Reviews

Glimmerglass by Jenna Black

toastymaloney's review against another edition

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4.0

I can't wait to read more. Fairies and Avalon and Knights and Seelie and Unseelie queens. And it's all in a modern day setting. I like it.

sueodd's review against another edition

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2.0

I think I found a heroine that I dislike almost as much as Bella from the Twilight series. Yes, I know Dana's 16. She's supposed to be mature because she's been taking care of her alcoholic mom since she was a young child, but she actually comes off as immature. And why is every man in this book "hot"? I'm sure the author could find at least one other word to describe attractive guys.

I guess I'm simply tired of otherwise unremarkable teenage girls being pursued by gorgeous guys, and finding out they have some sort of special ability or power.

asma_aj's review against another edition

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4.0

Tired of her alcoholic mother, Dana Hathaway decides to take matters in her own hands. When she arrives at Avalon to find her Fae father, she finds herself in the most sticky situations. Avalon, the country between the mortal world and Faerie, is in the midst of choosing a Consul, and the political stakes are high-- and Dana is smack dab in the middle of it.

I can't believe I left this book resting on my shelf for this long. Honestly, what was I thinking?

Then again, I didn't expect to enjoy it as much as I did. In fact, I didn't think it would become one of my favourite series (pending the rest of the books). To read the rest of the review, please visit A Reading Kabocha @http://areadingkabocha.blogspot.com

msglam's review against another edition

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5.0

I brought this book the day it was released and didn’t put it down till I finished it. This is the first book I have read by Jenna Black. It is an easy read that instantly sucked me into the Avalon world. I fell in love with the characters Kimber is my favorite with Keenan (hoping to see more of him in Book 2) coming in a close second I just love their sarcastic comments. I liked the heroine as well she is strong and smart and goes in asking questions rather than accepting what everyone wants her to believe. From the moment she enters Avalon it’s a rollercoaster ride of emotions as she learns about the father she never knew and half of who she is with attempts on her life thrown in for good measure all while trying to adjust to land of Avalon. All in all a good start to what looks to be a fantastic series with enchanting characters and an intriguing plot. I can’t wait for the next book to be released and see how the story develops.

paradoxically's review against another edition

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2.0

I spent a great deal of time being irritated by this book and the main character. I did like the premise (I'm always up for stories about the fae), but Dana made me want to throw things. Half the time she seems to be blushing over Ethan, who, quite frankly, was really suspicious from the get go and whoever else she thinks is cute or hot, and the other half of the time is a lot of 'woe is me' and 'I just want people to be honest, but not as brutally honest as my dad'. Her naivety grates, and her inability to do anything was irritating. Admittedly she tries--she starts taking self defense lessons from Keane and she has her resolve to train herself in other things in the end. Maybe in the next book things get better.

There were a few things that saved the book from being a total wash. Like I said, I liked the premise and the world sounded interesting, even if it wasn't as in depth as I may have liked. I was rather intrigued by several of the side characters, some of whom I actually liked (Keane, Finn, Dana's dad [I feel like the man is trying. He's not perfect, but he's still trying. Heck, he didn't even know he had a daughter until she called him up:]). I do wonder about Lachlan, who doesn't seem half bad.

There is a chance that I'll read the next book out. Maybe Dana grows some more. And maybe we'll see more interaction between the characters that has less of Dana blushing and her heart thumping and more actual content.

tennisleo's review against another edition

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4.0

I found myself becoming very involved in the storyline very early on in the book. The author didn't waste pages front-loading the book with a lot of background; instead, she wove the background in as the story progressed which worked well to give me just enough details to know what was going on without becoming bored. I like the characters and a lot of interesting relationships were introduced, but I wanted more! I was disappointed when the book was over and found myself wondering what would happen next. I will be keeping my eyes open for the next books in the series. The characters were all interesting - there wasn't one character that seemed superfluous. All the characters had a role to play in the story. I really liked this book and was disappointed to reach the end!

erinarkin20's review against another edition

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3.0

Review to come - leaning toward a 2.5

sunnydee's review against another edition

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4.0

3,6 von 5 Sternen
Inhalt:
Dana lebt mit ihrer Mutter in den USA. Ihre Mutter ist Alkoholikerin und ist ständig mit ihr auf der Flucht vor ihrem Feenvater. Eines Tages beschließt Dana, dass sie es leid hat auf ihre Mutter aufzupassen. Sie will selbst herausfinden ob es wirklich nötig war vor ihrem Vater zu fliehen. Sie macht sich auf den Weg nach Avalon(in England), der Stadt, die den Übergang der menschlichen Welt zu Faerie bildet.

Wie kam das Buch zu mir
Ich bin ein riesiger Fan von Jenna Blacks Exorzistin-Reihe und wollte daher ihre Jugendserie ausprobieren. Für 5,99 Euro habe ich es bei ReBuy gebraucht erstanden.

Aufmachung/Qualität
Das Buch hat eine stabile Klappenbroschur und ist schön aufgemacht. Die Kapitel sind angenehm lang, etwas 15-20 Seiten.

