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I can't complain about anything, really.
Full review to come!
Full review to come!
full review now up on my blog!
-> https://emilyspeaking.blogspot.ca/2017/08/review-girl-at-midnight-by-melissa-grey.html
-> https://emilyspeaking.blogspot.ca/2017/08/review-girl-at-midnight-by-melissa-grey.html
Doctor Who: The Eleventh Doctor, Vol. 1: After Life
Warren Pleece, Wellinton Alves, Triona Farrell, Klebs Junior, Caspar Wijngaard, Alice Zhang, Alex Paknadel, Claudia Caranfa, Leandro Casco, James Peaty, Boo Cook, Wellington Dias, George Mann, Al Ewing, Nick Abadzis, Robbie Morrison, Blair Shedd, Marcio Menyz, I.N.J. Culbard, Rachael Smith, Hi-Fi, Claudia Iannicello, Josh Burns, Rob Williams, Simon Fraser, Dave Taylor, Simon Myers, Simon Spurrier, Gary Caldwell
This was good. Not super amazing, and I'm not the biggest fan of the illustrations. I'm not positive if I'll continue reading the trades or not. I liked the voices and the plot though.
3.5/5 stars
This anthology is a very mixed bag. If you're looking for an overall good short story collection following villains, I wouldn't recommend this. But if you don't mind reading a mixed bag, or just skipping over the ones you don't like at first, yeah, go ahead and pick this up. Overall, I enjoyed more stories than not so I gave this a higher rating overall.
The booktuber/bookblogger contributions are another story. Some of the essays felt very insightful, and investigations into villainy, but others I merely skimmed through. I liked the ones that were different, but some of them just felt like a review they might post on goodreads, and that feel pretty pointless, to be honest.
I'd love to know the actual process of putting this book together. If the booktubers/bloggers actually got to choose the prompts, that's pretty cool. You're basically asking an author for a story you want to read. But some of the prompts were really cool and the others were... pedestrian. If they did come up with the prompts, they needed to go through some sort of approval process.
Moving on, here are my rating and reviews for the stories. I would rate and review the contributions as well, but each were only about 3 pages long and I feel like that's not much to go off on.
The Blood of Imuriv - Renee Ahdieh
4/5 stars
I would probably read more out of curiosity of the backlash of the ending. The concept is really interesting and unique. I love the technological spin on a simple prompt.
Jack - Ameriie
2/5 stars
I think it’s just the voice and writing style that made the story feel really gimmicky. I felt like I was waiting for the joke to drop but it never did. I did like the way the villainy ensued at the end, with the tie of Phalaris coming through.
Gwen and Art and Lance - Soman Chainani
4/5 stars
I enjoyed this a lot more than I thought I was going to. I love story-telling through dialogue so the texting set up was really cool. It felt natural, too. And I appreciated the fact that they weren’t constantly texting in short-forms and acronyms. Many authors seem to think teenagers actually text like that.
Shirley and Jim
3/5 stars
Really intriguing and interesting but it felt a little simple. Also if you’re going to gender bend Sherlock and John, why not bother to do the same with Jim? It felt very mysterious which I loved, and stayed true to Sherlock’s voice.
The Blessing of Little Wants - Sarah Enni
2.5/5 stars
Kinda mediocre and a little predictable. The magic seemed interesting but there wasn’t any explanation to it and it was a little confusing. The story of Alice Gray was a bit confusing as well, I didn’t really follow it. The ending was interesting, but again felt predictable.
The Sea Witch - Marissa Meyer
4/5 stars
I love Marissa Meyers writing. I think she's great at building worlds and characters. I really enjoyed this sort of... preface to the little mermaid story. This is literally what Marissa Meyer DOES, have you read FAIREST?
Beautiful Venom - Cindy Pon
3/5 stars
This was pretty interesting, and I love the twist on Greek mythology with the inclusion of diverse characters. So many stories overlap in mythology and it's always good to hear it with the different names.
Death Knell - V.E. Schwab
5/5 stars
When I finished reading this I whispered to myself, "yo that was good brah"
Marigold - Samantha Shannon
3.5/5 stars
The writing wasn't my favourite but I enjoyed the concept. Though I've never heard of the Erl-Queen story before, so I'll have to look it up. The level of villainy really worked, too. Some of these stories don’t feel evil enough but this one was well done.
