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isabelle_the_bookdutchesses's review against another edition
3.0
First off, this is a book written for the fans of the Riverdale tv show. There are some spoilers for the first season of the tv show and if you haven’t seen that one yet, I wouldn’t recommend reading the book yet. It will take away some of the enjoyment of unraveling the mystery. But when you did see the show, it’s so much fun to see some of the events leading up to murder mystery.
As a fan off the show, I thought the main characters, Berry, Veronica, Jughead and Archie, felt like they did at the start off the show. This was quite well done and you will recognize some phrases they use in the show. Do keep in mind that they feel like they did at the start of season 1 and not how they do now, as they’ve all gone through quite the developments. Especially Veronica is pretty different from how we’ve come to know her now. She’s pretty unlikeable in this book.
With Veronica in New York, Betty in LA and with Archie and Jughead’s fall out the characters don’t really interact in this story. I thought that was a pity, since it’s one of the things I love most about the tv show. They all have their own story lines, but they are pretty weak. I liked Betty’s storyline best, but thought the ending was lacking, and it felt like we we’re missing a last chapter. None off the other stories brought anything new unfortunately. As with Betty’s story, there wasn’t really an ending to the book and that was quite disappointing. I think some small changes and one additional chapter for each character could’ve been a huge improvement on the actual story.
Jughead narrates the prologue and epilogue of the story which was a lot of fun. I loved this parallel to the show and it tied it all nicely together. Another really fun detail was the use of mixed media. In between chapters we get to see text messages, emails, and announcements for example. To mention a couple characters, we got to read little snippets of Cheryl, Kevin, Moose, Polly and Jason.
I think this book is aimed at fans of the tv show and I don’t think other readers will enjoy it much as there is little storyline. Unfortunately, fans of the show already know so much about this story. And therefore, they will see some storyline incongruences like I did. Veronica interacts with Nick in New York and some things he said in this novel felt a bit off compared to how we’ve come to know him. The way Veronica and he are leaving things in the novel feels quite different from the first meeting we see in the show. I didn’t think this completely added up. Same with Archie’s storyline, some sequences at the end of his story seemed a bit different from the tv show.
When aiming a story at tv show fans, I think these kind of details are super important and that’s what ultimately made me decide to rate this 3 and a half stars. I did love the mixed media and reading about the characters right before we meet them in the show.
3,5/5 stars
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A book for the Riverdale fans! Full review will be up January 16th as part of the blog tour.
BLOG INSTAGRAM TWITTER YOUTUBE
As a fan off the show, I thought the main characters, Berry, Veronica, Jughead and Archie, felt like they did at the start off the show. This was quite well done and you will recognize some phrases they use in the show. Do keep in mind that they feel like they did at the start of season 1 and not how they do now, as they’ve all gone through quite the developments. Especially Veronica is pretty different from how we’ve come to know her now. She’s pretty unlikeable in this book.
With Veronica in New York, Betty in LA and with Archie and Jughead’s fall out the characters don’t really interact in this story. I thought that was a pity, since it’s one of the things I love most about the tv show. They all have their own story lines, but they are pretty weak. I liked Betty’s storyline best, but thought the ending was lacking, and it felt like we we’re missing a last chapter. None off the other stories brought anything new unfortunately. As with Betty’s story, there wasn’t really an ending to the book and that was quite disappointing. I think some small changes and one additional chapter for each character could’ve been a huge improvement on the actual story.
Jughead narrates the prologue and epilogue of the story which was a lot of fun. I loved this parallel to the show and it tied it all nicely together. Another really fun detail was the use of mixed media. In between chapters we get to see text messages, emails, and announcements for example. To mention a couple characters, we got to read little snippets of Cheryl, Kevin, Moose, Polly and Jason.
I think this book is aimed at fans of the tv show and I don’t think other readers will enjoy it much as there is little storyline. Unfortunately, fans of the show already know so much about this story. And therefore, they will see some storyline incongruences like I did. Veronica interacts with Nick in New York and some things he said in this novel felt a bit off compared to how we’ve come to know him. The way Veronica and he are leaving things in the novel feels quite different from the first meeting we see in the show. I didn’t think this completely added up. Same with Archie’s storyline, some sequences at the end of his story seemed a bit different from the tv show.
