Natália
This final installment was everything I was hoping and more! I just loved it! Juliette has grown so much from that scared, crazy girl from Shatter Me to this amazing, badass warrior! I was so proud of everything she accomplished in this book, for her to realize her own strength with the support of her friends and the one person who believed in her all along: Aaron Warner. It was beautiful to watch their relationship blossom, for Aaron to open up and show his true self and for Juliette to stop being afraid of her feelings and realize that she was strong all along and with Warner by her side she could accomplish anything.
I was shocked by Adam, I never thought I could actually despise him as much as I did in this book. What happened to sweet Adam from Shatter Me? But I guess war changes everyone. I'm glad Juliette realized that he was only weighting her down and that he loved only the idea of her, the sweet, shy girl from the asylum and his childhood, a girl that needs protection from the world and that is so fragile that she can actually break. It was clear what he thought of her since Fracture Me and their relationship has been crumbling since Unravel Me.
BUT, I did love that Warner and Adam were trying to reconcile, to know each other as brothers. I wished there were scenes of the two of them, along with James. That would be amazing to read, especially some Warner-James interaction, the only one we had on the book was interesting and so funny! I think more of it could have been added to the book, it would be a treat.
AND KENJI! I loved his character since the first book and he grew on me even more. I just love him and how his friendship with Juliette developed. Also, he's a professional fanboy and the captain of the Warnette ship, so you gotta love Kenji. I DIED LAUGHING AT THE “LADY BITS” CONVERSATION IN THE ROOF. Priceless.
I only felt that the “big fight” part was a little bit rushed, everything ended pretty quickly and we didn't get a follow up on what was going to happen after that big fight, how Juliette would manage commanding Sector 45 and the entire country and that's something I would like very much to see. But I don't think that damaged the story in any way and I kinda liked where it ended, even though I would prefer to read more about the aftermath of Anderson's death.
Anyway, I'm sad to let this series go. I finished the 3 books and 2 novellas in a week because I was so addicted! I loved every second of it and really got attached to the characters. I will definitely be revisiting it from time to time!
This book made me dislike Adam a little. I was annoyed at him since Unravel Me, with all his drama, but this book made me honestly dislike him. I mean, I can understand some of the things that goes through his head, but he's a major asshole and I don't understand how I even liked him in the first place.
First of all, it's clear as day that he's not the one for Juliette. He doesn't love her, not really. I mean, he cares for her and even loves her to some degree, I guess, but she's not his priority in any way. He thinks she's weak and fragile, and instead of encouraging her to be stronger, he wants to put her away where he thinks she's safe because he doesn't think she's capable of handling things. Which means he doesn't believe in her.
It's also clear that his main concern is and always will be James. I get that he is his little brother, the only family (that he considers family, because he sure as hell doesn't see Warner or Anderson as part of his family) that he has left and I would be beside myself if my little sister would be put in danger like James in this book. I can relate to that. And I agree that in his mind, Juliette was in no immediate danger with Warner, but even after James was with him, safe, he didn't spare a single thought to the supposed “love of his life”. He was in no hurry to go after her and get her back. Which, again, just proves that he's not meant to be with Juliette, he's not what she needs.
I don't know if, because of all that, I was so annoyed that I didn't found this book as entertaining and page-turning as the others, especially comparing to Warner's novella. I dragged a little to finish this, and I was not expecting that. Because of this, I only gave it 4 stars. It was good to set the stage for the last book, though.
I'm hoping that this novella was meant to pave the way for Warnette, because now I'm shipping them even more! And now, to Ignite Me and the end of this amazing series!
This second book of The Ghost and the Goth trilogy, despite not being as good as the first one in my opnion, is a pleasant surprise, just like the entire series. Despite the apparently silly cover, title and description, there is an actual plot in all the books and they deal with themes like life and death, choices, mental illness and alcoolism.
Also, despite the romantic elements, the characters don't depend on the romance to grow, or to move the plot around. Will and Alona, in this book, despite having that amazing chemistry and actually bringing out the good in each other and allowing the other to grow, they have their separate storylines, with their own character development. Alona has to deal with the fact that she was sent back from the light, her feelings for Will and the fact that he may put her aside for this new, mysterious girl that may know things about his father and also the fact that her parents are already moving on. And Will is dealing with the fact that there may be more ghost-talkers, actually an entire society of them, and that his father was a part of them.
Dealing with all this, things get a little bit tense between them and Alona, by accident, does something unspeakable and she has to “live” with the consequences of her actions and that's one of the main reasons for the huge growth of her character in this book. We got a more introspect Alona in this book, but for a good cause.
The only thing missing, for me, was the easy banter and teasing that went with their relationship. Also, I thought the whole “Order” thing was a little bit too quick, and it left a lot of things about Will's father hanging while Stacey Kade could have explored that a little bit more. But a solid 3 stars, and a good book overall. This trilogy keeps surprising me!
This book was everything I hoped for! We got a lot of answers regarding Juliette's, Adam's and even Warner's powers, as well as getting to know more about the life on Earth after The Reestablishment, and the rebel's life and their powers. Also, we got a LOT of action and Juliette discovering herself and stopping being afraid - which was my favorite part!! She's turning into a badass and I can't for the final book to see her unleash her wrath upon Anderson!
The love triangle didn't bothered me as much as I thought it would, mainly because of Warner. I'm growing to love him more and more and was pissed a Juliette for hurting him in chapter 62 (WHAT A CHAPTER BTW). Adam is starting to be a pain in the ass, he started out nice and even likable, but all his drama with Juliette and his family drama with Warner was tiring. He was always moody and grumpy in this book, I seriously wanted to punch him sometimes. I think it's going to be hard to read his novella, as opposed to Warner's, which was addictive.
KENJI IS SO AWESOME, best secondary character by FAR! I'm praying that nothing happens to him in the final book, I don't think I can take it!
Anderson: I'm intrigued by him, how can someone be so cold. He has to be a psychopath, there's no other explanation for his actions and the way he treats his own sons and his wife. I hate him with a passion and I hope Warner or Juliette shoot him in the head.
All in all, amazing book and I'm excited for the final installment of this amazing trilogy.
When I first started this novella, I was a little bit curious to see inside Warner's head, more because I hated him as character so much that I wanted to understand him and his cruelty a little better. BUT, I never expected to actually grow to like him. Because that's what this novella did to me. Not only I could understand him, sympathize with him, I started to like and even root for him.
I have a thing for bad boys who are secretly tortured and good inside. And that's exactly what Warner is. He appears to be though, mean, a psychopat in every sense of the word, but that's just an act for his soldiers and his father. He actually cares about the people he rules over (hence all the visits to the compounds and killing Fletcher for abusing his family), and he's trying his best to be a good leader to his sector. Also, he actually loves Juliette and believes that he can do good by her. I didn't expect him to be so similar to her in many ways, but he is. And that makes everything worse for me, because I really like Adam, but now I not only love Warner as well, but I'm also rooting for something else between him and Juliette, for her to see this other side of him, the true side of him.
All I can say is: I can't wait for Unravel Me!
I've been wanting to read this book ever since I saw it on my local bookstore, but never got around to do it until I heard a lot of people on Tumblr talking wonders about it. Once again, the 2015 Reading Challenge propelled me to pick this up. AND I'M SO GLAD I DID!
I was hooked into this book from the very first page. The writing style (with all the strike-through) made the text more interesting to read and Juliette's POV is very compelling. Also, I love her personality and I can empathize with her. The characters are well written and you start to become invested in them from the get go.
I love Juliette as a protagonist, she's smart and a little bit naive in some aspects, but cunning and brave and strong. Also Kenji is awesome, he's so funny! And he reminds me a little bit of Carswell Throne from The Lunar Chronicles series, and I love Thorne. I want him to be in all the books and to get his story and personality developed.
