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paragraphsandpages
“No one really wishes to be a queen.”
Stars (Out of 10): 6/10
Overall Thoughts: I quite liked this book, although it was a tad boring/slow in the beginning. The plot really picked up throughout the novel though, and I ended up really enjoying how it ended! I’m extremely curious how everything that happened so fast at the end will be explained later. In addition, I liked the cast of characters we had, and felt each point of view was actually equally interesting, which is not a common trait of multiple POV books.
The Good: I really liked how developed each character was, and how different they all seemed. In addition, we saw how the society and family they were raised in majorly affected their personalities. The ending also shocked me, and I cannot wait to see what this all means for the next book.
The Bad: Not quite what I expected from the whole dark queen war hype, but it’s possible that’s seen in the second book. We also saw a biased amount of POVs for certain characters, as if one queen was favored over the others. There were also portions that seemed a bit boring, and some aspects of the plot that seemed entirely unnecessary or purely for filler plot.
SPOILERS BEGIN HERE
The Characters: I liked the diversity we saw in this novel. Even though it was the same author writing each character, their voices and personalities felt so different. In addition, the side characters introduced in each situation definitely added to the story, and even though there were many, it was easy to keep track of them all after the first couple characters (a rare trait in novels with a huge cast of characters.)
The Plot: For the most part, I liked this. I liked the trials and the build up we saw in the novel to the sneaky tricks and battles to come. However, it did feel like too much build up. I originally thought we would see some beginning fighting in this novel, not just the months and events directly before, and then a cut off when things get interesting. I also hated this random love triangle between Jules, Joseph, and Mirabella. Everything we learned about Joseph suddenly didn’t match up, and now he’s completely lusting after Mirabella for almost no reason. Not quite sure what’s going on there, but I hope it gets resolved/explained soon.
The World Building: I was quite intrigued by the world built in this novel, and am curious how it’s development will continue. I hope we learn more about this Goddess and tradition of Queens in the second book, as some descriptions of the history seemed a tad lacking. Overall though, it was enough to understand the story.
The Favorite Character: Arsinoe
Buy it, Borrow it, or Bin it: Buy it
This review can also be found on my blog: https://paragraphsandpages.wordpress.com/
Stars (Out of 10): 6/10
Overall Thoughts: I quite liked this book, although it was a tad boring/slow in the beginning. The plot really picked up throughout the novel though, and I ended up really enjoying how it ended! I’m extremely curious how everything that happened so fast at the end will be explained later. In addition, I liked the cast of characters we had, and felt each point of view was actually equally interesting, which is not a common trait of multiple POV books.
The Good: I really liked how developed each character was, and how different they all seemed. In addition, we saw how the society and family they were raised in majorly affected their personalities. The ending also shocked me, and I cannot wait to see what this all means for the next book.
The Bad: Not quite what I expected from the whole dark queen war hype, but it’s possible that’s seen in the second book. We also saw a biased amount of POVs for certain characters, as if one queen was favored over the others. There were also portions that seemed a bit boring, and some aspects of the plot that seemed entirely unnecessary or purely for filler plot.
SPOILERS BEGIN HERE
The Characters: I liked the diversity we saw in this novel. Even though it was the same author writing each character, their voices and personalities felt so different. In addition, the side characters introduced in each situation definitely added to the story, and even though there were many, it was easy to keep track of them all after the first couple characters (a rare trait in novels with a huge cast of characters.)
The Plot: For the most part, I liked this. I liked the trials and the build up we saw in the novel to the sneaky tricks and battles to come. However, it did feel like too much build up. I originally thought we would see some beginning fighting in this novel, not just the months and events directly before, and then a cut off when things get interesting. I also hated this random love triangle between Jules, Joseph, and Mirabella. Everything we learned about Joseph suddenly didn’t match up, and now he’s completely lusting after Mirabella for almost no reason. Not quite sure what’s going on there, but I hope it gets resolved/explained soon.
The World Building: I was quite intrigued by the world built in this novel, and am curious how it’s development will continue. I hope we learn more about this Goddess and tradition of Queens in the second book, as some descriptions of the history seemed a tad lacking. Overall though, it was enough to understand the story.
