The Host
Ratings436
Average rating3.6
Better than twilight...
The world is probably the better aspect of this book. It remains a guilty pleasure at times (she gets literally carried around a lot, even ppl carry her and run?). The writting is not great but easy enough to follow. A lot of repeating things, and some character decisions in times of crisis that seem farfetched. All in all, the romance (warning it contains a bit of a square) is sweet, the endgame that is. If you want an interesting world, a bit of cheese and sweets and an overall feelgood book, this might be up your alley. Do keep in mind the cheese though :)
Simply excellent writing and a very unique imaginative story. No complaints–which is extremely rare for me.
Loved the premise and how evocative this book was. Spurred many conversations about human nature, will power and how the alien culture was going to be forever altered by their contact with humanity.
I absolutely loved this novel. Much better than Stephanie Meyer's more popular book series Twilight (yuck). Better characters, better plot, better setting, better love story. Even if you absolutely hated Twilight (like I do), this is still an amazing read. And even if you adored Twilight (no offense to you, I just don't like it) you'll definantly love reading this exemplary example of English literature.
i'm not sure if this held up on its own or if the nostalgia played a large role, but i had a good time rereading it. stephanie meyer has a weird obsession with age gaps that are just bad enough to be uncomfortable and prioritizes romantic love over familial love at every turn, but other than that i thought this was a fun time. with a hopeful ending, too!
Definitely 5 stars! Wanda is so lovable, and the plot and characters are amazing- unforgettable. I can't remember how many times I've reread this and rewatched the movie.
Tiny aliens that we learn the culture, morals and minds of- and happens to be our main character!
I love this book and feel it deserves more attention considering the astronomical popularity of the author's Twilight. I think this has wider appeal in terms of subject matter, target audience, and the way it was written. If you're not much a fan of Twilight, but enjoy romance and science fiction, you might just love this. And if you love Twilight... what took you so long?? Read it! Don't watch the movie beforehand though... not a fan. It's been a while since I saw it, but I'm pretty sure it wasn't "good bad" as many people see the Twilight movies.
I cannot even begin to express how disappointed I am that there hasn't been a second book in 15 years, I would've ate this series up! Thankfully I believe it ended on a decent ending that could be mistake for happy for now, so I'm at least somewhat satisfied.
Meyer created such an interesting world in The Host, I loved the concept of aliens taking over planets in order to make them “peaceful” and not seeing anything wrong in what they're doing.The difficulty of being two people in one body and having differences with that person created the most perfect angst. I felt so sad for Melanie and what had become of her, the way she mourned her life from before with Jared and Jamie. Every memory she flashbacked to made my eyes water and yet I didn't hate Wanda at all, which was polarising. I couldn't help but feel sorry for her also and how she was treated and what she had to endure. The way she felt so unsure of herself and how people really felt about her because they couldn't separate her from Melanie.
The tension between Melanie & Jared, and Ian & Wanda was so sad. It was hard to watch the way they all pushed and pulled against eachother. I thought Ian's love for Wanda was so sweet, when he told her that he held her in his hand and that she was so beautiful, I squealed a little. Now that is a man that would love you even if you were a worm! That being said though, I did find the romance to be a bit cheesy and sappy at times, also Mel being 17 and Jared 26 at the beginning of their relationship was a little off putting but that's a Meyer staple I guess.
Some books make me want to scream and write poetry and give the whole universe a hug, this is one of them
ohmygod. This book was honestly such a good read i couldn't put it down; IT HAD ME HOOKED MAN. Giving it 3 stars because wanda's character got lowkey really annoying at times with her hero complex and i absolutely hated how we didn't get to see ian's vulnerability and his past. Maggie and Sharon were useless characters and it really irked me, the seeker was just idk what to say i have no words and the so ‘very emotional' death of wes and walter i believe didn't hurt at all considering we don't really form an emotional attachment to them. I LOVED JEB'S CHARACTER SO MUCH OHMYGODDD, absolutely enjoyed the scenes where he was present, he's got such an intricate personality i'm obsessed. Overall, i enjoyed this and it's definitely going into my ‘cool sci-fi' book list.
ummm this was way better when it was called ANIMORPHS
http://www.frowl.org/worstbestsellers/episode-133-the-host/
Read my full review/thoughts here: https://teachocolateandbooks.blogspot.co.uk/2018/02/the-host.html
Overall, I didn't love or hate this book and I think it's way better than Twilight (but that's not very difficult is it?)
