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1.83k reviews by:
alyshadeshae
My full review is here on my personal website. I'll post a few excerpts here, though:
5.0 out of 5.0 stars
The very worst thing about this book is the simplistic way that certain things have been lost. I can understand the Builders having not allowed certain things into the city, but to keep the very important lockbox secret? What?! If I were to have built a city for this purpose, the “very important lockbox” would have been a “very large and centrally located safe” with some simple design/camouflage to prevent people from trying to force it open too soon.
The very best thing about this book is the city, the people, the mystery, Lina, Doon, the pipeworks, the- Well, take your pick! I can’t tell you all of the great elements existing in this book without reading the book to you! Even that “worst thing” was a necessary for the story to exist at all. ^_^
5.0 out of 5.0 stars
The very worst thing about this book is the simplistic way that certain things have been lost. I can understand the Builders having not allowed certain things into the city, but to keep the very important lockbox secret? What?! If I were to have built a city for this purpose, the “very important lockbox” would have been a “very large and centrally located safe” with some simple design/camouflage to prevent people from trying to force it open too soon.
The very best thing about this book is the city, the people, the mystery, Lina, Doon, the pipeworks, the- Well, take your pick! I can’t tell you all of the great elements existing in this book without reading the book to you! Even that “worst thing” was a necessary for the story to exist at all. ^_^
My full review is here on my personal website. I'll post a few excerpts here, though:
5.0 out of 5.0 stars
The very worst thing about this book is how quickly things get out of hand between the people of Ember and the people of Sparks. Granted, this is a fairly accurate representation of how it would work in the real world, but it seems unrealistic in a story. Does that make sense?
The very best thing about this book is that DuPrau quite literally picks the story up right where “The City of Ember” ended. There’s aren’t any “four months later” or “five years down the road” writing loopholes. She takes the citizens of Ember and works with them through the struggles of returning to the surface. That, to me, shows her ability and ambition as a writer. Her five stars are well earned.
5.0 out of 5.0 stars
The very worst thing about this book is how quickly things get out of hand between the people of Ember and the people of Sparks. Granted, this is a fairly accurate representation of how it would work in the real world, but it seems unrealistic in a story. Does that make sense?
The very best thing about this book is that DuPrau quite literally picks the story up right where “The City of Ember” ended. There’s aren’t any “four months later” or “five years down the road” writing loopholes. She takes the citizens of Ember and works with them through the struggles of returning to the surface. That, to me, shows her ability and ambition as a writer. Her five stars are well earned.
So, in case it wasn't obvious, there were dragons in this book. That made my day!
I really like the way this book (second in the series) picked up immediately where the fourth book left off. I feel that some authors get lazy and have important events happen between books so that they don't have to write it directly, but can reference it through indirect flashbacks.
I really like the way this book (second in the series) picked up immediately where the fourth book left off. I feel that some authors get lazy and have important events happen between books so that they don't have to write it directly, but can reference it through indirect flashbacks.
I was very pleased with this book. I really enjoyed the story and can't wait to finish the series so that I can interest my youngest brother in reading it.
Hap, by the way, is adorable - while suffering from amnesia, he still puts the needs of others before himself. Lord Umber was a bit of a surprise to me because I was not expecting any ties to our world from this book. My favorite character, so far, is Oates. He's grumpy, crazy strong, and honest because he was cursed to only tell the truth. His "honesty" often comes out quite snarky, though, and that's why I love him!
Hap, by the way, is adorable - while suffering from amnesia, he still puts the needs of others before himself. Lord Umber was a bit of a surprise to me because I was not expecting any ties to our world from this book. My favorite character, so far, is Oates. He's grumpy, crazy strong, and honest because he was cursed to only tell the truth. His "honesty" often comes out quite snarky, though, and that's why I love him!
A perfect ending. A truly perfect ending. I would have cried if I hadn't been so pleased. I did expect part of the ending, but I didn't expect the perfection of the epilogue. I will be recommending this series to sooooo many people!
I actually upped my rating by a star after rereading this. I still do not like the changing perspective and I still think that Ky and Cassia have to similar of a "voice" for it to be easily readable, but reading it immediately after [b:Matched|7735333|Matched (Matched, #1)|Ally Condie|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1367706191s/7735333.jpg|9631645] did bring a few of the less noticeable details together.
My full review is here on my personal website. I'll post a few excerpts here, though:
4.5 out of 5.0 stars
The very worst thing about this book is a section in the essay “Crime of Fashion” by Terri Clark. Apparently, she can’t leave her personal politics out of anything and is an Obama supporter. I say apparently because this is an assumption based on the fact that she criticizes Palin for having to buy a new wardrobe and not Obama for spending all the money that she does on a regular basis. Then on top of that, she claims Obama is better dressed than Palin. O_o
The very best thing about this book is how interesting all these essays are. Every last one of them keeps you thinking and they help bring back the pleasure of reading the books. :-) I’ll be rereading mine soon and then I’ll probably reread these essays.
4.5 out of 5.0 stars
The very worst thing about this book is a section in the essay “Crime of Fashion” by Terri Clark. Apparently, she can’t leave her personal politics out of anything and is an Obama supporter. I say apparently because this is an assumption based on the fact that she criticizes Palin for having to buy a new wardrobe and not Obama for spending all the money that she does on a regular basis. Then on top of that, she claims Obama is better dressed than Palin. O_o
The very best thing about this book is how interesting all these essays are. Every last one of them keeps you thinking and they help bring back the pleasure of reading the books. :-) I’ll be rereading mine soon and then I’ll probably reread these essays.
My full review is here on my personal website. I'll post a few excerpts here, though:
3.5 out of 5.0 stars
The very worst thing about this book is pretty much everything. *sigh* I had so many high hopes for this book, for the author’s maturity as a writer, for the character development, for the plot, and so on. Shockingly, this book is an improvement over the first two, but not by much.
The very best thing about this book is, like the first two, the cover. In this one, though, I’ll even toss in the very little bit of development of Luce’s character. She actually decides that she wants to figure out why she and Daniel are destined to be in love and all that good garbage. This apparently means a time travelling vacation. She visits a bunch of past lives, meets up with a gargoyle who “helps” her, and slowly (painfully slowly) comes to the conclusion that she does love Daniel. O_o I thought she already knew that…
We don’t really get any answers in this book and after finishing it, I can’t honestly give a reason as to why I thought Luce was developing so well, but because I felt throughout the book that she was, I went ahead and gave this one a 3.5 instead of the 2.0 I gave the first two. It’s not fully deserved, but I wasn’t beating my head against a wall the way I was (literally) with "Fallen" and "Torment" so we'll call that improvement.
3.5 out of 5.0 stars
The very worst thing about this book is pretty much everything. *sigh* I had so many high hopes for this book, for the author’s maturity as a writer, for the character development, for the plot, and so on. Shockingly, this book is an improvement over the first two, but not by much.
The very best thing about this book is, like the first two, the cover. In this one, though, I’ll even toss in the very little bit of development of Luce’s character. She actually decides that she wants to figure out why she and Daniel are destined to be in love and all that good garbage. This apparently means a time travelling vacation. She visits a bunch of past lives, meets up with a gargoyle who “helps” her, and slowly (painfully slowly) comes to the conclusion that she does love Daniel. O_o I thought she already knew that…
We don’t really get any answers in this book and after finishing it, I can’t honestly give a reason as to why I thought Luce was developing so well, but because I felt throughout the book that she was, I went ahead and gave this one a 3.5 instead of the 2.0 I gave the first two. It’s not fully deserved, but I wasn’t beating my head against a wall the way I was (literally) with "Fallen" and "Torment" so we'll call that improvement.