I have been looking forward to reading this for ages and I'm honestly disappointed. This is clumsy and childish. The older character is ok but the youI have been looking forward to reading this for ages and I'm honestly disappointed. This is clumsy and childish. The older character is ok but the younger one is a know-it-all crybaby for whom I felt embarrassed more often than not.
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Harlequin-ish story.
I can't believe this was written by Aleksandr Voinov, it doesn't sound like him at all. Cheesy writing style, tiresome flat characters, ridiculous storyline.
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The only thing I really liked was the knight ceremony, it's something I'd never read before.
But the romance? Insta-lust at best, and not even that managed to make me feel something. I never understood what they see in each other, and why they fall for each other. This was an empty shell, a shame, because I know what Voinov can really do.
The lion tale was pretentious and made me roll my eyes more often than not.
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Merged review:
I have been looking forward to reading this for ages and I'm honestly disappointed. This is clumsy and childish. The older character is ok but the younger one is a know-it-all crybaby for whom I felt embarrassed more often than not.
[image]
Harlequin-ish story.
I can't believe this was written by Aleksandr Voinov, it doesn't sound like him at all. Cheesy writing style, tiresome flat characters, ridiculous storyline.
[image]
The only thing I really liked was the knight ceremony, it's something I'd never read before.
But the romance? Insta-lust at best, and not even that managed to make me feel something. I never understood what they see in each other, and why they fall for each other. This was an empty shell, a shame, because I know what Voinov can really do.
The lion tale was pretentious and made me roll my eyes more often than not.
6 men around 20 years old fall in love with each other in the middle of Morocco in the 20s[image]
The "fairy infantry" is here! (Author's words)
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6 men around 20 years old fall in love with each other in the middle of Morocco in the 20s. Statistics works.
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So, please, don’t dwell on maths and think about a love story in the army.
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This book is funny and charming and if you are looking for just that, it’s fabulous. This is a fairy tale (in more than one sense of the word) and as such you just have to believe in it, because otherwise it doesn’t work. There are some absurd scenes and some ridiculous reactions but it’s not a big deal. So, if you are in the mood, don’t be afraid and go ahead.
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The story beings with Chance just being shot and then it goes back to his boyhood and youth. He was a lousy lad, and he is not sorry. Till the day he enlists the Army and, as he does not behave as a proper soldier, is sent to an official that is going to bring him to heel. And that's when he meets his match, Jacky. The falling is so fast it's almost insta-lust and insta-love. It made me smile sometimes, but I couldn't get myself into it completely. It's me, I don't do sappy.
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Another detail I want to comment. Chance is shot several times, and none of those times Jacky was benevolent enough to give him a dosis of morphine because he could get addicted due to his past vices. I find that more sadistic than helpful. It can be excused because at that time the thought was the less, the better. Nowadays they don't care if you get addicted, it's more important to avoid suffering. It's just a tiny issue I had and probably it has no reason to be said here, but it's something I needed to tell.
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The ending is weak. The author wanted to write something original and it didn’t work. It was almost like the Doraemon’s ending, a dream from the past after waking up in the present time, only everything here is real. Also, the super perfect plan Jacky has for the rest of their lives is just not believable, in that period of time, less so. It’s a very idealistic world and if you are into sugar and "flufflyness", you won’t complain at all.
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But I’m not. So for me it’s just an entertaining read. I had had a good time and there is no need to split hairs.
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Merged review:
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The "fairy infantry" is here! (Author's words)
[image]
6 men around 20 years old fall in love with each other in the middle of Morocco in the 20s. Statistics works.
[image]
So, please, don’t dwell on maths and think about a love story in the army.
[image]
This book is funny and charming and if you are looking for just that, it’s fabulous. This is a fairy tale (in more than one sense of the word) and as such you just have to believe in it, because otherwise it doesn’t work. There are some absurd scenes and some ridiculous reactions but it’s not a big deal. So, if you are in the mood, don’t be afraid and go ahead.
[image]
The story beings with Chance just being shot and then it goes back to his boyhood and youth. He was a lousy lad, and he is not sorry. Till the day he enlists the Army and, as he does not behave as a proper soldier, is sent to an official that is going to bring him to heel. And that's when he meets his match, Jacky. The falling is so fast it's almost insta-lust and insta-love. It made me smile sometimes, but I couldn't get myself into it completely. It's me, I don't do sappy.
[image]
Another detail I want to comment. Chance is shot several times, and none of those times Jacky was benevolent enough to give him a dosis of morphine because he could get addicted due to his past vices. I find that more sadistic than helpful. It can be excused because at that time the thought was the less, the better. Nowadays they don't care if you get addicted, it's more important to avoid suffering. It's just a tiny issue I had and probably it has no reason to be said here, but it's something I needed to tell.
