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lizbethandthelifeinbetween
This is so far my favourite Jane Austin book. That's all that needs to be said.
Like with [b:Kullervo’nun Hikayesi|36480723|Kullervo’nun Hikayesi|J.R.R. Tolkien|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1509026553l/36480723._SY75_.jpg|43985572], I really just read the story part and skimmed the rest. While the prefaces and the explanations of all the different versions of the story were much more interesting that [i]Kullevro[/i], it wasn't really why I was reading the book. I love the stories, and I unfortunately found this one a bit dull. I think it's because I've already read variations of it in other works like [b:The Book of Lost Tales, Part Two|7346|The Book of Lost Tales, Part Two (The History of Middle-Earth, #2)|J.R.R. Tolkien|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1403191998l/7346._SY75_.jpg|6172120] and possibly [b:Unfinished Tales of Númenor and Middle-Earth|7329|Unfinished Tales of Númenor and Middle-Earth|J.R.R. Tolkien|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1165611104l/7329._SY75_.jpg|2961645]. It just wasn't as interesting the third time 'round. The art though was stellar, and part of why I love these and reminded me of [b:The Children of Húrin|597790|The Children of Húrin|J.R.R. Tolkien|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1390692771l/597790._SY75_.jpg|5725966], which I enjoyed very much. This just turned out to be a mediocre read in the end.
This is a very light read, at least that's how I found it. Which was what I needed at the time so I'm not docking it for that. however, I can easily see how people call this problematic and also that this book has a lot of potential. Without going into spoilery detail, there are a lot of things that happened towards the end of this book that I found very interesting, and made me wish that I was reading a very deep sequel to this book and not the light-hearted, romantic prequel.
As for the Characters, I get my M doesn't have much in the way of personality, it's pretty clear that she couldn't develop like other people in her situation, but the love interest was kinda falt to. Olly was a nice, good person which is very nice to see, but other than the fact that they live beside each other and are hot, there didn't seem to be any reason for them to fall in love. From M's point of view, it makes sense, since he was paying attention to her but other than that (and maybe in the beginning when M is a mystery), I don't really see it. It just wasn't well developed. I could have easily gotten behind it if it was more developed, but they worked better as friends, or maybe unrequited love on M's side with the amount of development they got. (This could just be because I'm not used to Olly's actually being a decent human being in Contemporaries so maybe it does make a bit more sense but still it should have been developed more).
Development is my only critique though. Especially for that ending. You could see bits and pieces of it for a while, I always felt like something was a bit off so it didn't seem out of the blue, but I really feel like more should and could have been done with the ending, even though it wasn't the point of the story.
I did like the author's style though, and I'm not put off of The Sun is Also a Star. If my library gets it, I'd take it out. I also like the use of the illustrations and varied ways of medium. I found though that the mini book reviews were a bit meh and they seemed to be force-feeding M's opinions. They just felt a bit heavy-handed especially since there were some other heavy-handed elements in M's perspective.
In all this is a nice quick read. the writing style is easy to fall into and there are mixed mediums in the book that are very nice. The formatting of the sticky notes and the wonderful drawings and the messages and the emails were all very nice and immersive. It did, however, remind me of how little description this books sometimes had, but again I say that this is more of a light read which is what I needed at the time. Definitely get it out of the library if you're going through a reading slump, but it's not something I'd say would blow you away or that you should buy first.
As for the Characters, I get my M doesn't have much in the way of personality, it's pretty clear that she couldn't develop like other people in her situation, but the love interest was kinda falt to. Olly was a nice, good person which is very nice to see, but other than the fact that they live beside each other and are hot, there didn't seem to be any reason for them to fall in love. From M's point of view, it makes sense, since he was paying attention to her but other than that (and maybe in the beginning when M is a mystery), I don't really see it. It just wasn't well developed. I could have easily gotten behind it if it was more developed, but they worked better as friends, or maybe unrequited love on M's side with the amount of development they got. (This could just be because I'm not used to Olly's actually being a decent human being in Contemporaries so maybe it does make a bit more sense but still it should have been developed more).
