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dreamerfreak's review
2.0
I struggled with this book. I did pick up the first book in the series, [b:Released|31830857|Released (The Shapeshifters' Library, 1)|Amber Polo|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1472935269s/31830857.jpg|21441971], before I started Reprinted, but it just didn't live up to the potential that a series like this has. The premise sounds like a lot of fun--dog-shifter librarians and book-burning werewolves--but it lacked a well-developed world to support it. The motivation for why the werewolves hated books was never really clear. They just do, even while ignoring the ways in which they benefit from books and from knowledge in general, which is what the books essentially represent. It seemed so... conflicted and illogical, and it frustrated me that I couldn't understand why the werewolves hated books so much, when that's the driver behind the whole plot.
On the flip side of that, the conclusion to this book brings about a reconciliation of sorts, and lots of spoilery things that I won't go into, except to say that it was very, very fast, and didn't seem to fit with the characters. Miraculous sudden turn-around with (again) no motive? I just couldn't buy it.
And then there's the main characters of this specific book, Landy and Pacifico. Surprisingly I don't have any real issues with Landy. She was a solid, likeable character, and she changes and grows and makes mistakes but learns from them. Pacifico on the other hand... Well, he starts off arrogant and elitist and... he ends arrogant and elitist. I can totally go for a not particularly likeable main character, but the whole point of it is that they learn something and change, or at least start to change. And I didn't see that in Pacifico. He never realized why Landy was getting hurt when he ignored her for "important" work or got over his spoiled attitude toward the islanders. I really didn't want Landy to be with him by the end.
In summary, it's just too far-fetched without any solid characterization or world-building to prop it up. The tech is all over the place, the motivations of good and bad guys are often unclear, and I just couldn't suspend my disbelief long enough to enjoy it. It's an intriguing idea, but it just didn't work out.
[I received this book for free through First Reads and was not required to write a positive or any other type of review. All opinions stated herein are solely my own.]
On the flip side of that, the conclusion to this book brings about a reconciliation of sorts, and lots of spoilery things that I won't go into, except to say that it was very, very fast, and didn't seem to fit with the characters. Miraculous sudden turn-around with (again) no motive? I just couldn't buy it.
And then there's the main characters of this specific book, Landy and Pacifico. Surprisingly I don't have any real issues with Landy. She was a solid, likeable character, and she changes and grows and makes mistakes but learns from them. Pacifico on the other hand... Well, he starts off arrogant and elitist and... he ends arrogant and elitist. I can totally go for a not particularly likeable main character, but the whole point of it is that they learn something and change, or at least start to change. And I didn't see that in Pacifico. He never realized why Landy was getting hurt when he ignored her for "important" work or got over his spoiled attitude toward the islanders. I really didn't want Landy to be with him by the end.
In summary, it's just too far-fetched without any solid characterization or world-building to prop it up. The tech is all over the place, the motivations of good and bad guys are often unclear, and I just couldn't suspend my disbelief long enough to enjoy it. It's an intriguing idea, but it just didn't work out.
[I received this book for free through First Reads and was not required to write a positive or any other type of review. All opinions stated herein are solely my own.]
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