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mariadavid's review against another edition
2.0
Originally posted to my blog. http://onceuponabook-thebookworm.blogspot.com
After Mackenna has finally accepted life in Doon and Veronica is settling in as Queen, both girls are forcefully ripped away from Doon and sent back to their old lives, leaving them desperate to get back to save Doon from the witch, Addie, who is now in Doon’s borders.
After being let down by the second book, Shades of Doon was much better. Veronica’s mother has never been the best mother to her—described as being cold and distant with a horrible choice in boyfriends—and her dad is MIA. Back in her old life, Veronica confronts her mother again, and though they do not fully resolve their differences, the meeting allows Veronica to finally put her fears about the future behind her and really consider her life with Jamie.
Mackenna, who once only wanted to be back in her old life, now wants to get back to Doon and Duncan. Now gone is the whinny and needy Mackenna from the second book, making her much more interesting as a character. Veronica also plays a much more central role, and as I find her more interesting, this definitely helped move the book along.
The character development for both Veronica and Mackenna is one of the strongest aspects of the books, as they grow and develop both in their friendship towards each other, their family, and their romantic relations. Though, speaking of romantic relations, everything is surprisingly clean despite the lovey-dovey atmosphere.
My biggest problem with the book: it’s disgustingly romantic and sappy, but I can see why teenage girls might really enjoy it. Way too gushy and romancey for my tastes, but as the girls and their princes begin to discover Addie’s threat—and more importantly who she has been posing as while in Doon—romance takes the back burner and the more fun magic stuff takes over. (And as a side note, there were no surprises when it came to who was Addie in disguise.)
And what a cliffhanger there was at the end. I finished the book wanting more. I’ll definitely have to read the fourth and final book in this series.
After Mackenna has finally accepted life in Doon and Veronica is settling in as Queen, both girls are forcefully ripped away from Doon and sent back to their old lives, leaving them desperate to get back to save Doon from the witch, Addie, who is now in Doon’s borders.
After being let down by the second book, Shades of Doon was much better. Veronica’s mother has never been the best mother to her—described as being cold and distant with a horrible choice in boyfriends—and her dad is MIA. Back in her old life, Veronica confronts her mother again, and though they do not fully resolve their differences, the meeting allows Veronica to finally put her fears about the future behind her and really consider her life with Jamie.
Mackenna, who once only wanted to be back in her old life, now wants to get back to Doon and Duncan. Now gone is the whinny and needy Mackenna from the second book, making her much more interesting as a character. Veronica also plays a much more central role, and as I find her more interesting, this definitely helped move the book along.
The character development for both Veronica and Mackenna is one of the strongest aspects of the books, as they grow and develop both in their friendship towards each other, their family, and their romantic relations. Though, speaking of romantic relations, everything is surprisingly clean despite the lovey-dovey atmosphere.
My biggest problem with the book: it’s disgustingly romantic and sappy, but I can see why teenage girls might really enjoy it. Way too gushy and romancey for my tastes, but as the girls and their princes begin to discover Addie’s threat—and more importantly who she has been posing as while in Doon—romance takes the back burner and the more fun magic stuff takes over. (And as a side note, there were no surprises when it came to who was Addie in disguise.)
And what a cliffhanger there was at the end. I finished the book wanting more. I’ll definitely have to read the fourth and final book in this series.
miacorvere14's review against another edition
DNF 22%
This is the first book I'm marking as DNF ever. I've stopped reading books before but I always hope to get back to them. But I think I'm done with this one. I read Veronica's book and Mackenna's. They are both happy now. Why mess that up?!
Also I'm not rating the book. I don't think it's fair if I rate it after only reading a fifth of the book.
This is the first book I'm marking as DNF ever. I've stopped reading books before but I always hope to get back to them. But I think I'm done with this one. I read Veronica's book and Mackenna's. They are both happy now. Why mess that up?!
Also I'm not rating the book. I don't think it's fair if I rate it after only reading a fifth of the book.
marisa145's review against another edition
5.0
I can't even... I... I... I don't understand. So many feels. I'll do a review on my blog soon people. My thoughts will be more coherent there.
goldguardie's review against another edition
4.0
This one gets a solid 4ish stars.
Oh man. Way more action in here. I love the back story and how things with the witch are connected and the mystery is becoming solved and I got really into this one once I got past the first few chapters.
I liked that there was more going on, and the scenery changed more often. It was still sort of a case of boys save girls, girls save boys and try to save kingdom, but are honestly kind of dumb, so all hell breaks loose and there's more crap for them to clean up.
The weird language is still there, though I've gotten used to it at this point. One thing I've discovered that bothers me is the way they talk about how handsome and great their "princes" are. It kind of makes me want to gag. I think the authors are attempting to make these girls seem really strong and independent, but when you see their pov they're like...all about the boys. Toward the end of this book, Vee was more about fighting for Doon, but up until then it was more like, "I'll never let anyone separate me from my prince again, BLARGH BLARGH BLARGH." *vomits into pocket* We can tell that Jamie and Duncan are paragons of Highland fantasy guy, you don't need to shove it down our throats. I know you work better together, and we can all see that you're in love, but do you REALLY turn into a puddle whenever he looks at you from across the room? Nah, fam. Nah.
