This was a cute romance in a summer camp for adults setting.
The love story between Garland and Stevie was sweet, but it didn't blow me away. What I dThis was a cute romance in a summer camp for adults setting.
The love story between Garland and Stevie was sweet, but it didn't blow me away. What I did enjoy a lot though, were all the fun challenges and the friendships that stemmed from that week at Camp Carl Cove. ...more
Book 100 in my 2021 challenge, woohoo! I feared I wouldn't be able to finish it in time, but I managed to push through, so
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About***2,5 stars***
Book 100 in my 2021 challenge, woohoo! I feared I wouldn't be able to finish it in time, but I managed to push through, so
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About the book at hand though... I wished I liked it more. I loved These Violent Delights - it was intriguing, action packed, had a stellar setting and a lot of suspense. It was different from anything else I'd read, and it charmed me completely. But I think I had too high/different expectations for the sequel, and hence struggled to finish it.
For anyone wondering - this duology is a historical fantasy retelling of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. It's set in the 1920s in Shanghai, where Roma and Juliette are the rightful heirs to rival gangs, the (Russian) White Flowers and the (Chinese) Scarlet Gang. The story picks up a few months after the end of the first book and we see how the two MCs still struggle with the fallout they had.
Oh, and did I mention that in this fantasy world there are some deadly monsters on the loose, infecting and killing the people of Shanghai? Yeah, and now they're even deadlier, so our two starcrossed lovers team up again to take them out. The thing is, there were some nice spots where the story felt clever and exciting, but for my taste they were too few and far between. I can't exactly put my finger on what it was that I didn't enjoy that much, maybe it was a little too political and not "monster-y" enough for my taste. But if this sounds like it could be up your alley, don't let my review put you off it. It's still a great duology that I would gladly recommend....more
I want to start off by saying that I hardly ever get triggered by anything in ***2 weirded out stars***
I am so hot and bothered by this book. [image]
I want to start off by saying that I hardly ever get triggered by anything in either books, movies or TV shows. I don't go crazy if I read something about men not acting properly, or if there is a hint of any type of "-ism" or "phobia". If I feel like there's something wrong in a story, I will give it a low rating or eventually DNF it/stop watching. I don't often rant or boycott writers for telling the story they want.
But this book, oof, it got on my nerve from start to finish. I don't even know how to begin this review ...more
Taylor Jenkins Reid is a masterful storyteller and that's a fact.
This is a powerful story about the love between two women in a time w***4,5 stars***
Taylor Jenkins Reid is a masterful storyteller and that's a fact.
This is a powerful story about the love between two women in a time when that was unacceptable. It's heartbreaking and raw, but also heartfelt and emotional. A must read and a book I will probably come back to someday ❤️...more
I'm giving this book 3 stars, not because it wasn't good, but because I expected it to be more... epic, somehow. The premise is interesti***3 stars***
I'm giving this book 3 stars, not because it wasn't good, but because I expected it to be more... epic, somehow. The premise is interesting and it's very well written. I love the idea of the multiverse and I'm guaranteed to read anything I can get my hands on that touches this subject.
This book is sci-fi, but it isn't about action. It is consisting mostly of the internal contemplation of an engineer on a small explorati***4 Stars***
This book is sci-fi, but it isn't about action. It is consisting mostly of the internal contemplation of an engineer on a small exploration ship.
It is a journey of space travel, but maybe even more importantly it is the internal journey of one woman. We follow the main character, Ariadne, who's the ideal astronaut. She’s curious, but respectful, ambitious but realistic, and she has limits but they are being pushed.
Ariadne and her crew mates go on a research mission far, far away from Earth and every second is worth the read. I loved how lifelike the characters were, how beautiful the language is that Chambers uses and how relatable the problems her characters face in the story are.
This was a fast paced read that I really recommend to any and all sci fi fans....more
395 people marked this book as "horror" and I'm just sitting here wondering why.. when all Elevation could be seen as is a mystery, may***3 Stars***
395 people marked this book as "horror" and I'm just sitting here wondering why.. when all Elevation could be seen as is a mystery, maybe.
