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btwnprintedpgs's Reviews (1.3k)
First off, thank you for the ARC Razorbill~
Secondly, I’d just like to mention the cover of this book ’cause it’s absolutely beautiful and every time I see it I stare at it in wonder for a good five minutes.
On to the actual contents of the book (’cause I’m sure you’d like to know something about it).
Black City lives up to its name. The buildings are charred, the school left in partial ruins, and everything seems just a little bit darker in this place. Not only that, but the city’s split by a looming wall. There’s the charred and burnt side of the city for humans (sounds great, no?), and then there’s the polluted, diseased ghetto, for the Darklings (The humans don’t have it so bad now, eh?). Within the ghetto, the Wrath, a disease among the Darkling race, is spreading, slowly contaminating every Darkling trapped behind the wall.
Epically creepy dystopian city? Check.
Enter Natalie Buchanan. She’s one of the Emissary’s daughters. She’s spoiled, and rude at the beginning of the book, seemingly looking down upon the ‘work boots’ (those who do not work within the government, but do other tasks around the city) and rebelling against going to school with them. However, as irritating as her character was at the beginning, I really grew to love her as the book went on. She went from spoiled brat to a kick ass heroine. Although she does turn to Ash throughout the book, she’s confident enough to tackle her own problems, no matter how insane they are. By the end of the book, I had some mad respect for her.
Now there’s Ash Fisher. He’s a twin-blood Darkling, the only vague species of Darkling still allowed on the city side of the wall (i.e. he’s half human, half Darkling). Ash is a Haze dealer, a drug that can be extracted or released from Darklings only. As much as he hates it, it’s one of the only thing he can do to survive. He comes off as a total bad-ass, but he’s a pretty good guy, and I loved his character from the start.
There are three things that I want to point out specifically:
1. The insta-love. Yes, yes, the stupid instant love moment where the character look at each other and their worlds blow up. Well, it’s something like that, but the author provided a very good reason as to why there is insta-love in the books, so don’t rage quit in the first few infuriating moments of electric shock.
2. There is some history to the book. Although some other people reviewing the book said the novel was missing the history lesson, they didn’t totally. Richards provided a fair amount of information and I feel that as the series moves forward, more about the original war will be revealed.
3. Richards takes the Twilight Vamps and makes them into something new, interesting. Darklings aren’t exactly vampires. They won’t set fire in the sun (or sparkle), they can’t change you into a Darkling (you’re either born as one, or half of one…), and they’re not all mighty. They have strength and agility, but they’re different from vampires in a number of ways. They also can contract disease (i.e. the Wrath), reproduce, and there’s even different types of Darklings. So for the ignorant who keep calling it a vampire novel, it isn’t. Yes, they’re alike to vampires in the sense that they do drink blood, but honestly, that’s about where the similarities end.
This book does show racial tension (humans v.s. Darklings (they’re people too!)), there are scenes of drug use (and abuse), torture, deaths (crucifixion), etc. Although these scenes are necessary to move the story forward, I’m just throwing that out there for people who can’t stomach it.
I really enjoyed this book, in all honesty. I know I say that a lot (I mean, it’s not my fault so many awesome books exist), but this one took some real life insanity and applied it to the story: government schemes, concentration camps, protests (both peaceful and violent), racial tension (albeit we don’t have Darklings versus humans in our world, but even in today’s society, racism is still a very real concept that continues to effect our daily lives), religious bias, and poverty. I really enjoyed the ideas presented in this books and hope that the rest of the series is just as great ~
Plot: 5/5
Characters: 5/5
World Building: 5/5
Cover: 5/5
Overall: 5/5
GoodReads Rating: 3.79/5
-review by http://betweenprintedpages.wordpress.com/
Secondly, I’d just like to mention the cover of this book ’cause it’s absolutely beautiful and every time I see it I stare at it in wonder for a good five minutes.
On to the actual contents of the book (’cause I’m sure you’d like to know something about it).
Black City lives up to its name. The buildings are charred, the school left in partial ruins, and everything seems just a little bit darker in this place. Not only that, but the city’s split by a looming wall. There’s the charred and burnt side of the city for humans (sounds great, no?), and then there’s the polluted, diseased ghetto, for the Darklings (The humans don’t have it so bad now, eh?). Within the ghetto, the Wrath, a disease among the Darkling race, is spreading, slowly contaminating every Darkling trapped behind the wall.
Epically creepy dystopian city? Check.
