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books_o_sofie's review against another edition
4.0
Allereerst werd ik verliefd op de setting van het boek. De eerste keer dat ik Havenfall las was ik op vakantie in de bergen in Zwitserland, en aangezien Havenfall in de bergen van Colorado afspeelt, waande ik me helemaal in de wereld. Ik vind de herberg Omphalos een toffe locatie en het is de perfecte locatie voor een mysterie. Ik zou deze herberg zo graag in het echt willen kunnen bezoeken! Het is niet alleen de setting maar vooral ook de mysterieuze sfeer die Sara Holland neer zet en ik werd daardoor helemaal in het boek gezogen.
Havenfall is een portal fantasy, net zoals bijvoorbeeld Narnia, maar heeft weer net een unieke draai vergeleken met andere verhalen in deze categorie. Zo is er namelijk niet maar één doorgang naar een andere, magische wereld, maar zijn er wel drie! Helaas blijven deze werelden en de wezens die er wonen soms wel iets vaag, omdat het verhaal zich afspeelt in de mensenwereld en de hoofdpersoon nooit in die magische werelden geweest is. Desalniettemin vond ik het heel origineel en een unieke draai aan een bekend concept. Voor mij is een portal fantasy echt de ultieme droom, want wie wilt nou niet stuiten op een mysterieuze doorgang naar een magische wereld? Ik in ieder geval wel!
Het plot in dit eerste deel draait zich vooral om de mysteries waarmee de hoofdpersoon in het begin van het boek gepresenteerd wordt en langzamer beetje leer je als lezer samen met Maddie meer van wat er allemaal speelt. Aan het einde van het boek blijf je wel met wat vragen zitten, maar daardoor is Havenfall een mooi eerste deel van een duologie.
Lees een uitgebreide recensie op mijn website .
Havenfall is een portal fantasy, net zoals bijvoorbeeld Narnia, maar heeft weer net een unieke draai vergeleken met andere verhalen in deze categorie. Zo is er namelijk niet maar één doorgang naar een andere, magische wereld, maar zijn er wel drie! Helaas blijven deze werelden en de wezens die er wonen soms wel iets vaag, omdat het verhaal zich afspeelt in de mensenwereld en de hoofdpersoon nooit in die magische werelden geweest is. Desalniettemin vond ik het heel origineel en een unieke draai aan een bekend concept. Voor mij is een portal fantasy echt de ultieme droom, want wie wilt nou niet stuiten op een mysterieuze doorgang naar een magische wereld? Ik in ieder geval wel!
Het plot in dit eerste deel draait zich vooral om de mysteries waarmee de hoofdpersoon in het begin van het boek gepresenteerd wordt en langzamer beetje leer je als lezer samen met Maddie meer van wat er allemaal speelt. Aan het einde van het boek blijf je wel met wat vragen zitten, maar daardoor is Havenfall een mooi eerste deel van een duologie.
Lees een uitgebreide recensie op mijn website .
ibtissam_'s review against another edition
5.0
omg ce livre était juste incroyable!!!
je sais pas vraiment quoi dire tellement ce livre ma impressionné, j'ai trouve que ce livre avait beacoup d'inspiration de la mythologie nordique, Maddie était vraiment incroyable mais beaucoup trop naïve a certain moment.
il y'avait un peu de romance qui était très bien faite, mais l'intrigue était un peu prévisible vers la moitié du roman
ce livre n'a pas cessé de m'impressionner par ces retournement de situation et son univers, qui aurait pu être un peu plus développé a mon avis
brekken et le prince d'argent >>>>>>>
je sais pas vraiment quoi dire tellement ce livre ma impressionné, j'ai trouve que ce livre avait beacoup d'inspiration de la mythologie nordique, Maddie était vraiment incroyable mais beaucoup trop naïve a certain moment.