[image]
The ending is weak. The author wanted to write something original and it didn’t work. It was almost like the Doraemon’s ending, a dream from the past after waking up in the present time, only everything here is real. Also, the super perfect plan Jacky has for the rest of their lives is just not believable, in that period of time, less so. It’s a very idealistic world and if you are into sugar and "flufflyness", you won’t complain at all.
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But I’m not. So for me it’s just an entertaining read. I had had a good time and there is no need to split hairs.
I fell for Chicago once and now I want to revisit London, even it being that expensive and rainy!
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I once told my mother my first option for my "I fell for Chicago once and now I want to revisit London, even it being that expensive and rainy!
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I once told my mother my first option for my "arranged marriage" is a chef *wink, wink*.
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And after reading this book I realized I was so so SO right! It's the best relationship, he cooks and I eat! She better beings searching him. I'm growing impatient!
I began this dear year with a GL's book, Slide, and now I'm going to say goodbye to it and I believe I'll find another awesome author to drool over during 365 days. Sometimes the right book is written at the right time and it becomes a little gem for me. But as gems are rare so are great books. I'd like to say "This is the best GL's novel so far" with all my heart but that would be a lie.
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The style is hers, there is no doubt about it. Sometimes I get upset at her habit of skipping scenes and periods of time. A few of them they are portrayed in flashbacks a little later. But my annoyance doesn't last long. I love her writing, I feel like I could immerse in it forever. She makes me feel comfortable and cozy, like listening to a lullaby while being surrounded by a warm body. She makes me want to put myself in fetal position, that's how close she touches me with her words. I can fall in love with the writing, even when I don't like what that person is writing about. Here I love her writing and I loved the story and as long as she does it like that, I can't really complain.
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Tortured heroes are her hallmark, but they never are heavy or theatrical, but true and with no affectation or pretentiousness. In the beginning I thought Seb was going to be the safe harbor and that's totally right. But I first thought Dex would be the outsider with the same dark past I've heard a hundred times before and that he would have little more to say. But I ended up liking Dex much more. They are together only once in Padstow during the summer and more than a year later they meet again and that's when the real conflicts appear.
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But the period in between felt too long sometimes. I get that we need some knowledge of Dex's background and I appreciate it. I don't like not witnessing a thing at all but I think making it different would have been better, because another issue altogether is portraying every event that happens in great detail and that's tiring when in proportion it controls a big part of the book. (view spoiler)[Dex's sexual exploitation and his living in the underground and his hooking around (hide spoiler)] is too much when the book is less than 200 pages. A longer book or a smaller number of pages dedicated to that part would have solved the problem easily enough. The result felt unbalanced and that's what I'm criticizing.
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A little detail, I had a great surprise about Irish Gypsies. They are similar to Spanish ones about being a secluded circle with different occupations, and even rejected by society. Animals are present and misery is nothing unheard of for some of them. But I also noted some dissimilarities between both groups. I took me by surprise, I don't know why, I didn't expect that. But of course, European people are not 100% alike, either. Just saying.
In short, it was a good reading, I can't expect less with GL. I have come to a point in my life where I'd read anything she writes, even her shopping list. So there is more than enough time to better herself for me. I mean, she is awesome, but she is much better than this compelling novel. Much better. And that's a good thing to say.
And she mentions Spain several times. I think we could get on very well...
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Merged review:
I fell for Chicago once and now I want to revisit London, even it being that expensive and rainy!
[image]
I once told my mother my first option for my "arranged marriage" is a chef *wink, wink*.
[image]
And after reading this book I realized I was so so SO right! It's the best relationship, he cooks and I eat! She better beings searching him. I'm growing impatient!
I began this dear year with a GL's book, Slide, and now I'm going to say goodbye to it and I believe I'll find another awesome author to drool over during 365 days. Sometimes the right book is written at the right time and it becomes a little gem for me. But as gems are rare so are great books. I'd like to say "This is the best GL's novel so far" with all my heart but that would be a lie.
[image]
The style is hers, there is no doubt about it. Sometimes I get upset at her habit of skipping scenes and periods of time. A few of them they are portrayed in flashbacks a little later. But my annoyance doesn't last long. I love her writing, I feel like I could immerse in it forever. She makes me feel comfortable and cozy, like listening to a lullaby while being surrounded by a warm body. She makes me want to put myself in fetal position, that's how close she touches me with her words. I can fall in love with the writing, even when I don't like what that person is writing about. Here I love her writing and I loved the story and as long as she does it like that, I can't really complain.
[image]
Tortured heroes are her hallmark, but they never are heavy or theatrical, but true and with no affectation or pretentiousness. In the beginning I thought Seb was going to be the safe harbor and that's totally right. But I first thought Dex would be the outsider with the same dark past I've heard a hundred times before and that he would have little more to say. But I ended up liking Dex much more. They are together only once in Padstow during the summer and more than a year later they meet again and that's when the real conflicts appear.
