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3.83 AVERAGE
3.83 AVERAGE
E-galley received through Netgalley for review.
Meda is a demon who eats souls to survive. As the book opens, she is in an asylum, because a ghost requested her help in punishing their killer. Meda prefers to kill evil people, but is unapologetically bad. After he rmother was killed, she is on her own and must fend for herself.
At the asylum, however, Meda is attaked by three other demons who try to kill her. Then a Templar arrives to her rescue. Chi is a teenage Crusader on a mission to destroy all demons. He believes Meda is a Beacon, i.e. an extraordinary human being who is going to improve the life of humanity, so it's his job to protect her. Meda decides to play along and go with Chi and his friends to their camp.
At the Templar school Meda discovers a shocking secret about her mother... one that could change her whole life.
I found this book very, very amusing. Meda is an anti-heroine: she kills, lies, and steals without any regret. She's only concerned with her own well-being and is almost cocky about her abilities. That is, until the other demons almost kill her. Then she's concerned about finding out more about her kind and her own identity. Meda's mother was human, this is certain. Meda is very sarcastic and can often find the funny side of things, even in bad situations.
Meda's rescuers are a group of assorted Crusaders. Chi is a handsome, strong Templar who is apparently destined to great things. His former best friend is a girl too clever for her own good: Jo, who is snarky and has recently had an accident to her leg. Chi and Jo are not-so-secretly in love with each other, but Jo keeps pushign him away, because she doesn't want to be a burden no him. The last memeber of the group is Uri, thirteen years old and goofy. He adores Chi and wants to be just like him.
When the demons decide that Meda ois their next target, they will stop at nothing in order to capture her. The Templars are caught in the middle of the fight.
I loved this novel: it has the right mix of action and humour. I'm going to be waiting eagerly for the next book in the series.
Meda is a demon who eats souls to survive. As the book opens, she is in an asylum, because a ghost requested her help in punishing their killer. Meda prefers to kill evil people, but is unapologetically bad. After he rmother was killed, she is on her own and must fend for herself.
At the asylum, however, Meda is attaked by three other demons who try to kill her. Then a Templar arrives to her rescue. Chi is a teenage Crusader on a mission to destroy all demons. He believes Meda is a Beacon, i.e. an extraordinary human being who is going to improve the life of humanity, so it's his job to protect her. Meda decides to play along and go with Chi and his friends to their camp.
At the Templar school Meda discovers a shocking secret about her mother... one that could change her whole life.
I found this book very, very amusing. Meda is an anti-heroine: she kills, lies, and steals without any regret. She's only concerned with her own well-being and is almost cocky about her abilities. That is, until the other demons almost kill her. Then she's concerned about finding out more about her kind and her own identity. Meda's mother was human, this is certain. Meda is very sarcastic and can often find the funny side of things, even in bad situations.
Meda's rescuers are a group of assorted Crusaders. Chi is a handsome, strong Templar who is apparently destined to great things. His former best friend is a girl too clever for her own good: Jo, who is snarky and has recently had an accident to her leg. Chi and Jo are not-so-secretly in love with each other, but Jo keeps pushign him away, because she doesn't want to be a burden no him. The last memeber of the group is Uri, thirteen years old and goofy. He adores Chi and wants to be just like him.
When the demons decide that Meda ois their next target, they will stop at nothing in order to capture her. The Templars are caught in the middle of the fight.
I loved this novel: it has the right mix of action and humour. I'm going to be waiting eagerly for the next book in the series.
3,75/5 stars
don't fall for my rating, this book is actually really good. i'm still unsure if i want to round it up to a 4, because the story was truly a breath of fresh air, but then again i think i want to give the sequels the chance to be even better. i don't usually write detailed reviews for books i enjoyed, but a few things were missing for it to be perfect. let's start with the good and what actually made me interested in the first place: the heroine. meda. god, she is amazing.
