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330 reviews by:
sarahscupofcoffee
Read this review and more at sarahthebooknerd.home.blog!
This book is not for the faint of heart. There are some heavy topics, so be prepared for that.
Sadie is one of the best teen books I've read in a long time. There are so many things I loved about this book.
For starters, I loved the genre. It's young adult fiction, which is an incredibly vast genre (which I know I've talked about in my other reviews). YA has so many sub-genres and age ranges that it's supposed to hit, so it's like a game for authors to hit as many qualities as possible without the book exploding. These are the ones that Summers hit: realistic fiction, age range seventh grade through adult, sensitive issues, minimum profanity (which is huge seeing that it hits sensitive issues), mystery, thriller, cross-formatting (I don't know if that's a word, but it is now), and binge-worthy. It's difficult to hit this many pegs in YA without throwing the believability of your novel out the window.
I adored the podcast integration. The novel switched between a podcast, written similar to a screenplay-ish, and Sadie's perspective. The podcast tells us where the case is at in the present tense, while Sadie's perspective shoots us back to when the occurrences were taking place. Brilliant. The pacing was beautifully done, leaving plenty of information for the reader to mull over. One of my biggest pet peeves is when an author doesn't let us come to our own conclusions as readers. Summers doesn't do that. She allows us to fill in the blanks on our own, with gentle nudging from the podcast's host, West.
Speaking of Summers... her writing is top-notch. There were lines in here that made me clutch my chest and remind myself to breathe because I had forgotten how to. No spoiler, but for example, in one scene a character discovers something awful. She ends the chapter with, "I watched him age."
She ends chapters brilliantly, too. This is a binge-reading worthy novel. I didn't want to binge read it, but I kind of did. It's hard for me to find a book that keeps me in the bath tub for longer than twenty minutes. I spent over an hour with this book... multiple times. The podcast parts are easy to read through the pages go quickly, but Sadie's parts are dense and they tear up your stomach. It's a gorgeous mixture of style.
Alright, there is something I didn't like though. I was eating this story up right until the very end. Until the end. I hated the ending. I wanted more of a wrap up than what I received. It left a bitter taste in my mouth and I literally said, "Really?" out loud in a silent room.
This book is not for the faint of heart. There are some heavy topics, so be prepared for that.
Sadie is one of the best teen books I've read in a long time. There are so many things I loved about this book.
For starters, I loved the genre. It's young adult fiction, which is an incredibly vast genre (which I know I've talked about in my other reviews). YA has so many sub-genres and age ranges that it's supposed to hit, so it's like a game for authors to hit as many qualities as possible without the book exploding. These are the ones that Summers hit: realistic fiction, age range seventh grade through adult, sensitive issues, minimum profanity (which is huge seeing that it hits sensitive issues), mystery, thriller, cross-formatting (I don't know if that's a word, but it is now), and binge-worthy. It's difficult to hit this many pegs in YA without throwing the believability of your novel out the window.
I adored the podcast integration. The novel switched between a podcast, written similar to a screenplay-ish, and Sadie's perspective. The podcast tells us where the case is at in the present tense, while Sadie's perspective shoots us back to when the occurrences were taking place. Brilliant. The pacing was beautifully done, leaving plenty of information for the reader to mull over. One of my biggest pet peeves is when an author doesn't let us come to our own conclusions as readers. Summers doesn't do that. She allows us to fill in the blanks on our own, with gentle nudging from the podcast's host, West.
Speaking of Summers... her writing is top-notch. There were lines in here that made me clutch my chest and remind myself to breathe because I had forgotten how to. No spoiler, but for example, in one scene a character discovers something awful. She ends the chapter with, "I watched him age."
She ends chapters brilliantly, too. This is a binge-reading worthy novel. I didn't want to binge read it, but I kind of did. It's hard for me to find a book that keeps me in the bath tub for longer than twenty minutes. I spent over an hour with this book... multiple times. The podcast parts are easy to read through the pages go quickly, but Sadie's parts are dense and they tear up your stomach. It's a gorgeous mixture of style.
Alright, there is something I didn't like though. I was eating this story up right until the very end. Until the end. I hated the ending. I wanted more of a wrap up than what I received. It left a bitter taste in my mouth and I literally said, "Really?" out loud in a silent room.
