aliciaclarereads's Reviews (1.25k)

This whole series was a pretty solid YA dystopiaish series that if I had picked up at age 16, I would've fallen for head over heals. The problem is when I'm about to turn 25 and I'm reading about 15 year olds... oh it just reads as so unrealistic. And makes me feel ancient. However, there's definitely a start to some interesting world-building in this book as the story gets a bit more international. I actually really enjoyed the dichotomy of the Colonies and the Republic as what could happen to the US

oh god we could fold into a corporate state so fast

. The storyline did feel a bit rushed, as so much time has passed since the last book and the first two books only took place over like two months? I also got a little bit bored during some of the action sequences, and I think it's because I just didn't enjoy Day's perspective much. He wasn't as interesting to me in this book. Meanwhile, my love for June totally grew and the ending KILLED ME, but also I loved it. I think a few things wrap up a little too neatly

the war ended too fast and things seemed so peaceful? IDK I guess I expected things to be messier. And sure Day forgetting June felt cliche but I loved it! I like the angst!!!!!

Anyway, I'm definitely keen on Marie Lu. I think her writing grew a lot in Warcross (which definitely felt influenced by part of this book), so she's a YA author I'm definitely going to keep up with.

This book took me forever to read. I kept trying to pick it up, but would only get through a few pages before falling asleep (because I was in bed, so not really the book's fault on that count) or putting it down in favor of something else. Try as I might, I couldn't get engaged with the central romance. I really enjoyed Charity's perspective, but Alistair was a real chore. I understand that he is obsessed with reputation and respectability to give him room to grow as a character, but all the growth was incredibly accelerated at the end and didn't feel worth it. Plus their central drama didn't feel like it had a lot of stakes, which is wild since Charity has been dressing as a man in Regency society, which is not historically inaccurate as Sebastian points out, but certainly highly unacceptable in "polite" society. It really just felt that so many issues could have been resolved faster by just speaking to each other, which is a really boring conflict for romance novels. There were also weird moments where the writing seemed to slip into slightly more modern phrasing that would kind of throw me off, which I don't remember from the other Sebastian work I've read.

I found Charity's relationships with Louisa and Keating really fascinating and would have loved to get more of a look at their interactions. Gilbert and Louisa were also adorable little puppies, that i kind of wished had been more of a comic relief to the novel. Plus, I liked the Allenbys a lot and am very interested in more stories from them and about the mother's salon (that's right I am rooting for some fictional Byron!!)

I was certainly leaning more towards 2 stars as this book seemed to drag on, but the ending did make up for some things. I did quite like how Sebastian resolved the story because it was incredibly fair and gracious to Charity. Anyway, I'm definitely still planning to read more Sebastian, because I think it's good for me to read some LGBTQ+ themed historical romance, since queer people were obviously alive and falling in love back then too.

There's a reason Pride & Prejudice is a well beloved classic. It hits the perfect notes of humor, social commentary, ridiculous characters, and a swoon worthy romance story. In fact, I hate arguments over whether it's a social satire or a love story - it exists as both, which is something many adaptations fail to understand. But Ibi Zoboi capture the essence of P&P perfect while updating it into a modern story. Instead of facing destitution because of entailed property to male heirs, the Benitez family faves raising rents and a gentrifying landscape to their beloved Bushwick neighborhood. Zuri is a perfect update of Lizzie; she's proud of her heritage as a Domincan-Haitian Brookklynite, protective of her wild sisters, and deeply judgmental of anything new. She gets a chance to open her mind and world, all while sticking to her core and being a vocal advocate of why she's scared of change. Darius Darcy is cold and aloof while he tries to balance his upper class upbringing with the realities of being a black teenager in the 21st century. The development of their love story was really satisfying and well-paced, an expertly balanced ode to the original Lizzie and Darcy while still being fresh and modern for our contemporary teenagers.

I think it's obvious - I really loved this book. Zoboi's ideas were so perfect to fit this story. You read a lot about the neighborhood's status and changing with a clever and funny charm. It avoids feeling like it's preaching to reader instead of what is: a real look at what's happening to neighborhoods like Bushwick. Plus it doesn't skimp on swoony moments between Zuri and Darius, which is ultimately what a good adaptation needs. I'm really impressed by this book, and I'm looking forward to picking up more from Ibi Zoboi!

read for PopSugar 2018 Challenge: a book that involves a bookstore or library

I first heard about Sadie via multiple booktube accounts, and the premise was so fascinating. Half of the book is narrated by Sadie, a girl intent on finding out what happened to her little sister who was murdered, the other half is a podcast covering the disappearance of Sadie. I listen to A TON of podcasts, so seeing this medium being used in novels was so intriguing. I (like many) started off with the gateway drug of podcasts, Serial, and it's was fascinating to see how it was used as a template for the podcast in the novel. I listened to this as an audiobook for the full podcast immersion experience, and I was really compelled by the story; I ended up staying awake until 1 am because I was eager to finish it.

True crime stories are most frequently centered around a dead girl, and Sadie is no exception. It's a really dark novel, leaning into the horrific details in life that we prefer to pretned won't exist. However, there is this glimmer of justice and revenge as we chase along with Sadie as she attempts to punish the evil in her world. Also, Sadie has a stutter, and I believe this is the first prominent character I've read with one. Her narrator's performance was stunning, and I love how sardonic Sadie could be, especially when she analyzed people's reactions to her.

I really liked the book, but I found that Sadie's portions were the much more compelling parts of the novel. West McCray, the podcast host, is a really underdeveloped character. He doesn't have any conviction in the story and is basically pushed along by his boss to investigate Sadie. It made the podcast episodes really lackluster. He's not quite Sarah Koenig who's fully invested in finding out Adnan's story in Serial, nor is he Laura Beil of Dr. Death, telling the story engagingly without personal involvement. He falls somewhere in the middle which is just... blah. I have no idea why he wanted to tell Sadie's story (and neither did he). Also McCray's narrator's performance was underwhelming. I've seen a lot of reviews compliment the production of the audiobook, but I listen to so many podcasts that this felt just... underdone. And I think most of that rides on the performances, but I wish the audiobook had incorporated some podcast or radio producers into the production of the audiobook to really make it feel more realistic. The podcast episodes do pick up the more the story goes on, but I was much too eager to return to Sadie's perspective. I also don't love full cast audiobooks. I mean, they're fine, but I typically prefer one narrator, although I completely understand why this was full cast. I just wish Sadie's chapters had been only her narrator. I found it a little disconcerting, but that's just a personal preference really.

I couldn't put this book down, which is what really reminded me of my favorite crime based podcasts, who you need to know what they're next going to report to you. The ending was ambiguous. Not unsatisfactory, but more realistic in the sense that you're not going to get every answer you might have wanted.

I desperately wanted one last Sadie chapter, but alas it was fitting that we don't get to know what happened

The mystery isn't overinvolved or complex, but things from both perspectives come together so nicely it lead to a lot of audible gasps and "oh shit!" moments from me.

read for Popsugar 2018 Reading Challenge: a book with an ugly cover

I’m glad to have finally checked this off the lost even though I didn’t love it. It was fine really! I laughed out loud a few times, but I don’t think it was particularly my type of humor. I can certainly see how his writing influenced Cat Valente’s and now I look forward to reading SPACE OPERA by her.

This was fine? I really love Bowen's writing, but I have trouble getting into novellas. Flynn felt so underdeveloped and I just didn't buy the romance. Charlotte certainly had more tension with King, and I'm curious if Bowen will give him a story...