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3.98 AVERAGE
3.98 AVERAGE
5 stars for the seiji nicholas content alone. I??? LOVE THEM? Their friendship developing is truly amazing to witness. Also aiden and Harvard my babies? Harvard is truly better than me because i would've just given up, makes sense he's captain actually. Anyway it's me and the fence universe against the world despite all my fencing information coming from this series<3
The true star of this book is Mr. Katayama. I will die on this hill, the man is precious and must be protected. On to our lovable idiots. Aiden is once again back to his playboy ways after being rejected by Harvard. Miserable knowing what he’s missing, he makes one terrible choice after another. Harvard has no idea how to get through to Aiden and help him while also being helplessly in love with him. Naturally everyone knows that Harvard and Aiden are in love with each other, except Nicholas and Seiji who don’t understand anything. Nicholas once again has bouts of verbal sparring with his unknowing half brother Jesse, who’s sole focus is to get Seiji back. Seiji struggles to navigate friendships still (again, the autistic coding of this boy is spot on) but he forms his own social rules to help him be a good friend and a good teammate.
So I didn't love [b:Fence: Striking Distance|50497281|Fence Striking Distance (Fence, #1)|Sarah Rees Brennan|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1580771196l/50497281._SX50_.jpg|71767989] as much as I wanted to, and I had attributed it to maybe an audiobook failure (for me). I didn't like the voice the narrator used for Seiji which really threw off the whole thing. And I wasn't sure I recognized the way Sarah Rees Brennan wrote Nicholas from the way he was established by C.S. Pacat in the comics. He felt like a much flatter... less emotional depth.
So I read this book with my eyes, and that helped a lot, bc I do appreciate the nuance we get with Seiji's character (although I do miss his temper from the comics). But ultimately this book also underwhelmed me a smidge. I really loved Aiden and Harvard's storyline--the angst was just perfect. But I continued to struggle with the way Nicholas was characterized.
This book was very cute, the resolution for Aiden/Harvard was earned and lovely. But also it's a YA book and sometimes I forget to lower my expectations.
So I read this book with my eyes, and that helped a lot, bc I do appreciate the nuance we get with Seiji's character (although I do miss his temper from the comics). But ultimately this book also underwhelmed me a smidge. I really loved Aiden and Harvard's storyline--the angst was just perfect. But I continued to struggle with the way Nicholas was characterized.
This book was very cute, the resolution for Aiden/Harvard was earned and lovely. But also it's a YA book and sometimes I forget to lower my expectations.
“You should decide when the victory is important. Don’t let anyone choose your fight for you.”
Is it basically fanfic of an unfinished comic series? Yes. Would I read more? Also yes.
3,5 - this was a little slow and repetitive for my liking, especially when it comes to the various budding/unrequited crushes, but still a really fun book. It was nice that there was more actual fencing in this one, too. And Seiji’s dad. I love Seiji’s dad. Seiji’s still my fave.
I've been in a reading slump for so long, and it looks like i shouldn't have turned to this book to nudge me out of it. Still, it's a nice exercise on letting myself glaze over words--or what i call speed reading--in order to reach the end somehow.
Just a lot of fun, it felt like I was hanging out with the boys.
“Did you hear about Eugene?” Bobby whispered.
Nicholas frowned. “I knew he was feeling kind of sick, but—”
Bobby’s big brown eyes were bright with sympathy. “It’s as bad as it could be!”
Nicholas almost dropped his plate. “He’s dying?”
“He ate something with pineapple and had an allergic reaction!” exclaimed Bobby. “He fainted and had to be taken to the infirmary. They say they’re not going to let him fence this weekend.”
“Oh my God, that’s worse than dying,” Nicholas murmured.”
bro... I need the next one NOW.
As always, I adore the characters so much. Especially Nicholas and Seiji, I can't with their friendship. And they are such a mini Neil Josten and mini Kevin Day