Read this review and other young adult book reviews at sarahthebooknerd.home.blog!
So, the first thing I should establish is that I've read through the series twice before. This was my third time reading "Twilight," but the first time as an adult. I first encountered the series in middle school and fell in love with it. I'm pretty sure Stephenie Meyer was the author responsible for turning me into a book nerd.
I was obsessed. I went to midnight book releases and later to the movie releases. Although, the movies are awful.
Reading "Twilight" was much more nostalgic than I thought it would be. I read through it in three days. I'd forgotten so many things about this book. I'd forgotten how annoying Jacob is, how sarcastic and hilarious Edward is, and how derpy Bella is. I'm often compared to Bella and I fiercely denied it because I'm ashamed of Kristen Stewart's portrayal of her. But the Book-Bella is a lot like me. We're both clumsy to the extreme, beyond socially awkward, and stubborn as hell. The Movie-Bella is whiny and expressionless. Okay, so Book-Bella gets whiny (but not so much in this book).
I didn't forget how terrible the grammar and general writing is. That killed me reading through the book. When I was in high school, probably a junior or a senior, I took a red pen to all four of her books. This was the second time I read through the series. I did it on a dare and I don't have the copies anymore (that makes me very sad). I was tempted to re-do it.
One of my biggest pet peeves with Meyer's writing style, which she fixed outside of the Twilight series ("The Host" is better), is how she explains everything. Luckily, we've never had to watch Bella go to the bathroom. But that's pretty much the only thing she left out. She was so detailed without being detailed, if that makes sense. We knew what she ate for breakfast most mornings and which shampoo she uses, but some of the characters didn't have descriptions. They were name dropped. Or, she would describe someone as "nondescript."
That's a cop-out description. My version of "nondescript" is different than my boyfriend's version of "nondescript." That's not a description of a character. I want to know how tall he is or what hairstyle he has. I had a hard time separating movie-characters from the book-characters, which usually is not an issue for me.
I could talk for hours about how terrible her style is... moving on. One of the big-picture problem I saw with this book is the sparkling. She should've used different words to describe what happens. Vampires don't sparkle, even in her world. When you say "sparkle," I picture unicorns, fairy dust, and literal sparklers (fourth of July style).
No. That's not what happens. She says, "His skin, despite the faint flush from yesterdays's hunting trip, literally sparkled,..." BARF. "...like thousands of tiny diamonds were embedded in the surface." Pay attention to the second part. Tiny diamonds were embedded on the surface... like the soft glistening of the pavement when the sun hits it in a certain way. I hate that she used the word "sparkle" because now everyone calls her vampires fairies.
Okay, so rant over. Breathe, Sarah.
One thing i was looking for this time around is the symbolism in the titles. I didn't get this as a kid, perhaps I was too young to fully absorb the meaning. The reason the first book is titled "Twilight" is because it's the best time of day for vamps to walk around (Edward admits it himself) and it foreshadows the next book. No spoilers, but Edward also indicates that twilight is the end of the day, whether you want it to end or not. Everything must come to an end.
Most of this review was complaining (see, maybe I am like Bella!), but the plot was okay (rated three stars based on plot), the world she created was great (aside from the sparkling), and I enjoyed the ease of reading it. For a thick book, it's surprisingly easy to read through.
So, with that... New Moon, here I come!
So, the first thing I should establish is that I've read through the series twice before. This was my third time reading "Twilight," but the first time as an adult. I first encountered the series in middle school and fell in love with it. I'm pretty sure Stephenie Meyer was the author responsible for turning me into a book nerd.
I was obsessed. I went to midnight book releases and later to the movie releases. Although, the movies are awful.
Reading "Twilight" was much more nostalgic than I thought it would be. I read through it in three days. I'd forgotten so many things about this book. I'd forgotten how annoying Jacob is, how sarcastic and hilarious Edward is, and how derpy Bella is. I'm often compared to Bella and I fiercely denied it because I'm ashamed of Kristen Stewart's portrayal of her. But the Book-Bella is a lot like me. We're both clumsy to the extreme, beyond socially awkward, and stubborn as hell. The Movie-Bella is whiny and expressionless. Okay, so Book-Bella gets whiny (but not so much in this book).
I didn't forget how terrible the grammar and general writing is. That killed me reading through the book. When I was in high school, probably a junior or a senior, I took a red pen to all four of her books. This was the second time I read through the series. I did it on a dare and I don't have the copies anymore (that makes me very sad). I was tempted to re-do it.
One of my biggest pet peeves with Meyer's writing style, which she fixed outside of the Twilight series ("The Host" is better), is how she explains everything. Luckily, we've never had to watch Bella go to the bathroom. But that's pretty much the only thing she left out. She was so detailed without being detailed, if that makes sense. We knew what she ate for breakfast most mornings and which shampoo she uses, but some of the characters didn't have descriptions. They were name dropped. Or, she would describe someone as "nondescript."
That's a cop-out description. My version of "nondescript" is different than my boyfriend's version of "nondescript." That's not a description of a character. I want to know how tall he is or what hairstyle he has. I had a hard time separating movie-characters from the book-characters, which usually is not an issue for me.
I could talk for hours about how terrible her style is... moving on. One of the big-picture problem I saw with this book is the sparkling. She should've used different words to describe what happens. Vampires don't sparkle, even in her world. When you say "sparkle," I picture unicorns, fairy dust, and literal sparklers (fourth of July style).
No. That's not what happens. She says, "His skin, despite the faint flush from yesterdays's hunting trip, literally sparkled,..." BARF. "...like thousands of tiny diamonds were embedded in the surface." Pay attention to the second part. Tiny diamonds were embedded on the surface... like the soft glistening of the pavement when the sun hits it in a certain way. I hate that she used the word "sparkle" because now everyone calls her vampires fairies.
Okay, so rant over. Breathe, Sarah.
One thing i was looking for this time around is the symbolism in the titles. I didn't get this as a kid, perhaps I was too young to fully absorb the meaning. The reason the first book is titled "Twilight" is because it's the best time of day for vamps to walk around (Edward admits it himself) and it foreshadows the next book. No spoilers, but Edward also indicates that twilight is the end of the day, whether you want it to end or not. Everything must come to an end.
Most of this review was complaining (see, maybe I am like Bella!), but the plot was okay (rated three stars based on plot), the world she created was great (aside from the sparkling), and I enjoyed the ease of reading it. For a thick book, it's surprisingly easy to read through.
So, with that... New Moon, here I come!
Read this review and others at sarahthebooknerd.home.blog!
I'm not sure where to start, if I'm being honest. This book has been on my to-read list for a long time because the Gothic nature of a circus that only opens at night was intriguing and seemed to be up my ally. I just subscribed to a new box, OwlCrate, and one of hints indicated that there would be an item in the box that related to this book. I figured I should read it before I get my box, so I would at least understand where the item was coming from.
This book was dangerously close to being on my abandoned list, which is an extremely small selection of books that I cannot bring myself to finish. I'm not a fan of how this book is written. It's not that it's written in third person, but it's the third person mixed with excessive narration. Not much is shown to you, but rather told to you. You're told the characteristics a certain character has instead of experiencing those characteristics for yourself, for example.
The pacing was weird. At first, I found the arrangement of chapters and the pacing interesting. I wanted to keep reading from a writer's perspective; I wanted to see how she pulled that off and where it was going. Why was that necessary to the plot?
And then it got old and annoying. The book is set up in a weird way, as mentioned. So, you have five parts. Within those parts are second person bits, where you are walking through the circus on one night. I absolutely loved those. The way those scenes were sprinkled inside the book was genius. Then, you have these scenes that jump from years into the future to years into the past. These scenes are also focused on different characters in those different time periods. It got really confusing until I understood who all of the characters are and what their roles were in the circus itself.
The biggest problem I have with jumps is that it pulled me out of the story. Typically, I get so enveloped in a story that I forget my own reality and I become a part of the story in front of me. So, when I was constantly being pulled out of that zone, I became frustrated. When I was about half way through the book, I was ready to put the book down and find something else to read. However, something told me to keep reading. I listened to my gut and I'm sort of glad that I did.
