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It pains me to even see this two stars Ratings … a Rating I would have never thought possible to give to one book of the Shatter Me series, but here we are, and it fucking hurts.
Shatter Me has been one of my all time favorite trilogies out there in the universe, and I was excited to see it get Extended to a six-book-series. Due to the open ending of Ignite Me, I could see how the build up of a new world could be interesting, was eager to see the Kids together rebuilding the world. But we got None of that. Instead, the worldbuilding became bigger without much of a worldbuilding, and history started to play an important role in the present of our beloved characters. And beside the minor issues I had with Restore Me and Defy Me, I still could see the potential for this series to find an ending that could have changed the game.
Instead, we got a repetition of the same plot over and over. Juliette has been kidnapped … like three days after she was just rescued. Why waste potential pages to a rescue mission that does nothing to the plot (except for the Warner's Birthday Party? I'm glad we got it.. but it wasn't necessary. Let alone that proposal. You two just got back together, remember?). She could have easily used that specific pages for the brainwashing Juliette had to go through in Imagine Me, and then be rescued. Or … start the final battle?
And don't get me started on her weird attraction to Anderson while being "Robo J". I get where this is coming from. He is Warner and Adam's father after all. But to this extent? It was gross, and made me sick the entire time while reading it. And most importantly, it didn't contribute to anything. It was just there… to make us feel sick. Without any purpose. (It surely didn't help her remember Warner … the fuck)
Let's put the focus now on Warner, shall we? Now that we have Robo J who's got brainwashed in Imagine Me, one could expect that Warner will narrate through this story. WRONG. Warner could've easily not been mentioned at all. As whatever we got from him felt so out of character. There was not a single POV from Warner (and no, I don't Count that epilogue). Tahereh's explanation was that Warner's mind would've been too dark, too murderous. Not the right way to narrate the story. But what she forgot is that Warner IS the second protagonist of the story. She basically removed any development he went through, bringing him back to a murderous prick who apparantly can only be hated if Juliette isn't around. This way, she created an dependent character that … can be like able without his soulmate? What? I did not spend years obsessing over Warner to see his character destroyed like that? And yes. I would have ENJOYED his POV, especially because he was in a dark place. Like, we do realize that Shatter Me started with a Juliette that has been in a bad place, as well? I wanted to see those feelings, see what he's going through. FEEL FOR HIM.
And now let's talk about who actually carried the whole story on his shoulders. Kenji.
I love Kenji, I really do. But nevertheless, this does not change that Kenji is a side character, and while I know that chapters in his POV were needed, it made no sense to let him narrate everything. I did not want to observe Warner or Juliette through Kenji's eyes. That's not what I signed up for.
And shall we talk about the plot, now? The better question would be: which plot?
Restore Me and Defy Me weren't the strongest books in building up a strong base, I admit. But they did well enough to keep me intrigued and gave us enough material that could have been worked on. Instead not one single plotline was continued in this book. We don't receive enough information to understand ANY of the worldbuilding better. And all of it is solved in a chapter because Juliette decides to now listen to her sister and kill her? (Last time they saw each other, she refused and promised to find another way? WHAT?) And then how about setting the whole building in fire, and be done with it?
Which brings us to one place. The ending of Ignite Me.
We don't know what they will rebuild. What the new world will look like. What is exactly about to happen. Hell, we don't even know in what state of mind each character is left behind.
The open ending worked for Ignite Me, but did not for Imagine Me. As half the characters were only briefly mentioned, or whatever happend to them happened … off page. The only thing we know is that Juliette and Warner have their wedding TWO EFFING WEEKS after this. You serious? And we don't even get to see that Warnette moment either. No, we just get to see Juliette being worshipped by a mass of people and Adam who betrayed the whole team being the happiest guy alive. (Adam?Happy? After ALL OF THAT? yeah.. I want to taste those drugs too).
Honestly, this has been the most disappointing ending I ever came across off. Not only did this book lack to give us a proper ending, but literally destroyed the development of characters and the plot build up of the previous two books.
At this point, I'll just deny the existence of Imagine Me.
Shatter Me has been one of my all time favorite trilogies out there in the universe, and I was excited to see it get Extended to a six-book-series. Due to the open ending of Ignite Me, I could see how the build up of a new world could be interesting, was eager to see the Kids together rebuilding the world. But we got None of that. Instead, the worldbuilding became bigger without much of a worldbuilding, and history started to play an important role in the present of our beloved characters. And beside the minor issues I had with Restore Me and Defy Me, I still could see the potential for this series to find an ending that could have changed the game.
Instead, we got a repetition of the same plot over and over. Juliette has been kidnapped … like three days after she was just rescued. Why waste potential pages to a rescue mission that does nothing to the plot (except for the Warner's Birthday Party? I'm glad we got it.. but it wasn't necessary. Let alone that proposal. You two just got back together, remember?). She could have easily used that specific pages for the brainwashing Juliette had to go through in Imagine Me, and then be rescued. Or … start the final battle?
And don't get me started on her weird attraction to Anderson while being "Robo J". I get where this is coming from. He is Warner and Adam's father after all. But to this extent? It was gross, and made me sick the entire time while reading it. And most importantly, it didn't contribute to anything. It was just there… to make us feel sick. Without any purpose. (It surely didn't help her remember Warner … the fuck)
Let's put the focus now on Warner, shall we? Now that we have Robo J who's got brainwashed in Imagine Me, one could expect that Warner will narrate through this story. WRONG. Warner could've easily not been mentioned at all. As whatever we got from him felt so out of character. There was not a single POV from Warner (and no, I don't Count that epilogue). Tahereh's explanation was that Warner's mind would've been too dark, too murderous. Not the right way to narrate the story. But what she forgot is that Warner IS the second protagonist of the story. She basically removed any development he went through, bringing him back to a murderous prick who apparantly can only be hated if Juliette isn't around. This way, she created an dependent character that … can be like able without his soulmate? What? I did not spend years obsessing over Warner to see his character destroyed like that? And yes. I would have ENJOYED his POV, especially because he was in a dark place. Like, we do realize that Shatter Me started with a Juliette that has been in a bad place, as well? I wanted to see those feelings, see what he's going through. FEEL FOR HIM.
And now let's talk about who actually carried the whole story on his shoulders. Kenji.
I love Kenji, I really do. But nevertheless, this does not change that Kenji is a side character, and while I know that chapters in his POV were needed, it made no sense to let him narrate everything. I did not want to observe Warner or Juliette through Kenji's eyes. That's not what I signed up for.
And shall we talk about the plot, now? The better question would be: which plot?
Restore Me and Defy Me weren't the strongest books in building up a strong base, I admit. But they did well enough to keep me intrigued and gave us enough material that could have been worked on. Instead not one single plotline was continued in this book. We don't receive enough information to understand ANY of the worldbuilding better. And all of it is solved in a chapter because Juliette decides to now listen to her sister and kill her? (Last time they saw each other, she refused and promised to find another way? WHAT?) And then how about setting the whole building in fire, and be done with it?
Which brings us to one place. The ending of Ignite Me.
We don't know what they will rebuild. What the new world will look like. What is exactly about to happen. Hell, we don't even know in what state of mind each character is left behind.
The open ending worked for Ignite Me, but did not for Imagine Me. As half the characters were only briefly mentioned, or whatever happend to them happened … off page. The only thing we know is that Juliette and Warner have their wedding TWO EFFING WEEKS after this. You serious? And we don't even get to see that Warnette moment either. No, we just get to see Juliette being worshipped by a mass of people and Adam who betrayed the whole team being the happiest guy alive. (Adam?Happy? After ALL OF THAT? yeah.. I want to taste those drugs too).
Honestly, this has been the most disappointing ending I ever came across off. Not only did this book lack to give us a proper ending, but literally destroyed the development of characters and the plot build up of the previous two books.
At this point, I'll just deny the existence of Imagine Me.
WHERE DO I BEGIN WITH THIS?
Let's fast forward to the end. THAT one was killer strong, and had me sitting on the edge of my chair (or couch) most of the time. (Seriously, my back hurts from hunching over the book. Anyone up for a massage?) I just saw myself flipping page after page, devouring chapter after chapter until the very last one that TRULY was EPIC writing wise. Reminding me of those epic movie scenes where you see tiny seconds of different moments overlapping with other moments. Everything happening so fast but still owning that slow-motion feel! DAMN. GLORIOUS!
But until we reach that point (and cause for my back pain), I found myself not as invested in the story as I should have been. Most of the plot was just watching the squad reach one stop to depart for another, and while Amie and Jay knew how to hide perfect plot points along their journey, I felt that everything beside those was not interesting enough. The plot didn't grip me, didn't make me flip those pages like a lunatic, didn't do anything to me except for hoping that maybe one of those mentioned plot points might finally be picked up.
