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lizbethandthelifeinbetween
I enjoyed this. It was had a very similar feel to [b:The Selection|10507293|The Selection (The Selection, #1)|Kiera Cass|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1322103400l/10507293._SY75_.jpg|15413183], only it was a lot darker. I'm intrigued, but this certainly isn't going to be one of my favourite series of all time.
I have to say though, it was a lot better than I was expecting it to be. I am not sure what I was expecting, but from a lot of reviews, I've seen I thought it would be poorly written or disappointing. There wasn't anything bad with this book, it's just not my favourite book of all time. It's a quick read. A bit too dark to be a guilty pleasure but has that sort of feel to it which is a bit off-putting.
Tha magic system is quite soft but still very interesting. I do feel like there was a lot that was glossed over. I hope the next books go into more detail about the class systems and politics, as well as how the Auguries work. Also, I like the name Augury for a magical power. Not sure why, but I do.
I did not and anything particularly annoying about the MC, but Violet is pretty average. She did not have many stand-out qualities. However, I will take that over a poorly written one any day. Her thought process could be followed logically, though it was more emotional, it made sense for the character and nothing felt random or jarring.
In the end, I would say that this is a solid book. It's just not the phenomenal wig-snatching book people are looking for. If you go into it with that expectation, you might be let down. If you are looking for a solid read this will be it.
I have to say though, it was a lot better than I was expecting it to be. I am not sure what I was expecting, but from a lot of reviews, I've seen I thought it would be poorly written or disappointing. There wasn't anything bad with this book, it's just not my favourite book of all time. It's a quick read. A bit too dark to be a guilty pleasure but has that sort of feel to it which is a bit off-putting.
Tha magic system is quite soft but still very interesting. I do feel like there was a lot that was glossed over. I hope the next books go into more detail about the class systems and politics, as well as how the Auguries work. Also, I like the name Augury for a magical power. Not sure why, but I do.
I did not and anything particularly annoying about the MC, but Violet is pretty average. She did not have many stand-out qualities. However, I will take that over a poorly written one any day. Her thought process could be followed logically, though it was more emotional, it made sense for the character and nothing felt random or jarring.
In the end, I would say that this is a solid book. It's just not the phenomenal wig-snatching book people are looking for. If you go into it with that expectation, you might be let down. If you are looking for a solid read this will be it.
I received a copy of this book for review purposes through NetGalley.
This book was very well written and enjoyable. This book follows two characters and it balanced that very well. Both characters were given the opportunity to grow separate from each other and gave the reader time to invest themselves int the character, and then later the character's goals in relation to the other character. They weren't all-consumed by one thing, but still had a drive and motivation that lead the story forward.
I really enjoyed the writing style and found it very engaging. I was very immersed in the book and barely noticed myself progressing through it or time passing as I read. I didn't find each perspective's character specifically diverse, but I had little to no difficulty figuring out the point of view due to how well the author set up the location making it possible for me to orient myself in the story.
Overall I found this to be a very strong read and would recommend.
This book was very well written and enjoyable. This book follows two characters and it balanced that very well. Both characters were given the opportunity to grow separate from each other and gave the reader time to invest themselves int the character, and then later the character's goals in relation to the other character. They weren't all-consumed by one thing, but still had a drive and motivation that lead the story forward.
I really enjoyed the writing style and found it very engaging. I was very immersed in the book and barely noticed myself progressing through it or time passing as I read. I didn't find each perspective's character specifically diverse, but I had little to no difficulty figuring out the point of view due to how well the author set up the location making it possible for me to orient myself in the story.
Overall I found this to be a very strong read and would recommend.
Honestly, I just got his to read the Obernewtyn short story, but I skimmed the others. They're all in their respective series form what I could tell. But the Obernewtyn story was worth it. Not sure why I was expecting it to be a sequel about either Elspeth or Dragon, but if you are for some reason expecting it to be that it's not. I don't even thing the series was finished when this was published.
I received a copy via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
2.5
The copy I received was littered with typos which often brought me out of the story and made it hard to follow at points, however, I still found the protagonist very plain. This book had a lot of potentials I found the idea around the main character possibly being a saint and being mistaken for her miracles was interesting, but she MC was quite boring. She didn't really do much other than follow the warlord around and I wanted to learn more about the mythology.
2.5
The copy I received was littered with typos which often brought me out of the story and made it hard to follow at points, however, I still found the protagonist very plain. This book had a lot of potentials I found the idea around the main character possibly being a saint and being mistaken for her miracles was interesting, but she MC was quite boring. She didn't really do much other than follow the warlord around and I wanted to learn more about the mythology.
I was given an arc via NetGalley, all opinions are my own.
I found this book very enjoyable. I feel like it would be pretty easy to go at this book for not being the most developed with the most amazing prose, but I honestly enjoyed reading it. It had a fast, action-packed plot and is a great introduction to anyone looking to get into political fantasy. It has love pentagons (or political arrangement pentagons lol), passion, murder and more, all wrapped in a short, less than 300 page, package. It's easy and fun to read. This book would also make a great guilty pleasure or just an easy read to get you out of a reading slump.
I say this is a good introductory book because first off, it is short and a fast read. It's like this because it doesn't go into crazy amounts of depth into political deception and plays. There's a surface level simplicity to it which makes this such an easy book to read. It covers a lot of political schemes in a short amount of time. It doesn't feel that underdeveloped either, which is nice, because the story takes place in a pretty short time frame and there is a lot going on. Also, there's a not a huge magi system or belief system to get accustomed too.
A few things did seem odd, like how unaware other kingdoms were of what was going on and how easily some kingdoms were mobilizing their armies. I did, at time, find myself craving a map and a deep look into the military and political mindset of the various kings, queen, princes, servants, and princess who were playing a role in the story. I wanted to know the marching conditions and how in was enabled/troubled by the land and how the kings worked out alliances and etc, but then I was quickly shocked by the next plot twist and made to keep reading more. This book kept me on my toes and I liked that.
I don't have much to say on the romance for once. Lots of it was political arrangement, which meant that politics were a bit more at play than emotion in the beginning, but it eventually became an emotional play. There was more of a point-to-point development, some of which could have used more expanding and development, but nothing seemed random or out of the blue.
It also has a great ending. I actually really liked it. I can't wait for the next book. It'll be on my radar for sure.
I found this book very enjoyable. I feel like it would be pretty easy to go at this book for not being the most developed with the most amazing prose, but I honestly enjoyed reading it. It had a fast, action-packed plot and is a great introduction to anyone looking to get into political fantasy. It has love pentagons (or political arrangement pentagons lol), passion, murder and more, all wrapped in a short, less than 300 page, package. It's easy and fun to read. This book would also make a great guilty pleasure or just an easy read to get you out of a reading slump.
I say this is a good introductory book because first off, it is short and a fast read. It's like this because it doesn't go into crazy amounts of depth into political deception and plays. There's a surface level simplicity to it which makes this such an easy book to read. It covers a lot of political schemes in a short amount of time. It doesn't feel that underdeveloped either, which is nice, because the story takes place in a pretty short time frame and there is a lot going on. Also, there's a not a huge magi system or belief system to get accustomed too.
A few things did seem odd, like how unaware other kingdoms were of what was going on and how easily some kingdoms were mobilizing their armies. I did, at time, find myself craving a map and a deep look into the military and political mindset of the various kings, queen, princes, servants, and princess who were playing a role in the story. I wanted to know the marching conditions and how in was enabled/troubled by the land and how the kings worked out alliances and etc, but then I was quickly shocked by the next plot twist and made to keep reading more. This book kept me on my toes and I liked that.
I don't have much to say on the romance for once. Lots of it was political arrangement, which meant that politics were a bit more at play than emotion in the beginning, but it eventually became an emotional play. There was more of a point-to-point development, some of which could have used more expanding and development, but nothing seemed random or out of the blue.
