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3.52 AVERAGE
3.52 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Minor: Death
A little too trite and a little too convenient. I had such high hopes and then it just became much more cliche than I wanted it to be.
As I started this book, I was figuring it would get 2, maybe 3 stars from me. It seemed disjointed and I had a difficult time keeping track of who was who. It jumps around and everyone is in different parts of the country, the only thing they have in common is the fact that they go to see the same movie on the same day.
But then their lives started happening. They grew up and they grew on me. They fell in love with each other and I fell in love with them. It was fun and it was sad and it was frustrating and it grew on me as I got further and further. And suddenly 3 stars were 4 and then 5.
I received a copy of this book for free through Goodreads First Reads.
But then their lives started happening. They grew up and they grew on me. They fell in love with each other and I fell in love with them. It was fun and it was sad and it was frustrating and it grew on me as I got further and further. And suddenly 3 stars were 4 and then 5.
I received a copy of this book for free through Goodreads First Reads.
Read this and other reviews at Ampersand Read Blog.
On the surface, it doesn't sound like such a remarkable book. Meet a few young people, and see how they grow (or don't grow) throughout the decades of their lives. Tragedies happen: people die, couples break up, sicknesses hit. And triumphs occur: couples get together, get engaged, characters get promotions, and find success in their careers. So what makes this book, which essentially tells you about handful of character's lives, better than all the other books out there that tell you about a handful of character's lives?
This one is just so darn good. Which sounds like a lame recommendation. But I was excited to return to this book every time I found time to read. It's the strong relationships, and the unifying forces that make this book stand out. In the end, I truly cared about all of them. I wanted them to do well, and every character arc ended in a way that I felt it should.
Every character has a strong tie to the others. They date one another (there's a bit of couple-swapping involved here), they're siblings, they're best friends...and those ties are so defining, so human, that it makes even the serial daters and the whining wannabes endearing.
Adam and Phoebe have the closest bond throughout the novel. They're best friends/lovers/a couple/each others closest confidante. And even when Phoebe is too goody-two-shoes, too shiny, too perfect, it is her dependence on Adam that makes her relatable. He is her weakness, and it helps her arc as a character. Adam is a bit of a womanizer, and his dependence and soft spot for Phoebe endears him to the reader. This relationship isn't his weakness; this relationship is his redeeming quality. Phoebe makes him better, and helped me like him more.
I also loved the unifying theme of the Eons & Empires "franchise" throughout the character's stories. The title is a reference to the concept of the comics: a trio of heroes travels between worlds, destroying or saving lives in each. You get the sense that each of these characters could have different outcomes in "some other world." Maybe some characters get together and stay together. Maybe this person doesn't die. Maybe this one finds happiness and success.
On the surface, it doesn't sound like such a remarkable book. Meet a few young people, and see how they grow (or don't grow) throughout the decades of their lives. Tragedies happen: people die, couples break up, sicknesses hit. And triumphs occur: couples get together, get engaged, characters get promotions, and find success in their careers. So what makes this book, which essentially tells you about handful of character's lives, better than all the other books out there that tell you about a handful of character's lives?
This one is just so darn good. Which sounds like a lame recommendation. But I was excited to return to this book every time I found time to read. It's the strong relationships, and the unifying forces that make this book stand out. In the end, I truly cared about all of them. I wanted them to do well, and every character arc ended in a way that I felt it should.
Every character has a strong tie to the others. They date one another (there's a bit of couple-swapping involved here), they're siblings, they're best friends...and those ties are so defining, so human, that it makes even the serial daters and the whining wannabes endearing.
Adam and Phoebe have the closest bond throughout the novel. They're best friends/lovers/a couple/each others closest confidante. And even when Phoebe is too goody-two-shoes, too shiny, too perfect, it is her dependence on Adam that makes her relatable. He is her weakness, and it helps her arc as a character. Adam is a bit of a womanizer, and his dependence and soft spot for Phoebe endears him to the reader. This relationship isn't his weakness; this relationship is his redeeming quality. Phoebe makes him better, and helped me like him more.
I also loved the unifying theme of the Eons & Empires "franchise" throughout the character's stories. The title is a reference to the concept of the comics: a trio of heroes travels between worlds, destroying or saving lives in each. You get the sense that each of these characters could have different outcomes in "some other world." Maybe some characters get together and stay together. Maybe this person doesn't die. Maybe this one finds happiness and success.
It was hard to keep the storylines straight for quite some time but it does get interesting pretty quickly and by some point about ⅔ through the book I was impressed by the complexities and crisscrossing of stories.
So much potential in this gorgeous, nuanced characterization and passage of time, ultimately bogged down by 2-5 too many characters and a slow, drawn-out final third. At the halfway point I was fascinated and captivated - think top of the roller coaster - but by the end, the story doesn't have the same speed and there are a couple turns that don't quite feel right.
I kept expecting more from this book—there were several set-ups that just came to dead ends.
Also, the second-person narration for Ollie drove me NUTS. Totally unnecessary.
Also, the second-person narration for Ollie drove me NUTS. Totally unnecessary.
This was such a good book! There are three main characters who's lives should interact, but rarely do. There's not a lot of action, but the writing is very compelling. I finished the book in one sitting.