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sassenachthebookwizard
Woot woot! Trash for this series. Now the plan was to pick up A Curse So Dark and Lonely next but... *Smirks seeing A Dangerous Collaboration* we going back to Veronica Speedwell
Wow okay so THIS is what I wanted from The Alice Network!
So we get 3 povs of women who are insanely interesting, historically accurate, well developed, distinct and smart as hell yet feeling the limitations of gender roles. I loved Loved FREAKING LOVED how the romances were used + their purpose. They offered something to the characters and story which is so lacking in so many books. The romances are just thrown in but they HAD A PURPOSE! THANK YOU! This is a feminist WWII historical fiction. From top to bottom and exactly what I freaking wanted and needed to read.
I find many historical fictions use multiple timelines and pics because it's pretty expended and popular right now but this is (once again) a situation where it should've been used and it was used effectively to connect the plots of many of these women, to build tension and ALL THREE WERE FASCINATING! I wasn't eye rolling everytime a certain character came on.
The mystery of what is happening with the women on e in France + the radio transcript is SO GOOD. I had to put the book down once to work (Ugh, the audacity of my job) and I sat at my desk thinking "I wonder if they were betrayed by..." and I caught myself at least FOUR times in 6 hours doing this! I highkey gasp cried the last quarter of the book with everything being tied together. I can see those pictures in my mind. I can feel the losses in my gut. I feel the anger from the betrayal.
This is such a fantastic book and I'll have to keep an eye on this author from now on.
So we get 3 povs of women who are insanely interesting, historically accurate, well developed, distinct and smart as hell yet feeling the limitations of gender roles. I loved Loved FREAKING LOVED how the romances were used + their purpose. They offered something to the characters and story which is so lacking in so many books. The romances are just thrown in but they HAD A PURPOSE! THANK YOU! This is a feminist WWII historical fiction. From top to bottom and exactly what I freaking wanted and needed to read.
I find many historical fictions use multiple timelines and pics because it's pretty expended and popular right now but this is (once again) a situation where it should've been used and it was used effectively to connect the plots of many of these women, to build tension and ALL THREE WERE FASCINATING! I wasn't eye rolling everytime a certain character came on.
The mystery of what is happening with the women on e in France + the radio transcript is SO GOOD. I had to put the book down once to work (Ugh, the audacity of my job) and I sat at my desk thinking "I wonder if they were betrayed by..." and I caught myself at least FOUR times in 6 hours doing this! I highkey gasp cried the last quarter of the book with everything being tied together. I can see those pictures in my mind. I can feel the losses in my gut. I feel the anger from the betrayal.
This is such a fantastic book and I'll have to keep an eye on this author from now on.
Interesting...If you ever watched the movie The Island with Ewan McGregor and Scarlet Johansson, this is the YA adaptation but set in a Vermont boarding school. Or at least, that's what kept popping into my brain (and now I wanna go watch it).
The writing is sort of disorienting which isn't a bad thing. I actually think this is a strength as it really helped me connect with Emma's pov. That being said, her reaction to reveals was a little underwhelming and not super believable. I know it's in the distant future and genetics have really changed but other than those advances being explained, the world still felt very 2019.
I don't quite get The Similar powers. It wasn't really explained which was sort of frustrating because memory flashbacks were really throoughly explained. The Similars characters themselves definitely need to be fleshed out. Some have a role in the plot but a few are just THERE (also, every cafeteria scene with them made me think of the Cullen's in Twilight which rofl)
I hope there's more of Gravelle in the sequel cause he's fucked up. Dude got some serious revenge issues and takes thinga to the extremes. That's the kinda villain I want to return and keep escalading. I also need to understand wtf is happening with the Headmaster. I'm so lost and curious about the testing and holograms and such.
The book itself takes on a lot of current hot button to in 2019 Nnorth America like xenophobia, citizenship, where science needs to draw the line, privilege fearing the challenge of status quo that tend to come from lower class.
My real "bone to pick" and how blatantly information that is important is just shoved in at the right time. It was so abrupt and made NO SENSE, especially the random intro of the Quarry. Like the author couldn't figure out how to get it in there so it was just randomly inexplicably shoved in.
I'll definitely read the sequel but I'm concerned that there was a cover change for the paperback. If book #2 hardcover doesn't match book #1 hardcover, I won't be buying it. WHY WOULD YOU CHANGE IT?! THIS COVER IS AMAZING!
The writing is sort of disorienting which isn't a bad thing. I actually think this is a strength as it really helped me connect with Emma's pov. That being said, her reaction to reveals was a little underwhelming and not super believable. I know it's in the distant future and genetics have really changed but other than those advances being explained, the world still felt very 2019.
I don't quite get The Similar powers. It wasn't really explained which was sort of frustrating because memory flashbacks were really throoughly explained. The Similars characters themselves definitely need to be fleshed out. Some have a role in the plot but a few are just THERE (also, every cafeteria scene with them made me think of the Cullen's in Twilight which rofl)
I hope there's more of Gravelle in the sequel cause he's fucked up. Dude got some serious revenge issues and takes thinga to the extremes. That's the kinda villain I want to return and keep escalading. I also need to understand wtf is happening with the Headmaster. I'm so lost and curious about the testing and holograms and such.
The book itself takes on a lot of current hot button to in 2019 Nnorth America like xenophobia, citizenship, where science needs to draw the line, privilege fearing the challenge of status quo that tend to come from lower class.
My real "bone to pick" and how blatantly information that is important is just shoved in at the right time. It was so abrupt and made NO SENSE, especially the random intro of the Quarry. Like the author couldn't figure out how to get it in there so it was just randomly inexplicably shoved in.
I'll definitely read the sequel but I'm concerned that there was a cover change for the paperback. If book #2 hardcover doesn't match book #1 hardcover, I won't be buying it. WHY WOULD YOU CHANGE IT?! THIS COVER IS AMAZING!
Okay no clue why but I thought this was a stand alone so if you're under that impression, the ending HEAVILY insinuates it's book #1 in a series.
Right off the bat, I loved the main character. She's realistic. She's smart. This is basically her superhero origin story? I guess that's the easiest way to explain it.
The plot had SO many reveals, twists and turns to the point that like half way through, I assumed EVERYONE was lying about EVERYTHING and yet I was STILL surprised at the absolute chaos that occurs at the end.
The meh? I hated her bf in the book. She was too smart for him and he's such a knob. I don't know how I feel about the sorta student-teacher relationship which I never REALLY know how to feel about since a lot of the time the relationship isn't emotionally developed enough for me to buy into it the way I would for Aria and Ezra in PLL show. I didn't hate it. Just indifferent but I will say that I liked that her teacher was a PoC to give more racial diversity in the book that does seem to otherwise be a cast of all white characters.
Extra goods: the main character was an amazing relationship with her best friend (who happens to be in a f/f relationship). Lineage reveals. I'm a damn sucker for them so BIG thumbs up and it gave me a lot of "wait WHAT?" when the book ended. Incredibly curious to see where this goes. I love me a strong girl in the STEM fields (then you add in super powers and lineage).
Right off the bat, I loved the main character. She's realistic. She's smart. This is basically her superhero origin story? I guess that's the easiest way to explain it.
The plot had SO many reveals, twists and turns to the point that like half way through, I assumed EVERYONE was lying about EVERYTHING and yet I was STILL surprised at the absolute chaos that occurs at the end.
The meh? I hated her bf in the book. She was too smart for him and he's such a knob. I don't know how I feel about the sorta student-teacher relationship which I never REALLY know how to feel about since a lot of the time the relationship isn't emotionally developed enough for me to buy into it the way I would for Aria and Ezra in PLL show. I didn't hate it. Just indifferent but I will say that I liked that her teacher was a PoC to give more racial diversity in the book that does seem to otherwise be a cast of all white characters.
Extra goods: the main character was an amazing relationship with her best friend (who happens to be in a f/f relationship). Lineage reveals. I'm a damn sucker for them so BIG thumbs up and it gave me a lot of "wait WHAT?" when the book ended. Incredibly curious to see where this goes. I love me a strong girl in the STEM fields (then you add in super powers and lineage).
2.5/5
Oh boy yeah no. This was a big disappointment. Had such potential but the execution was...wrong. That was a hot mess unsatisfying ending that also left me with no interest in reading a sequel? I'm assuming there is a sequel coming but it isn't labeled as a series anywhere that I can find. There's no development of the science/magic and very blah characters. I just started skimming for the last 1/4 of the book. I was so done with it all
Oh boy yeah no. This was a big disappointment. Had such potential but the execution was...wrong. That was a hot mess unsatisfying ending that also left me with no interest in reading a sequel? I'm assuming there is a sequel coming but it isn't labeled as a series anywhere that I can find. There's no development of the science/magic and very blah characters. I just started skimming for the last 1/4 of the book. I was so done with it all
Ah yes! okay so this may be my favourite of the trilogy. Thank you thank you thank you for bringing Cleopatra into the plot and incorporating it around such iconic and key events around her and Caesar. I love the twists and betrayal and the lingering background romance that was sweet but not distracting to the mc or plot. I loved where the book ended in this full circle.
Well this was a monumental disappointment of a book. Simply put: you've read this book before. I've read this book before. Anyone who has read a fiction book has read this book before. Despite the concept of poisoning King Louis around the time of the revolution, this book is very basic. The main female is into alchemy but spends 99% of the book swooning or being the most sense human imaginable. It's the least memorable book possible in 2019. It's not bad. It's just been done before and to ABSOLUTE DEATH! If we're gonna rehash this "timid girl in revolution split between family and royalty only to be betrayed by everyone except one dude who she immediately gets a crush on," make them likeable or memorable and for the love of ALL THAT IS HOLY, STOP HAVING NARRATORS GASP IN THE STUPID FEMALE TIMID VOICE. It's infuriating and makes your character seem small and timid. On top of that, even I...who am blind to most betrayals, saw everything in this coming from a damn mile away.
Ohhhh okay I like this and I was able to GET into it very quickly! I'm a total sucker for the "competing for sci-fi exploration." I'm here for it cause that always involves a corrupt institution, some sketchy science/disease and of course some AI and hacking. I didn't love this as much as Illuminae by its on par with Nyxia so I will definitely pick up the sequel (also just realized I still haven't read the sequel to Nyxia yet and book 3 of that came out *disappointed but not surprised in myself*).
The romance in this? I liked. Cheesy. Adorable and believable. There was that cute tension build up and their clinging to each other as the plot began picking up/book came to a close hurt my heart.
I thoroughly enjoyed Naomi and Leo but the best part for me wasn't the crew competition and sketchy institution lying...it was the inclusion of large scale natural disasters. Climate change is so prevalent to the setting AND plot and the fact that humans still haven't learnt was...sadly very realistic but I appreciated the honesty.
The romance in this? I liked. Cheesy. Adorable and believable. There was that cute tension build up and their clinging to each other as the plot began picking up/book came to a close hurt my heart.
I thoroughly enjoyed Naomi and Leo but the best part for me wasn't the crew competition and sketchy institution lying...it was the inclusion of large scale natural disasters. Climate change is so prevalent to the setting AND plot and the fact that humans still haven't learnt was...sadly very realistic but I appreciated the honesty.
Ga I love this series. One of the best I've ever read. Feel really refreshed having reread it. It's perfect from start to finish and the audiobook is THE best I've ever followed along with.
Interesting. So I definitely didn't love this the way I do Veronica Speedwell and I'm failing to understand why this is classified as a romance really but I loved the murder mystery aspect. I also just really liked Lady Julia and she grows a lot throughout the book. Also, kinda love her dad. I'll fully admit I saw the last big twist coming and soon as it happened, I connected the dots on who the killer was but only like a chapter before which I have a feeling was when we should've just based on how we get the killer monologue