I did thought the book was little bit short (maybe because I devoured it in a day and a half), and a lot has yet to be explained. I fell like, if translated to a movie, this first installment would cover only half of a movie, because even though a lot of action happens, there's not much, plot wise, happening. We still don't know Warner's motives, nor his past or some of his background, we don't know what Juliette is or where her powers come from and why there's others like her, why Adam and Warner are immune to her touch, what's actually going on with the world and what truly is the Reestablishment. I don't know, I feel like, since it was always planned to be a trilogy and not a single book who evolved, maybe the story is meant to be all chopped up like that. Anyway, this by no means diminish my love for this book and my new addiction to this trilogy. I CAN'T WAIT TO READ THE “DESTROY ME” NOVELLA AND THE SECOND BOOK!
My sister bought me this book as a birthday present when it was released here in Brazil last year, and I was very happy because I liked the Divergent trilogy very much and was excited to know what would happen after the end of Insurgent, but since college was taking up all my free time, I haven't had the chance to read it, so it has been sitting in my desk. I finally picked it up, because it was my first thought for the “own but never read” category in the 2015 Reading Challenge and because the Insurgent movie was coming out this month.
I didn't hated it, but I definitely didn't loved it. I was more disappointed than anything. Because it was the final installment of a very action packed YA trilogy, I was hoping that it would go out with a bang and I would be like “HOLY CRAP THIS WAS AMAZING” and I never felt like this, not once. One of the problems I had was that the explanations for the whole Edith Prior video and Divergents debacle was just lame, in my opinion. Too “Maze Runner” for me. Don't get me wrong, I like the Maze Runner series a lot, but it just don't make any sense inserting the idea in the Divergent universe. IDK, it didn't work for me. Then, the way things worked out in the end was just too easy. “Oh, the Department was just as oppressive as Janine Matthews and Evelyn, so let's reset them because they conveniently have this awesome memory serum! Also, Tris can totally survive the lethal death serum because she's this kickass divergent that can survive any serum without it's cure, and nobody else is like her.” Yeah, right. That sounds a lot more like bad writing for me. Also, it was obvious that Tris would NEVER let her brother sacrifice himself for her. I knew she would take his place the moment she started asking the questions about the explosives and the death serum in the vault. So, the final “plot twist” was in the reader's face the entire time, it was not that much of a surprise, which kinda blew the impact that the ending should have had.
The other MAJOR problem I had with the book: Tobias' POV. God, it was irritating! First of all, he didn't sound like the mature, brave boy we were introduced in the other books. He sounded like a rebellious and insecure teenage girl almost the entire book. His POV could be an extension of Tris' and sometimes I would get confused and wouldn't know which POV it was. Because, even though Tris' chapters were a lot easier to read, she sounded insecure and doubting herself the entire book, instead of the brave, confident girl from before, which is understandable at first, because everything outside the fence is not what she was hoping and her divergence, which she thought made her especial, was actually just something genetic. But it persisted throught the book and it just became annoying. The secondary characters (Christina, Matthew, Caleb and even Peter and Nita) were a lot more interesting and complex! Even Tris' mother, Natalie, with the her secret double life, was more compelling than the whole Tris-Tobias drama.
Not everything was horrible, though. Like I mentioned, the secondary characters made this book bearable and the ending was good, Tobias' POV improved largely after going back to the city and sorting things out with Evelyn and Marcus and after Tris' death, his emotional breakdown, along with Christina's and Uriah's family and his death made my eyes water a bit. And the epilogue was the best part, I think, with Four facing I think the last of his fear because of Tris, to make her fly one more time above her city, with her friends and family. It was kinda perfect, but it could have been THE perfect ending if the rest of the book lived up to it's expectations.
This was actually the perfect conclusion for this trilogy. I WASN'T READY TO SAY GOODBYE THOUGH! I fell in love with this character and this story about a dead cheerleader and a gothic boy who could talk with ghosts. I actually teared up a bit when Will thought Alona was gone for good. Alona, for me, was the highlight of this book. She was AMAZING! Badass, brutaly honest, but also caring and willing to do the right thing. My favorite character in the trilogy, for sure!
