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foxyloowho's review against another edition
2.0
I’ll admit that I went into this book with very high expectations. I absolutely adore the Divergent series, so when I saw I immediately requested an ARC of this book when I saw it was by Veronica Roth.
Things I liked about this book: I really liked the detail and explanation the author put into describing Chicago. I’ve never been there but the way it was described in the book easily helped me envision it. Secondly, I adored Mox, from the moment he was introduced. I thought he was a great character and loved his backstory. I also liked the addition of the “files”. I felt like this really helped explain and make sense of some of the events.
Things I didn’t like: I actually had to stop reading shortly after starting to check that this was indeed the beginning of a series. All the things that have happened to the characters BEFORE the events of this book could have easily taken up an entire book. One I would have gladly read and also felt like would have provided a lot of insight and understanding of how the characters got to be the way they are now. It was pretty disconcerting feeling like I had jumped into a series in the middle, despite knowing that wasn’t the case. The book spends a pretty considerate amount of time going back and explaining a lot of these things in greater detail as well, which proves it could (and should IMO) have been a book by itself. It was my biggest complaint about this book.
I also spent 90% of the book really disliking the main character, Sloane. She came off as selfish, bitter and just generally unlikeable. Another reason I think a previous book would have made a lot of sense and probably kept me from feeling that way. I did end up understanding her better and coming around to somewhat liking her in the last 10% of the book, but it’s a really odd feeling to read the majority of a book and not liking the main character.
Lastly, despite supposedly being a book meant for adults, the characters overall came off as very juvenile. I don’t necessarily mind that as I read a ton of YA, but I had different expectations due to the way it was described as.
Overall, I still really enjoyed this book. Which I think really speaks to Ms. Roth’s storytelling abilities. I stayed interested in the book throughout and I will definitely be reading the next one.
*I received an ARC courtesy of Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Things I liked about this book: I really liked the detail and explanation the author put into describing Chicago. I’ve never been there but the way it was described in the book easily helped me envision it. Secondly, I adored Mox, from the moment he was introduced. I thought he was a great character and loved his backstory. I also liked the addition of the “files”. I felt like this really helped explain and make sense of some of the events.
Things I didn’t like: I actually had to stop reading shortly after starting to check that this was indeed the beginning of a series. All the things that have happened to the characters BEFORE the events of this book could have easily taken up an entire book. One I would have gladly read and also felt like would have provided a lot of insight and understanding of how the characters got to be the way they are now. It was pretty disconcerting feeling like I had jumped into a series in the middle, despite knowing that wasn’t the case. The book spends a pretty considerate amount of time going back and explaining a lot of these things in greater detail as well, which proves it could (and should IMO) have been a book by itself. It was my biggest complaint about this book.
I also spent 90% of the book really disliking the main character, Sloane. She came off as selfish, bitter and just generally unlikeable. Another reason I think a previous book would have made a lot of sense and probably kept me from feeling that way. I did end up understanding her better and coming around to somewhat liking her in the last 10% of the book, but it’s a really odd feeling to read the majority of a book and not liking the main character.
Lastly, despite supposedly being a book meant for adults, the characters overall came off as very juvenile. I don’t necessarily mind that as I read a ton of YA, but I had different expectations due to the way it was described as.
Overall, I still really enjoyed this book. Which I think really speaks to Ms. Roth’s storytelling abilities. I stayed interested in the book throughout and I will definitely be reading the next one.
*I received an ARC courtesy of Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
kmparsons's review against another edition
3.0
I’m leaning more towards 2.5 stars. The concept was really interesting, but I feel like the magic system needed to be better explained than it was. The main character was incredibly unlikable until the last 100 pages or so. And I was confused about what was happening for much of the book. Things moved very quickly with little explanation. However, it was fast moving and I really enjoyed the story and the characters, for the most part. This was not my favorite book, but if you are looking for an easy fantasy read, I would recommend this
daisy_b's review against another edition
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
rosemary_bee's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
northernbooklover88's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.0
divergent159's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
_aoibheann_'s review against another edition
adventurous
dark
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? Yes
1.0
leonor_soares13's review against another edition
4.5
Este livro, definitivamente, tinha potencial para ser digno da classificação máxima. No entanto, existem alguns aspetos que me impedem de adorar o livro na sua totalidade, sem ter a vontade de alterar uma ou outra coisa.
Em primeiro lugar, a ideia que deu origem a este livro é, pura e simplesmente, perfeita. Eu gosto bastante de livros distópicos, e já tinha lido a saga "Divergente" da mesma autora, que adorei. Por esse motivo, decidi dar uma oportunidade a este livro, apesar de as reviews não serem assim tão favoráveis (para além de haverem pouquíssimas reviews). Mas, de facto, não me arrependo absolutamente nada do tempo que utilizei para o ler. É, sem sombra para dúvidas, um livro épico. Todos os plotwists foram inesperados, porém apenas dois ou três me surpreenderam verdadeiramente. Isto porque, para os outros plotwists terem impacto, teria sido necessária um pouco mais de construção do mundo e das personagens, de modo a que o impacto fosse maior. Para tal, acredito que os fatores de tempo e duração teriam sido os suficientes, pelo que talvez tivesse sido uma melhor ideia dividir este livro em dois ou talvez três.
Outro aspeto que não apreciei muito, também relacionado com a duração do livro, é o modo como a primeira metade é a definição de "slow-paced", ao passo que na segunda metade ocorrem uma série de acontecimentos, o que se revela difícil de acompanhar, não de um ponto de vista da história em si, mas das emoções que a história transmite ao leitor. Quando o leitor é sobrecarregado de informação surpreendente, todas as revelações que aparecem logo a seguir tornam-se relativamente insignificantes e indiferentes, sobressaindo-se apenas um dos plotwists entre os vários que foram atirados de rajada ao leitor. Para além disso, acrescento que o livro teria sido bastante mais épico se tivessem havido melhores "fight scenes", já que neste livro elas são bastante curtas, com cerca de uma página apenas de cada vez que ocorrem. Por esse motivo é que acredito que este livro deveria estar dividido em vários: de modo a construir a tensão e a liderá-la até ao ápice final.
Concluo, assim, que apesar da ideia ser excelente, a execução ficou um bocadinho àquem das minhas expectativas. No entanto, apesar dessas pequenas questões, adorei o livro, pelo que acredito que seja digno de 9 estrelas.
Em primeiro lugar, a ideia que deu origem a este livro é, pura e simplesmente, perfeita. Eu gosto bastante de livros distópicos, e já tinha lido a saga "Divergente" da mesma autora, que adorei. Por esse motivo, decidi dar uma oportunidade a este livro, apesar de as reviews não serem assim tão favoráveis (para além de haverem pouquíssimas reviews). Mas, de facto, não me arrependo absolutamente nada do tempo que utilizei para o ler. É, sem sombra para dúvidas, um livro épico. Todos os plotwists foram inesperados, porém apenas dois ou três me surpreenderam verdadeiramente. Isto porque, para os outros plotwists terem impacto, teria sido necessária um pouco mais de construção do mundo e das personagens, de modo a que o impacto fosse maior. Para tal, acredito que os fatores de tempo e duração teriam sido os suficientes, pelo que talvez tivesse sido uma melhor ideia dividir este livro em dois ou talvez três.
Outro aspeto que não apreciei muito, também relacionado com a duração do livro, é o modo como a primeira metade é a definição de "slow-paced", ao passo que na segunda metade ocorrem uma série de acontecimentos, o que se revela difícil de acompanhar, não de um ponto de vista da história em si, mas das emoções que a história transmite ao leitor. Quando o leitor é sobrecarregado de informação surpreendente, todas as revelações que aparecem logo a seguir tornam-se relativamente insignificantes e indiferentes, sobressaindo-se apenas um dos plotwists entre os vários que foram atirados de rajada ao leitor. Para além disso, acrescento que o livro teria sido bastante mais épico se tivessem havido melhores "fight scenes", já que neste livro elas são bastante curtas, com cerca de uma página apenas de cada vez que ocorrem. Por esse motivo é que acredito que este livro deveria estar dividido em vários: de modo a construir a tensão e a liderá-la até ao ápice final.
Concluo, assim, que apesar da ideia ser excelente, a execução ficou um bocadinho àquem das minhas expectativas. No entanto, apesar dessas pequenas questões, adorei o livro, pelo que acredito que seja digno de 9 estrelas.
natalie_is_reading's review against another edition
4.0
This was… an interesting book. I totally enjoyed it, don’t get me wrong, but like it was not what I expected. It started out, gritty little ptsd of post-hero chosen one life, which was cool and new, they’re dealing g with grief and moving on. Then they traveled to a magical parallel universe. Genetrix really just never fully vibed with me, it was confusing without a ton of information on the mechanics of the magic, although once it got very focused on desire with Sloane’s magic that was good, everyone wore fancy over the top clothes and had sort of dumb Roman names, did they really rename everything in 50 years? Anyway that magical setting just felt a little too whimsical I guess for the gritty story? I’m really making a big deal out of not very much, I did really enjoy this book, even though it’s just a Sloane (and a lil bit of Mox) book. Like Matt, Esther, barely there, and who cares about Ines? Why’d they have to leave her behind?? Wow apparently I’ve gotten very critical of this while I’m writing this, I swear it was four stars! I’m just thinking of so many holes now. Sloane’s development with magic and the needle was great, nice undead zombie army was amazing, and you just could not predict what was going to happen next. And the whole setting and premise, even if a bit weird and confusing, was still very cool!
literaryanniee's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5