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adoereading's review against another edition
5.0
Can I say this book took me by surprise? This has been on my TBR for a bit and was going to be an ebook purchase until I came across the paperback copy at B&N. What became a read out of interest with no real expectation has become my new favorite.
Full review can be found here:
http://daughterofinkandcoffee.blogspot.com/2018/09/more-lies-within.html
Full review can be found here:
http://daughterofinkandcoffee.blogspot.com/2018/09/more-lies-within.html
d3vilxl3gacy's review against another edition
3.0
Disclaimer that I'm an avid pokemon/digimon fan. This book simply had bad writing in my opinion. I really enjoyed the story and even though the world was cookie cutter fantasy it was decent enough for the story.
How to train your demon starts off way too slow for my taste but that's like 90% of YA fantasy nowadays as it is. Then it gets good, the Harry Potter vibes of the classes and making friends with the non humans were nice, too bad its bogged down typical human angst that always happens with nobility characters in these books. Then it just ends, abruptly, right after being "months" away from the finale with Ash Potter having that YA fantasy trickiness that nobody has ever thought of apparently. But then it doesn't end, but the books leaves off with a cliffhanger that isn't actually one since it's a trilogy and we all know nothing actually bad will happen to the main character.
Premise is my cup of tea but bland writing and horrendous pacing just ruined the book for me. I do plan of picking up the second as having stated, I enjoy the story and just hope the writing improves.
How to train your demon starts off way too slow for my taste but that's like 90% of YA fantasy nowadays as it is. Then it gets good, the Harry Potter vibes of the classes and making friends with the non humans were nice, too bad its bogged down typical human angst that always happens with nobility characters in these books. Then it just ends, abruptly, right after being "months" away from the finale with Ash Potter having that YA fantasy trickiness that nobody has ever thought of apparently. But then it doesn't end, but the books leaves off with a cliffhanger that isn't actually one since it's a trilogy and we all know nothing actually bad will happen to the main character.
Premise is my cup of tea but bland writing and horrendous pacing just ruined the book for me. I do plan of picking up the second as having stated, I enjoy the story and just hope the writing improves.
degroot_maartje's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.25
strawhatgucci's review against another edition
4.0
Just picked up this book on a whim because it was on the Barnes & Noble buy one get one 50% off and there was a book there a really wanted and didn’t want to waste a discount.
I was pleasantly surprised at the quality of this book. It is a really, really fun read. It obviously has it flaws. It isn’t a vast, epic tale that throws you around in every direction. It’s a fairly simplistic, linear plot that doesn’t take too many chances. However, I loved the “power system” of magic/demons, the characters were lovable and relatable, and I thought the dialogue between the characters was well written.
Overall, what you see is what you get with this book. It won’t blow you away but the story kind of sneaks up on you and I found myself just flying through the pages, smiling and giggling as I went along.
Definitely recommend to any fans of Pokémon (yes, Pokémon), Assassin’s Apprentice, and Harry Potter.
4/5 ⭐️
I was pleasantly surprised at the quality of this book. It is a really, really fun read. It obviously has it flaws. It isn’t a vast, epic tale that throws you around in every direction. It’s a fairly simplistic, linear plot that doesn’t take too many chances. However, I loved the “power system” of magic/demons, the characters were lovable and relatable, and I thought the dialogue between the characters was well written.
Overall, what you see is what you get with this book. It won’t blow you away but the story kind of sneaks up on you and I found myself just flying through the pages, smiling and giggling as I went along.
Definitely recommend to any fans of Pokémon (yes, Pokémon), Assassin’s Apprentice, and Harry Potter.
4/5 ⭐️
sierrataq's review against another edition
2.0
I made it to page 119 and I don't know if I'm going to be able to continue without cringing. I was so hopeful for this book because of its excellent reviews, but it's really falling short.
The main problem I'm having with this book is the very juvenile style of writing. There are so many scenes that aren't well written and are quite underdeveloped. Certain phrases sound awkward and I just can't get past it to enjoy the story. If I were still in 8th grade I would have enjoyed this book a lot, but I'm in college now and have higher expectations from YA novels like this. It's not that the YA genre as a whole is too juvenile, because I have enjoyed many other YA novels recently but this one unfortunately just doesn't make the cut. This next one may be a little nit-picky, but I feel like the word choice in this book is also quite mundane and bland. It's often hard to get visual images of places, people, and situations because there isn't enough development.
As for the plot of the story, it seems like mashup of other stories from more famous authors. I'm seeing a lot of settings, characters, and situations that are a bit too reminiscent of more well-known stories. The way that the dwarven-elven-human racial divide thing is portrayed in this story is not the most original thing I've ever read. It reminds me too much of Tolkien's way of depicting them with some tweaks. I was hoping for some more originality in that area to set this book apart from similar novels, but I didn't really see any.
I'm basically sensing vibes of Hogwarts meets Tolkien meets How to Train Your Dragon from this book. While the idea seems cool in theory and could potentially work, because these three realms are already so amazing on their own, it would take some seriously jaw-dropping writing skills and theme and character development to pull off a mashup of the three. It just feels poorly done to me.
I mean no disrespect to the author and I hope this doesn't sound too harsh, because I really wanted to like this book. It's just too underdeveloped for me to consider it a worthy read. Sorry, not this time!
The main problem I'm having with this book is the very juvenile style of writing. There are so many scenes that aren't well written and are quite underdeveloped. Certain phrases sound awkward and I just can't get past it to enjoy the story. If I were still in 8th grade I would have enjoyed this book a lot, but I'm in college now and have higher expectations from YA novels like this. It's not that the YA genre as a whole is too juvenile, because I have enjoyed many other YA novels recently but this one unfortunately just doesn't make the cut. This next one may be a little nit-picky, but I feel like the word choice in this book is also quite mundane and bland. It's often hard to get visual images of places, people, and situations because there isn't enough development.
As for the plot of the story, it seems like mashup of other stories from more famous authors. I'm seeing a lot of settings, characters, and situations that are a bit too reminiscent of more well-known stories. The way that the dwarven-elven-human racial divide thing is portrayed in this story is not the most original thing I've ever read. It reminds me too much of Tolkien's way of depicting them with some tweaks. I was hoping for some more originality in that area to set this book apart from similar novels, but I didn't really see any.
I'm basically sensing vibes of Hogwarts meets Tolkien meets How to Train Your Dragon from this book. While the idea seems cool in theory and could potentially work, because these three realms are already so amazing on their own, it would take some seriously jaw-dropping writing skills and theme and character development to pull off a mashup of the three. It just feels poorly done to me.
I mean no disrespect to the author and I hope this doesn't sound too harsh, because I really wanted to like this book. It's just too underdeveloped for me to consider it a worthy read. Sorry, not this time!
kakarrhea's review against another edition
3.0
I am so behind Cait (Paper Fury). They might've said it best.
Although, I'm much less bothered by the "repeat-effect" we get throughout the book, and more bothered by the lack of greatness in the book. As Cait (Paper Fury) mentioned, the whole thing was completely lack-luster: I didn't hate it, I didn't love it, and I sure as hell will not be picking up the sequels. Despite the cliffhanger, evidently used to encourage us to buy the next two books, I don't even care what happens to the characters. Their flat, one-sided perspectives left everything to be desired and left me not caring about will happen to them next.
Maybe this could've stayed as fan fiction.
Although, I'm much less bothered by the "repeat-effect" we get throughout the book, and more bothered by the lack of greatness in the book. As Cait (Paper Fury) mentioned, the whole thing was completely lack-luster: I didn't hate it, I didn't love it, and I sure as hell will not be picking up the sequels. Despite the cliffhanger, evidently used to encourage us to buy the next two books, I don't even care what happens to the characters. Their flat, one-sided perspectives left everything to be desired and left me not caring about will happen to them next.
Maybe this could've stayed as fan fiction.
_aoibheann_'s review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-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? No
4.0
thoven's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Went in expecting magic ranger's apprentice, what I got was closer to Harry Potter. A good read for fans of the magic school subgenre.
aanniiee's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0