Deanna

Unlike the first book, The Magician King has a very clearly defined plot and the pacing issues in The Magicians were solved. Quentin's story was great, but I found Julia's story fascinating. It started to feel a little long towards the end, but overall I really enjoyed it.

This was described to me as “Harry Potter for adults”; while true, I found the Narnia connection much stronger.

It's a solid book and well written. I didn't care much either way about the book or the characters until the last few chapters, which I ended up really enjoying.

It's a solid book, but it's overly long. It takes quite a long time to get to, what I assumed was, the major story of the book–finding a magic teacher for Diana. When this subject is finally touched on, I found it fascinating, but the author leaves it quickly. There are a few pleasant subplots towards the beginning that kept my attention, but about halfway through it became a chore to read the book (and I even put it down for a month). The author also delights in exploring historical characters; however, I tired of this quickly as I felt they didn't add much to the story.

I greatly enjoyed Claire and her story. Aspects of it get a little long and repetitive, but I stayed highly engaged in the story for the vast majority of the book.

An intense, sad story. I really enjoyed the artwork and the way it was used in shaping the story and conveying many shades of emotions.

Enjoyable and engaging. I really loved the characters and the world Harkness created. Looking forward to the next part of the story!

Bittersweet and genuine. I couldn't put it down.

I enjoyed the first half of the book and was intrigued by McCandless's story, but had a hard time getting through the second half, which mostly speculates on McCandless's state of mind. Krakauer devotes several chapters to his own wilderness sojourn to try to relate to McCandless, but I was ultimately bored by this and found it unnecessary.

Not very well written and I kept waiting for it to get more suspenseful. The ending did surprise me, so it got some points for that.

3.5 stars, really - An enjoyable story, but because it centers around the same central idea as Ender's Game–compassion and knowing strangers–it didn't have quite the same effect. Both the human and piggy stories are engaging and interesting. Worth the read.

A solid start to the series. I loved the premise and the mixed mythologies. The world building was rich and detailed, but felt a little slow at times. Looking forward to the sequel.

Cargill effortlessly blends mythologies and fairy tales into this dark tale of friendship and destiny. Highly recommended.

A solid book with a few interesting twists at the end.

A fun, quick read, although the story felt watered down to me at times and I would have liked more depth to the characters.

A sassy version of the Odyssey as told from the perspective of a postmortem Penelope. If you enjoy reading different perspectives on the Iliad and Odyssey, this is a fun one to pick up.

A fun, quick summer read. Kyra is strong and smart and stands up for her beliefs. Getting to see the dystopian government corruption and the decisions that lead up to it were interesting. And, although it was a small moment, I enjoyed Wells addressing that it is nice to feel protected, but that Kyra doesn't have to be because she is strong enough to do it herself.

Looking forward to Book 2.

Beautifully written. I enjoyed the atmosphere and the world that Morgenstern created.

An interesting new “fairy tale” that has a dark and modern side to it. I'd be interested to see the ballet that is based off this story.

I didn't enjoy this story as much as The Golden Lily, but it was still a good read. And there is more Sydney and Adrian, which is always good. The end is a nice set up for the next book and I'm excited to see what Mead has in store.

I read this right after Ender's Game, which was interesting to compare and see a more fleshed out view of the story. It's a good read, but where Ender is logical and emotional, Bean is pure logic so I wasn't as drawn in to his character as I was with Ender.

Amazing. I loved this book and could not put it down. Ender is vulnerable and strong and I enjoyed reading about him. The ending found my jaw on the floor and held an interesting lesson about enemies.

This is obviously Clarke's magnum opus and when it is good, it's amazing, but unfortunately for me there were many parts where the story dragged and the interesting and boring didn't balance out. This is a book where everything connects, even when you can't possibly see how at the time, and that in and of itself is impressive.

An epic telling of the King Arthur tale from the perspective of the women surrounding him. It does get a little long at the end, but I was thoroughly engaged for the most part and really enjoyed the book.

An interesting concept, but the first part of the book really dragged for me. However, the second half picked up the pace and became engaging. Not my favorite YA vamp novel, but an interesting perspective nonetheless.

I think Mead really found Sydney's voice here (plus Sydney is coming out of her shell and her world views are being challenged) and therefore the book moves at a much faster pace than Bloodlines. I really enjoyed the story.