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chronicallybookish's Reviews (1.53k)
Quick Stats
Age Rating: 13/14+
Over All: 4 stars
Plot: 4/5
Characters: 4.5/5
Setting: 4/5
Writing: 3.5/5
Special thanks to Penguin Teen and NetGalley for an eARC of this book! All thoughts and opinions reflected in this review are my own.
I’m loving the up-tick in vampire YA books. And they’re all so good. I thoroughly enjoyed The Coldest Touch, but I honestly thought it was a standalone—it’s not. I’m kind of disappointed by that (I’m a sucker for fantasy standalones) but I’m also excited because I wasn’t ready to say goodbye to Elise and Claire. If only I didn’t have to wait a year!
The Coldest Touch follows two girls in a delightfully paranormal world.
Elise’s life hasn’t been the same since her brother died in a tragic accident nine months ago and she saw his death before it happened. Now, she can’t touch anyone without seeing their death. Anyone, that is, until she meets Claire.
Claire is 17.
How old are you?
17.
How long have you been 17?
A while.
Annnnyyyyywayyy (I promise this book is so much better than Twilight). Claire is a vampire who has been frozen at 17 since she was turned against her will in the 1930s.
Claire has been sent by a magical organization of supernatural beings to watch over Elise and help her learn how to use her powers, but Elise has no interest in learning. She isn’t even sure she believes in magic.
But Elise’s mind changes when she sees a future murder, and she needs Claire’s help to stop it from happening.
I loved both Claire and Elise. I was expecting more of a traditional mystery aspect, but the book definitely focuses heavily on the magic of it all, and the mystery becomes a subplot, which I actually think ends up being the right choice for the book. It just wasn’t what I was expecting. Claire and Elise have great chemistry from the start—it’s especially well shown from Claire’s POV. The exploration of discovering your sexuality when you thought that wasn’t even an option was well written and nice to see, but I’m also glad that we had Claire who was already comfortable with herself. Seeing POVs from both sides, and having each be accepting of the other’s pace, was great. Often these sorts of scenarios end up with the “out” character pushing the other character who’s still trying to figure things out into defining themselves and coming out before they’re ready, and it’s great to see a storyline where that doesn’t happen.
The vampire and paranormal lore was pretty typical, but it was unique in enough aspects that it didn’t feel overly cliche or trope-y. Isabel Sterling really got to the heart of her characters, giving them fully developed personalities, wants, hopes, and dreams. Many of the vampire novels from the early 2000s (*cough* Twilight and it’s many copy cats *cough*) rely so heavily on the tropes and paranormal aspects, that the characters are just card board cut outs going through the motions. Claire, Elise, and even the minor characters were fully fleshed out and I really like that.
I can’t wait for book 2—seriouslyyyy why is it a whole year awayyyyy—and I think I need to check out These Witches Won’t Burn ASAP.
Age Rating: 13/14+
Over All: 4 stars
Plot: 4/5
Characters: 4.5/5
Setting: 4/5
Writing: 3.5/5
Special thanks to Penguin Teen and NetGalley for an eARC of this book! All thoughts and opinions reflected in this review are my own.
I’m loving the up-tick in vampire YA books. And they’re all so good. I thoroughly enjoyed The Coldest Touch, but I honestly thought it was a standalone—it’s not. I’m kind of disappointed by that (I’m a sucker for fantasy standalones) but I’m also excited because I wasn’t ready to say goodbye to Elise and Claire. If only I didn’t have to wait a year!
The Coldest Touch follows two girls in a delightfully paranormal world.
Elise’s life hasn’t been the same since her brother died in a tragic accident nine months ago and she saw his death before it happened. Now, she can’t touch anyone without seeing their death. Anyone, that is, until she meets Claire.
Claire is 17.
How old are you?
17.
How long have you been 17?
A while.
Annnnyyyyywayyy (I promise this book is so much better than Twilight). Claire is a vampire who has been frozen at 17 since she was turned against her will in the 1930s.
Claire has been sent by a magical organization of supernatural beings to watch over Elise and help her learn how to use her powers, but Elise has no interest in learning. She isn’t even sure she believes in magic.
But Elise’s mind changes when she sees a future murder, and she needs Claire’s help to stop it from happening.
I loved both Claire and Elise. I was expecting more of a traditional mystery aspect, but the book definitely focuses heavily on the magic of it all, and the mystery becomes a subplot, which I actually think ends up being the right choice for the book. It just wasn’t what I was expecting. Claire and Elise have great chemistry from the start—it’s especially well shown from Claire’s POV. The exploration of discovering your sexuality when you thought that wasn’t even an option was well written and nice to see, but I’m also glad that we had Claire who was already comfortable with herself. Seeing POVs from both sides, and having each be accepting of the other’s pace, was great. Often these sorts of scenarios end up with the “out” character pushing the other character who’s still trying to figure things out into defining themselves and coming out before they’re ready, and it’s great to see a storyline where that doesn’t happen.
The vampire and paranormal lore was pretty typical, but it was unique in enough aspects that it didn’t feel overly cliche or trope-y. Isabel Sterling really got to the heart of her characters, giving them fully developed personalities, wants, hopes, and dreams. Many of the vampire novels from the early 2000s (*cough* Twilight and it’s many copy cats *cough*) rely so heavily on the tropes and paranormal aspects, that the characters are just card board cut outs going through the motions. Claire, Elise, and even the minor characters were fully fleshed out and I really like that.
I can’t wait for book 2—seriouslyyyy why is it a whole year awayyyyy—and I think I need to check out These Witches Won’t Burn ASAP.
Quick Stats
Age Rating: 14+
Over All: 4 stars
Plot: 4.5/5
Characters: 3/5
Setting: 4/5
Writing: 3.5/5
Special thanks to Penguin Teen and NetGalley for an eARC of this book! All thoughts and opinions reflected in this review are my own.
From the moment I saw Six of Crows as a comp title, I was intrigued. The plot of the book was very different from Six of Crows, the characters were nothing like the crows, the writing style wasn’t similar to Leigh Bardugo… There is nothing that I can directly and explicitly pinpoint that is similar to Six of Crows, and yet I totally understand this comp. There is just some vibe that is so Six of Crows. Like, I’ve read other books that are similar to Six of Crows and often compared to it when it comes to tropes like heist, found family, and gangs, and I enjoyed them, but they never captured the essence of the book like this did.
I think that it has to do with the political aspects of the book. This book is intensely political in a way that doesn’t feel YA at all to me, and Six of Crows had a similar feel to me.
I think this book has a strong appeal to adult readers, and I think most of the aspects that I wasn’t able to really get into—the romance(s), especially, and the way the characters acted and spoke—felt forced and were only there to help the book appeal to teen readers. I think if this book had been rewritten for an adult audience, or just not tried to cater to teens, it could have been a five star read. And I say this as a teenager (19) and as someone who predominantly reads YA.
I want to dive into the plot a bit. So much happens in this book, I don’t know what to do with it all. The plot and Cayder’s goals change so much from page one to page 50, and then they do another 180 at the 50 or 60% mark. And I think that it is done very well, but the tag line of the book got in my head and didn’t really mesh with everything that happened. It ruined a lot of the tension, because it tells you things that would have been so much better, and the book would have read so much smoother, if you found them out as the story happened, instead of being confused because what’s going on doesn’t match what the story was pitched to you as, and then having one of the biggest moments of tension be underwhelming because you knew what was going to happen from the start. It also kind of spoiled Cayder’s character growth for the same reason and made it and his decisions later in the book underwhelming.
Also, another issue I have with the tag line—it says four teens are charged with murder and illegal use of magic, but there are actually only three?
Screw it. I’m rewriting the tag line.
League of Liars is a dark and twisty mystery set in a richly drawn world where nothing is as it seems, rife with magic, villains, and danger. In this political fantasy thriller, three teens are charged with murder and the illegal use of magic, band together with a goody two shoes law apprentice to expose the truth, no matter what.
Now it’s not spoilery, has the correct facts, and has an oxford comma—since the original one didn’t.
Anywayyyy I got a little off track.
The tension and intrigue of this book (if you ignore the whole tag line fiasco) is spot on. I truly never knew what was going to happen next, but I always knew it was going to be shocking, and draw me in even more. Astrid Scholte weaves an engaging story of magic, politics, and intrigue that had me gasping out loud more than once.
I have so many questions about the magic system of this story—which is like the whole point—and I can’t wait to watch it all come together in the next book. I’m quite sure this will be a series, though I don’t know how many installments, but I don’t doubt that the revelations about the Edem at the end of the book will masterfully weave together with the drama and politics of the world.
I really enjoyed the characters. Each character was strong and distinct. I liked that though Cayder was the main POV character, we got to see a bit from Leta, Eleanora, and Jey’s point of view as well. I’m not sure how I feel about the fact that Cayder’s chapters were in 1st person, and the other 3 were in 3rd person. It was hard for me to get used to, and I think the story may have been more cohesive if the whole book was in 3rd person, butI did eventually get used to it, and by the last half I barely even noticed it.
Cayder went through a lot of character development throughout the book, and it felt very natural and well done. He started out as kind of a prick, and I found him annoying, but as he grew as a person, I too grew to like him and connect with him. He was always a strong character, he just started out as an annoying one.
I must admit that Jey was my favorite character. I couldn’t figure him out. He was funny and full of charisma and vibrato, but there was something genuine and vulnerable about him as well. I think we got just enough of a look inside his head in the couple of chapters we had in his POV to really connect with him and start to get to know him, without giving anything away. We got a taste, and that got me hooked as I tried to figure him out.
The only thing I truly disliked about this book (aside from the tag line. Ugh.) was the romance. It was so unnecessary. I can’t say much, because I don’t want to spoil anything, but I felt absolutely no chemistry. The interactions that were supposed to be romantic just felt awkward and out of place, and I just cringed. It was only a few lines here and there, but I still feel like the book would have been so much stronger without it. It felt as if it was just there because “YA books need romance to sell”. I just felt nothing, and I feel like that lack of chemistry just undermined every interaction between those characters, because when they were supposed to be flirty or connecting romantically I just felt like cringing.
All of that is to say—whoever came up with the tagline sucks, don’t expect romance, read this book whether you’re a teen or an adult, and I thoroughly enjoyed it and can’t wait for book 2!
Age Rating: 14+
Over All: 4 stars
Plot: 4.5/5
Characters: 3/5
Setting: 4/5
Writing: 3.5/5
Special thanks to Penguin Teen and NetGalley for an eARC of this book! All thoughts and opinions reflected in this review are my own.
From the moment I saw Six of Crows as a comp title, I was intrigued. The plot of the book was very different from Six of Crows, the characters were nothing like the crows, the writing style wasn’t similar to Leigh Bardugo… There is nothing that I can directly and explicitly pinpoint that is similar to Six of Crows, and yet I totally understand this comp. There is just some vibe that is so Six of Crows. Like, I’ve read other books that are similar to Six of Crows and often compared to it when it comes to tropes like heist, found family, and gangs, and I enjoyed them, but they never captured the essence of the book like this did.
I think that it has to do with the political aspects of the book. This book is intensely political in a way that doesn’t feel YA at all to me, and Six of Crows had a similar feel to me.
I think this book has a strong appeal to adult readers, and I think most of the aspects that I wasn’t able to really get into—the romance(s), especially, and the way the characters acted and spoke—felt forced and were only there to help the book appeal to teen readers. I think if this book had been rewritten for an adult audience, or just not tried to cater to teens, it could have been a five star read. And I say this as a teenager (19) and as someone who predominantly reads YA.
I want to dive into the plot a bit. So much happens in this book, I don’t know what to do with it all. The plot and Cayder’s goals change so much from page one to page 50, and then they do another 180 at the 50 or 60% mark. And I think that it is done very well, but the tag line of the book got in my head and didn’t really mesh with everything that happened. It ruined a lot of the tension, because it tells you things that would have been so much better, and the book would have read so much smoother, if you found them out as the story happened, instead of being confused because what’s going on doesn’t match what the story was pitched to you as, and then having one of the biggest moments of tension be underwhelming because you knew what was going to happen from the start. It also kind of spoiled Cayder’s character growth for the same reason and made it and his decisions later in the book underwhelming.
Also, another issue I have with the tag line—it says four teens are charged with murder and illegal use of magic, but there are actually only three?
Screw it. I’m rewriting the tag line.
League of Liars is a dark and twisty mystery set in a richly drawn world where nothing is as it seems, rife with magic, villains, and danger. In this political fantasy thriller, three teens are charged with murder and the illegal use of magic, band together with a goody two shoes law apprentice to expose the truth, no matter what.
Now it’s not spoilery, has the correct facts, and has an oxford comma—since the original one didn’t.
Anywayyyy I got a little off track.
The tension and intrigue of this book (if you ignore the whole tag line fiasco) is spot on. I truly never knew what was going to happen next, but I always knew it was going to be shocking, and draw me in even more. Astrid Scholte weaves an engaging story of magic, politics, and intrigue that had me gasping out loud more than once.
I have so many questions about the magic system of this story—which is like the whole point—and I can’t wait to watch it all come together in the next book. I’m quite sure this will be a series, though I don’t know how many installments, but I don’t doubt that the revelations about the Edem at the end of the book will masterfully weave together with the drama and politics of the world.
I really enjoyed the characters. Each character was strong and distinct. I liked that though Cayder was the main POV character, we got to see a bit from Leta, Eleanora, and Jey’s point of view as well. I’m not sure how I feel about the fact that Cayder’s chapters were in 1st person, and the other 3 were in 3rd person. It was hard for me to get used to, and I think the story may have been more cohesive if the whole book was in 3rd person, butI did eventually get used to it, and by the last half I barely even noticed it.
Cayder went through a lot of character development throughout the book, and it felt very natural and well done. He started out as kind of a prick, and I found him annoying, but as he grew as a person, I too grew to like him and connect with him. He was always a strong character, he just started out as an annoying one.
I must admit that Jey was my favorite character. I couldn’t figure him out. He was funny and full of charisma and vibrato, but there was something genuine and vulnerable about him as well. I think we got just enough of a look inside his head in the couple of chapters we had in his POV to really connect with him and start to get to know him, without giving anything away. We got a taste, and that got me hooked as I tried to figure him out.
The only thing I truly disliked about this book (aside from the tag line. Ugh.) was the romance. It was so unnecessary. I can’t say much, because I don’t want to spoil anything, but I felt absolutely no chemistry. The interactions that were supposed to be romantic just felt awkward and out of place, and I just cringed. It was only a few lines here and there, but I still feel like the book would have been so much stronger without it. It felt as if it was just there because “YA books need romance to sell”. I just felt nothing, and I feel like that lack of chemistry just undermined every interaction between those characters, because when they were supposed to be flirty or connecting romantically I just felt like cringing.
All of that is to say—whoever came up with the tagline sucks, don’t expect romance, read this book whether you’re a teen or an adult, and I thoroughly enjoyed it and can’t wait for book 2!