Enter Natalie Buchanan. She’s one of the Emissary’s daughters. She’s spoiled, and rude at the beginning of the book, seemingly looking down upon the ‘work boots’ (those who do not work within the government, but do other tasks around the city) and rebelling against going to school with them. However, as irritating as her character was at the beginning, I really grew to love her as the book went on. She went from spoiled brat to a kick ass heroine. Although she does turn to Ash throughout the book, she’s confident enough to tackle her own problems, no matter how insane they are. By the end of the book, I had some mad respect for her.
Now there’s Ash Fisher. He’s a twin-blood Darkling, the only vague species of Darkling still allowed on the city side of the wall (i.e. he’s half human, half Darkling). Ash is a Haze dealer, a drug that can be extracted or released from Darklings only. As much as he hates it, it’s one of the only thing he can do to survive. He comes off as a total bad-ass, but he’s a pretty good guy, and I loved his character from the start.
There are three things that I want to point out specifically:
1. The insta-love. Yes, yes, the stupid instant love moment where the character look at each other and their worlds blow up. Well, it’s something like that, but the author provided a very good reason as to why there is insta-love in the books, so don’t rage quit in the first few infuriating moments of electric shock.
2. There is some history to the book. Although some other people reviewing the book said the novel was missing the history lesson, they didn’t totally. Richards provided a fair amount of information and I feel that as the series moves forward, more about the original war will be revealed.
3. Richards takes the Twilight Vamps and makes them into something new, interesting. Darklings aren’t exactly vampires. They won’t set fire in the sun (or sparkle), they can’t change you into a Darkling (you’re either born as one, or half of one…), and they’re not all mighty. They have strength and agility, but they’re different from vampires in a number of ways. They also can contract disease (i.e. the Wrath), reproduce, and there’s even different types of Darklings. So for the ignorant who keep calling it a vampire novel, it isn’t. Yes, they’re alike to vampires in the sense that they do drink blood, but honestly, that’s about where the similarities end.
This book does show racial tension (humans v.s. Darklings (they’re people too!)), there are scenes of drug use (and abuse), torture, deaths (crucifixion), etc. Although these scenes are necessary to move the story forward, I’m just throwing that out there for people who can’t stomach it.
I really enjoyed this book, in all honesty. I know I say that a lot (I mean, it’s not my fault so many awesome books exist), but this one took some real life insanity and applied it to the story: government schemes, concentration camps, protests (both peaceful and violent), racial tension (albeit we don’t have Darklings versus humans in our world, but even in today’s society, racism is still a very real concept that continues to effect our daily lives), religious bias, and poverty. I really enjoyed the ideas presented in this books and hope that the rest of the series is just as great ~
Plot: 5/5
Characters: 5/5
World Building: 5/5
Cover: 5/5
Overall: 5/5
GoodReads Rating: 3.79/5
-review by http://betweenprintedpages.wordpress.com/
This book was perfect. There's really no other way to describe it. P-E-R-F-E-C-T. Perfect.
This Girl continues from the end of Point of Retreat, and while enjoying each others' company, Lake asks Will what went through his head throughout the events in Slammed. From first sight, to first kiss, Will brings us back to where it all began.
As with Losing Hope, This Girl is way more than just Slammed 2.0. Untold secrets are revealed, and through that short time, we see Will and Lake's relationship grow. I have to say though, while it was awesome getting to see everything from Will's point of view, I think Gavin also really got to shine in this book. We learn a lot about him and see that he knew WAY more than he was letting on. This is also where we got to see Will and Gavin's friendship grow as much as we got to see Eddie and Lake become close friends in Slammed.
In this novel, we also get to see some new slams, and some old ones. As I've said before, I love the spoken word poems that Colleen Hoover came up with for this series. They're just perfect, fitting, and are just amazingly written. I've always loved spoken word, but often times, the feelings get lost without hearing the actual performance. Colleen Hoover made it work though. Not just in This Girl, but all three books. The emotions translated into the poems were fueled by the books context leading up to the pieces and in the end, it didn't matter that I couldn't hear or see Will, Lake, or anyone on that stage, I still felt every single one of those words spoken.
Lastly, when I found out the meaning behind the title of this book my heart broke a little, but then in the end I was so happy and was legitimately jumping with joy. Ahh~~ Forever an emotional roller coaster with this series, like MY GOODNESS. And the stars OMFG the stars and, ugh, just love. So much love for this series!
With all the new slams, the present day tomfoolery, and that final epilogue and poem, I think This Girl was the perfect conclusion to the series. Absolutely breathtaking and captivating, I loved this book!
Plot: 5/5
Characters: 5/5
Writing: 5/5
Cover: 5/5
Overall: 5/5
GoodReads Rating: 4.39/5
An ARC of this book was provided by Simon and Schuster Canada through GoodReads First Reads in exchange for an honest review.
This Girl is currently purchasable as an ebook. Paperback copies will be in stores August 13, 2013!
-review by Between Printed Pages
This Girl continues from the end of Point of Retreat, and while enjoying each others' company, Lake asks Will what went through his head throughout the events in Slammed. From first sight, to first kiss, Will brings us back to where it all began.
“What was it like the first time you saw me?" she asks. "What was it about me that made you want to ask me out? And tell me everything, even the bad thoughts."
I laugh. "There weren't any bad thoughts. Naughty thoughts, maybe. But not bad."
She grins. "Well then tell me those, too.”
As with Losing Hope, This Girl is way more than just Slammed 2.0. Untold secrets are revealed, and through that short time, we see Will and Lake's relationship grow. I have to say though, while it was awesome getting to see everything from Will's point of view, I think Gavin also really got to shine in this book. We learn a lot about him and see that he knew WAY more than he was letting on. This is also where we got to see Will and Gavin's friendship grow as much as we got to see Eddie and Lake become close friends in Slammed.
Did he really just threaten to blackmail me?
I pick up my pen and pull my lesson plan in front of me, breaking eye contact with him. "Gavin, you won't tell," I say, laughing.
He groans at my response, because he knows he would never stoop that low. "You're right. I'd never tell. But don't you think you owe it to me for being so trustworthy?" he says.
In this novel, we also get to see some new slams, and some old ones. As I've said before, I love the spoken word poems that Colleen Hoover came up with for this series. They're just perfect, fitting, and are just amazingly written. I've always loved spoken word, but often times, the feelings get lost without hearing the actual performance. Colleen Hoover made it work though. Not just in This Girl, but all three books. The emotions translated into the poems were fueled by the books context leading up to the pieces and in the end, it didn't matter that I couldn't hear or see Will, Lake, or anyone on that stage, I still felt every single one of those words spoken.
Those are the hardest pieces of all to accept.
The pieces of our puzzle
That just don't belong
Lastly, when I found out the meaning behind the title of this book my heart broke a little, but then in the end I was so happy and was legitimately jumping with joy. Ahh~~ Forever an emotional roller coaster with this series, like MY GOODNESS. And the stars OMFG the stars and, ugh, just love. So much love for this series!
With all the new slams, the present day tomfoolery, and that final epilogue and poem, I think This Girl was the perfect conclusion to the series. Absolutely breathtaking and captivating, I loved this book!
Plot: 5/5
Characters: 5/5
Writing: 5/5
Cover: 5/5
Overall: 5/5
GoodReads Rating: 4.39/5
An ARC of this book was provided by Simon and Schuster Canada through GoodReads First Reads in exchange for an honest review.
This Girl is currently purchasable as an ebook. Paperback copies will be in stores August 13, 2013!
-review by Between Printed Pages
This book is compared to the likes of Fifty Shades of Grey and Sylvia Day’s Crossfire series, and that sets the bar pretty high for most. Unfortunately, The Silver Chain did not live up to such expectations, as it was a book with many flaws. It took all my willpower to finish this book, and you all know how hard I try to always soldier on until the end. Somehow, the journey seemed a lot longer with this novel.
The Silver Chain has the newly popular equation set: small town girl trying to make it meets rich billionaire who’s ready to get it on. When I first picked up this book, I thought it was another BDSM, contracted relationship. However, while there was such things in the novel it lacked the overall idea of a BDSM contract, and instead became more kinky sex than anything. It’s true, there is a contract, but while Anastasia Steele had an extensive list of cans and can’ts, Serena basically signed up to be Gustav Levi’s whore, trading sex for money, or in this case, for fame in the art world. Until her exhibition sells out, or until Christmas, Serena was supposedly at Gustav’s beck and call, and honestly, this idea was one of the things that turned me off of the book, especially since she insisted that she wanted to stand on her own two feet and be independent… um kay, then why are you signing up for this?
The second thing was Serena. By gods. This girl switches from amiable, to crazy, to sexy, to jealous, to panicky, to insecure, to confident, to upset and tear-stained, to happy. I think her mood swings gave me whiplash. And I’m not kidding about how quickly her mood changes. It’s a serious problem, and it had me whirling in confusion wondering how we got from point A to point B to point Z in twenty pages. I also had an issue with Serena’s selfishness and disregard for the feelings of those around her. I understand that she has trust issues, but my goodness, when you throw a fit like that after seeing the church in which a guy, who’s not even technically yours, got married to his ex-wife… I think you need to calm the frick down and BREATHE. Nothing Gustav ever says to her gets through her thick skull. She’s not fazed by an insult, and when he says someone’s dead to him, she still insists that said person is a HUGE part of his life and that he hasn’t moved on in the least.