il y'avait un peu de romance qui était très bien faite, mais l'intrigue était un peu prévisible vers la moitié du roman
ce livre n'a pas cessé de m'impressionner par ces retournement de situation et son univers, qui aurait pu être un peu plus développé a mon avis
brekken et le prince d'argent >>>>>>>
morgana_graves's review against another edition
2.0
This is your generic young adult fiction made for girls to feel special. Everything felt like a cliche and over done. The main character lives a hard life and no one understands her. Everything is perfect though because she nows the secret of the magical worlds. She even has a super hot boyfriend that she has been friends with forever and then they finally kiss. A lot of the plot points were predictable and felt superficial. I never felt connected to any of the characters. It also ended rather abrupt setting itself up for an easy sequel. That being said if you are in for a quick easy read thats full of nostalgia for your emo middle school days, then grab your glass of wine and get cracking.
star_sword's review against another edition
4.0
4/5
I enjoyed this book overall.
First of all, I love how well Maddie's bisexuality was represented. It was just seen as normal and there really wasn't a big deal about it. I don't like when an LGBT+ character's sexuality is presented as some big terrible secret (*cough* Sarah J Maas *cough*) but I had nothing to worry about here. I also loved the little hints about Maddie's sexuality, such as Doc Martens, that were mentioned just a little while before her bisexuality was mentioned. Her uncle and his husband were also well written and I was just loving the great representation. I'm also very glad Tara was sapphic and a love interest because I definitely hoped she would be, because I was very attracted to her (she's a badass with a motorbike, what's not to love?)
The three magical worlds themselves were also well written. They all had their own distinct feel and customs, and they all felt very thought out and well developed. Even at the beginning, they were all presented well so I wasn't confused at all about which one was which.
Maddie's character development was also pretty good. She went from being naïve to actually knowing what to do. I'm excited to see how she'll develop in the next book.
It's a really good opening novel and drew me into the series. It tied its plot off enough that there was sense of conclusion, but there was also just enough left that I can't wait for the next book.
However, it wasn't completely perfect. I felt like the plot was predictable. When Tara came out of the forest injured after Maddie hurt the Solarian, I guessed that the Solarian was Tara. It just felt sort of obvious to me, which wasn't bad, but it made the big reveal a little less exciting for me. However, I did not predict the whole thing with Maddie's brother, so that was a nice surprise.
Overall, I did really enjoy this book. However, my correct prediction did dull it down a little for me, but it was still a really good book.
I enjoyed this book overall.
First of all, I love how well Maddie's bisexuality was represented. It was just seen as normal and there really wasn't a big deal about it. I don't like when an LGBT+ character's sexuality is presented as some big terrible secret (*cough* Sarah J Maas *cough*) but I had nothing to worry about here. I also loved the little hints about Maddie's sexuality, such as Doc Martens, that were mentioned just a little while before her bisexuality was mentioned. Her uncle and his husband were also well written and I was just loving the great representation. I'm also very glad Tara was sapphic and a love interest because I definitely hoped she would be, because I was very attracted to her (she's a badass with a motorbike, what's not to love?)
The three magical worlds themselves were also well written. They all had their own distinct feel and customs, and they all felt very thought out and well developed. Even at the beginning, they were all presented well so I wasn't confused at all about which one was which.
Maddie's character development was also pretty good. She went from being naïve to actually knowing what to do. I'm excited to see how she'll develop in the next book.
It's a really good opening novel and drew me into the series. It tied its plot off enough that there was sense of conclusion, but there was also just enough left that I can't wait for the next book.
However, it wasn't completely perfect. I felt like the plot was predictable. When Tara came out of the forest injured after Maddie hurt the Solarian, I guessed that the Solarian was Tara. It just felt sort of obvious to me, which wasn't bad, but it made the big reveal a little less exciting for me. However, I did not predict the whole thing with Maddie's brother, so that was a nice surprise.