The only thing I actually disliked was the fact that the Order went away too wuickly and we never heard of them again. Also, there was nothing concerning Will's father and his secrets. That could have been explored to develop Will's plot a little more. But I loved that he steped up for himself and took control of his gift without needing Alona's more dominating personality.
I will miss this light, fun and sometimes emotional series more than I thought! I'll definetely be revisiting Alona and Will often!
When I first decided that I would read this book, despite having watched the movie already, it was because I wanted to understand all the hype around it. And now that I finished, I can certainly see the appeal and I can understand why so many teenage girls are drawn to it, but it's definitely not my kind of book and I don't think it's half as extraordinary as people say.
First of all, the characters fill almost all of the cliche YA character tropes: a plain, intellectual girl, described as being “not like the other girls”, meets the hot guy, that at first it's the popular type, but it's actually smart and sensitive, and he falls in love with her, despite everything. Except in this case, they both have cancer. So, yeah, kinda lost the appeal there.
It was an easy read, and it was sometimes entertaining and good to pass the time, but all the philosophy and existentialism was annoying. Not my cup of tea.
When I found out that the MTV show “Eye Candy” was based on a book, I immediately put it on my to-read list and since I needed a book to fill the mystery/thriller category on the 2015 Reading Challenge, I figured this was a good book to use. I was expecting an exciting thriller like the tv show counterpart but this falls more into the mystery part. I was a little disappointed at the book at first and even though I started to like it more by the middle of it, it's definitely not what I was hoping for. First of all, book!Lindy was irritating, she was all over the place and she blamed everything on being “too beautiful”. Reading her POV was a pain. After the plot started to move along, I started to like and sympathize with her more, she was afraid,frustrated and a little bit paranoid and that humanized her more. Still, I missed awesome, brave, sassy and badass hacker Lindy from the TV show. And then we have Tommy, which was just a guest appearance on the book. He didn't do anything relevant and wasn't even as involved. Lindy had to figure everything out by herself, basically. Same thing goes for her friends. Anne Marie was a bit more present and served as a support/ source of conflict throught the book, but Luisa was just there and was only mentioned/ made quick appearances. Now for the stalker/killer. Definitely not as scary as I hoped. Not the “I can invade your apartment, I can follow you anywhere, I know who you and all your friends are, I will kill everyone you love if you don't go out with me.” I thought, but more on the lines “I will steal your underwear and leave creepy messages on your answering machine” kind of thing. It just didn't had me eating my nails and trying to figure out who it was. Not even his attempt on hurting one of Lindy's friend was convincing, it seemed like he was just trying to scare her, and not hurt her for real. So yeah. Overall it was a nice and quick read, and entertaining if you don't have anything else to do or is curious to read the source material for the tv show (like me). The only thing I really liked was the ending and the identity of the stalker. I wasn't expecting that AT ALL. Such a good plot twist!
I'm more than pleasant surprised with this series! The story just grows and becomes much more interesting and thrilling in this second installment! Things are much more screwed up for Cassel this time, but he manages to solve things in such a smart (but definetly shocking) manner that by the end of the book your jaw is on the floor. The romance is a little bit more present in this one, though the moral conflict is interwined with it, making it much more interesting to follow and a very good addition to the plot.
There were some surprises (this book was just full of them) and some political subjects that were very well written into the book. What I didn't like, and that's mainly why I gave 4 out 5 stars (even though it was easily a 5 star), was Lila. In “White Cat” she was such an interesting character, a mysterious girl from Cassel's past, but also a mob princess and a badass & cool girl. But in this book she was kinda put aside and I felt that sometimes she was there as plot device for Cassel's struggle and to make things even more complicated for him. We didn't get to see her struggling as much as we should with her turning back to human after spending years as a cat, and how she was fitting in in high school. Everything was kinda spinning around the curse Cassel's mom placed on her at the end of book 1. Also, she was far from the badasss mob royalty she was in the first book. BUT, towards the end, she was reverting back to that and by the final pages, with what happened, I think we can say that the last book will focus a little more on her and I'm excited for that.