UM. NO.
And this girl had MAJOR jealousy issues. Like I understand you are falling for this guy, okay, that’s great. But when you haven’t made these feelings obvious, or even told said guy, he’ll still keep thinking you’re a-okay with being his whore. So when you start feeling jealous, and start whipping out insults and shit on this guy, well, he may be a tad confused. Also, the fact that Gustav brings her to help him get over his past, and she starts making the trip all about her, her jealousy, insecurities, and just her, her, her, you have to really wonder what he sees in this girl.
The dialogue is hard to get through. At times, it doesn’t seem like they’re really living in the present day, where the London Eye is spinning around happily, and art has a high price in society. Instead, it often feels like their living in the Elizabethan age where the guy has to be a gentleman, and his words are all poetic and when read, makes you imagine them being said by Romeo and Juliet with a cardboard balcony in the background. With all the poetry, and references to Pygmalion and Orpheus, the dialogue got bogged down and just didn’t flow right.
Adding to all that, some of the stuff Gustav says is downright demeaning, and yet Serena finds it utterly attractive and sexy. But when Jake says stuff like that it’s crude. So it’s okay for a pretty rich guy to call you a whore, but it’s not okay for your ex to call you a tease… OKAY.
Although I didn’t mind the symbolism the silver chain brought to the table, it was overdone throughout the novel, and fairly unrealistic at some points. Also, I don’t care how invisible the chain it, to wear that in public, especially at an art opening where lots of people are milling around, isn’t practical. And the fact that no one seemed to notice made it absolutely unrealistic.
Continuing with the writing issues, Bond seems to have a love for similes and analogies. They are everywhere throughout the book, and I could have lived without at least 80% of them, if not more. There’s also so many questions. Why this, how that? A particular favourite of mine was:
Um… isn’t everyone like that. I don’t know a single person who’s content with wearing high heels, or even comfy sneakers, 24/7…
Overall, this book did very little for me. While the author tried to add depth to her characters, with screwed up childhoods and messed up baggage from the past, it just didn’t hit me hard or make me feel anything ’cause there was WAY too much drama from Serena’s ME ME ME show. There were a number of plot holes too, like Serena’s fear of thunder or lightning. It affected her once, but all the other times throughout the novel, not a single frick was given. The only things in this book that peaked my interest were the descriptions of the art and photography, and, unfortunately, the end. Therefore, as hard as it was to drag myself through this book, I now feel the need to read the next book because of the last, like, ten pages.
The Silver Chain was definitely not my cup of tea, but I’m only one person. All in all, this novel could have been so much better…
Plot: 1.5/5
Characters: 2/5
World Building: 3/5
Writing: 1/5
Cover: 3.5/5
Overall: 1.5/5
GoodReads Rating: 2.96/5
A copy of this book was provided by Mischief Books, of HarperCollins UK, Avon, through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
-review by Between Printed Pages
The Silver Chain has the newly popular equation set: small town girl trying to make it meets rich billionaire who’s ready to get it on. When I first picked up this book, I thought it was another BDSM, contracted relationship. However, while there was such things in the novel it lacked the overall idea of a BDSM contract, and instead became more kinky sex than anything. It’s true, there is a contract, but while Anastasia Steele had an extensive list of cans and can’ts, Serena basically signed up to be Gustav Levi’s whore, trading sex for money, or in this case, for fame in the art world. Until her exhibition sells out, or until Christmas, Serena was supposedly at Gustav’s beck and call, and honestly, this idea was one of the things that turned me off of the book, especially since she insisted that she wanted to stand on her own two feet and be independent… um kay, then why are you signing up for this?
The second thing was Serena. By gods. This girl switches from amiable, to crazy, to sexy, to jealous, to panicky, to insecure, to confident, to upset and tear-stained, to happy. I think her mood swings gave me whiplash. And I’m not kidding about how quickly her mood changes. It’s a serious problem, and it had me whirling in confusion wondering how we got from point A to point B to point Z in twenty pages. I also had an issue with Serena’s selfishness and disregard for the feelings of those around her. I understand that she has trust issues, but my goodness, when you throw a fit like that after seeing the church in which a guy, who’s not even technically yours, got married to his ex-wife… I think you need to calm the frick down and BREATHE. Nothing Gustav ever says to her gets through her thick skull. She’s not fazed by an insult, and when he says someone’s dead to him, she still insists that said person is a HUGE part of his life and that he hasn’t moved on in the least.
