Katie
⭐⭐ 2/5 stars
i've owned this book for at least 7 years, and in those 7 years i've read it zero times. until now.
i finally decided to give it a shot, especially since Cinda is a fantasy queen and because i own two more of the books in this series (for some reason).
really boring. i didn't feel any tension. people had powers but you didn't see a lot of it, or it wasn't really described in any detail. just felt very “vague-fantasy.”
giving away the rest of these books, not interested in reading any more of them.
Check out my other reviews at https://everytrickblog.com
2/5 stars
I'm very conflicted about this book.
You should know, it's slow AF to get going. You're going to trudge through contrived teenaged drama, waiting and hoping for that sweet action payoff. It comes, but leaves so swiftly that you're left deeply unsatisfied. Where was the REAL build-up to this? Why did it only occur in the last TWENTY PAGES?????
There are a lot of unexplained creatures/concepts that are referenced so naturally that you wonder if you're only confused because you've missed some prerequisite companion novel. You didn't; it's the book, not you.
The ending...I don't even. The love triangle? The drama with the twin sister? The plan for the crown? Oof, give me a break.
The series could just end here, but even after all that I already ordered the next book. I think that puts this firmly in “guilty pleasure” territory. Because Holly Black DOES do fae well!
It's not bad, just boring at times. And also, a pure virginal MC? LOL.
so. i agree with everyone else that the flipped sides are just a gimmick. alternating the perspectives is probably going to work best for most people even though it's fkn annoying to keep flipping your book.
agree with everyone that there was a good opportunity for a moral dilemma here, but we didn't really see it outside of Gemma's dad (a bit). what we DID see was a LOT OF INSTALOVE. A LOT. holy fk if you're into instalove, this is the perfect book for you.
i don't understand the purpose of a lot that happened like: jake? gemma's dad being angry? dr emily? dr o'donnell?
tbh i prefered Lyra's side by a mile and would rather read a whole book about her. she started out good but once she joined up with Lyra, she just became a swooning teenage girl with ~feelings~. Gemma sucks and i'm SO TIRED of hearing how fat/gross she is. i thought we were past this in YA. ffs.
read on my booklr: https://thirtyfivebooks.tumblr.com/post/190342465286/book-review-nine-rules-to-break-when-romancing-a
wow so i had a really hard time with this one. i enjoy the occasional romance novel, don't get me wrong. i've liked a fair number of them. and i've also read sarah maclean before.
this was just...NOT her best work by FAR. first of all, calpurnia/callie is the whiniest girl ever. we are constantly reminded of her virtue and stellar reputation, but not really shown that? and the entire book, she's trying to ruin it anyway?
the constant miscommunications/misunderstandings between her and gabriel where they would do something sexual, then someone would make a comment/do something to be misinterpreted, and the other person would think ‘tis not meant to be/won't work, i must treat them like shit from now on' was SO EXHAUSTING. i get foreplay, i get cat and mouse games, but DAMN.
and interspersing that was...nothing i cared about. the subplot about a bastard child trying to prove her worth to some snobby assholes was boring. the reputation conflict (?) with callie's brother what's-his-face was boring. the maybe-love-triangle with gabriel's brother what's-his-face-st.-john was boring. i was just either bored or frustrated the entire time.
the ONLY reason this doesn't have one star is because i think part of what i felt was intended by sarah maclean, and for that, her execution was good.
this is book 3/105 of my 2020 booklr challenge! check out the full list here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/5714101?shelf=challenge-booklr-2020
view on my booklr: https://thirtyfivebooks.tumblr.com/post/190205819976/review-ten-arguments-for-deleting-your-social
wow, this book is terrible.
i was recommended this book by a coworker who often advocates for breaking digital's significant grip on our lives, so i knew which way this book would blow before i even read it. and don't get me wrong, i agreed with many of its points. but at times, i could only ask why?
the entire thing read as a long form opinion piece in an online journal, written by a very self-important hipster. each argument (each chapter) was full of weird tangents, random political spin, and humblebrag. it was so cringe that i had to force myself to finish this because i have only allowed myself to abandon one book during this challenge and i didn't want to waste it this early on this dumpster fire.
and remember, i AGREE with most of his points!
who let this dude write a book? did anyone edit this?
check out my booklr: http://thirtyfivebooks.tumblr.com
i'm honestly not sure how to review this, at least succinctly.
i've known of sanderson for a while - i own starters to three of his series - but this is the first work i've sat down and read. he enjoys a pretty positive reputation amongst fantasy fans, which is why i feel...conflicted.
see, this book DRAGGED. at ~640 pages, it is no small meal. i would say that for about 400 (nonconsecutive) pages i was waiting for it to get to a point, to lead somewhere, to hook me. i kept reading because a) i'm stubborn af, b) this is part of my challenge and one of my rules to myself was that i can only abandon one book and i didn't want to waste it on this, and c) i kept hoping it would get better.
and it did get better! i was really into the last 150 pages or so! so much happened (perhaps too much) and was revealed, i told myself “finally, this is what you've been waiting for.”
besides the overall length (jfc man) and the lackluster parts in the middle, i also feel conflicted about the ending. no spoilers but, it seemed extremely convenient and somewhat OP in how it all turned out. i'm also unsure what this means for the second book...there are some loose ends but not....many? hmm.
will i read the second book? honestly...probably. i will at least buy it and try it out, but as long as it's not part of a challenge, i will permit myself to put it down if i feel that's best.
will i read more of sanderson? absolutely.
also...this is my first read book in my booklr challenge!!
i read this after starting the tv series, but before playing any of the games. i was enthralled at first but by the end, i wished it would hurry up and be done. perhaps that is an effect of me reading in bed - i was tired - but i feel as though if i were more engaged then it wouldn't have seemed to drag. probably just my fault....when i read it during the day it was enjoyable.
one thing i really liked was the showing not telling. there were lots of events that were only just implied, not explicitly told, and to me that was masterful. i wish i read more books like this and not “she picked up the brush. she combed her hair. she styled her hair up and looked in the mirror.”
the show is pretty faithful!
will definitely read the next book.
Pretty intellectual (Taleb would hate that I used that word) compared to what I typically read, but full of a lot of interesting insights about behavior that, despite his disdain for psychologists (all academia really), is reminiscent of psychology. Some main points:
There is a great asymmetry in government, as an example, where decisions are made in a vacuum. Those with power risk nothing and thus learn nothing for their mistakes, their risk being transferred to those without power.
Stubborn minorities make rules in a disinterested majority world.
Don't take advice from those who risk nothing by giving it.
Don't believe what people say, believe what they do.
Rational actions are anything that lend themselves to survival.
This is not my usual genre. To be honest, I don't know why I even bought this. But I did.
I struggled with it a LOT. 25-50% through, I was forcing myself to read because I was too stubborn to give up. Something shifted around 65% and I got very caught up in it, though. I think it was probably around where we hear the details about her last boyfriend. It hooked me and didn't let go.
It was a quick read and a good break from, like I said, the usual. One thing I absolutely did not like was the very ending with Ben. Kind of glossed over something big there.
A little too much “I'm using you”/”How could you?” “I love him”/”He's awful” and then after all that constant through the story, it's resolved rather quickly. Also, her ruination? How would a woman as prim and proper as we're told have allowed that to happen when they were alone?? He wasn't going to force it!