meda eats souls. human souls. and she enjoys her kills. but she's not totally heartless. with her being what she is, you'd expect her to be completely evil.... yet, the girl doesn't just decide to kill anyone in sight. she hunts bad people, the i'm a nurse in a mental hospital and i abuse my patients kind of scum. she lets herself be swayed by ghosts, who show her the memory of their deaths and then she hunts their killers. and while that might make her sound like a total goody two shoes, meda is snarky. meda is selfish. she wouldn't hesitate to throw someone under the bus if it means it'll save her skin. she constantly battles with herself over killing people for information and also guilt, guilt that seeps from long hidden secrets that she never brings up.
her narration?
surely the strongest point of the novel. she'll make you cackle with laughter while you're stressing over the plot and the main characters being on the verge of death. and this book has plenty of it. death. fast-paced as soon as you get into it, one moment the characters are screaming at each other, the next they have to fight demons to save their skin, while also professing their love to each other. it's a wild ride. in every sense of the word.
i loved jo. born into a family of templars, she had an accident a few years back that disabled her and now no one wants to take her seriously. they don't want her to get hurt or to fight, so jo is bitter. and angry. her purpose in life is no longer a full out possibility, unless she lets go of her own rage. and she does. i'm excited to see where her friendship with meda that started on distrust and slight manipulation will lead. it looks promising and i'm totally here to see them be at that point where they are ready to die for each other.
now, on the things that didn't leave me that impressed: the writing. it was okay. it wasn't bad!! but, simplistic at times, especially at the beginning, it was easy to get through even if i winced a couple of times. i noticed that it got better as the book went on and it actually was pretty fun to not reread some of the metaphors to understand the meaning behind them, for once!
also the tone, at other times, was kinda "fluffy" i guess? it wasn't overly dark, the descriptions of horrific elements were very elementary and i think i would've enjoyed it more if it could've jumped that step and went full on into the horror category.
i did enjoy cracked, nonetheless. the fact that there was no romance was exciting!! its lack didn't bother me at all and i'm really eager to see what happens next. another thing is that the book could pass as a stand-alone! while we're left with plenty of possibilities, all the plot points wrap up nicely together by the end. it is such a rarity in lit that it is surely a plus in my book! and while that is good for anyone who might not like series, i will continue to devour the sequels and hopefully they'll be even better than this one.
don't fall for my rating, this book is actually really good. i'm still unsure if i want to round it up to a 4, because the story was truly a breath of fresh air, but then again i think i want to give the sequels the chance to be even better. i don't usually write detailed reviews for books i enjoyed, but a few things were missing for it to be perfect. let's start with the good and what actually made me interested in the first place: the heroine. meda. god, she is amazing.
"Samson, this foul piece of slime, understands me better than [my mother] ever did. But unlike him, at least I’m ashamed of my wickedness – when I’m not reveling in it. Like a dog wallowing in a mud pool, I love the glop and splash of ick. It’s not until after, when the stink dries stiff and itchy that I regret it. Other wicked things, like Samson, don’t feel the guilt. They don’t have a memory-mom tsking and shaking her head.
Instead, they have me.
I suspect they never really feel guilt, but I make sure they drown in regret. Red, sticky regret.
So Samson’s right, I am like him. But unfortunately for him, hypocrisy is the least of my many sins.”
meda eats souls. human souls. and she enjoys her kills. but she's not totally heartless. with her being what she is, you'd expect her to be completely evil.... yet, the girl doesn't just decide to kill anyone in sight. she hunts bad people, the i'm a nurse in a mental hospital and i abuse my patients kind of scum. she lets herself be swayed by ghosts, who show her the memory of their deaths and then she hunts their killers. and while that might make her sound like a total goody two shoes, meda is snarky. meda is selfish. she wouldn't hesitate to throw someone under the bus if it means it'll save her skin. she constantly battles with herself over killing people for information and also guilt, guilt that seeps from long hidden secrets that she never brings up.
her narration?
surely the strongest point of the novel. she'll make you cackle with laughter while you're stressing over the plot and the main characters being on the verge of death. and this book has plenty of it. death. fast-paced as soon as you get into it, one moment the characters are screaming at each other, the next they have to fight demons to save their skin, while also professing their love to each other. it's a wild ride. in every sense of the word.
i loved jo. born into a family of templars, she had an accident a few years back that disabled her and now no one wants to take her seriously. they don't want her to get hurt or to fight, so jo is bitter. and angry. her purpose in life is no longer a full out possibility, unless she lets go of her own rage. and she does. i'm excited to see where her friendship with meda that started on distrust and slight manipulation will lead. it looks promising and i'm totally here to see them be at that point where they are ready to die for each other.
now, on the things that didn't leave me that impressed: the writing. it was okay. it wasn't bad!! but, simplistic at times, especially at the beginning, it was easy to get through even if i winced a couple of times. i noticed that it got better as the book went on and it actually was pretty fun to not reread some of the metaphors to understand the meaning behind them, for once!
also the tone, at other times, was kinda "fluffy" i guess? it wasn't overly dark, the descriptions of horrific elements were very elementary and i think i would've enjoyed it more if it could've jumped that step and went full on into the horror category.
Spoiler
also the fact that meda was that and that and that made me lowkey roll my eyes.i did enjoy cracked, nonetheless. the fact that there was no romance was exciting!! its lack didn't bother me at all and i'm really eager to see what happens next. another thing is that the book could pass as a stand-alone! while we're left with plenty of possibilities, all the plot points wrap up nicely together by the end. it is such a rarity in lit that it is surely a plus in my book! and while that is good for anyone who might not like series, i will continue to devour the sequels and hopefully they'll be even better than this one.
First off, the standard warning spiel: this book actually has a fair bit of gore in the scenes that contain violence. There aren’t too many of those scenes, but when there are fight scenes they tend to be on the gory side and it managed to churn my stomach.
Cracked is the story of Meda, a young woman who is on her own after her mother was murdered two years ago. She survives by eating souls, but with the help of ghosts, she does her best to make sure that the only souls she east belong to bad people, people who have done terrible things. It’s a great gig, until she’s caught by other people who are just like her. She’s fighting for her life against them when she is saved by a young man, Chi, who hunts these things for a living. Or he will once he’s finished training. Meda tags along with him and his two friends, Uri and Jo, back to the school where she will learn more about her past and about what she is and why she can do what she does.
One does not simply like Meda. At least not at first. Meda is your standard Byronic hero, which is to say that there isn’t much to like about her! She’s brooding, bitter, angry, and not at all a nice person. She spends a fair bit of time at the start plotting to kill Chi, after he saved her, and referring to Jo as a “gimp” even if it’s just in her own head. But Meda reminds me a lot of Dexter, in that while she isn’t your standard hero, she does have a code that she follows when she selects who deserves to die. She wasn’t raised this way, but she does follow this code to honor her mom.
Meda grows on you. Maybe like a bad fungus, but she definitely grows on you. I don’t know how, or when it happened, but I eventually found myself liking her. She wasn’t my favourite character though. That honor goes to Jo, who was injured in battle a few years before, but didn’t let that injury dampen her spirit and her will to live. She sneaks out to hunt down Chi when he goes missing, fights at his side on more than one occasion, and doesn’t let anything stop her from doing what she wants. Sure, Jo is angry, but she’s also the only one who stands up to Meda, and together they make for a great friendship that really stands out in this book.
And let’s look at relationships here. Most young adult novels (with female protagonists) seem to put a lot of emphasis on having a boyfriend. This book? Nope. The friendship between Meda and Jo, and Meda and Uri were some of the most important relationships in this book. While there may be some slight hints of Meda and Chi, the fact is that they are not going to be together and so it never gets pushed. And I loved that. I loved that there wasn’t this huge push for a relationship beyond friendship.
Plot wise, this story started off slow. In part because I didn’t like Meda, and in part because there is so much to be established and developed. But it does pick up, and it makes for a fascinating and thrilling book once Meda starts to grow on you. There is so much that we, as the reader, don’t know. Like why Meda is so damn important, or what she should be doing, or even if we should really be cheering her on (Byronic hero, remember?) but it pulls together in the end, leaving us with, yes, some more questions that demand answers, but at a solid place to stop. For now, anyway.
I started off reading this one feeling unsure if it was for me, but by the end I was hooked and loved this story much more than I thought I would!
