Rachel
DNF at 1/2 way mark
I wanted a nice little spooky children's book to set the mood for Halloween. This wasn't it. The first half was an absolute chore and I found myself more interested in reading my credit card privacy statement than continuing this story. The store is full of cliches and the moments that should have been scary were written in such a way that it took all the spook out of the moment.
I think I'll go search for a random goosebumps instead.
This book is for the person who pours hot sauce on all their food without bothering to season the rest of the meal.
The story starts in the midst of a gripping battle. Slicing down this enemy tribe. Death comes face to face with our heroine, when suddenly... her brother that died 5 years earlier appears in the mists and saved her. But no. it's just a dream, or was it? Sounds exciting right? Well, it's all downhill from here.
Rather than giving us substance, character insight, or world building, the author continues the route of shock jock, blinding us with action (aka hot sauce), without focusing on the rest of the meal. Eventually, I gave up trying to care who was who and just envisioned characters from another book going rogue and playing out this storyline. Eventually, even that got boring. Since life is too short to waste on bad books, this is being hung up on the DNF shelf.
Review based on Audiobook, narrated by the Author.
When I saw the description I thought “Oh great, another retelling about the Trojan War. Hooray. Can't we do something new?” Despite that, I needed an audiobook for some cleaning and this one was available from the library. The novel started from the perspective of a woman waking up the day after they bring the famous horse into the city. It them jumps through subsequent women's perspectives such as Clytemnestra, Iphigenia, Persephone, Aris, and more. Each chapter gives the perspective of what one of the women of the Trojan war was, or would have experienced.
All in all, it was a sad, enjoyable read. The fates of the women are terrible. Hearing the stories from their perspective is even harder. Still, it was captivating to hear their different tales. It was a nice way to revisit the tale from a new view.
What this book could have been....
This book had so much going on. Historical fiction. Jumping between two time periods (1940s and 1950), murder mystery. A detective with a mysterious past.
To put it simply, there was WAY too much going on.
1940s follows Christina and her family at their home, Villa Chimera. Recently they unearthed an Etruscan Tomb on their property and the Nazis are are interested in the content inside. There is also a handsome, Nazi who expresses interest in the young 18 year old Christina.
1950s follows what is left of Christina's family as they are being murdered by a Serial Killer. It also follows a detective named Serafina who has burns across her body and a mysterious past from the war.
There are a lot of good ideas in this book that could make for a spellbinding story. The issue is that there are so many storylines and plots that it is hard to become fully invested in them. Often the plot jumps from shocking moment to shocking moment, which is designed to keep the reader flipping the pages. I admit I became engrossed towards the end when I wondered how all of these plotlines would tie up and come together.
This is where my rating when from 4.5 to 3 stars. The ending was rushed and went for 100% shock value. At the start of the book you knew which characters would die, and that is what kept me interested. To see how it happened and why. The issue was, their deaths were just a short sentence or two. If you weren't paying close enough attention, you'd have missed it. Very sloppy. There was more focus on the death of an animal than there was on the human characters you'd been following for a few hundred pages.
The ending had me wishing I didn't waste my time on the book, or that I could have someone re-write the ending to make it even mildly satisfying. As it sits, I give it the “Dexter” treatment, where the ending was so stupid that I pretend the ending that was given doesn't even exist.
3.5 stars
I picked this book up because I loved Katherine Arden's other books, the Winternight Trilogy. I didn't realize this was for a younger audience until I started, so that's my bad.
Jumping into the book. It's a nice spooky little mystery. The kind you want to read as a kid in October for a little bit of spook. The main character comes across a creepy book, visits a farm, and then the creepy factor kicks in.
The book itself did a nice blend between creating a spooky atmosphere and being appropriate for a young audience. There were times it got really spooky, but Katherine did a great job at turning it around to keep kids from getting too scared. Her greatest strength in writing is definitely creating an immersive atmosphere.
Now why only 3.5? A few things, the MC is not very likeable, especially at the beginning of the book. Lashing out, and being overall unpleasant. Yes, she has gone through a traumatic experience, but her attitude and actions towards others is excessive. The other thing that got me was that this book felt old. Not like a classic, but like someone my age trying to write based on their memory of grade school rather than talking with kids currently in that age group. While some actions are similar to kids of every decade, other actions were incredibly out of place. In fact, if you told me this book came out in the mid 90's, I'd believe it.
Overall, it was an enjoyable, quick read. Though I didn't find it nearly as memorable as the Winternight trilogy.
For the most part I enjoyed this book. Put me out of my comfort zone. Made me wonder how many children met similar fates through the years. It was interesting to see her stuck in a sort of limbo while she watched everyone else move on with their lives. It was also interesting to see how each character processed the MC's death. Her father was obsessive. Her mother ran. Her sister shut off emotions. The potential boyfriend. The cop. The murderer. The perspectives were the strength of this novel. Unfortunately, it all fell apart towards the end. Pieces tied up too neatly and the possession is absolutely ridiculous. First of all, the possession itself was unnecessary, but the actions during the possession was far worse. Imaging the girl who was possessed. What would she be feeling? No, because MC trumps all and she needs the closure. The beginning is the strongest part of this book. The rest went on too long. And honestly, though the movie wasn't perfect, I preferred some of the changes they made. Especially the ending.
