Bryce

I received an ARC of this book through NetGalley.

This is a page-turner in the most traditional sense. It's full of twists and turns, danger lurking around every page. I couldn't shake the distinct feeling that this story has been done before, and has been done with more skill and character, but it's hard to deny the addictive quality of The Passenger. I liked the email format that showed up every now and then, it added a genuine mystery to the MC's past. I wish I had a better sense of who our protagonist was, something that made her an interesting character beyond the needs of the plot. At the same time, the “blank slate” vibe I got from the character could have very well been intentional.

This is a solid 3.5, bumped to a 4 because it held my interest and stuck the landing with its ending.

Not as good as the first two volumes, but still enjoyable. 3.5

I've loved everything I've read from Victoria (or V.E.) Schwab and this is no exception. YA dystopia with a fantasy-horror twist, I often felt like it fell into some dystopian novel cliches, but for the most part it was interesting and original.

It's too long, for what is essentially an introduction to the story. It drags for the first 200 or so pages. There are stupid moments and plot holes aplenty. The whole idea of this medieval world actually taking place in the future just feels like an attempt at originality that doesn't work.

Somehow i still ended up caring about the characters and their story. The last two hundred pages may have even approached 4-star quality, and I was entertained. So, overall, I hope the next two books can improve on the many flaws of this book, because I want to see where this story goes.

I just couldn't connect to the characters. I couldn't get involved, I didn't care as much as I should have.

Certain lines are beautiful, or heartbreaking, or both. There are chapters where the book easily reaches five-star quality. Those pieces will stick with me, I'm sure. But the book as a whole will not.

This concept is so full of potential, so many ways it could make a rich and smart and poignant novel. Every Day gets very close to fulfilling that potential.

It's both tragic and uplifting, and the tone is balanced throughout. It's a smart sci-fi novel with the skin of a well above-average YA romance, and both manage to be interesting. The ending doesn't answer any of the questions I had while reading, but it still feels like the way this story should have ended. It doesn't quite achieve the level of greatness it has the potential to, but it's a great story anyway.

This was a pretty fun story, just like the first. I like the style and appealing weirdness, but this book didn't stand out as more than just an enjoyable way to pass the time. But hey, that's a perfectly valid purpose for a book to serve.

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley.

Elizabeth Strout writes with grace and subtlety, and her writing is what makes this story the mix of beautiful and tragic that it is. It's a story about one woman, but it's laced with moments that shine a light on the lives of many different people, even if only for a page or two. Every character that appears is treated with the same compassion, and written with the same depth, as Lucy Barton herself. It's worth reading if you're looking for a short book with depth.

I found it to be charming and amusing, up until about the last 40 pages. And then it became thoughtful, and poignant in a way. The characters are unique and get some nice development.

I was all ready to give it three stars, for being entertaining but not overly memorable. Then the end made me reconsider, and I gave four stars. I'm fairly certain I'll remember it.

Oh, Mr. Gaiman. I don't think it really matters what you write, I will immediately love it. I read this in about 30 minutes, and yet I felt like I read a whole novel. It definitely feels as if you're going on a wild and imaginative journey, like the best children's books do.

The drawings are fun and creative, and they add even more whimsy. I had a good time reading this.

This is more of a 3.5 than a solid 4 for me, all things considered. Sleeping Giants is different than anything I've read lately, and I appreciate it for that reason alone. While I felt that it dragged at certain points (mostly when it was info-dumping, an unfortunate result of the interview format), it held my attention for most of its 300-ish pages.

It had a real sense of mystery and wonder, though that feeling seemed to come and go after the first few “parts” of the book. Unanswered questions are littered throughout, some that add mystery and some that just frustrate. The good usually outweighs the bad however, and I'll be looking for the sequel.

Hope Jahren's writing has the ability to make almost anything she chooses to write about seem interesting and worth knowing. Lab Girl is comprised of two parts: stories from her life and career, and information on the plant life she studies. The personal stories are warm, poignant, sometimes funny, and always engaging. The educational sections are, well, educational in addition to being engaging even if the subject of botany holds little interest for you. Mostly, it's because Jahren is a really great writer. Definitely worth reading.

Such a good book and great continuation of the first. It's well-written and gripping with a sort of intensity and brutality that I think a lot of YA fantasy is missing. These characters are interesting and complex and I'm excited to read the next part of their story.

Gerald is easily one of the most interesting characters I've seen lately. He's far from perfect, but it's easy to understand and sympathize with him, and I found myself getting invested pretty quickly.

The book itself is engaging, sometimes intense, sometimes funny. It's always honest, often depressingly so, and definitely has a fair bit of emotional heft.

And Tasha made me so much angrier than is probably reasonable.

