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3.23 AVERAGE
3.23 AVERAGE
“There was a time when he’d say my name, and just like that, I’d give him anything he wanted.”
I should state that I didn’t know that this wasn’t a standalone. I honestly just saw that Anna Todd was coming out with a new book and wanted to read it! If ya’ll could have seen my face when I reached the end of the book and realized that the ending was a cliffhanger, you would have laughed at me!
Our two main characters are Kael and Karina. Kael was a soldier who has just gotten home. He doesn’t really talk much and Karina notices something about him. Something that makes her want to get to know him. Karina is a massage therapist that’s trying to distance herself from her army father and his new wife.
For the most part, I did like our main character Karina. I related to her in a way that felt like home. The way she deals with things and her thought process felt really familiar to mine. Does that make me a mess? hell yeah, it does.
“I’ve always been good at pretending the world isn’t burning around me”
The chemistry between these two was there but it was always something there that made it seem like the author was holding back. Also, I’m still a little confused about the timeline! Did they know each other for 2 weeks for longer?
In this book, we have two people helping each other heal while falling in love along with family drama and some secrets that come to light.
This ends on a cliffhanger that could almost be considered brutal. Like I said before, I was unaware that this wasn’t a standalone. So while it wasn’t an absolute favorite of mine, I will still be reading the next book because I need to know what happens next!
** ARC provided for an honest review. Quotes were taken from an ARC and are subject to change upon publication.
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I should state that I didn’t know that this wasn’t a standalone. I honestly just saw that Anna Todd was coming out with a new book and wanted to read it! If ya’ll could have seen my face when I reached the end of the book and realized that the ending was a cliffhanger, you would have laughed at me!
Our two main characters are Kael and Karina. Kael was a soldier who has just gotten home. He doesn’t really talk much and Karina notices something about him. Something that makes her want to get to know him. Karina is a massage therapist that’s trying to distance herself from her army father and his new wife.
For the most part, I did like our main character Karina. I related to her in a way that felt like home. The way she deals with things and her thought process felt really familiar to mine. Does that make me a mess? hell yeah, it does.
“I’ve always been good at pretending the world isn’t burning around me”
The chemistry between these two was there but it was always something there that made it seem like the author was holding back. Also, I’m still a little confused about the timeline! Did they know each other for 2 weeks for longer?
In this book, we have two people helping each other heal while falling in love along with family drama and some secrets that come to light.
This ends on a cliffhanger that could almost be considered brutal. Like I said before, I was unaware that this wasn’t a standalone. So while it wasn’t an absolute favorite of mine, I will still be reading the next book because I need to know what happens next!
** ARC provided for an honest review. Quotes were taken from an ARC and are subject to change upon publication.
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Ugh! Oh how I wish I had good things to say about this book. I don't though. It was choppy. There were 70 chapters in 300 pages which meant that most of them were 3ish pages long, making it seem like the flow was off. There were too many punctuation/grammar issues for me too. Like noticable mistakes. I just didn't like this book. It ends on a cliffhanger, but I don't know if I'll be picking up the next one when it comes out. Get it from the library if you can. Don't waste your money.
I don’t know what it is about Anna Todd’s writing, but she sucks me into her stories.
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
To say I am disappointed is an understatement. This is my first book by this author but I had heard such good things so I guess I was just expecting more. I can probably go into various reasons why this didn't work for me but the honest truth is that it was just plain old B-O-R-I-N-G. When reading starts to feel like work and you're just trying to reach the end for the sake of finishing the book then you know something is wrong.
The hero was the quiet, tortured, brooding type and he hardly said anything and since the whole book is told from the heroine's POV, I have no idea if I like or hate him. I just have no idea who he is! He remains a mystery but who knows, maybe the author did that on purpose???
The lack of chemistry between Karina and Kale also was a huge problem for me because at the end of the day this is a romance and at least some sparks would be nice. I don't know, I just didn't get this. Honestly not much happened and I know this is Book 1 of a trilogy but I just needed SO MUCH MORE! I gave 2 stars instead of 1 just because I was at least able to make it to the end.
2 Stars
Contemporary Romance
Series: Book 1 of 3
Heat Level: Mild
POV: Heroine
Cliffhanger
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The hero was the quiet, tortured, brooding type and he hardly said anything and since the whole book is told from the heroine's POV, I have no idea if I like or hate him. I just have no idea who he is! He remains a mystery but who knows, maybe the author did that on purpose???