It also has a great ending. I actually really liked it. I can't wait for the next book. It'll be on my radar for sure.
3.5
This was very different from what I was expecting. At first, I was put off by the fact that it was in a modern setting, but as the story picked up, I found the concept of the sirens and their relationship to a personified ocean to be very interesting and by far the best part of the book. I loved how the ocean was jealous and motherly yet not completely human. It was remarkable.
The romance was little in the beginning, and it gave an interesting dynamic between Kahlen and the Ocean. It was so interesting. Then it when all mushy-gushy soul mates in the last 30%. I feel like it just vetoed everything I liked and all the complex dynamics at play. The ending just felt unearned. I would have loved to see what would have happened with those extra 50 years and her just moving on or something after the Ocean. That would be a much more interesting story. If it wasn't for that last bit, this would have been at least four stars.
I will, however, give credit where credit is due and say that besides be all-consuming and only meeting a few times, it seems like that had a nice relationship. It should have gotten a lot more development though if she was going to go the whole fated soulmate route.
This was very different from what I was expecting. At first, I was put off by the fact that it was in a modern setting, but as the story picked up, I found the concept of the sirens and their relationship to a personified ocean to be very interesting and by far the best part of the book. I loved how the ocean was jealous and motherly yet not completely human. It was remarkable.
The romance was little in the beginning, and it gave an interesting dynamic between Kahlen and the Ocean. It was so interesting. Then it when all mushy-gushy soul mates in the last 30%. I feel like it just vetoed everything I liked and all the complex dynamics at play. The ending just felt unearned. I would have loved to see what would have happened with those extra 50 years and her just moving on or something after the Ocean. That would be a much more interesting story. If it wasn't for that last bit, this would have been at least four stars.
I will, however, give credit where credit is due and say that besides be all-consuming and only meeting a few times, it seems like that had a nice relationship. It should have gotten a lot more development though if she was going to go the whole fated soulmate route.
I was sent a copy of this book by the author in exchange for an honest review.
Read this again because Isobelle Carmody has a short-story in it. It's not Obernewtyn related, but I still liked it. Also, I really enjoyed all the stories in here. They're all retelling/fairytale esque stories. Enjoyed them all very much.
2.5
I received an ARC via BookSirens in exchange for an honest review.
I'm very conflicted after reading this. I think it had the potential to be great, but it kind of fell flat. The idea behind a society full of only women was interesting, however, it was not explored beyond "now that men are gone, there is nothing bad to poison the world" and that was that. It sits weird with me since I'm pretty sure women can be just as mean and cruel and irradiating one gender won't suddenly stop terrorism or other bad things from happening. I'm pretty sure the catfights at my school that got so bad the principal just gave every girl in certain grades detention until she could figure what actually happened and who was and wasn't involved. And it also seemed weird that in this "perfect" society things like beauty standards still existed. From the way the novel was leaning, I feel like the MC should have been conditioned against anything that men previously found attractive and all that sort of stuff but none of it was there which was disappointing. I think Artemis even fat-shamed someone at some point (in her mind at least).
With that out of the way, the plot was okay. It was interesting, but it fell flat by the end. It was building up to be a big heist and mystery, and then it wasn't. Not to mention that there were these documents in between every chapter that really interrupted the flow of the story, And I mean in between every chapter. Not just when it was relevant to the plot. There was one there every single time. It really messed with the flow of the story and brought my attention to a lot of the issues that were not addressed in the book and how misplaced some of the morals seemed to be. The book would have been a lot stronger without them as for the most part they contained information that was not relevant or that could have been explained in the story. By the time some of the documents started to be important like, by the end, I had pretty much given up reading them as they pulled me out of the novel. And even then, it felt like they got summarized enough that I didn't really need to read them anyways and it just made me wonder why they were there in the first place.
