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onceuponanisabel's Reviews (1.48k)
On the July 8 reread, I upped my star rating to 4 stars after reading the Charles Vess illustrated version, which enhanced the story So Much. I highly recommend hunting down that edition.
I really expected to like this given how much I love Buffy the Vampire Slayer but I think it was the fact that I love Buffy so much that led to my dislike of this book.
Slayer didn't feel like a part of the Buffy canon, it felt like fanfiction or something. I don't mean that as a commentary on the writing quality, I'm talking about what I perceived as White's attitude. This book...didn't really feel respectful of the source material. White throws in her commentary on random Buffy characters which felt out of place, like she was referencing the work rather than trying to operate within it. I didn't like that all of the characters spent most of the book hating on Buffy herself as well as other characters from the show. Honestly, I wish this book had just been in the Buffy world without coinciding with it if that makes sense.
Slayer didn't feel like a part of the Buffy canon, it felt like fanfiction or something. I don't mean that as a commentary on the writing quality, I'm talking about what I perceived as White's attitude. This book...didn't really feel respectful of the source material. White throws in her commentary on random Buffy characters which felt out of place, like she was referencing the work rather than trying to operate within it. I didn't like that all of the characters spent most of the book hating on Buffy herself as well as other characters from the show. Honestly, I wish this book had just been in the Buffy world without coinciding with it if that makes sense.
Because I've apparently decided to get back on my "book before movie" bullshit and I'm definitely absolutely going to watch the movie -- it's exactly my guilty pleasure cup of tea.
As for the book, while it wasn't much more than yet another sick teens romance, it was fun (when it wasn't sad) and I had a good time reading it.
As for the book, while it wasn't much more than yet another sick teens romance, it was fun (when it wasn't sad) and I had a good time reading it.
having seen the film, I was not surprised by the plot as a reader ought to be. however, the writing was good, the characters full, and the emotional punch was there even despite the foreknowledge.
Really enjoyed Gone Girl -- as I expected given the hype.
Was it the best thing I've ever read? No.
Was it a damn well-done thriller? Definitely.
Even knowing some spoilers given that I've seen trailers for the movie and cast interviews and such I was still surprised by some twists and felt the emotional connection to the characters throughout the book.
Was it the best thing I've ever read? No.
Was it a damn well-done thriller? Definitely.
Even knowing some spoilers given that I've seen trailers for the movie and cast interviews and such I was still surprised by some twists and felt the emotional connection to the characters throughout the book.
This book is pretty polarizing so I feel like I have to elaborate on my "meh it was fine" review. (Which is what this is).
The Good
- The prose. It's good, fun stuff. There's a lot of artsy nature passages and were pretty to read.
- The plot. I did enjoy the plot. I felt like the murder mystery was done well and I would not have called the end even 10 pages before it happened. I felt really satisfied at the end and I have no regrets about reading this book.
The Bad
- The pacing. I said I liked the plot, which I did, but the problem is that it takes so long to get to it. Most of anything interesting happened once Kya was an older teenager, and while we did need the backstory that Owens provided, I wish it had been more like a quarter of the book instead of half.
- The descriptiveness. I know I said that the prose was pretty, but it was almost gratuitous. I cannot read Austen and other classics authors because they just spend so much time describing things, and this had exactly the same problem for me. Just not my cup of tea.
- The characters. I feel like I got a pretty good sense of our main three characters: Kya, Chase, and Tate. But everyone else really just felt like one-dimensional archetypes instead of fully formed characters I'm meant to care about.
The Ugly
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The Good
- The prose. It's good, fun stuff. There's a lot of artsy nature passages and were pretty to read.
- The plot. I did enjoy the plot. I felt like the murder mystery was done well and I would not have called the end even 10 pages before it happened. I felt really satisfied at the end and I have no regrets about reading this book.
The Bad
- The pacing. I said I liked the plot, which I did, but the problem is that it takes so long to get to it. Most of anything interesting happened once Kya was an older teenager, and while we did need the backstory that Owens provided, I wish it had been more like a quarter of the book instead of half.
- The descriptiveness. I know I said that the prose was pretty, but it was almost gratuitous. I cannot read Austen and other classics authors because they just spend so much time describing things, and this had exactly the same problem for me. Just not my cup of tea.
- The characters. I feel like I got a pretty good sense of our main three characters: Kya, Chase, and Tate. But everyone else really just felt like one-dimensional archetypes instead of fully formed characters I'm meant to care about.
The Ugly
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