It tells the story of a man who's loosing weight without showing it and as the days go by, he fears that he'll drop down to zero pounds and be reduced to literally nothing. And I'll stop here with the plot details.
This book is short and to the point, it teaches a few lessons and isn't half bad. I just didn't get into it as much as I would have liked to. It was an ok read....more
I'm not sure what I expected when I decided I needed to read this, but this wasn't it. So for what seems like the first time for me, I don't know how I'm not sure what I expected when I decided I needed to read this, but this wasn't it. So for what seems like the first time for me, I don't know how I feel about a book or how to rate it. I guess I'm going with 4 stars because this is a good story.
The reason why I started reading it is because I saw the trailer to the movie adaptation a while back and as always, if it's becoming a movie, I've got to check out the book.
We follow Simon, a gay teenager who is quickly falling in love with a secret pen pal and who's coming out to the world, but not quite the way he envisioned. It deals with subjects appropriate for today's young adults: gay rights, friendship, social media and identity. It performs its tasks with style and humor and it's all in all a feel good book, a go to for a quick pick me up....more
Squad 312. This pack of losers and discipline cases and sociopaths, these misfits nobody in the whole Auror
***4 only slightly disappointed stars***
Squad 312. This pack of losers and discipline cases and sociopaths, these misfits nobody in the whole Aurora Academy wanted to get paired with.
Ugh, it took me FOREVERRRR to finish reading this book!! And I honestly don’t know why because I love both Amie and Jay and I was looking forward to reading this ever since I first heard it being announced.
Aaaanyhoo, Aurora Rising is an epic science fiction adventure that's taking place in the far future, in the year 2380. As seen in the above quote, it's about a group of misfits who end up going on a mission with much higher stakes than they signed up for. Meet the recent graduates of the Aurora Academy: Tyler -the alpha & team leader, Scarlett -his twin sister and expert diplomat, Cat - his best friend and trusted pilot, Finian - mechanical genius and super funny & sarcastic alien dude, Zila - the highly intelligent science-y, but also anti-social one, Kal - the other alien guy, combat specialist, always angry and violent and last Aurora - the chick who was lost in space for over 200 years and now all of the sudden has telekinetic powers.
As Squad 312 is sent out on their first mission, a low key supply run, they find Aurora hidden in the cargo bay. That's when they learn about what their true mission is. Shortly after that, they become fugitives and while on the run, they try to figure out why this girl has powers, why they were assigned to protect her and what the heck they're going to do next.
This all sounds perfect so far, but as I was reading on, I started having a few issues:
1. I didn't like the fact that this book was "so much more YA" than The Illuminae Files were. I felt like it was written for a muuuuch younger audience. Which isn't really a bad thing, but I wanted it to be more.. mature, idk.
2. I was constantly annoyed by descriptors such as "my sister/brother did", "my twin said" or "my leader yells" or whatever. This may be a silly one, but I felt like the actual names were less used, instead we got these descriptors more often than needed. No one talks about their brother/sister and constantly says "my twin/brother/sister" instead of just calling them by their name, right? RIGHT? Am I crazy here? Oh, and I was also annoyed by the fact that everyone says something about the "Maker" (aka God) every other line, at least for the first half of the book. Yeah, I get that they don't swear in this one, but if I hear "Maker's breath" one more time....
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3. My biggest issue, I think, was with the romances between certain characters. (view spoiler)[Since Tyler rescued Aurora and they seemed to be interested in each other in the beginning, I was not expecting, nor did I like it one bit, when the authors decided to pair them with other people. I did not care about Tyler/Cat or much less about Aurora/Kal. I wanted Aurora and Tyler to end up together and because of that, I just didn't buy this romance between him and the pilot girl. That was just so "meh". Also, Kal is always angry and acting weird throughout most of the book, so him having "imprinted" on Auri and revealing it so close to the end, felt like bullshit to me. Like dude, where is this coming from? You haven't shown interest towards her once in the whole book, fuck off. (hide spoiler)]
4. Another big issue was the many alternating POVs. I don't mind multiple POVs, but here some of them were too long, while others waaaay too short. Like... Aurora -she's the main character in my mind and yet her chapters mostly fell short, while Scarlett, Cat or even Finian had never ending ones. I would have been ok with only Auri's and Tyler's POVs, or at least if their parts were longer.
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To be fair, there are also a ton of things I loved. I loved the whole mystery revolving around this girl who's totally out of time and who isn't even truly aware of the fact that she has these powers all of the sudden. I loved the fact that each character is unique and serves a purpose to the mission. I loved the writing style, duh, Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff is all I need to say ❤️ I loved the heist at Bianchi's party and how they've dealt with the Ultrasaur (silly name, but ok). I LOVED Finian's sarcasm and his wits. He always tried to lighten the mood with a joke, kind of like the Chandler of the group :D I really enjoyed the spin at the end, with the GIA operatives and the mystery surrounding Octavia III and the weird disease/virus/thingie. I also really enjoyed the way it ended, how the six of them go against the whole galaxy. Made me really want to know what's going to happen in the next installments....more
I think the best word to describe this book is... weird. Not bad weird, but also not the best kind of weird... I tried reading it a whi***2.5 Stars***
I think the best word to describe this book is... weird. Not bad weird, but also not the best kind of weird... I tried reading it a while ago, but it turned out to be a DNF then. Now I picked it up again, giving it a second chance because I thought it's so short and I have to be able to finish reading it eventually.
Long story short, in this book, author Seanan McGuire explores what happens when children who disappeared into magical worlds return to the real world. There are portal worlds connected to our own through magic doors. But not just any child can cross the threshold, something innate in their being or in the other world draws them in.
We follow a girl named Nancy, who has discovered a door to the Underworld, where she lived for a while and where she happily served the Lord of the Dead.
After being sent back home by said Lord, she feels out of place and only wishes to return. Her parents then send her to Eleanor West’s Home for Wayward Children, a sort of boarding school where she's supposed to get better (I think?!).
So far, so good. The thing is - it's an interesting story. I loved the idea of children finding secret doors to other worlds in the most common and uncommon places alike.
On the one hand, the worlds described were very interesting, but on the other hand the names and some descriptions of these worlds were weird and confusing. I am conflicted about this whole thing and I had to google it after I read to book, to better understand.
First, most worlds can be organized on a Compass with four cardinal “directions”: Nonsense, Logic, Wickedness, and Virtue. The rules defining these directions aren’t hard and fast. For example, Nancy realizes that how a person defines wicked and virtuous depends on their cultural perspectives and individual experiences.
Moreover, some worlds are Neutral, in that they are neither Wicked nor Virtuous. Most portal worlds are either Logic and Wicked or Nonsense and Virtue, and there are also several minor directions, including Wild, Whimsy, Reason, Rhyme, Linearity, Vitus, Mortis. A world may have a minor direction in addition to Wickedness or Virtue, or may have only minor directions.
See what I mean? To me, it all still sounds a bit confusing and that's why I gave it only 2.5 stars. I'm curious to see how the series will continue, though....more
If someone asked me what my favorite genre is when it comes to books, I would probably say sci-fi. That's why I get super excited every t***3 Stars***
If someone asked me what my favorite genre is when it comes to books, I would probably say sci-fi. That's why I get super excited every time I start reading a new sci-fi book. And the case was no different with this one.
The long way to a small angry planet has actually been high on my to read list for a very long time and I was so happy to finally get my hands on it. Anyway, long story short... I didn't like it nearly as much as I hoped I would :/
There is nothing bad I could possibly say about this book. I loved how the series ended, everything coming together the way it did. It was pretty muchThere is nothing bad I could possibly say about this book. I loved how the series ended, everything coming together the way it did. It was pretty much perfect! I would absolutely recommend any urban fantasy fan to read the TMI series and I'm looking forward to read anything that Cassandra Clare writes in the world of Shadowhunters <3...more
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