meh. not that i was expecting much based on the average rating alone, but still. it was entertaining enough to keep me reading and there were some excmeh. not that i was expecting much based on the average rating alone, but still. it was entertaining enough to keep me reading and there were some exciting parts, but overall this was very lackluster and just not fleshed out enough for me conceptually. i was not a big fan of the alternative 'then' and 'now' chapters and thought it would be better if it was all linear. i also didn't like the ending....more
to be honest, i was mostly left confused by this book. i really wasn't sure what kind of story it was trying to be and the plot was just all over t3.5
to be honest, i was mostly left confused by this book. i really wasn't sure what kind of story it was trying to be and the plot was just all over the place. i did like the overall concept, which was cool, i just don't get why the dystopian part of it was so quickly abandoned for this convoluted high-fantasy ancient-curse cult shit. the reveal really just left me with more questions than answers.
i did enjoy it though. i thought the story and characters were really sexy and sensual and left me with a crush on lights....more
meh. it was an okay read, i'm just not super enthralled with the lore and worldbuilding nor was i convinced of what it was trying to be. i also didn'tmeh. it was an okay read, i'm just not super enthralled with the lore and worldbuilding nor was i convinced of what it was trying to be. i also didn't get the point of don jae's character....more
i really wanted to love this. i read her royal highness before this and LOVED it; it's one of my favorite YA books of all time and was the entire reasi really wanted to love this. i read her royal highness before this and LOVED it; it's one of my favorite YA books of all time and was the entire reason why i wanted to read this too.
but prince charming was a royal disappointment.
i just didn't really care about daisy as a character at all. i think i would've cared more about this story if i was reading it from miles's, ellie's, or seb's POV. daisy wasn't interesting at all and felt like a side character in her own story. and the plot was so boring. there wasn't enough drama or intrigue and it had too much focus on a clueless american girl's POV of boring royal protocol. i think that was my main problem with this book. i was in this for the drama and the romance, and none of that happened until towards the end of the book. i also would've loved if it had a bit more focus on the sisterly relationship between daisy and ellie.
not terrible, just so boring. read the companion book instead....more
i can acknowledge how important this book is but there was just so much it was lacking to me. i think i would've liked this better if it was 2.5 stars
i can acknowledge how important this book is but there was just so much it was lacking to me. i think i would've liked this better if it was a longer novel....more
i liked it for the narrator's relatability and the rawness of her grief and depression. but i was not a big fan of how much depressing, boring, bleak.
i liked it for the narrator's relatability and the rawness of her grief and depression. but i was not a big fan of how much of a repetitive slog this book was.
very serendipitous that i finished this the day after 9/11 though....more
I loved this book for maybe like the first half or first third but after that I got SO bored with the plot. I loved Circe and overall I liked the c3.5
I loved this book for maybe like the first half or first third but after that I got SO bored with the plot. I loved Circe and overall I liked the characters more than the ones from The Song of Achilles, but Achilles was just easier to read. It took me four days to read Achilles while Circe took me twelve....more
It didn't feel right to give this a rating--doing so would be like if I looked through someone's private journal when ITOTAL READING TIME: 24 minutes.
It didn't feel right to give this a rating--doing so would be like if I looked through someone's private journal when I wasn't supposed to and tried to assess how 'good' it was.
But it was a beautifully designed book, filled with art, Florence's own doodles and handwriting. I felt like I was holding her in my hands....more
Everyone knows that cops are racist assholes because everyone has seen the videos anTOTAL READING TIME: 2 hours, 19 minutes.
3.5 stars rounded up to 4.
Everyone knows that cops are racist assholes because everyone has seen the videos and the innocent verdicts and everyone knows they can blatantly just murder people and get suspended on full pay or sometimes not even that. But if you set all that aside--and I get that's a big thing to suggest--then underneath there's still meant to be at least a basic competence.
Like you get brought up being told to be respectful to cops because they're the people that you're told to go to if you're in trouble, the people that will help you when you need it. And you grow up and you realize that they're not superheroes, they're actually just people, the same as anyone else, but you try to keep believing that they're useful, that they actually really do the things they're supposed to, like solve crimes and catch criminals, because that's part of how you sleep at night. It's in the social contract.
I definitely used to believe that (and yes, you don't need to tell me how much easier it is to believe in some kind of essential police decency when you're a straight white guy who lives on the Upper West Side). But now? I honestly don't think they have a fucking clue what they're doing.
Matthew Barker said ACAB.
Overall, a pretty solid read for a gimmick novel. I have never heard of Slender Man until maybe a year or two ago but it turns out he's been around for over a decade. This book wasn't really about the mythology behind Slender Man (like I thought it was going to be) more than it was a story similar to ones you would see on Creepypasta or Reddit, except in this universe he's real. I also liked the twist about Ryan in the end.
I will say I don't really recommend this book to people who are looking for their next horror read but have never heard or aren't really familiar with Slender Man, because it doesn't really clarify a lot about him. I feel like this book would be more enjoyable to people who are already Slender Man aficionados....more
The synopsis is where this book stopped being good. I thought this was going to be a YA mystery/thriller that TOTAL READING TIME: 2 hours, 34 minutes.
The synopsis is where this book stopped being good. I thought this was going to be a YA mystery/thriller that would be similar to You Owe Me a Murder where the protagonist is just absolutely getting fucked in the head and I got excited. This was a short book too and since the year is almost over, I want to read as many short books as possible.
But this was nothing like that. This book just got worse and more confusing as I read it. This was not the mystery about a boy who goes missing on a cruise ship in the middle of the ocean that I thought it was going to be.
I'm trying to find the words to explain what this book even was, but I just... can't. And not in a good way. Seriously, what was this book? How did it mislead me so significantly? Why was the synopsis on the back cover of the book the most intriguing thing I've ever read, but the book itself one of the most disappointing let-downs?
The synopsis oversold this book. That's all I have to say. This book is not what the synopsis says it is. The Leaving and The Possible were better books than this one.