For a book that’s supposed to be about Han and Leia, this book sure doesn’t have them interact much together. They spend more time worrying about the For a book that’s supposed to be about Han and Leia, this book sure doesn’t have them interact much together. They spend more time worrying about the other and their relationship than any couple on a honeymoon should.
(Almost like it’s trying to fit into the Disney canon and what Disney decided has to happen to these characters later…. I don’t know what I expected)
However, Luke and Leia have a stunningly beautiful relationship in this. There is one scene in particular where Leia points out “you mourned while the rest of us celebrated.” And it HURTS. Fantastic discussion of family, grief, and trauma all told in very little words. Love this sibling dynamic and always wish it was explored more ...more
I love, love, love the amount of research put into the science. As a bio nerd, I love that it built off possiOne of the rare times the movie is better
I love, love, love the amount of research put into the science. As a bio nerd, I love that it built off possibilities and expanded into something intense and thrilling.
But the characters were a little one-dimensional? Like they just existed to push the plot forward? And maybe it’s just because the movie handles tension SO well... this didn’t seem to? (You don’t have to stop and explain the science WHILE the Raptors are attacking, mkay?)
——————- It’s possible I procrastinated reading this for my monthly bookclub and need to binge-read it before the wine-mom’s judge me...more
It’s some really interesting and big ideas told through a series of rushed subplots and by a revolving cast of faceless men with the exact sam2 Stars
It’s some really interesting and big ideas told through a series of rushed subplots and by a revolving cast of faceless men with the exact same voice. ...more
I have specific tastes and female fronted Sci-fi asking big ethical questions about the universe is at least half of them.
That being said, this definiI have specific tastes and female fronted Sci-fi asking big ethical questions about the universe is at least half of them.
That being said, this definitely isn't for everyone. It's very intensely science heavy and this can definitely come across pretty dry. But if you're a science nerd like me who likes reading about aliens playing with protons?? You're in for a treat....more
This is marketed as a robin hood esque tale, featuring Jack sneaking pharmaceuticals to the poor and dodging the authorities. Two of those saDNF @ 38%
This is marketed as a robin hood esque tale, featuring Jack sneaking pharmaceuticals to the poor and dodging the authorities. Two of those said authorities are Paladin and Elias, a military robot with a human processor and their handler, who chase Jack and develop feelings for each other.
While all that's technically true, there's no emotional impact with any of this. We are thrust into a story without any feel for the character's or the world. Jack hardly has a noble quest to deliver medicine to poor people, but outside of selling drugs for money....I don't know what else she wants? I have no feel for her personality or aspirations or anything. This is largely the same for Paladin and Elias, who are defined primarily through their relationship.
In fact, there seems to be some issues with this relationship and the supposed LGBT+ rep. This is spoiler-filled and I didn't get to the majority of it, but my lovely Buddy-Reading partner did. Check out Mary's review for more info on that!
There's some interesting science at play, told through a straight-forward prose, and the plot is well-developed, but it still feels random. It's like things are just happening. Characters do things and I don't understand their motivation. Plot moves forward and no one reacts. There's no emotional attachment to anyone or anything and I just don't care.
(Also the blurb says something abut someone named Joe and I don't know who that is, I don't think they exist)...more
I’m not assigning a rating to this, as I didn’t get very far-- and as such, this review focuses more on why I decided not to continue, insteDNF @ 15%
I’m not assigning a rating to this, as I didn’t get very far-- and as such, this review focuses more on why I decided not to continue, instead of an overview of the entire work.
The premise for this is really interesting, focusing on a girl and boy separated by past/future, who connect through dreams. But the writing style is very cluttered and filled with info-dumps.
Instead of giving any perception of the characters, the first few chapters are just stuffed with information. Both Babe’s world and Zat’s are just revealed in long rambling paragraphs. There are no sensory details, just historical facts, ramblings about Babe’s many moves or Zat explaining the intricacies of his society.
There’s also something really gimmicky about most of Babe’s backstory being revealed through blog posts and playing it off as “well my blog is just more like a diary I’m sharing.”
My main issue was the run-on-sentences. These paragraphs were incredibly long, broken up by parenthesis with useless information and multiple hyphens. It was just way too cluttered, and completely pulled me out of the story.
