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3.96 AVERAGE
3.96 AVERAGE
It wasn’t bad or anything, just kind of boring and predictable. I am in a weird mood so that might be it too.
The second book in this trioligy brings addiction. The suspense pulls you in making you pursue your own assumptions and theories as to what will happen. Only to shock you when you discover something new turning then around in a completly opposite direction then you were headed before. Libba Bray leaves you not at a severe cliff hanger (thank goodness), yes longing for more of the character and to know what will happen with the current situation...
adventurous
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
A wonderful sequel to the first book, this is probably my favorite of the trilogy.
{this is a very spoilery opinion I posted on my blog in a read-a-thon wrap up post. Not a real review with in-depth opinions on the various aspects of the book}
I gave the first book four stars, despite some issues, because it was an extremely entertaining read over all.
I am giving this one 2 stars and if I listened to my heart and rated based on feelings I’d drop another star.
This book still had the great things of the first one: great characters and a cool magical world. And it explored both more in depth. It should have been perfect. It was exactly what I wanted from this second installment. But then the author decided to throw it all in the loo.
The issue is riddles. During the story the characters are presented with a certain number of riddles to solve in other to get information they need. These are not very clever riddles, but it’s ok, because this is fiction and to be completely honest I have still to come across a book with a riddle which was clever and made sense too. Of the two, I prefer them to make sense. So the issue was not with the riddles themselves because I couldn’t care less.
The issue was that, unlike the riddles, our main characters are clever. So it would make sense for them to solve them quickly. But the author clearly wanted the story to take a turn which required the riddles not to be solved. So here is the first glaring error: prioritizing the story you have in mind over what would make sense for the characters to do, taking their personalities into account. But it’s ok. Loads of authors do that. I can forgive and forget.
So what is the solution Ms. Bray has in store for us? Instead of making the characters stupider as plot demands, she avoids to make them even try to figure out the riddles. The girls come across the riddles and either openly dismiss the source or completely ignore them. I’m not sure if I would have preferred plot-induced stupidity, but it sure as hell would have been less frustrating. So this is when I decided I’d give this shit two stars.
Now, the way the author is handling the characters clearly suggest that she needs the antagonists to get to the Temple first. Possibly because she wants to set up the third book with the protagonists in an unfavourable position, having to struggle to regain control instead of protecting their position? NO! Because then, for totally arbitrary reasons the antagonists can’t take control of the magic anyway, Gemma needs to seal it.
So you butchered your own characters and dragged out the plot for far longer than necessary, just for rule of drama, to have a direct final confrontation that ultimately leads to the same conclusion you would have had if you made them solve at least one of the damn riddles.
This is the point where I wanted to give this book one star and possibly start breathing fire. Then my last rational neuron decided that, despite all this and the addition of a totally unnecessary kind-of-abusive love triangle, there was still enough to give two stars to. But I’m only reading the third book to finish the read-along.
I gave the first book four stars, despite some issues, because it was an extremely entertaining read over all.
I am giving this one 2 stars and if I listened to my heart and rated based on feelings I’d drop another star.
This book still had the great things of the first one: great characters and a cool magical world. And it explored both more in depth. It should have been perfect. It was exactly what I wanted from this second installment. But then the author decided to throw it all in the loo.
The issue is riddles. During the story the characters are presented with a certain number of riddles to solve in other to get information they need. These are not very clever riddles, but it’s ok, because this is fiction and to be completely honest I have still to come across a book with a riddle which was clever and made sense too. Of the two, I prefer them to make sense. So the issue was not with the riddles themselves because I couldn’t care less.
The issue was that, unlike the riddles, our main characters are clever. So it would make sense for them to solve them quickly. But the author clearly wanted the story to take a turn which required the riddles not to be solved. So here is the first glaring error: prioritizing the story you have in mind over what would make sense for the characters to do, taking their personalities into account. But it’s ok. Loads of authors do that. I can forgive and forget.
So what is the solution Ms. Bray has in store for us? Instead of making the characters stupider as plot demands, she avoids to make them even try to figure out the riddles. The girls come across the riddles and either openly dismiss the source or completely ignore them. I’m not sure if I would have preferred plot-induced stupidity, but it sure as hell would have been less frustrating. So this is when I decided I’d give this shit two stars.
Now, the way the author is handling the characters clearly suggest that she needs the antagonists to get to the Temple first. Possibly because she wants to set up the third book with the protagonists in an unfavourable position, having to struggle to regain control instead of protecting their position? NO! Because then, for totally arbitrary reasons the antagonists can’t take control of the magic anyway, Gemma needs to seal it.
So you butchered your own characters and dragged out the plot for far longer than necessary, just for rule of drama, to have a direct final confrontation that ultimately leads to the same conclusion you would have had if you made them solve at least one of the damn riddles.
This is the point where I wanted to give this book one star and possibly start breathing fire. Then my last rational neuron decided that, despite all this and the addition of a totally unnecessary kind-of-abusive love triangle, there was still enough to give two stars to. But I’m only reading the third book to finish the read-along.
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-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:
No
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
This book was marginally better than the first, but many aspects I disliked in the first book were still present in this installment. The characters are still a bit annoying to me, and display unhealthy, moody friendships/relationships. Gemma was hard for me to handle at times because she acts impulsive frequently and makes poor decisions (also, irrelevant, but why does she have to blush pretty much every two pages?).
One reason I liked this a bit more is because the world really expands. The setting is no longer restricted to Spence Academy, and many more characters are introduced. Additionally, more layers of conflict were added and the suspense was building (although I didn’t find it scary).
This also does have chosen one elements in it because Gemma is apparently the only one who can save the realms. It was easy for me to read, but I wasn’t really invested in it.
One reason I liked this a bit more is because the world really expands. The setting is no longer restricted to Spence Academy, and many more characters are introduced. Additionally, more layers of conflict were added and the suspense was building (although I didn’t find it scary).
This also does have chosen one elements in it because Gemma is apparently the only one who can save the realms. It was easy for me to read, but I wasn’t really invested in it.