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The Hanging Club
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"Tony Parsons puts you right there in every scene he writes. I love that kind of storytelling and...
Becs (244 KP) rated Stars Like Fate in Books
Oct 2, 2019
Highlights: I loved the cover design, it helped give an idea of what Nyole looked like. I wish there were pictures of the other characters, like as a gallery at the back of the book. It was nice of the author to put a character list and their pronunciation at the beginning of the book. It helped tremendously!!
Style: Casual to light
Point of View: Third person
Difficulty reading: First couple of chapters were difficult to get into but after the fifth chapter, I couldn’t put the book down! It has it’s fast-paced moments that has you flipping through pages and it has its slower moments that take a bit more effort to get into. A very fun read!
Promise: The book promised a fantasy, adventure packed book and it delivered it on a silver platter. The characters are mythical, the countries are mythical, and magic is involved – leading to the fantasy aspect of things. Nyole and Saphryis both go on a long and heartbreaking journey to gain Saphryis her memories and power back – leading to the adventure aspect of things.
Quality: An all-around great book. If you like World of Warcraft, you’ll like this book. It touches on the mythical creatures in a way that resembles characters in World of Warcraft.
Insights: I loved the fact that it was a fantasy young adult book. These types of books are one of my favorite genres. When I first got the book, I read the synopsis and instantly thought of World of Warcraft. Reading, I had a difficult time with the first five chapters. It wasn’t that they were bad, it was more along the lines of they lacked in the background and the flow seemed like it was all over the place. Once I hit chapter six though, I couldn’t put the book down. The background and plot leveled out so it was a much easier read. As I was coming down to the last couple of chapters, I realized I didn’t want it to end. I wanted it to continue on into an everlasting void of Stars Like Fate because fate is simply ineffable.
Ah-Ha Moment: When Nyole finally realized that he was related to King Aryon. I would also become furious if I was related to someone as cruel as King Aryon the murderer.
Favorite Quote: “Fate is unexplainable, Fate is unfair, but Fate will always happen.” – Nyole realizes that if he never would have met Saphryis, then he would have never known what was coming in the future. But with meeting her, he realizes what is coming and has a faint idea what Saphryis will mean to him.
“ ‘I need you to live, Saphryis. I need you around,’ Nyole murmured before adding a selfish wish. ‘I want you beside me.’ ” – I feel this is the moment that Nyole falls just a bit in love with Saphryis. Which is good, because I ship them 110%.
What will you gain: A love for a new and upcoming author with an imaginative world that you can just step right into. Plus an awesome book worth a re-read!
Aesthetics: Cover design was really nice, character list was great, nice size book – not too heavy and not to thin, font and size was good – didn’t strain the eyes, there were a few grammatical errors – but are barely noticeable, third-person point of view, a riveting action fantasy book that will keep you on your toes.
“Fate is simply ineffable.”
Style: Casual to light
Point of View: Third person
Difficulty reading: First couple of chapters were difficult to get into but after the fifth chapter, I couldn’t put the book down! It has it’s fast-paced moments that has you flipping through pages and it has its slower moments that take a bit more effort to get into. A very fun read!
Promise: The book promised a fantasy, adventure packed book and it delivered it on a silver platter. The characters are mythical, the countries are mythical, and magic is involved – leading to the fantasy aspect of things. Nyole and Saphryis both go on a long and heartbreaking journey to gain Saphryis her memories and power back – leading to the adventure aspect of things.
Quality: An all-around great book. If you like World of Warcraft, you’ll like this book. It touches on the mythical creatures in a way that resembles characters in World of Warcraft.
Insights: I loved the fact that it was a fantasy young adult book. These types of books are one of my favorite genres. When I first got the book, I read the synopsis and instantly thought of World of Warcraft. Reading, I had a difficult time with the first five chapters. It wasn’t that they were bad, it was more along the lines of they lacked in the background and the flow seemed like it was all over the place. Once I hit chapter six though, I couldn’t put the book down. The background and plot leveled out so it was a much easier read. As I was coming down to the last couple of chapters, I realized I didn’t want it to end. I wanted it to continue on into an everlasting void of Stars Like Fate because fate is simply ineffable.
Ah-Ha Moment: When Nyole finally realized that he was related to King Aryon. I would also become furious if I was related to someone as cruel as King Aryon the murderer.