Look, I know the purpose of sequels is not only to move the story and plot faster forward in order to reach the end in the upcoming books. They are mostly about the journey and the effects that come with it - especially for the characters. And we got that. But before I talk about the characters, let me dwell a second longer on the topic of the plot. Because that's exactly what the plot did. Dwell in that big void of the galaxy, and not really deliver anything I can work with. Yes, secrets were unveiled, more questions have come up, revelations have been made. But non of them lasted long enough for me to actually get a better understanding of the journey. I still found myself asking "Are we here yet?" or "Is something finally happening?" for the most part of the book.
It was not until shit got real for the characters that I started to feel their impact, and therefore started to get invested in the story. Because despite their famously sarcastic remarks and witty dialogues, I couldn't connect as easily to them as I did in the first book.
However, when things started to become more serious. That's when the back pain started to kick in. I quickly got from a just lying lazy on my bed to a very unhealthy hunched-over-the-book-position, soaking everything in, and whispering "nononononono" (or in a less PG13 version "fuckfuckfuckfuckfuck"). And THAT was all I was here for.
I got invested in the characters again. Feared for their well-being, wanted them all cuddled up and secure, and even the romance started to feel interesting enough for me. And that's where the mindfucks started to kick in, and where the story really really started to kill me.
And that's where we get back to the starting point of this review: the end. PERFECTION! Just the way I like my books. Painful, painful, painful - but full of everything a brilliant book needs! Action, revealing plotlines, characters I can connect to, amazing writing, and that hint that this story is taking us to a whole different level than we could have anticipated!
Overall, this book is a great sequel to the amazing Aurora Rising , and I can definitely say that the characters (despite my personal difficulties to connect to them quickly) saved even the very slow and uneventful parts of the book, and proved yet another time that Squad 312 came to not only give us this story, but stay with us forever. The most suprising character? Zila. Damn. While I cared for her enough in AR, she never was my focus of the story. But damn. She did steal the show a couple of times. And she stole my heart.
#Finianstaysmyhero
Let's fast forward to the end. THAT one was killer strong, and had me sitting on the edge of my chair (or couch) most of the time. (Seriously, my back hurts from hunching over the book. Anyone up for a massage?) I just saw myself flipping page after page, devouring chapter after chapter until the very last one that TRULY was EPIC writing wise. Reminding me of those epic movie scenes where you see tiny seconds of different moments overlapping with other moments. Everything happening so fast but still owning that slow-motion feel! DAMN. GLORIOUS!
But until we reach that point (and cause for my back pain), I found myself not as invested in the story as I should have been. Most of the plot was just watching the squad reach one stop to depart for another, and while Amie and Jay knew how to hide perfect plot points along their journey, I felt that everything beside those was not interesting enough. The plot didn't grip me, didn't make me flip those pages like a lunatic, didn't do anything to me except for hoping that maybe one of those mentioned plot points might finally be picked up.
Look, I know the purpose of sequels is not only to move the story and plot faster forward in order to reach the end in the upcoming books. They are mostly about the journey and the effects that come with it - especially for the characters. And we got that. But before I talk about the characters, let me dwell a second longer on the topic of the plot. Because that's exactly what the plot did. Dwell in that big void of the galaxy, and not really deliver anything I can work with. Yes, secrets were unveiled, more questions have come up, revelations have been made. But non of them lasted long enough for me to actually get a better understanding of the journey. I still found myself asking "Are we here yet?" or "Is something finally happening?" for the most part of the book.
It was not until shit got real for the characters that I started to feel their impact, and therefore started to get invested in the story. Because despite their famously sarcastic remarks and witty dialogues, I couldn't connect as easily to them as I did in the first book.
However, when things started to become more serious. That's when the back pain started to kick in. I quickly got from a just lying lazy on my bed to a very unhealthy hunched-over-the-book-position, soaking everything in, and whispering "nononononono" (or in a less PG13 version "fuckfuckfuckfuckfuck"). And THAT was all I was here for.
I got invested in the characters again. Feared for their well-being, wanted them all cuddled up and secure, and even the romance started to feel interesting enough for me. And that's where the mindfucks started to kick in, and where the story really really started to kill me.
