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3.64 AVERAGE
3.64 AVERAGE
Great YA read, though have to suspend a lot of sense of reality. Sixteen (going on seventeen) year old girl travels the world with no passport and no suitcase. But this has travel, glitz, history, evil bad guys, romance, family secrets. I liked it enough to read the sequel right away.
Initial thoughts:
The beginning is pretty weak and there are a few less then great spots but once it gets going the story carries you along and things make a whole lot more sense.
Review:
The beginning of this book is quite weak. A lot of highly improbable things happen and there's a bit of "super special protagonist". If you can haul yourself through that, the pace picks up and it actually becomes quite enjoyable. This reminded me a lot of the early Gallagher Girls books. Although there is some death in this book, the emotional weight of the later Gallagher Girls books isn't really there.
Although the jacket copy implies there will be a love triangle, I appreciate that emotionally there seem to be some clear decisions made.
If the description sounds like something you'd be interested in and your library has a copy you should certainly check it out, and know to push through the first ridiculousness.
Personally, I'm not sure I'll continue this series. I have a lot (a lot) of books to read and to add more books in a series I have to really care about the story and the characters. Although I enjoyed this book while reading it, ultimately it doesn't sit with me and demand for more. YMMV.
The beginning is pretty weak and there are a few less then great spots but once it gets going the story carries you along and things make a whole lot more sense.
Review:
The beginning of this book is quite weak. A lot of highly improbable things happen and there's a bit of "super special protagonist". If you can haul yourself through that, the pace picks up and it actually becomes quite enjoyable. This reminded me a lot of the early Gallagher Girls books.
Although the jacket copy implies there will be a love triangle, I appreciate that emotionally there seem to be some clear decisions made.
If the description sounds like something you'd be interested in and your library has a copy you should certainly check it out, and know to push through the first ridiculousness.
Personally, I'm not sure I'll continue this series. I have a lot (a lot) of books to read and to add more books in a series I have to really care about the story and the characters. Although I enjoyed this book while reading it, ultimately it doesn't sit with me and demand for more. YMMV.
Really enjoyed it, wish there was more development during the book, felt more like a first arc. I enjoyed the characters and the world the author described and the imagination behind the modern world and how it was affected by history.
4 out of 5 for me!
4 out of 5 for me!
This was crazy and fast-paced with some swoony scenes snuck in there. And that cliffhanger! I'm super excited for book two.
*4.25 stars*
So good so good! Very exciting. I really liked all the characters. I just wish the main character Avery was slightly more fleshed out. I felt a sort of disconnect to her character sometimes. I really liked jack but I LOVED Stellan. He's so interesting and his mysterious childhood and back story has me so intrigued. Can't wait for the next book that comes out this year!
So good so good! Very exciting. I really liked all the characters. I just wish the main character Avery was slightly more fleshed out. I felt a sort of disconnect to her character sometimes. I really liked jack but I LOVED Stellan. He's so interesting and his mysterious childhood and back story has me so intrigued. Can't wait for the next book that comes out this year!
Voy con las dos estrellas siguiendo el "it was ok" de goodreads. Estuve entretenido pero fue un meh.
No creo continuar con los demás libros. Pero uno nunca sabe, tal vez me gana la intriga por ver como termina, pero ahora no creo que suceda.
Realmente no me intereso mucho el triángulo amoroso, creo que nunca me gustaron y antes sólo los toleraba porque era lo que había, pero ahora ya no puedo soportarlos.
Algo que me tuvo muy nerviosa durante todo el libro, es el tema de los lentes de contacto. Habiéndolos usado por mucho tiempo, me pareció una locura que haya estado como tres o cuatro días sin sacárselos un segundo.
No creo continuar con los demás libros. Pero uno nunca sabe, tal vez me gana la intriga por ver como termina, pero ahora no creo que suceda.
Realmente no me intereso mucho el triángulo amoroso, creo que nunca me gustaron y antes sólo los toleraba porque era lo que había, pero ahora ya no puedo soportarlos.
Algo que me tuvo muy nerviosa durante todo el libro, es el tema de los lentes de contacto. Habiéndolos usado por mucho tiempo, me pareció una locura que haya estado como tres o cuatro días sin sacárselos un segundo.
3.5 stars
The characterizations in this book were lacking, but at the end the plot made up for it.
If you don't mind a "Chosen One" or two in this case and lots of running around in a plot that's fun but doesn't make a lot of sense, then this is the book for you.
Plus, that had to be one of the steamiest, non-sex sex scenes I've ever read. *fans self*
The characterizations in this book were lacking, but at the end the plot made up for it.
If you don't mind a "Chosen One" or two in this case and lots of running around in a plot that's fun but doesn't make a lot of sense, then this is the book for you.
Plus, that had to be one of the steamiest, non-sex sex scenes I've ever read. *fans self*
I had a hard time rating this one, damn GR and their no half stars. 3.5 stars.