Cracked is the story of Meda, a young woman who is on her own after her mother was murdered two years ago. She survives by eating souls, but with the help of ghosts, she does her best to make sure that the only souls she east belong to bad people, people who have done terrible things. It’s a great gig, until she’s caught by other people who are just like her. She’s fighting for her life against them when she is saved by a young man, Chi, who hunts these things for a living. Or he will once he’s finished training. Meda tags along with him and his two friends, Uri and Jo, back to the school where she will learn more about her past and about what she is and why she can do what she does.
One does not simply like Meda. At least not at first. Meda is your standard Byronic hero, which is to say that there isn’t much to like about her! She’s brooding, bitter, angry, and not at all a nice person. She spends a fair bit of time at the start plotting to kill Chi, after he saved her, and referring to Jo as a “gimp” even if it’s just in her own head. But Meda reminds me a lot of Dexter, in that while she isn’t your standard hero, she does have a code that she follows when she selects who deserves to die. She wasn’t raised this way, but she does follow this code to honor her mom.
Meda grows on you. Maybe like a bad fungus, but she definitely grows on you. I don’t know how, or when it happened, but I eventually found myself liking her. She wasn’t my favourite character though. That honor goes to Jo, who was injured in battle a few years before, but didn’t let that injury dampen her spirit and her will to live. She sneaks out to hunt down Chi when he goes missing, fights at his side on more than one occasion, and doesn’t let anything stop her from doing what she wants. Sure, Jo is angry, but she’s also the only one who stands up to Meda, and together they make for a great friendship that really stands out in this book.
And let’s look at relationships here. Most young adult novels (with female protagonists) seem to put a lot of emphasis on having a boyfriend. This book? Nope. The friendship between Meda and Jo, and Meda and Uri were some of the most important relationships in this book. While there may be some slight hints of Meda and Chi, the fact is that they are not going to be together and so it never gets pushed. And I loved that. I loved that there wasn’t this huge push for a relationship beyond friendship.
Plot wise, this story started off slow. In part because I didn’t like Meda, and in part because there is so much to be established and developed. But it does pick up, and it makes for a fascinating and thrilling book once Meda starts to grow on you. There is so much that we, as the reader, don’t know. Like why Meda is so damn important, or what she should be doing, or even if we should really be cheering her on (Byronic hero, remember?) but it pulls together in the end, leaving us with, yes, some more questions that demand answers, but at a solid place to stop. For now, anyway.
I started off reading this one feeling unsure if it was for me, but by the end I was hooked and loved this story much more than I thought I would!
3.5
Hold your pitchforks! I’m the only one of my friends who rated this less than 4/5 stars. Note that I’m extremely picky with my paranormal YA, due to many disappointments in the past (*cough* [b:Evermore|3975774|Evermore (The Immortals, #1)|Alyson Noel|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1362336360s/3975774.jpg|4021549], *cough* House of kill-me-now Night)
Don’t get me wrong, I actually really enjoyed this book. It was so much fun. 3.5 stars is a solid rating, and I would recommend this to many people.
My main issue with Cracked was that it had an identity crisis. The plot felt insecure, and it was as if the story was divided into three parts.
Part 1: High school life, the paranormal edition.
Part 2: On the run.
Part 3: Crap, we’re all gonna die!
I feel we lingered too long in the first section and didn’t get enough of the delicious and inventive paranormal elements. We have a brilliant take on demons and hell, but it didn’t get enough time to develop and shine.
Not a lot happened in this book, and it was very much an introduction to the series.
It took a looong time for the plot to get anywhere, and the story was all over the place up until the last 150 pages.
Let’s talk about Meda. Boy, I haven’t heard this much hype about an MC since Celaena Sardothien! Luckily it’s for good reason. Our heroine is extremely sarcastic, brave and has just my sense of humor. Meda’s strong voice and brilliant comments made this book.
Our heroine is very confident and doesn’t hold back, which I adored about her.
Meda is a badass demon who ironically pretends to be an innocent, clueless gifted little girl.
It was hilarious watching her hold back her snarky side.
"It's OK. You don't have to be scared, I'll protect you." Big brawny man, protect this damsel!
I also enjoyed the group dynamic, which was similar to the darkest minds, but refreshing all the same. The characters balance each other out so well, which I noted from their phenomenal sharp dialogue.
Overall, I really liked this book but wanted more of everything.
I may not have found my new favorite novel, but one of the better paranormal series out there.
Hold your pitchforks! I’m the only one of my friends who rated this less than 4/5 stars. Note that I’m extremely picky with my paranormal YA, due to many disappointments in the past (*cough* [b:Evermore|3975774|Evermore (The Immortals, #1)|Alyson Noel|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1362336360s/3975774.jpg|4021549], *cough* House of kill-me-now Night)
Don’t get me wrong, I actually really enjoyed this book. It was so much fun. 3.5 stars is a solid rating, and I would recommend this to many people.
My main issue with Cracked was that it had an identity crisis. The plot felt insecure, and it was as if the story was divided into three parts.
Part 1: High school life, the paranormal edition.
Part 2: On the run.
Part 3: Crap, we’re all gonna die!
I feel we lingered too long in the first section and didn’t get enough of the delicious and inventive paranormal elements. We have a brilliant take on demons and hell, but it didn’t get enough time to develop and shine.
Not a lot happened in this book, and it was very much an introduction to the series.
It took a looong time for the plot to get anywhere, and the story was all over the place up until the last 150 pages.
Let’s talk about Meda. Boy, I haven’t heard this much hype about an MC since Celaena Sardothien! Luckily it’s for good reason. Our heroine is extremely sarcastic, brave and has just my sense of humor. Meda’s strong voice and brilliant comments made this book.
Our heroine is very confident and doesn’t hold back, which I adored about her.
Meda is a badass demon who ironically pretends to be an innocent, clueless gifted little girl.
It was hilarious watching her hold back her snarky side.
"It's OK. You don't have to be scared, I'll protect you." Big brawny man, protect this damsel!
I also enjoyed the group dynamic, which was similar to the darkest minds, but refreshing all the same. The characters balance each other out so well, which I noted from their phenomenal sharp dialogue.
Overall, I really liked this book but wanted more of everything.
I may not have found my new favorite novel, but one of the better paranormal series out there.
Holy water. This book made me feel things. And it's a book about a half-demon! Utterly fabulous, hilarious, intelligent, cliché-breakingly brilliant. I wanted this to never end. Review to come.
- “Why should I answer?"
- “Because if you don’t, I’ll have to talk to myself. Or sing.”
- “Sounds dangerous.”
- “You have no idea. You’ll wish I was screaming.”
♠ Ecco cosa significa creare protagoniste interessanti. Andromeda è tutto ciò che un lettore possa chiedere in una protagonista. È cattiva, ma per non deludere la madre lo è soltanto con chi se lo merita, è arrogante, è tosta, i suoi dialoghi interiori sono esilaranti, (lei ride...lei ride nella sua testa). Insomma è tutto ciò che c’era stato promesso nel blurb. Non si spaccia per qualcos’altro illudendoti per poi andare a leggere e scoprire che è tutto il contrario. Meda è… l’ho già detto cattiva? Perché lei lo è, e lo sa, e abbraccia questo suo essere un mostro. Non si piange addosso perché è cattiva ma vuole essere buona, no, lei è così e che senso ha negarlo o cambiare? Tanto vale accettarlo. Questo suo modo di pensare ovviamente cambia con l’avanzare della storia ma per la prima volta non è un ragazzo il motivo per cui la protagonista cambia la sua visione del mondo ma, gli amici. Esatto. Il più grande sentimento presente in questo libro è l’amicizia. Sopratutto, l’amicizia tra persone che dovrebbero odiarsi e cercare di uccidersi a vicenda. Amicizia tra Meda e Chi, che non prova mai a diventare qualcosa di più, amicizia tra Meda e Jo, che nonostante provino ad odiarsi (e all’inizio magari è anche vero) si vede che non si odiano mai così tanto. Ma poi, quant’è stato bello che sia stata proprio Jo a sbloccare la situazione sul finale?? Amicizia tra donne FTW.
♠ Non c’è insta-love, non c’è il triangolo, non c’è la trasformazione in ameba della protagonista che incontra il bipolare della sua vita, non c’è il bipolare della sua vita. No davvero, non stò scherzando, non c’è l’interesse amoroso. O meglio, forse si, credo sarà LUI, ma se è così si vede per tipo 10, massimo 20 pagine alla fine per poi scomparire senza essere più nominato. E in quelle 10/20 pagine fa solo un tentativo di flirt e lei gli risponde una cosa tipo “No, grazie, ho altro da fare”. TIPO SALVARE I MIEI UNICI AMICI. Cosa che farà perché Meda è figa, coerente e sensata. Lui tra l’altro non ha neppure mandato segnali di creepitudine(??) eccessivi, quindi...vedremo.
Gli altri personaggi sono ugualmente fantastici e sfaccettati, cosa doverosa visto che per il 98% del libro vediamo solo loro che vivono un avventura. Malachi è il primo comprimario che entra in scena e salva Meda e lì, da buona usufruitrice di YA, ero già pronta a considerarlo l’interesse amoroso di turno. Il tutto è durato nemmeno 3 pagine perché poi entra in scena l’altro comprimario, Jo, e diventa subito chiaro che quei due oltre ad essere migliori amici sono anche persi l’uno per l’altra. Quindi, niente cucciolotto bipolare per la nostra Meda. Che non ne sente la mancanza, che non ha mai pensieri amorosi o simili verso NESSUNO. Bello. A volte ho trovato le liti tra Jo e Chi un po’ esasperanti e ridondanti ma perlomeno hanno avuto una risoluzione finale decente. Uri è il terzo comprimario, che da brutta persona quale sono, ho trovato spesso e volentieri di un ingenuità e un accollo sfiancanti. Il suo finale era pure abbastanza telefonato.
Tutto qui, non ci sono altri personaggi importanti, se escludiamo la madre di Meda che però vediamo solo attraverso i suoi ricordi e quindi la conosciamo per come la conosceva lei, gli adulti di questo mondo si vedono pochissimo e di conseguenza non avrebbe avuto senso presentarli o descriverli.
♠ Il ritmo della storia è abbastanza alto dall’inizio alla fine e le informazioni vengono fornite a più riprese così da evitare il noiosissimo infodump, quando chiudiamo il libro sappiamo almeno l’80/90% di come funziona la guerra e i poteri di Andromeda. Un miracolo.
Insomma, 4 stelle, la 5° manca perché paradossalmente il finale è rimasto molto chiuso. Non c’è cliff-hanger quindi non c’è quella frenesia di leggere subito il seguito e ridendo e scherzando il libro potrebbe essere quasi uno stand alone.
- “Because if you don’t, I’ll have to talk to myself. Or sing.”
- “Sounds dangerous.”
- “You have no idea. You’ll wish I was screaming.”
♠ Ecco cosa significa creare protagoniste interessanti. Andromeda è tutto ciò che un lettore possa chiedere in una protagonista. È cattiva, ma per non deludere la madre lo è soltanto con chi se lo merita, è arrogante, è tosta, i suoi dialoghi interiori sono esilaranti, (lei ride...lei ride nella sua testa). Insomma è tutto ciò che c’era stato promesso nel blurb. Non si spaccia per qualcos’altro illudendoti per poi andare a leggere e scoprire che è tutto il contrario. Meda è… l’ho già detto cattiva? Perché lei lo è, e lo sa, e abbraccia questo suo essere un mostro. Non si piange addosso perché è cattiva ma vuole essere buona, no, lei è così e che senso ha negarlo o cambiare? Tanto vale accettarlo. Questo suo modo di pensare ovviamente cambia con l’avanzare della storia ma per la prima volta non è un ragazzo il motivo per cui la protagonista cambia la sua visione del mondo ma, gli amici. Esatto. Il più grande sentimento presente in questo libro è l’amicizia. Sopratutto, l’amicizia tra persone che dovrebbero odiarsi e cercare di uccidersi a vicenda. Amicizia tra Meda e Chi, che non prova mai a diventare qualcosa di più, amicizia tra Meda e Jo, che nonostante provino ad odiarsi (e all’inizio magari è anche vero) si vede che non si odiano mai così tanto. Ma poi, quant’è stato bello che sia stata proprio Jo a sbloccare la situazione sul finale?? Amicizia tra donne FTW.
