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3.65 AVERAGE
3.65 AVERAGE
These books are all so easy to read, it's a relief I can fly through them so quickly! This was really good, with a strikingly different cast from the Trylle books. The only thing I didn't like about this is that the ending was really abrupt and left me with much more questions than answers. It didn't feel much like there was a complete story in this one, but otherwise I really enjoyed it and I can't wait to get my hands on the next one.
These books are all so easy to read, it's a relief I can fly through them so quickly! This was really good, with a strikingly different cast from the Trylle books. The only thing I didn't like about this is that the ending was really abrupt and left me with much more questions than answers. It didn't feel much like there was a complete story in this one, but otherwise I really enjoyed it and I can't wait to get my hands on the next one.
I don't think this book was fantastic, by any means, but it was better than the Trylle series. Hocking's dialogue is still a bit awkward, but her writing seems to have improved. Unfortunately, she falls back on old tricks. This trilogy starts out the same way the previous one did. Someone is trying to steal changelings. Different characters. Different tribe. Same old story.
This series also suffers from another problem it's predecessor had. Each individual book has no conclusion, they just stop. It seems to me that Hocking writes the entire story in one sitting and then chops it up in book sized pieces to sell. Even in series I prefer that books feel like they have some kind of conclusion. Do not expect that from this series or Trylle.
This series also suffers from another problem it's predecessor had. Each individual book has no conclusion, they just stop. It seems to me that Hocking writes the entire story in one sitting and then chops it up in book sized pieces to sell. Even in series I prefer that books feel like they have some kind of conclusion. Do not expect that from this series or Trylle.
fast-paced
The Kanin Chronicles tells the story of a conspiracy that is taking over the troll kingdoms and a girl that is trying her damnedest to stop it.
(Given that I have read all the books in the series recently, this review will be of the series in general, with a few additional paragraphs relating to each specific book.)
From what I gathered from the reviews of this book, most readers were attracted by the premise (tell me something I don't know, captain obvious). I was given the series by a friend, so I already had high expectations knowing that she was aware of my love for fantasy books. I managed to finish the whole series (3 books) in 6 days, so I guess that says something, but unfortunately it just didn't live up to my expectations. Admittedly, few books do, so I wasn't disappointed.
The settings were one of the parts of the series that I loved most. Hocking really created a beautiful, original alternate universe in which four troll tribes (most of whom surprisingly look just like humans) coexist on Earth alongside humans, without the humans knowing. The uniqueness of each tribes' habitats, abilities, appearances, and dynamics are intriguing, and although we meet each tribe throughout the series I felt like I wanted to know more about each of the tribes and how they lived. Additionally, the author's descriptions of each tribe's palace and kingdoms paint beautiful images in your mind that it makes you feel as if they are on a different planet entirely. I did notice some repetition of location descriptors throughout the books even though the protagonist had been there before and the place had already been described similarly.
I thought the general plot or arc of the series was also well thought out. As facts began to be revealed bit by bit, I found myself thinking back to previous events and seeing how weird behaviour or subtle foreshadowing hinted at the truth since the beginning. I was quite impressed by the scale of the conspiracy that was starting to overtake the Kanin - and later, the other troll kingdoms as well - and how the scope seemed to widen continually from the seemingly minor danger of Konstantin attempting to kidnap a changeling to the threat of complete troll extinction.
Interestingly, I was more interested in the minor characters rather than the major ones. My favourites were Ember and Tilda, Linus Berling, the changeling that Bryn brings back in the beginning of this book, Ulla, and the royal families of the Trylle and Skojare. For the most part, I love Ulla and the royal families because I found their environment and backstories interesting. For this reason, I would love to read Hocking's other series surrounding these tribes. On the other hand, my interest in Ember, Tilda, and Linus mostly derive from their depth as characters. Throughout the series, they exhibit more strength, levelheadedness, and character development than Bryn and Ridley combined, which brings me to my next point.
