I can't do this, fam. The writing is so dense that it's difficult to pay attention to what's going on. And there are so many characters and nDNF @ 13%
I can't do this, fam. The writing is so dense that it's difficult to pay attention to what's going on. And there are so many characters and none of them are even compelling enough to keep me hooked.
I tried reading this on Kindle and it was so wordy. I tried listening to the audiobook and it was even worse....more
While the origami/paper magic was really cool and creative, everything else unfolded like a typical YA fantasy. I wasnDNF @ 46%
I can't do it, y'all...
While the origami/paper magic was really cool and creative, everything else unfolded like a typical YA fantasy. I wasn't invested in anything (other than the friend who turned out to be made of paper???), so my mind kept wandering.
Thank you to Tundra Books and Edelweiss for this arc....more
Y'all, I can't do it... This reads like an unedited stream of consciousness where the author literally wrote down every. single. thing. that DNF @ 16%
Y'all, I can't do it... This reads like an unedited stream of consciousness where the author literally wrote down every. single. thing. that popped into her head, and half of it has nothing to do with the story. There are sooo many characters that I don't even know who is who and why they're important or not.
I can't even bring myself to pick this up another time. As a chaotic mood reader, I tend to try a DNF book later on, but... I don't think I'll ever be in the mood for whatever this is.
Thank you to Random House and NetGalley for this arc....more
I tried... I really did. But the formatting and grammar and general writing rules that are being broken finally broke me.
This reads like a DNF @ 45%.
I tried... I really did. But the formatting and grammar and general writing rules that are being broken finally broke me.
This reads like a rough draft that somehow got published. Some paragraphs would be centered for absolutely no reason. There was a chapter where a character's name was misspelled several times one after the other. General rules on writing dialogue weren't being followed so it was really hard to figure out who was talking. And lastly, the paragraphs were so damn long that it was hard to visually follow.
With all those issues, I looked to see if the finished copy on Amazon was any better.
It wasn't.
So I tried using Alexa to read it to me. This actually worked out well until I gave up because of those weird POV switches that kept happening where I thought we were in one character's headspace, but suddenly it switched to another character's thoughts. It was so confusing that I finally threw in the towel.
I loved the premise and the characters. The epic fantasy feel was detailed and immersive that I tried to plow through despite the book reading and looking like a rough draft.
But in the end, it became too much, and I just couldn't. This needed to be edited several more times and then proofread just as many times before publishing. It felt very unpolished.
Thank you to Fathima Ali and NetGalley for this copy....more
This isn't really for me, but I'd recommend this for fans of Wesley Chu's The War Arts saga or Cassandra Clare's Sword Catcher.
Like those two series, This isn't really for me, but I'd recommend this for fans of Wesley Chu's The War Arts saga or Cassandra Clare's Sword Catcher.
Like those two series, The Nameless Republic isn't really geared towards fantasy fans looking for a hero's journey or three act structure type of story. The writing style reads more like a series of events happening to different POV characters and their in-groups, so it's very hard for a reader like me to really feel connected to the characters.
Thank you to Orbit and NetGalley for this arc....more
There was literally no world building and you're expected to roll with the random hunger games LitRPG thing happening with no actDNF at 27%
I tried...
There was literally no world building and you're expected to roll with the random hunger games LitRPG thing happening with no actual explanations.
If the author had laid out the stakes like they did in the Hunger Games then I would've definitely connected with the characters. But she didn't explain anything, so everything feels pointless other than "you die if you don't participate." Way to make us care....more
DNF @ 38% (but I tuned out way earlier than that).
This was so mind-numbingly boring and so generic. It's reminiscent of literally every other wannabe DNF @ 38% (but I tuned out way earlier than that).
This was so mind-numbingly boring and so generic. It's reminiscent of literally every other wannabe grown-up fantasy that reads like YA and which keeps getting published nowadays.
There was so much info-dumping in the beginning that I wasn't sure which info was important and which was just filler. It got so bad I wanted to DNF earlier in the novel.
I didn't care about any of the MCs. They're supposed to be generals and spymasters, etc., but there wasn't really anything to back it up other than the novel just stating those facts. They were in their early twenties and they read like modern day recent college grads. Just... Why??? They sounded so immature. How were they even in charge of anything??
Everything felt so uninspired. It's like the author took whatever tropes are popular now in pop fantasy and used those as basis for a novel. Talk about writing to market.
The only cool things were the bonded wolves, but after reading other reviews, they only show up twice as plot devices. Wtf?
I'd rather read Fourth Wing all over again. At least that one had cool dragons.
Ugh. I'm so disappointed (mostly in myself because why the hell did I even waste my time going back a few chapters and re-listening in order to understand and attempt to invest in the story? Only to finally give up and DNF this. Lord. What is wrong with me...)
Thank you to Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for this arc....more
I would've given up earlier if I didn't pick up a buddy reader along the way. (Hi Dustin!)
I'm tagging this under "generic uninspired fantasyDNF @ 73%.
I would've given up earlier if I didn't pick up a buddy reader along the way. (Hi Dustin!)
I'm tagging this under "generic uninspired fantasy books." I couldn't relate to the characters. I didn't care for the worldbuilding. Literally nothing stood out to me. It felt like every other high stakes teen fantasy featuring a FMC with a tragic past.
The monster attack scenes were cool, but that was about it.
Oh, and my buddy reader said the payoff was weak, but the naga dragon was cool.
Thank you to Sourcebooks Fire and NetGalley for this arc....more
I just couldn't. The story isn't written clearly at all. I had no idea what was going on. I started the book twice and I still couldn't figurDNF @ 67%
I just couldn't. The story isn't written clearly at all. I had no idea what was going on. I started the book twice and I still couldn't figure out the MC's backstory or motivations. The part where he was an artist was interesting, although the discussions and dialogue about art felt pseudo intellectual.
It was hard to tell any of the characters apart. They all blended together. The world building was bare bones. I knew about the existence of the raiders, but then rebels were mentioned and I hadn't even realized that they were a thing. It was so frustrating to figure out the politics and who's on which side and why it all mattered.
I thought the midpoint would finally bring me into the story, but it only held my interest for a little bit. Then I gave up entirely.
I liked the narrator though. He performed really well with the different voices for different characters.
I really wanted to like this because I liked the Semiosis duology. But Dual Memory is definitely a miss for me.
Thank you to NetGalley, Tor Books, and Dreamscape Media for the arcs....more
The writing was so disjointed that I didn't really understand why things were happening. The MC had no agency and things were just happening DNF @ 55%
The writing was so disjointed that I didn't really understand why things were happening. The MC had no agency and things were just happening to her. I understood that she was on a quest to save her mother, but I didn't care enough to see if she'd succeed....more
I'm such a sucker for pretty covers and I never learn from my mistakes...
This is badly written. It seems like it was hastily published withoDNF @ 51%.
I'm such a sucker for pretty covers and I never learn from my mistakes...
This is badly written. It seems like it was hastily published without going through beta readers or an editor. The writing itself feels like a teenager's first attempt at writing fiction. There's a lot of telling instead of showing, and none of the characters are compelling enough to care about. Even though it's a novella, I can't bring myself to finish it....more
It started out really promising. I liked the relationship between the twin sisters and their back and forth exchanges.
But when they were boDNF @ ~50%.
It started out really promising. I liked the relationship between the twin sisters and their back and forth exchanges.
But when they were both sent off to marry, everything pretty much fell apart for me. It was very dry and consisted of conversations with secondary characters that I didn't care much about. Nothing much actually happened, and I really didn't like that the sisters married into men from misogynistic societies.
In the beginning, it was really cool to see Jillian as her father's heir. She knew how to fight and lead men in battle.
And then they had to marry off and the story pulled a 180.
Also the book was really long for some reason and it felt like it dragged on. It became a chore to read tbh.
Thank you to Books Forward and Goodreads for this arc....more
I loved Martha Wells's Murderbot novellas, but I just couldn't deal with this novel.
I had to DNF at 37% because Witch King drops you into the middle oI loved Martha Wells's Murderbot novellas, but I just couldn't deal with this novel.
I had to DNF at 37% because Witch King drops you into the middle of a fantasy world without any previous knowledge or decent world building. It's like reading the second or third book in a series without reading the first one, except that this is (I think) a standalone. I've never been so frustrated with one of my most anticipated fantasy reads before. Usually, I DNF out of boredom and confusion, but not utter frustration, so that's saying something.
I think one of the most irritating parts were the info dumps. I don't think I've ever read a book with info dumps that barely revealed anything about the world or its characters. And anything that the info dumps did reveal made no sense at all because I couldn't discern its relevance or its importance.
The Dramatis Personae didn't help at all. It was just a bunch of characters who meant nothing to me. Other than Kai, there were so many other characters being introduced in either the present timeline or the flashback timeline. I couldn't keep track of who's who, who's a demon and who's mortal, and who's actually important vs. a side character that'll only show up for a couple of chapters and then leave.
I love complicated high fantasy with lots of political intrigue, in-depth magic systems, and a rich, lush world. But man, Witch King ain't it.
Thank you to Tordotcom and NetGalley for this arc....more
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