The Favorite Character: Arsinoe
Buy it, Borrow it, or Bin it: Buy it
This review can also be found on my blog: https://paragraphsandpages.wordpress.com/
“There is no one I would rather see the sunrise with than you.”
Stars (Out of 10): 10/10 Stars
Overall Thoughts: This book went way above my expectations. I found the plot extremely intriguing, and the combination between romantic plot and more action based plot was really well balanced. In addition, I grew to love the characters extremely quickly, and I liked the diversity in their personalities. Overall, it was a really great read, and I’m excited to start the next one!
The Good: I liked all the main characters, and most of the side. In addition, I really liked the plot, and the culture found in this world!
The Bad: The only thing I disliked about the book was Tariq’s POVs at points, as I didn’t care for his character at all. But the intensity/interest I found in Shazi’s POVs more than made up for it. Also, in the beginning it was a tad bit hard to keep up with the characters and new words, but I got the hang of it fairly quickly.
SPOILERS BEGIN HERE
The Characters: I loved learning about the characters in these novels, as so many had very interesting back stories, and seemed very well developed because of that. They seemed to almost all have valid reasons for their actions as well, which made both the plot and their personalities make sense. I am also glad that this book did not fully reveal every facet of the character’s and their stories yet as well, since that means we get to delve even deeper into their pasts in the next book!
The Plot: I really enjoyed the layers we found in the plot, from the romantic one going on between the triangle, to the rising action of an oncoming war. I also loved the magical layer this all had as well, with a curse playing a huge role, and the foreshadowing of beginning magic in Shazi! Overall, I felt it was pretty well balanced too, as I enjoyed both the romance and the actual political/kingdom story going on as well, which is not necessarily common, as novels often are more developed in one aspect than the other.
The World Building: I really liked the culture and world built in this novel. I’ve never read a book with this sort of culture, and that made the world even more interesting without the extras the author added into the world. Just as I liked the Grisha novels and how they had their own language and customs, I really liked how this one did the same.
The Favorite Character: Shazi & Khalid (sorry, I’m predictable)
Buy it, Borrow it, or Bin it: Buy it!
This review can also be found on my blog: https://paragraphsandpages.wordpress.com/
Stars (Out of 10): 10/10 Stars
Overall Thoughts: This book went way above my expectations. I found the plot extremely intriguing, and the combination between romantic plot and more action based plot was really well balanced. In addition, I grew to love the characters extremely quickly, and I liked the diversity in their personalities. Overall, it was a really great read, and I’m excited to start the next one!
The Good: I liked all the main characters, and most of the side. In addition, I really liked the plot, and the culture found in this world!
The Bad: The only thing I disliked about the book was Tariq’s POVs at points, as I didn’t care for his character at all. But the intensity/interest I found in Shazi’s POVs more than made up for it. Also, in the beginning it was a tad bit hard to keep up with the characters and new words, but I got the hang of it fairly quickly.
SPOILERS BEGIN HERE
The Characters: I loved learning about the characters in these novels, as so many had very interesting back stories, and seemed very well developed because of that. They seemed to almost all have valid reasons for their actions as well, which made both the plot and their personalities make sense. I am also glad that this book did not fully reveal every facet of the character’s and their stories yet as well, since that means we get to delve even deeper into their pasts in the next book!
The Plot: I really enjoyed the layers we found in the plot, from the romantic one going on between the triangle, to the rising action of an oncoming war. I also loved the magical layer this all had as well, with a curse playing a huge role, and the foreshadowing of beginning magic in Shazi! Overall, I felt it was pretty well balanced too, as I enjoyed both the romance and the actual political/kingdom story going on as well, which is not necessarily common, as novels often are more developed in one aspect than the other.
The World Building: I really liked the culture and world built in this novel. I’ve never read a book with this sort of culture, and that made the world even more interesting without the extras the author added into the world. Just as I liked the Grisha novels and how they had their own language and customs, I really liked how this one did the same.
The Favorite Character: Shazi & Khalid (sorry, I’m predictable)
Buy it, Borrow it, or Bin it: Buy it!
