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3.96 AVERAGE
3.96 AVERAGE
Okay, so it took me until half way through the book to really get into it. I don’t know whether I was just in a reading slump or the first 200 pages were just slow, but for me it really picked up in the second half! I couldn’t put it down... and I’ve just ordered the second book.
"I felt and I raged and I hurt and they could not take that away from me. (...) I would be a Diabolic who forged a new future. (...) And in that way I would have the truest revenge of all: I would make my life mean something.
"
4.5 stars - EVERYONE, YOU HAVE TO READ THIS BOOK. I need to start off this review with mentioning that there are a few things I absolutely don't like in books: any sci-fi books in general because I don't enjoy the concept and reading about spaceships, space, technology, etc. I also don't enjoy dystopian books, because I've read way too many, and most of them were all the same in the end. This book is all of those things - so imagine my astonishment while reading it and actually enjoying it. And I wasn't only enjoying The Diabolic - I absolutely loved it.
A few of the reasons why I loved it and why everyone should read this book (bc I honestly feel not enough people have heard of it??):
- Nemesis: She's one hell of a main character! What I loved most about her is that with her, it's not only telling how badass, ruthless and strong she is, it was showing throughout the whole book. You don't just get to hear how inhuman, fierce, deathly or kickass she is: her actions actually prove it. I am so sick of female YA protagonists who's awesomeness we are told about by the author but never shown.
And her struggle with discovering her human emotions was so beautiful to read and made me love her even more. She's a perfect combination of a ruthless killer and precious, deep-down emotional girl.
- Tyrus: ACTUAL SON, BOYFRIEND, HUSBAND AND WAY TOO PRECIOUS FLUFF IN ONE PERSON. I somehow knew from the first page he was mentioned that I would ADORE him and well, I ended up doing just that (and adding him to my never-ending list of fictional boyfriends on a veeeery high spot). He's so cunning and clever, but also SO GOD DAMN SOFT AND PURE.
- The plot: I can't remember the last time I've read a book with that many plot twists and shocking surprises I could totally not see coming. This book had it all, and no chapter was even the slightest bit boring. There were twists and turns after each chapter and no character could ever be considered save - I loved it and couldn't predict most of it.
- The romance: It took me by complete surprise because unlike most YA books, it is not advertised in the blurb. So imagine my ABSOLUTE DELIGHT when I saw it coming. It's just one of those ships that immediately feel right and will also absolutely kill you with its perfection. And break your heart. And make you giggle on the train ride home with strangers staring at you. And also create a playlist entirely for the pair. YES, it's one of those ships.
Other things worth mentioning: We've also got amazing female friendships, a MOST PRECIOUS DOG, amazing writing (seriously, so good!), backstabbing, killing, kissing and all the other good stuff.
So please, do yourself a favor and READ THIS BOOK (so we can fangirl together)! I seriously haven't been this surprised by a book in a long time and couldn't be happier about it. This year I am having a really hard time giving books a 5 star rating and out of the 30 books I've read so far, I have only given two the highest rating. So giving The Diabolic five stars means a lot.
4.5 stars - EVERYONE, YOU HAVE TO READ THIS BOOK. I need to start off this review with mentioning that there are a few things I absolutely don't like in books: any sci-fi books in general because I don't enjoy the concept and reading about spaceships, space, technology, etc. I also don't enjoy dystopian books, because I've read way too many, and most of them were all the same in the end. This book is all of those things - so imagine my astonishment while reading it and actually enjoying it. And I wasn't only enjoying The Diabolic - I absolutely loved it.
A few of the reasons why I loved it and why everyone should read this book (bc I honestly feel not enough people have heard of it??):
- Nemesis: She's one hell of a main character! What I loved most about her is that with her, it's not only telling how badass, ruthless and strong she is, it was showing throughout the whole book. You don't just get to hear how inhuman, fierce, deathly or kickass she is: her actions actually prove it. I am so sick of female YA protagonists who's awesomeness we are told about by the author but never shown.
And her struggle with discovering her human emotions was so beautiful to read and made me love her even more. She's a perfect combination of a ruthless killer and precious, deep-down emotional girl.
- Tyrus: ACTUAL SON, BOYFRIEND, HUSBAND AND WAY TOO PRECIOUS FLUFF IN ONE PERSON. I somehow knew from the first page he was mentioned that I would ADORE him and well, I ended up doing just that (and adding him to my never-ending list of fictional boyfriends on a veeeery high spot). He's so cunning and clever, but also SO GOD DAMN SOFT AND PURE.
- The plot: I can't remember the last time I've read a book with that many plot twists and shocking surprises I could totally not see coming. This book had it all, and no chapter was even the slightest bit boring. There were twists and turns after each chapter and no character could ever be considered save - I loved it and couldn't predict most of it.