Overall, I did really enjoy this book. However, my correct prediction did dull it down a little for me, but it was still a really good book.
luscath's review against another edition
3.0
I find this a very difficult review to write because this book is by no means bad. But it's not amazing either.
The world building is incredible. The races and the magic systems are wonderful and I found myself so eager to hear more about these worlds! I was really hopeful that we'd get to see these worlds in this book, buy, sadly, we only get to see Haven (Earth).
Maddie is a really interesting character and I really enjoyed getting to see things through her eyes.
There was sadly something missing in this novel for me. Maybe it was paced a little odd or maybe I didn't like the plot as much as I'd hoped.
I think part of the problem is I was super excited for this book. And it wasn't as amazing as I'd been hoping. So my review maybe isn't as fair as it could be.
I'm glad I read this book, but I don't think I'd rush to read it again. 3.5/5.
The world building is incredible. The races and the magic systems are wonderful and I found myself so eager to hear more about these worlds! I was really hopeful that we'd get to see these worlds in this book, buy, sadly, we only get to see Haven (Earth).
Maddie is a really interesting character and I really enjoyed getting to see things through her eyes.
There was sadly something missing in this novel for me. Maybe it was paced a little odd or maybe I didn't like the plot as much as I'd hoped.
I think part of the problem is I was super excited for this book. And it wasn't as amazing as I'd been hoping. So my review maybe isn't as fair as it could be.
I'm glad I read this book, but I don't think I'd rush to read it again. 3.5/5.
dreamcourt's review against another edition
3.0
A lot of unnecessary world building. The real action only begins to happen when we're about 3/4 of the way through the books. Overall, I didn't hate it but I didn't love it either
someonetookit's review against another edition
3.0
So this is going to be short like the extract.
I can see why this novel is gaining a huge amount of attention. It feels like it could go towards the fantastical, based upon the lake and the obvious magic thats to come. But I also feel it could go the other way too, being that it could be droll and like a lot of other things i have read recently. We shall see when it launches next year.
I can see why this novel is gaining a huge amount of attention. It feels like it could go towards the fantastical, based upon the lake and the obvious magic thats to come. But I also feel it could go the other way too, being that it could be droll and like a lot of other things i have read recently. We shall see when it launches next year.
dharshanirymond's review against another edition
3.0
11-Mar-2020
3.5/5 actually!
I just finished the book and it was a quick read with a good story line. I felt the characters to be under developed. The protagonist was immature (to some extent acceptable considering the age and inexperience but not compared to her ambition in life) and she'll probably grow in the next book. The antagonist's character was not strong enough to consider him a threat. He felt just over ambitious and not fear worthy. The book itself was only 300 pages long and the ending was rushed. The background of Havenfall was sufficient but there are a lot of unanswered questions regarding it's history. Hopefully they'll be answers in the next book.
05-Nov-2019
2 chapters sample provided by the publisher through NetGalley.
The plot kickstarted in an interestingly gripping way that I couldn't stop myself once I started reading these sample chapters. Intro to Maddy's world was pretty awesome and the story progression was very good. Eagerly waiting for the release to read the full story. 5-star so far.
Will update more after I read the full book :-)
3.5/5 actually!
I just finished the book and it was a quick read with a good story line. I felt the characters to be under developed. The protagonist was immature (to some extent acceptable considering the age and inexperience but not compared to her ambition in life) and she'll probably grow in the next book. The antagonist's character was not strong enough to consider him a threat. He felt just over ambitious and not fear worthy. The book itself was only 300 pages long and the ending was rushed. The background of Havenfall was sufficient but there are a lot of unanswered questions regarding it's history. Hopefully they'll be answers in the next book.
05-Nov-2019
2 chapters sample provided by the publisher through NetGalley.
The plot kickstarted in an interestingly gripping way that I couldn't stop myself once I started reading these sample chapters. Intro to Maddy's world was pretty awesome and the story progression was very good. Eagerly waiting for the release to read the full story. 5-star so far.
Will update more after I read the full book :-)