Take a photo of a barcode or cover
ellemnope's Reviews (2.4k)
4.5 stars.
Taylor Jenkins Reid KNOWS how to tell a story. Though this started off a bit slow and maybe a bit too saccharine for me, it slowly gained traction and turned into something amazing. I should NEVER doubt Reid's ability to weave a fantastic tale.
The character work in this narrative is just magnificent. The main characters are well done, sure. That's to be expected. But the supporting and secondary characters totally shine in this one. It's amazing to me how she can take a character who shows up on maybe three pages of the over 400 page novel and create a magnificent backstory, personality, and motivation in that time. They become full-fledged people who could jump off the page. I'm totally in awe.
The pacing is definitely a little slower, with things becoming a bit more ramped up the closer you get to the end, but it's like a rollercoaster...slowly inching up that first big hill before all hell breaks loose. Once things start to unravel, they really go nuts. It was awesome.
The ending is just as stunning as the rest of the book. It is different and brutal in a way. Door slam shut and that's that. It was just great.
There will never be a Taylor Jenkins Reid book I won't read. The end.
Taylor Jenkins Reid KNOWS how to tell a story. Though this started off a bit slow and maybe a bit too saccharine for me, it slowly gained traction and turned into something amazing. I should NEVER doubt Reid's ability to weave a fantastic tale.
The character work in this narrative is just magnificent. The main characters are well done, sure. That's to be expected. But the supporting and secondary characters totally shine in this one. It's amazing to me how she can take a character who shows up on maybe three pages of the over 400 page novel and create a magnificent backstory, personality, and motivation in that time. They become full-fledged people who could jump off the page. I'm totally in awe.
The pacing is definitely a little slower, with things becoming a bit more ramped up the closer you get to the end, but it's like a rollercoaster...slowly inching up that first big hill before all hell breaks loose. Once things start to unravel, they really go nuts. It was awesome.
The ending is just as stunning as the rest of the book. It is different and brutal in a way. Door slam shut and that's that. It was just great.
There will never be a Taylor Jenkins Reid book I won't read. The end.
This sequel to The Hazel Wood is adventurous, dark, and mysterious, just like its predecessor. The writing is still great and the atmosphere is wonderful. The plot is fun, but not as whimsical as the first. That made this one feel just a little less magical.
The Night Country is still a very good read and adds to the world creation for The Hinterland. I enjoyed my read and it went by really fast. I did get sucked in to the narrative and didn't want to put it down for large sections. The ending was a little wishy-washy and convenient, but it worked alright. It didn't feel as solid as I had hoped for.
The "epilogue" of sorts about Ellery's story between The Hazel Wood and The Night Country is good, but in a weird location. I liked having the story, but it felt strange to be reading it after The Night Country. I think it would have been better off being expanded as a 1.5 novella to be read in between.
I am still very much in love with this world that Melissa Albert has created. I find the creepy stories and characters very intriguing and I'm looking forward to reading Tales from the Hinterland.
The Night Country is still a very good read and adds to the world creation for The Hinterland. I enjoyed my read and it went by really fast. I did get sucked in to the narrative and didn't want to put it down for large sections. The ending was a little wishy-washy and convenient, but it worked alright. It didn't feel as solid as I had hoped for.
The "epilogue" of sorts about Ellery's story between The Hazel Wood and The Night Country is good, but in a weird location. I liked having the story, but it felt strange to be reading it after The Night Country. I think it would have been better off being expanded as a 1.5 novella to be read in between.
I am still very much in love with this world that Melissa Albert has created. I find the creepy stories and characters very intriguing and I'm looking forward to reading Tales from the Hinterland.
I was expecting much better from this one. The original version (this was translated from Hebrew) has won awards and been highly praised. However, I just did not connect with it at all.
The premise was really good and there were parts of the story that I think gave the structure some excellent bones, but the execution was just not there for me. The writing was choppy and sometimes made absolutely no sense. The word usage was often a bit awkward and sentence structures did not feel right.
The organization of the plot caused me a lot of problems and I think kept me from bonding with any of the characters. Things moved so slowly that I just couldn't connect or be bothered to care. I wanted this to be a lot more than I was given. The outline version would still draw my interest now that I know how the book goes, the writing just didn't flesh the story out in a way that worked for me. I think it had promise, but just did not get there. Once again, maybe if I had been able to read it in the original language my experience would have been different.
