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gcullman's review against another edition
3.0
Fluffy fun. I liked the contrast between the two girls and their friendship but not sure about everything else. Pretty flimsy.
britomarte's review against another edition
3.0
I found this book unusually difficult to get through. It just didn't work for me. I found a characterization leap for both girls in the middle of the book... not plausible.
Very disappointed, usually love this author.
Very disappointed, usually love this author.
briar_rose_reads's review against another edition
2.0
Officially a DNF. Tried going back to it a number of times, but NOTHING HAPPENED. It was all ribbons and dresses and endless tedious nattering. This makes me sad, as I've loved Jessica Day George's other books.
gabs_myfullbookshelf's review against another edition
2.0
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
If I met Jessica Day George in person, there is a 99% chance that I would freak out; the odds are also high that I would start either crying or incoherently trying to talk about how much I love her books. Perhaps both. She’s one of my favorite authors, so saying that I didn’t like Silver in the Blood really pains me. I was so sure this was going to be my favorite book from her, because it sounds so BEAUTIFUL.
Let me make it clear why I didn’t like this book. I have a chart. Because science.
Now, looking at this pie chart, we can see that the slices of pretty dresses and romance, are extremely disproportionate to the butt kicking slice.
This is a problem.
Yes, my problem was that Dacia and Lou are just terrible at being capable protagonists. Actually, Lou’s okay at it, but Dacia downright sucks. And even though Lou is alright at it, this didn’t completely make sense because she’s supposed to be shy and reserved, so why is the Lou that we meet so powerful and in control and not afraid to put people in their place? I dunno, I dunno. Let’s tackle these problems one at a time, shall we?
First; the dresses. There are so. Many. Dresses. The book takes its time talking about what Lou and Dacia are wearing and I just don’t care. I don’t care what color sash Dacia decided to wear with her gown. I’m all for adding a little detail now and then, but come on. This was not fun.
Second; the romance. Can it even be called that? Because I read the book and I still cannot figure out how Lou and Dacia fell in love with these guys. There was so little of it, but all the sudden in the end it mentions that they are apparently couples. It came out of nowhere; I saw hints, but nothing else, and it seems like any romance in this book was just added because it’s YA and ‘that’s what all the teen girls want nowadays, amiright?’ (NO IT’S NOT JUST STAHP PUBLISHERS PLEASE)
Third; the character of Prince Mihai. Now, there was potential here, I’ll admit. This could have been a wonderful villainous character. But no. First clue that I wasn’t going to like Mihai’s character was when Dacia describes him as smelling “like money and masculinity.” Oh yeah, I’m pretty sure that Old Spice sells that scent. Actually, no. I have no idea what that means. Second, some of the things he says sound like a soap opera. Like if it was a movie, you could hear the organ going “duh duh DUH” in the background. They are just so over-the-top menacing. But the final straw was that
Dacia and Lou were not characters I enjoyed reading about, either. Dacia is just a spoiled brat who whines a lot, and I just couldn’t take it after a while. It’s because of her that there are so many passages about dresses in this darn book. Then there’s Lou. She’s supposed to be shy and easily embarrassed, but aside from other characters thinking this about her, there’s really no evidence. I get it; she’s supposed to have overcome her shyness—but it doesn’t seem like there’s much to overcome if there’s really no signs in the book of her being shy.
Considering that Jessica Day George has written one of my favorite books (Tuesdays in the Castle) I don’t think I will give up on reading her books; I’m just going to consider this a fluke amongst an otherwise wonderful pile of books that I have read by her. Still, I will warn other fans that there is a chance that, like me, you won’t like this as much as the rest of her books.
If I met Jessica Day George in person, there is a 99% chance that I would freak out; the odds are also high that I would start either crying or incoherently trying to talk about how much I love her books. Perhaps both. She’s one of my favorite authors, so saying that I didn’t like Silver in the Blood really pains me. I was so sure this was going to be my favorite book from her, because it sounds so BEAUTIFUL.
Let me make it clear why I didn’t like this book. I have a chart. Because science.
Now, looking at this pie chart, we can see that the slices of pretty dresses and romance, are extremely disproportionate to the butt kicking slice.
This is a problem.
Yes, my problem was that Dacia and Lou are just terrible at being capable protagonists. Actually, Lou’s okay at it, but Dacia downright sucks. And even though Lou is alright at it, this didn’t completely make sense because she’s supposed to be shy and reserved, so why is the Lou that we meet so powerful and in control and not afraid to put people in their place? I dunno, I dunno. Let’s tackle these problems one at a time, shall we?
First; the dresses. There are so. Many. Dresses. The book takes its time talking about what Lou and Dacia are wearing and I just don’t care. I don’t care what color sash Dacia decided to wear with her gown. I’m all for adding a little detail now and then, but come on. This was not fun.
Second; the romance. Can it even be called that? Because I read the book and I still cannot figure out how Lou and Dacia fell in love with these guys. There was so little of it, but all the sudden in the end it mentions that they are apparently couples. It came out of nowhere; I saw hints, but nothing else, and it seems like any romance in this book was just added because it’s YA and ‘that’s what all the teen girls want nowadays, amiright?’ (NO IT’S NOT JUST STAHP PUBLISHERS PLEASE)
Third; the character of Prince Mihai. Now, there was potential here, I’ll admit. This could have been a wonderful villainous character. But no. First clue that I wasn’t going to like Mihai’s character was when Dacia describes him as smelling “like money and masculinity.” Oh yeah, I’m pretty sure that Old Spice sells that scent. Actually, no. I have no idea what that means. Second, some of the things he says sound like a soap opera. Like if it was a movie, you could hear the organ going “duh duh DUH” in the background. They are just so over-the-top menacing. But the final straw was that
Spoiler
he threatens to rape Lou and Dacia while they watch. No, no, no. NO. I’m sorry, but that’s not okay, even if he is the villain.Dacia and Lou were not characters I enjoyed reading about, either. Dacia is just a spoiled brat who whines a lot, and I just couldn’t take it after a while. It’s because of her that there are so many passages about dresses in this darn book. Then there’s Lou. She’s supposed to be shy and easily embarrassed, but aside from other characters thinking this about her, there’s really no evidence. I get it; she’s supposed to have overcome her shyness—but it doesn’t seem like there’s much to overcome if there’s really no signs in the book of her being shy.
Considering that Jessica Day George has written one of my favorite books (Tuesdays in the Castle) I don’t think I will give up on reading her books; I’m just going to consider this a fluke amongst an otherwise wonderful pile of books that I have read by her. Still, I will warn other fans that there is a chance that, like me, you won’t like this as much as the rest of her books.
riverlasol's review against another edition
3.0
Funny thing is, this book isn’t necessarily what you would think it would be about (if that makes sense). When you think of the family name Dracula, you might assume it’s a vampire story, which this most certainly is not. It is in a similar vein, and deals with mythical creatures and legends, but vampires aren’t the truth of it at all. Honestly, this is what led me to keep reading the book. It surprised me with the inventive ideas that were eventually presented.
I don’t use the word ‘eventually’ lightly. The book started out with a solid introduction and I could sense the beginnings of either a suspenseful mystery or a thrilling adventure. However, I don’t think that either of these things were truly shown. During the first half of the book, there was a lot of subtle foreshadowing and a lot of mystery, which was initially great. Then, I started to get tired of the way the characters were dealing with the lack of solid fact about their family. The two cousins were constantly questioning people for answers and always getting nothing in return. This started to drag on and I was relieved when the full truth was fully uncovered for the girls. This finally made the book feel more exciting and that’s really when the adventure started- this was about halfway through the book.
After I finished reading...
To read the rest of my review, go here: https://libraryinmymind.com/2017/08/19/silver-in-the-blood/
I don’t use the word ‘eventually’ lightly. The book started out with a solid introduction and I could sense the beginnings of either a suspenseful mystery or a thrilling adventure. However, I don’t think that either of these things were truly shown. During the first half of the book, there was a lot of subtle foreshadowing and a lot of mystery, which was initially great. Then, I started to get tired of the way the characters were dealing with the lack of solid fact about their family. The two cousins were constantly questioning people for answers and always getting nothing in return. This started to drag on and I was relieved when the full truth was fully uncovered for the girls. This finally made the book feel more exciting and that’s really when the adventure started- this was about halfway through the book.
After I finished reading...
To read the rest of my review, go here: https://libraryinmymind.com/2017/08/19/silver-in-the-blood/
kriff08's review against another edition
5.0
I very much enjoyed this book! I can't say that I've read any of this author's books before or that I had any expectations going into this read, but I was pleasantly surprised to find myself totally addicted.
It's the story of two American girls in the 1800's on a forced visit to Romania. There they find themselves faced with a family secret that stretches back ages. The characters are charming and relatable. Chapters alternate between letters and diary entries very effectively and the setting is very believable. I'd have no problem reading this book again it was just that good!
It's the story of two American girls in the 1800's on a forced visit to Romania. There they find themselves faced with a family secret that stretches back ages. The characters are charming and relatable. Chapters alternate between letters and diary entries very effectively and the setting is very believable. I'd have no problem reading this book again it was just that good!
fairybookmother's review against another edition
1.0
Nope nope nope. Didn't finish. I'm so tired of rape, implied rape, and attempted rape being a plot device, especially used as "spice" to an otherwise boring narrative. There are better ways of making someone out to be an asshole other than saying you'll force yourself on this girl who won't marry you and force her friend to watch. WTF.
DRC provided by Netgalley for an honest review.
DRC provided by Netgalley for an honest review.
shogins's review against another edition
3.0
(I received an ARC of this book through the Goodreads First Reads program.)
This book was fine. It was a perfectly acceptable historical fantasy. I liked the relationship between the main characters, cousins Dacia and Lou Lou a lot - it was nice that while they initially felt like tropes, throughout the book they expanded beyond simply the-brave-wild-one and the meek one. The setting was pretty cool too - Romania, but not vampires! Still, I found Lou Lou's romance subplot weird - we're originally supposed to find Arkady creepy, but even though Lou Lou likes him by the end, I never changed my mind about his creepiness. Also - how did the family never figure out that the grandma was killing all the baby girls??? It seems like after that many deaths, you'd realize it's not a coincidence!
I would've preferred if it was either more epistolary or if the letters were completely excised - the letters as is didn't do much.
This book was fine. It was a perfectly acceptable historical fantasy. I liked the relationship between the main characters, cousins Dacia and Lou Lou a lot - it was nice that while they initially felt like tropes, throughout the book they expanded beyond simply the-brave-wild-one and the meek one. The setting was pretty cool too - Romania, but not vampires! Still, I found Lou Lou's romance subplot weird - we're originally supposed to find Arkady creepy, but even though Lou Lou likes him by the end, I never changed my mind about his creepiness. Also - how did the family never figure out that the grandma was killing all the baby girls??? It seems like after that many deaths, you'd realize it's not a coincidence!
I would've preferred if it was either more epistolary or if the letters were completely excised - the letters as is didn't do much.