept but the problem is, again, it isn't played out. It is touched on and than skipped over for other things.
There was one constant theme throughout and that was Sir Thomas More's growing extremism and anti-heretic craziness. This brings me to one of the reasons this show more review is a hard one for me to write. I know some about Sir Thomas More but mainly just in passing with regards to him and King Henry. I don't really know anything about the More's themselves and I was looking forward to learning more. What I read from other reviews would indicate that this is not the book to learn that from. I could see that as being true simply given Meg Gig's character's tendency to change often.
I will say I enjoyed the writing style. The overall flow, word usage, and descriptions all made this book pleasant to read. Honestly without those it probably would have gotten 2 stars instead of 3 but I have to give credit where it is due. show less
Mistress of the Throne is the story of Jahanara the daughter of Shah Jahan who was appointed empress of India after the death of her mother. It is a story both of love and family turmoil.
I thought this book was pretty good. It was definitely interesting to see what India was like during that time and what royal life was like. It is also clear that Jahanara was fascinating and the love between her mother and father legendary and beautiful.
There were some issues I had with the book. The biggest is probably that I felt a disconnect with the characters. They felt a bit flat. I realize they were real people but it still is required to really develop them in a book so that the reader can feel a connection and feel invested. There were times when a character seemed to jump from one personality to another without any explanation. The king, for example, is at once tolerant of all varied beliefs and people but also a tyrant who kills with little provocation in other circumstances with no real reason given to the reader as to who he really is and why he really does this. A better example lies in her brother Aurengzeb who in the beginning of the book is said to speak out against violence towards women and children but in the later part of the book beats his own wife regularly. This would be alright if the reader had been given some kind of hint that this change happened in him. Instead it just is.
There are a few little things also. One super tiny thing is putting translations of show more words in parenthesis instead of footnotes. It pulls the reader out of the story even if only for a moment, it is like if a director of a movie all of a sudden popped in to explain something then the movie continued. Also I believe the story would have greatly benefited if the author had stayed in third person as he originally planned. Changing it to first person would have worked if he had been prepared to exclude certain things about what was going on that Jahanara wasn't there for or was able to include them smoother. Since he didn't it messed with the flow of the novel and felt like a lot of telling instead of showing. Not that this is impossible but it is very difficult and rarely done well. I do think if it had been third person the flow would have been greatly improved.
As a whole I would say this novel was very well researched. I didn't love it but I didn't hate it either. I did enjoy learning about Jahanara and her parents love. Also about the story behind the amazing Taj Mahal. I would be interested in learning more about this time period now and about these people. I would also be willing try reading another book from this author as I think he has a lot of potential. show less
I thought this book was pretty good. It was definitely interesting to see what India was like during that time and what royal life was like. It is also clear that Jahanara was fascinating and the love between her mother and father legendary and beautiful.
There were some issues I had with the book. The biggest is probably that I felt a disconnect with the characters. They felt a bit flat. I realize they were real people but it still is required to really develop them in a book so that the reader can feel a connection and feel invested. There were times when a character seemed to jump from one personality to another without any explanation. The king, for example, is at once tolerant of all varied beliefs and people but also a tyrant who kills with little provocation in other circumstances with no real reason given to the reader as to who he really is and why he really does this. A better example lies in her brother Aurengzeb who in the beginning of the book is said to speak out against violence towards women and children but in the later part of the book beats his own wife regularly. This would be alright if the reader had been given some kind of hint that this change happened in him. Instead it just is.
There are a few little things also. One super tiny thing is putting translations of show more words in parenthesis instead of footnotes. It pulls the reader out of the story even if only for a moment, it is like if a director of a movie all of a sudden popped in to explain something then the movie continued. Also I believe the story would have greatly benefited if the author had stayed in third person as he originally planned. Changing it to first person would have worked if he had been prepared to exclude certain things about what was going on that Jahanara wasn't there for or was able to include them smoother. Since he didn't it messed with the flow of the novel and felt like a lot of telling instead of showing. Not that this is impossible but it is very difficult and rarely done well. I do think if it had been third person the flow would have been greatly improved.
