Karl Davis

Did Not Finish

Put the book down for a bit and just never came back to it. The writing was a little too unsophisticated for my taste I think. Maybe it's a reading age/level thing? Don't really know.

Did Not Finish

Finally stopped around 40%. I like the story! The characters are kinda interesting! But the writing quality is just constant paper cuts. The biggest problem, far and away, is how frequently it violates “show don't tell.” So much of the writing is the MC asking another character a question about what happened out of scene and then then rattling off a ton of exposition. It was alright for a while, but it's finally just too much for me — keeps pulling me out of the story.

Nor Really My Kind of Thing but Excellent Nonetheless

I was pretty skeptical of this book until somewhere around the 80% mark. But it really struck the landing: excellent climax and excellent ending.

Not for Me

Did not finish at 38%. Writing wasn't bad but not very good, either. Kept pulling me out. Not for me.

Did not finish at 45%

Just not for me, I think: very focused on numbers/it's made up game system, without enough compensatory focus on character or plot.

Did not finish at 8%

Just want enjoying it very much. Part of it was how much of the narration was just off the main character's thoughts.

Did not finish at 17%

Writing style just really wasn't working for me. Far too much of the narration was focused on the thoughts in the main character's head, rather than on what was actually happening in the story. Probably just needs a couple rounds of editing, but it doesn't have them and I couldn't push through.

did not finish at 8%

Just not a big fan of Magic School books. The first person narration style is also pretty dry. It reads a lot more like a travel journal than it does a story.

Did Not Finish at 79%

“He was walking arm in arm with another girl so I immediately swore to kill one of them.” That's a paraphrase/summary, but about where I checked out all the way. Very shallow characters.

Did not finish... just wasn't very compelling

Got to 73%. It's not bad, might even be mildly good, but it's a pretty long way from great. My main issue was the pacing, which felt way way way too fast. Just blew right through stuff and didn't really give anything a chance to breathe.

Consent Issues

If a three or five year old animal turns into an adult-looking person, they're still three or five years old. Especially when they have a childlike view on relationships and boundaries.

Ick.

Did not finish: more screenplay than novel but not in a good way

The pacing in this, at least for the first 8% that I've bothered to read, is pretty bad. Makes it read a lot more like a screenplay than a novel and not in a good way. Very shallow characterization also. “Bratty young kid” is definitely a vibe, but not necessarily one that's fun to read about.

Did not finish: plot too shallow

The pacing here is unfortunate; if this book just slowed down (a lot) it might be pretty good. Characters are decent (though MC is a smidge toxic) but end up feeling shallow, mostly due to the pacing. Got to around 70%.

Surprisingly Good

This book was an unexpected good time. Well written, well, edited, solid, characterization, sharp, plotting, excellent pacing, and a delightful intrigue. It is a bit shallow in that the main character isn't the world's, most likable, and the supporting cast doesn't have a lot of depth. However, it's pretty upfront about both of those things, and they don't detract much.

A Little Too YA for Me

Perfectly fine, but not novel enough to keep my interest. Felt predictable enough that I just had a hard time caring. Got tired of it at 50%.

Got Tired of It

Somewhere around 11% of Book 4, I just got... tired of this. Felt a lot like reading a world building manual, except the rules change every third chapter.

Needs Editing

Only got in about 2% before the lack of copy editing started to bother me too much. Main character seemed a bit flat, too, but maybe that was just the copy.

Did Not Finish: Too Ridiculous

I really tried to give this book a chance. But I just can't finish this thing (got to 30%). It's just a little too silly for me, and not ha ha silly, but wow that's a not great idea silly. The space blizzard, in particular, is what keeps tripping me up: knocks me out of disbelief suspension.

Did Not Finish

The writing is OK, but the pacing is atrociously slow. The characterization is also pretty inconsistent as well: the MC bounces back-and-forth between mature and immature with no apparent rhyme or reason.

Ultimately, it just doesn't hold my attention.

Alright

It was decently, interesting, well written enough, and managed to do a pretty good job of keeping my attention. Not a lot of real tension though: the main character is too overpowered (and a bit one dimensional) to allow for that.

Decent but a bit Slow

This was a decent book, but it just didn't hold my attention very well. It's a bit dry and lacks heart.

Obnoxious

An obnoxious ode to youthful toxic masculinity. I'm surprised I even made it halfway through this book. It was unpleasant and I don't like the MC enough to care about what happens to him.

Not for Me

Only got about 9% of the way end of the book before I decided it's not really my thing. A bit too focused on religious themes, and not particularly well written.

Very Not Good

Badly written, characters have no real depth, plot is honestly kind of boring. Did not finish the book, after over 90%.

Mostly Okay Except for Consent Issues

It's an alright smutty story, with some glaring problems around consent / ... mind rape? Pretty gross, made it hard to empathize with main character.