UM. NO.
And this girl had MAJOR jealousy issues. Like I understand you are falling for this guy, okay, that’s great. But when you haven’t made these feelings obvious, or even told said guy, he’ll still keep thinking you’re a-okay with being his whore. So when you start feeling jealous, and start whipping out insults and shit on this guy, well, he may be a tad confused. Also, the fact that Gustav brings her to help him get over his past, and she starts making the trip all about her, her jealousy, insecurities, and just her, her, her, you have to really wonder what he sees in this girl.
The dialogue is hard to get through. At times, it doesn’t seem like they’re really living in the present day, where the London Eye is spinning around happily, and art has a high price in society. Instead, it often feels like their living in the Elizabethan age where the guy has to be a gentleman, and his words are all poetic and when read, makes you imagine them being said by Romeo and Juliet with a cardboard balcony in the background. With all the poetry, and references to Pygmalion and Orpheus, the dialogue got bogged down and just didn’t flow right.
Adding to all that, some of the stuff Gustav says is downright demeaning, and yet Serena finds it utterly attractive and sexy. But when Jake says stuff like that it’s crude. So it’s okay for a pretty rich guy to call you a whore, but it’s not okay for your ex to call you a tease… OKAY.
Although I didn’t mind the symbolism the silver chain brought to the table, it was overdone throughout the novel, and fairly unrealistic at some points. Also, I don’t care how invisible the chain it, to wear that in public, especially at an art opening where lots of people are milling around, isn’t practical. And the fact that no one seemed to notice made it absolutely unrealistic.
Continuing with the writing issues, Bond seems to have a love for similes and analogies. They are everywhere throughout the book, and I could have lived without at least 80% of them, if not more. There’s also so many questions. Why this, how that? A particular favourite of mine was:
On my feet is another pair of fluffy white socks. How did she know I’m at my most comfortable in socks or bare feet?
Um… isn’t everyone like that. I don’t know a single person who’s content with wearing high heels, or even comfy sneakers, 24/7…
Overall, this book did very little for me. While the author tried to add depth to her characters, with screwed up childhoods and messed up baggage from the past, it just didn’t hit me hard or make me feel anything ’cause there was WAY too much drama from Serena’s ME ME ME show. There were a number of plot holes too, like Serena’s fear of thunder or lightning. It affected her once, but all the other times throughout the novel, not a single frick was given. The only things in this book that peaked my interest were the descriptions of the art and photography, and, unfortunately, the end. Therefore, as hard as it was to drag myself through this book, I now feel the need to read the next book because of the last, like, ten pages.
The Silver Chain was definitely not my cup of tea, but I’m only one person. All in all, this novel could have been so much better…
Plot: 1.5/5
Characters: 2/5
World Building: 3/5
Writing: 1/5
Cover: 3.5/5
Overall: 1.5/5
GoodReads Rating: 2.96/5
A copy of this book was provided by Mischief Books, of HarperCollins UK, Avon, through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
-review by Between Printed Pages
I’ve been tracking this book for a while, and when it came out on May 9th, I ran to get it (figuratively, that is, as it’s an ebook and I’m always on my computer). I started reading it and I was actually kind of disappointed. I don’t know if it was my high expectations that made it seem a little worse than it was at the time, or simply because there was just that general something that bothered me, but as much as I love the back cover, I couldn’t bring myself to fully fall in love with what was on the pages.
I liked the dialogue, I really did (for the most part). There were a lot of jokes and innuendos that appealed to me as a teenager (I think I’m still allowed to call myself that). It was very up to date, using language and jokes a lot of YA readers would understand. I even appreciated the use of Dude ’cause I always say that and get weird looks for it.
What I didn’t like as much about the book was the inner dialogue. The non-chalance of the character seemed forced, as the narrator (West) would always state that he “didn’t even care” if others were looking, judging, or criticizing him. That’s great to have that familiarity, and confidence, but I felt that it could have been expressed in another way. I understand that each person has their little writing quirks, like I say “SO ANYWAYS” and “like” and “but” a lot, probably more than I should, but I feel that as an author, one should try to reduce that.