Favorite Quote: “Fate is unexplainable, Fate is unfair, but Fate will always happen.” – Nyole realizes that if he never would have met Saphryis, then he would have never known what was coming in the future. But with meeting her, he realizes what is coming and has a faint idea what Saphryis will mean to him.
“ ‘I need you to live, Saphryis. I need you around,’ Nyole murmured before adding a selfish wish. ‘I want you beside me.’ ” – I feel this is the moment that Nyole falls just a bit in love with Saphryis. Which is good, because I ship them 110%.
What will you gain: A love for a new and upcoming author with an imaginative world that you can just step right into. Plus an awesome book worth a re-read!
Aesthetics: Cover design was really nice, character list was great, nice size book – not too heavy and not to thin, font and size was good – didn’t strain the eyes, there were a few grammatical errors – but are barely noticeable, third-person point of view, a riveting action fantasy book that will keep you on your toes.
“Fate is simply ineffable.”
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The Disappointing Mr. Whicher...or is it the Wandering Ms. Summerscale? No, I've got it! The Bloated Book of Everything Victorian!
I was looking forward to reading, what I thought was, a true crime book with a bit of a look into Mr. Whicher's professional life too. What I got instead was four, possibly more, books in a 304 page book. These four parts consist of the murder of Saville Kent, Mr. Jonathan Whicher himself, an analysis of detective fiction (especially Poe, Dickens, and Collins), the origin of words and phrases in the detection field, many murder/crime stories of the day, other oddly inserted facts and history, etc., etc.
Now, Ms. Summerscale is a fine writer (and researcher for that matter), but it seems as if she wrote for herself instead of us, the readers. While her odd bits and pieces of history are interesting (usually), they are not essential to the plot (or what I thought was the main story), and I found myself glazing quite a bit. Whenever she rhapsodized poetic about Poe, Dickens or any of the other writers of the early detection mystery, it had the overall feel of a research paper and usually didn't have much to do with the murder in the least. The author wandered off way too many times to her own fancy and whenever she went back to the supposed case, it felt as if she had forgotten that she was supposed to be writing about the murder. This left the plotting of the book oddly pieced together and me discombobulated. Where was the editor? Out to lunch? Or did the author disregard what the editor(s) advised her to do? Who knows, but all this extraneous information was just filler and added nothing to the book. I cannot believe this actually won anything. Another quibble was that she also had a bit of a problem with her 'sensationalistic' chapter endings; they just didn't go (or flow) with the whole book.
My biggest problem with the whole book is there isn't much on the murder, which you would think there would be by the cover, synopsis, praise, and marketing. Only a little speculation is spared on a few other suspects; no why might they have done it, how the family may have felt - I wish there had been more focused on the murder and less on everything else. That's why I picked up the book, I wanted to know about the crime and consequences, not on the way of Victorian life or how it influenced writers, there are other books for that (which are listed in the notes and select bibliography in the back I might add). Now, don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the subject content, but the overall construction of the book with all the un-necessary passages left me dissatisfied and grumpy.
I was looking forward to reading, what I thought was, a true crime book with a bit of a look into Mr. Whicher's professional life too. What I got instead was four, possibly more, books in a 304 page book. These four parts consist of the murder of Saville Kent, Mr. Jonathan Whicher himself, an analysis of detective fiction (especially Poe, Dickens, and Collins), the origin of words and phrases in the detection field, many murder/crime stories of the day, other oddly inserted facts and history, etc., etc.
Now, Ms. Summerscale is a fine writer (and researcher for that matter), but it seems as if she wrote for herself instead of us, the readers. While her odd bits and pieces of history are interesting (usually), they are not essential to the plot (or what I thought was the main story), and I found myself glazing quite a bit. Whenever she rhapsodized poetic about Poe, Dickens or any of the other writers of the early detection mystery, it had the overall feel of a research paper and usually didn't have much to do with the murder in the least. The author wandered off way too many times to her own fancy and whenever she went back to the supposed case, it felt as if she had forgotten that she was supposed to be writing about the murder. This left the plotting of the book oddly pieced together and me discombobulated. Where was the editor? Out to lunch? Or did the author disregard what the editor(s) advised her to do? Who knows, but all this extraneous information was just filler and added nothing to the book. I cannot believe this actually won anything. Another quibble was that she also had a bit of a problem with her 'sensationalistic' chapter endings; they just didn't go (or flow) with the whole book.
My biggest problem with the whole book is there isn't much on the murder, which you would think there would be by the cover, synopsis, praise, and marketing. Only a little speculation is spared on a few other suspects; no why might they have done it, how the family may have felt - I wish there had been more focused on the murder and less on everything else. That's why I picked up the book, I wanted to know about the crime and consequences, not on the way of Victorian life or how it influenced writers, there are other books for that (which are listed in the notes and select bibliography in the back I might add). Now, don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the subject content, but the overall construction of the book with all the un-necessary passages left me dissatisfied and grumpy.
Movie Metropolis (309 KP) rated Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009) in Movies
Jun 11, 2019
The sixth instalment in the internationally loved wizarding franchise has been perhaps one of the most awaited films of the decade; even more so considering the gruelling year fans have had to wait since it was decided to push the film back 12 months.
David Yates is once again at the helm, which after the fifth film is somewhat of a surprise to many critics. With rumours speculating the return of Alfonso Cuaron as director, I breathed a sigh of relief, thinking perhaps we could get things back on track.
Alas, it was not to be. After two disappointing instalments, a third would be disastrous, though unfortunately, it seems to be the case here. Yates’ films just refuse to hit the spot, delving into unnecessary storylines that really don’t progress the film further. Take for example the climatic finale of the book atop the astronomy tower; well it’s been cut, replaced with an hour or so of non-stop snogging… ridiculous? I have words much stronger than that to describe it, but yes, ridiculous can do for now.
It would be silly to expect things to be perfect, but a little cohesion would have been welcome; to people who have not read the books, these films are starting to get incomprehensible and even to those that have, it still isn’t an enjoyable experience. Remember the chapter where The Burrow blows up? No? Well that’s because there isn’t one, but it’s been added, for explosions sake.
The Dursleys are cut, Dobby – cut, Dumbledore’s funeral – cut, Kreacher – cut, Bill and Fleur – cut, in fact most of the important things from the book; have been cut.
Happily, there is a rather small pot of gold at the end of this murky rainbow. The acting from most is absolutely excellent, Daniel Radcliffe has grown into his role brilliantly and Michael Gambon seems to finally have chosen the right moods for Dumbledore and his character. Newcomer Jim Broadbent is superb in his role as potions master Horace Slughorn and Alan Rickman is as usual glorious and fully able to spread his wings in the larger role he has been given in this film. On the negative side, Bonnie Wright as Ginny Weasley hasn’t developed into her role well, with her acting still being stilted; unfortunate, as her part is much larger in this film than the others.
Unfortunately, just like the previous two films, Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince really hasn’t hit the spot, it seems the larger books of the boy wizards saga have in reality stumped their respective directors, ending up as a complete mess. It certainly has its moments, though at 153 minutes it should have; but it seems the best film from the 8 has been made slightly too prematurely. Film number 7, come on down!
https://moviemetropolis.net/2010/10/28/harry-potter-the-half-blood-prince/
David Yates is once again at the helm, which after the fifth film is somewhat of a surprise to many critics. With rumours speculating the return of Alfonso Cuaron as director, I breathed a sigh of relief, thinking perhaps we could get things back on track.
Alas, it was not to be. After two disappointing instalments, a third would be disastrous, though unfortunately, it seems to be the case here. Yates’ films just refuse to hit the spot, delving into unnecessary storylines that really don’t progress the film further. Take for example the climatic finale of the book atop the astronomy tower; well it’s been cut, replaced with an hour or so of non-stop snogging… ridiculous? I have words much stronger than that to describe it, but yes, ridiculous can do for now.
It would be silly to expect things to be perfect, but a little cohesion would have been welcome; to people who have not read the books, these films are starting to get incomprehensible and even to those that have, it still isn’t an enjoyable experience. Remember the chapter where The Burrow blows up? No? Well that’s because there isn’t one, but it’s been added, for explosions sake.
The Dursleys are cut, Dobby – cut, Dumbledore’s funeral – cut, Kreacher – cut, Bill and Fleur – cut, in fact most of the important things from the book; have been cut.
