Scan barcode
cassie_the_weird's review against another edition
4.0
...I can see what people meant about that ending...
urlphantomhive's review
3.0
READ IN ENGLISH
Read all my reviews on http://urlphantomhive.booklikes.com
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review, thank you.
I haven't read the Beautiful Creatures -series, and I do feel that I missed quite a lot in this book because I hadn't. It is a new series, although a spin-off series, but some information would have been helpful to understand what was going on. I understand this is (at least) partly my fault, but I though 'New Series - I can just jump onto the bandwagon'. Especially with the world building, some additional information would have been useful. (That the characters already have a history I don't know everything about is only a pro!) But I was a bit confused as what the types of 'creatures' were, and what rules apply. Like, what is Ridley obsession with the lollipops? And what exactly IS an non-eating/sleeping Incubus. For a second I thought it was kind of a vampire, but how could one be a quarter-vampire? Bites, uhm, beats me.
Ridley is not your typical, amiable MC. She's a Siren, something 'dark', but basically just really manipulative. And she's not really having a great summer. However, things are even worse for her 1/4 Incubus (vampire?) sort-of boyfriend (but only when it's inconvenient actually) Link, who's constantly being manipulated.
This book was a nice, fast read. I actually enjoyed it more than I expected after reading the #0.5 book in this series (review is coming up). There is this annoying love triangle, and I really don't understand why every (YA) novel needs to have a love triangle, or pyramid or whatever. Also beware of unexplained magic (if you haven't read the first series), bad Pink Floyd jokes and chapters called after songs (like: Another Brick In The Wall, Stairway To Heaven, Comfortably Numb, Knockin' On Heaven's Door). I think I will try the second book in this series as well, when it is published.
Read all my reviews on http://urlphantomhive.booklikes.com
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review, thank you.
I haven't read the Beautiful Creatures -series, and I do feel that I missed quite a lot in this book because I hadn't. It is a new series, although a spin-off series, but some information would have been helpful to understand what was going on. I understand this is (at least) partly my fault, but I though 'New Series - I can just jump onto the bandwagon'. Especially with the world building, some additional information would have been useful. (That the characters already have a history I don't know everything about is only a pro!) But I was a bit confused as what the types of 'creatures' were, and what rules apply. Like, what is Ridley obsession with the lollipops? And what exactly IS an non-eating/sleeping Incubus. For a second I thought it was kind of a vampire, but how could one be a quarter-vampire? Bites, uhm, beats me.
Ridley is not your typical, amiable MC. She's a Siren, something 'dark', but basically just really manipulative. And she's not really having a great summer. However, things are even worse for her 1/4 Incubus (vampire?) sort-of boyfriend (but only when it's inconvenient actually) Link, who's constantly being manipulated.
This book was a nice, fast read. I actually enjoyed it more than I expected after reading the #0.5 book in this series (review is coming up). There is this annoying love triangle, and I really don't understand why every (YA) novel needs to have a love triangle, or pyramid or whatever. Also beware of unexplained magic (if you haven't read the first series), bad Pink Floyd jokes and chapters called after songs (like: Another Brick In The Wall, Stairway To Heaven, Comfortably Numb, Knockin' On Heaven's Door). I think I will try the second book in this series as well, when it is published.
meegzreads's review
4.0
Interesting story of Link and Ridley. Not as good as I had hoped but good enough, and with and like that, you just gotta read the next.
amesbee's review
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
onecountrygal87's review
4.0
Great!!! At first I wasn't sure about this book... I read the original series Beautiful Creatures and LOVED IT! So with this spinoff series being based on Ridley I was skeptical to say the least! I mean it's Ridley... come on! Haha. I am excited to read the next one! I read this as my "A Book From An Author You Love But Haven't Read Yet" book for the Reading Challenge 2015! :)
_gabooks's review
4.0
I remembered not liking this book, although I very much looked forward to it because it's Link and Ridley's story - and it didn't help that a finale book from one of my favorite series came out a month before I started reading it. So, I decided that enough was enough. I'm going to read it again, give it a show - see if maybe I had a change of heart since I really did love the first tetralogy which is Lena and Ethan's story.
Positives:
I've been in love with the Caster world ever since I picked up the first book which was Beautiful Creatures. Around the era of vampires and werewolves - the Casters were the ones I was truly drawn with. I did like that they included the aftermath because what Lena and Ethan had done from the previous series. Also, it's Link and Ridley's story! Although, it's a little bit more focused on Ridley's part but Link is involved into this whole new bizarre layer of the Caster world. I've always adored RidLink way back in the first series, but I really do think they deserve their own story. It's so different from the first series, that it can stand on its own. It was edgier, darker and more mysterious - something that really speaks Ridley Duchannes. I think the storyline is very fit for a character like Ridley, I couldn't imagine in any other way that would tell her story. I love how it interconnected with Link's arc which was his music career, he was definitely more than just Ethan's best friend or Ridley's love interest. He's sooooo much more than that. I wish I'd get to know more of his POV. I love the RidLink punchlines here and there. I found myself cracking up to their humor, which is another plus for me. The new characters are sooooo . . . interesting. I find Nox Gates to be the most intriguing one. He has this unspoken connection to Ridley in ways that neither of them understand. He's way more involved in Ridley's life than just a stupid game. I wonder if it's enough for him to break Ridley and Link apart. I'm so torn if I should root for him to end up with Ridley but Link :( I really hope this is more than just a love triangle. I like subtle hints. So far, it's a good start to a new story of a series in the same universe. I'm looking forward to the next book, and will probably finish this.
Negatives:
It was a li'l bit predictable - despite its mystery. Those supposedly plot twists??? I've predicted them before a couple chapters in, they finally confirmed. I wish it was more suspenseful, more thrilling. Her relationship with Link reminds me with the whole Ross-and-Rachel drama. I do hope, if she really does choose Link (as if Nox is a competition), I wish it'd be for final. I'd rather have my RidLink be just friends with frustrated sexual tension around each other rather than be an on-and-off couple.
Also, Floyd. Annoying as hell. (She reminds me of girls I hated in high school. Back off my Link.)
On another note:
There are some moments where Ridley is - kind of off?? But that's because that's another layer of Ridley's character. She's much more than being a Siren, a Dark Caster or the girl you should stay away from. She can be vulnerable, when she lets herself. I love that in a character. But I do hope that she doesn't change drastically, or do a 180-degree change of heart. I hope she's still the badass Siren girl who's a sucker for lollipops who'll definitely be this awesome anti-heroine that no Caster or Mortal should mess with.
I enjoyed reading this very much, it's a good first book in a series and I'm looking forward to the next one.
Positives:
I've been in love with the Caster world ever since I picked up the first book which was Beautiful Creatures. Around the era of vampires and werewolves - the Casters were the ones I was truly drawn with. I did like that they included the aftermath because what Lena and Ethan had done from the previous series.
Spoiler
She brought Ethan back from the dead! How do you not expect something drastic is about to change in the Caster world?!Negatives:
It was a li'l bit predictable - despite its mystery. Those supposedly plot twists??? I've predicted them before a couple chapters in, they finally confirmed. I wish it was more suspenseful, more thrilling. Her relationship with Link reminds me with the whole Ross-and-Rachel drama. I do hope, if she really does choose Link (as if Nox is a competition), I wish it'd be for final. I'd rather have my RidLink be just friends with frustrated sexual tension around each other rather than be an on-and-off couple.
Also, Floyd. Annoying as hell. (She reminds me of girls I hated in high school. Back off my Link.)
On another note:
There are some moments where Ridley is - kind of off?? But that's because that's another layer of Ridley's character. She's much more than being a Siren, a Dark Caster or the girl you should stay away from. She can be vulnerable, when she lets herself. I love that in a character. But I do hope that she doesn't change drastically, or do a 180-degree change of heart. I hope she's still the badass Siren girl who's a sucker for lollipops who'll definitely be this awesome anti-heroine that no Caster or Mortal should mess with.
I enjoyed reading this very much, it's a good first book in a series and I'm looking forward to the next one.
wquindley's review
3.0
so I went to the bookstore today, and of course I find a spin off book of the series I just finished. so of course I got it, but when I got home and added it I realized I just got myself into another series. but a spin-off series. ughhhh. who had the brilliant idea to make a spin-off series of another series? what did I get myself into? rest in piece me.
bunnypez's review
adventurous
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.75
happilywilted's review against another edition
adventurous
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? Yes
4.0
ghostlydreamer's review
2.0
This could have been great. It WOULD have been great. And then you treated Ridley like dirt. I don't mean that in the "you made her go through bad things and I hate you for that!" kind of way. I mean that in the "what the fuck happened to this character? She's not even the same person!" kind of way.
Ridley? She's a shitty person. Her motives are all wrong, even though I almost can't help but feel sorry for her given the cards she was dealt. But you know what? In the original 4 books, Ridley was amusing as hell. She wasn't always the good guy, but she was entertaining to read about. She just oozed sex, sarcasm, and haughty confidence like no one else could. And yeah, she was riddled with cliches. But she was Ridley. And at least she was INTERESTING. Her dialogue choices always had me cracking up. These are the things that made me love her, even though we shouldn't.
So when I discovered there was a spin-off book featuring Ridley as our main focus, I was all for it. I was done with my Caster Chronicles phase by this time and had worked myself well out of the YA trash hole I previously dug myself in. I was already learning to recognize that I much preferred adult fiction to YA fiction. But nostalgia beckoned, and I came running. Because Beautiful Creatures still has a lot of meaning to me, and I like I said, Ridley drew me in. But then I read the book. And all I can ask is...what the HELL happened to you, Ridley?
This isn't the same Ridley as the one we read about in the original books. Not even close. Sure, she has the same name, the same looks. But she's a shadow of her former self. And no, I don't think this has anything to do with Ridley maturing since the events of Beautiful Redemption either. I also don't believe this is just a more vulnerable version of herself that we weren't privy to in the former books because it wasn't coming from her perspective. If that were the case, we'd see both sides of her. The more vulnerable and insecure side that's struggling, merged with that haughty, irresistible siren charm that we're already familiar with from the first books. There was none of that. She's watered down and one-dimensional. And that, my friends, was a let down.
Now, I can't remember the plot. I have a few hazy silhouettes of memories forming at the back of my mind, but I can't call them to fruition and I'm not sure I want to. So I'm assuming the plot wasn't anything spectacular and was largely forgettable.
And what about Link? Well, he was never my favorite character either. So I didn't really care for him. And while his infatuation for Ridley made total sense, hers for him made none to me. It felt...forced. Like it's more than just they're incompatible. Yet I feel like that's part of the reason why Ridley is so watered down. Because of the relationship with Link that already made no sense to me.
I still had fun with the book. That justifies the 2 stars. And I loved how the chapter titles were named after classic heavy metal and rock songs. That felt fitting, between the two of them (Link and Ridley). But that's about all I can recall that I enjoyed. I went on to read the sequel, but liked that even less. One day I'll finish rereading the Caster Chronicles. But this will not be a part of that. But I have to say, it looks nice when they're all lined up in a row together, including this one.
Ridley? She's a shitty person. Her motives are all wrong, even though I almost can't help but feel sorry for her given the cards she was dealt. But you know what? In the original 4 books, Ridley was amusing as hell. She wasn't always the good guy, but she was entertaining to read about. She just oozed sex, sarcasm, and haughty confidence like no one else could. And yeah, she was riddled with cliches. But she was Ridley. And at least she was INTERESTING. Her dialogue choices always had me cracking up. These are the things that made me love her, even though we shouldn't.
So when I discovered there was a spin-off book featuring Ridley as our main focus, I was all for it. I was done with my Caster Chronicles phase by this time and had worked myself well out of the YA trash hole I previously dug myself in. I was already learning to recognize that I much preferred adult fiction to YA fiction. But nostalgia beckoned, and I came running. Because Beautiful Creatures still has a lot of meaning to me, and I like I said, Ridley drew me in. But then I read the book. And all I can ask is...what the HELL happened to you, Ridley?
This isn't the same Ridley as the one we read about in the original books. Not even close. Sure, she has the same name, the same looks. But she's a shadow of her former self. And no, I don't think this has anything to do with Ridley maturing since the events of Beautiful Redemption either. I also don't believe this is just a more vulnerable version of herself that we weren't privy to in the former books because it wasn't coming from her perspective. If that were the case, we'd see both sides of her. The more vulnerable and insecure side that's struggling, merged with that haughty, irresistible siren charm that we're already familiar with from the first books. There was none of that. She's watered down and one-dimensional. And that, my friends, was a let down.
Now, I can't remember the plot. I have a few hazy silhouettes of memories forming at the back of my mind, but I can't call them to fruition and I'm not sure I want to. So I'm assuming the plot wasn't anything spectacular and was largely forgettable.
And what about Link? Well, he was never my favorite character either. So I didn't really care for him. And while his infatuation for Ridley made total sense, hers for him made none to me. It felt...forced. Like it's more than just they're incompatible. Yet I feel like that's part of the reason why Ridley is so watered down. Because of the relationship with Link that already made no sense to me.
I still had fun with the book. That justifies the 2 stars. And I loved how the chapter titles were named after classic heavy metal and rock songs. That felt fitting, between the two of them (Link and Ridley). But that's about all I can recall that I enjoyed. I went on to read the sequel, but liked that even less. One day I'll finish rereading the Caster Chronicles. But this will not be a part of that. But I have to say, it looks nice when they're all lined up in a row together, including this one.