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3.51 AVERAGE
3.51 AVERAGE
adventurous
funny
hopeful
inspiring
relaxing
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
I had trouble giving it four stars. If I'd thought it was more YA style when I got it... but I'm just a bit disappointed I guess. I wanted a badass gunslinger woman, but I guess it says it right there in the title...
"It's an ugly world, and we need to take what happiness we can, when we can."
Gunslinger Girl follows Serendipity 'Pity' Jones, the titual badass gunslinger girl, who finds herself in Cessation, the last place in this dystopian America where you can pretty much do what you want. Under Miss Selene's laws, of course. After running away from home with best friend Finn, a tragic event leaves Pity injured and alone, where she's picked up a group of people from Cessation, and she talks her way into joining them. Once in the city, she's offered a chance at fame and fortune as part of The Theatre, a glamorous yet deadly show, where she can show off her gun-slinging skills. But is she willing to do what's required of her to keep her freedom..??
I loved this book. I found it very fast-paced, and I'm shocked that it was a debut. It was sooooooo good. I loved the world of Cessation, and I could easily read a full-fledged series set in this city.
Pity was such a badass bitch, Max was such a sweetheart, I just love them both.
Spoiler
The romance between Pity and Max, (which took a while to get to!!), was just great, and from their first interaction, I guessed they would end up togetherNow, you may be wondering, Ashleigh, you loved this book and everything about it. Why haven't you rated this 5 stars. Let me tell you why:
Spoiler
Max's backstory and the ending. Urgh. It just came out of nowhere, and I didn't believe it. So Max is pining after a dead girl? Yep, guessed that. But wait, that dead girl was actually maybe murdered by his parents, who are actually not poor commune dwellers, but the richest people in Columbia, and we're not gonna reveal who they are when Max is spilling his guts, because we still need a reveal later on in the book, and because of who he is, we're gonna fuck you over, and you're not gonna get your happy ending of Pity and Max running off into the sunsetSpoiler
Max revealed all, or not all, if we're being honestDespite my feelings on the ending, it was still a really strong effort, and I can't wait to read more from Lyndsay Ely in the future!
I was lucky enough to pick up an ARC at BookCon this year and considering it was one of my most anticipated books to pick up at the event I was a little disappointed. The problem might be that this book was pitched as a YA Western and it ended up having more having a more circus feel to me. The synopsis also wasn't that clear on what the plot was and that might just be because it's still far from release date. I'm hoping that gets changed closer to release date.
What I Liked:
-The characters in the book were the best part for me. They felt authentic and realistic and I thoroughly enjoyed the friendships that were formed.
-The author's writing style
-The beginning of the book and the last 150 pages had great pacing and were the most enjoyable parts of the book for me
What I Didn't Enjoy As Much:
-The world building didn't work that well for me. I was confused throughout the whole book trying to piece the parts of this world together. Considering this is a post second Civil War book, a little history lesson would have been very useful as well as a map. Since this was an ARC I'm hoping that a map will be included in the final copy.
-I wasn't exactly sure what the plot of the book was supposed to be. Until about more than halfway through the book didn't really have a direction which is why towards the end was the part I really enjoyed.
Even though this book was not my favorite, I would definitely recommend this book because I feel like others might enjoy it a lot more. I think the main issue I had was that I went in with certain expectations of the book and that wasn't what the book was about at all. I would also definitely love a sequel for this book because I would really enjoy seeing more of these characters and the path their story takes.
What I Liked:
-The characters in the book were the best part for me. They felt authentic and realistic and I thoroughly enjoyed the friendships that were formed.
-The author's writing style
-The beginning of the book and the last 150 pages had great pacing and were the most enjoyable parts of the book for me
What I Didn't Enjoy As Much:
-The world building didn't work that well for me. I was confused throughout the whole book trying to piece the parts of this world together. Considering this is a post second Civil War book, a little history lesson would have been very useful as well as a map. Since this was an ARC I'm hoping that a map will be included in the final copy.
-I wasn't exactly sure what the plot of the book was supposed to be. Until about more than halfway through the book didn't really have a direction which is why towards the end was the part I really enjoyed.
Even though this book was not my favorite, I would definitely recommend this book because I feel like others might enjoy it a lot more. I think the main issue I had was that I went in with certain expectations of the book and that wasn't what the book was about at all. I would also definitely love a sequel for this book because I would really enjoy seeing more of these characters and the path their story takes.
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
I’ve wanted to read Gunslinger Girl since it first crossed my GoodReads new release feed. It had been on my TBR list for over a year, I couldn’t wait to dive into the story. I found the book at Barnes & Noble, across the top James Patterson presents. As I picked up the hardcover book, I just knew this would be one of my new favorite stories.
Pity is easy enough to like in the beginning of the book. I think all great heroines have an absent parent, and one that is less than ideal is icing on the cake. What I missed with Pity was her growing throughout the story. Most of the characters felt flat and very two dimensional. Pity didn’t really seem to grow as much as most characters would in a four hundred page book. It was difficult to keep liking Pity when she wouldn’t say what she meant. She was described as a “great shot” but missed a lot as well. This premise made me kind of roll my eyes because she always seemed to miss when it really mattered until she was really in a pinch with “two bullets left.”
What really bothered me about the book, and prevented it from being a full four stars, was the ending. I felt like I’d gone on this WILD ride, and the end was very lackluster. I could understand the ending if this was going to be a series, but as a stand alone, it was disappointing. I don’t give spoilers in my reviews, but once I reached the end, I couldn’t believe how things closed up.
Read all of my reviews at my blog the-pink-moose.com
Pity is easy enough to like in the beginning of the book. I think all great heroines have an absent parent, and one that is less than ideal is icing on the cake. What I missed with Pity was her growing throughout the story. Most of the characters felt flat and very two dimensional. Pity didn’t really seem to grow as much as most characters would in a four hundred page book. It was difficult to keep liking Pity when she wouldn’t say what she meant. She was described as a “great shot” but missed a lot as well. This premise made me kind of roll my eyes because she always seemed to miss when it really mattered until she was really in a pinch with “two bullets left.”
What really bothered me about the book, and prevented it from being a full four stars, was the ending. I felt like I’d gone on this WILD ride, and the end was very lackluster. I could understand the ending if this was going to be a series, but as a stand alone, it was disappointing. I don’t give spoilers in my reviews, but once I reached the end, I couldn’t believe how things closed up.
Read all of my reviews at my blog the-pink-moose.com
*review to come*
The Book Gods are real and have been listening!!!
The Book Gods are real and have been listening!!!
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
You know. I found the whole thing a little random and overwhelming but I was here for it. Just along for the ride. There were a few too many characters to keep track of, and I’m not sure how well it established the mor ambiguity it was going for. But an interesting and creative story. It’ll stick with me. I also liked that there were a lot of female characters, something that’s totally lacking from the traditional western