I also did not love his relationship with his father or the fact that there was little description about him actually vlogging. Where authors like Sarah Dessen can make a crappy parent to child relationship seems real, tangible, painful, Augustine kind of made it irritating, as if he hadn’t put enough work into it. Also, where Susane Colasanti put in parts of Dirk’s radio show, Augustine brushed over West’s vlogging like it was nothing. We only saw vlog’s that were full of emotion and never posted, instead of the ones that were funny and were uploaded for the world to see. I really wish instead of looking to make a short quick summer novel, he had focused more on the finer details of the relationship, of the actions, and of the vlogging, since that’s what brought him and “Harper” together in the first place, kind of… and a little less on the touchy feely stuff. Maybe I’m gender roling (which my soc friends would kill me for), but I felt like West really delved into his feeling A LOT more than most of the guys I know would, and most of the guys I read about would. Does that make it wrong? No, not at all, because I know there are guys like that. Was it a little overkill the way Augustine pushed it? Just a little. I felt that some of the arguments raised, as to why there was a conflict here and there, were not really relevant, or even rational. Again, maybe it’s just me and I’m overanalyzing, but I would have liked more relationship building over in-my-head tug-of-war.
What I did love about Augustine’s writing was the explanation as to why he was the way he was, and I cried ’cause of it. It was emotional and that part was REALLY well written. I also loved Cat’s character and how she was the strong one and pulled through for West no matter how much of a pain in the butt he was being. I respected the character for that. The emails and dialogue, overall, were witty, and entertaining, which was a big plus.
All in all, Augustine won me over but lost me here and there as well. Will I read another novel by him? Yes, because I feel that he has room to improve and seems the have the will to, and that makes all the difference. Overall, Click to Subscribe was relevant and fairly well written, and I truly enjoyed it !~
Plot: 3.5/5
Characters: 3/5
World Building: 4/5
Cover: 5/5
Overall: 3.5/5
GoodReads Rating: 3.53/5
-review by http://betweenprintedpages.wordpress.com/
I liked the dialogue, I really did (for the most part). There were a lot of jokes and innuendos that appealed to me as a teenager (I think I’m still allowed to call myself that). It was very up to date, using language and jokes a lot of YA readers would understand. I even appreciated the use of Dude ’cause I always say that and get weird looks for it.
What I didn’t like as much about the book was the inner dialogue. The non-chalance of the character seemed forced, as the narrator (West) would always state that he “didn’t even care” if others were looking, judging, or criticizing him. That’s great to have that familiarity, and confidence, but I felt that it could have been expressed in another way. I understand that each person has their little writing quirks, like I say “SO ANYWAYS” and “like” and “but” a lot, probably more than I should, but I feel that as an author, one should try to reduce that.
I also did not love his relationship with his father or the fact that there was little description about him actually vlogging. Where authors like Sarah Dessen can make a crappy parent to child relationship seems real, tangible, painful, Augustine kind of made it irritating, as if he hadn’t put enough work into it. Also, where Susane Colasanti put in parts of Dirk’s radio show, Augustine brushed over West’s vlogging like it was nothing. We only saw vlog’s that were full of emotion and never posted, instead of the ones that were funny and were uploaded for the world to see. I really wish instead of looking to make a short quick summer novel, he had focused more on the finer details of the relationship, of the actions, and of the vlogging, since that’s what brought him and “Harper” together in the first place, kind of… and a little less on the touchy feely stuff. Maybe I’m gender roling (which my soc friends would kill me for), but I felt like West really delved into his feeling A LOT more than most of the guys I know would, and most of the guys I read about would. Does that make it wrong? No, not at all, because I know there are guys like that. Was it a little overkill the way Augustine pushed it? Just a little. I felt that some of the arguments raised, as to why there was a conflict here and there, were not really relevant, or even rational. Again, maybe it’s just me and I’m overanalyzing, but I would have liked more relationship building over in-my-head tug-of-war.
What I did love about Augustine’s writing was the explanation as to why he was the way he was, and I cried ’cause of it. It was emotional and that part was REALLY well written. I also loved Cat’s character and how she was the strong one and pulled through for West no matter how much of a pain in the butt he was being. I respected the character for that. The emails and dialogue, overall, were witty, and entertaining, which was a big plus.
All in all, Augustine won me over but lost me here and there as well. Will I read another novel by him? Yes, because I feel that he has room to improve and seems the have the will to, and that makes all the difference. Overall, Click to Subscribe was relevant and fairly well written, and I truly enjoyed it !~
Plot: 3.5/5
Characters: 3/5
World Building: 4/5
Cover: 5/5
Overall: 3.5/5
GoodReads Rating: 3.53/5
-review by http://betweenprintedpages.wordpress.com/
Allie hates vampires. Allie’s friends hate vampires. Every human alive either hates vampires or are slaves to them. Then Zeke happened.
