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chloefrizzle's Reviews (993)
The big, propulsive emotions and romance of the first book were lacking here. The success of book was was the heart of it: Alessa and her angst, and the romance between her and Dante. In this, the sequel, I felt like that was missing. I didn't feel for the characters.
The romance, since the couple already got together in book 1, turned into petty drama between them. Even in the resolution, it was never satisfying.
There was a big feeling here of "teens hanging out and sometimes bantering." From beginning to end, the book was pushing side characters at me without also pushing why I should care about them.
There was also a lot of deepening of the magic system. Which, could have been interesting, but just came off as convenient deus ex machina and infodumping in the end.
Thanks to Netgalley and Wednesday Books for a copy of this novel to review. All opinions are my own.
The romance, since the couple already got together in book 1, turned into petty drama between them. Even in the resolution, it was never satisfying.
There was a big feeling here of "teens hanging out and sometimes bantering." From beginning to end, the book was pushing side characters at me without also pushing why I should care about them.
There was also a lot of deepening of the magic system. Which, could have been interesting, but just came off as convenient deus ex machina and infodumping in the end.
Thanks to Netgalley and Wednesday Books for a copy of this novel to review. All opinions are my own.
This book took me an absurdly long time to finish. (Yes, it's long, but I gobble up long books all the time; that wasn't the problem.) The problem was that this story never had enough narrative momentum to compel me to start the next chapter.
My video review: https://youtu.be/2Az7lgUH4j8?t=10
The premise of this book is fantastic! We're following:
- A pampered chosen one who has lost his purpose.
- A grumpy old master taking him on as an apprentice.
- A warrior trying to save her newly fallen people.
- A quirky assassin trying to kill them all.
- etc.
But the book is so meandering that I was never really invested in any of these plots. It never felt like they were going anywhere. The character arcs didn't feel like they were going anywhere
The characters stayed mostly the same, and the ending was underwhelming. This book feels like it's lacking even a basic rising-action/falling-action structure, and so everything feels like the same plodding pace interspersed with fight scenes.
The writing is entertaining and witty. The world is lush, with intricate political factions and climates.
Thank you to Del Ray and Netgalley for a copy of this book to review. All opinions are my own.
Merged review:
This book took me an absurdly long time to finish. (Yes, it's long, but I gobble up long books all the time; that wasn't the problem.) The problem was that this story never had enough narrative momentum to compel me to start the next chapter.
My video review: https://youtu.be/2Az7lgUH4j8?t=10
The premise of this book is fantastic! We're following:
- A pampered chosen one who has lost his purpose.
- A grumpy old master taking him on as an apprentice.
- A warrior trying to save her newly fallen people.
- A quirky assassin trying to kill them all.
- etc.
But the book is so meandering that I was never really invested in any of these plots. It never felt like they were going anywhere. The character arcs didn't feel like they were going anywhere
The characters stayed mostly the same, and the ending was underwhelming. This book feels like it's lacking even a basic rising-action/falling-action structure, and so everything feels like the same plodding pace interspersed with fight scenes.
The writing is entertaining and witty. The world is lush, with intricate political factions and climates.
Thank you to Del Ray and Netgalley for a copy of this book to review. All opinions are my own.
My video review: https://youtu.be/2Az7lgUH4j8?t=10
The premise of this book is fantastic! We're following:
- A pampered chosen one who has lost his purpose.
- A grumpy old master taking him on as an apprentice.
- A warrior trying to save her newly fallen people.
- A quirky assassin trying to kill them all.
- etc.
But the book is so meandering that I was never really invested in any of these plots. It never felt like they were going anywhere. The character arcs didn't feel like they were going anywhere
The characters stayed mostly the same, and the ending was underwhelming. This book feels like it's lacking even a basic rising-action/falling-action structure, and so everything feels like the same plodding pace interspersed with fight scenes.
The writing is entertaining and witty. The world is lush, with intricate political factions and climates.
Thank you to Del Ray and Netgalley for a copy of this book to review. All opinions are my own.
Merged review:
This book took me an absurdly long time to finish. (Yes, it's long, but I gobble up long books all the time; that wasn't the problem.) The problem was that this story never had enough narrative momentum to compel me to start the next chapter.
My video review: https://youtu.be/2Az7lgUH4j8?t=10
The premise of this book is fantastic! We're following:
- A pampered chosen one who has lost his purpose.
- A grumpy old master taking him on as an apprentice.
- A warrior trying to save her newly fallen people.
- A quirky assassin trying to kill them all.
- etc.