The first half of the story is incredibly dry. It's boring, aside from the second person bits where you would be able to explore the circus as a patron. The second half picks up, though. The plot thickens, the romance starts, and the twists become more unpredictable.
This book is classified as a fantasy romance, but it's not. The romance is spotty and you can tell it's passionate for the characters, but we didn't get to feel that as readers because of the writing style (where it's tell and now show). I felt very separated from the story because of the way it was written.
Now, don't get me wrong. The story line is brilliant. The plot and the idea of this story is mind-blowing, but I just couldn't get into it because of how it was written.
I'm not sure where to start, if I'm being honest. This book has been on my to-read list for a long time because the Gothic nature of a circus that only opens at night was intriguing and seemed to be up my ally. I just subscribed to a new box, OwlCrate, and one of hints indicated that there would be an item in the box that related to this book. I figured I should read it before I get my box, so I would at least understand where the item was coming from.
This book was dangerously close to being on my abandoned list, which is an extremely small selection of books that I cannot bring myself to finish. I'm not a fan of how this book is written. It's not that it's written in third person, but it's the third person mixed with excessive narration. Not much is shown to you, but rather told to you. You're told the characteristics a certain character has instead of experiencing those characteristics for yourself, for example.
The pacing was weird. At first, I found the arrangement of chapters and the pacing interesting. I wanted to keep reading from a writer's perspective; I wanted to see how she pulled that off and where it was going. Why was that necessary to the plot?
And then it got old and annoying. The book is set up in a weird way, as mentioned. So, you have five parts. Within those parts are second person bits, where you are walking through the circus on one night. I absolutely loved those. The way those scenes were sprinkled inside the book was genius. Then, you have these scenes that jump from years into the future to years into the past. These scenes are also focused on different characters in those different time periods. It got really confusing until I understood who all of the characters are and what their roles were in the circus itself.
The biggest problem I have with jumps is that it pulled me out of the story. Typically, I get so enveloped in a story that I forget my own reality and I become a part of the story in front of me. So, when I was constantly being pulled out of that zone, I became frustrated. When I was about half way through the book, I was ready to put the book down and find something else to read. However, something told me to keep reading. I listened to my gut and I'm sort of glad that I did.
The first half of the story is incredibly dry. It's boring, aside from the second person bits where you would be able to explore the circus as a patron. The second half picks up, though. The plot thickens, the romance starts, and the twists become more unpredictable.
This book is classified as a fantasy romance, but it's not. The romance is spotty and you can tell it's passionate for the characters, but we didn't get to feel that as readers because of the writing style (where it's tell and now show). I felt very separated from the story because of the way it was written.
Now, don't get me wrong. The story line is brilliant. The plot and the idea of this story is mind-blowing, but I just couldn't get into it because of how it was written.
Read this review and others at sarahthebooknerd.home.blog!
As a kid, this was my favorite book in the series. As mentioned in my Twilight review, I read these as an eighth grader. I read them again in high school. Now, I'm 26 years old rereading them with my boyfriend. I can say that New Moon probably isn't my favorite book anymore.
I was Team Jacob hardcore. So, this book was perfect. We got to know Jake's story and background, as well as see their friendship blossom. I loved this book because of the recklessness Bella exhibits and the relationship she builds with Jacob. I'm not sure I like this book anymore. I realized that Jacob isn't as innocent as I remember him being.
So, the writing... it's better in this book. You can see her skills start to develop. She has better description and the world she opens up to us is promising.
I love how this book expands the world that we got to know in the first book. We get to see the vampire law enforcement and how fierce they are. We get to see the other side of vampire lore, which is fascinating and refreshing. The first book made vampires look like fairy princesses, but we realize that they brutal in this book. Or at least, we start to see it.
I sense a pattern with Meyer's writing, though. We'll see if the last two books are the same way, but I noticed that the entire book is setup for the end. The last fifty pages are page-turning action, which incites a rapid heartbeat the inability to put down the book until you reach the back cover. The rest of the book is more relaxed and is gradually building up to explode.
I enjoyed the nostalgia of reading this book again and I'm looking forward to Eclipse.
