Candice
This book picks up right where we left off in Arcana Academy. Clara is even more well known and wanted. Kaelis is still scheming for the world and everything is changing. While most of the story still occurs in the academy itself, it’s less focus on academy business and more on how all paths lead to the academy. The Worldkeepers take a much bigger role in this book but we also lose some old friends. If you loved the first book, this one will be a great ride too. It’s all moderately paced and then the last few chapters it goes into high gear. The cliff hanger ending wasn’t quite as dramatic as Arcana Academy, but you’ll still not see it coming.
This book says it’s under 300 pages but it’s a dense, heavy less than 300 page book. The story follows past and present day, Eunha as she navigates being the daughter of a crime family in Hong Kong.
The chapters aren’t a 1:1 present day: flash back cadence. Some chapters follow a section of story before a change. However I will say sometimes it’d be present day and there would still be some flashbacks which was a bit confusing - you’re already doing full flashback chapters. Keep them separated. But I digress. There were never any massive a-ha moments but the story is laid out well and you feel the ebb and flow of Eunha’s life as she figures out how to be her father’s daughter, a wife, a mother and the owner of her own destiny.
I will start by saying I love Shea Ernshaw’s writing. So right out of the gate I know I’m going to at a minimum really enjoy the book.
For this one specifically it starts out as a time bending fantasy - a girl loving on the coast sees a fabled floating island and decides to check it out. She meeting a man. When he ushers her back to her boat to go home after mere hours, turns out on land she’d been gone days. Fast forward, that time greatly shaped her life and when the opportunity to go back to the island (to make sure it wasn’t all a dream) presents itself, Ellie takes it. But now she’s in her 30s. An adult. And the man - he’s the same. Hasn’t really aged at all in all the years Ellie has spent growing up, getting a career, and a fiancee.
Ellie’s return to the island is the bulk of the book. Then we hit like the last 1/4 and time as continued to move forward and unbeknownst to Ellie and Clay, it’s now a post apocalyptic world. So the last of the novel really dives into the post apocalyptic landscape and how they will choose to end their lives together.
Yes there’s romance but not so much that I’d call it a romance forward book. It’s more focused on Ellie’s growth and the feelings she goes through while trying to determine what the “right” path for her life is.
Meh. I really wanted to love this. The general plot, interesting. But the writing felt half done. There were multiple paragraphs or even baby to back sentences saying the exact same thing like editing was still trying to decide which one they liked better.
The romance was very insta love. And the second “I love you” is said - so now we have sex?
It was just a part big let down after absolutely loving For She is Wrath.
The writing of this novel is definitely not Sanderson. So don’t go in expecting it. The magic system and world building however is very much Sanderson. If you’re not a big music nerd this one might not be super enjoyable because there are a lot of references to musical composition, artists and songs.
Overall the plot of the book was interesting. There are shadow world that go down from modern day where each level down represents an older time period all the way down to ancient times. The lower levels are mad because a lot of their history is lost or represented so they want to wage war to rewrite history using, you guessed it, music.
There were many times where the story seemed to drag but had good bursts of action to keep it engaging. Overall it was fine but not exceptional for me.
This is such a cozy, fast paced adventure. Cy, a VALET, is charged with basically my helping Greyson, the son of his inventor (and founder of Ai+) get his life on track. But when they learn that the company is going to be sold by Grayson’s younger sister, the current CEO, things take a turn. Cy and Grayson find themselves on the run from all kinds of characters and someone find themselves in all kinds of trouble.
This book is a caper, a sci-fi romp, a heartfelt story about friends and family, and a refreshingly unique story.
This book is absolutely adorable. Magical vet school. Rival students fighting to be top of their class. And a snarky feline familiar. What’s not to love.
The premise for this book is a breathe of fresh air. It’s magic but not the typical fae/romantasy that’s so prevalent right now. Harrisford’s POV chapters were my favorite. You really got to understand him, him motivations and see his growth. Gwen’s chapters I enjoyed a bit less. She was very “I hate him. He’s so handsome it’s not fair. I hate him” what felt like every 5 pages. It’s just got repetitive and she never really had the same character growth as him.