I received an ARC of this through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review. Thanks to Amberjack Publishing for the opportunity!...more
Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner team back up for the first time since their Starbound series. Taking place on a distant planet, this story follows Jules and Mia as the navigate the ‘temples’ of an extinct alien species who ironically were called the ‘Undying.’ (Basically it started out Indiana Jones in space and somehow turned into Doctor Who.)
[image]
The plot itself is fun. These are the sort of zany, broad spectrum adventures that make me love sci-fi. And the interesting take on exploring a new planet with archaeology really is suppppeeeer fun. All the comparisons to Indiana Jones or Lara Croft or The Mummy (the fun one with Brendan Fraiser, not the one where Tom Cruise looks upset the whole time) are well deserved, as this exists as an exciting adventure story that happens to include: futuristic grave robbers, ancient booby traps and alien technology.
While fun, I think the plot was too narrow. This is a huge setting where earth is overpopulated and humanity was dying until this new undiscovered planet. But most of our time is spent in a very, very, small space following Jules and Mia work through puzzles. While the plot gets to the big stuff eventually, I wish it’d been the primary focus. Odd enough, I also felt this story could have benefited being in graphic novel format-- as all the puzzles are so visual and we’re left soley with lengthy descriptions.
Our main characters weren’t anything revolutionary-- a self proclaimed scholar and scavenger who both have trust issues, but they are solid with fun interactions. My main problem was the kinda-quick romance that distracts from the plot. Again, their interactions were fun, but there was so much focus on ‘wow-they’re-hot’ and ‘oh-no-should-I-trust-them’ in the worst places. Like you’re both on a time-crunch in a dangerous, unknown location… is now really the best time to have this conversation? Should you really make out with explosions so near? It’s not totally instalove-- but it happens fast and took up a large portion of the book. (I just wanted more interesting technology and deep ethical sci-fi stuff, because I’m a nerd.)
I did love that the character’s rely on non-traditional strengths. Jules and Mia solve things using math and linguistics, instead of being the most agile or strong. I love smart characters, and this felt refreshing rather than a school lesson.
Overall: This not only features an interesting world and entertaining characters, but the plot twist-and-turns quite a bit. I had my theories, but wasn’t ever certain what was about to happen. Definitely engrossing, and something I’d have flown through if life allowed.
I received an ARC of this through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review, thanks to Disney-Hyperion for the opportunity!...more
“Everything's science fiction until someone makes it science fact”
I’m going to go ahead and say it: It’s not very original. The idea of 3.5 Stars
“Everything's science fiction until someone makes it science fact”
I’m going to go ahead and say it: It’s not very original. The idea of an immersive gaming system where you control an avatar and it has real world complications has been done many times. (Examples: #1, #2, #3, #4,#5, and #6 )
What is new is the fun and diverse cast at the forefront of the story. Our main character is a young Asian female with rainbow-colored hair and a sleeve of tattoos who doesn’t tolerate being underestimated. The rest of the cast consists of multiple nationalities and languages, as well as a wheelchair-bound team captain who slays. (Asher was my favorite)
The character’s were fun-- but that doesn’t mean I loved them. Most of them don’t seem fully-developed yet, and this reflects most with our main character who is astoundingly good at everything she does. I am 200% for bad-ass hacker chicks. Please give me more women in STEM fields. But for Emika to be great at physically catching bad-guys in the real world, have top-notch criminal hacking skills (despite dropping out of high school) and kick butt at Warcross felt too much. There’s a scene where someone points out it took her twenty seconds to spot an error it took a team of trained professionals several days to find. Ugh.
The worldbuilding is quite spectacular, and I found the description-heavy narrative really worked at establishing this futuristic Tokyo and NYC. Everything from fashion sense to modern foods are shown without feeling clunky, so it makes my complaint sound even weirder but-- the world is simply too narrow. Why does Henka Games make this one game everyone is obsessed with? The technology is astounding and should have had soooooo much more impact on life itself. At the very least, there are thousands of games to play on our modern consoles, how am I supposed to believe an immersive gaming experience is developed and everyone uses it to play over-grown capture the flag?? (Can you imagine Skyrim with those glasses?)
It’s weird to me that I have so many negatives and I’m still rating this so high, but it’s also not at all weird because that ending. It ties everything together and elevates this from ‘meh’ status to something much better. Yes, the ending’s as good as everyone says. You’ll think you have it all figured out, but you won’t.
Overall: The isn't anything ground-breaking. The characters and world are both fun, but underdeveloped. The ending is the bomb.com.
I received an ARC of this through Edelweiss, thanks to G.P. Putnam’s Sons for the opportunity! (especially since I’m so late with this review, I'm a mess Istg)...more
(Look, literally no one is more disappointed by this rating than me.)
There was very little focus on any of the charHello darkness my old friend... 🎶
(Look, literally no one is more disappointed by this rating than me.)
There was very little focus on any of the characters or dynamics I adored in the first book. Instead, almost all the time was devoted to new characters and relationships that I just didn't give a dang about. (That romance shoehorned in at the end of the last book? Suddenly becomes a BIG deal)
This story starts in high-gear and doesn’t slow down once. Focusing on Tyler and several other teens, the group starts to realize they are co 3 Stars
This story starts in high-gear and doesn’t slow down once. Focusing on Tyler and several other teens, the group starts to realize they are connected not only to each other but something much bigger. (Read: The word assassin is in the title.)
[image] I received an ARC of this in exchange for an honest review, thank you Entangled Teen for the opportunity!
I’m a sucker for a good assassin story anyway, but I was really excited for this one because the cover resembles my favorite murderchild Natasha Romanoff. However, I wasn’t expecting such a strong sci-fi element. There are fascinating conversations about eugenics and (being vague to avoid spoilers) ‘test-tube babies’ and it raises all those fun ethical questions sci-fi is so good at.
There’s also a fun use of Greek Mythology with everyone’s code-names/personalities matching those of the gods. Hades was a personal favorite of mine (as he usually is) and this interpretation of his character was dark, angsty and really kept the plot moving.
As many fun elements this contained, there were some issues with the characters and writing style. The plot moves so quickly I’m not certain it allowed time to understand any of the characters (outside of Hades). Several of the side-characters seem particularly underdeveloped and have very stilted dialogue. For instance, there’s one scene where an MC smokes pot only at the goading of his friends, and it all felt too bad after-school special for me. The MC’s friend seemed to exist pretty much only for this scene and has extremely little motivation or personality.
Outside of that, there were several places were the word choice was… odd. I’m not a fan of the word ‘leonine’ to describe the hot-guy’s eyes. It just doesn’t flow smoothly and I’m certainly not fan of it multiple times.
Overall:
This was certainly fun, and holds a lot of potential. If the character-work improves and the sentence structure cleans up a bit, I think the scary-real-science and fast-paced-plot will make for an awesome series....more
“When you look back, it won’t be mercy you regret.”
Taking place in a near-future where mankind discovered a habitable planet 4.5 Stars
Overview:
“When you look back, it won’t be mercy you regret.”
Taking place in a near-future where mankind discovered a habitable planet, a corporation creates a challenge to send young-adults who will mine a mysterious new element known as Nyxia. Ten teenagers are recruited into the program, though only eight will make it through.
Scott Reintgen’s debut is a wonderfully introspective story that puts great twists on tropes made popular by the Hunger-Games-esque dystopians that surged a few years ago. It’s an awesome start to a series, and I need the next book now!
I received an ARC of this through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review, thanks to Crown Books for the opportunity! (Quote not final)
Buddy-read with my favorite Sana! (Who is taking forever to read this and I may or may not have left in the dust)
Pros:
The. Characters.
This has an ensemble cast of characters with different races, sexes and backgrounds. There’s literally ten characters introduced in the first chapter, and it is honestly overwhelming at first. It took me a little while to to keep everyone straight, but I very quickly I loved them all.
As the book builds upon this training program, you slowly learn about the characters and it is awesome. Each of them seems like a fleshed-out person and it made their interactions so powerful. We have:
• Emmett- Our MC is a black male from Detroit who hasn’t grown up with a lot of privilege, outside of his loving family. Has an extremely powerful character ARC regarding anger and one’s agency.
• Kaya- From Japan, bringing with her an assortment of books and a brilliant tactical mind.
• Jazzy- A southern belle from Tennessee with a ton of charm and outside-the-box-thinking.
• Bilal- Just a ball of sunshine. From Palestine originally, he seemed to live a difficult and isolated life before joining the program. Everyone’s favorite, including mine.
• Azima- A badass warrior from Kenya. Has a very interesting relationship with femininity and ‘expected’ gender roles.
