Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.98 AVERAGE
3.98 AVERAGE
Two stars instead of one for the imaginative and creative premise of the book, but frankly there is little else I can commend here. Generic plot, flat characters… I was bored.
If you want to give N.K. Jemisin a try, go for the Broken Earth trilogy instead.
If you want to give N.K. Jemisin a try, go for the Broken Earth trilogy instead.
adventurous
challenging
dark
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
This is such a weird but creative book! Sometimes it hurt my brain and I had to read something else. Sometimes it waxed poetic about NYC so much that I needed a break. I’m sure New Yorkers love that! But it was getting old for me at times. Abrupt but decently satisfying ending. I do love her writing.
I personally couldn't get past how "New York" this book was. Every five pages the book talks about how New York it is. It's ok but it got kind of cringy sometimes.
I’m disappointed, I was so looking forward to this book! Even before this book I felt like books set in New York were sometimes tedious, with the city almost as a character itself, in a snooty kind of intellectual way. And this were it is literally a character, or characters... didn’t really work for me. It might work for you?
ETA I’ve never read Lovecraft, so maybe that was a missing piece for me? One of my favorite podcasts, Nerdette, is going to discuss this this month with the author. Maybe that will help me understand what the author was going for.
ETA I’ve never read Lovecraft, so maybe that was a missing piece for me? One of my favorite podcasts, Nerdette, is going to discuss this this month with the author. Maybe that will help me understand what the author was going for.
adventurous
funny
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Much of this book I found to be a little corny. The New York romanticism is heavyhanded at times, but the personalities of the main characters saved it by far. I also highly recommend the audio book; it adds a lot of excitement.
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
A good story if you know and love New York City (and Jersey City), but I wish Queens had more of a story
I felt that it had a very confusing start and slow development. I did like all of the parts of New York, and they were described well. it just didn't flow for me
adventurous
challenging
funny
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A high-concept fantasy novel that turns into a hate letter to HP Lovecraft; I really enjoyed it.
Jemisin never ceases to amaze me with her world building. Such a fascinating concept for a book and I enjoyed it more than I expected to.
The book could easily be read standalone.
The book could easily be read standalone.