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Steph (468 KP) rated Poison Study (Study, #1) in Books

Jul 9, 2018  
Poison Study (Study, #1)
Poison Study (Study, #1)
Maria V. Snyder | 2005 | Fiction & Poetry
10
9.0 (13 Ratings)
Book Rating
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was wel-written, fast-paced, and complex. I thought Snyder did an excellent job creating well-rounded characters. I absolutely adored Yelena and Valek and their relationship throughout the book! The plot was extremely well-done. There was just the right amount of complexity to leave you satisfied with the political intrigue and not be overwhelmed with detail.

My only complaint was the ending/resolution. I thought the Commander was unnecessarily uncompromising and ungrateful. Surely since Yelena had just saved his life and his country? Empire? he would bend a little. Especially since they had just formed that bond. What use is Yelena to him in the south? I think his excuse about the rules is bullshit too. Who of the generals would even know that he had saved her life and such?

Also I was a little I satisfied with how relaxed Yelena and Valek are about parting. Maybe it's their confidence that they will see each other again and find a way to make it work, but I just didn't really feel the depth of their emotions like I had in the rest of the book. It was a little fast.
  
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ClareR (6037 KP) rated The House in Books

Nov 21, 2020  
The House
The House
Tom Watson, Imogen Robertson | 2020 | Fiction & Poetry, Thriller
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
The House is a taut political thriller, packed full of intrigue, secrets, corruption and betrayal. The setting is Westminster - somewhere that Tom Watson has an intimate knowledge of. And you can tell. There are nooks, crannies and offices described in here that I’ve never even heard of - and sneaky back doors too!

The story itself seemed multi-layered and quite complex to begin with, and I have to admit to struggling with the amount of names I needed to remember (this is typical of me though, to be honest!), but once I had them all straight in my head after a couple of staves, I was able to enjoy it much more.

The story tied together really nicely towards the end - the seemingly different stories coming together and resolving - but it was left on a bit of a cliffhanger. And do you know? I think I would probably read another book set in this world of the UK Parliament. I liked the characters, and particularly the unlikeable characters intrigued me (I’m nothing if not predictable!). It’ll be interesting to see where another book takes us!

Many thanks to The Pigeonhole for serialising this, I really enjoyed it.
  
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James Koppert (2698 KP) rated Arctic Zoo in Books

Oct 28, 2019  
Arctic Zoo
Arctic Zoo
Robert Muchamore | 2019 | Contemporary, Crime, LGBTQ+, Thriller, Young Adult (YA)
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Political without ever preaching (0 more)
Been mostly ignored (0 more)
Challenging the world
Even with a good book, 456 pages can start to drag. With Arctic Zoo however, I wanted to continue on Julius and Georgia's story. This is brilliantly paced read with a "one more chapter before bed" level of intrigue on every page to keep you up far too late every night. The story follows Georgia, and relatively unextrordinary English schoolgirl who has lost her sister who becomes the face of the protest counter culture community, and celebrity, completely by accident, who with no choice, is drawn further into that world, and Julius, the son of very rich Nigerian political elite, who is guy and ousted from the family. Both these teenagers stories interweave intermittently and both are engaging on their own. The thing is I really liked Julius and I really liked Georgia and I wanted so much for each of them to succeed despite all the things thrown against them. Whats also brilliant s this book has a lot to say without it ever forcing anything down your throat and doesn't shy away from throwing up hypocrisies either. Muchamore is an absolute master writer who has managed to create an engaging novel that any adult or teenager will enjoy without ever feeling like the pages have been dumbed down to reach a general audience. Yes it was 456 pages long at at the end I said, "ohh, its finished" feeling disappointed rather than the sense of achievement I normally get when completing a book, just because I wanted to stay with these characters in this book and be with them for more of their journeys. But that is what a great artist does, leaves them wanting more, Muchamore.