And that's where we get back to the starting point of this review: the end. PERFECTION! Just the way I like my books. Painful, painful, painful - but full of everything a brilliant book needs! Action, revealing plotlines, characters I can connect to, amazing writing, and that hint that this story is taking us to a whole different level than we could have anticipated!
Overall, this book is a great sequel to the amazing Aurora Rising , and I can definitely say that the characters (despite my personal difficulties to connect to them quickly) saved even the very slow and uneventful parts of the book, and proved yet another time that Squad 312 came to not only give us this story, but stay with us forever. The most suprising character? Zila. Damn. While I cared for her enough in AR, she never was my focus of the story. But damn. She did steal the show a couple of times. And she stole my heart.
#Finianstaysmyhero
It‘s been six years since I binge-read the first three books of The Mortal Instruments, and devoured the masterpiece of The Infernal Devices. It‘s been six years since I picked up City of Fallen Angels, and DNFed because I needed a short break from the Shadowhunters. A short break that lasted ... you guessed it right ... SIX LONG YEARS!
I remembered well enough why I put this book aside years ago. After the wonderful conclusion of City of Glass, and the masterpiece that The Infernal Devices trilogy has been, this book just didn‘t have enough to grip me. And after all these years, I still felt it was hard to properly become invested into the story at first. What kept me reading was the nostalgic feelings I was overwhelmed with. Meeting all this characters again, after they have been such an important part of my teenage years.
However, after the rather slow beginning the story eventually picked up, and I surely would have obsessed more over it if I hadn‘t seen Netflix‘ Shadowhunters show.
Most of the times, I feel authors don‘t properly think it through when they decide to continue a series after it already met its ending and was considered finished. Cassandra Clare proved me wrong. Despite the fact that the book was dragging the most part, I know that Clare took this time to properly introduce us into a new adventure of the Shadowhunters, and after the climax and ending of this book, I‘m sure I will start obsessing over the next two books as I did years ago with the first three books.
Overall, the plot starts to be really promising and I already feel a sense of enjoying it more than the one of the previous three books. (I mean we got rid of the incest, right? And evil demons? Count me in.) What I enjoyed most was meeting the characters again and remembering how much I loved them, and how much they meant to me. After the movie and TV show, I surely have forgot how cool some characters are and how badass and hot others. And don‘t get me started on the many mentions of Will Herondale. MY FEELS!!!!!!!
And now let me get back to drawing runes all over my skin. Thank you very much.
3.5 stars overall.
I remembered well enough why I put this book aside years ago. After the wonderful conclusion of City of Glass, and the masterpiece that The Infernal Devices trilogy has been, this book just didn‘t have enough to grip me. And after all these years, I still felt it was hard to properly become invested into the story at first. What kept me reading was the nostalgic feelings I was overwhelmed with. Meeting all this characters again, after they have been such an important part of my teenage years.
However, after the rather slow beginning the story eventually picked up, and I surely would have obsessed more over it if I hadn‘t seen Netflix‘ Shadowhunters show.
Most of the times, I feel authors don‘t properly think it through when they decide to continue a series after it already met its ending and was considered finished. Cassandra Clare proved me wrong. Despite the fact that the book was dragging the most part, I know that Clare took this time to properly introduce us into a new adventure of the Shadowhunters, and after the climax and ending of this book, I‘m sure I will start obsessing over the next two books as I did years ago with the first three books.
Overall, the plot starts to be really promising and I already feel a sense of enjoying it more than the one of the previous three books. (I mean we got rid of the incest, right? And evil demons? Count me in.) What I enjoyed most was meeting the characters again and remembering how much I loved them, and how much they meant to me. After the movie and TV show, I surely have forgot how cool some characters are and how badass and hot others. And don‘t get me started on the many mentions of Will Herondale. MY FEELS!!!!!!!
And now let me get back to drawing runes all over my skin. Thank you very much.
3.5 stars overall.
This book surely was a rollercoaster that I wouldn‘t go back in line for.
I was sold the moment I saw the cover & heard it was a Les Dames Blanches „retelling“ with an enemies to lovers trope. SOLD. Therefore, you can imagine my expectations were set high.
And almost all of them weren't met. Look, it is still a good book. It is still something that I can see people enjoy. But it just wasn't what it promised to be. But before I spill all the tea, and cover the mess with all the salt I have to offer, let's focus on the good part of this book: the worldbuilding.
