While this was a fine short story and it gives readers some more background info about Braden, he is really the only character that appears in this thWhile this was a fine short story and it gives readers some more background info about Braden, he is really the only character that appears in this that also appears in the rest of the series and it doesn't seem to add that much to the series as a whole. I realize, though, that this was meant to be read before the series while I did it after so my perspective on it isn't exactly what was intended. Still, the story was funny and cute and I felt bad for Braden, it's nice to know he makes friends later on in the other books.
I would recommendthis short story to anyone who's not sure if they want to read Witch Eyes because it gives some insight into the main character and might give you an idea about if you would like it or not.
Merged review:
While this was a fine short story and it gives readers some more background info about Braden, he is really the only character that appears in this that also appears in the rest of the series and it doesn't seem to add that much to the series as a whole. I realize, though, that this was meant to be read before the series while I did it after so my perspective on it isn't exactly what was intended. Still, the story was funny and cute and I felt bad for Braden, it's nice to know he makes friends later on in the other books.
I would recommendthis short story to anyone who's not sure if they want to read Witch Eyes because it gives some insight into the main character and might give you an idea about if you would like it or not....more
It was nice to see the stories from The Giver and Gathering Blue come together in Messenger, but I felt like the story itself was lacking.
Not all thatIt was nice to see the stories from The Giver and Gathering Blue come together in Messenger, but I felt like the story itself was lacking.
Not all that much happened in Messenger, and I'm not sure if it conveyed the message it was supposed to very well. I mostly enjoyed seeing characters from the other books interact with each other and I wasn't that invested in the actual story.
I think I should have stopped with The Giver, it was a strong book on its own and these companion novels just aren't on the same level....more
This book was alright, but compared to The Giver it wasn't that special. In fact, I felt like it was sort of similar in a lot of ways, even though theThis book was alright, but compared to The Giver it wasn't that special. In fact, I felt like it was sort of similar in a lot of ways, even though the society that was described in this book was quite different. I also got a little annoyed a few times with how obvious it was where things were going / what was going on, and that the main character never seemed to realize when she was in danger or put other people in danger.
It's not really fair, but I also sort of resented that we didn't learn more about the characters from the first book. I did catch one possible reference to Jonas, and I hope the two stories from these two books will be connected in the other books in the series.
I also felt like the ending wasn't very satisfying....more
I had many of the same problems with this book as with the first. The story dragged on for me and it never felt like it was flowing natMore 2.5 stars.
I had many of the same problems with this book as with the first. The story dragged on for me and it never felt like it was flowing naturally. Instead, it really seemed to be written around the photographs the author wanted to use, it felt very forced and I had a hard time getting through it.
None of the characters really changed or were developed much, I wasn't very invested in any of them, not even Jacob. The romance with Emma also still didn't work for me in the slightest.
Despite the things I disliked, I'm still a little curious about where the story goes. But I don't think I'm curious enough to get the third book. I hoped I might like this one more than the first because I now knew what to expect, but unfortunately, it just doesn't seem to be the series for me....more
Inheritance definitely has the same feel as Adaption but it's not as exciting and interesting.
It feels like a lot more time was spent on developing roInheritance definitely has the same feel as Adaption but it's not as exciting and interesting.
It feels like a lot more time was spent on developing romance in this one than in the first book, which is a shame because I was ready for more alien conspiracies and exciting action scenes. Nothing really exciting happened until well past the halfway point.
I did really enjoy the resolution of the love triangle, I really want to see more poly relationships in books, as well as bisexual relationships, I just wish there had been a better balance of plot and romance.
It's still a good book and I really like this series, but I was a little disappointed by the lack of action.
I've been a little hard on this series so far, mostly because of personal reasons, but The Last Ever After was a well written, fitting end to the trilI've been a little hard on this series so far, mostly because of personal reasons, but The Last Ever After was a well written, fitting end to the trilogy.
I still had my small complaints, and (view spoiler)[ I don't really like that Agatha and Sophie turned out to be sisters (hide spoiler)] but overall, it was really well done.
I think part of what what made me enjoy it so much was that the story didn't just take place at the schools. This allowed for new characters to be introduced who enhanced the plot in new and fun ways.
(view spoiler)[I also liked that The School Master wasn't really the big villain in the end. Sure, he was the antagonist but it was Sophie with all the power and her choice to do good that changed the world.