Happily, there is a rather small pot of gold at the end of this murky rainbow. The acting from most is absolutely excellent, Daniel Radcliffe has grown into his role brilliantly and Michael Gambon seems to finally have chosen the right moods for Dumbledore and his character. Newcomer Jim Broadbent is superb in his role as potions master Horace Slughorn and Alan Rickman is as usual glorious and fully able to spread his wings in the larger role he has been given in this film. On the negative side, Bonnie Wright as Ginny Weasley hasn’t developed into her role well, with her acting still being stilted; unfortunate, as her part is much larger in this film than the others.
Unfortunately, just like the previous two films, Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince really hasn’t hit the spot, it seems the larger books of the boy wizards saga have in reality stumped their respective directors, ending up as a complete mess. It certainly has its moments, though at 153 minutes it should have; but it seems the best film from the 8 has been made slightly too prematurely. Film number 7, come on down!
https://moviemetropolis.net/2010/10/28/harry-potter-the-half-blood-prince/
Goddess in the Stacks (553 KP) rated What If It's Us in Books
Dec 18, 2018
This was a super cute gay romance that I read for YA_Pride's Twitter Book Club. The authors have separately written some pretty popular YA books; Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda (Albertalli) and They Both Die at the End (Silvera), neither of which I have read yet, so I had no idea what to expect with this one!
The book alternates viewpoints between Arthur, a Georgia boy in New York for the summer who recently came out as gay but has not yet gone out on a date with anyone, and Ben, who recently broke up with the boy he lost his virginity with. The difference in experience between the two is a plot point, as is the temporary nature of Arthur's visit to New York.
There is SO MUCH in this book. These are complex characters, and the romance between the two is simply the frame that the rest of the book revolves around. Arthur is still coming to terms with what being out means for him; he thinks his friends are being weird about it, his parents are fighting all the time, he's never dated and doesn't really know how to go about doing so. Ben is recovering from heartbreak with his first boyfriend. He's Puerto Rican but can pass for white, so people forget and think he's white, and that upsets him. His break up, and his best friend's, has splintered up their friend group and he misses the group, and his best friend seems to have moved on and doesn't have time for him anymore. He's in summer school, with his ex, and is struggling to pass so he can continue to his senior year of high school, while Arthur is an amazing student who's probably getting into Yale. All of this is set against the glittering backdrop of New York, seen as wondrous and new through Arthur's eyes and boring and old through Ben's. There's just SO MUCH going on.
I did have to double-check a few times who was narrating the chapter I was reading, but Twitter said the audio book actually has separate narrators for Arthur and Ben. So if you like audiobooks, that might be the better way to go for this book.
I loved that this book didn't just explore the romance between the two boys, but the friendships they had with each other and the people around them. More than a romance, I think this is a book about building your own family. People who will be there for you whether you're dating them or not.
Twitter also mentioned that the book could be disappointing if you were reading it for either of the author's signature styles. No one dies, and it's not completely happy fluff. So definitely set aside any expectations based on their previous books. I hadn't read them, so I enjoyed it for itself.
You can find all my reviews at http://goddessinthestacks.com
The book alternates viewpoints between Arthur, a Georgia boy in New York for the summer who recently came out as gay but has not yet gone out on a date with anyone, and Ben, who recently broke up with the boy he lost his virginity with. The difference in experience between the two is a plot point, as is the temporary nature of Arthur's visit to New York.
There is SO MUCH in this book. These are complex characters, and the romance between the two is simply the frame that the rest of the book revolves around. Arthur is still coming to terms with what being out means for him; he thinks his friends are being weird about it, his parents are fighting all the time, he's never dated and doesn't really know how to go about doing so. Ben is recovering from heartbreak with his first boyfriend. He's Puerto Rican but can pass for white, so people forget and think he's white, and that upsets him. His break up, and his best friend's, has splintered up their friend group and he misses the group, and his best friend seems to have moved on and doesn't have time for him anymore. He's in summer school, with his ex, and is struggling to pass so he can continue to his senior year of high school, while Arthur is an amazing student who's probably getting into Yale. All of this is set against the glittering backdrop of New York, seen as wondrous and new through Arthur's eyes and boring and old through Ben's. There's just SO MUCH going on.
I did have to double-check a few times who was narrating the chapter I was reading, but Twitter said the audio book actually has separate narrators for Arthur and Ben. So if you like audiobooks, that might be the better way to go for this book.
I loved that this book didn't just explore the romance between the two boys, but the friendships they had with each other and the people around them. More than a romance, I think this is a book about building your own family. People who will be there for you whether you're dating them or not.
