Too focused on the unsatisfyingly fast-moving romance plots to make for a well-rounded and "necessary" feeling sequel. There are close to zero answersToo focused on the unsatisfyingly fast-moving romance plots to make for a well-rounded and "necessary" feeling sequel. There are close to zero answers to be found in here and few hints as to where they might be found. Still liked the setting and the writing though, generally. Hope there's more going on in the final book. ...more
I have made a horrible mistake: I decided to read these books in release order, meaning City of Fallen Angels is next, but I forgot to get 4 1/2 stars
I have made a horrible mistake: I decided to read these books in release order, meaning City of Fallen Angels is next, but I forgot to get my copy in time so now I have to wait until tomorrow to start it, meaning I'll have to wait even longer to start Clockwork Prince and I just fear that every day until then will be torture.
Imagine being one of the people who read this upon publication and thought it would all be over here.
I have to say, I'm glad it isn't. The3 1/2 stars
Imagine being one of the people who read this upon publication and thought it would all be over here.
I have to say, I'm glad it isn't. The original trilogy was a fun ride, and I'd say they're all pretty much on one level for me in terms of enjoyment, but I think if this were all there was to it, it would be a little forgettable now. Like the worldbuilding is very cool, but I feel like it doesn't really culminate the way you'd expect it to in this book. Parts of it actually felt a bit underwhelming even. I missed the natural humour of the characters' banter in this one a bit. And I'm just still not a fan of the romance or the dismissive treatment of the side characters. So I'm excited to see what's up next for them and how the story's going to evolve. ...more
Okay, listeeen. Is this book perfect? No. Have some passages aged very poorly? Yes! Is the writing stilted and overly detailed to the point3 1/2 stars
Okay, listeeen. Is this book perfect? No. Have some passages aged very poorly? Yes! Is the writing stilted and overly detailed to the point of ridiculousness at times? Definitely. Was the romance... questionable? Certainly.
But... I had so much fun. So much more fun than I was expecting to have reading this at 25. Everyone says that the original Mortal Instruments books are the weakest in the Shadowhunters universe, and the fact that I had such an enjoyable reading experience right off the bat has got me all kinds of excited. Like the scope of the world I was introduced to felt so large even just from this one book, and I cannot wait to find out more and keep reading. I do hope some characters get treated a bit more fairly moving forward. Loved the banter, I actually laughed out loud a couple of times.
The renaissance of my teen years has begun. ...more
Really cute "after ever after"-ending to a very enjoyable series! The illustrations were absolutely stunning, and just generally this is a really beauReally cute "after ever after"-ending to a very enjoyable series! The illustrations were absolutely stunning, and just generally this is a really beautiful book that I'm happy to own. Can't wait to read more Holly Black. ...more
Was completely drawn in for the first half, but then in the second the plot lost traction, the fantasy was minimized and characteres had no growth. EnWas completely drawn in for the first half, but then in the second the plot lost traction, the fantasy was minimized and characteres had no growth. Ending was very disappointing. I'm gonna read the sequel though, it sounds like it'll be kind of a fresh start. ...more
"I didn't say I liked [the book], Harry. I said it fascinated me. There is a great difference." "Ah, you have discovered that?" murmured Lor2 1/2 stars
"I didn't say I liked [the book], Harry. I said it fascinated me. There is a great difference." "Ah, you have discovered that?" murmured Lord Henry.
My expectations were quite high going into this, but holy shit.
This story completely consumed me. From the start, the writing style was so 4 1/2 stars
My expectations were quite high going into this, but holy shit.
This story completely consumed me. From the start, the writing style was so confident and immediately pulled me into a different time. I loved the main character and I'm so happy I got to experience this story through her eyes. But most of all, I loved the atmosphere. Oh my god. You could feel the chapters in such a visceral way, because the pacing was so tight and focused and the imagery made it seem like I was there, or watching a top tier arthouse horror film, though never too pretentious or not fun. This book was so much fun, while simultaneously containing so much subtlety and restraint. I am so impressed with the construction as a whole, and I wouldn't be surprised if the author had outlined the story arc to the gods before starting the actual writing process.
I loved the central horror element, the allegory it represented and all the implications strewn throughout the book, right up until the bittersweet ending. It was all so The Woman in Black meets Annihilation, and it was good fucking soup. Some scenes were seriously unsettling.
Ironically, though, the last third was probably my least favourite. As soon as I got some hard facts and answers, which were all satisfactory, I felt a little less drawn in and more removed from the happenings. Some of the horrors, particularly in the (dare I say slightly underwhelming?) climax didn't really get under my skin. I think I only really noticed because the previous two thirds had been so immaculate.
