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obtuse_angle's review against another edition
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
That was wild
Content Warnings
Minor: Ableism
spookysierra's review against another edition
3.75
This is just improved-upon House of Night. Like, it's so similar in some ways that I wonder how this author wasn't sued for plagiarism. I guess it's just different enough. Honestly though, aside from the single R-word use (🤮) and the super judgemental main character (like, seriously, wtf?), The book was pretty good and I'm interested.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Ableism
bookishfoxes's review
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- 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
I really wanted to like this, it sounded amazing. It gave me Percy Jackson meets The Mortal Instruments vibes, two of my favorite series.
In the beginning I definitely enjoyed it. It was deliciously fast paced - as in fast enough to keep your attention, but not too fast that it is rushed. It almost immediately starts with the plot, no unnecessary long explanation or intro. You figure things out at the same time the main character does.
Some say her denial was annoying, but let's be real, she just found out she isn't human. I wouldn't believe it either, even with proof.
So, I thought this was going to be a great book. Easy to read and quick to finish. And incredibly fun.
But then came a sentence, 'Not that anyone could mistake Derek for gay. Something about the way he walked and carried himself was overtly female-loving male'. The sentence... I don't know, I didn't know how to feel.
I decided to continue anyways, thinking it would just be one weird sentence in the book. But then, another sentence made me feel the same. 'Oh, hell, you think I'm going to let him bite me? No way. It's too risky and too gay.' By now I was getting annoyed and confused. Is this author being homophobic? Is this just something people said in 2011 - when this book was published.
I tried looking up reviews that mentioned it, surely I couldn't be the only one noticing this or feeling weird about it, right? Well, apparently I am. I couldn't find anyone mention it, not even the lowest ratings with reviews mentioned this.
On top of that I accidentally spoiled myself on the ending of the love triangle at the end of the series.
I was questioning if I should continue. I was kinda invested in the story, but those sentences just didn't sit right with me. And already knowing a part of the ending takes away some fun.
Then I thought, I'll finish this book so I can write a review about it and share this with others who in the future might feel the same and go looking if someone else had noticed it. But the series... no, probably not.
So, I move on. A bit annoyed, but the book reads quick so I'm hoping it won't take me too long. And the story itself is pretty fun, so I probably wouldn't struggle.
Que in, an ableist word. Yay. Yes, yes, this is written in 2011. I know. Doesn't mean it makes me extremely uncomfortable. I'm disabled, I'm lucky no one has called me the r-word yet. But reading the word still makes me incredibly angry. But yeah, the character that everyone seems to love, Della, says it casually as a swear word. Yay for me, once again questioning, will I continue.
By now I already know, this won't be higher than 2 stars. Maybe 2.5 if the story keeps being interesting. But is it worth it? Isn't it better to spend my time reading a book I'll love?
But then I remember how freaking excited I was for this book, how I used to stare at it in my bookshelves, wanting to read it asap. I should at least try to finish it, right? Some people hate read, I don't often. But DNFing is also something I struggle with. So on we go.
After that I did struggle a bit with reading. While it was still easy to read and the story itself interesting, the previous point made it that my passion and excitement to read this book were gone. I was only reading it so I could say I read it and write this review.
Kylie's attraction for Derek and Lucas felt rushed. But ok, it's a 2011 YA, that's to be expected. But what annoyed me a lot is that her ex Trey, who is a giant douchebag, was still in the picture. And she compared Trey and Derek every time. The first few times, I was like 'ok then', but at some point I just started rolling my eyes. She has been there, what, two days? And already is so attracted to Derek she starts to compare him with Trey, who she's not sure of she wants to get back with, and then also starts dreaming about Lucas, the guy who killed her cat, supposedly.
Sorry, but if I think you killed my cat, you're dead to me.