- The romance: It took me by complete surprise because unlike most YA books, it is not advertised in the blurb. So imagine my ABSOLUTE DELIGHT when I saw it coming. It's just one of those ships that immediately feel right and will also absolutely kill you with its perfection. And break your heart. And make you giggle on the train ride home with strangers staring at you. And also create a playlist entirely for the pair. YES, it's one of those ships.
Other things worth mentioning: We've also got amazing female friendships, a MOST PRECIOUS DOG, amazing writing (seriously, so good!), backstabbing, killing, kissing and all the other good stuff.
So please, do yourself a favor and READ THIS BOOK (so we can fangirl together)! I seriously haven't been this surprised by a book in a long time and couldn't be happier about it. This year I am having a really hard time giving books a 5 star rating and out of the 30 books I've read so far, I have only given two the highest rating. So giving The Diabolic five stars means a lot.
I received a free copy of this book through NetGalley in return for an honest review.
Wow this book took me a while to read and I need time to measure my thoughts so I'll be doing a short review here and a longer one on my blog.
The Diabolic is a YA sci-fi series about a humanoid bodyguard/killer called Nemesis who takes her best friend and owner Sidonia's place as a prisoner under the emperor. This was a very enjoyable book with a lot of twists and turns. You could never be completely sure who do trust and it was intriguing throughout. It did, unfortunately, have a few problems.
What I Liked
-Nemesis and Sidonia
-Nemesis and Tyrus
-Nevani
-The twists
What I Didn't Like
-Bury your gays
-The death of a dog
Obviously the death of the single lesbian character is worse than the death of an animal but it upset me and I know it will others too.
Overall I did really enjoy the book whenever I did read it but I also found it hard to stay focused. I'd say the second half was definitely better than the first but it still had it's problems. I'll definitely be reading book 2 but I think I'll need time to grieve before I do so.
Wow this book took me a while to read and I need time to measure my thoughts so I'll be doing a short review here and a longer one on my blog.
The Diabolic is a YA sci-fi series about a humanoid bodyguard/killer called Nemesis who takes her best friend and owner Sidonia's place as a prisoner under the emperor. This was a very enjoyable book with a lot of twists and turns. You could never be completely sure who do trust and it was intriguing throughout. It did, unfortunately, have a few problems.
What I Liked
-Nemesis and Sidonia
-Nemesis and Tyrus
-Nevani
-The twists
What I Didn't Like
-Bury your gays
-The death of a dog
Obviously the death of the single lesbian character is worse than the death of an animal but it upset me and I know it will others too.
Overall I did really enjoy the book whenever I did read it but I also found it hard to stay focused. I'd say the second half was definitely better than the first but it still had it's problems. I'll definitely be reading book 2 but I think I'll need time to grieve before I do so.
I read her previous trilogy - Insignia, and found it entertaining, but somehow I found this book a little bit disappointing. The ending is open for another, but it is better to stand alone.
Looking back on the first time I read this book, I remember being enchanted with the story and finding it intriguing to go inside the head of a humanoid monster. However, with my recent re-reading of this story, I found several issues that definitely drove my rating down pretty far. First of all, I found the writing to be heavy handed and redundant (if I hear Tyrus's hair described as copper colored one more time...). Most of the time, Nemesis would have a thought, then disregard it by launching into an internal monologue about how she wasn't supposed to have those feelings. It got old by the third time she did that. Another issue I found was that Sidonia was supposed to be this extremely influential figure in the story since she is the sole reason for Nemesis's existence, but she barely got any focus and even with so little coverage managed to have the least character development of any of the other main characters. In fact, I found Sidonia to be even more annoying than the classic bully stereotype, Elantra. It's pretty hard to beat that cliche. I found the story to be interesting, but eventually it descended into a romance that didn't really work for me, since it's mostly just Nemesis saying, "Oh, Tyrus, I love you but I'm not supposed to be able to love you because I'm a monster and also I'm less of a human than you and I can't stop reminding you of that because I'm internally monologuing about it every other sentence!" In my opinion, one of the only redeeming factors is Tyrus because he's the only remotely likable character. He has his faults, but I found he's one of the only characters that doesn't annoy me to no end. I still like the classic story of endless corruption and family treachery though, so I'd give this 2 1/2 stars.
I didn't hate this book, but it definitely wasn't a new favourite of mine.
This may sound presumptuous but my creative writing courses have made it close to impossible not to notice these issues. My main issue with this book was the dialogue, it felt forced and unnatural. I understand that the characters were immersed in propriety and that their language reflected that, but even in conversation with close friends the dialogue felt strange. The second problem was the extra effort that I saw towards the start of the novel in regards to convincing the reader of Nemesis's power and ability to kill. I understand the struggle of making it clear that your character is strong and merciless but it seemed overdone. However, in my opinionthe very act of killing without hesitation should have been enough.
