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ldubs82's review against another edition
Gave it a go for 22% of the book and it was so boring. I didn't feel interested in the plot even when a few things started to happen. I found I didn't care and I have too many other books to read
loonathebetta's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
courtneyk's review against another edition
2.0
I made it. 3 months later. Here I am. Finished with this book.
I don’t know how I did it, and I am so sad to say that this book was not for me. I ADORE The Night Circus so much, but this was seriously such a dud. Which is why it took me months to finish. I initially DNF’d this and decided to give it another go, because I wanted this book to work for me SO badly.
If someone were to ask me to explain what this book is about, I wouldn’t be able to. Absolutely nothing happened, while so much happened???? See, I can’t even explain it. I felt like I was losing my mind while reading this. Zachary and I are the same because we both had no idea what was going on, like, ever.
Speaking of Zachary… he was the most boring protagonist I have come across in awhile. In fact, none of the characters left any impact. They were so stale and their “stories” made no sense to me. There was just too much going on. Almost like there was too much description and it made it difficult for me to focus on any of the characters. Honestly! All the unnecessary descriptions made my head hurt. The last 100 pages made me feel like I was being ripped apart, and not in a way I want while reading a book.
The writing is EXQUISITE though!!! Erin Morgenstern builds a world like no other. So beautiful and it’s truly a shame that it was wasted on a plotless encyclopedia of description. For a book written to be a love letter to storytelling… there was not much of a story being told.
It makes me so sad because I was really excited to read this. This is right up my alley! An underground world of stories that have beginnings that are endings and endings that are beginnings! There are cats and keys and bees and swords!!! Like, of course I would love that! If there was a plot involved. And the characters were interesting. Sigh.
I have a feeling this is meant to be a book that needs to be read multiple times to truly understand all its meanings. The problem is that I will not be doing so. I was so frustrated while reading this and I will not go through it again.
I don’t know how I did it, and I am so sad to say that this book was not for me. I ADORE The Night Circus so much, but this was seriously such a dud. Which is why it took me months to finish. I initially DNF’d this and decided to give it another go, because I wanted this book to work for me SO badly.
If someone were to ask me to explain what this book is about, I wouldn’t be able to. Absolutely nothing happened, while so much happened???? See, I can’t even explain it. I felt like I was losing my mind while reading this. Zachary and I are the same because we both had no idea what was going on, like, ever.
Speaking of Zachary… he was the most boring protagonist I have come across in awhile. In fact, none of the characters left any impact. They were so stale and their “stories” made no sense to me. There was just too much going on. Almost like there was too much description and it made it difficult for me to focus on any of the characters. Honestly! All the unnecessary descriptions made my head hurt. The last 100 pages made me feel like I was being ripped apart, and not in a way I want while reading a book.
The writing is EXQUISITE though!!! Erin Morgenstern builds a world like no other. So beautiful and it’s truly a shame that it was wasted on a plotless encyclopedia of description. For a book written to be a love letter to storytelling… there was not much of a story being told.
It makes me so sad because I was really excited to read this. This is right up my alley! An underground world of stories that have beginnings that are endings and endings that are beginnings! There are cats and keys and bees and swords!!! Like, of course I would love that! If there was a plot involved. And the characters were interesting. Sigh.
I have a feeling this is meant to be a book that needs to be read multiple times to truly understand all its meanings. The problem is that I will not be doing so. I was so frustrated while reading this and I will not go through it again.
wylaniswriting_'s review against another edition
adventurous
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? It's complicated
5.0
sophialoumos's review against another edition
4.0
The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern draw me in with its beautiful cover. The story itself is really well thought through and multiple stories happen at the same time but still get told from the beginning to the end.
The first few pages were amazing and pulled me completely into the story. I really liked the personality of the main character as well as his chemistry with his love interest. However, during the last 150 - 200 pages the story became quite complicated and my imagination couldn‘t really keep up. Also the change of scenery in almost every chapter made it quite hard to follow the already complicated main story. Sometimes I felt almost in need of writing down what happened just to understand the story. If I had to tell a friend what the book is about, it would be really hard to recreate it, because of its many turns. Maybe this story would be easier to follow as a movie.
Don‘t get me wrong: the book itself is great! Nevertheless there could have been a little less scenery changes and plottwistes.
On a sidenote: What I also thought while reading was that there were a lot of similarities to Harry Potter. E. g.: The scene in the Ballroom almost at the end could be compared to the scene in King‘s Cross with Harry and Dumbledore. This is not a negative point, however if the writer wouldn‘t have talked about Harry Potter in the first few pages, I probably wouldn‘t have realized it.
The first few pages were amazing and pulled me completely into the story. I really liked the personality of the main character as well as his chemistry with his love interest. However, during the last 150 - 200 pages the story became quite complicated and my imagination couldn‘t really keep up. Also the change of scenery in almost every chapter made it quite hard to follow the already complicated main story. Sometimes I felt almost in need of writing down what happened just to understand the story. If I had to tell a friend what the book is about, it would be really hard to recreate it, because of its many turns. Maybe this story would be easier to follow as a movie.
Don‘t get me wrong: the book itself is great! Nevertheless there could have been a little less scenery changes and plottwistes.
On a sidenote: What I also thought while reading was that there were a lot of similarities to Harry Potter. E. g.: The scene in the Ballroom almost at the end could be compared to the scene in King‘s Cross with Harry and Dumbledore. This is not a negative point, however if the writer wouldn‘t have talked about Harry Potter in the first few pages, I probably wouldn‘t have realized it.
sunsetsnbooks's review against another edition
5.0
I'm dead. This book was magic. This book was EVERYTHING.
RTC.
RTC.
doublelisha's review against another edition
5.0
Sometimes a book is just a book, and sometimes a book is poetry written specifically for you. ❤️