RiffMonkey
This whole thing is so fucking meta. I love the world that is created and the fact that the characters are the opposite of their stereotypical classes. The way the D&D mechanics are interwoven into the plot and worldbuilding is really funny.
The toxic murderhobo party having bad luck is fucking amazing too. I'm curious how the universe will develop with all this meta stuff. Waking up a real character to be a NPC is fucking amazing.
The story was really good. I liked how everyone has secrets and how they grew together as a group. The ending was also really good with focussing on Simon being a fucking dick and doing it to himself. Although the way Cooper's story was told took me off this book.
Everyone's secret became clear pretty quickly in their inner monologue and many also just told people pretty quick. You also got a great glimpse into their lives that gave the characters depth. Except in Cooper's case. His boyfriend was used as a plot twist that came after 200 pages and his life and chapters before that were bland and one-dimensional. Many of the characters had major character development before we even found out Cooper was gay. Making sexuality a plot twist in itself is bad in my opinion. It made the book unbalanced and less good.
This book was a real whirlwind. Getting into the story was hard, mainly because the worldbuilding was extensive but not at all explained. All the characters, even the one narration consistently knew more about the world than the reader did, which I really disliked. It made everything seem unimportant and boring.
The events also seemed to be strung together totally randomly. Nothing seemed to happen for any reason but because the writer wanted it to. Lots of mysteries were introduced, none of which were explained. This book was already super long and yet it didn't come to a conclusion on any part and only left more questions. It was too focussed on being a book in a series than on telling an engaging story.
The characters were also really not likeable. I couldn't relate to them at all. Especially the teachers who ends up betraying them didn't really come out of nowhere because we didn't really learn anything about who she was. It was like the whole story was devoid of emotional significance in the characters. It didn't leave much for my mind to engage with.
Again this book had the main character of Cora, who made everything about her fatness which I got tired of really fast. She has been in like 3 books so far and you would think she'd have some character development along the way but apparently not because it's all been stuffed in this books.
The girl with no name and some of the other characters were nice. I liked the fact that Regan joined the gang in this one. Again though not much more info on Kade and also the whole mystery doesn't get resolved at all. This really is just an opening to the next book. I would have rather then had one bigger one where some stuff actually got resolved
This book was so funny I laughed out loud multiple times while reading. Love the story and the characters from beginning to end although there was a bit of a wobble there in between. The writing style was really fun and read fast.
Though I would have liked to see more of Horst, I am glad that many side characters were fairly worked out. Although the little women that were there were fairly one-dimensional, it is forgiven. I would definitely recommend this book to people.
What a journey this book was. When the prologue started I was hesitant, but it was amazing. The scene performed merged amazingly with the situations and the emotions of the character I often didn't know if that was how the scene was actually supposed to go. If I have been a theatre person I might have enjoyed this even more but I know for a fact I missed no nuances at all, even without that knowledge.
The ending was amazingly beautiful. Even though it ended sort of openly it also totally didn't. Everything about these characters and the way they interact with each other and in the story was amazing. I loved the hell out of it.
I really liked the story althought the world building was all a bit vague to me. I don't really like the giant whole chapter lessons that the book gives about the world. It take you totally out of the story, as does the adressing of the audience which is weirdly done about three times totally out of nowhere.
I like the story of El getting friends and learning of a new way to live but all that shit about Orion wasn't great to me. Especially given the ending, where her mother says to not trust him. I have the vague feeling that the second book is just going to be pining and confused romatic squabbles which I really do not care for.
My frame of reference for the quality of the book is kinda wack because I saw the movie first. I also read along with a podcast chapter by chapter, which is very fun and also agonising. I don't absolutely love it, though I think much of that had to do with the fact that it definitely was a 2005 kinda book.
The story was great although I don't love how fast-paced it was. Because of that, the ending was very anticlimactic and underwhelming. It's mostly just conversations. I know there are 4 more books and I don't know if I will get that far but I am certainly reading along with the podcast until I finish the second book.
I don't usually read books quite like this one, but I loved it nonetheless. The last chapter really sealed it for. The friendship in this story throug multiple generations is amazing.
The only thing that put me off a little where the flashback. There were two chapters that took place in the past that caught me off guard and seemed totally unconnected untill the very end which made it very confusing to read. Especially since it happened so infrequently.
I loved this book and all the characters in it. That is the beauty of all Shusterman's books. He makes you love all the characters even the bad guys and the horrible people. They all have their tragic stories and their motivations, so there is never a character that you can really totally hate.
I saw the plot twist coming, but still thoroughly enjoyed it. I have read so many of his books now that I kinda know how they are structured so I know that everything has significance. Though the coin thing did throw me off guard. I am excited to read the next ones and honestly any other goods from this author because everything I read from him continues to be amazing.
I missed so much when I listened to the book the first time around. Now that I have read it I really really loved it. I haven't read much books that read quite like Terry Pratchett's and I love his style so much. The only reason this isn't 5 stars is because of the lack of clothes on 2 of the 3 female characters introduced in this book. I wanna read all of Discworld. The world building is amazing, though it is sometimes hard to understand what is going on.
I really liked this one again. The story didn't go to fast and the ending was great. It was really made for horse girls though and since I am neither a girl nor loves horses it didn't do as much as it could have for me.
Regan was a great character, much better than fucking Cora, that bitch. The next one ks about her again so not excited, but liked this a lot
The initial story was engaging, I'd thought that the fairytales they were supposed to be wouldn't be real in this world. When I learned that everything kinda went sideways.
The dialogue was horrible and went immensely unrealistic. The story was heading so much towards an ending that the characters made assumptions and giant leaps in logic that no one would ever make in that situation, which made it had to empathise with the characters.
Not to mention that the ending explained literally nothing of the magic or the curse or the book or anything. Like there is a curse but it's also just a normal person killing people? Pick one and stick to it.
Besides the diaglogue being shitty the book in general was also just badly written. Many things were repeated multiple times which also just made parts boring. Not a fan
Another one that doesn't leave me especially excited for the sequel. There was mainly way to much happening in way to little time. This book is not that long but the story could have filled a second book. I didn't like that about it at all.
The word regs was also very overused and she used magic in front of them like a million times in the book, which makes me wonder how the fuck she got through life without that ring before. I also didn't like the obsession with the ex and the description of the magical feelings were overdone as well.
The story was fun even though it went way to fast and I am glad that everyone knows in the end. The secret keeping was very unrealistic given her total lack of control. Not sure if I'll read the next one.
I'm so conflicted. I was hoping for more serious things, although it did end that way the biggest part of this book was just drama between friends. Keeping track of who is dating who again also took some legit effort.
The whole thing with Avery and Atlas was also just not great. What is it with authors writing about ‘technically' not incest couples. This weird kink needs to be kept out of books. And that is their only struggle in all this. How am I supposed to sympathise with that.
I also really don't like that Leda didn't die. I hoped she'd be the one falling down the building. Her character sucks and I get that it's a whole addiction thing, but besides that she also just isn't a likable person. Only Merial, Watt and Cord were characters that I kinda liked. And they didn't get all that much attention.
I'm really torn about the sequels. No idea if I wanna read those.
I hated it. First of all the whole premise and story is, I think, wrong already. The historical pieces supposedly found would say that this isn't a new thing. So then the whole patriarchy and all that should have already evolved and shaped differently. Also, the fact that this would result in reverse sexism is stupid, unrealistic and bad. Not to mention something I don't want to read about.
The characters were boring and the worldbuilding was worse. This is trying so hard to make some sort of point and comparison to the real world that it just makes no fucking sense in the story. Choices that are made to show something supposedly meaningful but really it just makes no sense for the world and the characters.
Conclusion; fuck this, fuck this world, reverse sexism would never happen and is stupid. I hated it.
This book went by very fast, and of course, it doesn't have that many pages but I never felt it like this with books in this series before. It felt for the first time like the story was really rushing through things.
I also don't love Cora as a character. One of the things that were great about these books was that all these kids are crazy because of the worlds they came from, but Cora takes that away somehow. She isn't insane because of the world she came from she just misses the feeling and all that, without the whole scarred by the things you have seen aspect which makes it feel wrong, she doesn't fit in with the stories. I hope the next books don't focus on Cora that much because I really dislike her character.
When I started this I found it so funny. Especially because it started with Greek and Norse myths, which I knew lots about already. So the takes seemed fun. But as the book got on the stories because less familiar and the way they were told started to annoy me. I started this a WHILE ago and I also just think my sense of humour has changed loads between those points. There are too many jokes about sex or just stuff to be offensive on purpose and whatnot.
Overall I am sorry I read it and it's not my thing. I didn't read the last couple of stories because I was legit so fucking done holy shit.
Great book yet again. My brother had made me worry about the ending. But I feel okay about. I feel it was propperly lead up to. It definitely didn't come out of nowhere. Only the death of one person seems super useless to me but I can't have everything.
I cannot wait till the next one is out though. A certain person has some explanating to do.
Just like the other books in this series, I loved the story and it was yet again way too short. The omnipotent narrator is great as well. The only reason why this isn't 5 stars is because of Cora.
In general, I liked her as a character, but she just keeps going on and on about being fat. Like I get that this is a trait of hers, she is very self-conscious and aware of the way some people might view her because of her weight. I think that's a solid thing to add and that isn't at all the problem. But fuck did she really mention/think about it at every possible fucking turn. It made me so tired of her. Like it's her entire personality. The whole time the book is going on and how she isn't her weight, she can't control it and it doesn't define her and then the book literally defines her by that struggle around people because of her weight anyway.
Didn't love that. Otherwise loved the book, the ending definitely made me cry
The descriptions and really anything that isn't dialogue I really didn't like. It was all so metaphorical that it was often hard to understand what was even going on. The characters were really not relatable whatsoever.
Also, this is supposed to be a dark book, but all the elements that would make it dark or morbid or whatever are either glossed over or totally made light off by the characters reactions, actions of dialogue. They make the fact that Lina is going to be sacrificed seem like it's all just a joke.
The magic system is extremely vague and not explained very well. It also seems to vary per person. Logistically a lot of the plot just makes no sense because of it. Among other things. Lots of cool things are left out and totally skipped and Lina keeps storing shit in her bra (even though it is also mentioned she has small ass tits so like how the fuck) which I could really do without.
The ending was also extremely predictable from like 100-150 pages is which made the rest of the book really boring to read and hella hard to get through.
This book got me in a reading slump honestly. I was excited to read it after the first one. I feel like the focus really shifted from Victor and Eli to a much more varied cast of characters, which is why is was so jarring that the ending was yet again all about them and they're weird relationship.
I liked the story and understand why some things near the ending had to happen for the story to be able to progress. Yet some things I really didn't like about the ending. And as I see it now this is supposed to be the last book in the series? Which makes it worse because it really didn't really end at all. Maybe it's just a open end figure it out for yourself kinda end but I have never liked those. As the second in a trilogy I would have rated it 4 but as the end of a duology its just not worth that.
