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chronicallybookish's Reviews (1.53k)
Quick Stats
Age Rating: 13+
Over All: 2.5 stars
Plot: 3/5
Characters: 2/5
Setting: 2/5
Writing: 2.5/5
Special thanks to Penguin Teen and NetGalley for an eARC of this book! All thoughts and opinions reflected in this review are my own.
The idea behind this book was so fascinating.
An modern fantasy world, ruled by an empress, where technology and magic both exist—but magic is forbidden and punishable by death. A clueless spoiled socialite who ends up unwittingly embued with the memories of an evil warlock. A dark and broody, mildly murderous love interest who has to keep her safe, not because of her but because he needs the magic that is in her.
It sounds so damn good. And I wanted to like it so badly. The writing was not the worst, but it was very info-dump heavy. We learned about the world because Joss told us about the world via internal monologue, which often felt clunky because she lived in this world: why would she be internally monologuing about the history and mythology of the world in which she had lived her whole life?
I didn’t like Joss. Again, I wanted to, but her internal monologue was so clunky, and she often felt incredibly two dimensional. She was bratty and spoiled, and though she did experience character growth, it didn’t feel natural.
There were many plot twists and turns, but with the exception of one of them, I had already figured them out way in advance, which made them fall flat. Like, a character who would later play a part in a plot twist? I would guess exactly what the twist revolving around them would be from the moment they stepped onto the page, several chapters before the twist took place. And I’m objectively awful at guessing plot twists. It was just so obvious.
I wanted to like this book so badly. I don’t really know what else to say. The premise was interesting, it was a fast paced read, and I finished it in only a few hours, but part of that was because I tried to read it quickly so that I could just get it over with.
I did like the ending, and I’m vaguely intrigued by where the plot goes next, but I’m pretty sure I won’t be picking up the sequel.
Age Rating: 13+
Over All: 2.5 stars
Plot: 3/5
Characters: 2/5
Setting: 2/5
Writing: 2.5/5
Special thanks to Penguin Teen and NetGalley for an eARC of this book! All thoughts and opinions reflected in this review are my own.
The idea behind this book was so fascinating.
An modern fantasy world, ruled by an empress, where technology and magic both exist—but magic is forbidden and punishable by death. A clueless spoiled socialite who ends up unwittingly embued with the memories of an evil warlock. A dark and broody, mildly murderous love interest who has to keep her safe, not because of her but because he needs the magic that is in her.
It sounds so damn good. And I wanted to like it so badly. The writing was not the worst, but it was very info-dump heavy. We learned about the world because Joss told us about the world via internal monologue, which often felt clunky because she lived in this world: why would she be internally monologuing about the history and mythology of the world in which she had lived her whole life?
I didn’t like Joss. Again, I wanted to, but her internal monologue was so clunky, and she often felt incredibly two dimensional. She was bratty and spoiled, and though she did experience character growth, it didn’t feel natural.
There were many plot twists and turns, but with the exception of one of them, I had already figured them out way in advance, which made them fall flat. Like, a character who would later play a part in a plot twist? I would guess exactly what the twist revolving around them would be from the moment they stepped onto the page, several chapters before the twist took place. And I’m objectively awful at guessing plot twists. It was just so obvious.
I wanted to like this book so badly. I don’t really know what else to say. The premise was interesting, it was a fast paced read, and I finished it in only a few hours, but part of that was because I tried to read it quickly so that I could just get it over with.
I did like the ending, and I’m vaguely intrigued by where the plot goes next, but I’m pretty sure I won’t be picking up the sequel.
Quick Stats
Age Rating: 13+
Over All: 3.5 stars
Plot: 4/5
Characters: 4/5
Setting: 3/5
Writing: 3/5
Special thanks to Wattpad Books for an ARC of this book! All thoughts and opinions reflected in this review are my own.
I’ve been putting off reviewing this book. Honestly, I’m not sure why. I enjoyed it. It was fun. I just really don’t have strong feelings about it any which way.
After a plague swept through the world killing the majority of the population and all women, Ara is alone. Her mother and sister are dead. Her father is missing. All she knows is that she has to do as he said before he disappeared: go back to the beginning.
Kaden is a member of a clan of survivors. And when he and Ara cross paths, Ara ends up his captive. Kaden wants to protect her; Ara wants to use his resources to find out what her father meant. Neither has time for love—but the attraction between them is hard to deny.
It was a fun, quick read. I liked Kaden and Ara. The plot was interesting. But honestly, it was forgettable.
It was also very Christian—which I was totally fine with, given the fact that I am Christian and books with a religious undertone are something I can enjoy (plus good YA Christian fiction is almost non-existant). I just wasn’t expecting it. It was Christian in the fact that the world is Hell but the wise older character who is somehow content despite it is always reading/quoting his Bible and giving religious-based advice to the main characters. The main characters are cynics, but in their hour of need they tend to heed the advice of that character and throw up a prayer. As I said, it was an aspect I thought was nice, but I definitely wasn’t expecting it—especially from a book that started out on WattPad.
In the end, it was a fun, if forgettable book, and if it sounds like something you’d enjoy, it’s worth picking up.
Age Rating: 13+
Over All: 3.5 stars
Plot: 4/5
Characters: 4/5
Setting: 3/5
Writing: 3/5
Special thanks to Wattpad Books for an ARC of this book! All thoughts and opinions reflected in this review are my own.
I’ve been putting off reviewing this book. Honestly, I’m not sure why. I enjoyed it. It was fun. I just really don’t have strong feelings about it any which way.
After a plague swept through the world killing the majority of the population and all women, Ara is alone. Her mother and sister are dead. Her father is missing. All she knows is that she has to do as he said before he disappeared: go back to the beginning.
Kaden is a member of a clan of survivors. And when he and Ara cross paths, Ara ends up his captive. Kaden wants to protect her; Ara wants to use his resources to find out what her father meant. Neither has time for love—but the attraction between them is hard to deny.
It was a fun, quick read. I liked Kaden and Ara. The plot was interesting. But honestly, it was forgettable.
It was also very Christian—which I was totally fine with, given the fact that I am Christian and books with a religious undertone are something I can enjoy (plus good YA Christian fiction is almost non-existant). I just wasn’t expecting it. It was Christian in the fact that the world is Hell but the wise older character who is somehow content despite it is always reading/quoting his Bible and giving religious-based advice to the main characters. The main characters are cynics, but in their hour of need they tend to heed the advice of that character and throw up a prayer. As I said, it was an aspect I thought was nice, but I definitely wasn’t expecting it—especially from a book that started out on WattPad.
In the end, it was a fun, if forgettable book, and if it sounds like something you’d enjoy, it’s worth picking up.
Quick Stats
Age Rating: 16+
Overall: 3.5 stars
Characters: 4/5
Plot: 3/5
Setting: 4/5
Writing: 3/5
Trigger Warnings: Death, gore, violence, somewhat graphic descriptions of dead bodies and injury to characters, rape, sexual assault, murder, serial killers, blood, grief, and probably more.
A horror novel by the author of Anna and the French Kiss??? When Penguin Teen offered me the opportunity to work with them to celebrate the release of this book (watch out for a video coming to my TikTok page on August 31!), I jumped at the chance. Anna is one of my favorite books, so I was so excited to read Perkins’s newest novel. But a horror novel? Not usually my cup of tea. I had no idea what to expect, but wow. That was an experience.
The book itself is very short, just 200 pages, so I flew through it in only a couple hours. The first half of the book was very contemporary feeling: it followed Neena and Josie as they navigated the impending change to their friendship as they backpacked up the trail. There were a few moments of creepy happenings, but nothing that could even be considered thriller, let alone horror. I actually told my mom, when I was about 100 pages in, “I actually don’t think this will be too scary!” I was kind of happy about that, because I am a chicken. But I spoke too soon. Within the next ten page of my saying that, things started going bad for Neena and Josie—fast. The book did a whole 180 from friendship troubles and hiking to “oh shit we’re going to be brutally raped and killed” in about a dozen pages. And at that point, I was very creeped out and disturbed—which isn’t a bad thing. It is a horror novel, that’s kind of what you want.
This is also where things got quite gory. I’ve read some YA thrillers and horror (Wilder Girls, House of Hollow, Erin A Craig, etc) but where those were very creepy and suspenseful and scary, they never relied that heavily on blood and gore, in my opinion. There were graphic descriptions of multiple dead bodies, as well as injuries the girls acquired either naturally or that were inflicted upon them. I’m very squeamish when it comes to things like that, so it wasn’t my favorite but that’s very much because of my own preferences and not any shortcomings of the book itself.
One thing that pleasantly surprised me and that I really liked—it was really more of a throwaway line, even—was a brief comment on disability. When Josie is catastrophizing about the idea of losing a limb due to an injury, she thinks:
“Her sobbing mother would cradle her, assuring Josie that she could still lead a full and fulfilling life.
“It would be true, of course. It would also be devastating.” (pg. 110)
I just thought, that’s a really good way to put it. Many people handle disability poorly, by refusing to acknowledge that one can live such a life as a disabled person. But others handle it poorly by thinking that it’s inherently ableist to acknowledge how devastating it is to go from able bodied to disabled. This quick line just acknowledges both of those realities really well, and I appreciate that.
In the end, I did enjoy this book. It was a bit slow in the beginning, but I did like that bit of getting to know the characters. The setting and atmosphere were also really lush and creepy and well done. Once I got to that turning point in the novel, I was sucked in completely and significantly freaked out (maybe a little too much so, because again, chicken). I’m glad I read this book. Will I ever reread it? No. If Stephanie Perkins releases another horror novel, will I read that? Possibly, but probably not. But it was a decently good book and I think that anyone who enjoys being disturbed and creeped out should pick this up.
Age Rating: 16+
Overall: 3.5 stars
Characters: 4/5
Plot: 3/5
Setting: 4/5
Writing: 3/5
Trigger Warnings: Death, gore, violence, somewhat graphic descriptions of dead bodies and injury to characters, rape, sexual assault, murder, serial killers, blood, grief, and probably more.
