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3.65 AVERAGE
3.65 AVERAGE
3.5 stars. This YA sci-fi book started quite slow and a bit confusing with all of the made up sci-fi-ish names but once I was around 150 pages in, I started to warm up to the characters and the story. I haven't read a YA book in a while but this was relatively clean and I enjoyed reading it.
!!!!!!!!!!!!
This book was so good!
I was so hooked. It brings you into a completely different universe. I could feel the character's emotions from dialogue alone, picture scenes, and hear voices. So many subtle nuances to the plot lines. I can't wait for the next one!!
Honestly, if you haven't, you should.
This book was so good!
I was so hooked. It brings you into a completely different universe. I could feel the character's emotions from dialogue alone, picture scenes, and hear voices. So many subtle nuances to the plot lines. I can't wait for the next one!!
Honestly, if you haven't, you should.
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
2.5 stars
Oh my gosh, soooo slow. The last, like, 20% was good, and the ending was interesting enough to make me consider reading the next book, but it took way too long to get to that point.
Review to come (maybe, if I remember).
Oh my gosh, soooo slow. The last, like, 20% was good, and the ending was interesting enough to make me consider reading the next book, but it took way too long to get to that point.
Review to come (maybe, if I remember).
Technically 3.5 cause I did enjoy the book as I was reading it - it’s a very unique setting - but it’s very forgettable and stereotypical of the genre.
I have a pretty hard and fast rule- if the book centers around a romance- I don't like it. I always want to shake the protagonist who is supposed to be a bad-ass chick and yell "The world is burning down around you, STOP CHASING A BOY AND DO SHIT THAT MATTERS!!"
I also thought the plot was a bit slow and the whole savage/dark race of people thing made me feel a bit...icky.
Roth dangled a couple fruits that may make me try the next book, if it's an audiobook and I'm bored.
I also thought the plot was a bit slow and the whole savage/dark race of people thing made me feel a bit...icky.
Roth dangled a couple fruits that may make me try the next book, if it's an audiobook and I'm bored.
I’d like to officially announce that this book has made it into my top 3 books ever written of all time.
Veronica Roth definitely moved me in the Divergent series but this was a whole new level. You know those books that make you stare off into space periodically just to digest how good they are? This was one of those books.
I won’t go into much more detail because a blog post will probably be in order once I’ve finished the sequel.
Veronica Roth definitely moved me in the Divergent series but this was a whole new level. You know those books that make you stare off into space periodically just to digest how good they are? This was one of those books.
I won’t go into much more detail because a blog post will probably be in order once I’ve finished the sequel.
Veronica Roth wrote the hugely popular Divergent trilogy, so when it was announced she would be writing a new sci-fi series her fans were pretty much in an uproar from what I understand. I read Divergent and wasn’t really a fan (your run-of-the-mill dystopian YA), but the plot for Carve the Mark sounded interesting and that cover was *on point*. Very cool leaky slices on the cover, plus the hardcover edition has some awesome embossing under the dust jacket. Let’s get real though – the real reason I picked this up was because people on Goodreads said it needed trigger warnings. I HAD TO KNOW WHY THEY WOULD CRY ABOUT SUCH A THING.
Carve the Mark turned out to be fairly dark and violent for YA, but that thing is kind of trendy right now so it wasn’t really all that surprising. No triggers were elicited by this book, but then again I do read a lot of books that fall into the grimdark subcategory so this was tame in comparison. There was a bit of torture, kidnapping, public arena bouts, and even a dash of flaying (that was a surprise). There were also some really cheesy lines that made me roll my eyes and sigh, but that happens at least a couple times in almost every book I read.
Overall, I enjoyed it but found the pacing to be quite slow for most of the book. This isn’t entirely a bad thing because the characters are allowed to grow organically (no synthetic info dumps here) and there’s still plenty of character conflict and emotional discourse. Carve the Mark didn’t leave enough of an impression to make me certain that I would read any sequels that may follow. If reviews are compelling enough I may consider continuing the series, but life’s too short for mediocre books!
Carve the Mark turned out to be fairly dark and violent for YA, but that thing is kind of trendy right now so it wasn’t really all that surprising. No triggers were elicited by this book, but then again I do read a lot of books that fall into the grimdark subcategory so this was tame in comparison. There was a bit of torture, kidnapping, public arena bouts, and even a dash of flaying (that was a surprise). There were also some really cheesy lines that made me roll my eyes and sigh, but that happens at least a couple times in almost every book I read.
Overall, I enjoyed it but found the pacing to be quite slow for most of the book. This isn’t entirely a bad thing because the characters are allowed to grow organically (no synthetic info dumps here) and there’s still plenty of character conflict and emotional discourse. Carve the Mark didn’t leave enough of an impression to make me certain that I would read any sequels that may follow. If reviews are compelling enough I may consider continuing the series, but life’s too short for mediocre books!
I dnfed this a while back, and decided to give it another try. While there’s nothing extraordinary about this book, it is pretty good and doesn’t deserve a DNF.