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3.34 AVERAGE
3.34 AVERAGE
I really enjoyed this book!! However, for me at least, the synopsis was a bit misleading. I expected more of the book to center around the time spent in the Glittering Court and dealing with the training and whatnot.
Once I got over the fact that it would be a smaller portion of the book then I wanted, I really liked it. I didn't get to the point where I NEEDED to know what would happen next until the last 100 pages, which made me consistently put it down until today when I devoured the end.
Overall a fun read, and a series I can't wait to continue!
Once I got over the fact that it would be a smaller portion of the book then I wanted, I really liked it. I didn't get to the point where I NEEDED to know what would happen next until the last 100 pages, which made me consistently put it down until today when I devoured the end.
Overall a fun read, and a series I can't wait to continue!
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Rating: 88%
This book started off amazingly, I was in love with it, but then it became very slow paced and hard to read. Thankfully, near the end the ice picked up again. I'm not sure if I'm going to read the next book, right now I don't have any motivation.
This book started off amazingly, I was in love with it, but then it became very slow paced and hard to read. Thankfully, near the end the ice picked up again. I'm not sure if I'm going to read the next book, right now I don't have any motivation.
Enjoyable but no where near as good as Richelle Mead's other books.
The reason why this book gets a 3 instead of a 2 is because the main character is pretty awesome. She is outspoken and fights for what she believes in which I love. But overall the story was just meh. I wasn't overwhelmed or underwhelmed. I was just whelmed.
Really enjoyed this book and looking forward to more of the series. It was described as "Selection" meets "Reign" and I totally agree ... I loved it!
“Bad things are always going to happen. There’s no way to avoid that. Our control comes in how we face them. Do we let them crush us, making us despondent? Do we face the unflinchingly and endure the pain? Do we outsmart them?”
This was definitely an interesting book. Most certainly not my favorite Richelle Mead book, that honor goes to the Dark Swan series (I can't decide which of the books is my favorite, so I'll just say they all are), but I really enjoyed it.
Elizabeth is a countess... but she feels trapped. She is practically being forced to marry an idiot she seriously dislikes, and hates that she can't escape from it, all because what is a title without wealth? Nothing but a string of words put together to form some phrase.
Then, Elizabeth meets Cedric, who has come to convince her maid to join the Glittering Court, a finishing school to make servants into ladies and marry them off to rich men. Elizabeth convinces the girl, Adelaide, to run away, takes her place (and assumes her name), and drives off in a coach to a finishing school is isn't in need of.
The idea of this story was fantastic (rich girl runs away, meets boy, crosses social lines to be with him, jealous third person, etc., etc.), and it definitely took some turns I wasn't expecting. Several things that I thought would be absolutely necessary for the plot turned out to not be needed at all!
“I'd never really planned on stealing someone else's life.”
Elizabeth (or Adelaide as she is better known as) is a very smart girl. She is a planner, and often comes up with schemes that seem foolhardy, but they work. Possibly because it is necessary for the plot that they succeed.... But I digress. She is initially thrilled to be free from her stifling existence as a countess, but wants to make her own choices. Independence and free-thinking are her two biggest concerns, much to the dismay of Jasper, the head of the Glittering Court, who thinks she is far to outspoken (please, she doesn't have anything on me).
“Mister Thorn, something tells me you could sell salvation to a priest.”
Cedric Thorn, the man who recruits Adelaide, is obviously the love interest from the moment he walks into the plot. The focus isn't on WHO the love interest is, it's HOW the two fall in love and HOW (if ever) they get together. He is a heretic, a scholar, and desperate for money to move to a country where freedom of religion is practiced. Adelaide is his ticket out. He is frustrated by Elizabeth impersonating a maid, but agrees to go along with it, partially because with her training, she is a shoe-in for the Glittering Court. He is a true salesman (thus the above quote), and a bit more reckless than Adelaide, who tends to think things through a little better than him. But he makes up for his tendency toward idiotic schemes by his loyal, responsible heart (bless him), and of course, his good looks.
That easy, confident grin returned. “Don’t worry, it’s easily forgotten.”
“Well,” I said huffily, “it shouldn’t be that easily forgotten.”
“Would you like it better if I say I’ll eventually forget it but not without a great deal of struggle and torment?”
“Yes.”
“Done.”
One big problem I had with this book was the fact that Cedric is fine with Adelaide being smarter than him. They joke about it many times. They'll get in a fix and he'll be like, "Come up with a plan already, brainiac" (not in those words, but that is the gist of what he says), and one time, he tells her to do something, and she immediately shoots back "You can't tell me what to do, I'm smarter than you." For a mutual relationship, respect is necessary, and if one person is obviously more intelligent than the other, than it makes respecting the less genius-like partner harder. I'm not saying that Cedric was dumb, he certainly was not! All I'm saying is he was satisfied leaving the scheming to Adelaide, letting her lead because he was okay being the "dumb" one out of the two of them.
Another problem was the fact that the girls are literally being sold to the highest bidder (though to be fair they can choose who they want if they receive more than one offer). It seems so awful and unthinkable that these girls are indenturing themselves to the Glittering Court and will have to follow through with it if they don't want to end up in the workhouse. Not cool.