Regardless, this was a complete win and a masterclass in historical and atmospheric horror writing with an amazing main character. Would highly recommend. ...more
When I picked this up, I knew that it would either end up being a shitty horror film that I would rate 2 stars on letterboxd in book format or a fun sWhen I picked this up, I knew that it would either end up being a shitty horror film that I would rate 2 stars on letterboxd in book format or a fun slasher time perfect for Halloween season. Unfortunately, it was primarily the former.
Let's do the positives first. I'm a huge horror fan, and I appreciated that we are following a primarily non-white cast in a tropey setting, giving it a fresh perspective while retaining all the campy elements of old-school slasher flicks. I was mildly entertained throughout the whole thing, I'd say.
However, the general construction of this novel completely sells the general fun premise of it short. First of all, the characters were super bland. I liked the protagonist Charity well enough, but the entire supporting cast had close to no personality. During most of the conversations where all of them were alive, I would forget who was who multiple times because they all sounded so similar. It didn't help that I was given barely any descriptions of what they looked like, so everyone felt like this empty, replaceable shell.
To be honest, I found the writing to be lacking overall. At first, this read almost like a middle-grade novel with how simplistic and uninspired the writing was, and I can say that I probably won't pick up any other books by this author. It was just all so flat. The biggest letdown was the camp setting. There was absolutely no atmosphere, no creepy vibes, no sense of creeping dread. A lot of the terminology was very confusing, everything was either just called "lodge #1" or "path #2", with the exception of some buildings somehow being called both "main lodge" and "Western lodge" at the same time. No further descriptions of the buildings were supplied to make it easier to distinguish one from the other.
And hell, a big portion of the book doesn't even take place in the camp. It's around 230 pages, and after way too long of a setup section, most of the mystery and horror takes place outside of the camp. Only about the final 40 pages are an actual cat-mouse-game on the camp grounds. And the "enemy" just wasn't scary at all, which was alright I guess, because they often aren't in these films, and I will say that I kind of liked the idea of what the enemy was, but in the end this aspect too was very bland and basic. In total, the plot was way too repetitive. I swear they decided to run to the office building about 5 times, because that's where the phone was. I found some inconsistencies within the implied timeline as well. Lastly, the gore in this was incredibly underwhelming. It took SO long for these people to finally start dying, and not only did most of this happen off the page, but then everything was always described as "pink" in an attempt to make it horrific. Not everything on the inside of the human body is pink.
The epilogue was okay, and some of the final twists I didn't see coming, but to be honest, I wouldn't really recommend this. You can get the same frustrations and annoyances with most mediocre horror films, but those only take about 90 minutes of your life. ...more
I just read this on the train and I'm sorry, but why did I kind of not care?I just read this on the train and I'm sorry, but why did I kind of not care?...more
You know that feeling? When you're unsure how to feel about a sequel because in most ways, it feels like the correct evolution of the story3 1/2 stars
You know that feeling? When you're unsure how to feel about a sequel because in most ways, it feels like the correct evolution of the story, it characters and its atmosphere, but at the same time... you can't help but want it to be different?
That's what I struggled with for the most part of this book. I found myself really missing the whimsical, melodramatic, light urban fantasy setting of the first installment, while simultaneously feeling very aware that this was an extremely well executed version of the story that it needed to be. So in this case, the rating is very much reflective of my personal enjoyment of what I got, and barely if at all a response to technical flaws. I was just very sad that some of my favourite aspects of book 1 were sort of completely abandoned now lol. ...more
I feel like I'm being very generous with this rating, but that one scene in the epilogue actually made me tear up. Soo it might be closer to a 2 1/2 sI feel like I'm being very generous with this rating, but that one scene in the epilogue actually made me tear up. Soo it might be closer to a 2 1/2 stars. (I initially rounded up to 3 stars, but at the end of writing the review I realized that I actually disliked it more than I liked it, so I rounded down again.)
I know everyone keeps saying to just go ahead and read Six of Crows because the Shadow and Bone trilogy is not worth it, but me being the stubborn completionist I am, I had to go ahead and get started in the universe the chronological way. And to be fair, I am very grateful to the first book for pulling me out of a slump and for being the fast-paced, propulsive fantasy tale that it is.
Unfortunately, the rest of the trilogy kind of goes nowhere.