[image]
But the period in between felt too long sometimes. I get that we need some knowledge of Dex's background and I appreciate it. I don't like not witnessing a thing at all but I think making it different would have been better, because another issue altogether is portraying every event that happens in great detail and that's tiring when in proportion it controls a big part of the book. (view spoiler)[Dex's sexual exploitation and his living in the underground and his hooking around (hide spoiler)] is too much when the book is less than 200 pages. A longer book or a smaller number of pages dedicated to that part would have solved the problem easily enough. The result felt unbalanced and that's what I'm criticizing.
[image]
A little detail, I had a great surprise about Irish Gypsies. They are similar to Spanish ones about being a secluded circle with different occupations, and even rejected by society. Animals are present and misery is nothing unheard of for some of them. But I also noted some dissimilarities between both groups. I took me by surprise, I don't know why, I didn't expect that. But of course, European people are not 100% alike, either. Just saying.
In short, it was a good reading, I can't expect less with GL. I have come to a point in my life where I'd read anything she writes, even her shopping list. So there is more than enough time to better herself for me. I mean, she is awesome, but she is much better than this compelling novel. Much better. And that's a good thing to say.
And she mentions Spain several times. I think we could get on very well...
Oh my, this is the living proof that there are lots of authors who can't give life and emotion to long stablished relationsRomance buenrollero!
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Oh my, this is the living proof that there are lots of authors who can't give life and emotion to long stablished relationships and that then there are others who do. Chris Scully is amongst the second group, and in a space of few pages, no less. Unbelievable!
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This little love story is charming, funny and adorable. I loved every page of it. I laughed at every joke. And my heart swelled in the most heart-aching moments, because there are some of those, too.
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Since the moment Adam opens his eyes I has connected to him. Joe is next to him in the hospital and he feels such an emotion towards that man he instantly knows he's someone important. Afterwards, he finds out that man is his boyfriend and everything makes sense. But at home the man tells him they are just BFF and that Adam is straight, but he himself is gay. He's really surprised to hear that, because they act and live together as a couple! Why are they not together? They fit together!
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Seriously, if you have the chance to spend time with these two, don't doubt about it, it's worth it!
Merged review:
Romance buenrollero!
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Oh my, this is the living proof that there are lots of authors who can't give life and emotion to long stablished relationships and that then there are others who do. Chris Scully is amongst the second group, and in a space of few pages, no less. Unbelievable!
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This little love story is charming, funny and adorable. I loved every page of it. I laughed at every joke. And my heart swelled in the most heart-aching moments, because there are some of those, too.
[image]
Since the moment Adam opens his eyes I has connected to him. Joe is next to him in the hospital and he feels such an emotion towards that man he instantly knows he's someone important. Afterwards, he finds out that man is his boyfriend and everything makes sense. But at home the man tells him they are just BFF and that Adam is straight, but he himself is gay. He's really surprised to hear that, because they act and live together as a couple! Why are they not together? They fit together!
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Seriously, if you have the chance to spend time with these two, don't doubt about it, it's worth it!...more
So, I knew nothing about this book until a few weeks ago, and now I wonder why that is: it's marvelous.
You ravel in a quality and reliability and credSo, I knew nothing about this book until a few weeks ago, and now I wonder why that is: it's marvelous.
You ravel in a quality and reliability and credibility not usually seen, and the summary promises philosophical and ethical issues. It provides it all in spades, and also a sadness and a bunch of questions created from the eternal question: what would happen if I were more intelligence? Would I be happier? Would I get the things I wanted with less effort and in less time? Would I be more successful, more popular, more loved? Would I feel better about myself and the world or would I be brighter and more perceptive and unable to ignore the harsh truths? Would I manage the absence of significance and contradictions of the society I live in? Would I stand the world as it is?
Charlie is a man with a low IQ who undergoes a surgical operation in an experiment which supposedly would enable him to acquire the level of the exceptionally gifted: "From retarded to genius 1.0". His intellectual growth goes parallel to his writing style and reasoning ability and his awareness of the world, the human being, the relationships and the complexity of an existence in which answers don't come logically in mathematical equations. His emotional growth goes slower and it catches up much later into the process, which raises some conflicts and heartaches.
This becomes a mixture of being little and little aware of the absurdity of the day-to-day and the need to give it meaning, the evilness of people which now hits him full force, and the deep understanding people are not really the gods he once has believed they were, as they are also dealing with the uncertainty and the darkness and the desires they long to make disappear or to accomplish, respectively.
My heart broke a little with each passing page. Growing up and realizing is painful, in any sense, at any time....more
So beautiful. The picture and the colors are simply marvelous. The storyline is not for every stomach. It looks cute and feminine on the outside but iSo beautiful. The picture and the colors are simply marvelous. The storyline is not for every stomach. It looks cute and feminine on the outside but it's really dark and all-consuming.
Merged review:
So beautiful. The picture and the colors are simply marvelous. The storyline is not for every stomach. It looks cute and feminine on the outside but it's really dark and all-consuming....more