• Roathy- A detached young man who fights with a desperation. (I don’t think he ever reveals where he is from)
• Isadora- Brazilian with a mysterious tattoo and a cold, calculating demeanor.
• Jamie I honestly wanted a little more from this Swiss competitor. But as the only white male in the group, he opens up interesting conversations about race and perception.
• Katsu- Kind of just comic relief, tbh. But with hints of a dark side?
• Longwei- A Mongolian who is immensely talented when it comes to competition, but seems to define himself by his ranking.
Also, gender roles were thrown out the window? Women kicked ass alongside the men. And men cried when leaving their families. I really loved all the diversity in the cast, and think it was handled very well.
This is a slow-build plot (which is my favorite!) with several twists and turns. Though I understand complaints about the amount of training sequences, I think it was necessary to show the characters develop and further build the word. I really enjoyed the pace set here, and it cultivates perfectly.
I personally hate when teens are thrust into some role of importance (usually in a dystopian society) without proper training or reason. Here, there was a decently believable reason, and lots of the focus on training these kids despite their age.
Nyxia itself is fascinating. I swear it was almost a character itself, and I’m really interested to learn more about it.
Cons
There’s one random chapter in the middle that changes POV, for no reason? I still don’t understand why it was there.
There’s also a scene where a character seems to make some comment about having the ability to see auras or “colors” of other people? And I’m not sure if I just completely misunderstood the scene or it was random AF.
I didn’t dislike the sort-of-romance thrown in at the end. I just don’t understand why it was necessary? As slow as everything else developed, I wish this hadn’t been so quick.
In Conclusion
This is fantastic start to a series. Everything builds slowly and is completely drive by the characters, but also establishes such an interesting world, I can't wait to see where it goes....more
(It actually averaged out to like 3.2 but I loved some of these so much I’m rounding up)
The Keeper
4/5
This story focuses on Michelle Benoit a 4 Stars
(It actually averaged out to like 3.2 but I loved some of these so much I’m rounding up)
The Keeper
4/5
This story focuses on Michelle Benoit and her role in saving Princess Selene; all things referenced in the original series. However, I really enjoyed seeing how it all played out, and young Scarlet was a delight.
Glitches
2/5
Young Cinder meeting her new family (and of course, wicked stepmother) was actually really boring. We’re already aware of how awful Ardi is. We’re aware of Cinder and Peony’s friendship. This was all stuff we’d seen before. Some of the backstory and explanations for Cinder’s cyborg pieces were interesting, though.
Queen’s Army
5/5
Baby Wolf Ze’ev is precious. This was a really interesting character study I wish had been explored more in the initial series. I liked seeing the pack dynamics, and I still think it’s weird Ze’ev’s brother isn’t even mentioned outside of Scarlet. This expanded upon their relationship and I found it really interesting.
Carswell’s Guide to Being Lucky
5/5
I’m Thorne trash #1, so did you really expect anything different? He’s such a fun character, even when scaled back to an obnoxious 13-year-old. I enjoyed seeing the Kate incident as it actually was, instead of both the versions Thorne and Cress painted in Cress.
After Sunshine Passes BY
2/5
I was really, really, really bored. I like Cress’ character—I really do! I think she’s crazy smart and funny, and I enjoy seeing what she brings to the table. But baby-Cress’ childhood was lonely and boring. I knew this already, I didn’t need to see just how boring and lonely it was.
The Princess and the Guard
3.5/5
Winter and Jacin are just great. I love their dynamic together and seeing how it evolved from childhood. Winter especially is a really fascinating character to me, and seeing how she became the crazy mess we met in Winter was great. My main problem is it implies Jacin gave up on his dreams for Winter—when that’s not how it’s painted in the original story? Wasn’t Jacin supposed to start an internship, and Levanna forced him into being a guard? Did I completely misunderstand that?
The Little Android
1/5
This was soooo long. And sooo boring. It tried to create a whole new world and cast of characters in order to incorporate The Little Mermaid into this universe. But it needed to be it’s own story so it had time to develop, instead this felt really overstuffed and I didn’t care about anyone. Plus, this whole book is supposed to be filled with extra’s from TLC… and this featured none of the characters or anything about it?
The Mechanic
2/5
Two stars for Kai because he is precious. No stars for seeing the exact same scene I’ve already seen before. I didn’t think this scene was particularly interesting the first time around. They way Kai and Cinder’s relationship develops is great, but the beginning is so cliché-Cinderella… I just don’t care for it.
