sarahxify's Reviews (703)

I had déjà vu the whole way through reading this book. The plot felt really recycled, and almost nothing surprised me in it. Every "revelation" was obvious to me. Having said that, I thought it was well told and I enjoyed the story enough to keep going. I thought the science bits spread throughout were well incorporated and I would recommend this to anyone who hasn't read much or any sci-fi before and is interested in trying it out.

I liked the idea of this book. It tells an important story. However, it felt really slow, and the story bored me, for the most part. I would have put it down were it not for the historical importance of it.

I am so glad I gave this book a go. The plot was really great, very unpredictable and quite detailed. I don't normally read YA and I didn't think Holly Black would be an author I would like, and I'm very glad to have been wrong on this one!

This had a good story, but I thought it wasn't very well executed. The way the book changed perspectives was very messy, and the perspective changes were so indistinctly written that often it would only be a character's name out of place that made me realise the book had changed to a different POV. The characters weren't well introduced either, so it was hard to keep track of everyone. Some parts of the ending took me by surprise, but I thought the whole involvement of Frieda with the case was a little dubious and convenient. The characters were all pretty samey; I think there were far too many for the story leaving no room for character development or characterisation. They didn't seem to have particularly strong personalities; their actions wouldn't line up with their previous actions, and most of them were so bland that they were really just a string of names. Bleh.

I enjoyed this. It was fairly slow at the beginning, but I found it very interesting to read about the daily lives of people in a culture and time so different to my own. I wish it had gone on a lot longer though, I would have liked to have seen what happened when the Christian "missionaries" were there for a while, and how they affected the village and the relationships between the villagers in a long-term way.

I enjoyed the first bit of this book, but it got boring very quickly. I didn't think it was written very well; random facts were just being thrown at the reader without a whole lot of cohesion. I thought a lot of the issues would leave the reader with the wrong impression, particularly if they aren't used to statistics or statistical thinking. Often the authors would be making an argument that was purely illustrative and not be explicit enough that they were just being illustrative, which I think would confuse some readers.

Finally, I was annoyed throughout that they didn't have any sources, and then found sources for everything they'd written in the back of the book. This was good to see, but I wish they'd made it clear throughout the book that the reader could consult the back of the book for sources.

Agatha Christie's books are always such good mysteries. Sometimes the conversations and characters feel contrived, but aside from that, thoroughly enjoyable.

The length of these books makes them very difficult to review. So much happens in them and there are so many storylines, some of which I dislike and some of which I absolutely love. These books are so immersive with so many events that it just feels like you're reading about the life of the Frasers, rather than reading a constructed novel with a story arc and a climax and all that kind of thing (not to say that the books aren't dramatic, they definitely are). I really love that element to the books, and particularly I like the depth of each character that this kind of storytelling allows. I love the world Gabaldon has created, and it makes me sad that I am nearing the end of the series.

This book was such a disappointment. I was really interested in the characters, particularly Natasha, who is an illegal immigrant in the US and is fighting deportation back to Jamaica. The story is basically about Natasha falling in love on the day she is supposed to be deported, but the whole plot was frankly ridiculous and very contrived. Nothing about it was believable, and I thought it really missed the opportunity to depict more about biracial families and immigration.

I've been recommended this book many times and people seem to love it, but I just didn't enjoy it. I found it too fast-paced, and was often confused about what was happening and how the magic was working. I wish it had been a little slower, with more time dedicated to world-building and character development. Sabriel was a completely flat character for me

and I found her falling in love with literally the only man she came into contact with really annoying

. I might give the second book a go and see how I get on with it given how many people really love this series, but possibly these books just aren't for me.