The writing in this book was not bad. I found the prose quite enjoyable. I do wish the author had incorporated the aforementioned document information into the text as he clearly has the talent to do so but chose not too. The pacing was pretty good for the most part. The characterization could use some work as Athena felt quite a lot younger than she was and not all of her interactions seemed believable. If found many of the supporting characters to be stronger in their characterization than Athena and much more interesting, which aided in creating the emotional weight for some scenes that seemed to be lacking from Athena as I genuinely liked them. I would have like to have seen and felt Athena's reactions though.
In the end, I have no idea what morals I should be taking away from this book. It could have been a fun read, however it got very preachy at some points and made me feel like there was a message I should be getting and was not, and the messages I were getting were leaving me thinking "this can't really be it." I recommend reading this as without the in-between chapter document as those were a big culprit and trying to enjoy the plot of the mystery that it is.
Or maybe I just don't understand one gender societal books, as this was my first.
If you're looking for something similar, but better executed, I'd recommend [b:The Power|29751398|The Power|Naomi Alderman|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1462814013l/29751398._SY75_.jpg|50108451] by [a:Naomi Alderman|118226|Naomi Alderman|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1272068831p2/118226.jpg].
I received an ARC via BookSirens in exchange for an honest review.
I'm very conflicted after reading this. I think it had the potential to be great, but it kind of fell flat. The idea behind a society full of only women was interesting, however, it was not explored beyond "now that men are gone, there is nothing bad to poison the world" and that was that. It sits weird with me since I'm pretty sure women can be just as mean and cruel and irradiating one gender won't suddenly stop terrorism or other bad things from happening. I'm pretty sure the catfights at my school that got so bad the principal just gave every girl in certain grades detention until she could figure what actually happened and who was and wasn't involved. And it also seemed weird that in this "perfect" society things like beauty standards still existed. From the way the novel was leaning, I feel like the MC should have been conditioned against anything that men previously found attractive and all that sort of stuff but none of it was there which was disappointing. I think Artemis even fat-shamed someone at some point (in her mind at least).
With that out of the way, the plot was okay. It was interesting, but it fell flat by the end. It was building up to be a big heist and mystery, and then it wasn't. Not to mention that there were these documents in between every chapter that really interrupted the flow of the story, And I mean in between every chapter. Not just when it was relevant to the plot. There was one there every single time. It really messed with the flow of the story and brought my attention to a lot of the issues that were not addressed in the book and how misplaced some of the morals seemed to be. The book would have been a lot stronger without them as for the most part they contained information that was not relevant or that could have been explained in the story. By the time some of the documents started to be important like, by the end, I had pretty much given up reading them as they pulled me out of the novel. And even then, it felt like they got summarized enough that I didn't really need to read them anyways and it just made me wonder why they were there in the first place.
The writing in this book was not bad. I found the prose quite enjoyable. I do wish the author had incorporated the aforementioned document information into the text as he clearly has the talent to do so but chose not too. The pacing was pretty good for the most part. The characterization could use some work as Athena felt quite a lot younger than she was and not all of her interactions seemed believable. If found many of the supporting characters to be stronger in their characterization than Athena and much more interesting, which aided in creating the emotional weight for some scenes that seemed to be lacking from Athena as I genuinely liked them. I would have like to have seen and felt Athena's reactions though.
In the end, I have no idea what morals I should be taking away from this book. It could have been a fun read, however it got very preachy at some points and made me feel like there was a message I should be getting and was not, and the messages I were getting were leaving me thinking "this can't really be it." I recommend reading this as without the in-between chapter document as those were a big culprit and trying to enjoy the plot of the mystery that it is.
Or maybe I just don't understand one gender societal books, as this was my first.
If you're looking for something similar, but better executed, I'd recommend [b:The Power|29751398|The Power|Naomi Alderman|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1462814013l/29751398._SY75_.jpg|50108451] by [a:Naomi Alderman|118226|Naomi Alderman|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1272068831p2/118226.jpg].