I think my main problem with the second half of the series is that nothing really happens. It read more like a walking simulation than anything else. To this day, though, I still don't understand why the hell the map was expanded for book two, because we keep walking between the same three locations!! This book at least introduced some new settings, but none of particular interest or excitement. The big plot twist/reveal is something I called halfway through book 2, and it was very frustrating to have to wait until the end of this one to have it create any kind of emotional turbulence in our main character. Though, honestly, it felt kind of glossed over? Like I did not feel any real devastation. In general, the pacing was just completely off. It's such a shame, because I do think that Leigh Bardugo managed to infuse some original concepts into her story, but at the end of the day, it reads like any other YA fantasy of the time because it doesn't take them anywhere. Wasted potential, my friends.
The ending was, apart from the aforementioned epilogue that got to me, a huge letdown. The final fight was embarrassing because it was essentially just a repeat of the other four fight scenes the series has. Like where was the innovation? Why did I have to read 1200 pages for a lackluster conclusion that came together within 10 pages? And while I'm a fan of Alina's fate, the way everything came together was so clunky and stilted. What happened to all the ideas that were brought up in the first half of book 2? Why did we not take the religious fanaticism further, the mental deterioration as a consequence of greed for power? Like as a whole, the trilogy does not shy away from gruesome imagery, why couldn't we get some more actually gruesome plotlines? (Nikolai's subplot excluded, but even that literally went nowhere lol.)
And finally, can I just say how stupid I think the Darkling is as a character? Literally did not work for me at all. I see the intent behind him and that weird connection he has with Alina, but he's just so goofy and does not possess any of the charm and mysterious appeal the writing wants me to believe he does. Had to get that off my chest.
Actually, you know what, let me lower my rating because I'm realizing I do not have a whole lot of good things to say about this book. I really liked Zoya. And I am still interested in the universe and looking forward to checking out the other series. But this one was a big letdown. ...more
Off to a breakneck start, I was so sure I'd end up enjoying this one even more than Shadow and Bone. You can tell that the writing has impr3 1/2 stars
Off to a breakneck start, I was so sure I'd end up enjoying this one even more than Shadow and Bone. You can tell that the writing has improved, the banter was entertaining as hell, and one of the earlier plot twists actually had me shook as fuck. But around the 150 page mark, the book loses its momentum. I think part of the problem is that, while the map at the front has been expanded, the geographical scope of the story hasn't. We primarily encounter locations where all of book 1 took place. And it was interesting to see the changes after the ending of the predecessor, but not as interesting as it would have been to discover more new places.
The story started moving in circles a little, and looking back now, it's difficult not to feel like not a whole lot has actually happened. I like political intrigue, but it just wasn't intriguing enough to fill an entire half of the novel. And I'm just not sure of the character development in this one was executed as well as it could have been. It almost felt like the author forgot about it at some point. However I will say that when action happens, it really hits. I totally appreciate Leigh Bardugo's commitment to shocking the reader, with both violence in general but also with how ruthlessly she will kill off characters. However, compared to the first book, there was a bit less drama, and it just made the book feel a little too long. I was expecting a different final scene, and it was interesting to read in the Q&A that Bardugo moved scenes that were initially planned for this book into the third one to keep it from becoming too long, and I think that made it lack a sense of payoff.
As for the final book, I am... nervous. Because I am 99% sure I have figured out a "big twist" and I just don't want the book to take too long to reveal it to me. I'm kind of hoping we just kill of a specific character early on lol. We'll see. ...more
This was so, so dull. And I'm sorry to say that, but Stephanie Garber seems to be under some sort of curse herself where she is destI am finally free!
This was so, so dull. And I'm sorry to say that, but Stephanie Garber seems to be under some sort of curse herself where she is destined to write the finest second books of all time, only to follow them up with the most undercooked, unseasoned finales.
I can't even fully remember what all happened within the book because it frustrated me so much that I ended up in a slump and took way too long to read it. Also, did anything even happen? Nothing was really captivating me here. The writing was repetitive, the tension was lacking, plot elements lacked substance and sense, and the ending was underwhelming, to put it nicely. It wasn't aggressively bad at any point, but it never managed to captivate me or keep me focused for long. I feel like the focal point here was completely misplaced, introducing new, bland characters, pushing boring side characters into the fore- and Jacks into the background. Way too many didn't get any kind of ending at all.
For the second time, what a shame to end such a fun, dramatic series on such a low note. I feel like the author might need to take more time between books, because unlike the other two, this one felt intensely spontaneous and random rather than carefully structured and planned out. It definitely needed more time on the stove. ...more
I did not expect this sneaky YA fantasy to coax such an intense emotional reaction out of me in public today, but here we are. I love books so much.
SI did not expect this sneaky YA fantasy to coax such an intense emotional reaction out of me in public today, but here we are. I love books so much.
