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3.96 AVERAGE
3.96 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I am quite torn about this one.
The book has so many really well-done setups but the follow-through always sucked without exception.
There wasn't a single twist I didn't predict years ahead and there are many of them.
There are a number of things in this book I really wanted to love but the execution fell flat in the end every single case.
The only part that I enjoyed a lot is the beginning. Before the book tries twists and turn and complex court intrigue etc.
Every good and interesting idea eventually gets resolved by a common and cheap YA or sci-fi trope I've read hundreds of times before.
Every good plot thread is just a thin veneer over a myriad of plot holes.
The writing is easy to read and flows really well. I was never jarred or irritated by the writing itself.
All in all, I can not give more than 2 stars but this could've been easily 4 stars if it tried harder.
There are 3 types of bad books for me. The first is just so bad that it makes me mad but I sometimes keep reading just to see how bad it gets. Second are books that just fail to engage me at all. Those just leave me indifferent. This one is of the third category. It fully engaged me and kept me actively reading and paying attention. This in itself is a very positive aspect but nothing in this book held up to my scrutiny. I would not have paid enough attention to even notice all the hidden weaknesses if there wasn't a very engaging element to this book.
The book has so many really well-done setups but the follow-through always sucked without exception.
There wasn't a single twist I didn't predict years ahead and there are many of them.
There are a number of things in this book I really wanted to love but the execution fell flat in the end every single case.
The only part that I enjoyed a lot is the beginning. Before the book tries twists and turn and complex court intrigue etc.
Every good and interesting idea eventually gets resolved by a common and cheap YA or sci-fi trope I've read hundreds of times before.
Every good plot thread is just a thin veneer over a myriad of plot holes.
The writing is easy to read and flows really well. I was never jarred or irritated by the writing itself.
All in all, I can not give more than 2 stars but this could've been easily 4 stars if it tried harder.
There are 3 types of bad books for me. The first is just so bad that it makes me mad but I sometimes keep reading just to see how bad it gets. Second are books that just fail to engage me at all. Those just leave me indifferent. This one is of the third category. It fully engaged me and kept me actively reading and paying attention. This in itself is a very positive aspect but nothing in this book held up to my scrutiny. I would not have paid enough attention to even notice all the hidden weaknesses if there wasn't a very engaging element to this book.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
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
I have a very mixed opinion on this one.
The overall plot and story - it was incredible.
The world building - it seemed a bit rushed and unexplained at times, though I suspect this may be amended if there's a sequel (which there doesn't seem to be one planned). ***UPDATE 18/1/17: there will be two more books in this series***
There were certain scenes that mirrored other YA novels I've read a little too closely, namely the ending of "Red Queen" was very similar to the end of this.
I'm also getting major "Bladerunner" vibes. Much like the elusive question of whether or not Deckard is a Replicant, is Nemesis truly a Diabolic?
I had only one major feels moment, but then that was counteracted once Kincaid brought the person back, only to do away with her again.
Hmm. So many mixed feelings.
I feel that "The Diabolic" deserves a 3.5/5 rating.
The overall plot and story - it was incredible.
The world building - it seemed a bit rushed and unexplained at times, though I suspect this may be amended if there's a sequel (which there doesn't seem to be one planned). ***UPDATE 18/1/17: there will be two more books in this series***
There were certain scenes that mirrored other YA novels I've read a little too closely, namely the ending of "Red Queen" was very similar to the end of this.
I'm also getting major "Bladerunner" vibes. Much like the elusive question of whether or not Deckard is a Replicant, is Nemesis truly a Diabolic?
I had only one major feels moment, but then that was counteracted once Kincaid brought the person back, only to do away with her again.
Hmm. So many mixed feelings.
I feel that "The Diabolic" deserves a 3.5/5 rating.
Oh boy, where do I even start... I had expected A LOT from this book, because the back sounded so awesome. The cover was beautiful too. But oh oh oh, what was I wrong.
I used to read a lot of sci-fi/dystopia ya, so I kinda know the typical drill. I had expected this book to be different. Yes, in some way, it definitely was. But it just didn’t work out for me.
We start of with Nemesis and her first introduction to Sidonia, which she is fated to protect her entire life, and only her. Nemesis is a cold blooded diabolic. She is made to fight and kill. NO EMOTIONS. Sounds promising, right? Well I’ll wake you up from that dream.
Okay Nemesis comes of as a cold person with no feelings and the need to only protect Sidonia. She doesn’t feel at home at court and constantly thinks about Sidonia. She meets this girl named Neveni. I had expected that Nemesis would hesitate to hang out with her and that she wouldn’t develop a real friendship, but I got the contrary. They started to bond real quick and Nemesis started to feel...
And there is our mad prince, Tyrus. At first he really seems like a mad man, but it seems eventually that he’s very damned smart. Oh well, what a shocker... It would have been much more interesting if he was really mad. That would result into lots of great scenarios I think.
I couldn’t bond with the characters, the plot was very predictable and not really that exciting, the story was very slow built and there was like no romance while the back says that shit starts to get real when Nemesis meets Tyrus. That was very dissapointing
I used to read a lot of sci-fi/dystopia ya, so I kinda know the typical drill. I had expected this book to be different. Yes, in some way, it definitely was. But it just didn’t work out for me.
We start of with Nemesis and her first introduction to Sidonia, which she is fated to protect her entire life, and only her. Nemesis is a cold blooded diabolic. She is made to fight and kill. NO EMOTIONS. Sounds promising, right? Well I’ll wake you up from that dream.
Okay Nemesis comes of as a cold person with no feelings and the need to only protect Sidonia. She doesn’t feel at home at court and constantly thinks about Sidonia. She meets this girl named Neveni. I had expected that Nemesis would hesitate to hang out with her and that she wouldn’t develop a real friendship, but I got the contrary. They started to bond real quick and Nemesis started to feel...
And there is our mad prince, Tyrus. At first he really seems like a mad man, but it seems eventually that he’s very damned smart. Oh well, what a shocker... It would have been much more interesting if he was really mad. That would result into lots of great scenarios I think.
I couldn’t bond with the characters, the plot was very predictable and not really that exciting, the story was very slow built and there was like no romance while the back says that shit starts to get real when Nemesis meets Tyrus. That was very dissapointing
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Covers a lot of heavy topics that make you think about life in a fun adventurous way
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Rape, Slavery, Blood, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Alcohol, Sexual harassment