♠ Non c’è insta-love, non c’è il triangolo, non c’è la trasformazione in ameba della protagonista che incontra il bipolare della sua vita, non c’è il bipolare della sua vita. No davvero, non stò scherzando, non c’è l’interesse amoroso. O meglio, forse si, credo sarà LUI, ma se è così si vede per tipo 10, massimo 20 pagine alla fine per poi scomparire senza essere più nominato. E in quelle 10/20 pagine fa solo un tentativo di flirt e lei gli risponde una cosa tipo “No, grazie, ho altro da fare”. TIPO SALVARE I MIEI UNICI AMICI. Cosa che farà perché Meda è figa, coerente e sensata. Lui tra l’altro non ha neppure mandato segnali di creepitudine(??) eccessivi, quindi...vedremo.
Gli altri personaggi sono ugualmente fantastici e sfaccettati, cosa doverosa visto che per il 98% del libro vediamo solo loro che vivono un avventura. Malachi è il primo comprimario che entra in scena e salva Meda e lì, da buona usufruitrice di YA, ero già pronta a considerarlo l’interesse amoroso di turno. Il tutto è durato nemmeno 3 pagine perché poi entra in scena l’altro comprimario, Jo, e diventa subito chiaro che quei due oltre ad essere migliori amici sono anche persi l’uno per l’altra. Quindi, niente cucciolotto bipolare per la nostra Meda. Che non ne sente la mancanza, che non ha mai pensieri amorosi o simili verso NESSUNO. Bello. A volte ho trovato le liti tra Jo e Chi un po’ esasperanti e ridondanti ma perlomeno hanno avuto una risoluzione finale decente. Uri è il terzo comprimario, che da brutta persona quale sono, ho trovato spesso e volentieri di un ingenuità e un accollo sfiancanti. Il suo finale era pure abbastanza telefonato.
Tutto qui, non ci sono altri personaggi importanti, se escludiamo la madre di Meda che però vediamo solo attraverso i suoi ricordi e quindi la conosciamo per come la conosceva lei, gli adulti di questo mondo si vedono pochissimo e di conseguenza non avrebbe avuto senso presentarli o descriverli.
♠ Il ritmo della storia è abbastanza alto dall’inizio alla fine e le informazioni vengono fornite a più riprese così da evitare il noiosissimo infodump, quando chiudiamo il libro sappiamo almeno l’80/90% di come funziona la guerra e i poteri di Andromeda. Un miracolo.
Insomma, 4 stelle, la 5° manca perché paradossalmente il finale è rimasto molto chiuso. Non c’è cliff-hanger quindi non c’è quella frenesia di leggere subito il seguito e ridendo e scherzando il libro potrebbe essere quasi uno stand alone.
This story of a teenage girl who eats human souls shows promise but just didn’t hit the spot for me. I did like the fact that the protagonist wasn’t sympathetic; she’s bordering on sociopathic. Her narrative starts out sarcastic and full of dark humour. But she is quickly drawn back to what feels like an average YA narrative and story arc, although light on romantic interest if that appeals. Also, it seemed far-fetched that these Templars, vowed to protect humanity, would be quite so blind to a half-demon amongst their midst. How have they survived so long?
Feel a bit similar to the City of Bones series~ the writing is completely different, but there's a tiny Shadow Hunters vibe... For readers who are fan of Cassandra Clare, you would probably feel the same too.
But hey! Cracked is unique in its writing style! It's sarcastically funny and the protagonist is no damsel in distress seeking for help. She's strong, ruthless and doesn't need a handsome prince to save her ass!
But hey! Cracked is unique in its writing style! It's sarcastically funny and the protagonist is no damsel in distress seeking for help. She's strong, ruthless and doesn't need a handsome prince to save her ass!
dnf. I got to about 30% and just cant read anymore. Not for me.