Most of all, I really liked that Sophie ended up alone in the end and that she was alright with it. I do think the change from her being scared of being alone to being happy and confident about it was a little quick, but it's still a good message. I also like how she became Dean of Evil.
I'm not a huge fan of the Agatha/Tedros ship but I do like both of them as characters and their end was cute (hide spoiler)]
I would definitely recommend this series if you like fairy tales and female friendships and if you don't mind silliness in books. ...more
With the first one, I had one big issue that I ranted about in my review. Looking back, I think I was perI've never been so conflicted about a series.
With the first one, I had one big issue that I ranted about in my review. Looking back, I think I was perhaps a little unfair about it, but my feelings remain the same. Read about it here.
That issue is still a thing for me in this sequel, but because I was so harsh on the first book, I've tried to ignore it in this one.
Still, despite that, I had a lot of problems with A World Without Princes while simultaneously liking many things about it. In order to make it easier for myself, I've split it up in two lists.
Things I liked:
- Sophie In this book, Sophie was a lot more sympathetic than in the first. It wasn't that I really disliked her in the first book, but in this one she seems a lot more believabe as a protagonist and someone you're rooting for. She still makes mistakes and she's still herself, but she tries to do the right thing.
- Tedros In the first book, I had trouble connecting with Tedros. He did nothing but annoy me and any depth the book tried to give him was lost on me. Seeing him in this one, especially when he opened up to a friend, made me like him a lot more. I still think he needs to sit down and think about things before charging into them, and that he needs to stop treating Agatha like she's either going to kill him or like she desperately needs his protection, but it was a definite improvement.
- The villain The Dean was a lot more interesting to me than the School Master was, because the School Master was barely around in the first book until the very end. He was a lot less threatening to me because of that.
- The end (view spoiler)[ While the end frustrated me a little, it also made me very excited for the last book in this series. Sophie and Agatha are now truly on different sides and it will make the next book start at a very tense place. I'm really hoping they'll end up friends in the end. (hide spoiler)]
Things I didn't like:
- Sexism
Yeah, this book had a lot of sexism going on. Because of the whole boys agains girls thing, I guess it was sort of inevitable, and I wouldn't have minded it if it had been addressed. Instead, what happens is that very good messages get mixed up with ludricous ones, making me a little confused about the author's intentions.
The girl's school in this book advocates girls getting choices about what they wear, girls not having to do make up or look good for boys but only for themselves if they want, girls not always needing a prince to rescue them and girls being good friends and having each other's backs. All of these are really great messages for young readers. But then that same school advocates that boys are awful and should be either killed or enslaved, which is ridiculous. It's just sort of unfortunate that both these changes in the school's philosophy seem to be treated sort of equally, like it's all just girls being ridiculous in their demands from the boys. I can't honestly tell if this was the intention or just weirdly written, but it annoyed me.
- Gender roles (view spoiler)[ I'm sorry but the way Sophie described how incredibly different it was to be a boy was just silly to me. Sure, there are a lot of differences between how boys and girls are raised and how other people react to them, but a different gender is not an alien species. I also wish the author would actually acknowledge same sex attraction as a thing, instead of putting in yet another same sex kiss but not actually talking about it in any way. (hide spoiler)]
- Miscommunication There's a limit of how many times a book can use miscommunication as a plot device. If it's done well, that limit is pretty high for me, but this book really toed the line. Everyone was keeping things from everyone and they all misunderstood one another. There were so many lies and confusions going on that I got confused a couple of times. I get that it's sometimes necessary to keep the plot moving, but there's also times where it just felt lazy. ...more
I wasn't the biggest fan of Birthmarked but there were parts of the story I liked enough for me to keep reading the series. One of those things was GaI wasn't the biggest fan of Birthmarked but there were parts of the story I liked enough for me to keep reading the series. One of those things was Gaia as a main character. Unfortunately, in Prized Gaia seems to have become a completely different person. She spends most of the book doing nothing, which is very different from the active protagonist we got in the first book. I feel like most of her time was spent in a love square with three different boys, which was very annoying and unnecessary.