As a kid, this was my favorite book in the series. As mentioned in my Twilight review, I read these as an eighth grader. I read them again in high school. Now, I'm 26 years old rereading them with my boyfriend. I can say that New Moon probably isn't my favorite book anymore.
I was Team Jacob hardcore. So, this book was perfect. We got to know Jake's story and background, as well as see their friendship blossom. I loved this book because of the recklessness Bella exhibits and the relationship she builds with Jacob. I'm not sure I like this book anymore. I realized that Jacob isn't as innocent as I remember him being.
So, the writing... it's better in this book. You can see her skills start to develop. She has better description and the world she opens up to us is promising.
I love how this book expands the world that we got to know in the first book. We get to see the vampire law enforcement and how fierce they are. We get to see the other side of vampire lore, which is fascinating and refreshing. The first book made vampires look like fairy princesses, but we realize that they brutal in this book. Or at least, we start to see it.
I sense a pattern with Meyer's writing, though. We'll see if the last two books are the same way, but I noticed that the entire book is setup for the end. The last fifty pages are page-turning action, which incites a rapid heartbeat the inability to put down the book until you reach the back cover. The rest of the book is more relaxed and is gradually building up to explode.
I enjoyed the nostalgia of reading this book again and I'm looking forward to Eclipse.
Read this and other book reviews at sarahthebooknerd.home.blog.
I hate this book. I love this book. I hate this book.
If you're looking for a quick, page-turning read that will rip up your insides... look no further. Nijkamp is brilliant. The writing is beautiful. She makes great use of imagery and description, propelling the plot with each sentence. This is a short book, but she doesn't waste one word. Each word is meaningful.
From chapter one, she starts us in action. She doesn't dillydally with the plot.
The way the book is set up is gorgeous, too. Each chapter is timestamped. Each chapter represents a few minutes in the shooting and then is broken into several point of views. Each character is doing something different within those few minutes. This way, we get to see several point of views for the same few minutes, to see what each character is doing at the same time. Its genius.
My sister (age 12) asked me if I would read this book with her. I didn't know what this book was about, but I knew it was good and went highly recommended. I agreed and I'm so glad I did. We've been talking about the book back and forth as we've been reading it and yesterday (around Chapter 22), I threw my book across the room and texted her.
From then on, it got real. This book is graphic with blood and loss, drenched in grief, and is one hundred percent real.
I'm a baby when it comes to books. I'm a sap and cry at all sorts of literary things, but I actually held it together. When people were dying and it was getting rough, my eyes were tearing up, but I didn't want to stop reading to cry, so I pushed through. Then I threw my book across the room, texted my sister, and picked it up again because I didn't want to cry.
After I read the last sentence, which was a beautiful last sentence to end the book on, I tossed the book on my bed and cried. Sobbed, really.
It's a beautifully written, gut-wrenching book about something that happens all over the place.
Reading this book proves how badly my timing sucks. My boyfriend always gives me crap for my timing, but it's true. I'm getting back into education after being out of it for about a year. I have an interview Monday. Timing sucks.
However, I love Marieke Nijkamp for her writing style and will be reading her other books.
I hate this book. I love this book. I hate this book.
If you're looking for a quick, page-turning read that will rip up your insides... look no further. Nijkamp is brilliant. The writing is beautiful. She makes great use of imagery and description, propelling the plot with each sentence. This is a short book, but she doesn't waste one word. Each word is meaningful.
From chapter one, she starts us in action. She doesn't dillydally with the plot.
The way the book is set up is gorgeous, too. Each chapter is timestamped. Each chapter represents a few minutes in the shooting and then is broken into several point of views. Each character is doing something different within those few minutes. This way, we get to see several point of views for the same few minutes, to see what each character is doing at the same time. Its genius.
My sister (age 12) asked me if I would read this book with her. I didn't know what this book was about, but I knew it was good and went highly recommended. I agreed and I'm so glad I did. We've been talking about the book back and forth as we've been reading it and yesterday (around Chapter 22), I threw my book across the room and texted her.
From then on, it got real. This book is graphic with blood and loss, drenched in grief, and is one hundred percent real.
I'm a baby when it comes to books. I'm a sap and cry at all sorts of literary things, but I actually held it together. When people were dying and it was getting rough, my eyes were tearing up, but I didn't want to stop reading to cry, so I pushed through. Then I threw my book across the room, texted my sister, and picked it up again because I didn't want to cry.