The lack of chemistry between Karina and Kale also was a huge problem for me because at the end of the day this is a romance and at least some sparks would be nice. I don't know, I just didn't get this. Honestly not much happened and I know this is Book 1 of a trilogy but I just needed SO MUCH MORE! I gave 2 stars instead of 1 just because I was at least able to make it to the end.
2 Stars
Contemporary Romance
Series: Book 1 of 3
Heat Level: Mild
POV: Heroine
Cliffhanger
Follow me for your next COMFORT READ!!
This is honestly the first book I’ve ever DNFed. I’ll save my time for other things.
emotional
medium-paced
Honestly, this is probably one of the hardest reviews I’ve ever had to write, mainly because I adore Anna Todd. The After series is hands down by favorite NA series to date. Tessa and Hardin are my OTP, and I’ve been a fan of those books since she wrote them on Wattpad. I’ve read them all more than once, and her writing has always pulled me right in. I’ve been so excited that she was bringing out a new book, The Brightest Stars, and couldn’t wait to read it. I was able to get my hands on an early copy and settled in to read.
So here’s the thing. The Brightest Stars is nothing like After. While I fell in love with the characters in After, I couldn’t connect with anyone in The Brightest Stars. For me, the story was oddly paced, and the writing choppy, and almost unrefined, if that even makes sense. I liked the premise of the story, and the first few pages, immediately had me hooked, but as the story continued I found myself caring less and less.
Kael and Karina are the main characters of the story, Karina is an army brat that is trying to make a life of her own away from her military father and her stepmother. Her biggest concern is her twin brother, Austin, who she worries about on a regular basis. She’s a massage therapist, who meets Kael when he comes in for a massage. He’s cold, and standoffish and there was no connection between the two. However, he continues to come back, and ends up staying at Karina’s house because he has nowhere else to go.
The book is an instalove story. The two main characters relationship spans over a week or so, I believe. There were a few places where I felt like the timeline was a little off and a bit clunky. The short chapters made it hard to dive in too deeply, and often caused the my reading to feel stilted.
All of that being said, I believe every book is someone’s favorite book, and I don’t want to deter others from reading this. Just because it didn’t work for me, doesn’t mean it won’t work for you. I know for a fact, that there are plenty of people that do not like After, and I completely respect that opinion. The Brightest Stars is the first in a trilogy, and even though I didn’t enjoy this one as much as I hoped, I still plan on reading the next two books, simply because I want to know the secrets sprinkled throughout the pages.
So here’s the thing. The Brightest Stars is nothing like After. While I fell in love with the characters in After, I couldn’t connect with anyone in The Brightest Stars. For me, the story was oddly paced, and the writing choppy, and almost unrefined, if that even makes sense. I liked the premise of the story, and the first few pages, immediately had me hooked, but as the story continued I found myself caring less and less.
Kael and Karina are the main characters of the story, Karina is an army brat that is trying to make a life of her own away from her military father and her stepmother. Her biggest concern is her twin brother, Austin, who she worries about on a regular basis. She’s a massage therapist, who meets Kael when he comes in for a massage. He’s cold, and standoffish and there was no connection between the two. However, he continues to come back, and ends up staying at Karina’s house because he has nowhere else to go.
The book is an instalove story. The two main characters relationship spans over a week or so, I believe. There were a few places where I felt like the timeline was a little off and a bit clunky. The short chapters made it hard to dive in too deeply, and often caused the my reading to feel stilted.
All of that being said, I believe every book is someone’s favorite book, and I don’t want to deter others from reading this. Just because it didn’t work for me, doesn’t mean it won’t work for you. I know for a fact, that there are plenty of people that do not like After, and I completely respect that opinion. The Brightest Stars is the first in a trilogy, and even though I didn’t enjoy this one as much as I hoped, I still plan on reading the next two books, simply because I want to know the secrets sprinkled throughout the pages.
DNF - not rating. I couldn't get into this book. I thought the writing is awful and the timeline jumps between 2019 and 2017. So we are looking into the future and the past? Also, the chapters are 2-5 pages long with terrible transitions to go along with the terrible writing. How this book made it into one of the book boxes I subscribe to is beyond me.