A horror novel by the author of Anna and the French Kiss??? When Penguin Teen offered me the opportunity to work with them to celebrate the release of this book (watch out for a video coming to my TikTok page on August 31!), I jumped at the chance. Anna is one of my favorite books, so I was so excited to read Perkins’s newest novel. But a horror novel? Not usually my cup of tea. I had no idea what to expect, but wow. That was an experience.
The book itself is very short, just 200 pages, so I flew through it in only a couple hours. The first half of the book was very contemporary feeling: it followed Neena and Josie as they navigated the impending change to their friendship as they backpacked up the trail. There were a few moments of creepy happenings, but nothing that could even be considered thriller, let alone horror. I actually told my mom, when I was about 100 pages in, “I actually don’t think this will be too scary!” I was kind of happy about that, because I am a chicken. But I spoke too soon. Within the next ten page of my saying that, things started going bad for Neena and Josie—fast. The book did a whole 180 from friendship troubles and hiking to “oh shit we’re going to be brutally raped and killed” in about a dozen pages. And at that point, I was very creeped out and disturbed—which isn’t a bad thing. It is a horror novel, that’s kind of what you want.
This is also where things got quite gory. I’ve read some YA thrillers and horror (Wilder Girls, House of Hollow, Erin A Craig, etc) but where those were very creepy and suspenseful and scary, they never relied that heavily on blood and gore, in my opinion. There were graphic descriptions of multiple dead bodies, as well as injuries the girls acquired either naturally or that were inflicted upon them. I’m very squeamish when it comes to things like that, so it wasn’t my favorite but that’s very much because of my own preferences and not any shortcomings of the book itself.
One thing that pleasantly surprised me and that I really liked—it was really more of a throwaway line, even—was a brief comment on disability. When Josie is catastrophizing about the idea of losing a limb due to an injury, she thinks:
“Her sobbing mother would cradle her, assuring Josie that she could still lead a full and fulfilling life.
“It would be true, of course. It would also be devastating.” (pg. 110)
I just thought, that’s a really good way to put it. Many people handle disability poorly, by refusing to acknowledge that one can live such a life as a disabled person. But others handle it poorly by thinking that it’s inherently ableist to acknowledge how devastating it is to go from able bodied to disabled. This quick line just acknowledges both of those realities really well, and I appreciate that.
In the end, I did enjoy this book. It was a bit slow in the beginning, but I did like that bit of getting to know the characters. The setting and atmosphere were also really lush and creepy and well done. Once I got to that turning point in the novel, I was sucked in completely and significantly freaked out (maybe a little too much so, because again, chicken). I’m glad I read this book. Will I ever reread it? No. If Stephanie Perkins releases another horror novel, will I read that? Possibly, but probably not. But it was a decently good book and I think that anyone who enjoys being disturbed and creeped out should pick this up.
It was fun and cute. Kind of boring at times, but a good look into what it’s like growing up Deaf.
I didn’t like that the authors note put “disability” in a negative connotation.
I didn’t like that the authors note put “disability” in a negative connotation.
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Quick Stats
Age Rating: 13+
Over All: 3.5 stars
Plot: 3/5
Characters: 4/5
Setting: 4/5
Writing: 3/5
This book. ugh. I honestly don’t know what to say. I don’t know how I feel. I wanted to like it. And I did. I did like it. But it was really just a little better than “okay.” In theory, the characters were fun, the world was great, and the plot was super interesting, but the writing was just not up to par, and that made it really hard for me to get invested in. The pacing was often dragging and yet too rushed at points, the ‘plot twists’ were extremely predictable in a way that I found frustrating, and the characters, though I liked them, didn’t feel fleshed out enough for me to truly feel invested in them.
I really enjoyed the Norse myths aspect. I don’t know how accurate it was, but it was fun and interesting and felt well-researched to me, but since I know next to nothing about the myths, I can’t truly say.
It was fine. More enjoyable than not. I just couldn’t get into it, and I didn’t enjoy it as much as I had hoped to.
Age Rating: 13+
Over All: 3.5 stars
Plot: 3/5
Characters: 4/5
Setting: 4/5
Writing: 3/5
This book. ugh. I honestly don’t know what to say. I don’t know how I feel. I wanted to like it. And I did. I did like it. But it was really just a little better than “okay.” In theory, the characters were fun, the world was great, and the plot was super interesting, but the writing was just not up to par, and that made it really hard for me to get invested in. The pacing was often dragging and yet too rushed at points, the ‘plot twists’ were extremely predictable in a way that I found frustrating, and the characters, though I liked them, didn’t feel fleshed out enough for me to truly feel invested in them.
I really enjoyed the Norse myths aspect. I don’t know how accurate it was, but it was fun and interesting and felt well-researched to me, but since I know next to nothing about the myths, I can’t truly say.
It was fine. More enjoyable than not. I just couldn’t get into it, and I didn’t enjoy it as much as I had hoped to.