This review can also be found on my blog: https://paragraphsandpages.wordpress.com/
First off, I would like to thank the publisher and author for providing me this ARC to review. Please note that the version I read was an advanced copy, and certain events/language may be changed in the published edition.
“Who would’ve thunk it could’ve ended like this? Explosively, devastatingly, calamitously.”
Stars (Out of 10): 3/10
Overall Thoughts: I wasn’t the biggest fan of this book. I often like someone to cheer for, or at least some semblance of goodness in the characters, but in this case, there seemed to be none. The relationship got terrible fast, and all the book showed was the bad side of it. It was interesting though, and unique from other love stories, and I thought the overall writing style fit the characters and their personalities perfectly. I just find it hard to like/connect with a book where there is no positivity, and each new chapter just makes the characters worse and worse people.
The Good: It was a rollercoaster, although this could be both good and bad. However, it was unique in that none of the characters had any redeeming qualities at all.What I can pride this book on is it’s use of two POV’s to tell the break up, so we actually get both sides of the story, not just one biased explanation of why everything was so messed up.
The Bad: Every character seemed to be a bad person, so there was no one to really like. In addition, relationship seemed overly bad, and I felt no real closure from the ending, no real answer to the questions the book slowly created throughout the chapters.
SPOILERS BEGIN HERE
The Characters: There is absolutely nothing to like about either of the characters. They were abusive and manipulative in their relationships, dropped their friends as soon as they got together with their significant other, even though they seemed to resent pretty quickly. It wasn’t always easy to understand the actions of the characters either (if Dan was so happy with Natalie, why was he flirting with Arielle even before the fighting started? When did Natalie suddenly become a jealous bitch, was it sudden or a gradual change?) However, these characters were far from the ones in any normal romance story, and that’ll make them, and their story, stick in my head for quite a while.
The Plot: I was definitely shocked by the ending, even if I was a tad horrified by the reaction of Natalie in destroying Dan’s life work to get back at him. It was an emotionally violent and abusive book from start to finish, and unlike anything I have ever read before. However, I do wish we heard a bit more of the before, so we can understand why these two ever got so far.
The Favorite Character: None? All the characters that were developed seemed to be really terrible people. (Alexa had potential, but she was also partially painted as another snobby rich person.)
Buy it, Borrow it, or Bin it: Bin it
This review can also be found on my blog: https://paragraphsandpages.wordpress.com/
“Who would’ve thunk it could’ve ended like this? Explosively, devastatingly, calamitously.”
Stars (Out of 10): 3/10
Overall Thoughts: I wasn’t the biggest fan of this book. I often like someone to cheer for, or at least some semblance of goodness in the characters, but in this case, there seemed to be none. The relationship got terrible fast, and all the book showed was the bad side of it. It was interesting though, and unique from other love stories, and I thought the overall writing style fit the characters and their personalities perfectly. I just find it hard to like/connect with a book where there is no positivity, and each new chapter just makes the characters worse and worse people.
The Good: It was a rollercoaster, although this could be both good and bad. However, it was unique in that none of the characters had any redeeming qualities at all.What I can pride this book on is it’s use of two POV’s to tell the break up, so we actually get both sides of the story, not just one biased explanation of why everything was so messed up.
The Bad: Every character seemed to be a bad person, so there was no one to really like. In addition, relationship seemed overly bad, and I felt no real closure from the ending, no real answer to the questions the book slowly created throughout the chapters.
SPOILERS BEGIN HERE
The Characters: There is absolutely nothing to like about either of the characters. They were abusive and manipulative in their relationships, dropped their friends as soon as they got together with their significant other, even though they seemed to resent pretty quickly. It wasn’t always easy to understand the actions of the characters either (if Dan was so happy with Natalie, why was he flirting with Arielle even before the fighting started? When did Natalie suddenly become a jealous bitch, was it sudden or a gradual change?) However, these characters were far from the ones in any normal romance story, and that’ll make them, and their story, stick in my head for quite a while.
