Not the most compelling writing style, in terms of audience appeal (specifically, to me) - somewhere between middle grade and young adult maybe. But the plot was pretty good, and I liked the characters more or less.

(Read for E10.) Bored by some of the verbose philosophical reactions, though some struck a chord. But a sobering reality check in the face of the romanticized war setting, and the ending was brilliant.

A far-enough removed adaptation that it felt fresh and unique, and I liked the element of magic and rituals. But the plot did drag some, and the ending was a bit of a stretch.

Not as continually engaging as Emma or P & P, but not too bad either. Classic Austen style - this one focused on plays and family titles - with vivid characters and various fascinating details.

(Read in E10.) Personally, I love Shakespeare: dense, loaded, flowery prose, masterfully interwoven themes and [dirty] jokes. It was discomfiting not to have a clear-cut hero to root for or villain to hate, and I think that makes it a more effective narrative.

Not a half-bad retelling of Cinderella; lots of interesting twists:

Spoiler

Ella's personality, the boy from the woods, Jane as the godmother

. The writing could've been better, though.

The premise has potential to be really sappy, but damn if Jack London isn't one of the best writers I've ever encountered. The story is intense and riveting, harshly realistic and deeply touching.

*sighs* Of course Caleb was actually alive this whole time, because this series doesn't already suffer from an excess of cliches. The ambiguous ending was illogical and felt too hetero-focused, undermining any depth or independence Eve or the narrative gained through the series.

(Read in E10; it didn't actually take me a month to finish.) Honestly, Jack was my favorite and I'm not even sure why. Lots of sympathy for Simon of course, but Piggy was gross and Ralph's charisma faded alarmingly quickly. Personally, I'm a huge fan of the "Golding wrote this book as a satire on English people are the best people rather than a universal nature-v.-nurture treatise" school of thought.

Incredibly melodramatic. Too much reliance on shock factor to carry the plot, and the characters - especially Eve herself - were quite insipid.