I had my problems with this book, but I also loved parts of it so it left me feeling quite conflicted. Overall, I'm not sure I would say if I would recommend it but if there ever was a sequel I would read it.
The only interesting part of this book is the general concept of how the aliens take over earth. But then you get annoying characters and repetitive, boring narrative.
I listened to the audiobook, making it easier to tune out the tedium and poorly written dialogue/narration
i hate this book so much and i really need to rant about it.
okay here's the thing: this story idea AS AN IDEA is good and interesting and cool, but stephanie meyer absolutely butchers it with horribly cliche romantic lines and scenes, boring and stagnant characters, and overall awful technique.
the first thing i want to attack her about (yes, attack. i'm sorry but I”M SO MAD I WASTED THREE DAYS OF READING LIFE ON THIS PIECE OF SHIT) is the pacing and actual plot of the book. she kept on making these problems (melanie being in wanderer's head (i will not call her wanda), jared not “liking” wanderer, etc) and then resolving them within like, a chapter, and then presenting another problem right after. okay, example #1: <> all of this happens literally in the span of like two or three chapters. by this point, what is the point of any conflict when i know it will be fine and result in literally 0 consequences?
okay, now let me jump down every single character's fucking throat about their dumb ass shit.
wanderer: she started out as being actually interesting and (kind of) dynamic, but by the end was literally bella swan #2. so boring and emotionless and had no personality than the fact that she wanted to die for everyone all the time.
melanie: who even is she? never met her. so boring, contributed nothing to the story with her voice. the idea that her character existed functioned more than she did. and her memories were always so fucking cringy. i should've been rooting for her, but the whole time, i just didn't care about her so much i wanted wanderer to just kill her voice somehow already.
jared: also don't know him, don't care about him. wanderer's “feelings” for him were incessant and annoying, as was his constant moodiness (hello edward #2 nice to meet you)
ian: i actually really liked him and thought he was really sweet and funny UNTIL he became a love interest. then that's all he was and he was super cringy and weird and creepy and territorial (Jacob Black 2? hi go sit with the other two)
the romance (grab some popcorn friends here we fucking go)
ALL HAIL STEPHANIE MEYER THE QUEEN OF CRINGY AND FAILED LOVE TRIANGLES
would she just stop writing romance? please? just stop. i hate when she talks about sex; no one talks like that omg. every single time characters make out or someone tries to talk about love, it's the cringefest of the fucking century. I would honestly be happier if her characters never talked and just made out all the time because even that would be more romantic than the torture she puts me through as I try and read her stiff, creepy, angsty dialogue. I seriously want to give my eyes out reading it.
also, can we can Stephanie Meyer from writing sci-fi? all she does with it is water it down so she can force feed it to teenage girls. she decided to write about aliens, and then made them the mood so boring creatures in the fucking universe. they literally do nothing, oh my god, they aren't even student to be scared of. on all their trips out to get supplies, when she would try and make me nervous, I didn't give a shit, partially because of the resolution thing from earlier but also because, does she really intense me to be scared of aliens who are basically Canadians? I'm honestly a little offended.
I could go on but I'm getting really angry
I was scared to start this book, the whole author/twilight/embarrassment thing, but I absolutely adored it. it's hard when you have to finish a book that makes you feel like you're family with the characters...
Abandoned at 25%.
Very, very slow with characters that I do not care about and the logical explanation as to why everything works out is because “love”. I kept trying to read this book, but ultimately, not for me. I like some of the themes–body acceptance, what it means to be human, love and the ability to push beyond yourself–however, the themes are underdeveloped and are often superficial. I like the aliens and the bodysnatcher storyline, but everything else fell flat for me.
I read about 150 pages of this book and I had to put it down. I couldn't even finish it. It is a super slow book that takes a long time to develop, does not keep you engaged and bores you. I would not recommend this book to anyone who likes exciting reads. This is not one. At all. Although I would recommend the movie which was much better than the book.