I received a free copy of this book through NetGalley.

I appreciated reading a story about people that are rarely given the spotlight, and I found many parts of this book to be moving and even beautiful. Unfortunately, I would have to describe Tears in the Grass as, overall, a mixed bag. The writing is sometimes lovely, but some of the dialogue can feel stilted and uncomfortable. I liked Elinor's character quite a bit, though I never felt fully connected or attached to anyone. Towards the end, I started to feel like I was becoming invested in these characters more fully, but then I reached the last page.

All in all, I think Lynda A. Archer did a fairly good—but not great, not quite—job with a novel from a unique perspective. I only wish it utilized its potential with more skill.

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley.

Take a look through the other reviews and you'll find everything you need to know really. This book is meant to be a trashy, silly, gory throwback to the exploitative horror movies of the 80's, and it does that. For the most part, I found that it captured the sleazy spirit of the movies it was trying to emulate pretty well.

The writing and formatting has a serious “first draft” feeling to it. Some of the mistakes/clunky sentences/weird formatting made me wonder if anyone even bothered to proofread this book, or if the first draft was written and printed the next day. Another thing that definitely got in the way of my enjoyment was the sexism that ran through nearly every scene. In a book that's meant to be trashy, I can overlook a lot, but I can't recall a single scene featuring a woman that didn't include some kind of abuse, objectification, or any other crude and unnecessary details. Even if you don't find it personally objectionable (“It is meant to be sleazy” you could argue), it's incredibly repetitive .

It's a decently fun and amusing book, just one with problems that are too hard to ignore. 2.5 stars.

I'm still not sure what parts actually happened, or what was solely in the mind of Ruth, the book's unreliable narrator.

A great read. The writing is excellent, the characters feel developed in the first 50 pages. The atmosphere is unsettling, though at first it's quite hard to pinpoint exactly what seems so off.

This would be a great book if it was from an experienced author; the fact that it's a debut makes it so much more impressive.

It had some interesting thing to say beyond all the pretentious rambling. It felt authentic, and it was admittedly sweet.

YA romance is not a genre I like very much, I'm not sure why I keep reading them. For every one like this, pretentious and arty teenagers fall in love and act like every little moment they spend with the other person is some sort of perfect gift, there are some truly smart and memorable ones.

It wasn't bad. I'm glad it was short.

Yet another fun and creative kid's book I've read this month. This one is immediately distinguished by its striking design/illustrations, but the actual story is pretty good too. It's a brief read that doesn't overstay its welcome, and I thought it was a lot of fun.

Utterly captivating, powerful, and honest. There's something so real about it, that makes every poignant moment that much more so. The art is detailed and expressive, and it really helps set this book apart from others like it. This isn't a new story at all (not much in the coming-of-age sub-genre is), but it feels fresh.

And I think it says a lot that I read this 600-page graphic novel all at once, refusing to stop.

Well-written, inventive, an interesting take on a piece of Greek mythology.

I enjoyed the character of Atalanta quite a bit, and I found the short book very entertaining.

I liked this a lot! I loved the world and the characters, everything was well-drawn and imaginative. The basic plot, of a girl traveling to a different place to save her friend, was nothing new, but I felt that the world and surrounding details made the somewhat overdone elements feel fresh and interesting again. And besides, I'm a sucker for a good book about a quest through a magical world.

I've read quite a few coming-of-age novels, and this one starts off in pretty much the same way. Lonely teenager is stressed and nothing seems to be going right. The difference here, and it's a fairly big one, is that the main character is suffering from depression.

The depiction of an adult psychiatric hospital isn't very realistic, but it didn't matter to me. There's an authenticity to the book that made its flaws seem much less important. It's funny, maybe a little sappy, but it's also warm and honest. It's a little too happy for the subject matter, but the characters and their feelings seem real.

RIP Ned Vizzini.

A lot of people mentioned this book felt like a travelogue with a sci-fi twist. I didn't really understand that until I read it.

The pace is slow, almost relaxing. Conflict arises, but it's dealt with quickly and things continue. The premise and first few chapters hint at action and drama and excitement, but the book never really delivers it. I can't say that's my main problem; my main problem with this story is that I just didn't care much about the characters or anything that happened to them. I didn't care about the Long Earth, or the troll migration, or Happy Landings.

The worst thing I can say about this book is that it's underwhelming, and I imagine I'll soon forget it. It's not a bad story, and I was entertained. The entire book just feels like a prologue to the real story.

The presentation and concept (a spooky Ikea knock-off, product descriptions, and other cool design touches) was enough to get me interested, but there's a genuinely enjoyable and creepy horror story in here. There's even some satire, played mostly for comedy in the beginning, but eventually tying into the plot. Good stuff.