Jolin
This book if definitely not a favorite for me. The amount of exposition was exhausting. It would also veer toward gruesome at unexpected times. If the intent was shock value, I found the gratuitous violence more irritating than anything, it ripped me out of the story.
I almost lemmed it, but keep reading in case the end payoff made it worth while. it did not. I didn't find any satisfaction there either.
Wish I could rate this 1 1/2 stars.
I had a great time reading this. Now let me preface that by saying I have no idea how much my opinion was skewed by nostalgia. The original Last Vampire series (compiled into Thirst No. 1 & 2) were some of my favorites as teen. This brought me right back to that time and feeling. It was a very easy quick read with some nice (if not totally unpredictable) plot twist. There was quite a bit of good action. This did have a little kitchen sink feel as tons of new elements were thrown in the book (lasers, etc.), but I enjoyed it.
Looking forward to reading No. 4.
Hoping the mystery really pans out.
Things this book has taught me about being a woman, so far:
1. Woman easily form strong fast bonds with other women.
2. Men are not to be trusted, the things they do are to keep woman down. (Even if you are top investigator this applies to anything your boss does that you don't like.)
3. Any man who is not boorish is a love interest, if that doesn't work or you are not interested see #2.
4. When ever you are alone try and cry a little.
....
Nope didn't get better and the mystery didnt pull it through. Figured out who done it at about 50% through.
I flipped a lot between 2 and 3 stars. I really enjoyed the story, but was increasingly irritated by how it was told.
I didn't read this back to bank with the 1st book, so I had to very a feel for the characters again, which is normal. The random switching off characters made this difficult. I felt like a detective for the first half of the book just figuring out who was narrating a specific piece. This was made even worse by the way the author suddenly switched between the characters present and a story from their past. The book took a lot more energy to process then it should have.
Saying all that why did I give it 3 stars? I still want read the next book and see how it ends. As annoying as the writing was at times, the characters still pulled me in. I care how their story ends.
I struggled between a 2 and 3 stars for this book. The world building and magic were interesting, but most of the people seemed to be stereotypes, Geraden's brothers for example. I was also disappointed that the fairy tale language from the very beginning of the first book seemed to be ignored and not built upon. I would say this is a firm 2.5 stars for me.
I really enjoyed the feel the prologue gave to the whole book. Several of the characters were week and frustrating, but the teased curse in the prologue made it excusable.
This was a book club book and I didn't do my due diligence to realize before the last 20 pages this was a duology, which gave out a very sudden and unsatisfying ending.
After I read the 2nd book I may come back a chance my star rating. Up if it wraps up many of the mysteries the 1st book has me invested in our down if it doesn't pay off I the end. Stay tuned...
Final verdict: Not everything paid off as much as I would have liked, but still comfortable leaving this at 3 stars.
This book was a little rough around the edges, but it was fun!
The pacing was a little strange moving from fast to slow unexpectedly (something which Briggs handles very well in her later books).
It was a neat world to visit. The magic systems were intriguing. Aralorn was the type of character I enjoy reading. She preferred swordplay to needle work, but she was still emotionally complex. she could kick ass when needed and cry when it all went wrong.
I really enjoyed this book.
It was definitely a teen book with teeny-bopper romance with possibly overpowered kids. That didn't stop it from being a really fun and thrilling. I greatly enjoyed this as an adult, but the 16 year old me would have read it all in one sitting and then re-read it at least once more.
Thank you again Penguin Books at SDCC.
This started a little slow and procedural for me, but picked up amazingly.
Pro Tip - read the glossary in the back at the beginning if you are not totally familiar with British slang and police terms.
This starts out as a gritty and dark police procedural, but after about 70 pages takes a supernatural turn. The horrors in the book are strange and some how work into your psyche.
I during the last 150 pages I couldn't put the book down.
I almost feel bad that I didn't like this book much. I actually liked the story and the characters, but the writing style prevented me from becoming attached.
GRRM skips between a lot of people in his books, but each segment gives you enough time and emotion to be attached to the character. With this book I would find myself just starting to get to know a character and “bam” it shifted to somewhere else, which prevented me from forming a strong attachment with anyone. This was made a little worse by the fact that it took me a couple paragraph sometimes to realize that I was reading about a character because they were being called by a different name.
I felt like I was forcing myself to read through the book. It would have been better even if I disliked the characters, but I just didn't feel anything about them...
Summary: I would recommend giving it a shot. If the writing style appeals to you it is a good story, if not move on.