Meinung:
Die Grundidee ist recht einfach, aber hatte trotzdem Potenzial eine geniale Geschichte zu werden. Ein Mädchen, das sich nichts sehnlicher wünscht als ein Elternteil, das sich um sie kümmert, machte sich auf den Weg zu ihrem Feen-Vater. Dieser ist ein hohes politisches Tier in Avalon, der Stadt die den Übergang der Menschenwelt und der Feenwelt bildet. Dort angekommen, stellt Dana fest, dass ihre Mutter vielleicht doch nicht so unrecht hatte, als sie sie vor Avalon gewarnt hat. Doch jetzt gibt es kein zurück mehr. Wie gesagt die Idee mit dieser ganz besonderen Stadt hat mir sehr gefallen und auch alles was Dana dort so passiert war interessant, aber leider mangelte es an Tiefe.

Der Schreibstil war sehr einfach, aber einem Jugendbuch entsprechend. Es wird aus der Ich-Perspektive geschildert und aus der Vergangenheit. Leider fehlt es dem Schreibstil im Gegensatz zu Jenna Blacks Büchern für Erwachsene an Tiefe. Alles wirkt schrecklich oberflächlich, vor allem in der ersten Hälfte. Die Personen im Buch reagieren oft übertrieben und emotionale Stellen werden einfach zu schnell abgehandelt. Lediglich im letzten Drittel wurde es besser.

Die Spannung war durchschnittlich, aber okay für das Genre. Es gab einige überraschende Momente und einige Personen waren schwer einzuschätzen und gaben dem ganzen dadurch Pepp.

Die Emotionen kamen bei mir erst am Ende des Buches richtig an. Es gab Momente in denen ich wirklich begeistert war, aber dann gab es auch schnell wieder Szenen, die schrecklich oberflächlich wirkten.

Die Charaktere waren sehr unterschiedlich. Am besten ausgearbeitet fand ich Danas Vater und Keane, der Rest war interessant aber eben nicht wirklich überzeugend. Vor allem Ethans Reaktionen wirkten am Anfang nicht nur undurchschaubar sondern auch überstürzt. Die Bösewichte wirkten zwar überzeugend, aber auch sie waren ein wenig oberflächlich.

Die Liebesgeschichte (oder besser gesagt Liebelei) im Buch spielt zwar eine große Rolle, aber es passiert nicht viel. Am Anfang des Buches war ich überrascht wie verbal sexualisiert das Buch anfing. Also Dana ist 16 Jahre und Ethan 18 Jahre und bereits die ersten Worte, die die beiden mit einander wechselten, waren sehr deutlich. Ich dachte schon, dass dieses Jugendbuch doch nicht ganz so jugendfrei sein würde, aber es entwickelte sich dann doch anders. Das Buch ist lediglich mit Anspielungen gespickt, die für mich nicht ganz so in das Genre passten und vielleicht damit zusammenhing, dass die Autorin vorher nur Bücher für Erwachsene geschrieben hat, in denen es eindeutig zur Sache ging. Es ist keine direkte Dreiecksgeschichte, aber auch Dana fühlt sich zwischen zwei Jungen hin und hergerissen. Ich fand am Ende beide sehr interessant.

Grundidee 4/5
Schreibstil 3,5/5
Spannung 4/5
Emotionen 4/5
Charaktere 4/5
Liebesgeschichte 3,5/5

Fazit:
3,6 von 5 Sternen
Dies ist eine wirklich unterhaltende Urbanfantasy-Geschichte mit interessanten Charakteren, der es aber über weite Teile des Buches an Tiefe fehlt. Das Ende hingegen war spannend und machte Lust auf mehr. Leider wurde bis jetzt noch kein weiterer Teil der Reihe übersetzt. Im Englischem sind bereits zwei weitere Teile herausgegeben worden.

Reihe:
Glimmerglass (Rosendorn) 2010
Shadowspell 2011
Sirensong 2011

adularia25's review against another edition

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2.0

There were so many parts of this book that struck a wrong note with me. As they say, the devil is in the details, and this book had a lot of little details that were flat out wrong. Did the author ever ask someone what it was like to grow up with a drunk parent? Did she do any research in that regard? I'm guessing no, because she got so many small details wrong. Such as Dana regularly drinking hot toddies. Dana, being offered an alcoholic drink early on in the book, has only a slight quibble about it the first time, and then the book kept mentioning every time she drank another hot toddy. Each time I winced. I don't care how much alcohol is actually in the drink - if you grow up with a drunk parent, you do NOT DRINK. Not as a teen. It takes years - if not decades - to get over the emotional scarring of what alcohol can do to a person. And there were a lot of other questionable choices Dana made throughout the book. But really, the drinking after having an alcoholic parent pretty much did the book in for me. After that, there was nothing Dana did that could make her a real character, and not some fake personality. I really do want to know more about her powers, I even like Avalon and the Fae world. But I don't trust Dana and can't see myself ever reading another book with her as the main character.

aknas22's review against another edition

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2.0

This book was ok, not sure why I didn't really like it. Guess it was a combination of factors, the main character and the story-seemed like nothing really happened- included. not sure if I will read the next book. I do like Ms. Black's Morgan Kingsley series so I might try this one again.