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553 reviews by:
gabberjaws
The only thing negative I can say about this one is that Samuel was no where to be seen. Other than that, I loved it. I can never say anything bad about Mercy Thompson and Co. I just... I love them to bits, okay?
Also, Adam: You are the Alpha of the Colombian Basin pack and, possibly, the toughest Alpha out there (Under Bran, of course)... How on God's green earth do you manage to get kidnapped this often? Seriously. How?
Also, Adam: You are the Alpha of the Colombian Basin pack and, possibly, the toughest Alpha out there (Under Bran, of course)... How on God's green earth do you manage to get kidnapped this often? Seriously. How?
Reading this in 2013: Kinda slow but not too bad
Reading this in 2017: Hmm. Problems. (nothing unforgivable, thankfully)
Reading this in 2017: Hmm. Problems. (nothing unforgivable, thankfully)
5 years later, and Derek Souza is still the best goddamned thing about this book
God. There's nothing like rereading a book as an adult to change your perspective. I was giving this book way too much credit in my original review when I said it was similar to The Summoning, and only suffered from its slowness.
In truth, nothing happens for the first 3/4s of this book - and it only gets interesting at around the 80% mark, when Maya and Daniel actually start investigating. The romance bullshit with Rafe takes up most of this book and it's boring as hell. At least with The Summoning there was actual plot happening, even it was slow and a little ableist.
In truth, nothing happens for the first 3/4s of this book - and it only gets interesting at around the 80% mark, when Maya and Daniel actually start investigating. The romance bullshit with Rafe takes up most of this book and it's boring as hell. At least with The Summoning there was actual plot happening, even it was slow and a little ableist.
It's such a good thing that I managed to get all three of these books together, because if I'd had to wait for the third book, I'd have definitely noticed how SLOW this series is. Like. Pretty much nothing happened in the first book. This one was... better, but yeah. I definitely would have noticed.
20/05/2017: Okay. Turns out I HAVEN'T outgrown Kelley Armstrong. Her new book just isn't for me. The first trilogy was, hands down, superior, but I dearly miss Chloe, Derek, Maya and Daniel. I wonder if she'll come back to this. That might be cool.
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First review :
It took me a while but I have finally managed to stop squealing in delight after that ending. I'm going to type this fast, just in case that was only the first wave of feels and there's more to come.
What can I say about this series that hasn't already been said? It's great. The entire mood of the book was more mature than The Darkest Powers Trilogy which is understandable, I suppose, considering that Chloe had just turned 15 when the series kicked off and while there are some definite character parallels, it never feels like I'm reading about the same people just with different names.
As a single novel, The Rising was definitely the best in the trilogy. All of the characters underwent some serious character development that worked very well with the story. And it was brilliant seeing Chloe, Derek (Never change, Derek. Never change) and the others again and seeing them interact with the Phoenix kids.(Spoiler : I am absolutely loving the Maya/Chloe and the Daniel/Derek friendship. BROTPS, MAN!)
I could go on about the book, but then I'd risk rambling and possibly giving away a bunch of spoilers, which I definitely don't want to do. What I WILL say is, if you're like me and find that it takes you a while to get properly absorbed in any of Kelley Armstrong's books, please don't let it deter you. Continue reading - you'll find properly fleshed out, whole characters that aren't always relatable or likable, but will interest you nevertheless. You'll find a compelling story line that will completely suck you in and insist that you stick around until the very end. The slow buildup is totally worth it, trust me.
AlsoI am incredibly happy that the whole almost-love-triangle worked out the way it did because I would have been beyond depressed if Maya had stuck with Rafe. Daniel is an amazing character and I consider him my Derek of this Trilogy. Which, to those of you who haven't figured it out yet, means that I've adored him from the start
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First review :
It took me a while but I have finally managed to stop squealing in delight after that ending. I'm going to type this fast, just in case that was only the first wave of feels and there's more to come.
What can I say about this series that hasn't already been said? It's great. The entire mood of the book was more mature than The Darkest Powers Trilogy which is understandable, I suppose, considering that Chloe had just turned 15 when the series kicked off and while there are some definite character parallels, it never feels like I'm reading about the same people just with different names.
As a single novel, The Rising was definitely the best in the trilogy. All of the characters underwent some serious character development that worked very well with the story. And it was brilliant seeing Chloe, Derek (Never change, Derek. Never change) and the others again and seeing them interact with the Phoenix kids.
I could go on about the book, but then I'd risk rambling and possibly giving away a bunch of spoilers, which I definitely don't want to do. What I WILL say is, if you're like me and find that it takes you a while to get properly absorbed in any of Kelley Armstrong's books, please don't let it deter you. Continue reading - you'll find properly fleshed out, whole characters that aren't always relatable or likable, but will interest you nevertheless. You'll find a compelling story line that will completely suck you in and insist that you stick around until the very end. The slow buildup is totally worth it, trust me.
Also
I think I enjoyed the beginning of this much more than I enjoyed the end.
It is no secret that I love John Green. And, while I've never read any of his solo novels, I do enjoy David Levithan's writing. So it saddens me to say that I didn't love this book. The writing wasn't an issue. The two narrative voices were so different, it was easy to slip inside each of their heads. Will #1's parts had all the humor and complexity typical of a John Green, and the contrast between him and Will #2 was so in-your-face, it felt like you were getting slapped.
But for how good the writing was, I felt the plot to be a little lacking. I mean, the buildup was great. Especially with Will #1's opening anecdote about how you can't choose your friends. And then you had Will #2, who was sad, depressed and very clearly in need of a friend, and you couldn't help but think, "okay, this is going to be about friendship. I dig."
But the story sort of flat-lined towards the middle - with the whole Tiny and will #2 dynamic. It was so obvious where things were headed, I felt a little.. cheated. Was this... all I was getting? This? A break-up that leads to some sort of personality altering epiphany for the people involved? Say it ain't so.
The story ended up the way I predicted it would, except that it became all about Tiny. Which makes me feel like the story I just read was about Tiny Cooper, just through the Will Graysons eyes.
I know this book could have been so much better, but despite the disappointment, I did enjoy reading it, which is why it gets three stars.
It is no secret that I love John Green. And, while I've never read any of his solo novels, I do enjoy David Levithan's writing. So it saddens me to say that I didn't love this book. The writing wasn't an issue. The two narrative voices were so different, it was easy to slip inside each of their heads. Will #1's parts had all the humor and complexity typical of a John Green, and the contrast between him and Will #2 was so in-your-face, it felt like you were getting slapped.
But for how good the writing was, I felt the plot to be a little lacking. I mean, the buildup was great. Especially with Will #1's opening anecdote about how you can't choose your friends. And then you had Will #2, who was sad, depressed and very clearly in need of a friend, and you couldn't help but think, "okay, this is going to be about friendship. I dig."
But the story sort of flat-lined towards the middle - with the whole Tiny and will #2 dynamic. It was so obvious where things were headed, I felt a little.. cheated. Was this... all I was getting? This? A break-up that leads to some sort of personality altering epiphany for the people involved? Say it ain't so.
The story ended up the way I predicted it would, except that it became all about Tiny. Which makes me feel like the story I just read was about Tiny Cooper, just through the Will Graysons eyes.
I know this book could have been so much better, but despite the disappointment, I did enjoy reading it, which is why it gets three stars.