One of the things I was most annoyed by in the series was Bryn. As the narrator, it felt disconcerting as Bryn tries to explain every single step in her reasoning that led to her (and sometimes other characters') every action, thought, and behaviour. This prevented me from getting lost in the story because it was more like I was reading an essay than watching the scene play out in my head. As a character, Bryn was underwhelmingly two-dimensional and static. She undergoes almost no character development throughout the whole series that you could probably predict her actions halfway through the book. Bryn is the manifestation of the typical female YA protagonist: a beautiful outcast, unaccepted by those around her but ultimately the chosen one, the only person that can save the kingdom. She's determined and hardheaded, and falls in love with the one person she can't fall in love with. She's a stereotype. It would be more believable if the author had said she was 15 rather than 19 because of how immature she was, especially compared to her friends.
Despite my critiques, I'm glad I pushed through my irritation at Bryn, because her world is beautiful and mesmerizing and I found the series a good way to pass the time. While it may not be exactly for me, this series would be perfect for young YA lovers, especially those that lean towards fantasy and romance.
(Given that I have read all the books in the series recently, this review will be of the series in general, with a few additional paragraphs relating to each specific book.)
From what I gathered from the reviews of this book, most readers were attracted by the premise (tell me something I don't know, captain obvious). I was given the series by a friend, so I already had high expectations knowing that she was aware of my love for fantasy books. I managed to finish the whole series (3 books) in 6 days, so I guess that says something, but unfortunately it just didn't live up to my expectations. Admittedly, few books do, so I wasn't disappointed.
The settings were one of the parts of the series that I loved most. Hocking really created a beautiful, original alternate universe in which four troll tribes (most of whom surprisingly look just like humans) coexist on Earth alongside humans, without the humans knowing. The uniqueness of each tribes' habitats, abilities, appearances, and dynamics are intriguing, and although we meet each tribe throughout the series I felt like I wanted to know more about each of the tribes and how they lived. Additionally, the author's descriptions of each tribe's palace and kingdoms paint beautiful images in your mind that it makes you feel as if they are on a different planet entirely. I did notice some repetition of location descriptors throughout the books even though the protagonist had been there before and the place had already been described similarly.
I thought the general plot or arc of the series was also well thought out. As facts began to be revealed bit by bit, I found myself thinking back to previous events and seeing how weird behaviour or subtle foreshadowing hinted at the truth since the beginning. I was quite impressed by the scale of the conspiracy that was starting to overtake the Kanin - and later, the other troll kingdoms as well - and how the scope seemed to widen continually from the seemingly minor danger of Konstantin attempting to kidnap a changeling to the threat of complete troll extinction.
Interestingly, I was more interested in the minor characters rather than the major ones. My favourites were Ember and Tilda, Linus Berling, the changeling that Bryn brings back in the beginning of this book, Ulla, and the royal families of the Trylle and Skojare. For the most part, I love Ulla and the royal families because I found their environment and backstories interesting. For this reason, I would love to read Hocking's other series surrounding these tribes. On the other hand, my interest in Ember, Tilda, and Linus mostly derive from their depth as characters. Throughout the series, they exhibit more strength, levelheadedness, and character development than Bryn and Ridley combined, which brings me to my next point.
One of the things I was most annoyed by in the series was Bryn. As the narrator, it felt disconcerting as Bryn tries to explain every single step in her reasoning that led to her (and sometimes other characters') every action, thought, and behaviour. This prevented me from getting lost in the story because it was more like I was reading an essay than watching the scene play out in my head. As a character, Bryn was underwhelmingly two-dimensional and static. She undergoes almost no character development throughout the whole series that you could probably predict her actions halfway through the book. Bryn is the manifestation of the typical female YA protagonist: a beautiful outcast, unaccepted by those around her but ultimately the chosen one, the only person that can save the kingdom. She's determined and hardheaded, and falls in love with the one person she can't fall in love with. She's a stereotype. It would be more believable if the author had said she was 15 rather than 19 because of how immature she was, especially compared to her friends.
Despite my critiques, I'm glad I pushed through my irritation at Bryn, because her world is beautiful and mesmerizing and I found the series a good way to pass the time. While it may not be exactly for me, this series would be perfect for young YA lovers, especially those that lean towards fantasy and romance.
-POTENTIAL SPOILERS-
You ever come across that one book that pretty much scrambles your brain in such a way you have no idea what to think of it, only that you vastly disliked it?
Well, that's this book to me.
I know it's a spinoff of another series that I also want to read, and I know I'm hypocritical for yelling at other people who read spinoffs first when I myself am doing the same exact thing, but to my knowledge, despite those other books being spinoffs, they provide enough information for you to easily settle into the groove, even if you've never heard of the other series before.
This book, on the other hand, I felt like was written specifically for people who has previously read the other trilogy first. It keeps referencing characters and events so much without even explaining them; it just drops the terms in the book and assumes you understand what's going on.
There's way too much infodumping here. Normally I don't care, or even like it, but this main character takes time out of narrating the story to randomly explain something to the reader that probably would've been much better shown rather than told.
The characters were really boring; again, most of them were from the other book and so the author just assumes you know about them already. The actual main character in this is just a typical workaholic, and is really whiny to boot. I hated her personality, to say the very least.
The story seemed very rushed, there were some weird-sounding phrases, the mystery as well as the villain's reveal made absolutely no sense, it was all terrible.
The only thing in this I liked were all the explanations of the various troll kingdoms and where they all came from. I also liked how they were trolls to begin with. That was unique and a creature I haven't seen in YA before.
But I wish my introduction to said trolls was in a much better book. Maybe I'll return to this series after I read the main one, but for now, I'm glad it was easy for me to get through.
You ever come across that one book that pretty much scrambles your brain in such a way you have no idea what to think of it, only that you vastly disliked it?
Well, that's this book to me.
I know it's a spinoff of another series that I also want to read, and I know I'm hypocritical for yelling at other people who read spinoffs first when I myself am doing the same exact thing, but to my knowledge, despite those other books being spinoffs, they provide enough information for you to easily settle into the groove, even if you've never heard of the other series before.
This book, on the other hand, I felt like was written specifically for people who has previously read the other trilogy first. It keeps referencing characters and events so much without even explaining them; it just drops the terms in the book and assumes you understand what's going on.
There's way too much infodumping here. Normally I don't care, or even like it, but this main character takes time out of narrating the story to randomly explain something to the reader that probably would've been much better shown rather than told.
The characters were really boring; again, most of them were from the other book and so the author just assumes you know about them already. The actual main character in this is just a typical workaholic, and is really whiny to boot. I hated her personality, to say the very least.
The story seemed very rushed, there were some weird-sounding phrases, the mystery as well as the villain's reveal made absolutely no sense, it was all terrible.
The only thing in this I liked were all the explanations of the various troll kingdoms and where they all came from. I also liked how they were trolls to begin with. That was unique and a creature I haven't seen in YA before.
But I wish my introduction to said trolls was in a much better book. Maybe I'll return to this series after I read the main one, but for now, I'm glad it was easy for me to get through.
adventurous
fast-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:
Yes
A fun, entertaining read. It’s refreshing to have a YA like storyline and writing style with adult characters!
Three chapters in and I feel no emotion from this book. I feel as though someone is just talking me through a story, there are hardly any descriptions of anything around her, or any feeling behind the words. Her father is almost murdered in front of her, and Hocking can't spare more than a sentence or two about how the main character feels. I feel like everything is described using the bare minimum, it left the book feeling lifeless and lacking for me.
She confronts the man who tried to murder her father, a man she has spent the last 4 years hating and swearing vengeance on, and she looks at him. Instead of him being angry or surprised he is looking remorseful. she then says she feels herself almost willing to forgive him then. WHAT?! WHHHAATTT? Your fathers would be murder looks remorsefully at you once and you want to FORGIVE HIM?! OH MY GOD. How the hell did Hocking think any part of that is good writing? I was willing to give it a bit more time but I just couldn't take it after that. LORD.
She confronts the man who tried to murder her father, a man she has spent the last 4 years hating and swearing vengeance on, and she looks at him. Instead of him being angry or surprised he is looking remorseful. she then says she feels herself almost willing to forgive him then. WHAT?! WHHHAATTT? Your fathers would be murder looks remorsefully at you once and you want to FORGIVE HIM?! OH MY GOD. How the hell did Hocking think any part of that is good writing? I was willing to give it a bit more time but I just couldn't take it after that. LORD.