Dina
Excellent idea and a nice mystery twist. However, it would have worked so much better if there had been time to get to know and care about the characters. They are pretty blank, all of them (unless you count cliché bully as character development) and so their fates were tragic but not really for who they were, rather how these things would have been tragic for anyone. Like when a stranger has an accident and you feel bad about it, you may even cry, but it's not someone you knew or even loved.
But this was easily one of the quickest reads ever. Very page-turney!
I hope we'll get more character time in the second book so I can learn to like them properly. And then let's not have anything this bad happen to them again, okay?
Wow, this was quite a ride - or I should better say walk.
Other reviews said that this was a quieter book, one more focused on the main character's growth, her finding herself and her place in the world, and while that's certainly true, there was also a fair amount of action.
This was my first Rachel Hartman book but I will definitely read the Seraphina duology now, even if I kind of spoiled some things for myself. Tess of the Road is, without a doubt, a masterpiece of YA fantasy and I am so glad enough people recommended it for me to pick it up and see for myself.
DNF
That's it. I'm giving up. No matter how long I wait or how much I try to find something to interest me in this book, it's not helping. Just the thought of continuing this book makes me feel bad. It's like work, not fun. I did read almost 60% and at this point, that's all I'm willing to give.
If I can muster up the energy, I'll write a review of what I have read on my blog. But don't count on it.
This started really well but (1) got worse and worse in terms of plot and world building and (2) made no sense whatsoever.
I have never read such bad world building and a book which throws in so many things that don't go together, don't fit, don't make sense. I really liked how it started but it felt like the author didn't want to write anymore at the halfway point and just gave up.
What a waste of reading time...
This was alright.
It is NOT what's promised by the cover synopsis. There is no battle to the death between three sisters, there are no terrible moral decisions between family and survival. No no, this novel is entirely about the PREPARATIONS for that. As long as you know that going in, it is not a bad book.
Sure, the focus is mostly on the numerous romances and love triangles/squares/whatevers that spring up like mushrooms, but underneath all that, there are three very intriguing sisters living in three different but no less intriguing surroundings.
More focus on the side characters wouldn't have hurt. To me, most of them were just random names that randomly say stuff. Only the protagonists and their lovers had any personality. And of course the scheming people in the background, but they also kind of blur into the same person.
So yeah, it's a flawed book, it's not what marketing says it is but it has potential. And after this, the second book is definitely going to be that royal Battle Royale we were all kind of hoping for.
Full review hiding under this link
As someone who doesn't usually read poetry, I must say I really adored this!
Not every poem or song was up my alley, but the ones I liked - I fell in love with them. The Bluebeard tale has such an amazing twist, The Sea-King poem at the very end was probably my favorite because it is quirky and romantic and true and so full of pretty images.
I also met the Flabberghast again - one of the coolest characters in Cooney's collection Bone Swans (go check that one out, it blew my mind).
So yeah, this is a little book filled with poems and songs, all dedicated to Cooney's friends. I'm not surprised to find many familiar names among them - they all happen to be authors I equally love.
Less funny this time, more terrifying. But the tons of absurd action (fighting the Easter Bunny, anyone?) and the tension between characters make this another great instalment in the Sin du Jour series.
These novellas are perfect to get you out of reading slumps, to lift up your spirits on a bad day, or just for any moment when you want to laugh about how all sorts of monsters are secretly living among us.
Very disappointing.
Weird plot jumps, another change in artist (although I do like the art and coloring, it's really annoying to have the characters look different with every collection), and none of the humor and charm from the first volume.
The story itself felt as contrived and forced as it was boring. If the next collection is this bad, that's it for me and the Rat Queens. I'll always have Sass & Sorcery, I guess...
The story itself was strangely told, with many bits missing or at least appearing to be missing. There is no beginning, for starters, there are comparatively long scenes of Sarah wandering the corridors of the house, whereas the fighting scenes were cut out. It felt that scenes didn't flow into each other but were put together without trying to tell a coherent story.
So, story-wise the pacing was completely off and the thrill was taken out by the way-too-quick an unoriginal resolution.
But Abigail Larson's art is soooo stunning, I would have bought this even without a story. Her drawings of the things that go bump in the night are beautiful, her rendition of the well-dressed man just perfect. And I loved Thomas to bits.
So I'd give the story 2 stars (barely) and the art a clear 5 stars. I may leaf through this again on Halloween, if only to stare at the lovely pictures.