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ellemnope's Reviews (2.4k)
There is definitely profiling and outdated prejudice present in this novel, but it is still an entertaining and well-crafted read. The mystery holds out well until the end and, though not a completely shocking reveal, does keep one guessing.
3.5 stars.
Classics are always a little harder to read given the undeniable expectation of "posh" language. That tends to make my ratings a little lower than maybe the actual story deserves, but that's just how these things go.
I always enjoy reading Jane Austen. Her characters are always full of personality and there is plenty of scandal cast about. This was definitely not lacking in that department. There are despicable characters of both the female and male variety and the absolute OBSESSION with money and place in society is continuously something I shook my head at. This is certainly a stuffy society, but I enjoyed it all the same. I would say that I liked this one ALMOST as much as Pride & Prejudice, but something in the ending just didn't capture me as well. I can't put my finger on what it was, maybe I just "shipped" a couple of characters more than I should have and was disappointed that they didn't end up where I wanted them to. Bummer. I will say that it was still worth the read.
Classics are always a little harder to read given the undeniable expectation of "posh" language. That tends to make my ratings a little lower than maybe the actual story deserves, but that's just how these things go.
I always enjoy reading Jane Austen. Her characters are always full of personality and there is plenty of scandal cast about. This was definitely not lacking in that department. There are despicable characters of both the female and male variety and the absolute OBSESSION with money and place in society is continuously something I shook my head at. This is certainly a stuffy society, but I enjoyed it all the same. I would say that I liked this one ALMOST as much as Pride & Prejudice, but something in the ending just didn't capture me as well. I can't put my finger on what it was, maybe I just "shipped" a couple of characters more than I should have and was disappointed that they didn't end up where I wanted them to. Bummer. I will say that it was still worth the read.
* Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. *
3.5 stars. This was a cute YA read with some stereotypical high school tropes while still having enough originality to be something fun and different. It wasn't what I was expecting, but I liked it just the same. Corey is a trapeze artist who gets ripped from her life following a fire at the circus she performs in. She winds up living in the town of Sherwood, California and attending the local high school. This shift in her life is difficult and she finds herself in several new situations that she isn't quite sure how to respond to. It's a bit of a stumbling journey for her.
I liked this book well enough, but in the end found a few things lacking for my own tastes. With the title of "Trapeze", I expected much more of the circus atmosphere, but that dissolved rather quickly and it was moved to the side as things swayed into more of a stereotypical high school YA novel. The writing was good, I will admit and I stayed fairly hooked with the narrative despite the movement away from the element that drew me to the book in the first place.
The character of Corey was created well enough, with her personality fully displayed and her emotional journey well explored. However, the supporting characters felt a little flat to me and sometimes their character shifted in a way that felt unnatural to everything that had been developed so far in the story. This happened in particular with Luke and, on one notable occasion, with Kim. I needed more plot development on these side characters.
In fact, the plot was where most of my issues stemmed. The pacing moved really well for about 2/3 of the book, but seemed to go completely out of whack for the last 1/3. It moved overly quickly and things tumbled together in a way that felt a little overly contrived. I wanted it to be a bit more convoluted and complex. And...as is oh so often my juggernaut, the ending just didn't suit my tastes. It was handled well enough and everything was more or less tidied up and explained without being overly perfect, but it just didn't sit right with me. I'm not sure what exactly I needed other than I needed more.
Overall, a good and quick YA read. I just was left a little underwhelmed.
3.5 stars. This was a cute YA read with some stereotypical high school tropes while still having enough originality to be something fun and different. It wasn't what I was expecting, but I liked it just the same. Corey is a trapeze artist who gets ripped from her life following a fire at the circus she performs in. She winds up living in the town of Sherwood, California and attending the local high school. This shift in her life is difficult and she finds herself in several new situations that she isn't quite sure how to respond to. It's a bit of a stumbling journey for her.
I liked this book well enough, but in the end found a few things lacking for my own tastes. With the title of "Trapeze", I expected much more of the circus atmosphere, but that dissolved rather quickly and it was moved to the side as things swayed into more of a stereotypical high school YA novel. The writing was good, I will admit and I stayed fairly hooked with the narrative despite the movement away from the element that drew me to the book in the first place.
The character of Corey was created well enough, with her personality fully displayed and her emotional journey well explored. However, the supporting characters felt a little flat to me and sometimes their character shifted in a way that felt unnatural to everything that had been developed so far in the story. This happened in particular with Luke and, on one notable occasion, with Kim. I needed more plot development on these side characters.
In fact, the plot was where most of my issues stemmed. The pacing moved really well for about 2/3 of the book, but seemed to go completely out of whack for the last 1/3. It moved overly quickly and things tumbled together in a way that felt a little overly contrived. I wanted it to be a bit more convoluted and complex. And...as is oh so often my juggernaut, the ending just didn't suit my tastes. It was handled well enough and everything was more or less tidied up and explained without being overly perfect, but it just didn't sit right with me. I'm not sure what exactly I needed other than I needed more.
Overall, a good and quick YA read. I just was left a little underwhelmed.
1.5 stars. Ugh. This was SOOOO boring. Seriously. That's all I can really say about this one. There was the potential for a good premise, but beyond the big event at the beginning of the novel that sets up the entire reason for the book...NOTHING HAPPENS. If this wasn't a read for my book club, I would have DNF'd this one, hands down. So why the 1.5 you ask? Well...the writing was decent. That's it. Seriously. Everything else is super glossed over and mundane. Blah, blah, blah. I was so incredibly disappointed by the exploration of the plot. Oh...and Aaron annoyed me. Yes, he's grieving, I get that. But he is such a miserable person at the core. Ugh. I just COULD NOT get on board with this one, but found that I COULD get bored with it.
* Disclaimer: I received a copy of this novel from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. *
Maternal Instinct is a fantastic dystopian read centered on reproductive rights and parenting abilities. Using the difficulties of balancing work and family as well as the statistics for child abuse, the Australian government has developed a program that requires older teens to submit to at least 2 years of "reproductive service". Females are required to have two births and males volunteer their time serving in Birth Houses where pregnant and newly delivered mothers live during their service. At the age of 6 months, the children are then taken from their mothers and placed in the care of a Mater and Pater in a child's home. Being a Mater or a Pater is an occupation that requires skilled training and they are responsible for raising the children in a video supervised environment. Birth parents are allowed relationships with their children, but only via visitation on Sundays.
This is honestly a semi-creepy read when you begin to consider the possible ramifications. The idea does seem to have some merits as you read through the story, but the system is emotionally horrific. It all feels quite Stepford and, when the darker side of the system becomes evident, things start taking a gripping turn.
Something of a blend of The Handmaid's Tale and 1984, this is a fantastic book. I was hooked early on and didn't want to put this one down. I read it over the course of a family vacation and stayed up far too late at night because I NEEDED to know what was going to happen.
The development of the dystopian government is fantastic and well-constructed. The presentation of the system in a semi-balanced manner, giving the pros and cons from the direct voices of the characters, was brilliantly done and made it have a realistic feel. I was reminded of Margaret Atwood's saying that “Nothing makes me more nervous than people who say, ‘It can’t happen here.’ Anything can happen anywhere, given the right circumstances.” The slow slip from policies based on idealism and happiness into a culture of oppression and manipulation can be so stealthily done. Bowyer uses that approach to her advantage and creates a world that is both believable and horrific. It's this approach that makes Maternal Instinct both intriguing and frightening.
Maternal Instinct is a fantastic dystopian read centered on reproductive rights and parenting abilities. Using the difficulties of balancing work and family as well as the statistics for child abuse, the Australian government has developed a program that requires older teens to submit to at least 2 years of "reproductive service". Females are required to have two births and males volunteer their time serving in Birth Houses where pregnant and newly delivered mothers live during their service. At the age of 6 months, the children are then taken from their mothers and placed in the care of a Mater and Pater in a child's home. Being a Mater or a Pater is an occupation that requires skilled training and they are responsible for raising the children in a video supervised environment. Birth parents are allowed relationships with their children, but only via visitation on Sundays.
This is honestly a semi-creepy read when you begin to consider the possible ramifications. The idea does seem to have some merits as you read through the story, but the system is emotionally horrific. It all feels quite Stepford and, when the darker side of the system becomes evident, things start taking a gripping turn.
Something of a blend of The Handmaid's Tale and 1984, this is a fantastic book. I was hooked early on and didn't want to put this one down. I read it over the course of a family vacation and stayed up far too late at night because I NEEDED to know what was going to happen.
The development of the dystopian government is fantastic and well-constructed. The presentation of the system in a semi-balanced manner, giving the pros and cons from the direct voices of the characters, was brilliantly done and made it have a realistic feel. I was reminded of Margaret Atwood's saying that “Nothing makes me more nervous than people who say, ‘It can’t happen here.’ Anything can happen anywhere, given the right circumstances.” The slow slip from policies based on idealism and happiness into a culture of oppression and manipulation can be so stealthily done. Bowyer uses that approach to her advantage and creates a world that is both believable and horrific. It's this approach that makes Maternal Instinct both intriguing and frightening.
* Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. *
2.5 stars.
A cross of dystopian sci-fi and mystery/thriller, the premise of this book is terribly intriguing, set in a version of our world where individuals are scanned for disease and then "welded" if they are determined to be healthy at the age of 55. Those unlucky enough to fail the scan will simply live out their lives however their illness progresses. Those who have been subject to the weld will "conclude" at age 75, nearly 20 years to the day from their weld date.
Colin's wife, Ruby, has just pre-concluded, deciding not to hold the power in her own hands and not wait for her true conclusion date. Colin himself still has a year or two to live. When he decides to splurge on himself and winds up in the luxury flight lounge, he sees a man who he swears is already dead. What follows is his obsessive journey to discover if he is correct in his assumption that this is the same man and, if so, how the man has cheated the system.
The idea for creating this book was creative and original and I was terribly intrigued. The plot was fairly well paced for the first half of the book, though occasionally confusing -- something I somewhat expect when I'm reading a mystery (otherwise where would be the surprise?). I appreciated the detail to the surroundings and the comprehensiveness with which the Boundary Waters and their exploration were written. The writing of this book was overall decent and I did moderately enjoy reading the book enough that I never considered placing it in the DNF pile, but there were things that I unfortunately found lacking.
There was a lot that could have been done with this premise and it felt interesting for the majority of the book, but it didn't feel like it was explored thoroughly. While I enjoyed the character of Colin and nearly as well enjoyed Justin, the stories swirled around each other in a bit of a confusing way for a good chunk of the book and Justin's motivations were not entirely explored. I could have tolerated the confusion had the plot felt full, but the last third of the book felt overly rushed and not near as complex as the writing had been for the prior portions. There was a lot of repetitiveness to the writing, particularly in that last third, and the story didn't feel completely cohesive.
The additional characters, though they were few, fell flat and were unbelievable for the most part. Angie felt like a poor man's Lisbeth Salander and her presence in the plot felt heavy-handed. Her relationship with Colin didn't feel right and things moved in an awkward way. The antagonist(s) could have been present more in the story. It just felt a little slapdash in the end, as if the writer was attempting to hurriedly meet a deadline rather than working to fully culminate the story.
I was happy with the read until that fateful last third. After that, things just fell flat for me. Though a creative story and a fairly solid ending, it just didn't fulfill me.
2.5 stars.
A cross of dystopian sci-fi and mystery/thriller, the premise of this book is terribly intriguing, set in a version of our world where individuals are scanned for disease and then "welded" if they are determined to be healthy at the age of 55. Those unlucky enough to fail the scan will simply live out their lives however their illness progresses. Those who have been subject to the weld will "conclude" at age 75, nearly 20 years to the day from their weld date.
Colin's wife, Ruby, has just pre-concluded, deciding not to hold the power in her own hands and not wait for her true conclusion date. Colin himself still has a year or two to live. When he decides to splurge on himself and winds up in the luxury flight lounge, he sees a man who he swears is already dead. What follows is his obsessive journey to discover if he is correct in his assumption that this is the same man and, if so, how the man has cheated the system.
The idea for creating this book was creative and original and I was terribly intrigued. The plot was fairly well paced for the first half of the book, though occasionally confusing -- something I somewhat expect when I'm reading a mystery (otherwise where would be the surprise?). I appreciated the detail to the surroundings and the comprehensiveness with which the Boundary Waters and their exploration were written. The writing of this book was overall decent and I did moderately enjoy reading the book enough that I never considered placing it in the DNF pile, but there were things that I unfortunately found lacking.
There was a lot that could have been done with this premise and it felt interesting for the majority of the book, but it didn't feel like it was explored thoroughly. While I enjoyed the character of Colin and nearly as well enjoyed Justin, the stories swirled around each other in a bit of a confusing way for a good chunk of the book and Justin's motivations were not entirely explored. I could have tolerated the confusion had the plot felt full, but the last third of the book felt overly rushed and not near as complex as the writing had been for the prior portions. There was a lot of repetitiveness to the writing, particularly in that last third, and the story didn't feel completely cohesive.
The additional characters, though they were few, fell flat and were unbelievable for the most part. Angie felt like a poor man's Lisbeth Salander and her presence in the plot felt heavy-handed. Her relationship with Colin didn't feel right and things moved in an awkward way. The antagonist(s) could have been present more in the story. It just felt a little slapdash in the end, as if the writer was attempting to hurriedly meet a deadline rather than working to fully culminate the story.
I was happy with the read until that fateful last third. After that, things just fell flat for me. Though a creative story and a fairly solid ending, it just didn't fulfill me.
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This is the best addendum to the Harry Potter series! J.K. Rowling is ridiculously talented and this is so incredibly creative. I loved learning about all of the magical creatures. The references to other "magical texts" were great additions. I am constantly amazed at how detailed this world has become.
* Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. *
Okay...fair warning here...this review is going to get a little ranty.
The premise for this book sounded good, potentially humorous even. The cover is super cute. I was excited to get started on it. And then I saw the addendum to the title. Really? "A delightful laugh-out-loud romantic comedy" as part of the TITLE? No. That's not okay. As a blurb? Sure. But don't put it in your title. It sounds way too cocky and pretentious. But...I soldiered on and started the book anyway.
First impression? The main character is annoying. She gave ME anxiety with her anxiety. It was all immersive and way too much. Is it accurate for a hypochondriac? Probably. So, points for accuracy. But it still was just hit-you-in-the-face assaulting. I took a few deep breaths and kept reading, despite the heart palpitations it induced.
I settled into the writing a bit more as the story went on and I will admit that Pinotti does have a good style. She is creative and the narrative does move fairly well MOST of the time. There are occasions where the plot just abruptly changes direction and there are times when pieces of the plot dissolve into oblivion. That could use a little work. But when things go in the right direction, the writing is good.
I got this book as an ARC and generally expect that there will be some errors in typography or phrasing (let's be frank, there are doubtless some irritating errors in this very review), but this was way excessive. Sometimes the writing was so jumbled that I had trouble sifting through it. That irritated me. As a reader, I need to know that the author has taken some care with the writing. And some of these errors should have been caught on an initial editing, with ease. When it feels like the author doesn't care about that kind of detail, it makes me care less about the work. A little basic effort goes a long way. I can overlook some punctuation errors here and there or maybe a misspelling and rough transition or two, but this was...to be blunt...an editing disaster. And as much as I should generally ignore these things with ARCs, I just couldn't; because I don't know how much of that is going to get caught prior to publishing.
The storyline at its core was good and I have to assume that there will be/have been some major editing corrections prior to final publication, so I let my rating have a little bit of a bump up. Maybe this is too generous, I don't know.
After fighting the urge on several occasions to DNF and constantly looking at how many pages remained, I did manage to finish the entire book. Was it worth it? Meh. It was okay. There wasn't anything beyond a regular trope and nothing terribly unexpected or marvelous happened. It was pretty predictable. But, with maybe toning down the character in the first third of the book and some careful revision, this could be a decent book that would rate a 3 or 3 1/2 for me. As is, I initially wanted to give it a 1.5. However, I gave that extra credit for the assumed power of the editor and ultimately landed on a 2.
* End Rant *
Okay...fair warning here...this review is going to get a little ranty.
The premise for this book sounded good, potentially humorous even. The cover is super cute. I was excited to get started on it. And then I saw the addendum to the title. Really? "A delightful laugh-out-loud romantic comedy" as part of the TITLE? No. That's not okay. As a blurb? Sure. But don't put it in your title. It sounds way too cocky and pretentious. But...I soldiered on and started the book anyway.
First impression? The main character is annoying. She gave ME anxiety with her anxiety. It was all immersive and way too much. Is it accurate for a hypochondriac? Probably. So, points for accuracy. But it still was just hit-you-in-the-face assaulting. I took a few deep breaths and kept reading, despite the heart palpitations it induced.
I settled into the writing a bit more as the story went on and I will admit that Pinotti does have a good style. She is creative and the narrative does move fairly well MOST of the time. There are occasions where the plot just abruptly changes direction and there are times when pieces of the plot dissolve into oblivion. That could use a little work. But when things go in the right direction, the writing is good.
I got this book as an ARC and generally expect that there will be some errors in typography or phrasing (let's be frank, there are doubtless some irritating errors in this very review), but this was way excessive. Sometimes the writing was so jumbled that I had trouble sifting through it. That irritated me. As a reader, I need to know that the author has taken some care with the writing. And some of these errors should have been caught on an initial editing, with ease. When it feels like the author doesn't care about that kind of detail, it makes me care less about the work. A little basic effort goes a long way. I can overlook some punctuation errors here and there or maybe a misspelling and rough transition or two, but this was...to be blunt...an editing disaster. And as much as I should generally ignore these things with ARCs, I just couldn't; because I don't know how much of that is going to get caught prior to publishing.
The storyline at its core was good and I have to assume that there will be/have been some major editing corrections prior to final publication, so I let my rating have a little bit of a bump up. Maybe this is too generous, I don't know.