Development is my only critique though. Especially for that ending. You could see bits and pieces of it for a while, I always felt like something was a bit off so it didn't seem out of the blue, but I really feel like more should and could have been done with the ending, even though it wasn't the point of the story.
I did like the author's style though, and I'm not put off of The Sun is Also a Star. If my library gets it, I'd take it out. I also like the use of the illustrations and varied ways of medium. I found though that the mini book reviews were a bit meh and they seemed to be force-feeding M's opinions. They just felt a bit heavy-handed especially since there were some other heavy-handed elements in M's perspective.
In all this is a nice quick read. the writing style is easy to fall into and there are mixed mediums in the book that are very nice. The formatting of the sticky notes and the wonderful drawings and the messages and the emails were all very nice and immersive. It did, however, remind me of how little description this books sometimes had, but again I say that this is more of a light read which is what I needed at the time. Definitely get it out of the library if you're going through a reading slump, but it's not something I'd say would blow you away or that you should buy first.
4.5
This book is awesome. Eric Walters is a great writer, I've always known that, but for some reason, I don't read his books all that often then get shocked when I do. This book is not only well-written, but it feels so real. Even when they're doing some crazy stuff with an ultralight and explosives made from kitchen supplies it all still feels very humanly capable, like logically if people could work together in a crisis they could make it through, and do anything so long as they were organized and knew what they were doing. I think that's why everyone likes his books so much because they feel so human. The character struggle with ethical dilemmas that I was even struggling with as a reader as they navigate a world without cars, resources and the internet. It's really scary because Walters makes it feel so real a not far-fetched, and the more you think the more you realize that something like this could happen any day and it would play out pretty much like it is in the book, only you'd better hope one of your neighbours is ex-FBI or something or you'll be dead.
I thought having some time might come up with a more concise review but honestly, when I think of this book I get all word jumbled and just think "wow wow wow that was good." I didn't give this the full 5 stars just because even though it's amazing it's lacking that special something to make it an all-time favourite, but this is certainly a book I will not forget anytime soon. It kept me up late at night reading and it kept my head spinning (I would say on the edge of my seat but honestly I was either up till past midnight lying in my bed or walking along the sidewalk because I just couldn't sit down). I'm bummed that my library does not have the rest of the series because I REALLY need to know what happens next (if you do know please message me as detailed spoilers as you can asap, thank-you) because I honestly can't guess it. I just hope they all get out okay and the power comes back or something. But honestly, I have no idea.
This book is good. Read it, but only if you have the sequels right beside you.
This book is awesome. Eric Walters is a great writer, I've always known that, but for some reason, I don't read his books all that often then get shocked when I do. This book is not only well-written, but it feels so real. Even when they're doing some crazy stuff with an ultralight and explosives made from kitchen supplies it all still feels very humanly capable, like logically if people could work together in a crisis they could make it through, and do anything so long as they were organized and knew what they were doing. I think that's why everyone likes his books so much because they feel so human. The character struggle with ethical dilemmas that I was even struggling with as a reader as they navigate a world without cars, resources and the internet. It's really scary because Walters makes it feel so real a not far-fetched, and the more you think the more you realize that something like this could happen any day and it would play out pretty much like it is in the book, only you'd better hope one of your neighbours is ex-FBI or something or you'll be dead.
I thought having some time might come up with a more concise review but honestly, when I think of this book I get all word jumbled and just think "wow wow wow that was good." I didn't give this the full 5 stars just because even though it's amazing it's lacking that special something to make it an all-time favourite, but this is certainly a book I will not forget anytime soon. It kept me up late at night reading and it kept my head spinning (I would say on the edge of my seat but honestly I was either up till past midnight lying in my bed or walking along the sidewalk because I just couldn't sit down). I'm bummed that my library does not have the rest of the series because I REALLY need to know what happens next (if you do know please message me as detailed spoilers as you can asap, thank-you) because I honestly can't guess it. I just hope they all get out okay and the power comes back or something. But honestly, I have no idea.