As a whole I would say this novel was very well researched. I didn't love it but I didn't hate it either. I did enjoy learning about Jahanara and her parents love. Also about the story behind the amazing Taj Mahal. I would be interested in learning more about this time period now and about these people. I would also be willing try reading another book from this author as I think he has a lot of potential. show less
I believe this has made it to my favorite as far as biographies on Joan of Arc go. I loved that it was straight up factual without embellishment. I also loved how primary sources were used describing her. People who were actually with her at some point.
This book allows you to draw your own conclusions about the full truth behind Joan's story by giving you the facts. Was she really divinely guided, was she insane, or was she a driven young woman who used wit and intelligence to carve her place in the world? Either way she is a fascinating woman.
This book allows you to draw your own conclusions about the full truth behind Joan's story by giving you the facts. Was she really divinely guided, was she insane, or was she a driven young woman who used wit and intelligence to carve her place in the world? Either way she is a fascinating woman.
This books overall rating: drumroll please... 2 out of 5 stars. Ok so that would have to be a kind of sad little drumroll. In future reviews I am going to try breaking it up into categories but for this one you are just going to get, what I fondly refer to, as the block of text review. Basically just an overall book rant, I mean review.
I will say that this book had potential. The story had a great backbone and could have really been awesome, especially with the old photos thrown in. There were problems though. One of which being that the main character, Dan, kept referring to the wardens spectacles. These spectacles were, for some reason, a major character trait for the warden. However, in all the photos with the warden is was completely without spectacles. Now some may call this nit-picking but I believe the photos should be reviewed along with the book as a whole entity. If you are going to continually refer to the wardens spectacles you should have had someone photoshop them in. I know they did photo editing on the pictures so why didn't they do that? It just confuses me.
Moving on from the photos to the story itself, it was flat. I don't really know how else to say it. This book is shelved as young adult fiction but it read like juvenile fiction and a rough draft juvenile fiction at that. Which surprised me because I haven't had that rough draft feeling happen as much when authors go through publishing houses. I have to wonder if the publisher even read the book. An show more example is early in the book when Dan is doing a search about the asylum. Now most people who are smart, as Dan is supposed to be, and who have a basic knowledge of how search engines work, would type "Brookline asylum history." Am I right? Not Dan. According to the author to "Narrowing the parameters further, Dan typed in 'Brookline AND history AND asylum.'" Uhmm what? Why? Either Dan is an idiot or the author doesn't totally understand how quotations work.
Now, even putting aside what some would call "nit-picking," this book was flat. There was one point early on where Dan, Abby, and Jordan go into the old offices and see all these photos of people being treated at the asylum including a little girl with stitches on her head. Supposedly they are all freaked out about this but we are told not shown. I got zero creepiness from it. Also the characters didn't act all that creeped out. The whole dialogue was so flat and emotionless it was crazy. Only a chapter or so later the characters are in the cafeteria of the school eating and the author felt the need to tell us about their fight downstairs and how "intense" the whole thing was. I literally went back and reread the incident because I thought I had to have missed something. The only way I can think to describe it is like a movie where the script is so flat and so cliche that even amazing actors couldn't pull it off.
There are also little things that do make a difference in the overall story. An example of that is Dan's adoptive parents. Sometimes he calls them mom and dad other times they are Sandy and Paul. There seems to be no reason for this switch. When it first happened I remember wondering who the heck Sandy and Paul were. Tip for any authors, pick how you want to refer to characters and stick to it. It would have been one thing to have different characters call them Sandy and Paul but Dan should have either stuck with Sandy and Paul or mom and dad. No kid switches back and forth on an hourly basis, or in Dan's case, from one sentence to the next. It would have felt much more natural for him to just call them mom and dad since the author kept telling us he loved them and they were close.
I was really most disappointed because this author has potential. It felt like if she had just taken more time with it and really put more into it this would have been an awesome book. The way it is though it feels like she just typed it out in a week tops and sent it to the publisher who, for some crazy reason, approved it. It had no heart in it. The characters, like the story overall, had some serious potential. I really really would have liked to see The Sculptor developed more. He was a fairly original bad guy but we hardly had any development of his character. He felt like a secondary background character. I would have loved to see more of why he was how he was. What happened to his body that was just left down there? What experiments did the warden do on him? With a little research on the authors part she could have thrown in some really messed up experiments but we never actually find out what the warden did to him. We only get the rundown of general well known treatment like electroshock and lobotomy which was hardly controversial at the time.
