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3.75 AVERAGE
3.75 AVERAGE
I did like the concept of this YA mafia mystery and enjoyed the book overall. But there were a few things I despised.
Things I liked: the unique concept of five Italian brothers in a mafia, the interesting villains, plot twists and two-faced characters. Some characters unexpectedly turned out to be villains and that was fascinating. I also dearly loved Luca's character.
Things I didn't like: insta-love, the repeated description of the five *handsome* boys and the golden flecks in Nic's eyes. The overuse of the phrase "zeroed in" was really getting on my nerves as well. Sophie was annoying at times and I literally have no clue why the boys were so obsessed with her. It was also dragged at the start and the reason why Sophie's father was in jail was pretty predictable.
All that being said, I still liked the plot enough to continue this series and am really looking forward to Inferno!
Things I liked: the unique concept of five Italian brothers in a mafia, the interesting villains, plot twists and two-faced characters. Some characters unexpectedly turned out to be villains and that was fascinating. I also dearly loved Luca's character.
Things I didn't like: insta-love, the repeated description of the five *handsome* boys and the golden flecks in Nic's eyes. The overuse of the phrase "zeroed in" was really getting on my nerves as well. Sophie was annoying at times and I literally have no clue why the boys were so obsessed with her. It was also dragged at the start and the reason why Sophie's father was in jail was pretty predictable.
All that being said, I still liked the plot enough to continue this series and am really looking forward to Inferno!
'Vendetta' is one of the best books I have read in a while, it was fast-paced, exciting and full of twists and turns that weren't expected at all. I didn't know much about this book before going into it except that it was sort of a retelling of Romeo and Juliet which I could definitely see the similarities to. The retelling aspect was done pretty well and cleverly but I hardly thought about that because the author was really able to make the story her own with some nods to Romeo and Juliet along the way.
Sometimes it's pretty obvious that an author likes to spend more time on character development or plot development but Catherine Doyle didn't seem to favour any of these and the development of both plot and characters felt really balanced.
Our main character Sophie was funny and sarcastic and I loved reading in her POV, sometimes she would do stupid things and I think in other YA books characters like that annoy me but I felt like those things made her a lot more endearing. The Falcone brothers were so great to read about, especially Nic and Luca. I didn't really buy into Sophie and Nic's romance straight away but it definitely grew on me but I'm struggling to see how they're going to overcome everything that happened in this book to have a relationship. A character I cannot wait to read more about is Luca, he's one of those characters who acts really mean but deep inside he's really cute and fluffy and I just have a feeling that he might have a thing for Sophie. Normally I'm not into love triangles but I would definitely be interested in reading that!
The secondary characters in this book were also a great addition. Millie who was Sophie's best friend was fun and sweet and I loved her and Sophie's friendship it was so refreshing to see how much they cared for and loved each other. Sophie's uncle Jack was so mysterious and intriguing and I couldn't believe the twist at the end where we find out what his job actually consists of.
I loved the mix of using Italian when the Falcone men were talking to each other but I did have to pause reading to google translate the meaning of the words (apart from the swear words of course, because we all know swear words in different languages and Italian ones are the best). It added that extra layer of realness and believability.
I ordered the next book when I was only half way through and I'm hoping I can deal with the wait before it gets here...
Sometimes it's pretty obvious that an author likes to spend more time on character development or plot development but Catherine Doyle didn't seem to favour any of these and the development of both plot and characters felt really balanced.
Our main character Sophie was funny and sarcastic and I loved reading in her POV, sometimes she would do stupid things and I think in other YA books characters like that annoy me but I felt like those things made her a lot more endearing. The Falcone brothers were so great to read about, especially Nic and Luca. I didn't really buy into Sophie and Nic's romance straight away but it definitely grew on me but I'm struggling to see how they're going to overcome everything that happened in this book to have a relationship. A character I cannot wait to read more about is Luca, he's one of those characters who acts really mean but deep inside he's really cute and fluffy and I just have a feeling that he might have a thing for Sophie. Normally I'm not into love triangles but I would definitely be interested in reading that!
The secondary characters in this book were also a great addition. Millie who was Sophie's best friend was fun and sweet and I loved her and Sophie's friendship it was so refreshing to see how much they cared for and loved each other. Sophie's uncle Jack was so mysterious and intriguing and I couldn't believe the twist at the end where we find out what his job actually consists of.
