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3.7 AVERAGE
3.7 AVERAGE
Loves: The concept, the characters—especially the villains, the vivid descriptions of objects/people/feelings, the relationships, the magic.
The weaksauces: Often repetitive or circular, sometimes draws in too many characters that stay flat and didn’t add much meaning, dialogue between adults is sometimes too corny and at other times overly poetic.
That said, I’ll be reading more from Link in the future.
The weaksauces: Often repetitive or circular, sometimes draws in too many characters that stay flat and didn’t add much meaning, dialogue between adults is sometimes too corny and at other times overly poetic.
That said, I’ll be reading more from Link in the future.
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
It all became a bit tedious. I also think it is more an adolescent read.
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
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
funny
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I thought it was pretty funny which I was completely not expecting. I love love love the concept but it must be said that this is a longgggg book, so sometimes the plot wasnt enough to keep me reading. However, I really did like it—some of the ideas on youth and beauty were very striking to me (i will say they make up less than a fraction of what this book is) and overall I would recommend this to anyone who is in the mood for something new and interesting plot-wise AND reflective on the human experience overall.
challenging
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
I took my time with this one. This book of supernatural/magical realism is so very hard to describe. The vibe here is immaculate. Link is now an automatic buy for me. I loved the whole ride.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
inspiring
sad
tense
slow-paced
Thank you to Head of Zeus and Kelly Link for gifting me an digital arc copy of The Book of Love. I was excited to read this book as it had a gorgeous cover that draw me in and loved the sound of the premise described in the blurb about three teenagers who are missing and presumed dead by the authorities and loved ones. A year later their music teacher resurrects them with magical powers to enable them to investigate how they died and return to their lives.
But sadly the promise of the premise didn’t live up to the plot in this whooper of a book – there was a lot going on in the pages and sadly the quality of the read suffered. I ended up DNFing at 45% unable to continue to finish due to the lack of plot development or interesting characters. I came to dislike the overly flowery and descriptive writing that didn’t add value to story. I felt there were too many povs to keep the writing on point and sharp. I wasn’t the right audience for this book in the end. I could only give it two stars.
Such a unique fantasy. Magic and complex characters and love in so many forms. A beautiful story of how we love, try to do the right thing, try to make sense of things and grieve.
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes