Meagon
A wonderful fairy tale that reads as if your grandfather was telling a story round a campfire. It reminded me very much of C.S. Lewis' Narnia series, or Tolkien's Hobbit. A perfect bedtime read for ANY age. I can't wait to read the sequel and find out what more happens to Irene and Curdie!
It's a cute story of friendship and loyalty. A lovely tale that I read as a child, but wanted to revisit as an adult.
An excellent read! Probably one of if not THE best book on dinosaurs I have ever read. It's written in such a way that anyone could pick it up and read it. You don't need to be obsessed with dinosaurs like I am to understand it. It flows beautifully from the time before the dinosaurs, through their rise to the top, their reign as the dominant creatures on the planet, to their rather violent demise. Absolutely love this! It was a library borrow, but I'll definitely be adding it to my own personal library in the future!
Very reminiscent of the Goosebumps books. I really enjoyed it. Definitely an author I will have to keep in mind for introducing the future kiddos to horror and gothic stories. I loved the cute dynamic between Florence and Johnathan. Lewis is a wonderful hero; I look forward to reading the rest of his series someday.
I just can't anymore. I've trudged through 47% of this and I absolutely refuse to go any further.
First things first, I LOVE chunksters, history, incredibly detailed descriptions (when they actually work towards furthering a story or deepening my understanding of a character/culture), and especially books with multiple POVs. But I HATE this book.
The wild coincidences alone were enough to have me rolling my eyes, but then Kostova expects me to believe that someone would write down every minute detail of what they had for each meal in a letter that's supposed to be explaining why they've disappeared looking for Dracula?!? What are we even doing at this point?
The characters have zero personality, I had to sometimes reread sentences when I realized the author had switched characters POVs. Then there's the quotes within quotes bit. Why these weren't just written normally and somehow labeled at the beginning with a letter date or something, I'll never guess.
An excruciating read that I honestly should have bailed on back at page 100. Why some people sing this books praises is beyond me.
Sanderson has done an absolutely amazing job taking the reigns from the late, great Robert Jordan. I'm pretty sure if the writing stays this good, I'll most certainly finish the series by Christmas.
Many emotional moments in this one. I worried for the safety of some characters more often than previous books.
The last official chapter was absolutely wonderful. Welcome back, boy, I've missed you
This one resonated with me on so many levels. I've struggled with my mixed emotions of the man that was my step-grandfather, the man who abused me the way so many in this book were abused. Alex felt like she was speaking both to me and for me, my own thoughts often articulated on the pages. I will cherish this book for the rest of my life. It has made me feel seen and like I'm not alone. One of the most powerful stories I have ever read. ❤️
I loved this book! I can't wait to start the next one!
Robert Jordan certainly created a masterpiece. I loved the world-building and the character development. It's woven effortlessly into the story, and makes you just want to learn more about the world he's created. The characters are believable and familiar; you could be one of them. The humor is subtle and appreciated. The running joke of Perrin and Rand both wishing they had the others ‘way with girls' is hilarious and endearing. It shows how they're just a couple of country teens being thrown into the most terrifying thing possible, war. Jordan's grasp of how to slow burn romance is also impressive. I love that there's this angsty longing between some of the characters. I can't wait to see how that develops, and hope that more little romances sprout up!
I want to know SO much more about EVERYTHING in this world. What's going to happen to each character?!? Is Rand going to go nuts? Perrin becomes a werewolf? Does Mat stay tainted? Do Lan and Nynaeve get together?!? Is Ba'alzamon really dead, or just injured like Moiraine claims? What the heck is an Aiel?! Does Rand end up with Egwene, Elayne, or Min?
SO many questions, plenty of books to find the answers in!
The beginning is a bit slow but boy that second half of the book flies by! I'm much more used to action-packed sci-fi, so I wasn't expecting something so philosophical. But I loved it. The themes this book touches on are extremely relevant today. There were times I disliked Shevek, but overall I think he's a character that will rattle around comfortably in my brain for a long time. I'm definitely hooked on this author now! ❤️
I don't know if it was my dislike of the writing style, my slight ignorance of Poe's work (I've read some, but this book made me feel as though only hardcore Poe fans could really “get it”), or a mixture of both, but I didn't really like this one.
I can't recommend these books enough! If you love dark fantasy, you'll fall in love with this series. Anne Bishop weaves an amazing epic that explores the fine line between good and evil. Her characters, male and female, are incredibly strong and well written. You care about all of them and can't wait to read the next page to find out whether they make it through or not. At first glance, some might worry that it's about a helpless witch that must rely on strong male characters, but it becomes clear as you get further into it, that the three main male characters rely on her strength just as much as she relies on them. Beautifully erotic at the right moments so that it's not a porn with story sprinkled in; like too many female fantasy authors seem to do nowadays.
I was glad it was over. It read like a mediocre crossover fanfiction. I think I was supposed to sympathize with the characters: vampire, dhampir, half-elf, human, Fay dog, etc. and I couldn't bring myself to really care about a single one. I was hoping this would be an amazing series to get lost in, but I will certainly not be continuing.
Amazing, absolutely the best series ever, and I still have three books left. XD This particular book was the last in the series written solely by Jordan. The remaining three were finished by Brandon Sanderson. I hope the change is seamless. I honestly can't imagine finishing someone else's work, but especially on as huge a scope as WOT. I don't know how Jordan kept everything straight, and he's the one that thought it up in the first place! I'm excited/nervous to see how Sanderson's continuation compares.
A very interesting story. I have a feeling the flow works better in its native language. One of those startlingly accurate “truth is stranger than fiction” sort of tales. I can't imagine living the lives certain people have lived, especially throughout times of war. Poignant, a tiny treasure to keep on my shelves.