Something Old, Something New
5+/5
*screaming*
I NEED LIKE SIX SEQUELS TO THIS PLEASE.
IT’S SO CUTE AND EVERYONE'S DEVELOPMENT AND RELATIONSHIPS ARE GREAT. IT’S SO MUCH FUN AND EVERYONE IS SO STRONG AND HAPPY AND I’M STILL HAVING A LOT OF EMOTIONS.
“She would be brave. She would be heroic. She would make her own destiny.”
*high pitched screaming*
This was seriously so much fu 5 Stars
Overview:
“She would be brave. She would be heroic. She would make her own destiny.”
*high pitched screaming*
This was seriously so much fun and I just want to go on more adventures with these characters.
*more screaming*
Pros:
This all came together so well. Everything that’s been building the last three books comes to a well designed climax. All the characters are in the same place, the fighting actually happens, plots rise and resolve. It felt like the final piece in a puzzle and it works.
This is over 800 pages, so I was expecting a lot of filler or for it to seem long—and it didn’t? The pacing is fantastic. Everything felt necessary and, again, came together really well.
All the references to the original fairy-tales were perfect? None of them felt like fan service, and instead they all blended seamlessly into the story and made it more enjoyable. Red-Riding Hood with her hatchet, Snow White’s poison apple, The Huntsman, Cinderella’s shoe… they’re all classic symbols and used really well.
SO. MUCH. FRIENDSHIP. There ARE so many fun characters and their interactions together are all splendid. Everyone cares for and supports each other regardless of romantic interest. In particular I love Cinder and Thorne’s interaction (SO MUCH SASS) but the dynamics between Cress/Wolf, Winter/Scarlet, Thorne/Kai, Iko/Everyone were also super fun!
…I just really love all of these characters, okay? I could write and essay about them all. It’s a problem. Scarlet and Thorne are still my favorites, and both have open invitations to marry me.
But for real, everyone’s character arcs were spectacular. Even Winter and Jacin, who we just are really introduced to here, have fully-formed arcs with fantastic development at the end. I was so bored of Kai and Cinder in the first book, but I loved them here. Cinder especially really comes into her own leadership skills and is a badass.
Okay…I ended up loving all the romances?
-Scarlet/Wolf are still my fav (though Wolf was a little dramatic in the beginning and I think talked about her every sentence) ad somthing about their interaction is just fantastic.
-Cinder and Kai being badass awesome leaders together is my new favorite thing.
- I literally loved Winter and Jacin right from the beginning and the way they accept eachother completely is beautiful.
- And I didn’t think I liked Cress and Thorne but they were so friggin cute throughout this?? (I still kind of feel like his feelings for her came out of nowhere… but I’m strangely okay with it?)
But everyone’s separate character arcs blended so well with their respective romances and it all works. Basically this was me at the end of the book.
[image]
Cons:
The only real issue I had is the choppy transition at the end. The narrative jumps straight from the final battle (right when it’s getting real intense) to someone talking about the aftermath. It was a little disorienting.
In Conclusion:
Clinging to Stars Above right now because I’m not ready for it to be over....more
“Levana knew a great deal about beauty, just as she knew a great deal about ugliness.”
Ooh, this was good.
[image]
I debated re 4 Stars
Overview:
“Levana knew a great deal about beauty, just as she knew a great deal about ugliness.”
Ooh, this was good.
[image]
I debated reading this versus skipping straight on to Winter, before deciding to knock out the shorter of the two. And I’m so glad I did!
This book was profoundly darker than the rest of the series, and the tone works. As much as I enjoy TLC, I really hope Marissa Meyer writes something darker in the future, because I'd love to see how she handles it with a larger series.
Pros:
Getting inside Levana’s head was unsettling. Her actions are atrocious. She kills, steals, invades minds, twists thoughts and has a willful disregard for consent. But at the same time, it makes sense.
I don’t think we’re ever supposed to feel completely sympathetic for Levana, and I certainly didn’t. But her thoughts make sense. We understand where she is coming from and how she rationalizes her actions. She's still despicable, but her reasoning is understandable. Something about that is incredibly unnerving to me, and it was very well executed.
Not having read the last book yet, this was my real introduction to several characters—including Winter and Jacin. (I mean Jacin's in Cress, but I'm still not sure how I feel about him.) It was very interesting seeing them as children, and the bond they share is incredibly sweet. I’m curious to see how it developed as they aged.