* Disclaimer: I received a copy of this novel from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. *
The premise was really good and there were parts of the story that I think gave the structure some excellent bones, but the execution was just not there for me. The writing was choppy and sometimes made absolutely no sense. The word usage was often a bit awkward and sentence structures did not feel right.
The organization of the plot caused me a lot of problems and I think kept me from bonding with any of the characters. Things moved so slowly that I just couldn't connect or be bothered to care. I wanted this to be a lot more than I was given. The outline version would still draw my interest now that I know how the book goes, the writing just didn't flesh the story out in a way that worked for me. I think it had promise, but just did not get there. Once again, maybe if I had been able to read it in the original language my experience would have been different.
* Disclaimer: I received a copy of this novel from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. *
This is my third read from Riley Sager and I have to say that I am disappointed. Though an okay read, Survive the Night feels very amateurish, not something I would expect from this author. It does read quickly and easily and flows quite well, but it just felt overly predictable and generic.
Though really breezy and easy to read, the writing is a bit heavy-handed in that red herrings and foreshadowing are done without a lot of finesse. There's a lot of repetition and stress on things that will OBVIOUSLY matter later. The intrigue was somewhat spoiled by this approach. It almost felt like "Intro to Thrillers" where each step was laid out bare. Readers aren't stupid, but this narrative sure made it feel like the author assumed they are.
The characters were dynamic, but also a bit stereotypical. The protagonist (Charlie) was on the edge of annoying and stupid. A lot of choices she made as well as actions taken by the supporting characters required some serious suspension of belief. Her mental condition was a bit over the top as well, making her a not-so-well-written unreliable narrator. TL;DR: There was a lot of eye rolling.
I did enjoy the trip and found pieces of the narrative entertaining and mildly suspenseful, but overall I just wasn't on the edge of my seat enough. If you're planning to read it, aim for a single sitting to breeze through it and prepare yourself for a bit of a campy experience.
Though really breezy and easy to read, the writing is a bit heavy-handed in that red herrings and foreshadowing are done without a lot of finesse. There's a lot of repetition and stress on things that will OBVIOUSLY matter later. The intrigue was somewhat spoiled by this approach. It almost felt like "Intro to Thrillers" where each step was laid out bare. Readers aren't stupid, but this narrative sure made it feel like the author assumed they are.
The characters were dynamic, but also a bit stereotypical. The protagonist (Charlie) was on the edge of annoying and stupid. A lot of choices she made as well as actions taken by the supporting characters required some serious suspension of belief. Her mental condition was a bit over the top as well, making her a not-so-well-written unreliable narrator. TL;DR: There was a lot of eye rolling.
I did enjoy the trip and found pieces of the narrative entertaining and mildly suspenseful, but overall I just wasn't on the edge of my seat enough. If you're planning to read it, aim for a single sitting to breeze through it and prepare yourself for a bit of a campy experience.
I really wanted to like this one. It started off so promising. Great atmosphere and wonderful descriptions along with a story that I was interested in. Things progressed well for the first 2/3 of the book, presenting small snippets of family history that sort of wove together in a way and I thought it was all going to make sense in the end, like some kind of epiphany. It didn't. Instead, the novel wound up feeling like a series of short vignettes with no real purpose. There wasn't a thoughtful ending that made sense to me or impacted me in any way. Instead, things just sort of dropped off.
The writing was good and lyrical and I can understand why this novel has praise in that sense. But the construction of the narrative was just less than I expected.
* Disclaimer: I received a copy of this novel from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. *
The writing was good and lyrical and I can understand why this novel has praise in that sense. But the construction of the narrative was just less than I expected.
* Disclaimer: I received a copy of this novel from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. *
4.5 stars.
What a fun read! I love Holmes' witticism. Although admittedly it is a bit weird with it's divergent middle section diatribe on Mormonism, it's a very fast read with a lot of clever moments. I had heard about this strange middle section, but forgot about it when I went to read. I honestly thought I had mistakenly chosen an audiobook that had more than one story in it until I remembered about this little quirk.