Also, the way she's obsessed with the way the boys looked. Constantly comparing their bodies, their chests. Like... huh? I get finding someone's body attractive but... if a male writer wrote about a male character doing this to female characters, people would speak up about it. But this... just keeps happening and I don't see anyone talk about how obsessively she starts comaping them. A day after she met 2 of the 3 boys. Or I think a day because it read like a day later but later what day it is after she arrived got confusing.
At some point she keeps confusing Trey for Derek - still a few days after she met Derek. She even calls him Derek??? What the fuck?? Honestly, Trey being more than just an ex boyfriend that gets mentioned once in a while was unnecessary.
Talking about unnecessary, the amount of slutshaming in this book, damn. I definitely understand Kylie wanting to be ready and her first time to be special. But constantly slutshaming other girls who have had sex, please stop.
I think there were also some mistakes. Either that, or the sentences just didn't make sense. 'His touch felt good. Familiar. Normal. Life the way it should be. Like the way it was less than a month ago.' Is it me, or does it feel like 'life' is supposed to be 'like'?
This isn't the only one, sometimes there is an 'a' too early in a sentence. Or a missing " when someone says something. Honestly, I don't normally really notice mistakes, I often look over them or forget about them in 3 seconds. English isn't my first language, so I probably make some mistakes as well. No idea if here it is just so obvious, or if I was just so annoyed that I start noticing every bad detail. I wonder, this was published in 2011. It is now 2022. 11 years later. Why has no one in those 11 years said to the author or publisher, 'hey, maybe you should fix these mistakes'.
At some point, the book gets boring. At page 270 there still isn't any action. Just boy drama, the same 'I'm not supernatural' drama and friends drama. Even her seeing the ghost got boring.
Maybe I'm just reaching here for bad things to say, but I don't think I've ever read a book where the main character's breatst are mentioned as much as this book. Every scene with a boy, the main character thinks about her breasts or has a boy staring at them. It got very annoying.
Around page 300 there was finally some mystery. And I couldn't. Care. Less.
The way the stuff with the animals was solved was very underwhelming. You have this slow build up and then it just gets revealed and the guilty person just gives themselves up.
The reveal at the ending about the ghost... okay, I didn't see that coming, and I thought it was interesting. It almost made me want to continue this series. Almost. I read the sneak peak at the end of the book, but no... the few things I'm curious about, I'll look up the answers on the internet. I'm not going to continue this series.
In the beginning I definitely enjoyed it. It was deliciously fast paced - as in fast enough to keep your attention, but not too fast that it is rushed. It almost immediately starts with the plot, no unnecessary long explanation or intro. You figure things out at the same time the main character does.
Some say her denial was annoying, but let's be real, she just found out she isn't human. I wouldn't believe it either, even with proof.
So, I thought this was going to be a great book. Easy to read and quick to finish. And incredibly fun.
But then came a sentence, 'Not that anyone could mistake Derek for gay. Something about the way he walked and carried himself was overtly female-loving male'. The sentence... I don't know, I didn't know how to feel.
I decided to continue anyways, thinking it would just be one weird sentence in the book. But then, another sentence made me feel the same. 'Oh, hell, you think I'm going to let him bite me? No way. It's too risky and too gay.' By now I was getting annoyed and confused. Is this author being homophobic? Is this just something people said in 2011 - when this book was published.
I tried looking up reviews that mentioned it, surely I couldn't be the only one noticing this or feeling weird about it, right? Well, apparently I am. I couldn't find anyone mention it, not even the lowest ratings with reviews mentioned this.
On top of that I accidentally spoiled myself on the ending of the love triangle at the end of the series.
I was questioning if I should continue. I was kinda invested in the story, but those sentences just didn't sit right with me. And already knowing a part of the ending takes away some fun.
Then I thought, I'll finish this book so I can write a review about it and share this with others who in the future might feel the same and go looking if someone else had noticed it. But the series... no, probably not.
So, I move on. A bit annoyed, but the book reads quick so I'm hoping it won't take me too long. And the story itself is pretty fun, so I probably wouldn't struggle.
