Mollee
I liked the idea of this book, but put into practice it was just okay for me. I think that I much prefer slow burn romances, and I enjoy watching the couple fall for each other and realize that they like each other which this was not that. It also just wasn't memorable to me. It's been less than 2 weeks and I already don't even remember the ending.
This book was okay. I loved the autism rep and the fact that it was own voices was AMAZING. However, some of the writing really took me out of the story. I struggled to root for the characters and found myself getting kind of annoyed at them a lot of the time. I think part of it might have been trying to go into this right off The Hating Game because I was wanting another romance that made me feel the way that book did and The Kiss Quotient just didn't measure up.
I listened to this in an audiobook and let me tell you that is the WAY to go. The physical copy was hard to get into because of the formatting so the audiobook was SOOO good. This book was really sad and such an interesting concept though. I appreciate what it did, the style, and the thought behind it. However, it lacked the spark I needed for it to be a 5 star read for me.
I absolutely adored this book. It was heart breaking and positively gut wrenching. But it was phenomenally written. I could not get enough of this book. All I wanted to do was keep reading. The content matter was really tough, it was hard to read at times but Tiffany D Jackson handled it all so well. I felt the pain from this book in my soul, and I loved every minute of that pain.
I was kind of disappointed with this book. I enjoyed Final Girls a lot, but this one just didn't hit the same.
I saw every thing coming! Okay maybe not the finale but it still didn't shock me. I never found myself on the edge of my seat and my heartbeat never increased, which is something I like in a thriller.
Lock Every Door just felt very lack luster and predictable. I had guessed who the bad guy was from the beginning. There was one scene that I really liked and felt kind of scared during, but overall this book just didn't do it for me.
I don't know what to think, the first part was actually really boring. But then it picked up and my heart racing but I was so confused. There were so many pieces that didn't feel like they were leading to anything. And I didn't understand the ending at all until I read other people's reviews. I think this book went over my head a little and I didn't appreciate it as much as I wish I would have. I know you're supposed to reread it or something? So maybe I'll try that and I'll get it more, but also who has the time?
I think this is a good book for people who may be dealing with finding themselves in a potential situation where these decisions need to be made. As a medical professional though I knew a lot of what was already in this book so I didn't feel like it was helpful for me. However I will be passing. It a long to my mother to read for my grandma.
I have no idea what I want to rate this book. It was a lot. It was really long and slow building but knowing it's going to be a series I feel like it has potential. I think my four star rating is carried by the last 30% of the book. The ending really kept me engaged and I didn't see any of it coming. The twists and turns were amazing, it was just the getting there that was hard for me to get through. I understand the DNFs because I almost did too, but it was worth it in the end. There were a lot of interesting moments that kept me engaged it just felt like it took forever to get there. I think Ninth House is a really complicated book with a really intense story that just keeps winding itself deeper and deeper building the world and the mystery in a way that's dark and mysterious. I appreciate what Leigh Bardugo has done here but I'm still not entirely sure my feelings about it as a whole? I'm basically just super confused. I think I liked it, but I'm not sure how much?
I flew through this book. It was a really easy read and I found myself constantly wanting to know what happened next. That being said, I guessed the mIn plot twist pretty early on. It was still a really interesting and heart pounding story though. And I didn't expect the ending to take the turns it did and I'm so angry about it in a good way. I love an unreliable narrator, I think it really adds to the story when we don't know if we can trust what we're being told but holy shit. Like seriously I'm not sure if I can get myself to come to terms over what happened, and what never is going to happen. It's not the best thriller I've ever read but in terms of YA thrillers I was pretty impressed. It was an interesting read with good pacing that took multiple twists and turns throughout.
I wanted to like this book more than I did. I really enjoyed My Lady Jane so I had high hopes for this one and it just fell flat. It took me over 150 pages just to decide I wasn't going to DNF it. So many things happened but the majority of those things felt glossed over and like they were handled much too quickly. The romance was adorable. I loved every minute of it (you know the one). There were some funny bits, and some clever references as well as some random off the wall references that made zero sense. I called the bad guy being the bad guy, no surprise or twist there, I have a lot of notes in the margins screaming “he's bad!!! Don't trust him!!” But there was still a couple things I didn't see coming which helped it to be a more enjoyable read. All in all it was a let down compared to the first one but it was an okay read.
I really liked this book! I was a bit unsure at first because the dual (sometimes three) perspectives were confusing. They didn't get any less confusing. Sometimes I'd be reading and forget whose head we were in and that's why I only gave it 4/5 stars instead of 5/5. But overall I really enjoyed the plot, the pacing, the characters, the romance. Yumeko is so cute and innocent in the outside world. And Tatsumi is the brooding antihero we love in a story. I also didn't really expect to like Okame as much I did either. Surprises abound! I am here for this story and I put a hold on the other two books as soon as I finished the first one. I wish I had them in physical copy but I'm so excited to keep reading I'm going to start them right away.
I'm so confused. I literally spent like 10 minutes trying to make sure this was actually the first issue because it starts in the middle of a bunch of action with absolutely no explanation whatsoever? And then it's all over the place, jumpy, confusing, doesn't make any sense. Does not seem like a first volume. Does not seem like a complete story. I wanted to like this but I'm just left scratching my head instead.
I really liked this book. I flew through it, it was easy to read and the plot kept me wanting more. With every turn of the page I couldn't wait to find out what happened next. I usually don't like “spy” stories, but this one had me on the edge of my seat the entire time. My heart constantly beating faster along with Dani's, afraid she's get caught. The one thing I didn't like was the romance. I didn't feel the chemistry, I felt it was unnecessary. Even with the ending taking place the way it did I still felt that the romance wasn't needed. I believe I've gotten extremely picky about my romances and what ones I like lately, and maybe that's why I didn't like this one? But to me it felt forced and unnatural. More so a “love” born of necessity rather than actual love. It didn't feel like real love to me, but given that the romance wasn't the forefront of the storyline it didn't take away enough that it spoiled the book overall for me. I want to know more about this world, but given the way the sequel is told, and the synopsis I feel like it's going to have more romance to it so I'm not sure if I'll like it as much as this one.
This book had promise. I liked the concept, however it fell flat for me. Very few things actually happened throughout the book, and when they did it felt like they were rushed. Most of this book took place with our main character sitting around being bored, missing her family, and trying to find things to occupy her time. This boredom definitely translated to my own feelings. Another thing, A Thousand Nights is a fantasy, so you expect a battle scene. What I didn't expect was that the battle scene would take place 90% of the way through, and only last ONE CHAPTER. The big fantasy battle scene lasted ONE CHAPTER. Talk about disappointment and feeling rushed. It didn't even feel like a battle, and was extremely anticlimactic. The premise was great, but the execution was definitely lacking and came across as rather rushed and boring.
This book was a lot shorter than what I'm used to reading so I read it in one sitting. I felt thrown into a story that was not set up at all, with no story building. And then things moved both really fast and really slow at the same time. The synopsis talks about how Fiona gets “lured into the dark side” which didn't even happen until page 80 out of 105 pages. And things started to spiral and feel rushed once we got there. Also apparently going to three parties makes you a party girl who is “in the wrong crowd”. The “twist” was brought up and talked through in about 5 pages and felt brushes to the side; it didn't get unpacked at all. That's not even to mention the problems I had with the way this book handled sexual assault. This book felt like nothing but victim blaming, until the reveal that she lied??? Don't we have enough damaging narratives of people thinking that sexual assault victims are liars, and that they won't be believed? We don't need media out there encouraging that belief and reinforcing it. I just had so many problems with the way such a sensitive subject matter was handled and joked about. As well as the pacing issues. And I felt like the synopsis was kind of misleading. A good premise that really felt like it missed the mark for me.
Edit: I totally forgot about the bomb threat plot that lasted for about three pages and was then casually mentioned as nick names for the girls, but nothing really came from it? What even was the point of that? To throw off the heat from Fiona's issues? That was completely unnecessary and was something I felt like needed more unpacking than happened. This book had so many intense and sensitive topics that just didn't have the time to be able to fully be discussed in the duration of the book. It was ridiculous. SHOCK FACTOR... and forget about it five pages later.
It took me ages to get through this. And I didn't even like it. I should have just DNF'd it honestly. I hated Leah and how shitty she was most of the time. I hated the way Nick was treated/the way his character was changed. I felt like Leah's romance was forced, it didn't feel natural to me. I felt no chemistry between them. The only thing I liked about this book was seeing more Simon and Bram who are adorable. This book was definitely a miss for me and it felt more like a fan fiction in my opinion. So much disappointment.
4/5 Stars
Full review on my blog: https://literarymermaid.wordpress.com/2018/05/10/spoilery-review-people-like-us-by-dana-mele/
I loved this book so much. It was such a fun and wild ride, I could not put it down. I read the majority of it in less than 24 hours. I thoroughly enjoyed this entire ride. Our unreliable narrator, our unreliable friendships. All the twists and turns throughout were really really good. The only thing that fell flat for me was the ending honestly. I felt like the big reveal at the end was the least shocking of all the other mini reveals throughout. I definitely could have guessed who the culprit was, however I was led astray a few different times, and I never would have guessed the reasoning behind why the murderer did it. That part threw me for a loop. I also was confused by Kay's ending after the reveal. Unsure of what actually happened there, but I guess that might have been the point? Have the reader draw their own conclusions?
All in all I loved People Like Us, it was a fun, fast read that kept me guessing despite a lot of “textbook” mystery plot lines. If you're looking for an easy thriller that won't leave you completely heart broken and asking “what did I just read?” I would definitely recommend People Like Us.
4.5/5 Stars.
I can't believe this series is over. So bittersweet. My heart hurts that I won't get a new Illuminae files installment, but the ride has been so much fun. I cried. More than once. My heart was shred. I was shook.
I fell so in love with all of these characters. Isaac Grant is honestly such a gem and I adore that man. Papa Grant <3 I felt like the ending was a bit rushed, and that the war ended rather abruptly. However, I still loved the series and this was a satisfying ending for me. The friendship between the core group was such goals, and I loved how they created their own little family in the aftermath of losing so many that they loved.
Obsidio was an emotional roller coast and I loved every minute of it.
2.5/5 stars. FULL REVIEW ON MY BLOG https://literarymermaid.wordpress.com
I found the premise of this book to be really interesting, and different from anything I'd ever heard of before. The actual writing fell a little bit flat for me though. It wasn't a bad book by any means, I just think it could have been better. I didn't really get attached to any of the characters which made it more difficult for me enjoy the book. The fact that it took place following the everyday kids that aren't a part of the “hero” stories like SO many books are about was an interesting concept, and Ness was very good at the satirical moments that led each of the chapters, which made them pretty funny. The rest of the chapters, the parts the book was REALLY supposed to be about felt like they were trying too hard. I didn't really mesh well with Ness's writing this time, and wish I would have liked this book more than I did. So this book wasn't really for me, but I understand why people might love it. I can see the appeal. It just didn't hit me the way I wanted it to.