Now onto the actual story!
Coming into the story I had already seen a few reviews that said things like 'very stabby' so I kept my eyes open for that. It was very stabby, but I felt like most of the deaths were beneficial to the story and the characterisation. I got up to seven deaths (that were explicitly shown rather than just mentioned), six of which occurred within the first 85 pages, before I gave up and accepted that there was going to be a lot.
I did enjoy the plot once it really picked up, I found Nemesis's inner conflict interesting and was really intrigued by the idea of Diabolics. The plot twists were unexpected and worked to pull the story away from the direction I had assumed it would go in. The romance felt a bit fast paced but given the situation and the fact that it didn't even begin until halfway through the novel I can forgive that. I also felt like there was a touch of queer baiting for a moment here and there.
Towards the end of the novel, the plot felt rushed. I remember getting to the final chapter and wondering how everything could possibly be wrapped up neatly within the next 20 or so pages. The novel was wrapped up decently, but I felt that some of the characters in the final scene acted in ways that didn't fit with their characterisation.
Overall, it wasn't a terrible novel, and I did enjoy it. However, I am happy to know that the author didn't attempt to draw out the story over more than one book.
If you enjoy, I guess this fits somewhere in the science fiction genre, books that show a darker outlook on the manipulated of humans and that deal with corrupt governments and subterfuge than I recommend this book. Be warned, though, that some of the deaths are a touch explicit and may be distressing for sensitive readers.
Don't let my review discourage you from reading this story, some of my favourite stories have received disheartening reviews. This may well be your new favourite story.
This may sound presumptuous but my creative writing courses have made it close to impossible not to notice these issues. My main issue with this book was the dialogue, it felt forced and unnatural. I understand that the characters were immersed in propriety and that their language reflected that, but even in conversation with close friends the dialogue felt strange. The second problem was the extra effort that I saw towards the start of the novel in regards to convincing the reader of Nemesis's power and ability to kill. I understand the struggle of making it clear that your character is strong and merciless but it seemed overdone. However, in my opinionthe very act of killing without hesitation should have been enough.
Now onto the actual story!
Coming into the story I had already seen a few reviews that said things like 'very stabby' so I kept my eyes open for that. It was very stabby, but I felt like most of the deaths were beneficial to the story and the characterisation. I got up to seven deaths (that were explicitly shown rather than just mentioned), six of which occurred within the first 85 pages, before I gave up and accepted that there was going to be a lot.
I did enjoy the plot once it really picked up, I found Nemesis's inner conflict interesting and was really intrigued by the idea of Diabolics. The plot twists were unexpected and worked to pull the story away from the direction I had assumed it would go in. The romance felt a bit fast paced but given the situation and the fact that it didn't even begin until halfway through the novel I can forgive that. I also felt like there was a touch of queer baiting for a moment here and there.
Towards the end of the novel, the plot felt rushed. I remember getting to the final chapter and wondering how everything could possibly be wrapped up neatly within the next 20 or so pages. The novel was wrapped up decently, but I felt that some of the characters in the final scene acted in ways that didn't fit with their characterisation.
Overall, it wasn't a terrible novel, and I did enjoy it. However, I am happy to know that the author didn't attempt to draw out the story over more than one book.
If you enjoy, I guess this fits somewhere in the science fiction genre, books that show a darker outlook on the manipulated of humans and that deal with corrupt governments and subterfuge than I recommend this book. Be warned, though, that some of the deaths are a touch explicit and may be distressing for sensitive readers.
Don't let my review discourage you from reading this story, some of my favourite stories have received disheartening reviews. This may well be your new favourite story.
DFN al 40%
No estaba conectando ni con los personajes, ni con la historia, ni con el estilo de escritura de la autora
No estaba conectando ni con los personajes, ni con la historia, ni con el estilo de escritura de la autora
This is one of those I didn't want to like at first, but did by the end. Kind of Game of Thrones meets Dune. Probably will read the second one.
I liked it a lot. I had more in common with Nemesis than I originally thought I would.
Donia's weakness and naivety bothered me a bit. It painted her as Nemesis' opposite. She had a few glimmers of wisdom and cleverness but her compassion is what set her apart.
I feel like I have more to say but don't know how to put it into words. More to come?
Donia's weakness and naivety bothered me a bit. It painted her as Nemesis' opposite. She had a few glimmers of wisdom and cleverness but her compassion is what set her apart.
I feel like I have more to say but don't know how to put it into words. More to come?