Stephanie Garber might just be the queen of second books to me. Just like Legendary, The Ballad of Never After improves upon its predecessor in basically every aspect. It takes all the good parts of the first book and builds upon them with precision and intent. You can really tell that there was a vision here for all three books before the author even started writing the first one, and boy did it pay off with this one in particular.
Right off the bat, there was an increased amount of interest for me because I could tell there would be a lot more interaction between Evangeline and Jacks in this book, and goddamn, Jacks is such a fun character to read about. He is fleshed out so well, and we get to really dive into what's behind his unbothered asshole demeanor here. In comparison, I still believe Evangeline could use just a bit more pep in her step, but she's a lot more feisty in this book, and as a whole, she's a super enjoyable main character in a bit of a "Y/N" fanfiction way, but I'm saying that as a total compliment because honestly, I wouldn't mind being in her place half the time. Seriously.
It took some time to reach the new locations that were hinted at with the map of this installment, and they probably turned out to be even more magical than the scenery of book 1. I loved the quest-like nature of it, continuing the unapologetically fun narrative that combined a lot of my favourite tropes in fantasy books.
What elevated this book from a strong 4 star to a solid 5 star, however, were those final 100 pages. I do not remember when I felt this invested in the home stretches of a novel, all the way up to the impeccably satisfying, deliciously cruel crescendo. We had romance and plot twists galore, a few of which I saw coming and a handful I didn't, the heartbreak was palpable and I felt personally attacked, there were tears in my eyes. But I could always understand where the characters came from, so the heartbreak made sense in an incredibly human way that I feel could be applied to relationships outside of fantasy as well. I'm just... ugh, I can't praise this last section enough. It was so good. It was insanely well-written, and it's just left me kind of speechless to be honest.
Kudos to all of you who've had to wait an entire year for the next book. That must have been really tough.
(I hate to admit it, though, but I'm really worried for the finale, not only because of the author's book with that title, but because a lot of strands haven't been tied together yet from the first book, and I'm wary to see if we'll manage to do all that with the last one. And also because following up this one will be very tough lol, but I'll remain positive!)...more
I don't really know what else to compare it to, but this read like one of those older animated Barbie films thThis was, above all else, so. Much. Fun!
I don't really know what else to compare it to, but this read like one of those older animated Barbie films that completely defined my childhood, because it had the same sort of childlike, whimsical quality of a fairy tale, mixed with the glamour and drama that made me fall in love with those films in the first place. Just something that's for the girls, unapologetically. If you get it, you get it, if you don't, you don't.
Other than previous criticisms I've had for some of Garber's previous work, you can tell that this book was outlined to the gods before she started writing. It had so many super satisfying plot beats, from how it was connected to the Caraval series, to the most minuscule details that are easily missed if you are not paying attention. (Seriously, after finishing this, I spent 30 minutes flipping back through the pages to find an earlier hint that was connected to a newly introduced character.) Additionally, the novel felt really unpredictable to me. Whenever I thought I had the next stretch of chapters figured out, we would change directions or something I'd expected to be drawn out a little would happen much faster. Essentially, what I thought would be the entire book at around the 100 page mark ended up being mostly resolved and more within the following 100 pages.
I think that, unlike with the Caraval series, Garber knew she'd get to write a whole trilogy from the start with this series, so an overarching (hehe) plot is established in this book that I'm so excited to uncover more of. Seriously, so many fun elements in there. And the hinting/foreshadowing/setting up for the sequel? I'm gonna head into book 2 right away.
I will say that one aspect that was lacking and hindering me from feeling that full-on, 5 star kind of excitement were the characters. Obviously, I love Jacks, but he was in here a little less than I had anticipated, and I don't think Evangeline is at a point yet here where she can carry the majority of the book on her shoulders. The side characters were mostly a little underwhelming, too. But I'm looking forward to seeing how this could change in future installments.
Lastly, I just want to say that although I obviously loved it before already, reading the story has given me a whole new appreciation for the beautiful cover of this book. It fits perfectly, and I'm so happy to have this book on my shelves. <3
I absolutely adored the first, more character-driven half. I felt relatively indifferent about most of the action after tCute ending to a fun series!
I absolutely adored the first, more character-driven half. I felt relatively indifferent about most of the action after that. But at the end of the day, I'm aware that I am no longer necessarily the target audienve of this series, and while I do feel I can spot some personal shortcomings within it due to a lack of nostalgic attachment, I can safely say that I definitely believe it's a well-crafted and fun book series with sweet characters. Could it have been done in four books? Possibly. Am I glad I got five anyway? Sure!
So now, after marathoning all five books, I 1. am very ready for the tv show and 2. looking forward to potentially checking out the followup stories and more Rick Riordan in general!...more