If you want to be told when to be scared rather than to actually be scared, this is the King book for you! A sparkly/glowing Buick-that-isn't-a-Buick eating some people (and a few local fauna) “off-screen” doesn't make for a scary read. When you combine that with the reactions of the cops, which were almost comical in their absurdity, it makes the Buick seem less of a threat and more just a gimmick. King is ASTOUNDING at terrifying me, conjuring imagery in my imagination that haunts me for YEARS. None of that was in this. A lot of the time, he falls back on “oh, it's just too terrible for the human brain to conceive of such horrors” in an almost lazy ode to Lovecraft.
Oh, and the filing cabinet...don't even get me started. How long was that thing just rotting in that bag before they pulled it out to do an investigative autopsy?!?
has fit for ten minutes
ahem
Despite the negatives, King's uncanny ability to make ANYTHING “fun” to read pulled me through. I did feel unnecessarily called out by Sandy in his view of Ned “feeling entitled to a story” because that's how I felt through much of this. I think, that really might have been the moral for me. “Let it go. You can't and certainly WON'T always get the answers to everything.” The characters weren't nearly as fleshed out for me as other King characters, but it's also one of the shortest King books I've read, soooo...
In an ironic twist, considering what most people tell Mr. King, I truly liked the ending. I'm happy to know that Ned is safe, that the Buick-not-a-Buick is dying, and that Brian Lippy got his swastika-wearing ass eaten up by “something”.
This gets to stay home on my shelves by JUST a margin, and I truly blame my King bias for that.
I don't know what I could say about this book that hasn't been said before by MANY others. It's truly a deeply immersive story of the struggles of masculine men in this increasingly feminized world. The surprise ending was ruined for me long before I read the book OR watched the movie; and yet the journey there, and the repercussions thereof, were every bit as fascinating. Truly a page turner that alters your perception of what reality is; and where your place is in it.
Unpopular opinion, but I really didn’t like this book. Ish is an absolutely insufferable protagonist and I couldn’t connect with him or any of the other members of The Tribe. Every time I thought something interesting was actually going to happen, it doesn’t or it’s skipped over. Ish’s self-importance and how he looks down on everyone around him drove me insane.
I was THRILLED when a glimmer of conflict came but that was also quickly washed away. The final section was the most interesting to me, but it couldn’t salvage the majority of the trudge through the most boring post apocalyptic story I have ever encountered. And I LOVE the post apocalyptic genre. From The Postman to The Stand, Mad Max to the Fallout franchise, I love it all.
I hated how Ish would think, “Gee, I should really do something about (insert x problem here),” and then proceed to NOT do anything about it. I’d rather read a book about Jack or the black family Ish contemplated turning into slaves than about the narcissist “god”.
The only good thing to come out of this book was that it apparently inspired Stephen King to write one of my all time favorite books ever, The Stand.
I mean wow! I thought I was doing great getting through these books. I was loving every little bit of descriptive writing, world building, multiple character perspectives, etc. I've enjoyed some books more than others, by a tiny margin. Yet nothing could prepare me for Crossroads of Twilight. It felt like the last nine books were all little streams feeding into this vast river that grabbed me in book ten and dragged me on in a glorious whirlwind of storytelling. I read this book in eleven days!!! That is my absolute shortest read time for any of the books in this series, I usually average a couple of months... I cannot WAIT to get started on Knife of Dreams. cracks open next book
Completely unlikeable characters. I didn't care at all what happened to them. It also seemed there were a few continuity issues. If they're on the ground floor, why are they constantly looking down at the ground and people on the ground are looking up at them? Their friendship is less believable than the premonitions. The backstabbing, boy drama is NOT my cup of tea either.
The female titans rampage is crazy to read. Armin shows how smart he is once again, proving how invaluable he is as a member of the Survey Corps. It's interesting to re-read these mangas knowing a few of the secrets already and seeing the characters in a different light because of it. I don't think I personally would have been able to resist the temptation to change, the way Eren did at the end.
You're finally introduced to the members of the Survey Corps! I think Zoe Hange has to be my favorite character so far. Her obsession with learning and her willingness to talk anyone's ear off about the subject she loves most reminds me a lot of myself. Her short (for the reader at least) conversation with Eren gives some new information about the titans. Despite it being WAY past my self-appointed bedtime, the cliffhanger at the end had me snatching up the next volume in an instant!
Something I love about this series is that it shows the individual strengths and weaknesses of every character. Mikasa and Armin are considered just as important as Eren. Not to mention how the others are portrayed as actual characters and not just pawns or Titan food (though there ARE plenty of THOSE characters too). I get through these mangas in about a half hour/an hour each, so it's a little sad that they go by so fast. At the same time, they're glorious page-turners that always have me on the edge of my seat for the next revelation/gore fest in the next panel.
Hoooly crap! Finally caught up with where I had left off the first time I read the series, and my mind is seriously reeling! What is everyone going to do? The world is unraveling faster and faster into a tangled mess of questions! So many “What if's?” and “Why's?” The battle between Eren's titan form and the Armored Titan is EXCELLENT! So well-drawn, and I love the use of actual fighting techniques! Hajime Isayama truly does his homework for the series! Can't wait to read the next volume!!!
I have never read a series that impacted me more-so than The Wheel of Time. I encourage ANYONE that has a love for epic fantasy to read it. The characters have become old friends that it breaks my heart to leave behind. It certainly was quite a ride, with a “majestically exquisite” ending. A piece of me has been traded out for a piece of this series. I leave a part of myself behind in it, and I carry it on with me.