After fighting the urge on several occasions to DNF and constantly looking at how many pages remained, I did manage to finish the entire book. Was it worth it? Meh. It was okay. There wasn't anything beyond a regular trope and nothing terribly unexpected or marvelous happened. It was pretty predictable. But, with maybe toning down the character in the first third of the book and some careful revision, this could be a decent book that would rate a 3 or 3 1/2 for me. As is, I initially wanted to give it a 1.5. However, I gave that extra credit for the assumed power of the editor and ultimately landed on a 2.
* End Rant *
4.5 stars.
This is a very moving story that I found out later was loosely based on a real couple. The writing is sweet and well formulated and the narrative moves smoothly. I don't very often tear up at books, but this one got me right in the feels. It's not overly dramatic or morbid, but does paint a realistic, non-cutesy picture. Five Feet Apart tackles the topic of terminal illness with tact and with emotion in a very balanced way. A VERY good read!
This is a very moving story that I found out later was loosely based on a real couple. The writing is sweet and well formulated and the narrative moves smoothly. I don't very often tear up at books, but this one got me right in the feels. It's not overly dramatic or morbid, but does paint a realistic, non-cutesy picture. Five Feet Apart tackles the topic of terminal illness with tact and with emotion in a very balanced way. A VERY good read!
* Disclaimer: I received a copy of this novel from the author in exchange for an honest review. *
A 3.5 star read.
The synopsis for The Weaver piqued my interest very quickly. I'm a sucker for books that blend the literary world with the real one and this one is a pretty solid execution of that trope in an original way.
A book of blends, ,The Weaver is fantasy meets romance with a little bit of historical fiction. For me, it read somewhere between YA and New Adult. It has a bit more maturity than a typical YA read, but doesn't read overly complex or too risque. The narrative was smooth moving and stayed intriguing from beginning to end. There was a bit more of a rush to movements in the last third of the book and I could have used more meat to that section of the narrative. Overall, the story wasn't overly complicated, but still maintained some surprises and wasn't too thin. The development of the fantastical element could have been bolstered, so I am happy to know that there will be two additional books to help me experience and understand this fantasy world to a greater degree.
Laney is an interesting main character, her maturity level reading true to her stated age...not always something authors can adhere to. Kudos to Kindt for that. It is perhaps this maturity level, at the ends of being a teenager and just kissing the edges of being adult, that gives the book the appropriate YA/New Adult blended feeling. All of the characters could have used some additional depth, but I still felt that I got to know Laney fairly well. I didn't feel quite as satisfied with the character development for some of the side characters, most notably Jason.
I am not typically a romance reader, so there was maybe a bit more of that element than I am really interested in, but it didn't saturate the book. A fantasy reader can still enjoy this with ease, especially those who like their fantasies with a little bit of a love element.
This was a good and smooth read with a likable plot and characters as well as a unique twist on a plot device I love. I enjoyed The Weaver by Heather Kindt and look forward to the remaining books in the trilogy.
A 3.5 star read.
The synopsis for The Weaver piqued my interest very quickly. I'm a sucker for books that blend the literary world with the real one and this one is a pretty solid execution of that trope in an original way.
A book of blends, ,The Weaver is fantasy meets romance with a little bit of historical fiction. For me, it read somewhere between YA and New Adult. It has a bit more maturity than a typical YA read, but doesn't read overly complex or too risque. The narrative was smooth moving and stayed intriguing from beginning to end. There was a bit more of a rush to movements in the last third of the book and I could have used more meat to that section of the narrative. Overall, the story wasn't overly complicated, but still maintained some surprises and wasn't too thin. The development of the fantastical element could have been bolstered, so I am happy to know that there will be two additional books to help me experience and understand this fantasy world to a greater degree.
Laney is an interesting main character, her maturity level reading true to her stated age...not always something authors can adhere to. Kudos to Kindt for that. It is perhaps this maturity level, at the ends of being a teenager and just kissing the edges of being adult, that gives the book the appropriate YA/New Adult blended feeling. All of the characters could have used some additional depth, but I still felt that I got to know Laney fairly well. I didn't feel quite as satisfied with the character development for some of the side characters, most notably Jason.
I am not typically a romance reader, so there was maybe a bit more of that element than I am really interested in, but it didn't saturate the book. A fantasy reader can still enjoy this with ease, especially those who like their fantasies with a little bit of a love element.
This was a good and smooth read with a likable plot and characters as well as a unique twist on a plot device I love. I enjoyed The Weaver by Heather Kindt and look forward to the remaining books in the trilogy.