The Plot: I was definitely shocked by the ending, even if I was a tad horrified by the reaction of Natalie in destroying Dan’s life work to get back at him. It was an emotionally violent and abusive book from start to finish, and unlike anything I have ever read before. However, I do wish we heard a bit more of the before, so we can understand why these two ever got so far.
The Favorite Character: None? All the characters that were developed seemed to be really terrible people. (Alexa had potential, but she was also partially painted as another snobby rich person.)
Buy it, Borrow it, or Bin it: Bin it
This review can also be found on my blog: https://paragraphsandpages.wordpress.com/
First off, I would like to thank the publisher and author for providing me this ARC to review. Please note that the version I read was an advanced copy, and certain events/language may be changed in the published edition.
Stars (Out of 10): 5/10 Stars
Overall Thoughts: This was a wonderfully whimsical and quirky novel, and delved into some pretty important social issues, but it just wasn’t my cup of tea. While by the end I was fairly invested into the story, the awkward beginning and getting used to the writing style did throw me off quite a bit. While the plot was pretty good and kept me hooked, I couldn’t really connect with any of the characters myself, and it made me feel quite detached for most of the book. However, the work and dedication and love put into this book is quite clear, especially from the author’s note, dedication, and acknowledgements.
The Good: A unique and whimsical way of storytelling, an interesting plots with clear closure and a few twists, and a nice diversity in cast members.
The Bad: Writing style is tough to get into at first, some points of the plot did tend to feel a tad straightforward, and the introduction was a tad quick and seemed to jump straight into the story.
SPOILERS BEGIN HERE
The Characters: I felt that while the characters were built and created very well, all with real issues and real flaws, I wasn’t able to truly connect with them. However, the diversity in cast was a great thing to see, and I liked that while any LGBT characteristics were important to the characters, it was not the only thing of relevance for that character, which is an issue I’ve seen too many times in LGBT based books.
The Plot: This was definitely the part I enjoyed most. We got to unravel both Miel and Sam’s past, present, and future, were able to see them develop quite well throughout the book, even though the span of time it took place over was on the shorter end. However, some parts of the book felt a tad slow/”dead,” and a chapter or two sometimes made me lose interest for a bit.
The Favorite Character: Aracely
This review can also be found on my blog: https://paragraphsandpages.wordpress.com/
Stars (Out of 10): 5/10 Stars
Overall Thoughts: This was a wonderfully whimsical and quirky novel, and delved into some pretty important social issues, but it just wasn’t my cup of tea. While by the end I was fairly invested into the story, the awkward beginning and getting used to the writing style did throw me off quite a bit. While the plot was pretty good and kept me hooked, I couldn’t really connect with any of the characters myself, and it made me feel quite detached for most of the book. However, the work and dedication and love put into this book is quite clear, especially from the author’s note, dedication, and acknowledgements.
The Good: A unique and whimsical way of storytelling, an interesting plots with clear closure and a few twists, and a nice diversity in cast members.
The Bad: Writing style is tough to get into at first, some points of the plot did tend to feel a tad straightforward, and the introduction was a tad quick and seemed to jump straight into the story.
SPOILERS BEGIN HERE
The Characters: I felt that while the characters were built and created very well, all with real issues and real flaws, I wasn’t able to truly connect with them. However, the diversity in cast was a great thing to see, and I liked that while any LGBT characteristics were important to the characters, it was not the only thing of relevance for that character, which is an issue I’ve seen too many times in LGBT based books.
The Plot: This was definitely the part I enjoyed most. We got to unravel both Miel and Sam’s past, present, and future, were able to see them develop quite well throughout the book, even though the span of time it took place over was on the shorter end. However, some parts of the book felt a tad slow/”dead,” and a chapter or two sometimes made me lose interest for a bit.
The Favorite Character: Aracely
This review can also be found on my blog: https://paragraphsandpages.wordpress.com/
“Sometimes the kindest thing you can do for a person is to shield them from that which will not help them. Make the decision and then carry the burden yourself, bear the weight so that they don't have to.”
Stars (Out of 10): 2/10 Stars
Overall Thoughts: While this book definitely hooked me on it’s mystery in the beginning, it lost my interest rapidly. Confusing events with no explanation + inconsistent and unlikable characters = a weird book where by the end, I understand the plot less than when I had started the novel.
The Good: The beginning a lot of potential, and had it continued on that path, I probably would have enjoyed the novel a lot more.
The Bad: Very many aspects in book later become muddled/confusing, possibly as an attempt to remain “mysterious.” However, this attempt fell very flat, and we seem to miss a lot of vital information by the end of the book of what truly happened. In addition, some of the characters seemed to be different than originally shown in the beginning of the novel, and it was hard to know who to actually believe when the narrator seemed to know nothing of what was going on, and when the truth of what was occurred was never explained to them either. In addition, the shortness of some chapters, especially in the beginning, made the writing feel choppy at some points.
SPOILERS BEGIN HERE
The Characters: The cast we were introduced to at first seemed varied and interesting, but many soon derived from that. June was both a good girl and yet was willing to enter a massive drug dealer’s house, full of potential danger. Delia jumped between wanting June and forcing her with some other guy. Just things like that basically. It created inconsistency in the novel, and made the novel that much more confusing. In addition, anyone who had the potential to be likable was utterly destroyed a few chapters later.
The Plot: This felt all over the place. The beginning had this whole mystery building up, with certain set events, but suddenly that was all a ruse. But it was never explained what was fake and what wasn’t, and I was under the impression, at first, that Ryan and the whole cheating scandal was an act too. In addition, everyone was lying about everything, and we never ever get the truth. Did Delia really mess around with June’s boyfriend? Why were they killing all these people? What was everyone’s true motives? The world will never know I guess.
The Favorite Character: In the end, no one?
This review can also be found on my blog: https://paragraphsandpages.wordpress.com/
Stars (Out of 10): 2/10 Stars
Overall Thoughts: While this book definitely hooked me on it’s mystery in the beginning, it lost my interest rapidly. Confusing events with no explanation + inconsistent and unlikable characters = a weird book where by the end, I understand the plot less than when I had started the novel.
The Good: The beginning a lot of potential, and had it continued on that path, I probably would have enjoyed the novel a lot more.
The Bad: Very many aspects in book later become muddled/confusing, possibly as an attempt to remain “mysterious.” However, this attempt fell very flat, and we seem to miss a lot of vital information by the end of the book of what truly happened. In addition, some of the characters seemed to be different than originally shown in the beginning of the novel, and it was hard to know who to actually believe when the narrator seemed to know nothing of what was going on, and when the truth of what was occurred was never explained to them either. In addition, the shortness of some chapters, especially in the beginning, made the writing feel choppy at some points.
SPOILERS BEGIN HERE
The Characters: The cast we were introduced to at first seemed varied and interesting, but many soon derived from that. June was both a good girl and yet was willing to enter a massive drug dealer’s house, full of potential danger. Delia jumped between wanting June and forcing her with some other guy. Just things like that basically. It created inconsistency in the novel, and made the novel that much more confusing. In addition, anyone who had the potential to be likable was utterly destroyed a few chapters later.
The Plot: This felt all over the place. The beginning had this whole mystery building up, with certain set events, but suddenly that was all a ruse. But it was never explained what was fake and what wasn’t, and I was under the impression, at first, that Ryan and the whole cheating scandal was an act too. In addition, everyone was lying about everything, and we never ever get the truth. Did Delia really mess around with June’s boyfriend? Why were they killing all these people? What was everyone’s true motives? The world will never know I guess.
The Favorite Character: In the end, no one?
This review can also be found on my blog: https://paragraphsandpages.wordpress.com/
First off, I would like to thank the publisher and author for providing me this ARC to review. Please note that the version I read was an advanced copy, and certain events/language may be changed in the published edition.
“Even though I knew this might end in heartbreak, that he might make my life scary and complicated and unpredictable, I knew I couldn't let him walk away. Because I knew he'd also make my life happy and comforting and full.”
Stars (Out of 10): 6/10 Stars
Overall Thoughts: I liked this book, but didn’t love it. It was a quick and enjoyable read, but wasn’t the most unique in terms of characters or plot. But it still managed to draw me in, and I was pretty invested in the relationship by the end! I would have liked to see some more scenes better developed, and the solutions to the differing plot lines as well.
The Good: A good ending with closure, overall a decent and interesting book. A likable cast of characters for the most part as well.
The Bad: In terms of plot, seemed plain, somewhat “unoriginal” and matching the standard cliche of YA romance. In addition, some loose ends were never brought up again or resolved.
SPOILERS BEGIN HERE
The Characters: While I liked the cast of characters for the most part, some issues between them weren’t fully resolved, especially between Jeff, Dallin, and Autumn. I would have liked to see a better and more secure ending for them, and a better explanation of what they standing was by the end of the book. However, I did find Autumn’s anxiety to be pretty realistic (compared to experiences I’ve had with friends with anxiety), and I felt it did add another layer to the story.
The Plot: For the most part, this was fairly standard. Perfect, popular girl has whole life set up with a sporty jock. However, an event happens where she meets the typical bad boy, and her love life is suddenly thrown upside down. And, this perfect girl actually has this “super secret” secret that she just HAS to hide from her friends because they’ll judge her. And in the end, some vague reason that girl doesn’t like jock anymore, and goes with bad boy, and her friends all accept her secret, like we all knew they would from the start. But hey, I still enjoyed it. (My only other issue with the plot is the sudden disappearance of the idea that her friends didn’t realize she wasn’t there? And Jeff being a total jerk and trying to give Dax the wrong idea in the end?)
The Favorite Character: Lisa was a pretty good friend for most of the book, so I have to go with her.
This review can also be found on my blog: https://paragraphsandpages.wordpress.com/
“Even though I knew this might end in heartbreak, that he might make my life scary and complicated and unpredictable, I knew I couldn't let him walk away. Because I knew he'd also make my life happy and comforting and full.”
Stars (Out of 10): 6/10 Stars
Overall Thoughts: I liked this book, but didn’t love it. It was a quick and enjoyable read, but wasn’t the most unique in terms of characters or plot. But it still managed to draw me in, and I was pretty invested in the relationship by the end! I would have liked to see some more scenes better developed, and the solutions to the differing plot lines as well.
The Good: A good ending with closure, overall a decent and interesting book. A likable cast of characters for the most part as well.
The Bad: In terms of plot, seemed plain, somewhat “unoriginal” and matching the standard cliche of YA romance. In addition, some loose ends were never brought up again or resolved.
SPOILERS BEGIN HERE
The Characters: While I liked the cast of characters for the most part, some issues between them weren’t fully resolved, especially between Jeff, Dallin, and Autumn. I would have liked to see a better and more secure ending for them, and a better explanation of what they standing was by the end of the book. However, I did find Autumn’s anxiety to be pretty realistic (compared to experiences I’ve had with friends with anxiety), and I felt it did add another layer to the story.
The Plot: For the most part, this was fairly standard. Perfect, popular girl has whole life set up with a sporty jock. However, an event happens where she meets the typical bad boy, and her love life is suddenly thrown upside down. And, this perfect girl actually has this “super secret” secret that she just HAS to hide from her friends because they’ll judge her. And in the end, some vague reason that girl doesn’t like jock anymore, and goes with bad boy, and her friends all accept her secret, like we all knew they would from the start. But hey, I still enjoyed it. (My only other issue with the plot is the sudden disappearance of the idea that her friends didn’t realize she wasn’t there? And Jeff being a total jerk and trying to give Dax the wrong idea in the end?)
The Favorite Character: Lisa was a pretty good friend for most of the book, so I have to go with her.
This review can also be found on my blog: https://paragraphsandpages.wordpress.com/
First off, I would like to thank the publisher and author for providing me this ARC to review. Please note that the version I read was an advanced copy, and certain events/language may be changed in the published edition.
Stars (Out of 10): 3.5/10 Stars
Overall Thoughts: This book fell really flat for me. The description seemed fairly interesting, where this girl, Eden, had leftover “magic” and connection to the other and could use that to possibly communicate to this other girl in a coma, but bring it back. However, I never felt this plot was even well explored, because the romance and family drama plots seemed to take over. In addition, almost all characters lacked continuity, with their personalities, if they had one, all over the place, and changing to fit the situation, not the situation changing to fit the characters.