Overall, there are so many pieces of background information that added to the overall story. Most were things referenced in the first three books, but actually seeing how it all fit together felt sort of like completing a puzzle.
This pays excellent homage to the original stories, with things such as Levana’s relationship with mirrors weaving seamlessly into the narrative.
Cons
For a book that is all about exploring the motives of the villain, I didn’t understand why Levana’s sister was portrayed so one-dimensionally. Channary is a straightforward bitch. She didn’t seem to have a ton of motivation aside from being evil and vain.
My main problem is this does disrupt the flow of the series. I’m glad I read this, as it feels mostly necessary for a better understanding of the characters moving forward, but I wish a lot of this information could have been contained in the original series. Stopping right before the last book to read a 200 pg novella filled with backstory really threw me off.
In Conclusion
I really enjoyed this fascinating look inside Levana's mind. She's completely twisted and it was horrific slowly understanding her reasoning. This did feel odd in the course of the series overall, though....more
I've started this multiple times since receiving it, only to lose interest very quickly and move on to something else. This time I was pushinDNF @20%
I've started this multiple times since receiving it, only to lose interest very quickly and move on to something else. This time I was pushing through when I realized not only did I have no idea what was happening-- but that I didn't care.
I was completely lost and confused, but I didn't like any of the characters or the world or ANYTHING enough to figure it out.
I received an ARC of this through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review, thank you to the publisher/author for the opportunity!...more
“My greatest wish for humanity is not for peace or comfort or joy. It is that we all still die a little inside every time we witnes
4 Stars
Overview:
“My greatest wish for humanity is not for peace or comfort or joy. It is that we all still die a little inside every time we witness the death of another. For only the pain of empathy will keep us human. There’s no version of God that can help us if we ever lose that.”
My first Shusterman, but definitely not my last. This was crazy addicting for me, and I ended up finishing in one day.
Pros:
One of the most creative (and creepiest) worlds I’ve ever read. I really enjoyed all the intricacies in the political system how the sci-fi elements actually played a part in its formation. I wasn’t expecting such an interesting Artificial Intelligence to be introduced half-way through, but it only added to the world-building..
I loved this writing style! It was clear and concise, without being detached.
There’s just a really brilliant moral dilemma that drives the plot forward. It’s impressive and all-encompassing without being overwhelming. Instead, it remained compelling and kept me thinking long after I'd put the book down. Do we need death? How would we live without it?
I loved both Scythe Curie and Scythe Faraday. They contrasted very well, and I appreciated their different approaches to gleaning and teaching.
Everyone is fairly smart. Which seems a weird thing to enjoy, but it was great reading about such competent characters. No one was magically good at everything and their capabilities were realistic, but still very interesting.
Cons:
The romance was completely unnecessary. There was very little build-up and it didn’t make a ton of sense in the narrative. Very small part of the story, but it annoyed me a lot.
While the ‘bad guys’ are very creepy… I wanted a little more? Their reasoning was kind of plain and there wasn’t a ton of moral ambiguity. They were 'bad' because they enjoyed being ‘bad.’
In Conclusion:
That was crazy addicting with one of the most fascinating and disturbing worlds I've ever read. But why was that romance even there?...more
Okay so… I didn’t want to read this? Even though I loved Scarlet?
The back of my book literally says: [image]
It's not that I can’t ha 4 Stars
Overview:
Okay so… I didn’t want to read this? Even though I loved Scarlet?
The back of my book literally says: [image]
It's not that I can’t handle a damsel in distress… it’s just they’re so meh. I’m not the biggest fan of helpless and naïve characters. (Especially when you have Scarlet and Cinder in comparison.) SO I was pleasantly surprised!!
The plot is concise and well executed; building on details and relationships from the previous books and throwing a couple different twists into the works. But the characters are the part of this that’s the most fun… so that’s what I’m gonna talk about.
Cress:
“My life is an adventure." she said, growing confident as she opened her eyes again. "I will not be shackled to this satellite anymore.”
- I’m not gonna lie, she’s not my favorite of the group. But I didn’t dislike her!
- Yay for being strong and intelligent in other ways! Her tech skills blended into the world and made her a strong addition to the group.
- The story with her dad made me tear up for a moment there.
