Reviews tagging 'Cursing'

Crave by Tracy Wolff

25 reviews

zoeelora's review

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dark fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.25

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wellreadandhalfdead's review

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funny mysterious relaxing slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

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bashsbooks's review

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dark emotional funny fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.5

I would probably not call this a "good" book, but it definitely has given me some serious entertainment & a lot to think about, including:
  1. This author's fixation with being over-the-top tongue-in-cheek about the genre in which she is writing. I have over a dozen quotes noted down where she has the MC mention this is "just like a romance novel" or "just like a horror movie". The worst offender is when the vampire love interest LITERALLY gives the MC a copy of Twilight. I will say, it is funny but perhaps not in the way the author intended.
  2. Dialogue is poorly-written, this is sometimes also very funny in an unintentional way.
  3. There is no rhyme or reason to lore, Twilight lore is more internally consistent than this.
  4. Going off of point #3, the outright fact that vampires are mammals in this universe and that born-vampires exist, but they cannot drink milk. Curious as to what baby vampires subsist on and how they get the mammal classification if their mothers don't feed them with milk.
  5. I don't want to spoil it but the Plot Twist Reveal about the MC made me cry I laughed so hard. I would call it brave, groundbreaking even, but my friend told me not to.
I am compelled by "bad" art that is supremely interesting and I am having a lot of fun liveblogging this series to my friends, so I will be reading the rest of them... but I don't want to recommend them unless that's the kind of thing you're into.
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takarakei's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

Is this book good? Objectively no.
Is the writing good? Absolutely not.
Did I have a good time? An unhinged one, yes.
Will I be continuing the series? Yes for the absurdity factor alone.

I listened to the audiobook. It reads like an early 2000-2010s YA high school vampire series even though its from 2022??? The parallels to Twilight are stark and literally mentioned?! Nothing makes sense. There is no plot. It's insta-lovey in all the worst/best ways. The dialogue is cringe worthy. If you are here for a trashy good time then sure, it's maybe for you.

1.5/5 🌶️
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honeybunchesofoats06's review

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adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious 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? No

4.0

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frankenkath's review against another edition

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adventurous lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

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sam_maree's review

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mysterious fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

1.5

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michalaj10's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging mysterious tense fast-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

3.5

 Was this the best book I've ever read? Not even close
Will I read the rest of the series? Absolutley, they're my new guilty pleasure. 
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planetshelf's review against another edition

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adventurous funny mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.5

This book is a complete mess, so I can’t make a review that’s anything but fragments I thought up during my read.

~ REPETITIVE speech patterns:
  • “For long seconds . . .”
  • “*insert place to fly to* on my own power.”
  • “_____ AF.”
  • “hella”
  • “_____. Like, . . ._____” (to say something for the second time, but slightly differently, with more emphasis)
  • “Nothing to do with _____, and everything to do with _____.” (Most often, the first blank is filled with “Alaska,” or “the cold.”)
  • “My mouth is/goes desert-dry.”
  • “FML”
  • “Freaking”
  • “Every hair on my body stands up straight.”
  • “Give myself over to . . .”
  • “Civil twilight”
  • “Listing”

+ The chapter titles are really funny and actually pretty good.

~ <slight spoiler> The way two characters said “. . .dr—“ and then corrected themselves while referring to Flint before any reveal. . . .</slight spoiler>

~ VERY predictable:
  • I was able to say things to my sister (while we were listening and sewing) like, “Watch, it’s Jaxon,” or, “It’s definitely not her uncle.”
  • <slight spoiler> My sister said to me, “Dragons?” when I told her what I thought the types of paranormal creatures that went to the school would turn out to be because what the FUCK. Of all things? </slight spoiler> I mean, I guess I can’t say it isn’t unique.

+ Some of the quirky quips are entertaining; some were even clever.

+ I did appreciate that Grace was never an NLOG. She probably knew she was very much like other girls.

# How did they release so many books in this series in such a short amount of time?

+ This isn’t a Twilight knockoff. It’s extremely different, though I’m not sure if it’s taken from other supernatural teen franchises.

+ I love Macy. She's truly the best cousin ever. The way she got everything in hot pink for Grace because that was the most recent favorite color she knew of made me do that, for lack of a better phrase, affectionate type of frown.

# Why does Grace say “freaking” so often if the author is clearly fine with using “fuck”?

———

Despite all of this, it’s a guilty pleasure read, I guess. I couldn’t help but laugh — or pause and laugh every few seconds.
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ashleyvharris's review

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adventurous dark funny mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

A fun, romantic vampire story that feels inspired by some of the 2000’s most popular YA series, most obviously, Twilight.

The derivativeness of book 1 is crystal clear, but Wolff never tries to hide that or pretend otherwise. She embraces the role that Twilight has played in her writing by briefly mentioning the book and acknowledges its existence in the world she’s created. Although, I think the execution of this scene isn’t quite smooth enough, I recognize Wolf’s intention.

I enjoyed the characters in Book 1 a lot. Most of them felt well-defined and dynamic. Jaxon Vega clearly a stand out as the tortured anti-hero, the final and additional chapters from his perspective were wonderful and added extra dimension to his character and those particular scenes. 

Understanding this is Book 1 of a 4-book series, I couldn’t help but be a little frustrated with the ambiguity of some details. Wolff doesn’t dive into many specifics of how the supernaturals operate within the world she’s building which leaves a lot of gray area for readers. Other details,  like
Amka’s note for Flint in the library or Lia and Jackson’s altercation in the gazebo
, are described but never explained. 

Overall, the plot isn’t the strongest, but Wolf’s characters make up for much of it with witty dialogue and believable interactions. The real star here, much like in Twilight, is the love story. Grace and Jaxon have chemistry and tension for miles and it’s easy to root for them. I’m looking forward to what plot twists throw their course off track and how they find their way back to one another. 
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