Positives ~ narrator, I love Julia Wheylan. The overall story.
Negatives ~ it was a bit confusing. These groups of people all want different things? Some want the treasure, some want a person? It didn't explain itself very well. Then there was one time she was a complete moron. Really? She didn't think he wanted anything to do with her, and didn't realize that like herself, he was just trying to hide who she was? She was smart in everything else and dumb for that half chapter.
I dunno. It was good, but boring. But I probably need to know what happens next, so I'll read more.
Positives ~ narrator, I love Julia Wheylan. The overall story.
Negatives ~ it was a bit confusing. These groups of people all want different things? Some want the treasure, some want a person? It didn't explain itself very well. Then there was one time she was a complete moron. Really? She didn't think he wanted anything to do with her, and didn't realize that like herself, he was just trying to hide who she was? She was smart in everything else and dumb for that half chapter.
I dunno. It was good, but boring. But I probably need to know what happens next, so I'll read more.
My thoughts are a little all over the place with this one so I'm going to do this review as a list. I like the idea of clues and treasure hunts and secret powerful societies and families but, overall, this book really missed the mark.
Characters: I wasn't impressed. Avery was so, so flat and I finished the book much as I started the book - hardly knowing anything about her. She has purple eyes, she moves around a lot and doesn't let herself get close to people, and she is scared of heights. She runs off to Paris with someone she has literally just met. That's essentially it. There was no depth in how she was written and crafted so I had no connection. Stellan was the worst. Sexist and arrogant and just irritating. Telling Avery she needed more meat on her bones and basically that entire car ride scene (pages 82 through 84 in my edition) was annoying. Stellan can go. Jack was basic. I did enjoy Luc, though. He was fun.
Romance: I didn't buy it. Avery and Jack's relationship was very forced and hard to read. I saw no chemistry between them. It seemed like Jack was created for the sole purpose of being the cute British love interest that is also maybe part of this group but I'm still not really sure what his role is so I don't know. At times, it seemed like an afterthought. The two would be running and hiding from the Order and then Avery is all like "oh my God, he is so cute and he is so close to me. Did I mention his accent?!" Just wasn't a fan. Don't even get me started on that ending with Stellan.
Plot: Everything was just a little too predictable. Sometimes, I am okay with predictable and familiar as long as there are still qualities that keep the story fresh and fun (see: my review of Red Queen); however, that wasn't the case here. The story was entirely too formulaic: gather information, get chased around, hide. Kiss for a little bit and then repeat. Additionally, there were so many different explanations of the Circle and the Order scattered throughout the story as told by different characters that it got a little jumbled and hard to sort through. It seemed like more and more things started to bleed into the history of these groups and it was just kind of exhausting. I mean, the whole reveal with Achilles and Stellan was worthy of an eyeroll.
Overall, this wasn't the worst thing I have ever read. I did enjoy the puzzle/treasure hunt aspects of the book but I felt like everything else just really brought the potential of this story way down.
Characters: I wasn't impressed. Avery was so, so flat and I finished the book much as I started the book - hardly knowing anything about her. She has purple eyes, she moves around a lot and doesn't let herself get close to people, and she is scared of heights. She runs off to Paris with someone she has literally just met. That's essentially it. There was no depth in how she was written and crafted so I had no connection. Stellan was the worst. Sexist and arrogant and just irritating. Telling Avery she needed more meat on her bones and basically that entire car ride scene (pages 82 through 84 in my edition) was annoying. Stellan can go. Jack was basic. I did enjoy Luc, though. He was fun.
Romance: I didn't buy it. Avery and Jack's relationship was very forced and hard to read. I saw no chemistry between them. It seemed like Jack was created for the sole purpose of being the cute British love interest that is also maybe part of this group but I'm still not really sure what his role is so I don't know. At times, it seemed like an afterthought. The two would be running and hiding from the Order and then Avery is all like "oh my God, he is so cute and he is so close to me. Did I mention his accent?!" Just wasn't a fan. Don't even get me started on that ending with Stellan.
Plot: Everything was just a little too predictable. Sometimes, I am okay with predictable and familiar as long as there are still qualities that keep the story fresh and fun (see: my review of Red Queen); however, that wasn't the case here. The story was entirely too formulaic: gather information, get chased around, hide. Kiss for a little bit and then repeat. Additionally, there were so many different explanations of the Circle and the Order scattered throughout the story as told by different characters that it got a little jumbled and hard to sort through. It seemed like more and more things started to bleed into the history of these groups and it was just kind of exhausting. I mean, the whole reveal with Achilles and Stellan was worthy of an eyeroll.
Overall, this wasn't the worst thing I have ever read. I did enjoy the puzzle/treasure hunt aspects of the book but I felt like everything else just really brought the potential of this story way down.