Also, poor Cassel! He manage to get away from one problem to end up with a larger one! Things never go totally his way, despite everything he does to make things okay. So, yeah, I'm rooting for him and I'm hoping he gets a happy ending by the end of the trilogy.
And now, to the last one, “Black Heart”!
The first I ever read from Holly Black was her short story on “12 Doctors, 12 Stories” and I liked her writing style and decided to read more of her works. The opportunity came with the reading challenge, since I had yet to find a trilogy to fit the trilogy category and the color in the title category. So, I picked the Curse Workers trilogy. And fell in love with it. Granted, at first it was a little bit weird, but I think it was supposed to be that way, after all, we are figuring everything out along with Cassel, and unlike him, where only now being introduced in this world of magic and monsters.
Cassel is not your typical YA protagonist and I love it. He's witty and sarcastic, but not in a Jace-Wayland-assholic-way. And things don't go his way through the book because of sheer luck or because others help him, but because he's genuinely smart (I think being a con artist helped a little). Also, he tries to do what's right despite growing up in a family who is nothing but criminals. And, after everything he's been through, he's tortured but not to a point where the reader gets annoyed and he doesn't let it dominate his life.
One thing I was absolutely enchanted about this book is the fact that, despite being there, the romance is not the main part of the novel, it doesn't take over the book and it's not used as plot device. That's so rare among YA novels these days that is surprising and refreshing.
The only reason I didn't gave it 5 stars was the ending. I was so pissed off at his brothers that I wished they had a different (more aggressive) end. Also,it didn't end in a cliffhanger to left the readers wanting more. Anyway, amazing book!
I was sorely disappointed in this book. I loved the first one and was excited to read the next installment. But, while The Maze Runner was a page turner and left me breathless from page one, this one was slow paced until half the book. While the first book intruduced the readers to the series universe and at the end answered at least some of the questions, this one not only failed to answer questions left from the previous one but also added more questions. Thomas memories returned far too slowly and it only explained a small part of what was really happening. The most interesting character by far, Theresa, was absent through most of the book but I did loved the addition of Brenda and was able to connect with her. The “plot twist” left me a little bit excited at first, but it was predictable that Theresa wasn't really a traitor. I did liked the final battle scene, it was one of the only salvageble parts of the book. The cliffhanger irritated me, because again, not enough answers and more questions. I'll be reading the next installments and the prequel hoping to understand the whole thing and praying to be satisfied with the series as a whole.
This book is a treat to the fans of the show, written by authors who are clearly fans too. The characterization of the Doctor (in their 11 incarnations), companions and even the villains that we know from the show are spot on and even the new characters are written like they could easily belong on the show. Some of the short stories could be easily transformed into episodes for the TV series and it would be awsome to watch them. Since I bought this edition of the book right after the 50th anniversary, the short story for Capaldi's Doctor, 12th, wasn't in it, so I had to purchase it separatly and I was glad I did, because it was one of my favorites. Classic Who fans will be pleased to read the Classic Doctor's stories and find their old favorites in them, and some great characters from the Classic series that didn't make an appearance in New Who so far, like The Rani.
If you're a fan of Doctor Who, this is a must read.
I don't know if I love it more than Scarlet, but it's definetly my second favorite, if not my favorite. In this one, the plot seems to be reaching it's peak and things are finaly coming towards an end. Also, CRESS IS MY ADORABLE BB, I WANT TO HUG HER FOREVER! Also, ThronexCress is definetly my favorite pairing. I'm definetly intrigued by princess Winter, and can't wait for the next book! Why oh why it's only by the end of the year?
I started this with very low expectations and I'm glad to say I was wrong. I ended up liking this way more than I initially though! Obviously, it's still not a masterpiece, but the well rounded plot, the uncomplicated and fun high-school drama with a paranormal twist got me hooked. I finished this in one day and am already in the middle of the second book, that's how addicted I am!
Also, I'm a sucker for can't stand each other at first but start to fall for each other thrope, I can't help it. And Alona and Will's relationship is super fun to follow, with their banter and sweet moments. I SQUEALED LIKE A IDIOT AFTER THE KISS, I loved it.
