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3.93 AVERAGE
3.93 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I liked this book... and I didn't.
My issues didn't stem from the plot- I loved that. My issue with this story is that the mfc, Alexis, is so heavily marketed as 'not like other girls.' Trying to Live With the Dead perpetuates the narrative that girls who are 'typical females' are petty, jealous, and bitchy creatures, a few are quiet and meek and then there are the girls who are 'not like the others.'
I don't understand why the RH genre can't get to a place where there's not a head bitch trying to tear the mfc down. Let's have girls lift each other up for once.
But anyway, back to my semi-rant.
Alexis would rather have her car fixed than get a new pair of shoes (upon saying this, the men around Alexis fall in love with her!), she knows how football works and she can punch a guy in the dick. She also has no other girl friends because they can be 'so much drama.' And, oh yeah, she also manages to attract slimy men wherever she goes. There's not a bar, party, or event she goes to that doesn't end in a dude trying to grope her and then a fight breaking out.
There was a time in my reading of these RH novels where I could completely overlook this trope and keep on enjoying, but Trying to Live With the Dead tried this reader's patience.
Other than this tired, tired trope, I enjoyed the story. I enjoyed the ghosts and the search to figure out what was going wrong. I felt like Lexi and her magic's progression was unique and well-written.
I even enjoyed the boys. When they weren't too busy telling Alexis she wasn't like other girls, they were actually pretty cool. They each have a backstory, their own pains, and successes. They were fun to read. That can be tricky with these RH novels. Sometimes the boys blend together or get way oversimplified. That didn't happen with this set of guys.
All in all, I'm excited to see where this series goes. I think there's a lot of potential here.
My issues didn't stem from the plot- I loved that. My issue with this story is that the mfc, Alexis, is so heavily marketed as 'not like other girls.' Trying to Live With the Dead perpetuates the narrative that girls who are 'typical females' are petty, jealous, and bitchy creatures, a few are quiet and meek and then there are the girls who are 'not like the others.'
I don't understand why the RH genre can't get to a place where there's not a head bitch trying to tear the mfc down. Let's have girls lift each other up for once.
But anyway, back to my semi-rant.
Alexis would rather have her car fixed than get a new pair of shoes (upon saying this, the men around Alexis fall in love with her!), she knows how football works and she can punch a guy in the dick. She also has no other girl friends because they can be 'so much drama.' And, oh yeah, she also manages to attract slimy men wherever she goes. There's not a bar, party, or event she goes to that doesn't end in a dude trying to grope her and then a fight breaking out.
There was a time in my reading of these RH novels where I could completely overlook this trope and keep on enjoying, but Trying to Live With the Dead tried this reader's patience.
Other than this tired, tired trope, I enjoyed the story. I enjoyed the ghosts and the search to figure out what was going wrong. I felt like Lexi and her magic's progression was unique and well-written.
I even enjoyed the boys. When they weren't too busy telling Alexis she wasn't like other girls, they were actually pretty cool. They each have a backstory, their own pains, and successes. They were fun to read. That can be tricky with these RH novels. Sometimes the boys blend together or get way oversimplified. That didn't happen with this set of guys.
All in all, I'm excited to see where this series goes. I think there's a lot of potential here.
Don’t be fooled by my one star. I’d give it a 2 (lol) but the 1 is for posterity. The writing wasn’t horrid but she used the same words to describe every action, every turn so not much variety. The tropes in this book were insanely archaic. It had a lot of potential and the plot was a slow burn that didn’t bother me, obviously had me finish the book, but also didn’t impress me.
Lexi is the kind of chic that doesn’t like other girls and can’t be friends with them, even though it’s made clear she has a difficult time making friends at all. *squint in puzzlement* That’s never made clear if she still chose guys as friends or just who she could get or had a mix... Not a lot of real character development was thrown at you. But she’s a special snowflake (outside of her powers) so a group of hot guys at her high school (Adonis types of course) adopt her within seconds (literally) of meeting her. When things come to light she’s so wonderful they don’t even care because it’s truly her they love (after a few moments of knowing her which is obviously a lifetime at their age, I guess).