The Good: A semi unique plot, not necessarily a concept I’ve seen before.
The Bad: Flaky characters, a random on and off romance, actually writing and scenes felt jumpy and unplanned (ex: Eden has tantrum/breakdown in middle of the hospital, five paragraphs later they randomly decide to go bowling?)
SPOILERS BEGIN HERE
The Characters: By far my least favorite thing about the book. No one seemed realistic, all just seemed to be instruments of a random/jumpy plot, making their personalities ever changing as well. For example, who even is Eden? Is she the mean girl that teases her friends at lunch? Is she the rebellious girl that goes to clubs with her friends, drinks, and randomly proclaims her love to one of them? Is she the bleeding heart, claiming Joe as her “one great thing” after a month together? Is she the flirt who, even in serious situations, needs to comment on various attractive aspects of Joe, claiming she agrees and likes anyone who says they appreciate him? Or is she secretly all of these things, and just changes when it would create the most drama in a situation? It would be more manageable if only the main character was like this, and could be marked down as “finding herself.” But every single main character was like this! From brother to love interest, no one seemed to be able to keeping a personality.
The Plot: While somewhat unique, I felt it wasn’t explored as well as it should have been. The book seemed to focus instead on the on and off relationship of Joe and Eden (from kisses to random disappearances I guess?), and the family/friend drama of Eden coming back from a coma, and not liking and wanting to be a part of her friend group. Honestly, this book could have been much better had the whole “connection to the other side and saving Jaz” not been a plot, since that was not even developed well enough to be interesting now, and those words could have been used to develop characters and the other plots.
The Favorite Character: Of all the ones truly explored, none. However, Eden’s mom seemed nice.
This review can also be found on my blog: https://paragraphsandpages.wordpress.com/
Stars (Out of 10): 3.5/10 Stars
Overall Thoughts: This book fell really flat for me. The description seemed fairly interesting, where this girl, Eden, had leftover “magic” and connection to the other and could use that to possibly communicate to this other girl in a coma, but bring it back. However, I never felt this plot was even well explored, because the romance and family drama plots seemed to take over. In addition, almost all characters lacked continuity, with their personalities, if they had one, all over the place, and changing to fit the situation, not the situation changing to fit the characters.
The Good: A semi unique plot, not necessarily a concept I’ve seen before.
The Bad: Flaky characters, a random on and off romance, actually writing and scenes felt jumpy and unplanned (ex: Eden has tantrum/breakdown in middle of the hospital, five paragraphs later they randomly decide to go bowling?)
SPOILERS BEGIN HERE
The Characters: By far my least favorite thing about the book. No one seemed realistic, all just seemed to be instruments of a random/jumpy plot, making their personalities ever changing as well. For example, who even is Eden? Is she the mean girl that teases her friends at lunch? Is she the rebellious girl that goes to clubs with her friends, drinks, and randomly proclaims her love to one of them? Is she the bleeding heart, claiming Joe as her “one great thing” after a month together? Is she the flirt who, even in serious situations, needs to comment on various attractive aspects of Joe, claiming she agrees and likes anyone who says they appreciate him? Or is she secretly all of these things, and just changes when it would create the most drama in a situation? It would be more manageable if only the main character was like this, and could be marked down as “finding herself.” But every single main character was like this! From brother to love interest, no one seemed to be able to keeping a personality.
The Plot: While somewhat unique, I felt it wasn’t explored as well as it should have been. The book seemed to focus instead on the on and off relationship of Joe and Eden (from kisses to random disappearances I guess?), and the family/friend drama of Eden coming back from a coma, and not liking and wanting to be a part of her friend group. Honestly, this book could have been much better had the whole “connection to the other side and saving Jaz” not been a plot, since that was not even developed well enough to be interesting now, and those words could have been used to develop characters and the other plots.
The Favorite Character: Of all the ones truly explored, none. However, Eden’s mom seemed nice.
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