Forced with the decision of death as a human or an eternal life as a vampire, Allie chooses life. Struggling to hold onto her humanity, she tries to feed without killing, and live without feeding, but unfortunately, that’s impossible. On the run from her vampire city, she joins an interesting group of people, Zeke among them. They’re searching for a mythical land, though, as they say, every story has some truth to it. Eden, a place where only humans roam, a land in which vampires have yet to taint with their blood, with their evil.
With her ragtag team of humans, Allie finds it harder and harder to resist the temptation of blood. As the weeks go on, she wonders how long she can last before the monster within takes over…
Kagawa has blown me away again. Kagawa’s Iron Fey series was dark, there was violence, there was betrayal, but she made the world of the fey unique, beautiful, captivating. Again, Kagawa created her own world. When we all thought that the vampire concept was used up and totally run dry, Kagawa came back with something knew, something horrifying.
Allie’s world consists of humans, vampires, and Rabids, which are mutations between humans and vampires. Alike to George R.R. Martin’s “White Walkers”, those who die at the hand of a Rabid or have been bitten by one, will become one.
Kagawa’s world defies all of today’s present day buddy-buddy vampire and human ideas, shattering them, rolling them over with a monster truck, and then blowing them up with a nuke. Her characters come out strong: Allie: the vamp who wants to save her humanity; Zeke: the selfless one who believes that there’s good in everyone; Kanin: the guilty one, who has a war within himself; Jeb: the hard-ass leader that doesn’t trust easily and only knows one way – his own; Ruth: the only one who could see the truth, also the bitchy character that the MC often hates. These characters brought a number of personalities to the table, and had someone, or something that everyone could kind of connect to, in their own way.
This novel was like The Host (Stephanie Meyer) meets Blood Red Road (Moira Young) meets Dracula (Bram Stoker) meets Julie Kagawa’s imagination, ending in one gigantic story of awesomeness (if you liked any one of those titles, you’re likely to like this book… actually, if you like reading you’re likely to like this book). I can’t wait to see what Kagawa has in store for us next!
Plot: 5/5
Characters: 5/5
World Building: 5/5
Cover: 4/5
Overall: 5/5
GoodReads Rating: 4.16/5
-review by Between Printed Pages
Forced with the decision of death as a human or an eternal life as a vampire, Allie chooses life. Struggling to hold onto her humanity, she tries to feed without killing, and live without feeding, but unfortunately, that’s impossible. On the run from her vampire city, she joins an interesting group of people, Zeke among them. They’re searching for a mythical land, though, as they say, every story has some truth to it. Eden, a place where only humans roam, a land in which vampires have yet to taint with their blood, with their evil.
With her ragtag team of humans, Allie finds it harder and harder to resist the temptation of blood. As the weeks go on, she wonders how long she can last before the monster within takes over…
Kagawa has blown me away again. Kagawa’s Iron Fey series was dark, there was violence, there was betrayal, but she made the world of the fey unique, beautiful, captivating. Again, Kagawa created her own world. When we all thought that the vampire concept was used up and totally run dry, Kagawa came back with something knew, something horrifying.
Allie’s world consists of humans, vampires, and Rabids, which are mutations between humans and vampires. Alike to George R.R. Martin’s “White Walkers”, those who die at the hand of a Rabid or have been bitten by one, will become one.
Kagawa’s world defies all of today’s present day buddy-buddy vampire and human ideas, shattering them, rolling them over with a monster truck, and then blowing them up with a nuke. Her characters come out strong: Allie: the vamp who wants to save her humanity; Zeke: the selfless one who believes that there’s good in everyone; Kanin: the guilty one, who has a war within himself; Jeb: the hard-ass leader that doesn’t trust easily and only knows one way – his own; Ruth: the only one who could see the truth, also the bitchy character that the MC often hates. These characters brought a number of personalities to the table, and had someone, or something that everyone could kind of connect to, in their own way.
This novel was like The Host (Stephanie Meyer) meets Blood Red Road (Moira Young) meets Dracula (Bram Stoker) meets Julie Kagawa’s imagination, ending in one gigantic story of awesomeness (if you liked any one of those titles, you’re likely to like this book… actually, if you like reading you’re likely to like this book). I can’t wait to see what Kagawa has in store for us next!
Plot: 5/5
Characters: 5/5
World Building: 5/5
Cover: 4/5
Overall: 5/5
GoodReads Rating: 4.16/5
-review by Between Printed Pages
How is it that every time I read one of Kagawa's books, it always seems like the characters are more interesting, the story is more captivating, and the descriptions are more three-dimensional than ever? How does that happen!?
