I didn't get why they fell in love with each other in high school, because we only got a few mentionings of their past together. So I never f3.5 stars
I didn't get why they fell in love with each other in high school, because we only got a few mentionings of their past together. So I never felt their emotional connection, which made the story and characters feel rather flat and under-developed. But it was a nice read but nothing more....more
The cover is not my favorite 😓 And the story wasn't my cup of tea as well, the beginning was soooo strange and awkward...The cover is not my favorite 😓 And the story wasn't my cup of tea as well, the beginning was soooo strange and awkward......more
Oh my, I made it through! I never thought I would manage that. The premisse was nice, but it was just about sex and lust. The characters were1.5 stars
Oh my, I made it through! I never thought I would manage that. The premisse was nice, but it was just about sex and lust. The characters weren't likeable either and I disliked the explicit language. I'm quite sure the hero used words like "cunny" and "cunt". I can live with cock (I got used to it... still hate it in German) but "cunt" is a definite no-go for me (because I think of the German equivalent and that word screams "porn" very loudly). So yeah, not my type of historical romance. I probably won't read a novel by the author again....more
I was fourteen when the story was published and I think that I would've loved the story more back then. It was a fast and enjoyable read toda3.5 stars
I was fourteen when the story was published and I think that I would've loved the story more back then. It was a fast and enjoyable read today, it definitely didn't feel like a over ten year old story! But the story was too short (~250 pages), there was nearly no world-building (I only realized in the end that it's set on the Earth with mentioning of Egypt and China) and the world-building that was there wasn't explained. I was so confused and many words etc. were explained pages after they were first used. This is something that I don't like, at least include a glossary or something like that. The author possibly created a complex world, but with such a short story I doubt that she could include everything. What I loved was the "enemies to lovers" trope and Zane, our hero! I liked him a lot and really wished for his POV, because Danica was annoying and too perfect to be likable. She wasn't a bad heroine but not a good either, Zane was the main reason I continued reading the story. Additionally I was surprised that Atwater-Rhodes seemed to skip over the moments when they fell in love, because at one time they were enemies than we have a time skip of weeks and when we see the characters again Zane fell in love with Danica. The love story wasn't that realitically developed overall, we just don't see that many emotional scenes between Zane and Danica and I couldn't understand why their feelings changed at all. This story could've been amazing, I love the enemy-to-lover trope but the novel was too short and under-developed.
Conclusion:
A nice and short read, but it lacks the benefits of longer stories....more
Oliver was a great hero, although we didn't really get to know him. Especially after his break-up I wanted to know his thoughts, because he n3.0 stars
Oliver was a great hero, although we didn't really get to know him. Especially after his break-up I wanted to know his thoughts, because he never said how he felt about Ainsley and their relationship. Considering that he was kissing June around two weeks after the break-up and said he wanted to kiss her for months, but seemed distressed after Ainlsey broke up with him, I just don't know if he would've broke up with her to be with June. It doesn't seem like it, although he said he knew they would be better together than with anyone else. To me it felt like he and June just became a thing because AINSLEY ended their relationship. Which bothered me a lot. Additionally I didn't liked the fact that Oliver was with another female up until the end, June at least broke up with her boyfriend in winter (not because of Oliver, simply because she didn't love Itch anymore). So, Oliver was likable, his relationship with Ainlsey was a problem for me. Not that he had a relationship, just how long he had one.
In contrast to Oliver I disliked June most of the time. She had her moments but I found her annoying and her decisions stupid. I didn't feel any connection to her and didn't see why Oliver should fall in love her. Okay, I'm honest, I didn't see any chemistry between those two. Friendship? Yes! Love? Hell, no! I wasn't seeing their attraction to each other, especially since Oliver was with another female up till the end and June half of the story. They shared one hot kiss, that's it. Interestingly we didn't see how that kiss ended, THAT would've been interesting. But the thing is, we see June kissing Itch more times and have multiple references of them having sex and making out. That's just not how a romance works for me. To me Oliver and June had no real romantic moments, okay, the end was sweet, but that's simply not enough.