This is definitely a good story with a lot of potential, but some of the details just bug me and make my stomach hurt. I definitely want to read the 4th book when it comes out though because at this point, I can't wait to see how they resolve to the pretty obvious happy ending that everyone deserves at this point.
Oh man. Way more action in here. I love the back story and how things with the witch are connected and the mystery is becoming solved and I got really into this one once I got past the first few chapters.
I liked that there was more going on, and the scenery changed more often. It was still sort of a case of boys save girls, girls save boys and try to save kingdom, but are honestly kind of dumb, so all hell breaks loose and there's more crap for them to clean up.
The weird language is still there, though I've gotten used to it at this point. One thing I've discovered that bothers me is the way they talk about how handsome and great their "princes" are. It kind of makes me want to gag. I think the authors are attempting to make these girls seem really strong and independent, but when you see their pov they're like...all about the boys. Toward the end of this book, Vee was more about fighting for Doon, but up until then it was more like, "I'll never let anyone separate me from my prince again, BLARGH BLARGH BLARGH." *vomits into pocket* We can tell that Jamie and Duncan are paragons of Highland fantasy guy, you don't need to shove it down our throats. I know you work better together, and we can all see that you're in love, but do you REALLY turn into a puddle whenever he looks at you from across the room? Nah, fam. Nah.
This is definitely a good story with a lot of potential, but some of the details just bug me and make my stomach hurt. I definitely want to read the 4th book when it comes out though because at this point, I can't wait to see how they resolve to the pretty obvious happy ending that everyone deserves at this point.
saba_gul_'s review against another edition
2.0
*2.5*
Here I am, back at it again with another Doon series review. I had high hopes for this book, and to my 'surprise', they were not yet. Here's a list of complaints:
1. To be honest, the reason I picked up the third book was to see what happened to Veronica after her little incident in the first book, but nooooo. The authors skimmed over it, almost as if it was an afterthought that they had to include to continue the plot where it left off.
2. Queen Lynette's necklace. I personally thought the necklace could have been dragged out a little more, possibly done some more harm to out 'precious' Veronica, but that's my opinion.
3. What is going on with this weird time travel thing. I thought that once you were a Doonian, you couldn't leave, and the only exceptions were Veronica and Mackenna due to their magical rings. Why are Jamie and Duncan suddenly able to time travel with them, and also to their convenience??
4. The high school dance / charity thing was a big bust for me. I saw no point in it and no one cares about Eric and Stephanie anymore, since they were OnLy MeNtIoNeD iN tHe FiRsT tEn PaGeS oF tHe NoVeL.
5. Adelaide is one the worst witches I've seen. In the previous book, she was an old, wrinkly hag and now suddenly she's this stunning vixen in a red dress with a youthful appearance. Nuh uh. Thank you, next.
6. Lastly, I bring up one of my favorite things to see in books (sarcasm implied), the ever infamous, 'prince does all the hard work while the woman sits there and does nothing'. Every time something bad would happen, Jamie and Duncan while Mackenna and Veronica sat their like idiots and complied with their every word. I'm not kidding. Jame and Duncan would tell the girls to wait there while they saved the day, and Veronica and Mackenna just NODDED THEIR HEADS LIKE WELL TRAINED, COMPLIANT DOGS. DOGS. Ugggghhhhh.
Here I am, back at it again with another Doon series review. I had high hopes for this book, and to my 'surprise', they were not yet. Here's a list of complaints:
1. To be honest, the reason I picked up the third book was to see what happened to Veronica after her little incident in the first book, but nooooo. The authors skimmed over it, almost as if it was an afterthought that they had to include to continue the plot where it left off.
2. Queen Lynette's necklace. I personally thought the necklace could have been dragged out a little more, possibly done some more harm to out 'precious' Veronica, but that's my opinion.
3. What is going on with this weird time travel thing. I thought that once you were a Doonian, you couldn't leave, and the only exceptions were Veronica and Mackenna due to their magical rings. Why are Jamie and Duncan suddenly able to time travel with them, and also to their convenience??
4. The high school dance / charity thing was a big bust for me. I saw no point in it and no one cares about Eric and Stephanie anymore, since they were OnLy MeNtIoNeD iN tHe FiRsT tEn PaGeS oF tHe NoVeL.
5. Adelaide is one the worst witches I've seen. In the previous book, she was an old, wrinkly hag and now suddenly she's this stunning vixen in a red dress with a youthful appearance. Nuh uh. Thank you, next.
6. Lastly, I bring up one of my favorite things to see in books (sarcasm implied), the ever infamous, 'prince does all the hard work while the woman sits there and does nothing'. Every time something bad would happen, Jamie and Duncan while Mackenna and Veronica sat their like idiots and complied with their every word. I'm not kidding. Jame and Duncan would tell the girls to wait there while they saved the day, and Veronica and Mackenna just NODDED THEIR HEADS LIKE WELL TRAINED, COMPLIANT DOGS. DOGS. Ugggghhhhh.
mollyrae95's review against another edition
5.0
Shades of Doon is the third installment in the Doon series. This was just as great as the first two books. You get to see how much Veronica and Mackenna have grown when they are thrust back into their old lives in the modern world. I can't wait to read the fourth and final book in the series and find out how this story of Doon ends.