When everyone loves a book you thought was meh. Honestly, reading this book was like watching all the stressful parts of the movie Tit 2 stars
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When everyone loves a book you thought was meh. Honestly, reading this book was like watching all the stressful parts of the movie Titanic. I had a very hard time with this book, I honestly did. I think as I get older, I am more sensitive to the suffering of other people. I cry when I read news articles about people dying because they cannot afford insulin, I cry when I see people in cages on the news. I’m not trying to get political, but I find I really take these injustices and the suffering of others to heart. And that’s all this book was to me, it was all I could see.
I can see how the author wanted to tell a story that is not typically taught or talked about. It wasn’t for me.
“People don't change. They just get better at hiding who they really are.”
Sadie is the story of two young girls, one murdered and one 4.5 stars!
“People don't change. They just get better at hiding who they really are.”
Sadie is the story of two young girls, one murdered and one missing. When a radio personality starts investigating this story, he finds a much deeper horror and finds himself completely ensnared in the mystery of what happened to them.
“Every little thing about you can be a weapon, if you're clever enough.”
I actually tried reading this in book form last year and couldn’t get into the formatting. It’s written life you’re listening to a podcast. When a friend recommended it on audio, I decided to give it another try. BOY AM I GLAD I DID! So if you like audiobooks, I highly recommend experiencing this book in that format, regardless if you have already read it or not.
This book is… raw. I wouldn’t say it was graphic, but it’s not for the faint of heart. Ultimately, this is a book about love. Not romantic love, but the kind of love you would kill for. It’s also two mysteries wrapped into one book, the murder of young Maddie and the disappearance of Sadie, her older sister. I think Summers did a great job of taking a tough subject normally told to adults and created a story that teens could enjoy.
“I realized pretty early on that the who didn’t really matter so much. That anybody who listens to me, I end up loving them just a little.”
“You cannot look at a person, and say, ‘If I could change this or that, if I could pick what I want and discard other things, I could lo 3.75 stars
“You cannot look at a person, and say, ‘If I could change this or that, if I could pick what I want and discard other things, I could love this one.’ Such a love is pale and weak—and doomed to failure.”
When Bran leaves on a mysterious trip to Africa, Charles is left to run the pack in Montana. One day he gets a distress call from one of the Wildlings, pack members who live in the woods and don’t have much control. When Charles and Anna investigate, they discover one of their wolves being abducted.
It becomes very clear that the pack has a traitor among them, but who? And why?
“Canadian hikers would be too polite to end up as bodies. Thus the bodies must not belong to random hikers.”
I’ve said it once, I’ll say it a million times. I love this series for the characters. Some of the side plots… meh. My favorite part of this book was the development of the character, Leah. I’ve always felt there was more to her and now that I’ve seen there is, I am dying for a Bran and Leah book.
The more recent Briggs villains in both the Mercy Thompson series and the Alpha and Omega tend to be witches. I am wondering if they are both leading to some epic battle with both series and I am so down for that. I’m dying to know when the next book is coming!
“Ours, said Brother Wolf. She is perfect, our soul mate, our anchor, the reason we were created. So that we could be hers.” [image] Follow me on ♥ Facebook ♥ Blog ♥ Instagram ♥ Twitter ♥...more
“...some things are better left in the past. And true things are destined to repeat themselves.”
Since Goodreads published a list of the 3.5 stars
“...some things are better left in the past. And true things are destined to repeat themselves.”
Since Goodreads published a list of the Top 100 YA books, I have been making a conscious effort to read (almost) all of them. The Program makes 74/100. You can find the list here: https://bit.ly/2MtitVH
The Program is a YA dystopia novel where teen suicide is a sweeping epidemic. In response to this, the US government has created a program which saves the life of a suicidal teen. The only problem is, it basically erases all their memories, and takes away who they are.
“If it's meant to be, you'll find each other again.”
If not for the YA list, I probably never would have sought this book out on my own. I almost gave this book 4 stars, but then I realized if I really liked this book I would have the desire to read the rest of the books in the series. And I don’t. So 3.5 I liked but did not love stars.
The plot of this makes me think the author saw The Happening and Girl Interrupted at the same time and thought a combo would make a great YA book. It’s an interesting concept, but I am left unclear on the overall message. I thought the author did an excellent job creating authentic relationships with the characters, every single one of them felt genuine when reading. The relationships between the characters are what I enjoyed most about this book.
I felt that this book was three books shoved into one. I liked that the author gave it all to us in chronological format. With a story like this I could see many other authors starting it with the characters knowing nothing, but I felt it was more effective the way Young told it. I wasn’t frustrated because I had all of the information up front, and I appreciated that.
“You know I'm never going to be able to not kiss you again, right?" he said. "For the rest of my life, every time I look at you, I'll have to kiss you.”
“A person can be educated and still be stupid, and a wise man can have no education at all.”
What an excellent fantasy middle grade nov 4.5 stars!
“A person can be educated and still be stupid, and a wise man can have no education at all.”
What an excellent fantasy middle grade novel! The False Prince is about Sage, who is rounded up from an orphanage with three other boys who all become enmeshed in a treasonous plot. The boys are not given much choice in the matter, they are to become impersonators of a prince, or they will be killed. Sage must use his wits to come out on top, all the while avoiding danger.
“The saddest thing is there won’t be anyone to miss us when we’re gone. No family, no friends, no one waiting at home.” “It’s better that way,” I said. “It’ll be easier for me, knowing my death doesn’t add to anyone’s pain.” “If you can’t give anyone pain, then you can’t give them joy either.”
I really enjoyed this book. It starts off a little bit slow, but what fantasy novel doesn’t? I was able to predict the largest twist, but there were many along the way I didn’t see coming. I loved seeing how everything unwinded and the result at the end of the book. I honestly cannot wait to listen to the second book, I think only good things came come from this story.
“In a crowd of a thousand boys claiming to be the prince, there would be only one with the same look of trouble in his eye.” ...more
I’m sorry, but this was awful. I listened to the audio of this book, the narrator is Evan Rachel Wood and she’s pretty excellent so if you 1.5 stars
I’m sorry, but this was awful. I listened to the audio of this book, the narrator is Evan Rachel Wood and she’s pretty excellent so if you wish to listen to this book I recommend it. That being said, this story was all over the place, it would be convoluted but more like giant chunks of backstory were missing, and all the teens did was fly around and constantly get attacked. Then something at the end happened that made my stomach curl and completely killed what little of the book I enjoyed. I only read this book because it was on the top 100 YA books on goodreads and many trusted book friends seemed to enjoy it.
Back in the day I read When the Wind Blows by Patterson and loved it. Not sure if this is a YA redo or a spinoff of that. But I can honestly say if you didn’t like this book like me, read that one.
“If you want to rebel, rebel from inside the system.That's much more powerful than rebelling outside the system.”
I can admit this right n 3 stars
“If you want to rebel, rebel from inside the system.That's much more powerful than rebelling outside the system.”
I can admit this right now, if I had read this book when it was published, I would have loved it.
Legend is the YA dystopia about Day and June. Day is an outlaw rebel and June is the golden girl of the republic. When Day robs a hospital to save his family, it sends him and June on a series of events that rocks the country they live in.
“You're brilliant,"he says."But you're a fool to stay with someone like me." I close my eyes at the touch of his hand."Then we are both fools.”
I enjoyed this book for the most part, but there is nothing for me to differentiate it from the 5 billion other YA dystopias that was released around the same time. I read it because it’s on the Goodreads list of the top 100 YA books and I am hoping to read all 100.
Again, if I had read it in 2011 I probably would have loved it, but 8 years later I am a bit jaded. I also felt the romance was too instalove and came out of nowhere. The most interesting part was the mystery of one characters death and honestly, that was kind of glossed over. I won’t be reading the other books in this series.
“Forever and ever, kid, until you're sick and tired of seeing me.”
“Rumors said that if he got drunk enough, he sometimes got his jollies by stripping naked and scaring hikers out in the Broken into thin 4.5 stars!
“Rumors said that if he got drunk enough, he sometimes got his jollies by stripping naked and scaring hikers out in the Broken into thinking he was Bigfoot.”
I really enjoyed this book! On the Edge is about Rose, a young woman raising her two younger brothers in a world “on the edge” of the broken (aka our world) and the weird. Strange creatures keep popping up in the edge leading Rose to team up with a stranger from the “weird” to save the edge community.
“Yes, I'm too mad to punish you right now. We'll talk about it when we get home. Go brush your teeth, comb your hair, put on dry clothes, and get the guns. We're going to Wal-Mart.”
I was completely absorbed into this book. I listened to the audiobook and it was an effortless experience, I didn’t tune out on accident at all and it captivated my attention from beginning to end. I love Ilona Andrews and how excellent they are at worldbuilding. I kept thinking to myself, how do they come up with these ideas?? I never could (which is why I am a reader and a reviewer, not an author).
An excellent urban fantasy novel, I cannot wait to dive into the rest of the series. Ilona Andrews is an author duo I have come to count on for amazing original content.
“Give me a few minutes.” “You have time.” He sat in the grass. “Are you just going to sit there and watch me?” “Yes. Watching pretty peasant girls is what we poor little rich boys do best.” “Peasant?” He shrugged. “You started the name calling.”
I listened to the audio book. While I enjoyed it overall, I found myself tuning out or choosing to listen to music on my commute instead of 3.5 stars
I listened to the audio book. While I enjoyed it overall, I found myself tuning out or choosing to listen to music on my commute instead of listening to the book, which isn’t the best sign. I can see why everyone loves it, but it didn’t wow me. I wonder if I had read this back when it was released 10+ years ago if I would have loved....more
I feel almost exactly the same on this reread as I did the first time around, which is rare because usually the book Reread August 2023 via audiobook
I feel almost exactly the same on this reread as I did the first time around, which is rare because usually the book is either better or worse on a reread. Pacing is way off, and the audiobook narrator whispered a lot of dialogue of some characters (which made it hard to even hear what was happening).
Definitely came out of the reread loving Silas and mostly enjoying the book, but the faults are all still there.
---- original 2019 review ---- 3.5 stars
I don’t seem to connect with this author the way everyone else does. I read her debut book and it was pretty meh for me. I really did enjoy this book, at least, 60% of it. But I am not gaga over it.
Sorcery of Thorns is about a girl who grows up in a library in a fantasy version of the early 1800’s. In this world, books can be dangerous and must be protected for themselves and for the safety of others. When the director of her library is killed, Elisabeth is caught in a whirlwind of events trying to figure out who did it.
The major thing that lost me with this book is it’s too long winded and wordy. Personally I think 30% of it could have been cut. But that’s just me. I found myself skimming at the end because I just wanted to be done after days of reading it.
I will say, the parts I did like I was completely sucked in. So maybe the pacing was off. I also loved the character Silas. Developed extremely well. I liked the concept of the book and the world building. A strong female character doesn’t hurt. I think this book is worth giving a shot, many readers loved it.
I honestly thought this series would pick up with this second book since Meyer's previous series I absolutely fell It's not bad but it's not great...
I honestly thought this series would pick up with this second book since Meyer's previous series I absolutely fell in love with the second book after being meh with the first. Honestly, I feel much of what happened in this book could have been condensed and added to the last book. It was a lot of plot points that didn't get to the point fast enough.
A solid series, as I said in my review of the first book I love the concept of this world and these characters. The idea of "good" and "evil" is probably the best aspect of these books. But the editors really need to reign Meyer in and not let her get carried away with extraneous details and action moments....more
Honestly, this book gave me anxiety. All the things Nikki was dealing with and then more problems added in, I was very eager to get to the reso3 stars
Honestly, this book gave me anxiety. All the things Nikki was dealing with and then more problems added in, I was very eager to get to the resolution of this book. As an adult reader, I enjoyed but did not love. As a children's librarian, I will be recommending this book to middle graders frequently!...more
I listened to this book because it was on a list of best children's audiobooks, and it was narrated by David Tennant so I had to listen. I en 3 stars
I listened to this book because it was on a list of best children's audiobooks, and it was narrated by David Tennant so I had to listen. I enjoyed this book as much as I did because of the audio, but since it's a children's book about dragons that borders on the silly humor, it just isn't my taste. I can totally see myself recommending this book to kids in the future.
Even though I loved The Lunar Chronicles, I have to admit Renegades was not on my radar at all. When a friend recommended the audiobook 3.5 – 4 stars
Even though I loved The Lunar Chronicles, I have to admit Renegades was not on my radar at all. When a friend recommended the audiobook to me, I went in with zero expectations.