For someone who wanted to give people in the fashion of the mysterious ladies from France a great backstory, Kathryn Purdie definitely succeeded to create a world and magic system that had me hooked. Like for the most part, I asked myself whether I would be able to be a Bone Crier myself with all the prices it came. Because I really really want to. But that price? Damn, way too high! I loved the way she created a magical system connected to gods, death and the afterlife while also emphasizing the importance of life and vitality. The world we got presented in this book could easily become a favorite of mine. But was, unfortunately, overshadowed by the characters and their lack to convince me.
See, if you sell a story as "enemies to lovers" to me, you need to know, I'm not taking excuses. You either sell this romance and the characters good, or don't even start bothering me with the enemy talk in the first place. Ailesse and Bastien both started off as strong characters that had a purpose in life. One, to become a ferrier of the dead, one to revenge the dead. So you can guess I was very excited to see their paths cross, and ready for the drama.
The drama just never happened. It's not even that the romance didn't convince me (which it didn't), but even the enemies part of this trope was just not convincing enough to make me care about their future or relationship. Where's the tension? Where's the angst? Where's the hate? I didn't feel any of it. So I just sat there, hoping the tension would come any moment, and instead had to watch the two characters losing their potential while also falling in love with no transition whatsoever.
And that is what bothers me most: no transition. Not if it came to the feelings of the characters, their motivation, their development. Nothing.
The story kicks off with such a promising, strong start, and the ending does pick up that strength again and delivers us some great moments. But the middle part of the book just felt repetitive and empty, focusing too much on unnecessary scenes instead of development - character and plotwise.
Who suprised me was Sabine, the secondary character. Not expecting her POV or her bigger role in this book, she saved most of the slow middlepart by letting us readers come closer to the world and magic system of the world. As her story was more connected to the worldbuilding (which as mentioned I truly enjoyed), I was more invested in her storyline than that of the two protagonists. If it wasn't for her and the world of the Bone Criers, this book could have easily ended up as a DNF.
Overall, it's an okay book one can enjoy if the expectations are not set high. It has a strong start, lots of potential (that I still see for the sequel!), and an ending that does make me want to pick up the sequel! Sabine is the true star of the book, stealing everyone's show. The romance unfortunately didn't satisfy me for a second, and caused way too many plotholes in the already too weak middle that lacked of transition and proper development.
I'm still unsure whether this is 2.5 or 3, so let's settle with 3 stars.
I was sold the moment I saw the cover & heard it was a Les Dames Blanches „retelling“ with an enemies to lovers trope. SOLD. Therefore, you can imagine my expectations were set high.
And almost all of them weren't met. Look, it is still a good book. It is still something that I can see people enjoy. But it just wasn't what it promised to be. But before I spill all the tea, and cover the mess with all the salt I have to offer, let's focus on the good part of this book: the worldbuilding.
For someone who wanted to give people in the fashion of the mysterious ladies from France a great backstory, Kathryn Purdie definitely succeeded to create a world and magic system that had me hooked. Like for the most part, I asked myself whether I would be able to be a Bone Crier myself with all the prices it came. Because I really really want to. But that price? Damn, way too high! I loved the way she created a magical system connected to gods, death and the afterlife while also emphasizing the importance of life and vitality. The world we got presented in this book could easily become a favorite of mine. But was, unfortunately, overshadowed by the characters and their lack to convince me.
See, if you sell a story as "enemies to lovers" to me, you need to know, I'm not taking excuses. You either sell this romance and the characters good, or don't even start bothering me with the enemy talk in the first place. Ailesse and Bastien both started off as strong characters that had a purpose in life. One, to become a ferrier of the dead, one to revenge the dead. So you can guess I was very excited to see their paths cross, and ready for the drama.
The drama just never happened. It's not even that the romance didn't convince me (which it didn't), but even the enemies part of this trope was just not convincing enough to make me care about their future or relationship. Where's the tension? Where's the angst? Where's the hate? I didn't feel any of it. So I just sat there, hoping the tension would come any moment, and instead had to watch the two characters losing their potential while also falling in love with no transition whatsoever.
And that is what bothers me most: no transition. Not if it came to the feelings of the characters, their motivation, their development. Nothing.
The story kicks off with such a promising, strong start, and the ending does pick up that strength again and delivers us some great moments. But the middle part of the book just felt repetitive and empty, focusing too much on unnecessary scenes instead of development - character and plotwise.