In conclusion, do I regret reading this book? No, but only because it was an extremely easy and fast read. Like I said it felt like a rough draft of a juvenile fiction book. Aside from the times I had to stop because the writing got so wonky, "She looked up down him." for example, it was very quick and very easy. I would not recommend this book to anyone though. Move on. Spend your time on something where the author actually put some heart into it. Author if you are reading this, which I doubt but if you are, you really do have some potential. You just need to flush everything out more. Develop your storyline and characters. Focus more on the story and worry about the photos after. show less
I will say that this book had potential. The story had a great backbone and could have really been awesome, especially with the old photos thrown in. There were problems though. One of which being that the main character, Dan, kept referring to the wardens spectacles. These spectacles were, for some reason, a major character trait for the warden. However, in all the photos with the warden is was completely without spectacles. Now some may call this nit-picking but I believe the photos should be reviewed along with the book as a whole entity. If you are going to continually refer to the wardens spectacles you should have had someone photoshop them in. I know they did photo editing on the pictures so why didn't they do that? It just confuses me.
Moving on from the photos to the story itself, it was flat. I don't really know how else to say it. This book is shelved as young adult fiction but it read like juvenile fiction and a rough draft juvenile fiction at that. Which surprised me because I haven't had that rough draft feeling happen as much when authors go through publishing houses. I have to wonder if the publisher even read the book. An show more example is early in the book when Dan is doing a search about the asylum. Now most people who are smart, as Dan is supposed to be, and who have a basic knowledge of how search engines work, would type "Brookline asylum history." Am I right? Not Dan. According to the author to "Narrowing the parameters further, Dan typed in 'Brookline AND history AND asylum.'" Uhmm what? Why? Either Dan is an idiot or the author doesn't totally understand how quotations work.
Now, even putting aside what some would call "nit-picking," this book was flat. There was one point early on where Dan, Abby, and Jordan go into the old offices and see all these photos of people being treated at the asylum including a little girl with stitches on her head. Supposedly they are all freaked out about this but we are told not shown. I got zero creepiness from it. Also the characters didn't act all that creeped out. The whole dialogue was so flat and emotionless it was crazy. Only a chapter or so later the characters are in the cafeteria of the school eating and the author felt the need to tell us about their fight downstairs and how "intense" the whole thing was. I literally went back and reread the incident because I thought I had to have missed something. The only way I can think to describe it is like a movie where the script is so flat and so cliche that even amazing actors couldn't pull it off.
There are also little things that do make a difference in the overall story. An example of that is Dan's adoptive parents. Sometimes he calls them mom and dad other times they are Sandy and Paul. There seems to be no reason for this switch. When it first happened I remember wondering who the heck Sandy and Paul were. Tip for any authors, pick how you want to refer to characters and stick to it. It would have been one thing to have different characters call them Sandy and Paul but Dan should have either stuck with Sandy and Paul or mom and dad. No kid switches back and forth on an hourly basis, or in Dan's case, from one sentence to the next. It would have felt much more natural for him to just call them mom and dad since the author kept telling us he loved them and they were close.
I was really most disappointed because this author has potential. It felt like if she had just taken more time with it and really put more into it this would have been an awesome book. The way it is though it feels like she just typed it out in a week tops and sent it to the publisher who, for some crazy reason, approved it. It had no heart in it. The characters, like the story overall, had some serious potential. I really really would have liked to see The Sculptor developed more. He was a fairly original bad guy but we hardly had any development of his character. He felt like a secondary background character. I would have loved to see more of why he was how he was. What happened to his body that was just left down there? What experiments did the warden do on him? With a little research on the authors part she could have thrown in some really messed up experiments but we never actually find out what the warden did to him. We only get the rundown of general well known treatment like electroshock and lobotomy which was hardly controversial at the time.
In conclusion, do I regret reading this book? No, but only because it was an extremely easy and fast read. Like I said it felt like a rough draft of a juvenile fiction book. Aside from the times I had to stop because the writing got so wonky, "She looked up down him." for example, it was very quick and very easy. I would not recommend this book to anyone though. Move on. Spend your time on something where the author actually put some heart into it. Author if you are reading this, which I doubt but if you are, you really do have some potential. You just need to flush everything out more. Develop your storyline and characters. Focus more on the story and worry about the photos after. show less