Twitter also mentioned that the book could be disappointing if you were reading it for either of the author's signature styles. No one dies, and it's not completely happy fluff. So definitely set aside any expectations based on their previous books. I hadn't read them, so I enjoyed it for itself.
You can find all my reviews at http://goddessinthestacks.com
Sophia (Bookwyrming Thoughts) (530 KP) rated The Corridor (The Corridor Duology, #1) in Books
Jan 23, 2020
<b><i>I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.</i></b>
It seems, that <b>books relating to parallel universes are like mermaid books and contemporary books</b>: I either get along with them, or I don't get along with them.
It's no brainer that <b>a book involving parallel universes as <i><a title="A Thousand Pieces of You by Claudia Gray" href="https://bookwyrmingthoughts.com/audiobook-review-a-thousand-pieces-of-you-by-claudia-gray/"; target="_blank" rel="noopener">A Thousand Pieces of You</a></i> and <i>The Corridor</i> have would be extremely scientific in its explanation</b>. An information dump is (or maybe just a dumbing down of information) bound to happen if the authors want me to make sense of their parallel universes.
But somehow, <b>I enjoyed a story concocted by A.N. Willis far more than a story concocted by Claudia Gray</b> (parallel universes related I DO like Claudia Gray's other works), even if my first thoughts reading the first chapter was, "Oh, no. Parallel universes. Please don't disappoint me, A.N. Willis."
I find that I'm actually not disappointed I really enjoyed the first book in the <i>Corridor</i> series, and <b>I was pretty engrossed with Willis' writing. I wanted to know more than what the author actually wrote</b> Estele's power, Dr. Taber's betrayal years ago. <b>I even found myself interested in the science of the universes that the scientists were seeing and the different "Earths" Estele visits using her power.</b> And I am not generally a science person, regardless of the fact I think Chemistry is easy and passed it with a fabulous A-.
(Maybe I'm a chemistry kid rather than a physical science or biology kid. I guess I can't run away from math after all. What if I'm an accountant one day?!?!?! I won't complain, of course, since it's baby math...)
<b>There were moments that I found myself confused on which Earth the characters were talking about each world has different names for each of the other Earth</b>. The original Earth simply went with First Earth, Second Earth, and possibly so and so forth if they found any more. Estele went with calling First Earth and Second Earth whatever the scientists called them, and came up with names that were significant to that Earth when she first visits. Another version of Earth was further advanced and found more twelve Earths in total, and went with the zodiac in naming each of them. I found that <b>while the more advanced Earth was far more complicated, Estele's version seemed to make things a lot more clearer in matching up the Earths.</b>
Possibly <b>the biggest difference between <i>A Thousand Pieces of You</i> and <i>The Corridor</i> was how Marguerite actually uses a device while Estele somehow has a power to travel across worlds.</b> I personally found that really cool and interesting, and as mentioned earlier, I wanted to know more about that power as much as Estele did.
By the time I actually got to the end of the book, I was pretty disappointed... in a good way. I suppose Willis did disappoint me after all. <b>I honestly have no clue where the author is going with the series</b>, but I'm hoping the sequel will be just as good as the first one is.
<a href="https://bookwyrmingthoughts.com/arc-review-the-corridor-by-an-willis/"; target="_blank">This review was originally posted on Bookwyrming Thoughts</a>
It seems, that <b>books relating to parallel universes are like mermaid books and contemporary books</b>: I either get along with them, or I don't get along with them.
It's no brainer that <b>a book involving parallel universes as <i><a title="A Thousand Pieces of You by Claudia Gray" href="https://bookwyrmingthoughts.com/audiobook-review-a-thousand-pieces-of-you-by-claudia-gray/"; target="_blank" rel="noopener">A Thousand Pieces of You</a></i> and <i>The Corridor</i> have would be extremely scientific in its explanation</b>. An information dump is (or maybe just a dumbing down of information) bound to happen if the authors want me to make sense of their parallel universes.
But somehow, <b>I enjoyed a story concocted by A.N. Willis far more than a story concocted by Claudia Gray</b> (parallel universes related I DO like Claudia Gray's other works), even if my first thoughts reading the first chapter was, "Oh, no. Parallel universes. Please don't disappoint me, A.N. Willis."