You, You, It's All About You - Adam Silvera
3/5 stars
Interesting concept and written well. Cool to make it second person, but it didn't feel special enough? I feel like if you're gonna do second person it has to be perfect and this wasn't flushed out enough. It was well done in that it made me extremely uncomfortable. I think second person succeeds in that way. Instead of just reading the thoughts of a villain, you ARE the villian, you've become the villain. And because these thoughts don't match up with yours and are to the extreme of villainy, so it’s uncomfortable.
Julian Breaks Every Rule - Andrew Smith
5/5 stars
This was really fun! As fun as reading about a supposed psychopath is. I really enjoyed it.
Sera - Nicola Yoon
2/5 stars
I didn't really appreciate this until I read what the prompt was and even then it didn't feel well executed. The last bit is the best part but it was still way too choppy. Almost felt like the author just whipped it together to have something for this anthology.
This anthology is a very mixed bag. If you're looking for an overall good short story collection following villains, I wouldn't recommend this. But if you don't mind reading a mixed bag, or just skipping over the ones you don't like at first, yeah, go ahead and pick this up. Overall, I enjoyed more stories than not so I gave this a higher rating overall.
The booktuber/bookblogger contributions are another story. Some of the essays felt very insightful, and investigations into villainy, but others I merely skimmed through. I liked the ones that were different, but some of them just felt like a review they might post on goodreads, and that feel pretty pointless, to be honest.
I'd love to know the actual process of putting this book together. If the booktubers/bloggers actually got to choose the prompts, that's pretty cool. You're basically asking an author for a story you want to read. But some of the prompts were really cool and the others were... pedestrian. If they did come up with the prompts, they needed to go through some sort of approval process.
Moving on, here are my rating and reviews for the stories. I would rate and review the contributions as well, but each were only about 3 pages long and I feel like that's not much to go off on.
The Blood of Imuriv - Renee Ahdieh
4/5 stars
I would probably read more out of curiosity of the backlash of the ending. The concept is really interesting and unique. I love the technological spin on a simple prompt.
Jack - Ameriie
2/5 stars
I think it’s just the voice and writing style that made the story feel really gimmicky. I felt like I was waiting for the joke to drop but it never did. I did like the way the villainy ensued at the end, with the tie of Phalaris coming through.
Gwen and Art and Lance - Soman Chainani
4/5 stars
I enjoyed this a lot more than I thought I was going to. I love story-telling through dialogue so the texting set up was really cool. It felt natural, too. And I appreciated the fact that they weren’t constantly texting in short-forms and acronyms. Many authors seem to think teenagers actually text like that.
Shirley and Jim
3/5 stars
Really intriguing and interesting but it felt a little simple. Also if you’re going to gender bend Sherlock and John, why not bother to do the same with Jim? It felt very mysterious which I loved, and stayed true to Sherlock’s voice.
The Blessing of Little Wants - Sarah Enni
2.5/5 stars
Kinda mediocre and a little predictable. The magic seemed interesting but there wasn’t any explanation to it and it was a little confusing. The story of Alice Gray was a bit confusing as well, I didn’t really follow it. The ending was interesting, but again felt predictable.
The Sea Witch - Marissa Meyer
4/5 stars
I love Marissa Meyers writing. I think she's great at building worlds and characters. I really enjoyed this sort of... preface to the little mermaid story. This is literally what Marissa Meyer DOES, have you read FAIREST?
Beautiful Venom - Cindy Pon
3/5 stars
This was pretty interesting, and I love the twist on Greek mythology with the inclusion of diverse characters. So many stories overlap in mythology and it's always good to hear it with the different names.
Death Knell - V.E. Schwab
5/5 stars
When I finished reading this I whispered to myself, "yo that was good brah"
Marigold - Samantha Shannon
3.5/5 stars
The writing wasn't my favourite but I enjoyed the concept. Though I've never heard of the Erl-Queen story before, so I'll have to look it up. The level of villainy really worked, too. Some of these stories don’t feel evil enough but this one was well done.
