Rebecca
enjoyed the multiple POV and learning how all of these characters related to each other. kept me interested & I was surprised by a couple of things
Atmospheric, creepy, and insanely captivating. My jaw dropped multiple times. Truly one of my top recommendations for any thriller fan.
did not like the main character. did not like the world or really understand it and what the magic was. and then there was the most out of pocket romance ever
Jane Austen's stories are always so entertaining to me. Austen is such a funny writer, and there were many instances that I snickered out loud at something a character said or the way the narrator narrated something.
Anne differs a lot from her family. While they are caught up in making decisions based on social status and wanting to be surrounded with extravagance and others who have wealth and fortune, Anne enjoys being around everyone. Because of this, many people look more fondly upon her than either of her sisters. She has a couple of male admirers throughout the book, and the Musgrove sisters even admit that they wish Anne, rather than her sister, had married their brother. I liked how Anne didn't fall into the same way of thinking as the rest of her family.
My favorite part of the story was Anne's clear character development from when she was younger up until the present. It seems as though Anne is very timid in her thoughts and that she doesn't want people to look down upon her. In her youth, Anne was very easily persuaded by Lady Russell – denying not one, but two men from marrying her simply because Lady Russell did not believe it to be a good fit. Even now, it is clear that Lady Russell still has some hold over Anne's decisions, and she doesn't take Anne's feelings into consideration when determining what is best. The appalling moment that Anne realizes that Lady Russell almost persuaded her again into doing something she would regret is the best part of the whole story. She learns that although it is not bad to seek advice from others, she should be the one making the decisions for her life.
Overall, I highly recommend this book. Watching Anne's character grow over the course of the novel was so awesome, and Austen's stories are just such great and funny reads.
The only complaint I have about this book is the super long build-up to the climax. It was definitely suspenseful, which I loved, but the build-up does last for a good majority of the novel. Everything else - perfect! Incredibly chilling and the ending leaves you with enough to make your own conclusions about what happened past the book's finality. A definite read for a lover of horror.
4.5
a sad story but i was so engrossed in it especially starting around the halfway point. mental health and behavioral psychology are very interesting
Story was fine just not my favorite. The concept was interesting, but I didn't necessarily care for any of the characters.
“Read” would be a very loose term for what I did with this book. I actually read the first 6 chapters, drastically skimmed the middle, and halfway read the last 4 chapters and the epilogue. The plot itself was entertaining enough, and the synopsis made it sound like it would be funnier than I thought it was.
Hazel's character was way over the top quirky. I do not mind at all having the main girl character be a little odd because that's fun to me, but it felt as though the authors tried too hard to make Hazel a weird character and it came out being more cringe. She was funny in a sense, but there was way too much second-hand embarrassment. She was also a little trashy, which is evident from even the very beginning of the book. One of my first thoughts was “oh we are in for a wild ride” (but not in a good way).
I did like that she was always herself and didn't totally change some of her quirks to be liked by others.
It was also steamier than I was wanting, and there were more suggestive remarks by characters than I like. I enjoy rom coms being fun, cute, and romantic but not overtly spicy.
The end took a serious turn and ended pretty abruptly before going into the epilogue. I generally love epilogues – there are some books I loved that had epilogues I may have loved even more than the book itself. It felt odd that it was basically a random halt, during this major plot event thrown in at the very end, before jumping ahead 7 (ish) years.
Overall, I can see it being very entertaining for people who are not bothered by the things I mentioned. It just wasn't for me.
I really enjoyed this! It's creepy without being necessarily scary.
Very interesting! Will definitely need to reread in the next few years because it messes with your mind.
One part at the end was kind of wack, and I was like what on earth is happening right now. Still a very fun read, and it definitely takes you on a weird ride.
This just didn't really do it for me. I didn't care about any of the characters that much, and knowing from the title that one of the six doesn't survive didn't really phase me since I wasn't tied to any of them. It took me about halfway before I really got into it.
The book was fairly fast-paced since it took place in one night, but it still somehow managed to feel like suchhhh a long book. I do think Holly Jackson did a great job with ending chapters in a way that makes you want to read more, so if you were super into the story, I can see how it would be a quick read.
i didn't think this was necessarily suspenseful, but it's haunting in the way that fear envelops a society that's on the decline. trying to figure out how you're going to survive something and knowing that most likely not everyone will. things got a lot darker as time went on & fear very much started to take a toll on the community.
i was interested in the atmosphere of the beginning but was kind of bored for the middle and got more interested towards the end but then the very end was so rushed and abrupt.
If you hate insta-love, this book is definitely not for you. If you love insta-love, I am sure that you will very much enjoy how the characters must navigate their love at first sight when, one year later, the man is introduced to the woman as her best friend's boyfriend. I do think it is a little dramatic for a character to be somewhat crippled in the dating realm for an entire year simply because they made eye contact one time with someone.
I was intrigued by the story based on the synopsis. I was curious about how everyone's relationships would play out in the end because of how much just making eye contact with Jack took a toll on Laurie.
But Jack's character is extremely unlikable. He is rude a lot of the time, especially when Laurie is dating other people. He has no right to be so rude to her and to others because she is dating someone else. He literally dates her best friend for years and won't break up with her even though he clearly likes Laurie a lot. The love interest should at least be a likable person. I think his only redeeming quality is that he's handsome, but that only goes so far.
Story is also pretty slow. It spans a lot of years, but not a lot seems to happen in all those years.
I will say I actually read about 60% of the book and skimmed the rest, so take all my comments as you will.
The writing was fantastic - I was feeling creeped out a little in the dark. I had to read the plot twist a few times to fully understand it, but I thought it was great. Enjoyed this book even more because it gave off a lot of [b:Rebecca 17899948 Rebecca Daphne du Maurier https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1386605169l/17899948.SX50.jpg 46663] vibes - a housekeeper like Mrs. Danvers and a boathouse off of the house. Very much enjoyed this and definitely recommend!
4.5
This was very sweet and cute. I really liked the childhood friends to lovers in this; I liked the flashbacks to their childhood where we got to see them become best friends, have that very close-knit friendship, and grow up together even though they didn't see each other all the time. I really liked Elliot, especially as a child; he was so cute and nerdy & the perfect friend that Macy needed at the time.
Some of the scenes from the childhood timeline when they were older were kind of cringe to me though, and I liked the scenes from their younger years a lot better.
I also thought this was a very realistic look at a childhood romance - the way there was romantic interest between them but they also didn't want to ruin anything and ever not be best friends. I liked learning about how they lost touch but then came back together after all those years, and I am glad we got the dual timeline to see both their past and their present.
this is pretty dark and heavy & i didn't dislike that but i just didn't love this book & i don't really have a good explanation for it
i generally like ambiguous endings, but i didn't think this was a satisfying unsatisfying ending
I have realized the issue that I have with all of Clare's books and that is the fact that there are SO MANY. I am horrible at remembering details of books, especially if it has been years since I've read them, and there are too many overlapping characters in her novels - characters in which I don't really remember anything about their background. Part of this is my fault because I have not read any of the novellas, so I know there are a lot of character story details I am just missing in general. I love the Shadow Hunters world, but there is simply way too much to try to keep up with.
As far as this specific book goes..... the thing that bothered me the most was Emma and Julian's relationship. I found it very irritating when Julian asked Magnus to turn off his feelings, and the whole time Emma was like “my Julian” this and “my Julian” that. Her whining over and over again about him being different just really got on my nerves. Not just with Emma and Julian, but with the majority of the characters, I feel like romance was too much of a focal point. Not every character in a book has to have a romantic partner.
Relatedly, Emma and Julian just turned into giants out of nowhere????? And just started destroying everyone?? That whole scene was bizarre and cringy to me, especially when their family thought that just talking to these giant beings that could crush them with one flick was going to make everything okay. And later, when their parabatai marks just got stripped out of nowhere - like they didn't even suffer any consequences of their feelings and decisions - everything just worked out so nicely for them. Part of me wanted something bad to happen in the end, but instead everyone stayed alive and everyone got what they wanted. I understand happy endings, but sometimes I want there to be a little bit of suffering.
Also, the battle scene lasted way too long in my opinion, and it didn't feel like a battle. My vision of Dru and Tavvy had them chilling on the outside of a fence or something while there's danger happening right in front of them and somehow basically no one noticed they were there.
Also, Ty and Kit trying to raise Livvy from the dead was a build up to a bunch of nothing. (I'm assuming this will show up again in a later book?) Sometimes, it's just best to let dead characters be dead.
Also, WAY TOO MANY points of view. I like a little multiple POV, but not changing every paragraph. There were so many different storylines that it was hard to keep up with.
I know this is a lot of negative - the reason it got 2 stars was because I enjoy the ShadowHunters world, although it just didn't feel the same as TMI or TID. TDA is my least favorite out of the 3. Hopefully by the time I read The Last Hours (not anytime soon though since the whole thing isn't out and I KNOW I'll forget every single thing that happened by the time the third one comes out), I'll at least read a little bit of background information about the indefinite endless amount of characters.
3.5⭐️
Very interesting concept. It took me a bit to get into, but I think it was partially because I didn't love all of the characters' storylines. Still a fun and enjoyable read.
If you like Black Mirror and multiple little plot twists, you would really enjoy this.