This book felt like a filler episode of a TV series. Our hero is trapped in a magic box with two of his adversaries. None can remember their real self. Our heroine is off on a rushed side quest to give birth, and our bumbling sidekicks are left to manage yhe kingdom in the hero and heroine's absence.
The true enemy was underdeveloped and forgettable. The mock enemy was somewhat interesting, then has an unnecessary cliche reveal in the epilogue. There are some interesting ideas, but you could remove this book entirely from the series and it wouldn't make a difference.
Ok I see why it's a classic and has so many adaptations. It was fun and ridiculous. Still, I hope that's not what life was really like in that timeperiod, because people being fixated on the smallest thing and gossiping about it forever sounds like hell.
In other words... good entertainment, but hopefully no reflection of real life.
Main character was insufferable and has superiority complex. Just because he was from a different time did not make him smarter or better than the other characters. Still, there were some humorous bits, like trying to travel on a hot day in armor and having the sweat build up inside the suite.
Note: I listened to the version narrated by Nick Offerman. He was the best narrator they could have chosen and make this book more enjoyable. Picture Ron Swanson in Camelot. It was fun.
This was a disappointment. It had some of the same issues I found with Holdstock's other book Ancient Echos. Bland character. Unnecessary love interest. Poor characterization... I expect a bit of confusion in the Mythago series, but this one just lacked the heart of the others. Characters would come and go and I couldn't remember if they were from this book, from a previous book or a new character altogether. Also, a woman searching for her missing husband wouldn't be flirting and falling for another guy like that. Even if she thought her husband was dead, as the book describes near the halfway point.
I was so bored that I ended up skimming the last 1/3 and overall was glad I skimmed instead of wasting any more time. As the book had significant water damage to both ends, it ended up in the trash. Which is probably where the manuscript should have gone before publication.
Leaving at a solid 3. The story itself is creative and imaginative. While the idea of time travel is a bit overdone, I enjoyed how it was used in this book. I liked the idea of them adapting to each others world. Despite this, I was really dissatisfied by the ending. I felt like the first half of the book had good reasoning and logic behind the actions. Then the second half this goes completely out the window. I was bored and unimpressed by the ending. I hated how it became more cliche, and the “clever” twists. Overall it was just too much. While I enjoyed part of the ride, this is not a book I'd consider recommending.
Horrible main character, poor writing, poor storyline, and poor twist of events. When I first read the premise I thought “Sounds interesting and different”. Nope. All just trying to shock you so that it stands out amongst the crowd. Completely unrealistic. Grown men practically worshiping a teenage brat? HA. Keep dreaming.
4/19/20 - Updating my review and lowering another star because I can't get this out of my head for all the wrong reasons.
Spoilers: Seriously! What was the author thinking? That this romance would be cute? The more I think about it, the more I absolutely HATE the brother. Seriously, what a malicious, controlling, and all around terrible character! Chasing away any potential suiters for his step sister because he wanted her that badly? Ruining her chance at being with someone because HE had to have her? Holy shit, what a red flag! Then going on these adventures and helping her with her project for the sole fact of being with her? And ADMITTING IT? Then trying to seduce her in the hotel? Just wrong on SO many levels. Finally the ending, where they're gonna conveniently run off together to live in Singapore? Honey NO! Just no! This stepbrother is dangerous, controlling, and manipulative. Run girl, run! The fact that they grew up together is even more problematic. ALSO if the father and mother knew about this the entire time, then WHY did they allow them to continue having rooms near each other? Because the son promised he wouldn't do anything? Because the daughter/MC was oblivious to the fact? COME ON! Just because he's sooooo handsome does NOT excuse the behavior!
————Original Review ——–
Really liked the overall mystery and blend of Malasyan mythology/folklore. The way everything was connected, including the 5 names. The plot was a bit stuffed and the romance was completely unnecessary. Also, his attitude was very concerning “You have always been mine”. Uhh creepy. No. Watching and wanting her for all those years? And the way he finally plots to make his move? Then confiding that he never carrier about XX that she has been so interested in?? Girl, I don't care how good looking he is, RUN!
Oh what could have been... At first I thought “well, the pacing is a bit strange, but maybe that's because it's an adaptation of a diary and they're trying to fill in the time gaps.” Then there were some convenient scenarios and I thought “Hmm. something is up.” Then at the halfway point, things seemed a little too neat and forgiving. That's when I did some searching. This was a dramatized fiction book based on a real person. What a disappointment. With my eyes open, I saw all the gaps that were hovering just out of sight. Lack of character development, love at first sight, convenient character relationships, holocaust setting for added drama.... And conveniently written for an easy film adaptation. This is just a money grab trying to pinch a few more pennies out of anyone who want to experience the suffering of the holocaust from the comfort of their own home.
tldr: This book is just a typical YA novel, that is trying to use “based on a true story of a holocaust survivor” as a marketing tool to make money.
Book full of really insightful tips/advice. Great use of scenarios and real life examples. Not the most exciting content, but the author did really well.
I would consider this a book that you have on hand and flip through when you have questions, rather than one you sit and read straight through. If you do the latter, it'll be difficult.
My favorite collection yet!
I didn't know all the cartoons/characters being referenced, but that didn't matter. Sholly Finch does a great job summing up who is who and their defining characteristics without bogging down the story. It's easy to follow along and full of great references. My favorite were the little jabs to the old cartoons, and the asides to the reader.