After I read the last sentence, which was a beautiful last sentence to end the book on, I tossed the book on my bed and cried. Sobbed, really.
It's a beautifully written, gut-wrenching book about something that happens all over the place.
Reading this book proves how badly my timing sucks. My boyfriend always gives me crap for my timing, but it's true. I'm getting back into education after being out of it for about a year. I have an interview Monday. Timing sucks.
However, I love Marieke Nijkamp for her writing style and will be reading her other books.
Read this review and other young adult book reviews at sarahthebooknerd.home.blog!
So, this is the first book in the series. The second book is supposed to be coming summer of 2020. That's too long. I need to know what happens right now!
I received this book in my OwlCrate box. I was honestly bummed when I read the dust cover description because it sounded terrible. You know those books that just sound stupid, cheesy, and corny when you try to explain them to someone, but it's actually a great book? Yeah. That's Spin the Dawn.
I thought the idea was too close to Mulan. Daughter takes her father/brother's place in the palace, disguised as a boy because girls weren't allowed to represent for their families. Girl falls in love. Action. Drama. Mulan. But then you add the tailoring in there. One of the testimonials for this book is, "Part epic adventure, part fairy tale, and part Project Runway,..." Heidi Heilig gave this testimonial and I almost didn't read it. Mulan mixed with Project Runway... no thanks.
Boy, am I glad I read through it! The plot twists were insane, the romance scenes made my stomach do flip-flops, and the characterization was simply beautiful. I loved all of the characters, even the secondary ones, and could picture the settings crystal-clear.
The plot is dense. There's a lot that happens in this book, which is why I'm thankful that Lim knows how to pace. If the book were not paced correctly, this book would've fallen apart. The plot left you hanging in places and then picked you back up. You wanted to scream at the characters for the decisions they were making, leading you to hope that everything turns out in the end.
Let's talk about the ending (no spoilers, of course). It was incredible. The last chapter ties up loose ends, while leaving an entire concept open for the next book. The ending was done right! Many authors do not end sequel-intended books correctly; they leave these huge cliffhangers with loose ends that should've been tied because they were first-book problems. You're supposed to leave something large at the end that takes an entire book to wrap up, not little things here and there. Lim did that.
It's a thrilling, page-turning read that completely took me by surprise. Not my kind of book at all, but it was definitely worth the read.
So, this is the first book in the series. The second book is supposed to be coming summer of 2020. That's too long. I need to know what happens right now!
I received this book in my OwlCrate box. I was honestly bummed when I read the dust cover description because it sounded terrible. You know those books that just sound stupid, cheesy, and corny when you try to explain them to someone, but it's actually a great book? Yeah. That's Spin the Dawn.
I thought the idea was too close to Mulan. Daughter takes her father/brother's place in the palace, disguised as a boy because girls weren't allowed to represent for their families. Girl falls in love. Action. Drama. Mulan. But then you add the tailoring in there. One of the testimonials for this book is, "Part epic adventure, part fairy tale, and part Project Runway,..." Heidi Heilig gave this testimonial and I almost didn't read it. Mulan mixed with Project Runway... no thanks.
Boy, am I glad I read through it! The plot twists were insane, the romance scenes made my stomach do flip-flops, and the characterization was simply beautiful. I loved all of the characters, even the secondary ones, and could picture the settings crystal-clear.
The plot is dense. There's a lot that happens in this book, which is why I'm thankful that Lim knows how to pace. If the book were not paced correctly, this book would've fallen apart. The plot left you hanging in places and then picked you back up. You wanted to scream at the characters for the decisions they were making, leading you to hope that everything turns out in the end.
Let's talk about the ending (no spoilers, of course). It was incredible. The last chapter ties up loose ends, while leaving an entire concept open for the next book. The ending was done right! Many authors do not end sequel-intended books correctly; they leave these huge cliffhangers with loose ends that should've been tied because they were first-book problems. You're supposed to leave something large at the end that takes an entire book to wrap up, not little things here and there. Lim did that.
It's a thrilling, page-turning read that completely took me by surprise. Not my kind of book at all, but it was definitely worth the read.
Read this review and others at sarahthebooknerd.home.blog!
At first glance, I was excited to delve into this book. It's described as being hard-core, Gothic, and beautiful. The presentation of the book is absolutely gorgeous. The cover changes color in light, the spine has intricate artwork, and the pages themselves have a Gothic-type design. I was thrilled when I received in this my Uppercase box.
I wasn't so thrilled while I was reading it.
This book is super dense and nearly impossible to keep up with. Generally, the plot is confusing. This makes the plot twists exceedingly difficult to understand. I didn't really connect with the characters, so when things happened between them... I wasn't too shaken up about it. I'm not going to spoil the plot, but shit gets real in this book.
I know that much from context, but the plot was sort of all over the place. The settings weren't as developed as I would've liked and it didn't leave me wanting more after each chapter. I pushed through this book because I wanted it to get better. The idea of this book is five-star worthy, but the execution needed work.
There is going to be a second book. I will probably read it, hoping it's better than the first.
At first glance, I was excited to delve into this book. It's described as being hard-core, Gothic, and beautiful. The presentation of the book is absolutely gorgeous. The cover changes color in light, the spine has intricate artwork, and the pages themselves have a Gothic-type design. I was thrilled when I received in this my Uppercase box.
I wasn't so thrilled while I was reading it.
This book is super dense and nearly impossible to keep up with. Generally, the plot is confusing. This makes the plot twists exceedingly difficult to understand. I didn't really connect with the characters, so when things happened between them... I wasn't too shaken up about it. I'm not going to spoil the plot, but shit gets real in this book.
I know that much from context, but the plot was sort of all over the place. The settings weren't as developed as I would've liked and it didn't leave me wanting more after each chapter. I pushed through this book because I wanted it to get better. The idea of this book is five-star worthy, but the execution needed work.
There is going to be a second book. I will probably read it, hoping it's better than the first.
Read this and other young adult book reviews on sarahthebooknerd.home.blog!
This read took me way too long to get through. So, on more of a personal note, I've been getting insane headaches when I read. This year, I've taken on a fifty book reading challenge, which is triple my usual reading speed for a year. Apparently, that took a toll on my eyesight. I went into the eye doctor and she told me that I developed a small astigmatism, which she wouldn't usually recommend glasses for because it's such a "baby prescription." However, when I told her how much I read (and how much I'm on my computer), her attitude changed and she told me to treat the glasses as reading glasses.
So, I had to wait for them to come in. It took two weeks. It took me damn-near a month to finish this book because of my headaches. This is also my least favorite book in the series, so it dragged.
My boyfriend and I are reading the Twilight series together. My favorite book in the series was New Moon, which I'm not entirely certain of anymore. However, my least favorite book is still intact. His favorite book is Eclipse. I do not see the appeal.
There was one major plot, the writing was so-so, and the only really redeeming quality in this book was characterization. Stephenie Meyer took this entire book, all 629 pages of it, to give us insight on a few characters and to drive a minuscule plot.
With that being said, there were quite a few gems in this book that I really enjoyed. No spoilers, but the chapter Fire and Ice was one of my favorites. That scene was well written and was the epitome of the characterization I mentioned before. We also get to delve into a few more backstories of the Cullen clan, which were amazing chapters to read through. So, a few good things did come out of this book, but most of it felt like filler.
I know Breaking Dawn is better and it might end up being my favorite book in the series. Onto the next!
This read took me way too long to get through. So, on more of a personal note, I've been getting insane headaches when I read. This year, I've taken on a fifty book reading challenge, which is triple my usual reading speed for a year. Apparently, that took a toll on my eyesight. I went into the eye doctor and she told me that I developed a small astigmatism, which she wouldn't usually recommend glasses for because it's such a "baby prescription." However, when I told her how much I read (and how much I'm on my computer), her attitude changed and she told me to treat the glasses as reading glasses.
So, I had to wait for them to come in. It took two weeks. It took me damn-near a month to finish this book because of my headaches. This is also my least favorite book in the series, so it dragged.
My boyfriend and I are reading the Twilight series together. My favorite book in the series was New Moon, which I'm not entirely certain of anymore. However, my least favorite book is still intact. His favorite book is Eclipse. I do not see the appeal.
There was one major plot, the writing was so-so, and the only really redeeming quality in this book was characterization. Stephenie Meyer took this entire book, all 629 pages of it, to give us insight on a few characters and to drive a minuscule plot.
With that being said, there were quite a few gems in this book that I really enjoyed. No spoilers, but the chapter Fire and Ice was one of my favorites. That scene was well written and was the epitome of the characterization I mentioned before. We also get to delve into a few more backstories of the Cullen clan, which were amazing chapters to read through. So, a few good things did come out of this book, but most of it felt like filler.
I know Breaking Dawn is better and it might end up being my favorite book in the series. Onto the next!
Read this review and other young adult reviews at sarahthebooknerd.home.blog!
Breaking Dawn took me by surprise. Of course, this is not my first time reading it, however, it felt different the third time around. This was my first time as an adult and even though I was editing the book throughout, like the others in the series, I was actually entranced by it.
You could see Meyer's writing steadily becoming better. Her description was better in this book compared to past Twilight books. She writes decent dialogue, but her description had always been off for me. It wasn't perfect, but it was better. The action scenes were also more pronounced and easily followed.
*Mild Spoilers - not too telling, though*
I loved meeting other vampires that live different ways compared to the Cullens. It was my favorite part of the book, seeing what these other vampires could do and what their lives are like. I also loved learning about Nessie and how her life is going to progress. I thought the ending, in terms of actual plot, was genius. Meyer was able to tie up loose ends, even though some of those ends were newly introduced.
Now, her actual ending... like the last few pages of the book... needed work. I hate it when books end happily-ever-after style. There needs to be a more satisfying ending than and then we were happy for the rest of our lives. That felt like the fakest way to end a book, much less a series. However, the scene she ended with wasn't bad. This is where her writing comes into play. She could've executed that scene better to leave a more satisfied feeling when it came to the last sentence.
Okay and her name... I hated reading that the first time and I still hate it: Renesmee. What kind of name is that? I get that it's combining two people's names into one, but come on! And the fact that her nickname became Nessie... just no. I'm with Bella on that. Why would you nickname someone after a sea monster? What about Ren?
Sorry, rant over. Overall, I felt like this book's plot was much sturdier than the other books. The plot was much more complex and it resulted in more intense scenes. The characterization was better in this book comparatively speaking; I was able to visualize and remember all of the new characters she introduced.
There were a lot of good things about the ending of this series.
Breaking Dawn took me by surprise. Of course, this is not my first time reading it, however, it felt different the third time around. This was my first time as an adult and even though I was editing the book throughout, like the others in the series, I was actually entranced by it.
You could see Meyer's writing steadily becoming better. Her description was better in this book compared to past Twilight books. She writes decent dialogue, but her description had always been off for me. It wasn't perfect, but it was better. The action scenes were also more pronounced and easily followed.
*Mild Spoilers - not too telling, though*
I loved meeting other vampires that live different ways compared to the Cullens. It was my favorite part of the book, seeing what these other vampires could do and what their lives are like. I also loved learning about Nessie and how her life is going to progress. I thought the ending, in terms of actual plot, was genius. Meyer was able to tie up loose ends, even though some of those ends were newly introduced.
Now, her actual ending... like the last few pages of the book... needed work. I hate it when books end happily-ever-after style. There needs to be a more satisfying ending than and then we were happy for the rest of our lives. That felt like the fakest way to end a book, much less a series. However, the scene she ended with wasn't bad. This is where her writing comes into play. She could've executed that scene better to leave a more satisfied feeling when it came to the last sentence.
Okay and her name... I hated reading that the first time and I still hate it: Renesmee. What kind of name is that? I get that it's combining two people's names into one, but come on! And the fact that her nickname became Nessie... just no. I'm with Bella on that. Why would you nickname someone after a sea monster? What about Ren?
Sorry, rant over. Overall, I felt like this book's plot was much sturdier than the other books. The plot was much more complex and it resulted in more intense scenes. The characterization was better in this book comparatively speaking; I was able to visualize and remember all of the new characters she introduced.
There were a lot of good things about the ending of this series.