Mike
8.5/10. Really loved this book but it is flawed. I can see where the sequel possibly improves on my issues. I do hope we get some better rounded secondary characters and the universe is better explored. I think this book is a bit too surfaced leveled when world building or it hyper focuses on on certain aspects of the houses then no new information for awhile. I did find the mystery well done and the last 50 pages were really fantastic.
90/100
I really loved this. It has great characters, a unique idea and great execution. I'm left wanting more of this world though. I do think she could've made this a trilogy to fleet out the school, teachers and students more so the events have more impact. But for a novel under 600 pages. The author accomplishes a lot and it's so damn good.
100/100
An amazing accomplishment. This book was a great read. I was really worried with the structure and the decision that the author made to the structure and overall mini plot points but she somehow managed to tie everything together to create an epic narrative.
And can we take a moment to appreciate how beautifully written it is and I feel like the translation did an excellent job. Mariana Enriquez has an incredible imagination and knows how to draw up a scene and make you feel like you're in that moment. I have highlighted numerous sentences to go back because their can be so much to unpack or they're just so well delivered.
I'll be honest I was worried about 70% of the way through that this story had dropped a lot of what made the first quarter really great. But I kept on and the author really had everything placed with purpose.
This won't be an easy read. It's long. It is a slow burn at times but that pay off is worth it and you should check it out. I know this will be staying with me for a long time.
80/100
A very solid haunted house story. I can see why people have complaints about the characters being unlivable and while I feel some of this was a tad forced and on the nose. We do get character development as the story goes. I do wish we got more back story to have the heavy moments towards the end be more impactful but I found this book very touching. And while it's not the most philosophical book to take on death and grieving. It does have something to say which I do appreciate. Just wish the themes were explored more.
What a fast paced horror book. It really checked all the boxes for me. It reminded me a bit of early Stephen king. I think Nick Cutter does a great job of describing disturbing scenes and getting into the heads of each character. I do feel like we don't get a lot of time to develop some characters but it was easily bingeable and had me turning each page to find out what was gonna happen next
7.5/10 Very easy and fast read. You don't get a lot of depth to the characters as I'd like but the emotional parts do hit. I think the biggest struggle for me is the tone of this book. It's very light but has darker elements but they don't feel as creepy or the tension isn't as high due to the conflicting tones. I did find the ending satisfying overall and it is a good read.
85/100. It's a very entertaining side quest essentially. But it feels like books 4 and now 5 have been flash backs and side quests which is ruining the pacing of the over arching story of this series. But I did thoroughly enjoy this book on its own. Curious to see how he handles the twist at the end though.
90/100
I feel like Kings world really starts to take shape with The Wastelands and now Wizard and Glass. I found the story to be well done and I love the back story. I can't give it a perfect score just because it's such a huge flashback that it breaks to pacing of the overall story of the dark tower. It's okay to have flash backs but 500 pages of a 700 book 4 is kinda tough. But King pulls off a nearly perfect novel even with that minor complaint
90/100
This is the promise I wanted from this series. I loved the travel aspect, the characters are rich and the story is progressing. The last 3rd of this book is all excellent story telling as well and Blaine might be a top 3 Stephen king character for me personally.
Critiques would be the ending is abrupt (if you can call it an ending). And the first part of Jakes story kind of takes awhile to move the progression of the narrative. After that. It's a great ride.
80/100 score
Y'all. This thing is wild. I was very unsure of continuing if the writing style of the gunslinger continued but this is much more the King I know and can understand better. While I do enjoy a lot of this book. It feels like a giant set up. Which is great but sometimes I'm wondering when the main story will continue. We do get some great back story and interesting characters and we do get some excellent and thrilling show downs. But the pacing suffers for me to a point and carrying the narrative is lacking. Very excited to go into The Wastelands next.
75/100
While the last 50 pages of the book were really great. I struggled with the language and lack of understanding of this world for the first 2/3rds of the book. Which I feel is intentional but it made it difficult at times to understand what was going on or what was story or imagination. I feel rereading this after the series probably makes it a more enjoyable read but that doesn't make the first time any better experience. I'm very excited to see what is next though!
7.7/10. I want to love this novel more that I do. It's got some great characters and a good story. My problem is that it feels like a part of the book is missing. Their are moments that are supposed to be more impactful than they come across but due to the lack of some characters having their own chapters or separated by distance. It seems some plot lines kinda drop off. But the ending is very satisfying imo.