I feel like this book was kind of a nod to a bunch of historical elements such as, the fading of the aristocracy and rise of the industrial age, the California Gold Rush, the colonization of the New World (America!), the Native Americans being pushed out of their homes, and of course, ladies and their roles in society. I really enjoyed that, never knowing what little gold nugget (see what I did there?) of history I would find on the next page.
All in all, though, this book was interesting. Not one that is on the top of my list to buy, and not making it to my favorites list, but a good read, and certainly an interesting plot to delve into.
“We’re all in charge of our own lives—and we have to live with the consequences of the choices we make.”
This was definitely an interesting book. Most certainly not my favorite Richelle Mead book, that honor goes to the Dark Swan series (I can't decide which of the books is my favorite, so I'll just say they all are), but I really enjoyed it.
Elizabeth is a countess... but she feels trapped. She is practically being forced to marry an idiot she seriously dislikes, and hates that she can't escape from it, all because what is a title without wealth? Nothing but a string of words put together to form some phrase.
Then, Elizabeth meets Cedric, who has come to convince her maid to join the Glittering Court, a finishing school to make servants into ladies and marry them off to rich men. Elizabeth convinces the girl, Adelaide, to run away, takes her place (and assumes her name), and drives off in a coach to a finishing school is isn't in need of.
The idea of this story was fantastic (rich girl runs away, meets boy, crosses social lines to be with him, jealous third person, etc., etc.), and it definitely took some turns I wasn't expecting. Several things that I thought would be absolutely necessary for the plot turned out to not be needed at all!
“I'd never really planned on stealing someone else's life.”
Elizabeth (or Adelaide as she is better known as) is a very smart girl. She is a planner, and often comes up with schemes that seem foolhardy, but they work. Possibly because it is necessary for the plot that they succeed.... But I digress. She is initially thrilled to be free from her stifling existence as a countess, but wants to make her own choices. Independence and free-thinking are her two biggest concerns, much to the dismay of Jasper, the head of the Glittering Court, who thinks she is far to outspoken (please, she doesn't have anything on me).
“Mister Thorn, something tells me you could sell salvation to a priest.”
Cedric Thorn, the man who recruits Adelaide, is obviously the love interest from the moment he walks into the plot. The focus isn't on WHO the love interest is, it's HOW the two fall in love and HOW (if ever) they get together. He is a heretic, a scholar, and desperate for money to move to a country where freedom of religion is practiced. Adelaide is his ticket out. He is frustrated by Elizabeth impersonating a maid, but agrees to go along with it, partially because with her training, she is a shoe-in for the Glittering Court. He is a true salesman (thus the above quote), and a bit more reckless than Adelaide, who tends to think things through a little better than him. But he makes up for his tendency toward idiotic schemes by his loyal, responsible heart (bless him), and of course, his good looks.
That easy, confident grin returned. “Don’t worry, it’s easily forgotten.”
“Well,” I said huffily, “it shouldn’t be that easily forgotten.”
“Would you like it better if I say I’ll eventually forget it but not without a great deal of struggle and torment?”
“Yes.”
“Done.”
One big problem I had with this book was the fact that Cedric is fine with Adelaide being smarter than him. They joke about it many times. They'll get in a fix and he'll be like, "Come up with a plan already, brainiac" (not in those words, but that is the gist of what he says), and one time, he tells her to do something, and she immediately shoots back "You can't tell me what to do, I'm smarter than you." For a mutual relationship, respect is necessary, and if one person is obviously more intelligent than the other, than it makes respecting the less genius-like partner harder. I'm not saying that Cedric was dumb, he certainly was not! All I'm saying is he was satisfied leaving the scheming to Adelaide, letting her lead because he was okay being the "dumb" one out of the two of them.
Another problem was the fact that the girls are literally being sold to the highest bidder (though to be fair they can choose who they want if they receive more than one offer). It seems so awful and unthinkable that these girls are indenturing themselves to the Glittering Court and will have to follow through with it if they don't want to end up in the workhouse. Not cool.
I feel like this book was kind of a nod to a bunch of historical elements such as, the fading of the aristocracy and rise of the industrial age, the California Gold Rush, the colonization of the New World (America!), the Native Americans being pushed out of their homes, and of course, ladies and their roles in society. I really enjoyed that, never knowing what little gold nugget (see what I did there?) of history I would find on the next page.
All in all, though, this book was interesting. Not one that is on the top of my list to buy, and not making it to my favorites list, but a good read, and certainly an interesting plot to delve into.
“We’re all in charge of our own lives—and we have to live with the consequences of the choices we make.”
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
tense
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
Well, that was disappointing. It may be the worst book by Richelle Mead I have ever read. I liked her writing, that's why I'm giving the book two stars. Otherwise, nothing else interested me much in that book. I did not relate to the characters, I was not interested enough in the story, it was almost boring. Really, the only thing I loved about this book was Mead's writing. It is one of the reasons she is one of my favorite authors, but this time there were too many things missing for me to love the whole book.
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes