Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.96 AVERAGE
3.96 AVERAGE
An interesting start to the new trilogy and 7th book in the series. The characters were in full force, however some that we grew to love in the last three books took a significant back seat which was disappointing. All in all it’s a fun ride with some great history fill in, however there was something left to be desired with the plot itself, with not much happening over all. I’m intrigued to read the next one!
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
As a leader.. I suppose the Commander is qualified. But as a friend... he is far from it.
Maybe you just can't be both
Maybe you just can't be both
adventurous
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:
N/A
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Have you ever watched an action movie, or a sequel to a favorite movie, and just been so sad that it happened and wished that you hadn’t watched it at all, but conflicted because it’s your favorite franchise, how could you not watch it?*
That’s me with Shadow Study.
The book is action-packed, but a lot of the action felt a little pointless. They ran around a lot looking for people or spying on people with little to show for it. Yelena and Janco kept getting captured or cornered, at which point we’d abruptly transition to someone else’s POV for a few chapters. This happened not just once or twice to build tension, but practically at the end of every single one of Yelena’s chapters. How many times in this book did someone sneak up on her or capture her because Yelena had lost her magic? I didn’t count, but I’d be willing to bet that we lurched away from her in a shocked state no less than five times. Yelena spent all of the first book not knowing she had magic and she was a lot better at running around and not getting totally cornered than she was in Shadow Study. Maybe her magic had become a crutch, but Snyder practically beat us over the head with the fact that Yelena was no longer capable of protecting herself or making intelligent decisions without it. A character I'd spent so long admiring and describing as a badass became weak and frustrating to read. (I honestly cannot even get into the emasculation of Valek in this book, so please just trust me that it was an atrocity.)
Janco’s POV was surprisingly annoying to read. I love Ari and Janco as characters, but Janco wasn’t fun to read. He kept ignoring his instincts! Why did he do that? Ari and Janco as supporting characters were amazing. Ari and Janco as POV characters were extremely dull. All that flash and personality from the first trilogy felt so forced here. Ari and Janco in charge of people? What?
Snyder’s writing style wasn’t as strong as in the first trilogy, a decline that I’m sad to say isn’t new to this new trilogy. She overused certain phrases: "memories" and "thoughts" are constantly “swirling” in this book. (Once "unease" even swirled.) Repetition like that drives me nuts; it’s sloppy writing, sloppy editing, and suggests either a stubborn attachment to phrases or a lack of adequate fresh and detailed eyeballs on the manuscript. Either way, it’s not an acceptable excuse for me. If Shadow Study had just been full of sloppy writing, I might not have been so critical, except that page after page, subplot after subplot, Snyder made safe choices. Expected choices. Choices that I'm sure she thought would be "shocking" but an intelligent reader could see from a mile away. Snyder didn't even bother to invent a new villain. She used the same old tired villains as in her other books!
Jessie (@jessi_squeakers) and I have raged about this book at length over the last few weeks. I've honestly never been MAD at an author until now, which I hate saying, because it sounds so childish. But why couldn't Snyder just leave the series alone? You could not like the Glass series and not like the Healer series and it was okay because the original Study series was STILL GOOD. Jessie pointed this out, and I 100% agree, that Shadow Study reads like badly written fan-fiction. Adding the new points of view (and next book, there will be even more), the "plot twist" at the end that was so out-of-character and ridiculous that I went on a Twitter rage with Jessie for an hour, and the sloppy writing just really didn't give the impression that a great deal of time or precision was put into this book. This is an issue that I had when Snyder was writing the Glass series and the InsideOut series at the same time. If you can crank out two or three books a year, they're not going to be the same quality as if you'd spent the whole year on just one (unless you're Brandon Sanderson, because everyone knows Sanderson defies all logic).
Snyder's basic ideas are good, but not enough time is taken to snip out bad plotting, bad characterization, and just plain sloppy writing. Again, I'm quoting Jessie here, but Shadow Study read like a first or second draft. Whether the fault lies with Snyder or her publisher, MIRA, or some combo of the two, I'm heartsick about the quality of this book. (I'm also totally flabbergasted that so many people ADORED this book and posted rave reviews on GoodReads. Just because it features Yelena and Valek ... ugh you know what, nevermind. I can't.) I will not be reading the next two, and I fervently wish I'd left this one alone.
*Please ignore my overall bad grammar and punctuation here because this book has rendered me more dramatic than usual, which is saying quite a lot.This review was originally posted on ReadingByStarlight.com
That’s me with Shadow Study.
The book is action-packed, but a lot of the action felt a little pointless. They ran around a lot looking for people or spying on people with little to show for it. Yelena and Janco kept getting captured or cornered, at which point we’d abruptly transition to someone else’s POV for a few chapters. This happened not just once or twice to build tension, but practically at the end of every single one of Yelena’s chapters. How many times in this book did someone sneak up on her or capture her because Yelena had lost her magic? I didn’t count, but I’d be willing to bet that we lurched away from her in a shocked state no less than five times. Yelena spent all of the first book not knowing she had magic and she was a lot better at running around and not getting totally cornered than she was in Shadow Study. Maybe her magic had become a crutch, but Snyder practically beat us over the head with the fact that Yelena was no longer capable of protecting herself or making intelligent decisions without it. A character I'd spent so long admiring and describing as a badass became weak and frustrating to read. (I honestly cannot even get into the emasculation of Valek in this book, so please just trust me that it was an atrocity.)
Janco’s POV was surprisingly annoying to read. I love Ari and Janco as characters, but Janco wasn’t fun to read. He kept ignoring his instincts! Why did he do that? Ari and Janco as supporting characters were amazing. Ari and Janco as POV characters were extremely dull. All that flash and personality from the first trilogy felt so forced here. Ari and Janco in charge of people? What?
Snyder’s writing style wasn’t as strong as in the first trilogy, a decline that I’m sad to say isn’t new to this new trilogy. She overused certain phrases: "memories" and "thoughts" are constantly “swirling” in this book. (Once "unease" even swirled.) Repetition like that drives me nuts; it’s sloppy writing, sloppy editing, and suggests either a stubborn attachment to phrases or a lack of adequate fresh and detailed eyeballs on the manuscript. Either way, it’s not an acceptable excuse for me. If Shadow Study had just been full of sloppy writing, I might not have been so critical, except that page after page, subplot after subplot, Snyder made safe choices. Expected choices. Choices that I'm sure she thought would be "shocking" but an intelligent reader could see from a mile away.
Spoiler
Like the final page of the book pregnancy "revelation." You SUPER awkwardly throw in a scene where Yelena and her doctor meet and the doctor says "hey take this potion so you don't get prego" and then of course Yelena is super busy getting kidnapped and escaping and whatnot, so of course she doesn't take it, and of course she winds up prego. Which #1) Yelena has been running around like a maniac since this trilogy started, so do not even tell me that she was too busy to take the moon potion because we all know the surprise pregnancy plot device when we see it #2) I don't really have a #2 but I'm still just completely annoyed over the whole thing.Spoiler
Because Valek would TOTALLY let someone remain alive who kept threatening his soulmate. That's realistic.Jessie (@jessi_squeakers) and I have raged about this book at length over the last few weeks. I've honestly never been MAD at an author until now, which I hate saying, because it sounds so childish. But why couldn't Snyder just leave the series alone? You could not like the Glass series and not like the Healer series and it was okay because the original Study series was STILL GOOD. Jessie pointed this out, and I 100% agree, that Shadow Study reads like badly written fan-fiction. Adding the new points of view (and next book, there will be even more), the "plot twist" at the end that was so out-of-character and ridiculous that I went on a Twitter rage with Jessie for an hour, and the sloppy writing just really didn't give the impression that a great deal of time or precision was put into this book. This is an issue that I had when Snyder was writing the Glass series and the InsideOut series at the same time. If you can crank out two or three books a year, they're not going to be the same quality as if you'd spent the whole year on just one (unless you're Brandon Sanderson, because everyone knows Sanderson defies all logic).
In the End:
Snyder's basic ideas are good, but not enough time is taken to snip out bad plotting, bad characterization, and just plain sloppy writing. Again, I'm quoting Jessie here, but Shadow Study read like a first or second draft. Whether the fault lies with Snyder or her publisher, MIRA, or some combo of the two, I'm heartsick about the quality of this book. (I'm also totally flabbergasted that so many people ADORED this book and posted rave reviews on GoodReads. Just because it features Yelena and Valek ... ugh you know what, nevermind. I can't.) I will not be reading the next two, and I fervently wish I'd left this one alone.
*Please ignore my overall bad grammar and punctuation here because this book has rendered me more dramatic than usual, which is saying quite a lot.This review was originally posted on ReadingByStarlight.com
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
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:
Complicated