I loved the mix of using Italian when the Falcone men were talking to each other but I did have to pause reading to google translate the meaning of the words (apart from the swear words of course, because we all know swear words in different languages and Italian ones are the best). It added that extra layer of realness and believability.
I ordered the next book when I was only half way through and I'm hoping I can deal with the wait before it gets here...
You know what sucks I have to wait a year for the next book.
Full review to come, but this was just okay for me. Some sections were fantastic (ending, pre-mafia relationship) and others were a but unbelievable (Sophie not knowing, everything post-knowing).
dark
medium-paced
I read this having been pleasantly surprised by Doyle's MG fantasy, The Storm Keeper's Island.
This, unfortunately, feels like a crushingly generic and predictable YA romance. It's competently executed, I guess, but there's not really anything here worth the time.
This, unfortunately, feels like a crushingly generic and predictable YA romance. It's competently executed, I guess, but there's not really anything here worth the time.
So basically... My corpse is laughing it off with Zeus as they look at my ghost wandering around with no purpose-
Not sure how to even give my feelings on this one right now....not a favorite, just not sure what to say on that one right now....
More of a review to come!
More of a review to come!
Ok, so.
If I rated this objectively, I probably couldn't give this more than 2-3 stars but that's not what I'm about, son. So.
Truth is, this was just so damn enjoyable and fun that 4 stars are in order.
Characters and relationships being awesome and making sense to me and a book being entertaining is always going to be more important to me than checking a book for flaws of any sort (ie whether the plot is illogical, unrealistic etc.). So, if a book is enjoyable to read for whatever reason that is always going to trump any objective flaw I might find. That's why my rating is what it is. However, if you're the sort of person who craves logic and realism, I would advise you to not go here, because oh boy was this book a giant question mark when it comes to that a lot of the time.
1) Her uncle is a drug boss who owes Mafia family Falcone a blood debt and flees LEAVING HIS ENTIRE FAMILY BEHIND?????????? What the fuck what the fuck what the fuck in which world does that make any sort of sense, obviously they're gonna get taken hostage to get to you??? The only thing dumber than Jack leaving Soph and her mom behind was that the Falcones didn't take them hostage earlier. What sort of loser Mafia family are you, srsly.
2) He tells her to stay away from the boys in a casual as fuck way and then expects her to listen to him??? Obviously she's not going to do that, you told her that in a oooh-no-boys-for-you-niece way, not in a they're-gonna-fucking-torture- and-kill-you way. THE FUCK (I fucking love that Sophie points that out to him when she finds out later btw <33)
3) These boys are the Mafia family of all Mafia families and yet they need half the fucking book to connect the dots and figure out that Sophie Gracewell = Persephone Gracewell, niece of mortal enemy TM. Seriously? SERIOUSLY. #LOGIC.
There's sort-of-insta-love, but it honestly didn't bother me that much in this case, mainly because it felt like it was rushed to get to the larger plot AND because Sophie didn't wax poetry about Nic's stormy sea blue eyes that you coud just get lost in.
Now to the positives:
SOPHIE IS FUCKING AWESOMEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE.
(This pretty much is the main positive like DAMN GIRL)
1) When she finds out that Nic is part of the Mafia and he trys to feed her bullshit about how this means he has a higher code of honour loyalty and morals and she's like LOL but you kill people for other Mafia families who do evil shit you selective hypocritical motherfucker I CLAPPED. And the self righteousness of the family and wrongness of vigilantism was also pointed out. Sadly, she kisses him after, but oh well. At least she later recognizes that she was far too forgiving, so.
2) She just sasses everyone and I loved it. Like, for example, they kidnap her at the end and she just goes "It was completely, unnecessarily dramatic." in reference to their demeanour. I just. Really loved that. So much. All throughout the book. Sophie was kick ass and the Queen of Sass.
Her friendship with Millie was awesome. FEMALE FRIENDSHIPS. <333
One last thing:
Also, turns out, they don't give much of a fuck if you're innocent or not when it comes to their beloved "blood debt". Also something that would've pissed me off if no one had called them out on it but instead there was a disagreement within the family and Nic went "Uh, since when do we do that? The fuck" and I lived to see another day (again). Inner mafia family feud and disagreement + some really grayblackish morality to take this to a darker place? YUP. Here for it. Something potentially dealbreakingly awful turned into a betterment of the book? CHECK.