It’s obvious that right now the trend is superheroes, and I don’t really mind that because I feel that genre has waited a long time to become popular instead of nerdy. I loved Meyer’s approach to this book, how we got the perspective of the “villains” and the “heroes” and the shades of gray from both perspectives. I think this book did a wonderful job of approaching the concepts of good and evil, and showing that both exist in two very different groups of people.
While I enjoyed this book very much, there didn’t seem to be much of the traditional story arc, there wasn’t a big climax at the end. Actually much of what would make a good climactic element happened in the middle of the story and an obvious plot twist thrown in at the end. Hence, a 3.5-4 star rating from me.
I thoroughly enjoyed listening to this book and I think Meyer is on the right track to a really good series. I always have to remind myself that I didn’t love Cinder but lost my shit over Scarlet and Cress, so I am hoping that the next book with be the same for me.
I think Curtis's voice was spectacular, but the plot fell a little bit flat for me. I laughed out loud at all the parts when Bud described 3.5 stars
I think Curtis's voice was spectacular, but the plot fell a little bit flat for me. I laughed out loud at all the parts when Bud described librarians, and enjoyed all of his antics. Listening to the audiobook was a lot of fun, but overall I felt a bit lost for the majority of the book on where it was going. Great characters and a great job describing the time it takes place, but overall it wasn't a huge win for me.
Do you ever read a book or series that everyone loves, and just not get it? At all?
I read the first book in this series and it wasn't my jam. I had boDo you ever read a book or series that everyone loves, and just not get it? At all?
I read the first book in this series and it wasn't my jam. I had bought the first 4 books all at once expecting to love the series but I sure dang jumped the gun on that one. I listened to about 70% on audio and then switched to the paperback because it was too slow for me.
Overall, I don't like any of the characters, and the story does nothing for me. I enjoy historical a lot, but I think my tastes are just more specific.
Lots of people love this series, so if you are reading my review and are on the fence, I encourage you to pick it up and make your own opinion about it.
“It’s a cruel, cruel world. And the people are the worst part.”
I listened to this audiobook on the recommendation of a friend and I real 4 stars!
“It’s a cruel, cruel world. And the people are the worst part.”
I listened to this audiobook on the recommendation of a friend and I really enjoyed it. Dread Nation is a book that's been in the back of my mind and I am really glad I read it, especially because there's another book coming out.
Dread Nation is about a young woman named Jane about 15+ years after the Civil War. The twist is, the Civil War ended in this world because all the dead rose up and became "shamblers" or basically, zombies. In Jane's world, black girls are sent to schools by the government to learn how to fight so they can kill the dead. But in a world quickly being overrun by the dead and dirty politicians, Jane finds herself in places she never expected.
“My momma always said the best way to get what you want from people is to give them what they think they want. They expected me to be stupid, so I used that to our advantage.”
I really enjoyed this book, I thought the characters and world building were fantastic. Some of my favorite parts involved Jane and Katherine and their development from enemies to friends. There were some questions I had left unanswered, and I hope they are addressed in the next book. While I was listening I kept wondering when certain mysteries would be solved and then they weren't so that took away my enjoyment a little bit.
If you're into audiobooks I recommend you listen to this one, the narrator did an amazing job. And I recommend this book in general because I enjoyed it very much and think many other readers will too.
“Sometimes you have to live down to people's expectations, Kate. If you can do that, you'll get much further in life.”
Um............... I wish I had read this book before I started the Alpha and Omega series. Seriously, every edition of book 1 should have thi 4 stars
Um............... I wish I had read this book before I started the Alpha and Omega series. Seriously, every edition of book 1 should have this at the beginning so we know what the fuck is going on. I got the backstory of these characters after the fact. Aside from that, this was a really great beginning short story and it shows how Anna and Charles meet. I was very interested in the romance and the mystery, and I think for a short story it packed a lot of punch.
I listened to the audio of this book and liked the narrator for the most part, but I cringe in general when men try to talk in "girl voice" and vice versa. So that took away a bit for me because the inflections he used for Anna were not how I read her when I read the book instead of listening. Now, onto re-reading the next book via audio!
Love Patricia Briggs, I wish she would publish 5 books a year.
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