Conclusion:
I disliked that especially Oliver was in an relationship too long and that it seemed that he wouldn't have ended the relationship on his own. And though this is a romance story it was pretty unromantic in my eyes. I simply didn't see any chemistry between June and Oliver and additionally disliked June most of the time. It was a nice read but not one I wish to repeat....more
I have to admit that I didn't like "Night Owls" nowhere near as much as I liked "Alex, Approximately", although Jenn Bennetts first YA novel 3.0 stars
I have to admit that I didn't like "Night Owls" nowhere near as much as I liked "Alex, Approximately", although Jenn Bennetts first YA novel isn't a bad novel. I couldn't even find something specific I didn't like, it was just that I thought something was missing or better something didn't feel right. The characters were likable, the story is not to fluffy and light, we have some diversity (not that this really matters to me, sorry!) with gay, asian and afro-american side characters. But all in all the story felt staged, constructed! I never felt any connection to the characters, which made this novel easy to put down. While reading the story was captivating and entertaining, but I never had a real urge to pick the book up again after I lay it aside. But I finished it nevertheless, yeah! I guess the main reason is that the story had an unrealistic feel to it, everything was too smooth and the characters were too perfectly imperfect. It felt like one of those dream-like romance/coming of age movies, where one only has one question: "Do those perfect characters really exist somewhere?" It felt like the author read a guide on "How To Write A Perfect Teen Novel" and tried to follow as many rules as possible. And yes, objectively this is a VERY good YA novel. But that's just not enough if the heart is missing in the equation.
However I liked that the sexual content was handled SO well. THAT felt real, whereas the rest of the novel didn't. Beatrix' thoughts felt so real, and I think Bex and Jack really behaved like real older teenagers. The way they talked about sex was amazing! That's how it should be, especially in YA novel, to show teenagers how easy and honest it can or should be.
Conclusion:
Overall this wasn't a bad YA novel, but the story felt too constructed and staged. Sadly I never felt a connection to Bex or Jack....more
Das Ende war mir zu "Deus ex machina"-mäßig gewesen und irgendwie nicht erklärt. Aber das muss man wohl so hinnehmen. Ansonsten weiter eine 4.0 Sterne
Das Ende war mir zu "Deus ex machina"-mäßig gewesen und irgendwie nicht erklärt. Aber das muss man wohl so hinnehmen. Ansonsten weiter eine süße Geschichte, ohne Tiefe.
Die erste Kurzgeschichte war in Ordnung, die zweite mochte ich dagegen sehr. Keine Ahnung wieso, aber ich mag irgendwie so "Sänger meets Fan meets Highschool"-Geschichten. Und für eine 30 Seiten Geschichte fand ich sie super süß! Ich mag einfach solche Geschichten. ...more
Die Hauptgeschichte war in Ordnung. Ohne Tiefe und leider auch komplett OHNE Erklärungen, woher der Android kommt, wie er läd oder wie er fu3.5 Sterne
Die Hauptgeschichte war in Ordnung. Ohne Tiefe und leider auch komplett OHNE Erklärungen, woher der Android kommt, wie er läd oder wie er funktioniert. Da fehlte mir leider irgendwie der Zugang zur Geschichte. Die Kurzgeschichte am Ende war süß, aber auch nichts besonders. Der Zeichenstil war aber gut und die Geschichte nett für Zwischendurch....more
Boring, full of insta-lust, lacking romance and emotion, with one-dimensional characters and way too much Boscastles for one book, without su2.0 stars
Boring, full of insta-lust, lacking romance and emotion, with one-dimensional characters and way too much Boscastles for one book, without surprises and character development. Overall no recommendation from me....more
The story had potential but it was too slow-paced, nothing really happens (especially in the middle) and it felt like the novel should've bee3.0 stars
The story had potential but it was too slow-paced, nothing really happens (especially in the middle) and it felt like the novel should've been a novella instead. And Tuck's character was under-developed, he could've been so much more but wasn't in the end. Particularly the reason why he didn't buy his commission was treated too briefly. ...more
The idea and the humour were amazing! But especially the second half was too slow-paced, the story was way too long and sadly I had a hard ti3.0 stars
The idea and the humour were amazing! But especially the second half was too slow-paced, the story was way too long and sadly I had a hard time finishing the second part.
I really liked Grifford aka G, but I had a hard time connecting with Jane (which surprised me because Jane is a book lover, just like me). Edward was nice but I wasn't a huge fan of his chapters. ...more
I just couldn't bring myself finish this book. Okay, I read the ending, because I hoped it would make me want to read 1.5 stars DNF - after 260 pages
I just couldn't bring myself finish this book. Okay, I read the ending, because I hoped it would make me want to read the rest of the story but it didn't. I wasn't surprised about Ignifex past and about Shades identity. It was the only thing that made sense, this is a fairytale retelling after all and a lovestory. Nevertheless the rest of the ending (I only skipped through the last one or two chapters) confused me (which isn't surprising, because the story confused me even before I started skipping pages). I think I'm too stupid to understand the workings of the world Rosamund Hodge created and I had no desire to make an effort in understanding everything. I just wasn't caring enough.
The idea of the story and the world building is great, one cannot argue that point, but I just didn't care for any of the characters. I liked Ignifex most of the three protagonists and he was portrait as the "bad" guy, but I wasn't even close to caring for his past, present or future. Shade was the "good" guy, but really, really creepy. I always had the feeling that he is hiding his evil nature. And Nyx was annoying as HELL! Yes, she isn't the typical nice, naive, caring and kind heroine, but just being different doesn't make a character likeable and she wasn't likeable. I understood her hatred (in some parts), but it was SO annoying that she kept repeating the same thoughts over and over again.
I hate my father. I hate my sister. I love my sister. No, I pretended to love my sister. Maybe I could love my sister. But I hate my sister. I miss my sister. I want to apologize. But I hate my sister. And my father. And my aunt. But I regret hating my sister, but I only pretended to love her. Shade is so nice. I want to kiss him and I might love him. Does he love me? Why didn't he kiss me? I hate Ignifex. I want Ignifex. I regret wanting Ignifex. I want Shade. I love Ignifex...
And all those thoughts were repeated over and over again. Get your sh*t together, girl! Yeah, everyone understood it. Although I bet that no one can understand Nyx. Her definition of love is not the definition of love I have. When did she thought she is in love with Shade? After he was nice to her in two occasions, kissed her hands, smiled at her and that's it. She didn't knew ANYTHING about him, but she was in love. But she fell in love with Ignifex at the same time, because he was nice to her too. And he was soo hot or whatever. The reality is, the only felt want and lust, not love.. I mean she would sleep with Ignifex in her lap and kiss Shade at the same time or something like that. No, no, this is not love. It's infatuation and lust, nothing more.
With a different heroine I MIGHT have liked this book but as it stands I didn't care for it much. It's not generally bad, just not my type of story....more
No stars - Didn't finished this book after page 50
The writing style is awkward and strange and the heroine is SO annoying... I just couldn't finish thNo stars - Didn't finished this book after page 50
The writing style is awkward and strange and the heroine is SO annoying... I just couldn't finish this book (although the ideas seemed really interesting)....more
Robert was a perfect hero, but the background story wasn't good, I found that part to be quite boring, and sadly the background story was too3.5 stars
Robert was a perfect hero, but the background story wasn't good, I found that part to be quite boring, and sadly the background story was too prominent in the second half of the book. It couldn't feel the romance and overall the story wasn't as emotional as expected. And because of the overpowering background story (about a theft for which Robert is blamed) there wasn't much space left for character development. Contrary to my expectations Roberts character was rather flat, this story could've been way better if Suzanne Enoch had used more time into developing his past. At least the romance was good in the first half (not later on!) and Lucinda was a nice heroine. I doubt I will remember this story in a few months, there was nothing memorable about the characters and story. ...more
Vorneweg: Bei "Rachel Crane" handelt es sich um ein Pseudonym von Brigitte Melzer und da ich ein großer Fan von ihr bin, spielt wahrscheinli4.5 Sterne
Vorneweg: Bei "Rachel Crane" handelt es sich um ein Pseudonym von Brigitte Melzer und da ich ein großer Fan von ihr bin, spielt wahrscheinlich ein gewisser Autorenbonus eine Rolle. Nichtsdestotrotz ist für mich "Elathar" ein guter Roman, der aber möglicherweise von einem anderen Autor nur 4 statt 5 Sterne bekommen hätte.
"Elathar" war wie alle Brigitte Melzer Romane sprachlich super geschrieben. Ihr Sprachstil ist schlichtweg fesselnd und zieht mich jedes Mal nach ein paar Sätzen sofort in seinen Bann. Mein größtes Problem mit "Elathar" war lediglich die Story, die in der Mitte etwas an Fahrt verliert und zu viel vor sich hinplätschert. Ich mochte die Prämise und die Idee hinter der Geschichte und auch der Weltenaufbau hat mir gut gefallen. Es handelt sich hier bei, um eher um eine mittelalterliche Welt in der es Magie gibt als um eine Welt a la Tolkien mit Elfen, Trollen und anderen außerweltlichen Wesen. Auch der Fokus der Geschichte liegt mehr auf der Liebesgeschichte als auf Spannung und Action, weshalb die Geschichte für mich eher in das Genre "High Romantasy" und "High Fantasy Light" fällt. Man sollte also eher eine Geschichte wie "Im Schatten des Dämons" von Brigitte Melzer oder "Der Spiegel von Feuer und Eis" von Lynn Raven erwarten. Allerdings wurde mir doch etwas zu viel Wert auf die Liebesgeschichte gelegt, was man von mir selten hört, da ich ein Fan von reinen Liebesgeschichten bin, jedoch mag ich es, wenn sich die Liebesgeschichte stetig weiterentwickelt und das war hier zwischenzeitlich nicht der Fall. Desweiteren kamen mir die Hintergrundgeschichte und die Ziele der Bösewichte viel zu kurz. Der Anfang war so gut, der Bösewicht kam zum Zug, man erfuhr von seinen Zielen, unser Held wurde vor eine große Aufgabe gestellt und dann... passierte erst einmal nichts. Der Bösewicht kam nicht an die Reihe, man erfuhr nichts mehr über ihn und er kam überhaupt nicht voran, nur leider kam auch Elathar nicht wirklich voran und da hätte ich mir einfach mehr erhofft. Bei "Im Schatten des Dämons" war der Bösewicht immer präsent, die Helden wurden vor neue Aufgaben gestellt und es gab immer eine Spur von Gefahr und das fehlte hier über weite Strecken komplett und das ist für mich auch der größte Kritikpunkt. Wäre im Mittelteil mehr passiert und hätte man auch nach der Einführung mehr über den Bösewicht und ein paar Nebencharaktere erfahren, was sie gerade planen etc. dann hätte ich den Roman deutlich besser gefunden und würde ihn jetzt sicher zu meinen Favoriten zählen! Auch zum Ende empfand ich die Spannungskurve als etwas enttäuschend, man hätte einfach mehr herausholen können. Es gab wenig wirklich überraschende Momente, aber es gab sie, auch wenn noch mehr möglich gewesen wären. An einer Stelle war ich einfach nur überrascht, weil ich so eine Wendung niemals erwartet hätte, aber vielleicht war ich nur blind, was die Hinweise anging. Es war nur etwas schade, dass tatsächlich so wenig Opfer erbracht werden mussten. (view spoiler)[Auch wenn ich es nicht mag, wenn nette Charaktere sterben, so empfinde ich es doch als etwas unrealistisch, wenn NIEMAND bei einem "Endkampf" stirbt und selbst Soldaten und krieger maximal schwer verletzt werden. Bei "Im Schatten des Dämons" wirkte die ganze Situation deutlich ernster und gefährlicher, weil zwischendurch wenigstens Nebencharaktere gestorben sind. (hide spoiler)] Das Ende war mir dementsprechend auch zu "happy", niemand kann mir erzählen, dass echte Fürsten tatsächlich so gehandelt hätten. Niemand ist so anständig. ;-)