Honestly, I just really loved how complex the portrayal of the mafia families' actions/code/justification was and how all the characters reacted to it. I was initially afraid this book would gloss over that and just be like "he's a dangerous bad boy with a gun but since he only hurts criminals and is also hot idec let's make out." But instead I got this really complex discourse and I really, really appreciate it.
So yup, this way enjoyable as fuck.
And also unrealistic as fuck but what can you do.
If I rated this objectively, I probably couldn't give this more than 2-3 stars but that's not what I'm about, son. So.
Truth is, this was just so damn enjoyable and fun that 4 stars are in order.
Characters and relationships being awesome and making sense to me and a book being entertaining is always going to be more important to me than checking a book for flaws of any sort (ie whether the plot is illogical, unrealistic etc.). So, if a book is enjoyable to read for whatever reason that is always going to trump any objective flaw I might find. That's why my rating is what it is. However, if you're the sort of person who craves logic and realism, I would advise you to not go here, because oh boy was this book a giant question mark when it comes to that a lot of the time.
Spoiler
1) Her uncle is a drug boss who owes Mafia family Falcone a blood debt and flees LEAVING HIS ENTIRE FAMILY BEHIND?????????? What the fuck what the fuck what the fuck in which world does that make any sort of sense, obviously they're gonna get taken hostage to get to you??? The only thing dumber than Jack leaving Soph and her mom behind was that the Falcones didn't take them hostage earlier. What sort of loser Mafia family are you, srsly.
2) He tells her to stay away from the boys in a casual as fuck way and then expects her to listen to him??? Obviously she's not going to do that, you told her that in a oooh-no-boys-for-you-niece way, not in a they're-gonna-fucking-torture- and-kill-you way. THE FUCK (I fucking love that Sophie points that out to him when she finds out later btw <33)
3) These boys are the Mafia family of all Mafia families and yet they need half the fucking book to connect the dots and figure out that Sophie Gracewell = Persephone Gracewell, niece of mortal enemy TM. Seriously? SERIOUSLY.
There's sort-of-insta-love, but it honestly didn't bother me that much in this case, mainly because it felt like it was rushed to get to the larger plot AND because Sophie didn't wax poetry about Nic's stormy sea blue eyes that you coud just get lost in.
Spoiler
Nic is so full of shit when he's like 'SHE'S MINE TO PROTECT' Dude, you're doing an awful job, to be honest. try harder.Now to the positives:
SOPHIE IS FUCKING AWESOMEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE.
(This pretty much is the main positive like DAMN GIRL)
Spoiler
1) When she finds out that Nic is part of the Mafia and he trys to feed her bullshit about how this means he has a higher code of honour loyalty and morals and she's like LOL but you kill people for other Mafia families who do evil shit you selective hypocritical motherfucker I CLAPPED. And the self righteousness of the family and wrongness of vigilantism was also pointed out. Sadly, she kisses him after, but oh well. At least she later recognizes that she was far too forgiving, so.
2) She just sasses everyone and I loved it. Like, for example, they kidnap her at the end and she just goes "It was completely, unnecessarily dramatic." in reference to their demeanour. I just. Really loved that. So much. All throughout the book. Sophie was kick ass and the Queen of Sass.
Her friendship with Millie was awesome. FEMALE FRIENDSHIPS. <333
One last thing:
Spoiler
God, I think the Mafia families' lies and hypocrisy would've killed me if it wasn't for the fact the Sophie calls them out on it. It was just so full of shit, self righteous and hypocritical. I don't think I would've been able to go on if Sophie had just gone "Oh they only kill criminals though, so it's fine, Nic, KISS ME!" Lord. But instead she went WTF and I lived to see another day.Also, turns out, they don't give much of a fuck if you're innocent or not when it comes to their beloved "blood debt". Also something that would've pissed me off if no one had called them out on it but instead there was a disagreement within the family and Nic went "Uh, since when do we do that? The fuck" and I lived to see another day (again). Inner mafia family feud and disagreement + some really grayblackish morality to take this to a darker place? YUP. Here for it. Something potentially dealbreakingly awful turned into a betterment of the book? CHECK.
Honestly, I just really loved how complex the portrayal of the mafia families' actions/code/justification was and how all the characters reacted to it. I was initially afraid this book would gloss over that and just be like "he's a dangerous bad boy with a gun but since he only hurts criminals and is also hot idec let's make out." But instead I got this really complex discourse and I really, really appreciate it.
So yup, this way enjoyable as fuck.
And also unrealistic as fuck but what can you do.