- She kept fantasizing herself a damsel-in-distress several different times, and I was really hoping she’d get past this? It’s not that she didn’t fight or do things… I just kept waiting for her to stop waiting for rescue and decide to rely on herself—and it didn’t happen.
Thorne:
“How are your eyes?" she asked.
"Well, I've been told they're dreamy, but I'll let you decide for yourself.”
- He’s just freakin’ funny, okay?
- His friendship with Cinder is everything. I’d ship it if I didn’t know better
- I love how self-aware he was when it came to his relationship with Cress. Their relationship is the definition of insta-love… but he calls her on it? It was great.
- I’m not saying he’s the best guy in the galaxy, but I loved all his subtle ‘heroic’ actions.
- Cordially invited to marry me
Cinder:
“The people of Luna don’t need a princess. They need a revolutionary.”
- I’M SO PROUD
- I found Cinder kind of boring in the first book (which I didn’t really enjoy) BUT LOOK AT HER GO
- So much development and goals and dealing with past trauma, like YES.
- Yay for explanations of the cyborg-prejudices! It makes sense and was a vital piece of world-building.
Scarlet:
"Aaaaw," squealed Iko. "Did Wolf just say that he loves Scarlet? That's so cute!"
- WHAT ARE THEY DOING WITH MY BABY
- SHE BETTER BE OKAY
- I needed more Wolf/Scarlet scenes, plz.
- Just more Scarlet in general, plz??
- (There wasn’t enough of Scarlet for me to pick an actual quote. #sorry)
Wolf:
“She’s my alpha”
- I just really needed more Wolf/Scarlet scenes here, guys
- The angst was great, even if it was breaking my heart.
- I still can’t help but feel he fell crazy fast, but something about it is so perfect.
Others:
- Iko is the most loyal and fun android and I want a best friend like her.
- Levana is terrifying
- Dr. Erland still exists! With plot! …REALLY GOOD PLOT!
- Kai didn’t get his own thing, but that didn’t mean that I’m not still proud of him and his development because it was great.
- It’s been three books and I still don’t get the hype about Peony.
- I’m not really sure what I think of Jacin yet. I kind of wanted to strangle him at points.
In Conclusion
…I can only take so much of people wandering in a desert okay? As fun as this dynamic was, this part could have been condensed a bit. Main reason this isn’t 5 Stars. And there wasn't enough Scarlet
All I needed to see was ‘Sci-fi’ and ‘Beauty and the Beast retelling’ and I was sold. Taking place in a near future where h 2.5 Stars
Overview:
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All I needed to see was ‘Sci-fi’ and ‘Beauty and the Beast retelling’ and I was sold. Taking place in a near future where humanesque robots come equipped with artificial intelligence, Alainn agrees to take the place of one of her father's robots, so he avoids jail time. This means that Alainn will now spend her days the company of a "strange, scarred recluse."
I received an ARC of this through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to Rita Stradling for the opportunity!
Pros:
For a re-telling, this is was crazy creative and fun. From the setting itself to the character’s backstories, it all felt very in the vein of the original story, while embracing a new and complex setting.
I dig robots with Artificial Intelligence, and was surprised by the ease with which it fit into this story. I enjoyed the differences between Rose, Rosebud and Rosette.
I love that ‘Beauty’ was given her own motivations and backstory outside of her family. She was an independent and fun character.
Cons
I’m just not sure I can fully get behind this romance. It evolves while one of the characters believes the other is a robot... and if this had really been discussed in a complicated way, I think it still could have worked. If the discussion had revolved around what makes us human and where the line is drawn with artificial intelligence, it would have been very interesting. But instead, a character who never left home and appears to have been emotionally neglected his entire life, latches on to the first human-like person he meets. And then decides he doesn't even care if she is real.
The main male character lives in complete isolation, and clearly has paranoia and agoraphobic tendencies that are never addressed. Other characters understand this isn’t the healthiest line of thinking, but there are no attempts to help him.
During the romance, the two main characters really have nothing but the other. They don’t have jobs, real hobbies, other friends and are in the same space 24/7. It felt a little co-dependent and not so healthy.
The plot really was close to done at 50%. The ending really needed to be tightened up and a lot of exposition could have been removed.
In Conclusion
This isn’t scheduled to debut until December 2017, so I’m hopeful it undergoes more edits in that time frame. The potential is certainly there, I think elements of the romance need to be fixed and the second half condensed....more
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