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that5girl's review against another edition
Started Caraval box set. Will finish later.
severine_fg's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
joyscott13's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
helios_732's review against another edition
emotional
funny
tense
medium-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? It's complicated
3.75
joriep4's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
I think this was a slow book. I think it got good towards the end. I think the first book sets you up great for the second book. however, because of how simple this world seems to be, i think you could easily read a sparknotes version of this book and just read the second.
jarichan's review against another edition
4.0
Milder Spoiler am Schluss der Rezension.
Immer wieder schafft es Astrid Scholte, mich zu begeistern und zu faszinieren. So auch mit ihrem neuesten Werk, von dem ich kaum mehr los kam.
Es ist nicht nur der flüssige und angenehme Schreibstil, sondern auch ihre Art, zu erzählen. Ihre Charaktere sind interessant geschaffen und haben guten Wiedererkennungswert. Sie alle erzählen aus ihrer Sicht, was geschehen ist, sodass man einen guten Einblick in ihre Gedanken und ihr Seelenleben erhält. Ich fühlte mich mit ihnen verbunden und ihre Erlebnisse berührten mich. Das sind Punkte, die mir bei Büchern besonders wichtig sind.
Auch spricht Scholte stets wichtige Themen an. Diese fussen in unserer Gegenwart, in unserer Gesellschaft. Die Autorin denkt dabei weiter - wie könnte sich unsere Welt und unser Leben entwickeln? Wohin führt unser Weg? Welchen Einfluss wird das auf uns haben?
Scholtes Bücher erhalten dadurch Tiefe und hinterlassen einen bleibenden Eindruck. Dieser Titel bleibt zusätzlich haften, weil das Ende ziemlich fies ist. Und Teil zwei noch nicht erschienen...
Immer wieder schafft es Astrid Scholte, mich zu begeistern und zu faszinieren. So auch mit ihrem neuesten Werk, von dem ich kaum mehr los kam.
Es ist nicht nur der flüssige und angenehme Schreibstil, sondern auch ihre Art, zu erzählen. Ihre Charaktere sind interessant geschaffen und haben guten Wiedererkennungswert. Sie alle erzählen aus ihrer Sicht, was geschehen ist, sodass man einen guten Einblick in ihre Gedanken und ihr Seelenleben erhält. Ich fühlte mich mit ihnen verbunden und ihre Erlebnisse berührten mich. Das sind Punkte, die mir bei Büchern besonders wichtig sind.
Auch spricht Scholte stets wichtige Themen an. Diese fussen in unserer Gegenwart, in unserer Gesellschaft. Die Autorin denkt dabei weiter - wie könnte sich unsere Welt und unser Leben entwickeln? Wohin führt unser Weg? Welchen Einfluss wird das auf uns haben?
Scholtes Bücher erhalten dadurch Tiefe und hinterlassen einen bleibenden Eindruck. Dieser Titel bleibt zusätzlich haften, weil das Ende ziemlich fies ist. Und Teil zwei noch nicht erschienen...
tallyvauthor's review against another edition
2.0
DNF 53%
Just not the vibe. Honestly, it may be a lot better than I'm giving it credit for and maybe I'll go back eventually to finish it. But now is not that time as it is so SLOW. So extremely borin. I just can't.
Just not the vibe. Honestly, it may be a lot better than I'm giving it credit for and maybe I'll go back eventually to finish it. But now is not that time as it is so SLOW. So extremely borin. I just can't.
ethannku's review against another edition
3.0
Thank you to Penguin Teen for sending me an e-copy of this book! All opinions are my own.
Rating: 2.5 rounded up.
Ever since attending Vardean Reform School as punishment for using Edem, Cayder has been fascinated by the legal system. On his quest to become a lawyer, he takes up an internship with one of his family friends, but when his mentor is assigned to Cayder’s own sister, Leta’s, case, everything Cayder knows about the legal system starts to unravel.
There were several promising things about this book when I first started. The magic of this universe was really unique, something called Edem that was only accessible through shadows. I was also interested in the mystery of Leta’s crime, and how it was committed. Unfortunately those was the only interesting thing about this book. There are many, many plot lines in this book, and some felt completely unnecessary. While the main focus of the book appears to be Leta’s case, two other criminal cases are thrown in around halfway throughout the book, and their reason for existence doesn’t come into play until later. The book attempts to weave an interesting narrative that connects all these different cases, but it falls flat.
First off, the characters were really unengaging. So many important character traits were just told to the reader, leaving me feeling disconnected from both the plot and the characters. I disliked Cayder, the main character of the book. He started the book off by thinking extremely highly of the law enforcement, which was already a red flag to me, and his realization mid-way through the book that "law enforcement bad" just had me laughing at the book because yeah no shit!!! Leta and Jey were equally unlikeable, with Leta just being an annoying character, and "snarkiness" being Jey’s only personality trait. The only character I can say I liked was the princess, mainly because she was the only one who actually thought things through and had a working plan.
I hated every single attempt at romance throughout this entire book. Cayder and his love interest had no development at all and each romantic moment between them felt unearned. The whole time I was thinking, “Why are these two strangers so enamored with each other? Just, why?” Jey and his girlfriend’s romance was also really forced, and I kept forgetting he even had a girlfriend before the narrative would shove a random reference in my face and I would be reminded of her. The plot twist regarding his girlfriend also felt unearned, and all the romantic moments between Jey and his girlfriend were honestly creepy.
There were other general aspects about the book that I disliked. The only queer “representation” in this book is one character shoe-horning in that she has a girlfriend, but we never get to see this girlfriend or hear anything about who she is as a person. Certain plot points that just didn’t make sense, such as why a teenage intern was allowed to counsel two of the most high security cases in this universe, and also just how the main character knew things. There was some guesswork that was just accepted as fact, and in a book centering on court case drama, that raised a lot of questions in me.
Overall, I just wish this book was handled better. The premise and plot could have been interesting, but the way it was executed just had me wishing it was over.
Rating: 2.5 rounded up.
Ever since attending Vardean Reform School as punishment for using Edem, Cayder has been fascinated by the legal system. On his quest to become a lawyer, he takes up an internship with one of his family friends, but when his mentor is assigned to Cayder’s own sister, Leta’s, case, everything Cayder knows about the legal system starts to unravel.
There were several promising things about this book when I first started. The magic of this universe was really unique, something called Edem that was only accessible through shadows. I was also interested in the mystery of Leta’s crime, and how it was committed. Unfortunately those was the only interesting thing about this book. There are many, many plot lines in this book, and some felt completely unnecessary. While the main focus of the book appears to be Leta’s case, two other criminal cases are thrown in around halfway throughout the book, and their reason for existence doesn’t come into play until later. The book attempts to weave an interesting narrative that connects all these different cases, but it falls flat.
First off, the characters were really unengaging. So many important character traits were just told to the reader, leaving me feeling disconnected from both the plot and the characters. I disliked Cayder, the main character of the book. He started the book off by thinking extremely highly of the law enforcement, which was already a red flag to me, and his realization mid-way through the book that "law enforcement bad" just had me laughing at the book because yeah no shit!!! Leta and Jey were equally unlikeable, with Leta just being an annoying character, and "snarkiness" being Jey’s only personality trait. The only character I can say I liked was the princess, mainly because she was the only one who actually thought things through and had a working plan.
I hated every single attempt at romance throughout this entire book. Cayder and his love interest had no development at all and each romantic moment between them felt unearned. The whole time I was thinking, “Why are these two strangers so enamored with each other? Just, why?” Jey and his girlfriend’s romance was also really forced, and I kept forgetting he even had a girlfriend before the narrative would shove a random reference in my face and I would be reminded of her. The plot twist regarding his girlfriend also felt unearned, and all the romantic moments between Jey and his girlfriend were honestly creepy.
There were other general aspects about the book that I disliked. The only queer “representation” in this book is one character shoe-horning in that she has a girlfriend, but we never get to see this girlfriend or hear anything about who she is as a person. Certain plot points that just didn’t make sense, such as why a teenage intern was allowed to counsel two of the most high security cases in this universe, and also just how the main character knew things. There was some guesswork that was just accepted as fact, and in a book centering on court case drama, that raised a lot of questions in me.
Overall, I just wish this book was handled better. The premise and plot could have been interesting, but the way it was executed just had me wishing it was over.
maria_elisabeth's review against another edition
3.0
3,5⭐ - It was very enjoyable
I hoped to love this one
I hoped to love this one
theravengirls's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0