One of the guys is Leon, from the first book. I have do admit, I didn't really like him too much in that one, but at least he was consistent as a character. In Prized he seems to change his personality every few chapters, acting completely differently without much reason or explanation. He's also really mean to Gaia a few times and I'm having a hard time believing she would actually like someone so awful to her.
I had a bit of a problem with the Sylium as a whole. First, it didn't make sense to me how the minority had the power. If there are 10 times as many men as there are women, I just don't believe that the women have all the power.
I also sort of resent the way a female led society was shown in this book. It seems to me that when it's a male led dystopian society, everyone suffers and is opressed pretty much the same way. But when it's a female led society, it's almost cartoonish in it's oppression of the men only. They can't vote, are seen as only good for making babies, and can be put in jail for attempted rape if they as much as hug or kiss a girl in public (???), even if she says it was consensual . It's very hard to believe and I found myself rolling my eyes a lot whenever they talked about how bad the men had it here.
I also found it really weird (view spoiler)[ that Gaia gets elected leader at the end of the book. Really? You're asking the sixteen year old girl who's only been there for a few months to be your leader? I don't care what she accomplished in her time there, it's just not a thing people would do. (hide spoiler)]...more
This was a great sequel to The Young Elites, it took everything I liked from that book and amplified it. It's full of action, and new characters get iThis was a great sequel to The Young Elites, it took everything I liked from that book and amplified it. It's full of action, and new characters get introduced that I liked a lot more than the ones Adelina mostly interacted with in the first book. I loved Magiano especially.
Adelina continues to be anything but a typical YA protagonist and I love it. I can't wait to see how this series ends....more
After reading the fantastic first book of this series, the mediocre second book and now the disappointing third one, I'm firmly convinced this series After reading the fantastic first book of this series, the mediocre second book and now the disappointing third one, I'm firmly convinced this series should have been a stand alone and ended after Half a King
I can't say nothing happened in Half a War, but somehow despite the large amount of action, I was still bored. I couldn't get myself invested in any of the new characters and I found myself not caring much about any of the old ones either. It's a bad sign if a big character's death leaves you cold.
I also found a few of the things that were uncovered in this book strange, some things (like the plot twist about the elf ruins) just came a little too much out of the left field for me.
There was romance in this book but I didn't care for it at all. Rin and Koll were a weird match because I always thought she was a lot older than him. They had no chemistry and seemed to only be put together so Koll had some conflict to work through. The other romance between Raith and Skara felt even less natural. Both pairings had no build up, they felt really flat.
I'm sad this series ended on such a bad note for me, but I won't forget how much I enjoyed Half a King....more
I somewhat liked this book, the story kept my attention and I liked the different characters. The premise had potential.
But compared to The Three it lI somewhat liked this book, the story kept my attention and I liked the different characters. The premise had potential.
But compared to The Three it looks weak. It was less scary and less interesting. I missed the format of the first book where you find things out slowly through interviews, and I found it annoying that there still weren't really many explanations given for anything that happened.
Basically, it was okay but not great, especially compared to the first book....more
While I did enjoy this book, I think it's my least favorite out of the series.
I felt like while the most important things were wrapped up, there were While I did enjoy this book, I think it's my least favorite out of the series.
I felt like while the most important things were wrapped up, there were still a bunch of smaller plot points that were never really resolved. The ending felt a little incomplete because of it. Like (view spoiler)[ I wanted to know why Doctor White lied for Gwyneth's sake and I wanted to see some sort of resolution with the ghost of his son. Also, perhaps there could have been more speculation about the consequences of the two main characters now being immortal, they seemed not that bothered by it. (hide spoiler)]
There were still some good action scenes, humor and unexpected twists that made the book very enjoyable, but I still feel like it could have been a little bit better with some more details. ...more
This story is delightfully creepy and definitely sticks in your mind after reading. The way the story is told is in the form of articles, emails, tranThis story is delightfully creepy and definitely sticks in your mind after reading. The way the story is told is in the form of articles, emails, transcripts and interviews, and it works really well. You get a lot of different perspectives, some of which contradict eachother, but they all form one cohesive story that sucks you in and doesn't let you go.
I do have a small complaint about the ending. (view spoiler)[ I feel like it was left a little too vague, which makes it just the slightest bit unsatisfying. It definitely makes you keep thinking about it after you've finished, but a little more of a definite resolution would have been better. (hide spoiler)]
I keep going through this books at a breakneck speed because I really can't focus on anything else at the moment, I need to know what happens next!
SapI keep going through this books at a breakneck speed because I really can't focus on anything else at the moment, I need to know what happens next!
Sapphire Blue was a little bit weaker than Ruby Red in my opinion because less new things happened and the main character frustrated me a little with some of her decisions. It was still a really great book, though, and I can't wait to see how this series ends. I think this could be one of my favorite series for a long time....more
Wow, this was a lot better than the first book. I loved seeing the military tactics play out and the plot was really exciting the entire way through. Wow, this was a lot better than the first book. I loved seeing the military tactics play out and the plot was really exciting the entire way through. It had some plot twists I definitely didn't expect and I think it set things up really well for the last book.
The relationship between Damen and Laurent is a lot more interesting to me in this book. The way they slowly grow close was beautifully written and I grinned like an idiot while reading most of their interactions.
Definitely a huge improvement, can't wait for the last one....more
While this book was still alright, I don't think it was nearly as good as the first.
When I saw this book had a female protagonist I was real3,5 stars.
While this book was still alright, I don't think it was nearly as good as the first.
When I saw this book had a female protagonist I was really happy but it wasn't enough for me. I really liked Thorn, she was probably my favorite character in this, but I didn't really enjoy her romance with Brand, which unfortunately took up a large part of the story. I honestly wasn't a big fan of Brand in general, which is probably why I had trouble keeping my attention on this book, seeing as about half the chapters are from his point of view.
I did really enjoy seeing Yarvi in a very different light in this book. And just like the first one, it definitely wasn't predictable. But there also wasn't as big a twist as in the first one, which is a shame. ...more
Dark Places was just as dark and twisted as I expected, I loved it. The way the story was set up was really clever, using 3 different point of view chDark Places was just as dark and twisted as I expected, I loved it. The way the story was set up was really clever, using 3 different point of view chapters to slowly uncover what happened to the Day family. I really liked Libby and how she grew during the story and the ending made a lot of sense and was a bit of a surprise. ...more
Sharp Objects Is the first book by Gillian Flynn I've read and it was wonderfully disturbing. I read it in a single day because I couldn't put it downSharp Objects Is the first book by Gillian Flynn I've read and it was wonderfully disturbing. I read it in a single day because I couldn't put it down, it was really well written and kept my attention the entire time.
What I loved about this book that it wasn't as much about the mystery of "who did it" as I expected. The ending isn't a complete surprise and the big reveal isn't the reason you keep reading. The story is so artfully fucked up and twisted that it's a wonderful read even if you guess who the killer is early on, it didn't depend on the big reveal to be interesting. ...more
Shadowplay was almost as magical as it's prequel. I missed the magic of the circus a little but new characters introduced in this book largely made upShadowplay was almost as magical as it's prequel. I missed the magic of the circus a little but new characters introduced in this book largely made up for that. Micah was still a great character and I loved his relationship with Drystan. There was just a wonderful atmosphere throughout the entire story.
The only thing I have to complain about is that I felt like the backstory and visions were shoehorned in the story a little awkwardly, it didn't flow as well as the rest.
Still, this is a minor thing. I really loved this book and I'll wait anxiously for the next one....more
I want to start this off by saying that this book was incredibly hard to rate, so I went with 3 stars because I wasn't sure what else to do.
The builduI want to start this off by saying that this book was incredibly hard to rate, so I went with 3 stars because I wasn't sure what else to do.
The buildup was so slow that I literally had to force myself to keep going at times and I constantly had to reread sentences to make sure I sort of understood what was going on, you're basically tossed into a fictional world with tons of silly and strange rules and explanations aren't always immediately given.
But all this buildup does lead to some very satisfying chapters near the end. Once I understood more about what was happening (which unfortunately was past the halfway point of the book) the story started getting more enjoyable. We finally got some answers about what was really going on near the end, and the final chapter was just a punch to the gut in a very emotional way.
I did feel like it tried a little too hard to be absurdly funny at times but there were some very interesting aspects to this world (like everything to do with colors) and once you get used to the writing style, it's really nice to read.
So this was a bit of a mixed bag for me I wasn't sure at first but in the end I came around, I'll definitely keep an eye out for the sequels....more