Michelle
I thought the story was good, but sometimes rather lengthy. I felt myself losing interest a few times when the author spent too much time on imagery and not enough time on the story. Overall, I enjoyed the book, but I can't say that I have that burning desire to dive into the next one. I will continue the series, but will probably take a small break with another book first.
What a wild ride! This had a similar feel to a usual domestic thriller novel, except the wife in question isn't even the wife in question!
After the mysterious disappearance of Abbie Cullen-Scott, her husband Tim Scott uses his tech business to create a “cobot” (a companion robot) in her image. He uses photos, texts, and social media to mimic Abbie's personality almost exactly. At first, it seems that he's only done this out of grief so that he can have his wife back. As time goes on, cobot Abbie begins to wonder if that is his true intentions or if there is something more sinister going on.
The story is told in two different time lines and perspectives. One timeline is from the perspective of cobot Abbie after her creation, and the second is told from the perspective of someone inside the tech company long before human Abbie disappeared. Sometimes when an author uses this method, it breaks up the rhythm or I find that I like one perspective way more than the other. This was not the case here, as I loved them both and I found it difficult to put the book down at any point.
Most of all, I loved the misdirection and plot twists. I was pretty convinced I knew what was going on about 4 or 5 times before the end, but WOW, I never did see that ending coming!
Great read for those who love domestic thrillers with a little bit of sci-fi sprinkled in!
Thank you to NetGalley and to Ballantine for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.
After reading the blurb, I thought this book was going to take place in a dystopian-type future. As it turns out, it takes place at a time that could easily be now. This did not deter me, I still thought the premise was pretty cool.
The Farm is a place that surrogate mothers go to spend their pregnancies in the safest, healthiest way. These surrogates are women of varying races and socioeconomic backgrounds. We get to experience The Farm from the perspective of four different women. One is the creator and president of The Farm, two are surrogates, and one is a recruiter for the program.
This book was just OK for me. The writing was good and I was able to connect with most of the main characters. I just felt like this could have made a much bigger impact if there was something bigger happening. Like, a deep dive into the economic differences between the women at The Farm or maybe further exploration of the creepy-controlling staff at The Farm. I just feel like this book needed something more. As it is, it was just meh for me.
*I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Let me begin by saying that I really do like Christine Riccio. I do. But this book is just TERRIBLE.
I honestly FORCED myself to read the first half, and let myself skim the second half. The book is essentially about the author in her own little made up story. I won't bore you with actual examples since I've seen it done repeatedly now (see this review from Alex).
I wanted to love this book so much. Even if I could get past the author's inability to separate her voice from the main character's, I just can't overlook the bad writing.
I tried really hard to finish this book. I felt guilty for receiving an early copy of this through a giveaway and not finishing it. I only made it about 1/3 of the way in. But it's so hard to follow and I'm just not enjoying it. Maybe I'll come back to it later ...
I have always been a fan of Jennifer Armentrout, but I didn't care much for Storm and Fury. Maybe it's because it had been so long since I read the original series. It just felt like such a slog through the beginning while I was refreshing myself to the world and the old characters.
The book is told from the perspective of the main character, Trinity. She has a condition that is causing her to slowly go blind. Trinity is half-human and half-??? which enables her to see ghosts. She is living at the gargoyle compound to be protected from the demons because of this special ability of hers. Eventually, some wardens from DC (including Zayne) come to the compound to warn that there is something out there killing wardens and demons. I was hoping for some excitement once Zayne showed up, but I just didn't get into any of their interactions.
I really love this world of gargoyles, but just didn't connect with any of characters. This book was okay, but I don't think I'll continue with the series.
I flew through the first half of this book - then it was pure determination that got me through the second half.
I honestly don't know what to think about this book. I've never had such a hard time assigning a star rating before.
I disliked this book until about the halfway point. After that, I still wasn't crazy about it but I was pretty invested in Marianne and Connell. Like I couldn't help rooting for them even though they made me nuts.
At the end I just wanted to chuck the book across the room.
There is something to be said for being this angry at a book, though. I'm obviously too invested in it to say that the book was simply not good. As for all the 5 star ratings go - I just don't get it. I feel like I'm missing something big here.
I really enjoyed this thriller, but I'm not sure why the last little bit was necessary. It was like the author was trying too hard to make one last twist. It just felt forced and rushed. Otherwise, it was pretty good!
Towles is an awesome storyteller, if a little long winded. I would have given more stars if it were 100 pages shorter.
This one had a lot of potential. It was a real page-turner for me until about 3/4 way in. I just didn't care for where it ended up in the end.
Not my typical kind of book, or so I thought it wasn't. Sure glad I listened to a friend who INSISTED I read this. Phenomenal.
As someone that weighs far more than she should ... I had a hard time getting through this book. I wish Gay would just own some of her own crap. And maybe I'm fooling myself, but I don't think that other people are looking at me and judging me as much as I am them.
LOVE. LOVE. LOVE this story. The book is in desperate need of editing for grammatical issues, but the story is AMAZING.
Absolutely the most depressing book I've ever read. I wanted to put it down because it was absolutely heart wrenching but I was so hooked on the characters that I couldn't stop.
Wow. I read this one in one sitting because I couldn't put it down.
I was feeling ALL the feels with this one. I liked that it is told from the perspective of a woman that is diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's disease. I know what it's like to watch a loved one suffer from the symptoms caused by dementia, but it is another thing entirely to “walk in the shoes”.
Loved it!
It took me a little while to get into it, as it's more character driven than plot driven. But beyond the heartbreaking story, Thomas explored ideas about the things we think that will make us happy, the ways we feel our time should be spent, and how much of ourselves do we owe to others.
The way all of these ideas are interwoven throughout the book is just genius. Loved it!
Emma Deplores puts it best in her review.
Not convinced of the diagnosis here. It just doesn't make sense with some of the stories in the book.
So hilarious and true! But mostly hilarious! The way she talks about motivation and depression is spot on. I will definitely be adding a physical copy of this to my library!
I received this ARC through First Reads from the publisher in exchange of an honest review.
I was really excited about this book. The premise just sounded so amazing! And after having read the book, I can definitely see why some people are raving about it. All of the elements of a good literary novel are there. It's beautifully written, themes of human existentialism, an examination of human nature, etc.
Unfortunately, I found it to be incredibly boring. I was about 3/4 of the way through this book and had to force myself to finish. I doubt I would have finished it if it were not an ARC copy. As it was, I did do a bit of skimming in the middle because OMG NOTHING WAS HAPPENING. I mean, sure, the writing was really beautiful and subtle and all that, but who gives a crap about the writing when FREAKING NOTHING HAPPENS.
I suppose what I said above isn't 100% accurate. Something does happen very very late in the book. I do have to say that the last few chapters are the reason I did not give this one star. The ending was quite good. Rather powerfully, it brought together the underlying themes in the novel. I also liked the extra little excerpts in bold/italics from the points of view of various Returned people. They were probably the most interesting sections in the novel.
Personally, I wasn't exactly sure what I was expecting from the novel, but I at the very least wanted to discover WHY the Returned were there. Or, barring that, HOW they got there. I mean, was it everybody that ever died? Cuz holy hell that's a lot of people.
In the end, I would say that this book is not a bad book. It's just not the book for me.
I didn't understand all the hype behind this book. The pictures included with the story line were pretty cool, but otherwise the story itself was a letdown. The peculiar-ness of the children was intriguing but there was no real character development. I did not feel particularly attached to any of the characters and didn't really care when the end of the book was sort of cliffhanger.