The writing is great and laced with a bit of dry humor, which was completely entertaining. Holmes is absolutely the most wonderful detective, both in skill and in personality. I didn't realize that the story was told from the perspective of Watson, but I totally loved that approach. Consider me a fan. I'll 100% be continuing the series.
What a fun read! I love Holmes' witticism. Although admittedly it is a bit weird with it's divergent middle section diatribe on Mormonism, it's a very fast read with a lot of clever moments. I had heard about this strange middle section, but forgot about it when I went to read. I honestly thought I had mistakenly chosen an audiobook that had more than one story in it until I remembered about this little quirk.
The writing is great and laced with a bit of dry humor, which was completely entertaining. Holmes is absolutely the most wonderful detective, both in skill and in personality. I didn't realize that the story was told from the perspective of Watson, but I totally loved that approach. Consider me a fan. I'll 100% be continuing the series.
4.75 stars.
All the things I love wrapped up in a novella. Time travel, lyrical writing, weirdness, confusion, and a heavy emotional undercurrent. Ahh. I loved this read.
The time travel setup is a bit confusing if you start to think about it too much. That rabbit hole just leads to a big headache, so leave it alone and just enjoy the ride. The worlds are weird and at war and history is getting messed with all over the place. There are so many things that could have been done with this premise. But what was actually done with it was...magic.
The epistolary setup with a vague dual POV was admittedly risky. There are a lot of readers who are going to be turned off just because of that, but for me it was just... *chef's kiss*. It was something different and so well done and to have two different authors writing, each with one character...ah...it made for such brilliantly fleshed out characters. (Both of whom I loved, by the way.)
I loved the twisty, shadowy nature of the narrative, and how things just slowly emerged with each letter. I loved the creativeness of the world and the composition. It was just something that kept surprising me and making me love the book even more.
I'll tell you right now that from a pure emotional stand, this is a five-star read. But...with a bit more of a critical eye, I had to admit that it isn't the easiest of books to read. It can be convoluted and strange. It is a bit random and absolutely suspends logic in several places. (Shh...don't tell anybody, but this is a lot of why I loved it.) Because of these potential "accessibility" issues, I did have to take things down a smidge. (SWITCH TO QUARTER POINT RATINGS, GOODREADS!)
I absolutely need to reread this book. I just finished it and I already miss it. Such a beautiful love story. Argh. My heart.
All the things I love wrapped up in a novella. Time travel, lyrical writing, weirdness, confusion, and a heavy emotional undercurrent. Ahh. I loved this read.
The time travel setup is a bit confusing if you start to think about it too much. That rabbit hole just leads to a big headache, so leave it alone and just enjoy the ride. The worlds are weird and at war and history is getting messed with all over the place. There are so many things that could have been done with this premise. But what was actually done with it was...magic.
The epistolary setup with a vague dual POV was admittedly risky. There are a lot of readers who are going to be turned off just because of that, but for me it was just... *chef's kiss*. It was something different and so well done and to have two different authors writing, each with one character...ah...it made for such brilliantly fleshed out characters. (Both of whom I loved, by the way.)
I loved the twisty, shadowy nature of the narrative, and how things just slowly emerged with each letter. I loved the creativeness of the world and the composition. It was just something that kept surprising me and making me love the book even more.
I'll tell you right now that from a pure emotional stand, this is a five-star read. But...with a bit more of a critical eye, I had to admit that it isn't the easiest of books to read. It can be convoluted and strange. It is a bit random and absolutely suspends logic in several places. (Shh...don't tell anybody, but this is a lot of why I loved it.) Because of these potential "accessibility" issues, I did have to take things down a smidge. (SWITCH TO QUARTER POINT RATINGS, GOODREADS!)
I absolutely need to reread this book. I just finished it and I already miss it. Such a beautiful love story. Argh. My heart.
I continue to have mixed feelings about this series. Oh, the internal conflict. I enjoy the story and the art style and I am admittedly intrigued. I do still have reservations about the whole space war/alien thing, but I guess it's growing on me? And apparently I'm a total prude, because I get super embarrassed every time I come to a page with more adult content. I don't know...maybe it's the mix of cartoon with nudity that weirds me out? Whatever...it's a conundrum. Still, I am liking my read and I won't abandon the series. I'm in. I'll be riding this train to the end.