No substance. Almost witty banter. A few moments of coming close to liking her until she pulled a special snowflake moment and that abruptly came to a halt.
This is like a reverse harem but none of the substance to draw you in. And no real romance btw. I hear that’s several books later but no way I’m lasting that long. Each guy is different so they bring something to the table to attract you, but each is a bit too extreme or juvenile in their stereotypes. I think the point was to make you want to be her so badly automatically in this fantasy for you to not notice every little almost moment falling flat. There weren’t any big holes in the book, but so many small ones it was too transparent to fully enjoy.
Definitely a YA book, just too juvenile for me. If it weren’t for the cursing I’d say a middle schooler could enjoy it. Easy, easy read. I’ll contemplate picking up the second when I don’t have brain power for anything else. I have better books on my TBR calling my name. Onward and upward!
Lexi is the kind of chic that doesn’t like other girls and can’t be friends with them, even though it’s made clear she has a difficult time making friends at all. *squint in puzzlement* That’s never made clear if she still chose guys as friends or just who she could get or had a mix... Not a lot of real character development was thrown at you. But she’s a special snowflake (outside of her powers) so a group of hot guys at her high school (Adonis types of course) adopt her within seconds (literally) of meeting her. When things come to light she’s so wonderful they don’t even care because it’s truly her they love (after a few moments of knowing her which is obviously a lifetime at their age, I guess).
No substance. Almost witty banter. A few moments of coming close to liking her until she pulled a special snowflake moment and that abruptly came to a halt.
This is like a reverse harem but none of the substance to draw you in. And no real romance btw. I hear that’s several books later but no way I’m lasting that long. Each guy is different so they bring something to the table to attract you, but each is a bit too extreme or juvenile in their stereotypes. I think the point was to make you want to be her so badly automatically in this fantasy for you to not notice every little almost moment falling flat. There weren’t any big holes in the book, but so many small ones it was too transparent to fully enjoy.
Definitely a YA book, just too juvenile for me. If it weren’t for the cursing I’d say a middle schooler could enjoy it. Easy, easy read. I’ll contemplate picking up the second when I don’t have brain power for anything else. I have better books on my TBR calling my name. Onward and upward!
DNF, This had so much potential to be great...
Things I didn't like
- Instant friends
- Too much high school drama (unnecessary)
- The only Tsundere love interest already fell too early
- Barely any Paranormal action (salt circle, that's it)
- Boring chapters that made me fall asleep with the kindle app on all night
Anyways... Ima leave now
Things I didn't like
- Instant friends
- Too much high school drama (unnecessary)
- The only Tsundere love interest already fell too early
- Barely any Paranormal action (salt circle, that's it)
- Boring chapters that made me fall asleep with the kindle app on all night
Anyways... Ima leave now
Dnf 63%
Boring... I hoped for more.
Characters 3
Writing 3
Plot 1
Entertainment 2
2.3★
Boring... I hoped for more.
Characters 3
Writing 3
Plot 1
Entertainment 2
2.3★
This unique take on a paranormal series has me obsessed. I love everything about Lexie and the boys. The writing is smooth, everything flows. The hidden gems and dots to connect often take me by surprise. This has been a fantastic find!
On one hand, I'm so bummed there wasn't any romance in this. On the other hand, I really respected and enjoyed how Alexis is friends with all 5 guys and is slowly developing deep friendships with them. I guess I just have to wait! It's definitely a very slow burn here.
This is for sure a YA book. Despite it being slated to be a RH, like I said above, there's zero romance. The dialogue is somewhat childish. There are moments when Alexis is talking and joking with the guys, and it just doesn't make sense how some of the things she's saying are super funny or super interesting or justify the guys being almost immediately friends with her. And of course, there was the "I'm not like other girls" thrown in there: it was literally a sentence Alexis said to some guy at a party.
This is for sure a YA book. Despite it being slated to be a RH, like I said above, there's zero romance. The dialogue is somewhat childish. There are moments when Alexis is talking and joking with the guys, and it just doesn't make sense how some of the things she's saying are super funny or super interesting or justify the guys being almost immediately friends with her. And of course, there was the "I'm not like other girls" thrown in there: it was literally a sentence Alexis said to some guy at a party.
challenging
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes