i read 50% of this book at some point and for whatever reason stopped??? so i picked it back up today to finish it and it was a little too***2.5 stars
i read 50% of this book at some point and for whatever reason stopped??? so i picked it back up today to finish it and it was a little too corny for me im afraid. i don’t like it when the girl falls for the guy first ...more
i knew nothing about this book going in, but i was expecting a trashy, shitty YA romance fantasy copy cat that follows every sinthis was truly awful.
i knew nothing about this book going in, but i was expecting a trashy, shitty YA romance fantasy copy cat that follows every single cliche and trope that every other popular author does. what i got was exactly what i was expecting. having sex scenes and an obscene amount of fuck’s won’t change the fact that this is written like a YA book.
holy cow was this terrible. i could predict every single trope from a mile away. by the time i was 20% into the book i told someone my prediction for the ending and i was completely on the money. this was so unbelievably predictable and yet still managed to piss me off the entire time. (view spoiler)[ her mating the weakest dragon as some symbolic metaphor? called. (i didn’t predict she would mate two dragons, but i should have realized it because she’s the fucking main character who gets to be special despite nobody else having done that ever in the history of their world) the guy treating her like shit but then telling her later it’s because he “wanted to push her to show he thinks she’s strong unlike everyone else”? check. the government hiding the truth of the world from them and the rebel kids actually being the good guys who she inevitably joins? check. the betrayal? check. (hide spoiler)] i genuinely believe that the author read a bunch of shitty YA fantasy and took all of the worst parts of them and decided to frankenstein them here to have a truly unsurprising and frustrating story.
speaking of the story, it is unreadable so long as xaden is around. he is, without a doubt, the worst part. every scene he’s in is the worst scene in the book. every conversation he has makes me want to rip my ears off. the tone around him is so god damn horny that it genuinely makes me sick. violet can’t go five seconds without mentioning how fucking sexy he is and how she wants to have sex with him immediately. it’s UNREADABLE. i would rather watch PORN than subject myself to this a second time. HIS NICKNAME FOR HER IS “VIOLENCE” AND SHE GETS TURNED ON BY IT. i lost 20 years of my life reading this. violet is pathetic in her endless adoration for him. it genuinely sickens me to watch her thirst after him and be incapable of restraining herself. the way she talks about him genuinely made me think a man wrote this book. the hatred i have for books where a woman is helplessly sexually attracted to a man she knows she can’t be with is immeasurable. it’s just embarrassing and pathetic to read about. fuck off
this was just bad. don’t know what else to say. i read it cause i thought it would be funny to see what the new fantasy romance of the year is like. answer: not worth it...more
really lovely prose setting up a genuinely depressing and frustrating story of a young girl taken advantage of by everyone around her that makes you wreally lovely prose setting up a genuinely depressing and frustrating story of a young girl taken advantage of by everyone around her that makes you want to kill men ...more
i’ve said this before, but fiction novels set in historical periods with female main characters written by women who experience strange or unc**4.5!!!
i’ve said this before, but fiction novels set in historical periods with female main characters written by women who experience strange or uncomfortable situations is my favorite genre (see: the ghost bride). they always have an air of familiarity to them that i can’t help but enjoy. this book was solemn and at times melancholy and funny and serious to show how the life of yunxian evolves through her strenuous relationships with the people around her. there’s a part of the book somewhere around the final third that feels like a moment of silence. the busy and loud story takes a moment to pause in a way that startles the reader and changes the progression of the book. it’s shocking and it’s interesting and it’s exactly the kind of story i needed to read after a mediocre reading year. ...more
i only read this because i haven’t been able to find a book im super interested in and i thought a good mystery would be an easy read since i like mysi only read this because i haven’t been able to find a book im super interested in and i thought a good mystery would be an easy read since i like mysteries, but this was awful???? the moment the narrative switched to being about mormons it became so god damn boring ...more
yangsze choo has one of the most captivating writing styles in modern fantasy. her male characters are equally as fascinating, and if you know me thenyangsze choo has one of the most captivating writing styles in modern fantasy. her male characters are equally as fascinating, and if you know me then you also know how i feel about the ghost bride’s er lang. it was interesting to see her tackle multiple perspectives in this one ...more
this is a personal thing but for some reason i really like the name tennessee for a guy and i can’t explain it. speaking of he was literally so sweet this is a personal thing but for some reason i really like the name tennessee for a guy and i can’t explain it. speaking of he was literally so sweet and cool and caring and also dominican so you already know he earned extra points from me …
i don’t have a sister, so i don’t like stories about sisterly relationships whatsoever, but this one was fine. i thought teal was irritating and it’s a miracle that the main character didn’t sock her for all the messed up stuff she says throughout the book but i also don’t understand (and don’t want to understand) how sisterly relationships work so whatever.
the cover totally catfished me into thinking this was a mainstream romance book and it’s NAWT it’s very much adult. im begging book publishers to stick to their shirtless men book covers for adult romances. anwyayanywayanyway this was really enjoyable if you want a book with romance and some hurt.
Thank you to Netgalley for an advanced reader’s copy....more
if i had written this i would have made it a second chance romance with the guy she was engaged to but maybe that’s the easy way out… having his brothif i had written this i would have made it a second chance romance with the guy she was engaged to but maybe that’s the easy way out… having his brother get with her was crazy ...more
Failed marriages and struggling marriages and imperfect marriages are something I really enjoy reading about (granted that neither person involved is Failed marriages and struggling marriages and imperfect marriages are something I really enjoy reading about (granted that neither person involved is unforgivable), so I had to pick this up.
A husband and wife who don't see eye to eye for countless reasons are caught between the crossfire of their entire world being upended. The blurb describes this as science fantasy, but for the purposes of fulfilling my agenda, I'm calling it science fiction. This book is, for lack of better terms, bizarre. I do not read sci-fi, so this book could have some popular tropes or common events or whatever, I don't know. To me, it felt like something I hadn't read before. I don't really want to describe it because I feel like it's always better to just live through it and be surprised than to know what's going to happen, but I also feel like I have to let people know that this book takes a wild turn at some point. The kind of turn that change the tone of the book, but also makes a completely new visual image. Is that vague enough to not be a spoiler but specific enough to convey the message?
Basically, this is a very world-building-heavy book. It even has a glossary in the back. It's the type of book where you ought to pay attention to how society and the magic (?) system works. I think that's pretty standard, but I'm the type of person to block out that kind of thing because I don't really care about world building. I'm more of a character-heavy type of person, which is why the book didn't 100% click with me, but it was still really interesting (especially when it takes a turn). I'd say, if you're someone who likes sci-fi or who likes more attention to the world, this is the book for you.
Thank you to the publishers for an advanced reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review....more
finished yesterday and forgot to mark it skdhslskdkd im in a sort of rut. i haven’t been able to start any book that i want to read and i can’t even ffinished yesterday and forgot to mark it skdhslskdkd im in a sort of rut. i haven’t been able to start any book that i want to read and i can’t even find something i want to read at all. agatha christie is a safe choice cause they’re all pretty decent i guess so i’m hoping it gets me back in the mood ...more