Wie schon angedeutet, steht die Liebesgeschichte im Vordergrund, die sich erst nach einiger Zeit entwickelt, da sich die Charaktere nach einem kurzen Treffen am Anfang des Romans erst deutlich später wiedersehen und sie dann einen eher schlechten Start haben. Es ist keine wirkliche Feindschaft, da sie sich sympathisch sind, aber Rissa ist die Tochter des Beraters von Elathars Feind und Elathar ist Hauptmann einer Kompanie für Zauberjäger, was sie als Mensch mit magischen Fähigkeiten natürlich auf der Hut sein lässt. Im Mittelteil kommen sich Rissa und Elathar langsam näher, was sehr süß und romantisch war, allerdings die Geschichte etwas in die Länge zog. Ich hätte mir zwischendrin einfach mehr Einmischungen der Bösen gewünscht und etwas mehr Dynamik. Während sehr lange wenig passiert ist, ging es liebestechnisch am Ende Schlag auf Schlag, weshalb ich mir trotz der Länge von "Elathar" noch mehr Seiten gewünscht hätte oder eben eine Straffung in der Mitte des Romans. Nichtsdestotrotz hatte ich großen Spaß mit der Geschichte von Elathar und Rissa, da ich beide Charaktere sehr mochte.
Rissa ist für mich die typische "Brigitte Melzer-Heldin". Sie hat kein perfektes Leben, aber ist dafür ein durch und durch guter Mensch. Sie hat keinen bösen Knochen in ihrem Körper, ist immer bereit ein Opfer für das gute zu bringen und ist auch ansonsten einfach nur nett. Ich mochte sie und obwohl sie so perfekt war ging sie mir nicht auf die Nerven, weil man sie einfach mögen musste. Und im Gegensatz zu den Heldinnen, die immer alles können, sofort alles richtig machen und plötzlich zu den "Über-Helden" werden, hat man bei Rissa durchaus das Gefühl, dass sie menschlich ist. Sie hat Probleme, kann nicht alles perfekt und ist von der ganzen Situation auch manchmal überfordert, aber sie leidet eben unter einem kleinen oder eher großen Helfersyndrom.
Was Elathar angeht ging es mir ähnlich. Im Unterschied zu vielen anderen Helden von Brigitte Melzer ist er ein anständiger Kerl. Er ist nicht übertrieben fies zu Rissa und hat keine großen Fehler gemacht, wenn man da Daith aus "Im Schatten des Dämons" sieht, der ein großer, dunkler Krieger ist, der nicht davor zurückgescheut wäre Menschen umzubringen. Aber er ist dennoch ein Krieger und Liebe steht nicht unbedingt ganz oben auf seiner Prioritätenliste, was ich durchaus verstehen kann. In seiner Situation gibt es andere Probleme als Frauen. ;-)
Die Nebencharaktere waren eher blass, allerdings hat mir Elathars Freund richtig gut gefallen. Er war der perfekte "Liebeshelfer" und einfach nur süß. Was Elathars Halbbruder angeht, frage ich mich, ob man da vielleicht in Zukunft noch eine Fortsetzung erwarten kann. Ich würde mich freuen!
Fazit:
Keine perfekte Geschichte, aber genau das richtige für "High Romantasy" Fans, die leichte Unterhaltung mögen und froh sind, wenn es keine riesigen Schlachten und viel Blutvergissen gibt....more