Que in, an ableist word. Yay. Yes, yes, this is written in 2011. I know. Doesn't mean it makes me extremely uncomfortable. I'm disabled, I'm lucky no one has called me the r-word yet. But reading the word still makes me incredibly angry. But yeah, the character that everyone seems to love, Della, says it casually as a swear word. Yay for me, once again questioning, will I continue.
By now I already know, this won't be higher than 2 stars. Maybe 2.5 if the story keeps being interesting. But is it worth it? Isn't it better to spend my time reading a book I'll love?
But then I remember how freaking excited I was for this book, how I used to stare at it in my bookshelves, wanting to read it asap. I should at least try to finish it, right? Some people hate read, I don't often. But DNFing is also something I struggle with. So on we go.
After that I did struggle a bit with reading. While it was still easy to read and the story itself interesting, the previous point made it that my passion and excitement to read this book were gone. I was only reading it so I could say I read it and write this review.
Kylie's attraction for Derek and Lucas felt rushed. But ok, it's a 2011 YA, that's to be expected. But what annoyed me a lot is that her ex Trey, who is a giant douchebag, was still in the picture. And she compared Trey and Derek every time. The first few times, I was like 'ok then', but at some point I just started rolling my eyes. She has been there, what, two days? And already is so attracted to Derek she starts to compare him with Trey, who she's not sure of she wants to get back with, and then also starts dreaming about Lucas, the guy who killed her cat, supposedly.
Sorry, but if I think you killed my cat, you're dead to me.
Also, the way she's obsessed with the way the boys looked. Constantly comparing their bodies, their chests. Like... huh? I get finding someone's body attractive but... if a male writer wrote about a male character doing this to female characters, people would speak up about it. But this... just keeps happening and I don't see anyone talk about how obsessively she starts comaping them. A day after she met 2 of the 3 boys. Or I think a day because it read like a day later but later what day it is after she arrived got confusing.
At some point she keeps confusing Trey for Derek - still a few days after she met Derek. She even calls him Derek??? What the fuck?? Honestly, Trey being more than just an ex boyfriend that gets mentioned once in a while was unnecessary.
Talking about unnecessary, the amount of slutshaming in this book, damn. I definitely understand Kylie wanting to be ready and her first time to be special. But constantly slutshaming other girls who have had sex, please stop.
I think there were also some mistakes. Either that, or the sentences just didn't make sense. 'His touch felt good. Familiar. Normal. Life the way it should be. Like the way it was less than a month ago.' Is it me, or does it feel like 'life' is supposed to be 'like'?
This isn't the only one, sometimes there is an 'a' too early in a sentence. Or a missing " when someone says something. Honestly, I don't normally really notice mistakes, I often look over them or forget about them in 3 seconds. English isn't my first language, so I probably make some mistakes as well. No idea if here it is just so obvious, or if I was just so annoyed that I start noticing every bad detail. I wonder, this was published in 2011. It is now 2022. 11 years later. Why has no one in those 11 years said to the author or publisher, 'hey, maybe you should fix these mistakes'.
At some point, the book gets boring. At page 270 there still isn't any action. Just boy drama, the same 'I'm not supernatural' drama and friends drama. Even her seeing the ghost got boring.
Maybe I'm just reaching here for bad things to say, but I don't think I've ever read a book where the main character's breatst are mentioned as much as this book. Every scene with a boy, the main character thinks about her breasts or has a boy staring at them. It got very annoying.
Around page 300 there was finally some mystery. And I couldn't. Care. Less.
The way the stuff with the animals was solved was very underwhelming. You have this slow build up and then it just gets revealed and the guilty person just gives themselves up.
The reveal at the ending about the ghost... okay, I didn't see that coming, and I thought it was interesting. It almost made me want to continue this series. Almost. I read the sneak peak at the end of the book, but no... the few things I'm curious about, I'll look up the answers on the internet. I'm not going to continue this series.
Content Warnings
Minor: Ableism
One time someone uses the ableist 'r word/slur' casually in a sentence.
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