Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.84 AVERAGE
3.84 AVERAGE
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
It was an alright book, there were some inconsistencies what should have been edited out (like whether or not you can say the antagonist’s name). The antagonist could supposedly convince anyone to do anything but he read more like a thug that an eloquent and intelligent criminal. The romance felt forced and tacked on for no reason, and the main character’s sudden change of opinion about the romantic interest seemed to happen for no reason. It was an interesting story, but it could have been a lot better.
I was disappointed. I like the premise, but I think there were too many subplots or background stories than necessary. The last 60 pages were the best, but it took too long to get to that.
3.5
This book is chaos. It's all over the place, untidy, but absolutely impossible to turn away from. The story kept me turning the pages. I absolutely love the concept and the idea of spec ops. I found Thursday to be intriguing and I LOVED Mycroft. Everything involving Jane Eyre and Martin Chuzzlewit was great.
I found Hades to be a boring and uninspired villain (Schitt is far more compelling imo). The love interest was blah. There is also quite a bit of fat shaming.
I don't know if I will read anymore but this was a fun and wild ride
This book is chaos. It's all over the place, untidy, but absolutely impossible to turn away from. The story kept me turning the pages. I absolutely love the concept and the idea of spec ops. I found Thursday to be intriguing and I LOVED Mycroft. Everything involving Jane Eyre and Martin Chuzzlewit was great.
I found Hades to be a boring and uninspired villain (Schitt is far more compelling imo). The love interest was blah. There is also quite a bit of fat shaming.
I don't know if I will read anymore but this was a fun and wild ride
adventurous
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The Eyre Affair is one of those books that is written for book lovers. It references popular works, focuses on book culture, and has the unique perspective of one who is a little insane about books. Based in the oddest alternate version of the United Kingdom that I have ever read, it pokes fun at the world we will in, in fun and interesting ways.
The book is funny, and it doesn’t take much seriously. While the humour feels ridiculous and childish at times, there’s an intelligence at what it’s poking fun at and why. I would say the humour would likely appeal to discworld fans, by not being a huge fan of that myself, I still loved this book.
The characters are mostly well done. Thursday Next is likable and one of the few sensible people in the book, and I find myself rooting for her, even within her love life, which I wasn’t anywhere near as fond of.
I don’t think there’s really anything out there like this (not that I have seen), and it’s certainly something I would recommend to anyone who loves books and wants a light hearted read. The main pull for me is the magic system of the book world, of seeing known characters from literature in a new way. I find myself liking Rochester from Jane Eyre far more than I ever liked him in the original book. He feels new, like we’re meeting the actor who’s life it is to be Rochester but has no choice in the way that life goes.
On the negative side, I have Acheron Hades, who is a marvellously fun villain, but he is also evil for evils sake, he’s very much a caricature, and while that fits in with the tone of the book, I would have liked a little more motivation behind his actions for it to feel less goofy and more high stakes.
Another issue I had was Thursday’s love story with Landen. It makes me dislike her because of how you see the other woman through Thursdays eyes. While I root for Thursday and Landen, the woman that is the obstacle is made a villain for not wanting her relationship torn asunder, which is pretty much how anyone would feel. It makes both Landen and Thursday a little unlikable in those moments. I also don’t like Ffodes references (as minimal as they are, and as a male author, I’m not mad at how he wrote Thursday) to Thursdays age and needing to find someone because time is running out. I found it irksome and cheap.
The book is funny, and it doesn’t take much seriously. While the humour feels ridiculous and childish at times, there’s an intelligence at what it’s poking fun at and why. I would say the humour would likely appeal to discworld fans, by not being a huge fan of that myself, I still loved this book.
The characters are mostly well done. Thursday Next is likable and one of the few sensible people in the book, and I find myself rooting for her, even within her love life, which I wasn’t anywhere near as fond of.
I don’t think there’s really anything out there like this (not that I have seen), and it’s certainly something I would recommend to anyone who loves books and wants a light hearted read. The main pull for me is the magic system of the book world, of seeing known characters from literature in a new way. I find myself liking Rochester from Jane Eyre far more than I ever liked him in the original book. He feels new, like we’re meeting the actor who’s life it is to be Rochester but has no choice in the way that life goes.
On the negative side, I have Acheron Hades, who is a marvellously fun villain, but he is also evil for evils sake, he’s very much a caricature, and while that fits in with the tone of the book, I would have liked a little more motivation behind his actions for it to feel less goofy and more high stakes.
Another issue I had was Thursday’s love story with Landen. It makes me dislike her because of how you see the other woman through Thursdays eyes. While I root for Thursday and Landen, the woman that is the obstacle is made a villain for not wanting her relationship torn asunder, which is pretty much how anyone would feel. It makes both Landen and Thursday a little unlikable in those moments. I also don’t like Ffodes references (as minimal as they are, and as a male author, I’m not mad at how he wrote Thursday) to Thursdays age and needing to find someone because time is running out. I found it irksome and cheap.
adventurous
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Freaking amazingingly clever -- love this series.
2nd reading in 2018: I didn't love this as much as I loved it the first time! Maybe it's because I couldn't really skip through the boring parts (listened to it on Audible) the way that I did when I read the paper version.
2nd reading in 2018: I didn't love this as much as I loved it the first time! Maybe it's because I couldn't really skip through the boring parts (listened to it on Audible) the way that I did when I read the paper version.
amazingly well-written. what a fascinating genre but alot went over my head! must reread in a few years.
Re-read for a student bookgroup meeting this week, and couldn't put it down. So much for skimming! I'd forgotten just how wonderfully clever this book is. I only take away a star because one more mention of the Crimean War and I might have thrown it across the room.
this was smart. it was quirky. don’t we all wish we could jump into jane eyre and chat it up with rochester