I find that I'm actually not disappointed I really enjoyed the first book in the <i>Corridor</i> series, and <b>I was pretty engrossed with Willis' writing. I wanted to know more than what the author actually wrote</b> Estele's power, Dr. Taber's betrayal years ago. <b>I even found myself interested in the science of the universes that the scientists were seeing and the different "Earths" Estele visits using her power.</b> And I am not generally a science person, regardless of the fact I think Chemistry is easy and passed it with a fabulous A-.
(Maybe I'm a chemistry kid rather than a physical science or biology kid. I guess I can't run away from math after all. What if I'm an accountant one day?!?!?! I won't complain, of course, since it's baby math...)
<b>There were moments that I found myself confused on which Earth the characters were talking about each world has different names for each of the other Earth</b>. The original Earth simply went with First Earth, Second Earth, and possibly so and so forth if they found any more. Estele went with calling First Earth and Second Earth whatever the scientists called them, and came up with names that were significant to that Earth when she first visits. Another version of Earth was further advanced and found more twelve Earths in total, and went with the zodiac in naming each of them. I found that <b>while the more advanced Earth was far more complicated, Estele's version seemed to make things a lot more clearer in matching up the Earths.</b>
Possibly <b>the biggest difference between <i>A Thousand Pieces of You</i> and <i>The Corridor</i> was how Marguerite actually uses a device while Estele somehow has a power to travel across worlds.</b> I personally found that really cool and interesting, and as mentioned earlier, I wanted to know more about that power as much as Estele did.
By the time I actually got to the end of the book, I was pretty disappointed... in a good way. I suppose Willis did disappoint me after all. <b>I honestly have no clue where the author is going with the series</b>, but I'm hoping the sequel will be just as good as the first one is.
<a href="https://bookwyrmingthoughts.com/arc-review-the-corridor-by-an-willis/"; target="_blank">This review was originally posted on Bookwyrming Thoughts</a>
Merissa (13162 KP) rated Champions: at fire's end (Champions #1) in Books
Jul 27, 2017
Champions: at fire's end (Champions #1) by Charlotte Jain
Champions: at fire's end is the first book in the Champions series, and we hit the ground running with the first chapter from Hermes' point of view as the scene is set over why the flames are here, and why they will live in children. After that, we jump 18 years to Kyle, the bearer of the blue (water) flame. We find out that he and April (red/fire bearer) have known all along what their purpose in life is, and have Hermes and Themis to guide them. Now, this is where it got a bit confusing for me. It sounded at the beginning that all the flames had to fight each other, with only one winner. Then we find out that Kyle and April are "battle partners". Kyle has the noble notion of finding the other two flames and helping them grow into their powers so that it becomes a fair fight, which still doesn't explain how the pairing is going to work. Kim and Noah are found, but you don't really learn much about them. With different points of view, time disappearing, and honestly not knowing whether Kyle was paired up romantically with either Kim or April at any given time, plus other things, this book quickly became mystifying.
The premise is a good one - after all, who doesn't love a good Greek mythology story in a book? It was the execution of the idea that let it down. I have given this story 3-stars because it was intriguing enough for me to finish it, and I think the premise and the series has a lot of potential. This may be a series where it is in the final book that everything becomes clear. I don't know. What I do know is that this book will appeal to some, and not to others. Personally, I enjoyed it, even if I was a bit lost!
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and my comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
The premise is a good one - after all, who doesn't love a good Greek mythology story in a book? It was the execution of the idea that let it down. I have given this story 3-stars because it was intriguing enough for me to finish it, and I think the premise and the series has a lot of potential. This may be a series where it is in the final book that everything becomes clear. I don't know. What I do know is that this book will appeal to some, and not to others. Personally, I enjoyed it, even if I was a bit lost!
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and my comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Merissa (13162 KP) rated Prophecy (Prophecy #1) in Books
Aug 8, 2017
Prophecy (Prophecy #1) by Lea Kirk
Prophecy is the first book in the Prophecy series, and we start off with Alex as she is thrown into a cell after aliens have invaded earth. She has no idea what has happened to her family or friends, but is determined to do what she can. The first time she meets Gryf, she lays one on him and gives him a black eye. Gryf takes it, not only because it goes against in him to 'attack' a woman, but also because he believes it is deserved. He feels an immense amount of guilt in allowing the earth to be attacked. These two have to work together if there is to be any chance of survival.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book! Alex and Gryf are fantastic together. They have a slow-burn romance with some steamy moments, but not too many. As Alex rightly says 'it can be hard getting private time in a refugee camp'. Okay, so I'm paraphrasing, but you know what I mean! Alex is a straight-talking, no-nonsense character who does her best no matter what the situation. Gryf is the honourable Captain who will do anything to protect those who can't protect themselves. He even lumps Alex into that category until she proves otherwise. So many characters in this book, and I loved all of them! Well, apart from the baddies ;) Graig has to be a favourite of mine, and Dante, and Nick, and Ora, and... oh you get the idea! Really pleased to hear that Nick will be getting his own book, and the extra chapter with Graig was sheer perfection.
This story was very well written, with no editing or grammatical errors that disrupted my reading flow. The pace was smooth, the action was exciting, and the romance was wonderful. I have no hesitation in recommending this book, and I look forward to reading more in this series, and by this author.
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and my comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
I thoroughly enjoyed this book! Alex and Gryf are fantastic together. They have a slow-burn romance with some steamy moments, but not too many. As Alex rightly says 'it can be hard getting private time in a refugee camp'. Okay, so I'm paraphrasing, but you know what I mean! Alex is a straight-talking, no-nonsense character who does her best no matter what the situation. Gryf is the honourable Captain who will do anything to protect those who can't protect themselves. He even lumps Alex into that category until she proves otherwise. So many characters in this book, and I loved all of them! Well, apart from the baddies ;) Graig has to be a favourite of mine, and Dante, and Nick, and Ora, and... oh you get the idea! Really pleased to hear that Nick will be getting his own book, and the extra chapter with Graig was sheer perfection.
This story was very well written, with no editing or grammatical errors that disrupted my reading flow. The pace was smooth, the action was exciting, and the romance was wonderful. I have no hesitation in recommending this book, and I look forward to reading more in this series, and by this author.
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and my comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Katie Burrows (1 KP) rated A Court of Frost and Starlight: Court of Thorns and Roses in Books
May 21, 2018
More time with beloved characters (2 more)
Got to find out more about side character backstories
The development of Feyre's sisters and their post-Cauldron struggles felt realistic and honest
No real point or feeling to the plot (4 more)
3/4 of the way through the book, still not sure what the point is
The sudden decision to write from multiple perspectives in this book (as opposed to just Feyre's) felt cheap
It's a Christmas story that was released May 1st, which was a strange publishing choice
After all the excitement in the precious book, the pace of this one was too slow
Not as exciting as previous installments
I wanted to love this book as much as I loved the third book in the series, but it just wasn't as good. It felt as though the author was maybe forced to publish the next installment of the series even though she didn't have a fully fleshed-out story yet.
While I enjoyed learning the characters' backstories, I was not a fan of how the author switched character perspectives each chapter. It was tedious to keep up with at times, and felt like a forced way to introduce the backstories. In the last installment, the backstories we heard were drawn out by plot and circumstance, which helped drive the story as we learned relevant info at relevant times. In this book it felt as though the revealing of character info was gratuitous, almost an excuse to avoid developing an actual plot.
Speaking of plot, the story was slow (in part because of continually switching between so many character perspectives during the same stretches of time), and because for most of the book nothing important or exciting happens.
The cover art was gorgeous. The dust jacket is absolutely beautiful. But, this is largely a Christmas or winter solstice story, and might have been more aptly published in late fall or closer to the holiday season, rather than the beginning of May.
I would still love to see more books in this series, but only if future installments see a return to the action and intrigue of the first 3 stories.
While I enjoyed learning the characters' backstories, I was not a fan of how the author switched character perspectives each chapter. It was tedious to keep up with at times, and felt like a forced way to introduce the backstories. In the last installment, the backstories we heard were drawn out by plot and circumstance, which helped drive the story as we learned relevant info at relevant times. In this book it felt as though the revealing of character info was gratuitous, almost an excuse to avoid developing an actual plot.
Speaking of plot, the story was slow (in part because of continually switching between so many character perspectives during the same stretches of time), and because for most of the book nothing important or exciting happens.
The cover art was gorgeous. The dust jacket is absolutely beautiful. But, this is largely a Christmas or winter solstice story, and might have been more aptly published in late fall or closer to the holiday season, rather than the beginning of May.
I would still love to see more books in this series, but only if future installments see a return to the action and intrigue of the first 3 stories.