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3.65 AVERAGE
3.65 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Carve the Mark has a really intriguing story line and characters that drew me in from the start. While I do love the plot and how it moves, I did find the writing to be a little lack-luster until the last few chapters. It felt as if the author had many opportunities to dig deeper into an important plot point or character's emotions, but didn't, which was disappointing. However, I do feel like the last few chapters redeem the book and made me excited to get to the sequel.
I was both excited and a little hesitant about receiving this book to review. I loved Divergent, still enjoyed Insurgent, and I still go back-and-forth on how I feel about Allegiant. I was hopeful that I would enjoy this one as much or more than I did Divergent, especially considering its sci-fi genre and intriguing premise.
I really liked that it started with a shared POV this time. It felt like Cyra got more chapters but we got a balanced aspect from two different cultures, the Shotet and the Thuvhe, and their paths merged due to their fates. I liked them both as characters and thought they worked well separately as they grew and together as they became allies. They each had prejudices toward the others' people, assumptions made from stories they were told, and they had to learn that not everything they perceived was true. The arc of them growing and trusting each other was just as important as the rebellion arc. I also thought it was interesting to see the usual roles switched where Cyra, the female lead, was the seasoned and deadly fighter, and Akros, the male lead, was a more gentle hero who had to learn to fight.
I thought the book had a bit of an X-Men in space vibe to it. Most people had something called a currentgift, some ability that made them unique and some abilities seemed more useful than others. Certain people also had a fate, a path the Oracle foresaw but the one sentence prediction was vague. The world-building was slow and I felt that I understood more about the way the system and the worlds worked as I read on. There wasn't a massive information dump or history lesson at the beginning, it all started to unfold throughout the plot and I can assume will keep unfolding in the next book.
The book had so much of what I enjoy in a story: characters that were easy to like, villains that were easy to hate, character growth, great character dynamics, twists, complicated issues. It did its job in making me very excited for the next book.
*I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
I really liked that it started with a shared POV this time. It felt like Cyra got more chapters but we got a balanced aspect from two different cultures, the Shotet and the Thuvhe, and their paths merged due to their fates. I liked them both as characters and thought they worked well separately as they grew and together as they became allies. They each had prejudices toward the others' people, assumptions made from stories they were told, and they had to learn that not everything they perceived was true. The arc of them growing and trusting each other was just as important as the rebellion arc. I also thought it was interesting to see the usual roles switched where Cyra, the female lead, was the seasoned and deadly fighter, and Akros, the male lead, was a more gentle hero who had to learn to fight.
I thought the book had a bit of an X-Men in space vibe to it. Most people had something called a currentgift, some ability that made them unique and some abilities seemed more useful than others. Certain people also had a fate, a path the Oracle foresaw but the one sentence prediction was vague. The world-building was slow and I felt that I understood more about the way the system and the worlds worked as I read on. There wasn't a massive information dump or history lesson at the beginning, it all started to unfold throughout the plot and I can assume will keep unfolding in the next book.
The book had so much of what I enjoy in a story: characters that were easy to like, villains that were easy to hate, character growth, great character dynamics, twists, complicated issues. It did its job in making me very excited for the next book.
*I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
I was really hesitant to read this after Allegiant but am glad I gave Veronica Roth another chance. The narrative was not as compelling as Divergent and I could have used some more romance but I really enjoyed the story.
I will say that the way she writes mothers is always dark. I would love for her to write a positive mother for once.
I will say that the way she writes mothers is always dark. I would love for her to write a positive mother for once.
I just want to say that I'm going to talk about the book without the element of all the controversy surrounding it. It's just a lot to get into and I just want to let it be right now.
The plot and world I found was just boring in this book. It took me over a week to read this book which is a long time for me and I just felt the book dragging. It was just so slow and just OMG, I can't even talk about it.
The characters were OK, but felt kind of like people I've seen before. It wasn't anything memorable.
Cyra was a pretty good badass but she meets and boy and suddenly becomes soft? Like come on, what is that????