But the book is so meandering that I was never really invested in any of these plots. It never felt like they were going anywhere. The character arcs didn't feel like they were going anywhere
The characters stayed mostly the same, and the ending was underwhelming. This book feels like it's lacking even a basic rising-action/falling-action structure, and so everything feels like the same plodding pace interspersed with fight scenes.
The writing is entertaining and witty. The world is lush, with intricate political factions and climates.
Thank you to Del Ray and Netgalley for a copy of this book to review. All opinions are my own.
All of the collections of words we refer to as sentences in this book have at least twice as many words as they require in order to convey the point which they wish to make, and yet, in a bamboozling turn of events, the work in question itself (Lord of Light, by Roger Zelazny) somehow still does not sufficiently explain the context, relative positioning, setting, or emotional states required to understand what is happening in any given moment where anything transpires.
DNF at 10%
DNF at 10%
This is a novella in the Rip Through Time series. The premise of the series is that Mallory, modern day detective, accidentally time travelled to Victorian Era Scotland. Now, she solves crimes there while serving as a housemaid to an undertaker.
The pace is constantly interrupted. Every few pages, we get a long explanation that we don't need. Sometimes, it's Mallory re-explaining her backstory to us. Or her relationship to a character. Or the historical background of the place she's going. Or the ins and outs of the period's dress.
It feels like 20% of the book is recapping previous events of the series, and 30% of the book is a history lesson. The story itself is lost in the shuffle.
The constant exposition makes the book feel very hand-holdy. It's annoying and patronizing. We don't need to be told several times that Mallory has a strained relationship with a character. We don't need to be told several times about the details of the dresses everyone is wearing. Perhaps, it's a sign that the author is much too excited about all the historical research that she did.
Tho this was sometimes too much in the previous books, it felt even more exaggerated in this novella.
The story continues with the loveable characters of the series, and I have no complaints with it. It's fun, showcasing how Mallory handles herself in trouble. I just wish that the actual plot took up more of our page length.
Thanks to Netgalley and Subterranean Press for a copy of this book to review. All opinions are my own.
The pace is constantly interrupted. Every few pages, we get a long explanation that we don't need. Sometimes, it's Mallory re-explaining her backstory to us. Or her relationship to a character. Or the historical background of the place she's going. Or the ins and outs of the period's dress.
It feels like 20% of the book is recapping previous events of the series, and 30% of the book is a history lesson. The story itself is lost in the shuffle.
The constant exposition makes the book feel very hand-holdy. It's annoying and patronizing. We don't need to be told several times that Mallory has a strained relationship with a character. We don't need to be told several times about the details of the dresses everyone is wearing. Perhaps, it's a sign that the author is much too excited about all the historical research that she did.
Tho this was sometimes too much in the previous books, it felt even more exaggerated in this novella.
The story continues with the loveable characters of the series, and I have no complaints with it. It's fun, showcasing how Mallory handles herself in trouble. I just wish that the actual plot took up more of our page length.
Thanks to Netgalley and Subterranean Press for a copy of this book to review. All opinions are my own.
I've read aristocrat alpha male love interests from Ilona Andrews before and I'm not in the mood for another one.
Also, I don't like that the book is constantly jumping POV characters. Makes it hard to connect to the story.
DNF at 30%
Also, I don't like that the book is constantly jumping POV characters. Makes it hard to connect to the story.
DNF at 30%
This is a fantasy romance set in regency England. Alas, I didn't love the romance parts, and I have some problems with the Regency parts.
This book is utterly lacking the feeling of being a historical romance. There is no charm of the regency period. The book fully embraces modern ways of speech and manners, and the regency period culture only pops up occasionally. The rules of the period typically only pop up in order to be dismissed by the characters as something that they're not going to do.
I never felt the chemistry of the romance. It fell very flat.
There is a larger political plot. The Irish-coded people living in London are protesting the working conditions. It was very boring. Though the plot was constantly brought up, it never really affected the protagonist's plot.
Thanks to Netgalley and Wednesday Books for a copy of this book to review. All opinions are my own.
This book is utterly lacking the feeling of being a historical romance. There is no charm of the regency period. The book fully embraces modern ways of speech and manners, and the regency period culture only pops up occasionally. The rules of the period typically only pop up in order to be dismissed by the characters as something that they're not going to do.
I never felt the chemistry of the romance. It fell very flat.
There is a larger political plot. The Irish-coded people living in London are protesting the working conditions. It was very boring. Though the plot was constantly brought up, it never really affected the protagonist's plot.
Thanks to Netgalley and Wednesday Books for a copy of this book to review. All opinions are my own.
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Too boring, episodic, unfocused, splitting energy between too many narrators.
DNF at 16%
DNF at 16%