This book is good. Read it, but only if you have the sequels right beside you.
Arc provided by Netgalley. All opinions are my own.
To get this out of the way, I don't normally read comics or graphic novel or even Manga(though I think it the best of the three), because I don't find them immersive like an actual book. Probably because my brain has to not only read but look at the pictures to understand what's happening and it's too much work, especially when I like to see the story unfolding for myself in my mind. I did not have that issue here. The art and how it was done was perfect, setting the scene, introducing that character and all that stuff I often find that this medium struggles with. So props the the illustrator. I can barely make a stick man look real and you managed to create a whole world and magic system and communicate it to the reader. Well done.
Next the story. It was quick paced because of the medium, but didn't feel rushed at all. Everything had a natural development and I felt myself wanting more. More of the world, the magic, the backstory; just more. The plot was intriguing and simple, but it was still engaging. The dialogue felt natural and none of the progressive themes felt in any way forced. It just felt the natural progression of the life of a werewolf and a witch who were childhood friends.
The flashbacks were really well executed, there was enough of them to allow me to understand what was going on and have an interest to learn more, but not so much that they became the story or felt like they were taking it over. It was great.
I definitely recommend this book, even to those, who like me, can be picky when it comes to graphic novels. It's enjoyable, immersive and well-written.
To get this out of the way, I don't normally read comics or graphic novel or even Manga(though I think it the best of the three), because I don't find them immersive like an actual book. Probably because my brain has to not only read but look at the pictures to understand what's happening and it's too much work, especially when I like to see the story unfolding for myself in my mind. I did not have that issue here. The art and how it was done was perfect, setting the scene, introducing that character and all that stuff I often find that this medium struggles with. So props the the illustrator. I can barely make a stick man look real and you managed to create a whole world and magic system and communicate it to the reader. Well done.
Next the story. It was quick paced because of the medium, but didn't feel rushed at all. Everything had a natural development and I felt myself wanting more. More of the world, the magic, the backstory; just more. The plot was intriguing and simple, but it was still engaging. The dialogue felt natural and none of the progressive themes felt in any way forced. It just felt the natural progression of the life of a werewolf and a witch who were childhood friends.
The flashbacks were really well executed, there was enough of them to allow me to understand what was going on and have an interest to learn more, but not so much that they became the story or felt like they were taking it over. It was great.
I definitely recommend this book, even to those, who like me, can be picky when it comes to graphic novels. It's enjoyable, immersive and well-written.
Okay so when I started off this book it didn't seem that good and the author seemed really full of herself and was using a lot of words to say nothing at all in an attempt to hook the reader. This went on way too long. A chapter, sure, but three and a half? I was about ready to put down the book.
But then it got good. It started to get into the nitty-gritty, providing examples from a real author (bc the author is a professional critic or something like that, she hasn't actually written a book but that doesn't mean her advice isn't good). Once you get into that the advice is really good and she gives you exercises to work out where your story needs to start, go, and how your characters develop and all for that. It's very good.
But then it got good. It started to get into the nitty-gritty, providing examples from a real author (bc the author is a professional critic or something like that, she hasn't actually written a book but that doesn't mean her advice isn't good). Once you get into that the advice is really good and she gives you exercises to work out where your story needs to start, go, and how your characters develop and all for that. It's very good.
This book is enjoyable. It had me hooked and it's such a quick read. However, it's not like [b:The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo|32620332|The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo|Taylor Jenkins Reid|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1498169036l/32620332._SY75_.jpg|46885151]. While the goal of the "biography" to find out who Evelyn really loved, I kept on thinking "So what?" while I was reading this. Daisy and Billy aren't getting along, so what? Someone wants to leave, so what? I just wasn't that invested in it. Also, the "author" of the biography had this thing tying her into the band later on that was just random. I really didn't care about anything in this book, I was just enjoying it, which was okay. Not everything is going to be amazing.