Akos was the better of the two. He was someone who didn't really know what he was doing and he had to learn and become better and he was really smart. The blushing thing though, it doesn't need to happen every paragraph.
The end brought this book back a bit for me because it was pretty intense. I would be interested in seeing where the story is going to go from here.
Seriously editing it to a two stars because this book really was bad. I just can't, filming a book review made me see how much I didn't really like it.
The plot and world I found was just boring in this book. It took me over a week to read this book which is a long time for me and I just felt the book dragging. It was just so slow and just OMG, I can't even talk about it.
The characters were OK, but felt kind of like people I've seen before. It wasn't anything memorable.
Cyra was a pretty good badass but she meets and boy and suddenly becomes soft? Like come on, what is that????
Akos was the better of the two. He was someone who didn't really know what he was doing and he had to learn and become better and he was really smart. The blushing thing though, it doesn't need to happen every paragraph.
The end brought this book back a bit for me because it was pretty intense. I would be interested in seeing where the story is going to go from here.
Seriously editing it to a two stars because this book really was bad. I just can't, filming a book review made me see how much I didn't really like it.
Interesting new sci-fi story about a universe where many people develop special gifts. The gifts come through the current, an element that runs though all things in the universe.
Akos was taken from his family as a young boy by the Shotet, enemies of the Thuve (Akos’s people) who occupy the same planet. He is forced to serve the Noavek family and watch as his brother (who is an Oracle) serve the leader of the Shotet and become less and less himself.
Cyra Noavek is trapped watching her brother rule the Shotet through fear. Her current gift evolved as a protection against her brother’s cruelty but he uses her gift of pain and blackmail to get what he wants.
The story is interesting enough. It is the first of what is probably a trilogy. I had lots of questions in the plot will hopefully be answered in the next parts.
Good for ages 13 and up.
Akos was taken from his family as a young boy by the Shotet, enemies of the Thuve (Akos’s people) who occupy the same planet. He is forced to serve the Noavek family and watch as his brother (who is an Oracle) serve the leader of the Shotet and become less and less himself.
Cyra Noavek is trapped watching her brother rule the Shotet through fear. Her current gift evolved as a protection against her brother’s cruelty but he uses her gift of pain and blackmail to get what he wants.
The story is interesting enough. It is the first of what is probably a trilogy. I had lots of questions in the plot will hopefully be answered in the next parts.
Good for ages 13 and up.
2.5 stars. “I know what it is to become something you hate. I know how it hurts. But life is full of hurt...And your capacity for bearing it is much greater than you believe.”
Let me start by saying that I enjoyed the story. I think there were a lot of great ideas in there. The hardest part was just getting through it. I made it about two thirds of the way through and just got into a slump, because it was moving so slowly. Time was also hard to keep track of in the story, which made it more difficult to keep up with.
There are many reviews out there talking about problems in the story with regard to racism, ableism, etc. While I understand people's perspective on this, I did not find these topics to be written into the story in any intentional way by the author. The only "problem" I had with this book was the struggle to get through it.
Let me start by saying that I enjoyed the story. I think there were a lot of great ideas in there. The hardest part was just getting through it. I made it about two thirds of the way through and just got into a slump, because it was moving so slowly. Time was also hard to keep track of in the story, which made it more difficult to keep up with.
There are many reviews out there talking about problems in the story with regard to racism, ableism, etc. While I understand people's perspective on this, I did not find these topics to be written into the story in any intentional way by the author. The only "problem" I had with this book was the struggle to get through it.
I listened to the audiobook and I think the narrators did a really nice job. I could definitely tell it was set in space - unlike some reviews say - so I wonder if that came across more when listening than reading?
I think this universe the characters inhabit is sad and unjust. I do appreciate the slow burn romance.
Intrigued to see what happens next, though I definitely have my theories.
I think this universe the characters inhabit is sad and unjust. I do appreciate the slow burn romance.
Intrigued to see what happens next, though I definitely have my theories.
adventurous
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes