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3.49 AVERAGE
3.49 AVERAGE
emotional
mysterious
reflective
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:
Yes
This is such an interesting concept and opens up so many fascinating questions. The book itself is so well written and I really enjoyed all of the different characters. Even within a few pages of reading from their perspective, you really fell like they are real people and you know so much about who they are in a very natural way. I really enjoyed reading this!
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
2.5 stars, but I round up.
There is so much potential here. The premise is a unique and fascinating one. The characters are interesting and have the potential to be three-dimensional. The settings are elaborate and changing.
But in reality, I found this confusing and very uneven. There are completely solidly interesting moments-
-Esme's father has a stutter and has fallen in love with a woman with a five year old
-Antony is a young boy from a poorer neighborhood in New York City who is trapped under a building
-People in New York City are protesting
-Gleamwood City and Gleamwood towers are somehow connected
-There are aluminum trees growing, with roots, out of the ground
- Marcus has a religious awakening and now goes by Michael
-Joey secured his house to the Empire State building with duct tape
-Rosemary thinks she loves Seraphina and joins a cult
But... those sentences, truly, are all you learned of those events. I want to KNOW about Seraphina. I want to know about the aluminum trees. I want to know about Gleamwood.
This book feels unfinished, like these ideas should have been fleshed out (or, possibly, some of them dropped altogether).
There is so much potential here. The premise is a unique and fascinating one. The characters are interesting and have the potential to be three-dimensional. The settings are elaborate and changing.
But in reality, I found this confusing and very uneven. There are completely solidly interesting moments-
-Esme's father has a stutter and has fallen in love with a woman with a five year old
-Antony is a young boy from a poorer neighborhood in New York City who is trapped under a building
-People in New York City are protesting
-Gleamwood City and Gleamwood towers are somehow connected
-There are aluminum trees growing, with roots, out of the ground
- Marcus has a religious awakening and now goes by Michael
-Joey secured his house to the Empire State building with duct tape
-Rosemary thinks she loves Seraphina and joins a cult
But... those sentences, truly, are all you learned of those events. I want to KNOW about Seraphina. I want to know about the aluminum trees. I want to know about Gleamwood.
This book feels unfinished, like these ideas should have been fleshed out (or, possibly, some of them dropped altogether).
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Interesting premise, but not what I thought it would be
funny
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
As a land use planner, I was weirdly drawn to this book. The concept is woven into what I do and think about every day.
I found this book easy to read and oddly funny. The characters are all mostly insufferable, but that's the real world for ya. I enjoyed all the different perspectives and the general eeriness of the crazy uncertainty.
Ultimately, the book failed to provide much of a WHY to the many questions asked, which was frustrating. I really wanted to love it... And if we got a bit more resolution, I may have.
I found this book easy to read and oddly funny. The characters are all mostly insufferable, but that's the real world for ya. I enjoyed all the different perspectives and the general eeriness of the crazy uncertainty.
Ultimately, the book failed to provide much of a WHY to the many questions asked, which was frustrating. I really wanted to love it... And if we got a bit more resolution, I may have.
tense
slow-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:
No
Really wanted to like this but it was just not for me. I found both main characters extremely unlikable. The way Esme described her relationship with Marcus made me hate both of them, and Arjun was borderline incel-ish. Anytime something interesting started happening, the perspective would change or there would be a time jump. A few of the side plots/ characters were interesting, but it wasn't nearly enough to save this.
medium-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:
N/A
challenging
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
slow-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
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Pros:
- Interesting premise.
- The prose was good.
- Julia Whelan narrates the audiobook.
Cons:
- It was not uncommon for 10% or 20% of the book to pass before a particular character or plotline was revisited.
- Many of the characters the author chooses to focus on are not very likeable or even particularly interesting.
- The ending left something to be desired.
For me, the pros outweighed the cons and I did enjoy the book. I probably would not feel that way if it were not for Julia Whelan's narration.
- Interesting premise.
- The prose was good.
- Julia Whelan narrates the audiobook.
Cons:
- It was not uncommon for 10% or 20% of the book to pass before a particular character or plotline was revisited.
- Many of the characters the author chooses to focus on are not very likeable or even particularly interesting.
- The ending left something to be desired.
For me, the pros outweighed the cons and I did enjoy the book. I probably would not feel that way if it were not for Julia Whelan's narration.
adventurous
funny
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes