reubenalbatross's Reviews (521)

My prevailing thought whenever I picked this up was that it's just a not-as-well-written version of The Grapes of Wrath. 

The Grapes of Wrath is one of my favourite books. It keeps you reading through the desperation and tragedies of the characters with it's beautiful writing style and evocative descriptions.

This book is not that. It's just boringly written poverty/disaster porn. No thank you. 

I've been reading a lot more fantasy inspired by African and Asian countries recently, and I've got to say, so far I've loved every single one. The popular books in this genre are so white-centric, so it's great to see other cultures increasingly in the mix. 

This book is so brutal and raw, yet philosophical. It subverts so many overdone tropes within fantasy, giving more nuance than I could hope for. 

The bonds between the characters are so real, and I found it really refreshing that romance wasn't at the heart of the story. 

I can't believe I've waited so long to read this! 

Like all of the instalments in the Shadowhunter world, I did really enjoy this book. It is beautifully written, very atmospheric, and as always, the characters and their relationships were so artfully written.
 
However, I did find the main action plotline a little lacklustre. I don't know if this is because I am so familiar with Cassandra Clare's writing that I've come to know what to expect, or because this novel didn't live up to earlier ones.

The stakes never felt very high, as none of the main cast ever dies, and NO-ONE EVER STAYS DEAD/dies when they're close to death. I knew that as soon as Christopher died James would be safe.

 
Still enjoyed it though, and devoured the last 300 pages in one sitting.  

What a truly delightful book!

So atmospheric and refreshing. 

Just a lovely little book.

The narration was really good too. 

I'll admit I picked up this book because I thought it was the original, not a retelling/spin off, and I'd say in general it is a pretty middle of the road novel.

I thought the writing was quite clumsy at times, but some of the horror descriptions were disgustingly good. 

I didn't find myself really caring about the characters, they were all pretty forgettable and seemed very emotionless, especially when their friends dies. I also found a lot of the descriptions, especially of the landscape, difficult to picture in my head. 

All in all, it wasn't horribly bad, but not spectacularly good either. I probably will pick up the next book in the series.

 This is the first real smut book I've ever read, so I'm not entirely sure how to rate it.

The smut for the most part was really good, and I rarely found myself cringing as I do with many other sex scenes. 

It felt incesty at the start and end of the book (if you've read you'll know why), which I wasn't the biggest fan of.

I also didn't really care for the 'plot', and I figured out every 'twist' pretty quickly. 

Having said this, I will be moving straight on to another Emily McIntire, so it can't have been all that bad! 

I loved this duology so much!! Wish I could stay in this world forever. 

I understand why this is a classic. 

This book is essentially a post-apocalyptic version of 'A Man Called Ove'.  

I thought the beginning and end of the book were strong (I was in tears at the end). However, I felt the 'Cathedral' section went on too long and didn't add much to the narrative.

I also felt like the story wasn't fleshed out enough in some areas. Mystery can often be a great thing, especially in post-apocalyptic books, but in this case all it did for me was make the world seem flat and I struggled to find the context of the wider story. 

The author also had the scope to go so much darker with this novel, which I think would have boosted the rating for me. I didn't feel much threat/danger in many of the scenes.

Overall I did enjoy this, but it wasn't a standout to me.