Bought this book years ago during my teenage vampire craze and yeah, so many of them I got during that phase have NOT held up. I didn't feel anything for Alisa, a protagonist that has a self-proclaimed "expertise in everything" and as much charisma and personality as a pale block of wood. She's a five thousand year old vampire that was a little too ready to jump into a jacuzzi naked with an 18 year old boy in order to manipulate him for information. Ultimately, I think she might have worked better in an adult series, with her unlikability possibly working in her favor, but in this direction, she just seemed entirely superficial.

Also the whole love interest going "Yeah, I know you killed my P.I. dad and need me to get information from his office, but I love you so we just won't talk about it." Like....guy only knows her for a day or two and is already willing to throw away a loving relationship and forget how much his dad meant to him. The biggest doofus of them all.

Just a very middle of the road middle grade sort of book. While I appreciated the dark tone, there was nothing really that hooked me in. Emmeline seemed totally oblivious to Dar's darker nature right up until the story decided that it was time to get suspicious. Apparently putting a man in a coma near the very beginning didn't set off any alarm bells. I understand that their relationship may have affected her shortsightedness, but almost every piece of dialogue Dar has is a big red flag. Even kid me probably would have given Emmeline a big side eye at how she kept dismissing the shadow's clear malevolence. 

Though I have to say, without spoilers, once we learn of Dar's motivations, I can't blame her for being the way she is. I'm probably not going to read the sequel because I simply don't have enough interest, but I hope she gets her slay girl slay moment. But, given that this is series targeted towards children, probably not.

The only downside of the book is a somewhat rushed climax, which was an issue I had with Legendborn as well but, other than that....

Oh my god, Bloodmarked took everything Legendborn did and took it to another level. Dynamics get more complex, institutions that were sketchy become full on villainous, and, in the end, Bree takes on such a risky, yet understandable move that I'm eagerly waiting to see the fallout of.

Deonn expands upon the themes of generational trauma and grief, concentrating on, now that Bree can recognize these things in her own history, how does that affect her personally? How does she, as an individual, relate to all these expectations and duties brought onto her by her ancestors? Bree's reflection on these ties continue to make her such an engaging, powerful character I love to watch develop.

We see new sides of the Rootcrafter community, and I gotta say, I love the new character Valec. I may be a bit biased since I love charismatic infernal dealmakers, but I hope we see more from him as well.

As much as I loathe love triangles, the connection between Bree, Nick, and Sel never really bothered me. I've found that, if the two love interests have an already established relationship, the love triangle becomes a little more digestable, as their whole dynamic doesn't thrive off any jealousy or competition for someone's love. This book only fueled my need for a Bree/Sel relationship, but I would hate for Nick to go by the wayside. 

Guess I'm just going to have to stew on that ending for who knows how long before the third book is announced. 

Given that I had read Houck's Tiger's Curse series way back when in high school and loved it, I figured I would feel the same way about a story that attempts to exude spookiness and Halloween vibes. What I didn't expect was for it to, well, fall supremely smack on the face. I don't know if my tastes have changed over the years, but I didn't recall her style feeling so bland and empty. There's nothing that gives any personality or atmosphere to the writing. It's mostly simple statements, descriptions, and maybe some internal feelings, but it feels rare. I never really felt entrenched in the world that was being built, and, despite some interesting lore behind the lanterns, it never felt properly realized.

Also, Ember was too frustrating as a lead character. She kept making poor decision after poor decision that, without a plot security net, would have definitely gotten her killed immediately. I think her stubbornness was meant to come off as endearing, but it was more of a hindrance. 

I think I knew I was in trouble when there were two time skips, one three months and another a year, within the first 50 pages. We pass right by Alice's training to fight against Nightmares, as well as her learning more about Wonderland, which really didn't set the story off at a good pace. It also didn't help that the book opens with the protagonist immediately in danger, which is somewhat of a bookish pet peeve for me. Without the proper build-up, it makes the moment seem so much emptier and it's difficult to feel for the character that's still an absolute stranger to us.

I also wasn't a fan of the author skipping through what could have been great character development between Alice and Hatta and worldbuilding in favor of getting to the action faster. As a result, I felt forced into a world that felt like it was making itself up as it went along. I wanted to be learning about Wonderland and all its history and eccentricities alongside her, not in retrospect. I also didn't believe the attachment between Alice and Hatta because we don't see it develop naturally. Hatta goes from stranger, to mentor she has a crush on, to no way I don't have a crush on him but mayyyyybbeee and that's all we really see of their dynamic in the beginning. 

The fact that I have to wait 1/3 of a book to get to actual plot is kind of a breaking point here. I wish I liked it more, because it does sound like a cool concept, but I think it's all lost on me.

I was almost halfway in without really connecting to the characters, plot, or writing style. It takes a while for things to happen and even then, the action seems to drag a bit. Once I noticed that I was skimming more than actually taking in information, I decided to stop. There are some really good bits of dialogue here and there, but it wasn't enough for me to keep reading.

Beautiful illustrations aside, there's not much that interested me in this book which I could have finished if I gave it another half hour, but didn't really see the point. I haven't read Moby Dick, nor do I think I ever will, so the appeal of seeing that story from the whale's perspective wasn't an incentive. That and there are so many confusing elements that make the story too absurd to take seriously: why do the whales swim upside down, how do they have harpoons tied to their bodies when they're incapable of tying them themselves, how do these whales even know how to speak to humans? I think it's a story where you're not mean to think too hard about the logistics, but I couldn't help questioning it on nearly every page. 

Though I've been a Cornelia Funke fan since I was in middle school, this was one of her books I didn't grow up reading, which may have lessened the impact of it somewhat. The fantastical elements are pushed more to the background compared to her other books, and the magic comes more from the transportive descriptions of Venice. There was an interview in the back of my copy with Funke where she said that she wanted to create a book where children could actually go see the setting for themselves, which is a great way to introduce them to the wonders of their own world. And yet, somehow it felt like it overshadowed the characters a bit, who didn't really grab my attention.

Ultimately, the story didn't do much for me and I had the thought that I had read better versions of these themes in other books, most notably Something Wicked this Way Comes. Personally, I just think I started this book a tad too late. Though points to Funke for giving it a sort of odd, unconventional ending.