I've said this before and I'll say it again. I love Julie Kagawa's work. Where the ideas and characters were interesting with the Iron Fey Series, I feel like Blood of Eden is more heart-wrenching, more captivating, and way more addicting.
The Eternity Cure has us following Allie as she tries to hunt down Kanin and Sarren. Ultimately, this quest takes her back to New Covington, where she sees some old, and some unwanted, friends.
There were two things that really stood out to me. The first was the various depiction of power and control. Kagawa managed to cover all the bases and show the different ways people use or abuse their power. We see the psychotic side of loss of, and reestablishment of power with Sarren. His moments were intense and every time he showed up you never knew what he was going to do. Sarren had control over New Covington and over Kanin. Whenever he was mentioned, my heart beat faster in anticipation and fear of what would happen next. On the other hand, we see how Allie deals with power and control, as she fights against her vampiric demons. With Allie, we see conservation and restraint. Even in The Immortal Rules, Allie was a fighter, always trying to push her Hunger away and choose the lesser of evils. Among the other characters, we see how power can be used to lead, how it can be used in revenge, or as a way of being smug. Among these various and wide ranging representations of power, Kagawa shows the consequences and rewards for each action, and as such it makes the book a lot more moving and impactful, as we see these in the real world as well (though they're a lot less dramatic (most of the time) in real life).
This brings me to my second point, which is Kagawa's characters. No two characters are the same, or even similar, and the wide ranging cast brings the book to another level of awesome. In all honestly, I think my favourite character in this one was Jackal. He was hilariously crude and sarcastic at all the wrong moments, and yet it helped lighten the book where the characters were stuck in dangerous or life threatening situations. I like that no matter how dark the subject, Jackal managed to make me, and the other characters, laugh.
An absolutely captivating book by Julie Kagawa. If you like her other series (and even if you don't) you have to try reading the Blood of Eden series. No sparkles, these vampires are without mercy(ish) and are looking for blood. I loved this book, and cannot wait to get my hands on the next one!
Plot: 5/5
Characters: 5/5
World Building: 5/5
Cover: 2/5
Overall: 5/5
GoodReads Rating: 4.42/5
-review by http://betweenprintedpages.wordpress.com/
I've said this before and I'll say it again. I love Julie Kagawa's work. Where the ideas and characters were interesting with the Iron Fey Series, I feel like Blood of Eden is more heart-wrenching, more captivating, and way more addicting.
The Eternity Cure has us following Allie as she tries to hunt down Kanin and Sarren. Ultimately, this quest takes her back to New Covington, where she sees some old, and some unwanted, friends.
There were two things that really stood out to me. The first was the various depiction of power and control. Kagawa managed to cover all the bases and show the different ways people use or abuse their power. We see the psychotic side of loss of, and reestablishment of power with Sarren. His moments were intense and every time he showed up you never knew what he was going to do. Sarren had control over New Covington and over Kanin. Whenever he was mentioned, my heart beat faster in anticipation and fear of what would happen next. On the other hand, we see how Allie deals with power and control, as she fights against her vampiric demons. With Allie, we see conservation and restraint. Even in The Immortal Rules, Allie was a fighter, always trying to push her Hunger away and choose the lesser of evils. Among the other characters, we see how power can be used to lead, how it can be used in revenge, or as a way of being smug. Among these various and wide ranging representations of power, Kagawa shows the consequences and rewards for each action, and as such it makes the book a lot more moving and impactful, as we see these in the real world as well (though they're a lot less dramatic (most of the time) in real life).
This brings me to my second point, which is Kagawa's characters. No two characters are the same, or even similar, and the wide ranging cast brings the book to another level of awesome. In all honestly, I think my favourite character in this one was Jackal. He was hilariously crude and sarcastic at all the wrong moments, and yet it helped lighten the book where the characters were stuck in dangerous or life threatening situations. I like that no matter how dark the subject, Jackal managed to make me, and the other characters, laugh.
An absolutely captivating book by Julie Kagawa. If you like her other series (and even if you don't) you have to try reading the Blood of Eden series. No sparkles, these vampires are without mercy(ish) and are looking for blood. I loved this book, and cannot wait to get my hands on the next one!
Plot: 5/5
Characters: 5/5
World Building: 5/5
Cover: 2/5
Overall: 5/5
GoodReads Rating: 4.42/5
-review by http://betweenprintedpages.wordpress.com/