4½ stars from me! I was quite surprised at how much I liked this book!Usually, when books are too popular, I tend to expect them to be overrated and hold off reading them. I had to read this book for a challenge and I'm really glad I did :)
The stories that make up Ram's life are wonderfully told and I think Swarup managed the perfect balance between lyrical and good storytelling that just makes you read on and on.
Funny and heartbreaking at the same time, it manages to show us all the horrible and unjust situations of Ram's life, but somehow it never becomes grudging or complaining. But also not "I'm so strong" which would have been as bad.
All in all, a wonderful story which I will strongly recommend!
3.5 stars - I really like Oates style and some of the stories were really amazing, but some were also less than spectacular for me. So, not enough to get a full 4 stars.But I love her style and there were no stories under 3, so I look forward to reading more from her...
This was my first foray into the so-called "cosy mystery"-genre and I certainly hope that it does not represent the rest...The mystery part of this story was quite interesting up until the big "reveal" which honestly was just so over-thought and overly done that it was just too unbelievable. And while I was not a big fan of main character Abby before that, her reaction to the big reveal was just too much! So unrealistic!
And even if I liked the general mystery and most of the story... Sweeney's incessant over the top use of random "metaphors" and turn-phrases were driving me mad! No one speaks that way! And while I like real Southern vernacular (from live people), the way Abby spoke seemed like a constant caricature of that...
And the constant mention of food, the weather (we get it! It's really hot!) and long descriptions of what people were wearing... Such random, unnecessary and mostly annoying "information" that served no purpose at all!
So, barely 2 stars for this book which I will gladly admit is just not my type of genre. But I will also argue that despite my personal lack of love for the genre, this book cannot be one of the good ones - the style was simply to annoying for that.
Strange and weird and unpleasant....Just what I look for in horror... I had nightmares several nights while reading this book....
Technically, not something I want, but who knows why I love horror despite how affected I get... Anyway, the "good" stuff affects me - and this really did! Enough said...
3.5 starsGave me an aching of wanting to wander off the path of everyday life and just live day to day with nature - in the most sincere and non-hippie way :)
Some have "complained" that Strayed is to self-involved and delves too much on the things she has experienced before hiking the PCT. I think those people have never been in any kind of basic environment where you are alone with just yourself and your most inner feelings and thoughts. They are rarely what you expect and they/you are never concerned with being "self-involved" as such a concept only really exist in relation to other people...
I really liked Strayed's story. Do I agree with everything she did or thought? Certainly not, but that doesn't mean I can't understand her and feel her story...
A funny book. I didn't know much about Tina Fey or her work, and to be honest, I'm not really a biography sort of person.. I don't really care about most people's lives unless they somehow interest me. So, I read this for the laughs rather than any genuine interest in Fey's life.
And that she delivers :) I very rarely laugh out loud from reading, but I did several times reading this book. So, for the laughs, a solid 3 stars.. For the subject matter (which really isn't Fey's fault), nothing more...
What a different and unique take on the world of the night!I watched this film many years ago and was not too impressed overall, but was still intrigued by the obviously very different way of telling a story and the unique world-building!
And now, I finally got around to reading the book and I was not disappointed! I love how we're dropped straight into the action of the book and learn about Moscow's supernatural world while watching the events unfold instead of being told...
And unlike most fantasy books, it magnificent how Lukyanenko manages to make all his characters appealing despite the obvious morale issues in the way the different Watches act. And not "appealing" in the "I like him"-sense, but as rounded and several-dimensional people who each have a story to tell..
I very much look forward to reading the next stories of the Watch!
3½ starsA nice, little read and thoroughly depressing... But it speaks to Moore's skill that she manages to convey such emotion in a very short book that in reality has very little storyline.
The parallel storylines of Futh and Ester are well interwoven while still being two separate tales. I actually have very little impression or opinion about this book other than the immense depressing feeling.
So, stars for being well-written and evocative, but no real points for an engaging story.
Well, the way I read this book says it all really - I was in the middle of three other books, was just going to read a couple of pages to see what it was like... And 4 hours later, I had spent my entire Saturday evening reading this page-turner!It's important for me to mention here that I'm normally not a very big crime/thriller fan, in fact, I usually lose interest quickly and couldn't care less who-dunnit...
But Kinsey has managed something I find quite impressive - to write a page-turning thriller which is both informative and sexy AND has characters with more dimensions than 1!
In reality, the murder-solving plot is nothing particular unique, it's the naughty peek into the BDSM world that makes this book. But unlike the (very) few "sexy" novels I've (tried to) read, this book made sure that there was a real story behind the naughty scenes and a plot that actually propelled the story.
I really liked both Gina and Hanson and particularly Hanson's journey of discovery is fascinating to follow sort of from within. I will say though, that it was perhaps not the most surprising journey, but it was a good look into the struggle I imagine many newcomers to BDSM have.
And I think that is exactly what is the best element about this book: Kinsey manages to show us the various stages the people of the BDSM world find themselves in: the newcomer, the experienced and everyone in-between. How some feel completely at peace with who they are, but still find it necessary to hide from the "rest" of the world and how some, despite years of experimentation, still struggle with feelings of being "freaks" and "perverts".
All in all, a really good read! I read in an interview that Kinsey is planning a sequel which I will definitely be picking up :)
Also, I LOVED Griggs! ;)
For full disclosure, I received this book from the author through the Read It & Reap review programme in return for an honest review.
..............This book is almost impossible for me to review.... I'm still wiping the last tears away as I'm writing this....
Such a powerful book about how the world does not always fit what we expect, but that doesn't necessarily make it wrong.
I think this book should be read by everybody - for the wonderfully written and portrayed story of a family that's different and a love that is unbearably strong. Love is love. Regardless of who and how we love someone, this book tries to show us in a very delicate way that reciprocated love can never be wrong - whether it be family love or friendly love or romantic love. Or any mix....
I'm just rambling really... I have nothing else to say about this book, but: Please read it! It magnificent...
Great book! I've not read anything by Holly Black before, but I'll be sure to continue this series and likely also her Iron Fey series.I really liked this story and it's like nothing I've ever read before - Black manages to create a very likeable main character despite his flaws and a world that is not so different from ours, but just enough to make it interesting. I particularly loves how she makes the whole hands-thing work without it being too much or too silly.
Great twists and turns of the story that manage to meld together well and doesn't leave any lose threads hanging when we get to the end. The only issue for me was that it was pretty obvious to me quite early that Cassel was of course going to be a transformation worker - it was sort of in the card and of course our main character will be the most unique kind of "magician" there is... I think Black could have made it a bit less obvious.. I really liked that the story was quite dark as well - there is no glossing over some of the revelations and some of the things that the characters do and that's really refreshing in YA, I think.
All in all, a really good read and very different take, so I look forward to the next instalments in the series :)
This book really gets 3 3/4 stars ;) It didn't "wow" me quite enough to get a genuine 4 star rating, but I really thought it was a fun read AND most importantly, a completely new and novel idea :)I read a lot of fantasy and I've never read anything that was like Swendson's idea about magic being something you could make a business out of - and she managed to create an Urban Fantasy setting that made it work really well.
The other main reason this book gets almost 4 stars is that Swendson remains true to her story and setting throughout the book - Usually a storyline like this will eventually end up derailing a bit and ending in the huge, cataclysmic magic fight, but while there was a fight, it was short and a lot less dramatic that what I had feared. And most importantly, the conclusion was still the lawyer making the bad guy sign a contract! :) Some might find the ending a bit "quiet" or without the big bang they were hoping for (and with an obvious open ending leading to a sequel), but I really appreciated Swendson sticking with the type of story she had chosen to tell - that's very rare these days especially in anything smelling remotely like Paranormal Romance.
One thing that bothered me a bit was Katie's obvious Mary Sue-ness - while I will go a long way to accept that a main character has to have something special about them/happen to them to get the story going, it was a bit much at times... And to make it worse, Katie kept mentioning her supposed "I don't know how to do anything really worth something" - which just seemed very fake and quite annoying by the end. Otherwise, I like Katie's character and that several of the secondary characters also had some genuine depth.
One last thing that I really liked (and also made me give it 4 stars despite its story in itself only being 3 stars for me) was that Katie and Owen didn't end up together! I really liked it that Swendson decided to keep some suspense and not suddenly "reveal" that Owen had really been in love with Katie all along. I do realise that this might still happen in the later books, but I liked that she didn't just drop it in there at the end and that the story didn't "tie up" so nicely and stereotypical like that
All in all, a fun UF read that had some great story-wise choices that were unusual :)
What a fun book! :)Very cleverly written and tongue-in-cheek all the way - and Bray seems to be a master of that :) Sometimes it's a bit difficult to decide whether certain events/plot elements are also supposed to be a kind of mockery of the clichés or whether Bray actually doesn't really manage to tell the story without resorting to some very well-worn clichés to keep the action going...
I'm going to give her the benefit of the doubt for most of them - it matches so well with the rest of the book's tone, and it's super-fun how she manages to portray each character and their circumstances. And what makes this book is definitely Bray's skill and humour, because let's be honest - the story itself is just too dumb and extremely overdone if it wasn't for the way in which it's being told :)
Because I really dig "stranded on a desert island" survivor type stories, I was a bit disappointed that it wasn't completely tight in the "factual" situation of the girls' life on the island. E.g. why would they need to use a pumice-stone to sharpen branches into spears, when someone then later suddenly has both a knife and a machete?? And where exactly did that machete come from?! I'm pretty sure none of the girl had packed THAT! Little obvious inconsistencies like that and some characters' obvious Mary Sue-ishness was what kept the book from being a five star.
Because it was overall really well written, fun and just silly in a very good way! :)
4½ stars!What a lovely adventure! There are so many talks about "if you loved Harry Potter - you should read this" for so many books - Rick Riordan is the only writer who manages to pull off the magic!
And it's nothing like HP - it's its own world and Riordan's own voice and it's BRILLIANT! :) I really liked the Percy Jackson series and now I love this new series! :)
The combination of magic, mythology, friendship and humour is fabulous - the awesome characters are powerful, but at the same time just normal teens struggling with the all the issues the rest of us do - and it makes the story... :) And I have to say, Leo and Coach Hedge are some of the funniest characters I've met in quite some time ;)
It's ok that Riordan takes his mythology a little light, it's still really wonderfully done - I for one am looking very much forward to reading the rest of this series :)
3½ stars! I really liked this book, my second Richelle Mead. I had previously not been very impressed with the first book in the Vampire Academy series, but this was much wittier and adult to me :)
And while UF/PNR is rife with all variations of supernatural creatures, I really liked Mead's twist of the succubus myth - a sweet and funny story of what a "not-actually-evil" succubus would do. The storyline was interesting and fast enough that I kept me reading through the day, even if I had perhaps already guessed at the "big reveal" before we got very far :)
I'll likely read another book in the Georgina series, a nice way to spend a relaxing Saturday afternoon that gives me a little fantasy-fix, but I won't be rushing to get to it just yet.. :)