I’ll definitely be looking forward to the next installment of this series.
When I read Rachel Reiss’ debut novel I was blown away at the fresh and unique story. Seconds to Spare is no different. In a book market where plots often seem to all be a bit familiar, Second to Spare takes readers on a time loop journey. Throughout this trip, Evelyn and Rion grow both as individuals and together. The book not only has the mystery of how to break the loop but looks at topics like accepting death of a loved one as well as your own mortality. While our two main characters are 18, nothing about this reads like it’s YA but it’s still very accessible for readers of all ages.
Really wanted to like this. The premise was great - how we respond and react to fear. However what I read was what I can only assume is a miserable woman's life story with just a sprinkling of actual science. The author is scared, nervous, anxious about everything it seems. Must be a miserable way to live. When she actually gets into the science it's fine but the “I worried about this” and that oh no, lost her mom when she was a grown woman and acts like it was the end of the world, I knew not to expect too much. I think in the old days she would have been referred to as having a weak disposition. She needs some better friends who tell her to suck it up buttercup and not let her continually wallow in a fear of everything all the time.
Premise was good. Editing was awful. Full of spelling and grammar errors (your vs you're, ugh). Half way through I was trying to decide if it was possible for a book to jump the shark - a killer robot thing? Really? It wasn't necessary. It's like that was added to the plot to full pages. The general idea of the book was great but someone should have done a better job as an editor and copy editor.
I received an advance reader version of this book and am so thankful that I did. The book is broken down into 7 steps to move in to finding your divine direction. Each step gives an introductory story and dives in to making small actions to move forward in that vein. Each chapter has a challenge to think about and actually write down things or action items. There's a great mix of classic Craig Groeschel humor and scripture. It breaks everything down in to manageable pieces so that you feel encouraged and capable of making those first steps toward becoming the best you.
Ugh. The only ground breaking thing Robin does in the book is regurgitate every adage, tale of woe and learning, and motivational poster ever made and cram it into a poorly written fable. If I didn't have to read this for work, there's no way I would have finished it. The text is cheesy, has no flow, and doesn't give any life altering or truly inspiring words. Just the same things in a 200 page analogy that could have been easily condensed in to 20 pages.
I'll save you the time - take pride in what you do and do your best. Never stop learning and care for those around you. Ta da. I'll take my best seller status now.
This book was ok. Not great but not bad. The constant jumping between first person memoir of two characters and then to third person narrative of the same two people seemed unnecessary. I understand wanting to give a glimpse in to the psyche of each character but the constant back and forth took away from the story for me. Additionally some of the story, especially in the later half seemed rushed and not well developed.
From a technical aspect the book is great. However, for the side of me that wants a novel to entertain, this was not it. Many chapters had the same enjoyment as the chapter from the Grapes of Wrath about the ants crawling on the turtle. They seemingly added little to the story. Other times the story seemed to drift away from Alan Turning and more to the technology as a whole. Yes, I understand that the reader needs to know what was going on, but the meat of the story sometimes didn't seem to focus on its subject. Overall,I enjoyed it, even if it was a bit long at times.
For those who likened this to Gone Girl. Well done. I had to force myself to finish Gone Girl and can say the same for The Girl on the Train. The ending of Gone Girl was at least a twist, this was more of an “oh, ok. Is the book over now?”.
All I could think while reading this book was: 1) I know people who would act this neurotic and behavior like this is the reason they're not a part of my life. 2) This is why guys think women are insane. And before anyone asks if I even finished the book yes. Yes, I finished the book. And the end (ending of the book) does not justify the means (chapter after chapter of whiny, crazy, drunk and annoying).
If you loved Gone Girl; go for it. For me, this book was only good for wasting time in an airport with no other option available to read.
I may have missed something with this book, but I don't see how it was some amazing love story. It was the story of the desperate guy, like if it were modern times, you would have gotten a restraining order against him.
Poorly edited. Unreadable due to so many typos and poor grammar
No world building. Very confusing