Who suprised me was Sabine, the secondary character. Not expecting her POV or her bigger role in this book, she saved most of the slow middlepart by letting us readers come closer to the world and magic system of the world. As her story was more connected to the worldbuilding (which as mentioned I truly enjoyed), I was more invested in her storyline than that of the two protagonists. If it wasn't for her and the world of the Bone Criers, this book could have easily ended up as a DNF.
Overall, it's an okay book one can enjoy if the expectations are not set high. It has a strong start, lots of potential (that I still see for the sequel!), and an ending that does make me want to pick up the sequel! Sabine is the true star of the book, stealing everyone's show. The romance unfortunately didn't satisfy me for a second, and caused way too many plotholes in the already too weak middle that lacked of transition and proper development.
I'm still unsure whether this is 2.5 or 3, so let's settle with 3 stars.
Watch our #BookTalkWithWifey talk at https://www.instagram.com/tv/CBTfuMvA8Sy/ to get a full book discussion for this book!
Actual rating: 3.5 stars
What a confusing, yet intriguing tale!
With The Midnight Lie Marie Rutkoski takes us back to the world of the Winner's trilogy, a world dearly loved by me, and takes us on an unexpected journey. We don't get to explore Herran or Valorian, let alone Darca. Instead we find ourselves on an island that has been isolated from the rest of the world. The world does not know of ist existence, and the people from the Herrath does not know of the existence of something else.
"It is as it is."
As we follow Nirrim, the Protagonist, and try to understand in what strange place we find ourselves, confusion is our dear companion. But it's not the sort of confusion that makes you Question everything. It's the sort of confusion that lets you be swept away, following the story without hesitation, and eager to find out more. Rutkoski's writing is so different than what I know from the Winner's trilogy, but this time, her beautiful prose sings to us as in a lullaby, and I was sold within the first pages. From the detailed and metaphor-filled descriptions to the fast-paced and witty dialogues, there was not a single moment that I did not enjoy her writing.
Yes, the writing added to the confusion as much as the story, but as the plot slowly moved forward, I found myself enjoying my lack of knowledge. We were on the same page as Nirrim, didn't know more or less. (Except the fact that we know of Valorian and Herran, if one has read the Winner's trilogy!). But as much as I enjoyed the fact, that also has been an issue I had. Nirrim isn't the most likeable character I've read, and being stuck in her head dragged the story a bit too much at certain points. Sometimes I wasn't Feeling that anything of importance was happening, and had to endure Nirrim's questions and thoughts.
The character that stole my heart in this one was Sid. Who was intriguing enough to let you forget that the story took a slower pace, or that Nirrim was asking herself the wrong questions. I adored reading the scenes with Sid, and truly enjoyed the F/F romance Marie Rutkoski created!
Overall, I really enjoyed and liked this tale, and am eager to find out what happens next in the sequel - especially after that promising and shocking ending.
Actual rating: 3.5 stars
What a confusing, yet intriguing tale!
With The Midnight Lie Marie Rutkoski takes us back to the world of the Winner's trilogy, a world dearly loved by me, and takes us on an unexpected journey. We don't get to explore Herran or Valorian, let alone Darca. Instead we find ourselves on an island that has been isolated from the rest of the world. The world does not know of ist existence, and the people from the Herrath does not know of the existence of something else.
"It is as it is."
As we follow Nirrim, the Protagonist, and try to understand in what strange place we find ourselves, confusion is our dear companion. But it's not the sort of confusion that makes you Question everything. It's the sort of confusion that lets you be swept away, following the story without hesitation, and eager to find out more. Rutkoski's writing is so different than what I know from the Winner's trilogy, but this time, her beautiful prose sings to us as in a lullaby, and I was sold within the first pages. From the detailed and metaphor-filled descriptions to the fast-paced and witty dialogues, there was not a single moment that I did not enjoy her writing.
Yes, the writing added to the confusion as much as the story, but as the plot slowly moved forward, I found myself enjoying my lack of knowledge. We were on the same page as Nirrim, didn't know more or less. (Except the fact that we know of Valorian and Herran, if one has read the Winner's trilogy!). But as much as I enjoyed the fact, that also has been an issue I had. Nirrim isn't the most likeable character I've read, and being stuck in her head dragged the story a bit too much at certain points. Sometimes I wasn't Feeling that anything of importance was happening, and had to endure Nirrim's questions and thoughts.
