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3.17 AVERAGE
3.17 AVERAGE
I gave this 20 pages and that was generous. Right from the beginning I was like "huh, where have I read this before?" And then it hit me- this is Twilight with witches. I was so bummed because once I had that feeling, that idea, I couldn't shake it and just returned the book to my library.
AND the purple font, white cute and unique, hurt my eyes.
AND the purple font, white cute and unique, hurt my eyes.
Oh this book, this book did me dirty. I am physically shaking with... heck if I know what this emotion is. I can just say that this particular ending is not at all what I would have foreseen. Not gonna lie, a lot of it went straight into my stereotypes and cliches and whatever tropes box and I had written it off, but man oh man this book hits you like a punch to the stomach. and then swirls up your brain.
Introducing The Graces, aka Virgin Cullens Craft.
This book was essentially a mashup of these The Virgin Suicides, The Cullens family, and The Craft, but with less plot. The writing (and story set-up) was very Virgin Suicides-inspired. In fact, at one point the protagonist even said she was reading The Virgin Suicides, and I, 2 glasses of wine in, had to drunkenly triple-take because had the author really just done that? It felt bizarre to see that book mentioned in a story that had been so clearly inspired by it.
The protagonist confused me. Her character spends most of her time trying to get the Graces to like her, saying and doing things she think will get their approval. Because of this, she was a husk of a character, a brittle shell of false actions and statements, with very little showing who she actually is. When she does seem to be speaking for herself, it's mostly just complaints about how her mom (negligent parent stereotype to the MAX) doesn't love her enough and how she never feels 'normal.'
And theCullens Graces. Mysterious witchy boho family that everyone in town talks about. At the beginning of this book I just kept picturing that scene in Twilight where Edward and his siblings mope over to a table in the cafeteria and everyone says to new girl Bella, 'Oooohhh, that's the Cullens.' It just feels so much like that.
The witchy part of this could have been cool - the author does a lovely job writing imagery and I often could picture scenes really well. But for all the witchcraft that was done in this book, there was very little magic. Nothing ever felt magic, or even atmospheric. It came off very flat.
I probably will pick up the sequel if there is one because I do have a bit of interest in where the story goes. A lot of this book just felt like set-up, with very little plot. Maybe the second one will be better, now that some of the dominos are lined up? Pacing, plot, and characterization could use a lot of work, but the author is a good writer and I did like some of the observations she made on feeling like an outcast and wanting to fit in. I would definitely try another book by her in the future, but this one was weak.
Edit: I'm still thinking of this book a day after reading it. Even though it had its flaws, some essence of it stuck with me. I liked the autumnal feel of the world the author created, and actually find myself somewhat hoping for a sequel. 2.5 stars.
This book was essentially a mashup of these The Virgin Suicides, The Cullens family, and The Craft, but with less plot. The writing (and story set-up) was very Virgin Suicides-inspired. In fact, at one point the protagonist even said she was reading The Virgin Suicides, and I, 2 glasses of wine in, had to drunkenly triple-take because had the author really just done that? It felt bizarre to see that book mentioned in a story that had been so clearly inspired by it.
The protagonist confused me. Her character spends most of her time trying to get the Graces to like her, saying and doing things she think will get their approval. Because of this, she was a husk of a character, a brittle shell of false actions and statements, with very little showing who she actually is. When she does seem to be speaking for herself, it's mostly just complaints about how her mom (negligent parent stereotype to the MAX) doesn't love her enough and how she never feels 'normal.'
And the
The witchy part of this could have been cool - the author does a lovely job writing imagery and I often could picture scenes really well. But for all the witchcraft that was done in this book, there was very little magic. Nothing ever felt magic, or even atmospheric. It came off very flat.
I probably will pick up the sequel if there is one because I do have a bit of interest in where the story goes. A lot of this book just felt like set-up, with very little plot. Maybe the second one will be better, now that some of the dominos are lined up? Pacing, plot, and characterization could use a lot of work, but the author is a good writer and I did like some of the observations she made on feeling like an outcast and wanting to fit in. I would definitely try another book by her in the future, but this one was weak.
Edit: I'm still thinking of this book a day after reading it. Even though it had its flaws, some essence of it stuck with me. I liked the autumnal feel of the world the author created, and actually find myself somewhat hoping for a sequel. 2.5 stars.
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I loved this book so much because of how unintentionally evil our main character was.
Well, that all escalated rather quickly.
4.5/5 - The end left me a little deflated, but other than that, wonderfully witchy.
4.5/5 - The end left me a little deflated, but other than that, wonderfully witchy.