I needed this book to catch a break from the 2015 challange and trying to find books for all the remaining categories, the worst ones (because obviously I tackled the ones with the books I was actually ansious to read first). Now I'm refreshed, but I'll still finish this trilogy first before I can get back to the challange, just because I NEED MORE ALONAxWILL MOMENTS!
Even more thrilling than the first one,I'm amazed at how the author adapted the fairytales and molded them into her main plot. The characters are envolving and you become really invested in them throught the series, they are so complex and well written it's impossible not to feel something for them. Scarlet is definetly my favorite so far, she's so fierce! I love Cinder as a protagonist but Scarlet won me over in the first chapter. Can't wait to read Cress and Winter!
“Looks can be deceiving.”
DNF at 20%
I am super disappointed in this book. This is the second Meg Cabot novel I DNF this year because I simply can't take the immature main character. Em is this very cliché smart, unpopular girl, who thinks she is better than the other girls, especially her sister and famous model Nikki Howard because she ‘is smart and cares for education and plays videogames and do nerdy stuff and is not into makeup or celebrities'. She slams other girls because of it and instantly assumes that they are airheads or shallow. Although the pace of the book is very quick and Cabot's writing is always fluid and funny, every time I picked it up I was irked by something. And I know that the whole ‘being Nikki' thing (which was very weird and unrealistic) is going to start Em's character development, but I don't think I can wait till this happens. Maybe if I read this when I was a teen I would have let it slide and would've liked this, but now I'm not into it at all.
Eh, eu já não tenho mais tanto interesse nessa saga - a Mare e esse enrola enrola dela com o Cal me cansa horrores, as coisas não progridem, o POV da Iris é horrível....por incrível que pareça, o POV da Evangeline é a melhor coisa, mas tem certas atitudes dela que me irrita. Tenho 2 meses tentando ler esse livro e a cada vez minha vontade de pegar pra ler é -091691. Então vamos parando por aqui.
Eh, as coisas demoram muito de acontecer no livro, e sinceramente não me conectei muito a nenhum dos personagens. Fiquei um pouco curiosa com o vislumbre do futuro e possível mistério, mas sinceramente, quando volta ao passado, o livro me perde.
It started out as really fun, and I love me some grumpy x sunshine trope, but things got intense and lovey dovey too quickly (barely 24h since they met, they are obsessed with each other and thinking about STAYING FOREVER?), not to mention that Hunter is a bit obsessive, ultra-possessive and slightly creepy at times. And, after the 60% mark, there weren't any issues to be solved within the plot (there wasn't much of a plot to begin with, but oh well) and it was just a sex-scenes fest non-stop. Not for me at all.
“Anyway, it doesn't matter where we go, because I just want to be whenever you are.”
- DNF at 25% -
I really tried to go on with this book, mainly because there were some plotlines I was interested in - the mystery of why she died, why she haunts that spot, among others. There were some paranormal aspects of it I enjoyed, but the pace was really slow and it focused so much on the romance that everything that was interesting about it was pushed aside. And the instalove aspect was just a major ‘no no' for me. I mean, the male protagonist finds out he is ‘dating' a ghost and he's totally ok with it almost immediately. This was not for me, so I won't be continuing with it.
All truths come down to love, do they not? One way or another, they do.
DNF at 22% - actual rating: 2.5 stars
I don't know, I just couldn't care to continue with the book (or the series, for that matter). The entire thing felt a lot like Vampire Academy, and Alex sounded exactly like a more stubborn and childish Rose Hathaway, with the difference that Rose is loyal and fierce and there's the whole Moroi court politics going on and there's the bond with Lissa. The world building of the Vampire Academy series is better and the secondary characters are interesting and have good story lines as well. That doesn't happen here. Although the writing is fluid and is an easy book to read, I felt myself putting it aside more and more and every time I picked it up I felt like I've read that before - so, obviously, everything became too predictable. So, moving on to more interesting books.