The character that stole my heart in this one was Sid. Who was intriguing enough to let you forget that the story took a slower pace, or that Nirrim was asking herself the wrong questions. I adored reading the scenes with Sid, and truly enjoyed the F/F romance Marie Rutkoski created!
Overall, I really enjoyed and liked this tale, and am eager to find out what happens next in the sequel - especially after that promising and shocking ending.
To find out what I thought of this book, check out our #BookTalkWithWifey February booktalk https://www.instagram.com/tv/B9y5grXAFat/ !
Come and watch Chiara from @_ckarys on IG and me discuss this book for our #BookTalkWithWifey December chat at https://www.instagram.com/tv/B79IwQIgGzp/
Watch our #BookTalkWithWifey chat here https://www.instagram.com/tv/BzoEyc0IN4u/
This is my first Jay x Amy book since I am still utterly terrified to start the Illuminae-files because of it's formatting and style, but since I already sold my sould to Jay's writing, I was expecting to have a fantastic ride.
and boy, I did.
The problem I usually have with books about a group of misfits or outsiders that have to go on a quest together, or plan a heist, or run away, or whatever adventure is waiting for them, is that it always, A L W A Y S, reminds me of Bardugo's dregs from the Six Of Crow duology. It's not that her band of misfits was the first ever created, but it was the first story that made me be invested in each character and fall in love with the idea of having a bunch of kids (because they are kids) do good or bad stuff, and achieving the impossible without sticking to the rules. With Aurora Rising though, I had no problem to forget about the dregs of Ketterdam, and fell in love instead with the Squad 312. Every one of them.
The best trait of this book was the group of characters we met and started to love. Kaufman and Kristoff created seven unique personalities that fit so well with each other that I truly had a hard time picking a favorite in the beginning. (If you want to know who my favorite is: IT IS FINIAN MA BOYYYYYYYYY!).
For someone who doesn't read a lot of Science Fiction books (because I find myself often confused and overwhelmed by the setting), I truly enjoyed the worldbuilding of this story and how we got introduced to it. A lot of the explanation was done through memories or inner monologues of the characters, but most of it has been introduced to us through Auri, one of the main characters. And while we started to understand how this world works and what laws and morals exist in it, we never got bored or thought to know all.
This book was an amazing ride, all in one. Starting from the way we got introduced to the world and characters to the climax and plottwists at the end. I can't wait for the sequel to get all the answers I need because I have SO MANY questions .... and a bad need of seeing my boy Finian again.
#IamgonnagiveFinianallthelovehedeserves
This is my first Jay x Amy book since I am still utterly terrified to start the Illuminae-files because of it's formatting and style, but since I already sold my sould to Jay's writing, I was expecting to have a fantastic ride.
and boy, I did.
The problem I usually have with books about a group of misfits or outsiders that have to go on a quest together, or plan a heist, or run away, or whatever adventure is waiting for them, is that it always, A L W A Y S, reminds me of Bardugo's dregs from the Six Of Crow duology. It's not that her band of misfits was the first ever created, but it was the first story that made me be invested in each character and fall in love with the idea of having a bunch of kids (because they are kids) do good or bad stuff, and achieving the impossible without sticking to the rules. With Aurora Rising though, I had no problem to forget about the dregs of Ketterdam, and fell in love instead with the Squad 312. Every one of them.
The best trait of this book was the group of characters we met and started to love. Kaufman and Kristoff created seven unique personalities that fit so well with each other that I truly had a hard time picking a favorite in the beginning. (If you want to know who my favorite is: IT IS FINIAN MA BOYYYYYYYYY!).
For someone who doesn't read a lot of Science Fiction books (because I find myself often confused and overwhelmed by the setting), I truly enjoyed the worldbuilding of this story and how we got introduced to it. A lot of the explanation was done through memories or inner monologues of the characters, but most of it has been introduced to us through Auri, one of the main characters. And while we started to understand how this world works and what laws and morals exist in it, we never got bored or thought to know all.
This book was an amazing ride, all in one. Starting from the way we got introduced to the world and characters to the climax and plottwists at the end. I can't wait for the sequel to get all the answers I need because I have SO MANY questions .... and a bad need of seeing my boy Finian again.
#IamgonnagiveFinianallthelovehedeserves