"Everyone said they were witches. I desperately wanted to believe it. I'd only been at this school a couple of months, but I saw how it was. They moved through the corridors like sleek fish, ripples in their wake, stares following their backs and their hair."
River recently moved to a new city and a new school, and just like the rest of the town, she quickly becomes obsessed with the Grace family. They're rumored to be powerful witches and to gain their friendship is rumored to be near impossible.
But River becomes friends with Summer Grace, and she has a huge crush on her older brother, Fenrin (along with every other girl on the planet). She quickly becomes a feature in their house, hanging out with Summer, Fenrin, and Thalia, and their close family friend Wolf. They do different spells and incantations together and call themselves witches. But then something goes extremely wrong. And no one remembers what happened.
This is the story of magic (or not?), friendship, popularity, mystery, and danger. Some reviewers are comparing this to Twilight, but I would argue that that is just the first few chapters that you could draw serious comparisons. I think this is a great story, compelling and fascinating. It definitely put a spell on me.
I was given a copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.
River recently moved to a new city and a new school, and just like the rest of the town, she quickly becomes obsessed with the Grace family. They're rumored to be powerful witches and to gain their friendship is rumored to be near impossible.
But River becomes friends with Summer Grace, and she has a huge crush on her older brother, Fenrin (along with every other girl on the planet). She quickly becomes a feature in their house, hanging out with Summer, Fenrin, and Thalia, and their close family friend Wolf. They do different spells and incantations together and call themselves witches. But then something goes extremely wrong. And no one remembers what happened.
This is the story of magic (or not?), friendship, popularity, mystery, and danger. Some reviewers are comparing this to Twilight, but I would argue that that is just the first few chapters that you could draw serious comparisons. I think this is a great story, compelling and fascinating. It definitely put a spell on me.
I was given a copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.
Really 4.5 stars for the sheer pleasure of the read.
I wasn’t going to read this one. I am not a fan of a lot of YA fiction, the Twilight series, Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children etc. There are always exceptions, though, and this book falls into that category. My lunch stains, when I couldn’t stop reading in order to eat, are a testament to that (just as well it wasn’t a library book).
At the beginning, I thought that River was a well drawn introverted troubled teenager, who wants to take control of her life by making friends with the popular kids, who happen to be a family of suspected witches called the Graces.
Midway I realised that River was simply not seeing how more damaged and isolated the Graces were than her, how they were actively hurting themselves by clinging to their beliefs in magic and family.
As I suspected she would, River turns the tables on the lot of them by the end of the book. I actually saw the end and the revelation of the secret coming, simply because that is what I would have written it. That didn’t reduce the enjoyment, though.
Magic may or may not be real in this book, this is not The Craft. It has far more depth and a character with balls and is no Twilight. It is more a coming of age tale with the possible existence of magic as a backstory.
I wasn’t going to read this one. I am not a fan of a lot of YA fiction, the Twilight series, Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children etc. There are always exceptions, though, and this book falls into that category. My lunch stains, when I couldn’t stop reading in order to eat, are a testament to that (just as well it wasn’t a library book).
At the beginning, I thought that River was a well drawn introverted troubled teenager, who wants to take control of her life by making friends with the popular kids, who happen to be a family of suspected witches called the Graces.
Midway I realised that River was simply not seeing how more damaged and isolated the Graces were than her, how they were actively hurting themselves by clinging to their beliefs in magic and family.
As I suspected she would, River turns the tables on the lot of them by the end of the book. I actually saw the end and the revelation of the secret coming, simply because that is what I would have written it. That didn’t reduce the enjoyment, though.
Magic may or may not be real in this book, this is not The Craft. It has far more depth and a character with balls and is no Twilight. It is more a coming of age tale with the possible existence of magic as a backstory.
I'm not sure that I can give a review of this--there were large parts that I liked and large parts that I did not enjoy. Part of the problem lies in the unreliability of the narrator and how much measure I put into connecting with the main character. Laure Eve does some really cool things with both empathizing and also being pushed away from the main character. However, I felt like the whole story relied on really one plot twist (or set of plot twists) that were anticlimatic by the time that they arrived.
I am still working through how I feel about this book. It was not a home run for me, but I don't think that it was quite a waste of time. I am interested enough to read the sequel to see if it helps settle and ameliorate the way that I felt about the end of this book, so take that how you will.
I am still working through how I feel about this book. It was not a home run for me, but I don't think that it was quite a waste of time. I am interested enough to read the sequel to see if it helps settle and ameliorate the way that I felt about the end of this book, so take that how you will.