When aiming a story at tv show fans, I think these kind of details are super important and that’s what ultimately made me decide to rate this 3 and a half stars. I did love the mixed media and reading about the characters right before we meet them in the show.
3,5/5 stars
————————————————————————
A book for the Riverdale fans! Full review will be up January 16th as part of the blog tour.
BLOG INSTAGRAM TWITTER YOUTUBE
rosievassella's review against another edition
4.0
I am not a fan of the show, Riverdale. But this book was quite good, it was well written and interesting.
madisonchampion's review against another edition
5.0
Enjoyed reading this and comparing it to the show. Looking forward to reading the rest!
kelseyr713's review against another edition
5.0
Micol Ostow has Archie, Betty, Veronica, and Jughead’s voices down. This is a great prequel novel that gets in the heads of each lead character in the days leading up to the season 1 premiere. It doesn’t get quite as WILD as an episode can get, but still quite enjoyable. I also liked the between-chapter glimpses into other characters’ lives. I’ll definitely be reading more of the Riverdale novels!
I wish Betty got to solve her mini-mystery though - I know it’s pretty obvious who the culprit is, but it would have been nice if Betty could have proved her innocence to her boss.
I wish Betty got to solve her mini-mystery though - I know it’s pretty obvious who the culprit is, but it would have been nice if Betty could have proved her innocence to her boss.
leaslibrary's review against another edition
3.0
Wie schon gesagt, kenne und liebe ich die Serie Riverdale. Deswegen fiel mir auch der Einstieg in dieses Buch sehr leicht. Das Buch wird aus der Sicht von Betty,Veronica,Archie und Jughead erzählt.Der Schreibstil ist angenehm und ich fand es besonders toll, wie dieser sich den verschiedenen Charakteren angepasst hat.
Kommen wir also direkt zu den Charakteren. Am meisten haben mir die Kapitel von Jughead und Betty Spaß gemacht. Ich konnte ihre Gedankengänge sehr gut nachvollziehen sie sind mir einfach sowohl in der Serie als auch hier in den Büchern sehr sympathisch.
Im Gegensatz dazu stehen leider die Kapitel aus der Sicht von Veronica und Archie. Veronica kam hier nur noch eingebildeter rüber, als in der Serie und Archie war meiner Meinung nach ein schlechter bester Freund und hat sich gegenüber anderen einfach nur unfair verhalten. Jedoch weiß ich nicht, ob ich dies als Kritik für das Buch sehen kann, da mir die beiden so langsam auch in der Serie unsympathisch sind und die Autorin die Charaktere ja eigentlich nur wahrheitsgemäß beschrieben hat.
Dennoch schafft es die Autorin, alle Handlungsstränge miteinander zu verknüpfen, sodass es trotz vieler verschiedener Sichtweisen einen roten Faden gibt.
Leider hat mir in dem Buch die Spannung gefehlt, wodurch ich gemerkt habe, das es wohl eher als Fanbuch für Fans der Serie gedacht ist und nicht als „normales“ Buch. Denn während die Serie voller Spannung ist und nie langweilig wird, hatte ich an manchen Punkten einfach keine Lust weiter zu lesen, da die Handlung nichts Besonderes war. Das Buch lebt also eher von den Charakteren, als von der Handlung, was sowohl positiv als auch negativ gesehen werden kann.
Eine letzte Sache die ich noch erwähnen möchte ist die wunderschöne und interessante Aufmachung des Buches.Denn neben den einzelnen Kapiteln gibt es auch noch diverse Chatverläife, E-mails und weitere Extras der Charaktere, was das Lesen abwechslungsreicher gestaltet.
Fazit
Meiner Meinung nach wirklich nur etwas für Fans der Serie, da man sonst nicht in die Handlung einfinden könnte. Diese ist ebenfalls nicht gerade spannend und das Buch lebt von den Charakteren. Die Aufmachung ist wirklich sehr gelungen und auch die verschiedenen Sichtweisen sind interessant. Wenn man die Serie gerne schaut, ist dieses Buch sicherlich einen Blick wert, ansonsten würde ich eher zu einem anderen Buch greifen, vor allem wenn man nach etwas mit mehr Spannung sucht. Ich gebe dem Buch 3 Sterne.
Kommen wir also direkt zu den Charakteren. Am meisten haben mir die Kapitel von Jughead und Betty Spaß gemacht. Ich konnte ihre Gedankengänge sehr gut nachvollziehen sie sind mir einfach sowohl in der Serie als auch hier in den Büchern sehr sympathisch.
Im Gegensatz dazu stehen leider die Kapitel aus der Sicht von Veronica und Archie. Veronica kam hier nur noch eingebildeter rüber, als in der Serie und Archie war meiner Meinung nach ein schlechter bester Freund und hat sich gegenüber anderen einfach nur unfair verhalten. Jedoch weiß ich nicht, ob ich dies als Kritik für das Buch sehen kann, da mir die beiden so langsam auch in der Serie unsympathisch sind und die Autorin die Charaktere ja eigentlich nur wahrheitsgemäß beschrieben hat.
Dennoch schafft es die Autorin, alle Handlungsstränge miteinander zu verknüpfen, sodass es trotz vieler verschiedener Sichtweisen einen roten Faden gibt.
Leider hat mir in dem Buch die Spannung gefehlt, wodurch ich gemerkt habe, das es wohl eher als Fanbuch für Fans der Serie gedacht ist und nicht als „normales“ Buch. Denn während die Serie voller Spannung ist und nie langweilig wird, hatte ich an manchen Punkten einfach keine Lust weiter zu lesen, da die Handlung nichts Besonderes war. Das Buch lebt also eher von den Charakteren, als von der Handlung, was sowohl positiv als auch negativ gesehen werden kann.
Eine letzte Sache die ich noch erwähnen möchte ist die wunderschöne und interessante Aufmachung des Buches.Denn neben den einzelnen Kapiteln gibt es auch noch diverse Chatverläife, E-mails und weitere Extras der Charaktere, was das Lesen abwechslungsreicher gestaltet.
Fazit
Meiner Meinung nach wirklich nur etwas für Fans der Serie, da man sonst nicht in die Handlung einfinden könnte. Diese ist ebenfalls nicht gerade spannend und das Buch lebt von den Charakteren. Die Aufmachung ist wirklich sehr gelungen und auch die verschiedenen Sichtweisen sind interessant. Wenn man die Serie gerne schaut, ist dieses Buch sicherlich einen Blick wert, ansonsten würde ich eher zu einem anderen Buch greifen, vor allem wenn man nach etwas mit mehr Spannung sucht. Ich gebe dem Buch 3 Sterne.
irinithebookworm's review against another edition
2.0
I both loved and hated this book. Jug’s and Archie’s narrations were okay. Betty’s were my favourite. But Veronica’s early ones were the utmost revolting. Sometimes I felt like she spoke a foreign language. Like chill out a bit, holy cow. Spoiled rich brats urgh
mysmallreadingcorner's review
lighthearted
slow-paced
1.0
This book is not too long, but it still took me pretty long time to read it since I just disliked it so much. I’m sure that other works of the author are more enjoyable than this so I’m not trying to hate on her, but the whole story just felt like a Wattpad fan fiction of someone trying to imagine what their lives would have been like before the show started. But again, Riverdale isn’t always known for a great storyline itself, so it could be because of that. I saw that the author also wrote a Mean girls novel and as I liked that movie when I was younger (and still do) I might check that out as well to give her a better chance.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship
Minor: Alcoholism
adamsbookshelf's review against another edition
3.0
I really enjoyed the book. I love her writing style of switching POV's and adding in text blurbs. Riverdale is a fascinating show that is also very cringy at times and I felt like this book took the best of Riverdale, but missed the gritty mature content of the show. However, after binge-watching the show I noticed some discrepancies between the two. Overall it was great to get the information on what happened leading up to the events of the show, but I wish the questions that got answered weren't replaced with new ones.
helena_sherm's review against another edition
4.0
Truthfully I liked this book a lot more than I expected to like it. I loved the Riverdale comics growing up, so I was so excited to see the show. (Unfortunately, I hated the show.) As this book was the prequel to the show, it wasn't fully immersed in the weird drama in the show just yet. The book did (obviously) set up the plotlines for the show, so I didn't love the ending. (Hence why I gave the book only 4 stars).