You, You, It's All About You - Adam Silvera
3/5 stars
Interesting concept and written well. Cool to make it second person, but it didn't feel special enough? I feel like if you're gonna do second person it has to be perfect and this wasn't flushed out enough. It was well done in that it made me extremely uncomfortable. I think second person succeeds in that way. Instead of just reading the thoughts of a villain, you ARE the villian, you've become the villain. And because these thoughts don't match up with yours and are to the extreme of villainy, so it’s uncomfortable.
Julian Breaks Every Rule - Andrew Smith
5/5 stars
This was really fun! As fun as reading about a supposed psychopath is. I really enjoyed it.
Sera - Nicola Yoon
2/5 stars
I didn't really appreciate this until I read what the prompt was and even then it didn't feel well executed. The last bit is the best part but it was still way too choppy. Almost felt like the author just whipped it together to have something for this anthology.
Okay, I really enjoyed this!
The first book surprised me of how much I liked it, but I didn't feel much pressure to read this one... I'm glad I did though! Where the first book was mediocre, this on was intricate. The world-building in the first really helps the characters feel more grounded in this one. We're already comfortable with the setting, so the characters can really play out the way they want and the magic explanations and setting descriptions don't get in the way.
As for the love triangle, I was a little scared, but this is more of a Infernal Devices love triangle. For those who haven't read that, it's the kind of lover triangle that's fully cohesive. The girl loves both the boys and the boys love each other and the girl, so while it's complicated, it's also beautiful.
This one's got a twist that happens about a fifth of the way in, which was nice because you don't have to wait to long for the plot to pick up after the ending of the last book.
Near the end, I was actually worried it wasn't going to wrap up and I'd turn the last page to find something along the lines of "don't miss the final instalment of The Crown's Game out 0/00/0000!" And upon seeing that, I'd groan and give up because I thought this was a duology goddammit! But it did wrap up, and it wrapped up surprisingly well for all that was going on.
I think I'd honestly read another book taking place in the same world (if Evelyn Skye is up for that *wink*). I mean, it take place in a magic-filled 1825 Russia - you could go so many ways with that! And Evelyn Skye has a degree in Russian History, I believe. Something with Russia - so even though it's filled with magic, the descriptions and such are historically accurate.
4/5 stars!
Also, small note: this book has an alternate ending? And I feel weird about that? I'm sort of interested how it goes but I need a CANON ending not a MAYBE ending. I need it set in stone. If I wanted something else, I'd write fanfiction or something. But if you have read the alternate ending, what'd you think? I'm quite curious.
The first book surprised me of how much I liked it, but I didn't feel much pressure to read this one... I'm glad I did though! Where the first book was mediocre, this on was intricate. The world-building in the first really helps the characters feel more grounded in this one. We're already comfortable with the setting, so the characters can really play out the way they want and the magic explanations and setting descriptions don't get in the way.
As for the love triangle, I was a little scared, but this is more of a Infernal Devices love triangle. For those who haven't read that, it's the kind of lover triangle that's fully cohesive. The girl loves both the boys and the boys love each other and the girl, so while it's complicated, it's also beautiful.
This one's got a twist that happens about a fifth of the way in, which was nice because you don't have to wait to long for the plot to pick up after the ending of the last book.
Near the end, I was actually worried it wasn't going to wrap up and I'd turn the last page to find something along the lines of "don't miss the final instalment of The Crown's Game out 0/00/0000!" And upon seeing that, I'd groan and give up because I thought this was a duology goddammit! But it did wrap up, and it wrapped up surprisingly well for all that was going on.
I think I'd honestly read another book taking place in the same world (if Evelyn Skye is up for that *wink*). I mean, it take place in a magic-filled 1825 Russia - you could go so many ways with that! And Evelyn Skye has a degree in Russian History, I believe. Something with Russia - so even though it's filled with magic, the descriptions and such are historically accurate.
4/5 stars!
Also, small note: this book has an alternate ending? And I feel weird about that? I'm sort of interested how it goes but I need a CANON ending not a MAYBE ending. I need it set in stone. If I wanted something else, I'd write fanfiction or something. But if you have read the alternate ending, what'd you think? I'm quite curious.
I need to re-read The Star-Touched Queen. stat.
I loved the characters and the pacing and the world and the development. 1000% read this please.
I loved the characters and the pacing and the world and the development. 1000% read this please.
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