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Joelene Marie (28 KP) rated Dread Nation in Books
Oct 1, 2018
I read Dread Nation a few months ago and I thought it was just ok. I had been looking forward to it for some time before I read it so maybe because of my high expectations I didn't give it a fair shot, idk.
I did like the analogous way Ireland tackled the race and social issues for the most part but the plot was basically a mess. It just didn't flow well from the events in Maryland to being sent out west and some parts felt more like random filler than relevant to the plot. I'm generally a fan of longer books but this one could have easily been 100 pages shorter without really losing anything, at least in my opinion.
The world building wasn't anything special. I felt like she had the chance to do something truly original here but instead it relies on preconceived notions of the old south and the wild west as depicted in old westerns, just with the addition of zombies.
With the exception of Jane, I didn't really think the characters were as well developed as they could have been. Jane's sass was great, I enjoyed how clearly her personality comes through in the writing but I did find her kind of 'know-it-all,' smarter than everyone around her type of attitude a bit grating at times. I was hoping to see something more than just the enemies to friends trope with Jane and Katherine as well.
Overall, I was a little disappointed with Dread Nation. I expected it to be so much more original than it turned out to be as far as a piece of spec fiction. As commentary on slavery, racism, and social injustice issues I thought it was done well.
I'll most likely pick up the sequel though, as I believe this series will continue to improve.
I did like the analogous way Ireland tackled the race and social issues for the most part but the plot was basically a mess. It just didn't flow well from the events in Maryland to being sent out west and some parts felt more like random filler than relevant to the plot. I'm generally a fan of longer books but this one could have easily been 100 pages shorter without really losing anything, at least in my opinion.
The world building wasn't anything special. I felt like she had the chance to do something truly original here but instead it relies on preconceived notions of the old south and the wild west as depicted in old westerns, just with the addition of zombies.
With the exception of Jane, I didn't really think the characters were as well developed as they could have been. Jane's sass was great, I enjoyed how clearly her personality comes through in the writing but I did find her kind of 'know-it-all,' smarter than everyone around her type of attitude a bit grating at times. I was hoping to see something more than just the enemies to friends trope with Jane and Katherine as well.
Overall, I was a little disappointed with Dread Nation. I expected it to be so much more original than it turned out to be as far as a piece of spec fiction. As commentary on slavery, racism, and social injustice issues I thought it was done well.
I'll most likely pick up the sequel though, as I believe this series will continue to improve.
Sarah (7798 KP) rated Normal People in Books
Jan 9, 2019 (Updated Jan 9, 2019)
An adorable yet frustrating love story
I always enjoy reading books that are based around the most banal and ordinary of plots, yet are still hugely entertaining and enthralling. I think it takes a great author to make a plot like this rise above just average and readable, to something you can’t put down. And Sally Rooney really succeeds with this book.
It’s just a normal romance between two teenagers in Ireland, whose stories and family lives aren’t anything exceptional and are no doubt similar to many others, yet Sally Rooney has turned this into an adorable and un-putdownable read. There’s something so sweet and yet bleak and dark about this story that I really struggled to put it down. The central characters of Connell and Marianne are well developed yet flawed, and I’m sure many people could relate to them. I really enjoyed the twists and turns and changes in their relationship as the story progressed. The book itself is for the most part well written. It has a good structure and I liked how each chapter skips ahead a few months. My only issue with the writing is that I dislike how the dialogue hasn’t been separated out from the rest of the narrative. Since when is it acceptable to not separate dialogue and conversation between characters using speech marks etc? It made reading some of the conversation a little difficult at times. I’m not sure why books that tend to win awards and accolades do so by having questionable punctuation and prose... I’m also not too sure about the ending. It was unsatisfying and felt like the characters were never going to change or advance. But despite this, I really did think this was a great book.
It’s just a normal romance between two teenagers in Ireland, whose stories and family lives aren’t anything exceptional and are no doubt similar to many others, yet Sally Rooney has turned this into an adorable and un-putdownable read. There’s something so sweet and yet bleak and dark about this story that I really struggled to put it down. The central characters of Connell and Marianne are well developed yet flawed, and I’m sure many people could relate to them. I really enjoyed the twists and turns and changes in their relationship as the story progressed. The book itself is for the most part well written. It has a good structure and I liked how each chapter skips ahead a few months. My only issue with the writing is that I dislike how the dialogue hasn’t been separated out from the rest of the narrative. Since when is it acceptable to not separate dialogue and conversation between characters using speech marks etc? It made reading some of the conversation a little difficult at times. I’m not sure why books that tend to win awards and accolades do so by having questionable punctuation and prose... I’m also not too sure about the ending. It was unsatisfying and felt like the characters were never going to change or advance. But despite this, I really did think this was a great book.
The start of Bram Stokers biography?
And to think that I nearly gave up on this to begin with! At about 20% in, it just didn't seem to be drawing me in at all. So how pleased am I that I persevered?!!
This is a prequel to Bram Stokers Dracula, and is the story of Bram himself. It postulates that Dracula and vampires really do exist, Bram and his family had an intimate relationship with one (not like THAT!), and Dracula was written as a warning about the Undead. Well, I clearly don't know what to believe now!
The language used in this novel is a little more up to date than Bram Stokers original: it's written for the modern reader (as Bram's was at the time, I suppose), and is consequently much easier to read. This book is supposedly based on notes that Bram left behind - whether they were ideas for another book, or they were 'actual occurrences', we'll never really know.
Bram and his family are followed from Bram's early childhood, up until well after their encounter with Dracul. It's exciting, there's loads of action, and I had some serious worries about Bram's siblings! There's loads of historical detail (potato famine in Ireland, disease, poverty) which I rather enjoyed. But it's the encounters with the vampires that I really loved. There's always going to be someone that makes the comparison to 'that' vampire series, and so I'll be the one. There IS NO comparison. These aren't nicey-nicey vampires who sparkle. These are largely speaking, evil, dark-magic-using, killing machines. Much more fun.
I think this is probably going to be a series. Which I will obviously be reading. Obviously.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my copy of this book.
This is a prequel to Bram Stokers Dracula, and is the story of Bram himself. It postulates that Dracula and vampires really do exist, Bram and his family had an intimate relationship with one (not like THAT!), and Dracula was written as a warning about the Undead. Well, I clearly don't know what to believe now!
The language used in this novel is a little more up to date than Bram Stokers original: it's written for the modern reader (as Bram's was at the time, I suppose), and is consequently much easier to read. This book is supposedly based on notes that Bram left behind - whether they were ideas for another book, or they were 'actual occurrences', we'll never really know.
Bram and his family are followed from Bram's early childhood, up until well after their encounter with Dracul. It's exciting, there's loads of action, and I had some serious worries about Bram's siblings! There's loads of historical detail (potato famine in Ireland, disease, poverty) which I rather enjoyed. But it's the encounters with the vampires that I really loved. There's always going to be someone that makes the comparison to 'that' vampire series, and so I'll be the one. There IS NO comparison. These aren't nicey-nicey vampires who sparkle. These are largely speaking, evil, dark-magic-using, killing machines. Much more fun.
I think this is probably going to be a series. Which I will obviously be reading. Obviously.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my copy of this book.
Deborah (162 KP) rated The Wife Trap (The Trap Trilogy, #2) in Books
Dec 21, 2018
Oh dear. Not the greatest example of the genre I have ever read it has to be said. The Wife Trap is the middle book of a trilogy by this author; the first books seems to have dealt with the courtship of the twin sister of the 'heroine' of this novel, seemingly involving deception and machinations. You could read this book without having read the first one, but of course you don't know exactly what has gone on beforehand and why exactly Jeanette has been banished to stay with cousins in Ireland.
The hero of this book was called Darragh O'Brien. My problem with that was that I got an image of Darra O'Brien (chap who presents Mock The Week etc.) in my head, and I'm guessing that wasn't quite what the author had in mind! Obviously the character wasn't strongly enough written to dislodge said, disconcerting, image!
That though is a minor quibble when compared to my big issue with this book; the so-called heroine. Jeanette is shallow, vain, silly, selfish, self-centred, childish and utterly unlikeable! I can't for the life of me understand what the hero sees in her, except that she is apparently beautiful and quite good at painting... She seems to think she 'deserves' anything she happens to fancy and is willing to stamp her foot and pout until she gets her way. She thinks it quite reasonable to disrupt everyone else so she can have a lie-in (after refusing to abandon her 'town hours' and go to bed earlier!) If it were me, I would have left her stuck in the carriage in the mud in the first chapter and rescued the servants from her!
The hero of this book was called Darragh O'Brien. My problem with that was that I got an image of Darra O'Brien (chap who presents Mock The Week etc.) in my head, and I'm guessing that wasn't quite what the author had in mind! Obviously the character wasn't strongly enough written to dislodge said, disconcerting, image!
That though is a minor quibble when compared to my big issue with this book; the so-called heroine. Jeanette is shallow, vain, silly, selfish, self-centred, childish and utterly unlikeable! I can't for the life of me understand what the hero sees in her, except that she is apparently beautiful and quite good at painting... She seems to think she 'deserves' anything she happens to fancy and is willing to stamp her foot and pout until she gets her way. She thinks it quite reasonable to disrupt everyone else so she can have a lie-in (after refusing to abandon her 'town hours' and go to bed earlier!) If it were me, I would have left her stuck in the carriage in the mud in the first chapter and rescued the servants from her!
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2206 KP) rated The Wolves of Christmas in Books
Dec 18, 2019
This Christmas Will Not Be Completely Festive
Phoenix Homicide Cops Joe, Tom, and Gretchen’s boss, Jerry, has announced that his retirement has been put on hold since someone has stolen his retirement investment. The fraud division of the police department is going to look into it, but Joe and Tom have just been given a case that may tie in. A dead body was found in Salt River Canyon, but since the victim lived in Phoenix, the case has been transferred to these two. The connection? He worked for the investment firm where Jerry had his money. Could the two tie together?
The book starts out well, but it gets a bit unfocused as it goes along with too many sub-plots. This is especially true when we learn that Tom’s cousin, and Joe’s infatuation, has been brutally raped and left for dead. The two fly over to Ireland to be by her side and help solve the crime, but we also get updates on what is happening in Phoenix thanks to scenes with Gretchen. I did enjoy the main mystery, and I found myself caught up in it, but I wish the book had been a little more focused. This is definitely more serious than the cozies I normally read, but we don’t get too many needless details. Since this is book eight in the series, I really do love the characters, and it was great to spend Christmas with them. In fact, the book stretches from mid-December into the New Year, so we get some nice holiday scenes. The early books in the series were written in the mid-90’s, and the author has kept that time period for the books, as this one makes very clear. All told, I was left smiling when I finished the book.
The book starts out well, but it gets a bit unfocused as it goes along with too many sub-plots. This is especially true when we learn that Tom’s cousin, and Joe’s infatuation, has been brutally raped and left for dead. The two fly over to Ireland to be by her side and help solve the crime, but we also get updates on what is happening in Phoenix thanks to scenes with Gretchen. I did enjoy the main mystery, and I found myself caught up in it, but I wish the book had been a little more focused. This is definitely more serious than the cozies I normally read, but we don’t get too many needless details. Since this is book eight in the series, I really do love the characters, and it was great to spend Christmas with them. In fact, the book stretches from mid-December into the New Year, so we get some nice holiday scenes. The early books in the series were written in the mid-90’s, and the author has kept that time period for the books, as this one makes very clear. All told, I was left smiling when I finished the book.
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