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A review by jonisbookquest
City of Ghosts by V.E. Schwab
3.0
2,75 disapointed stars
Although Victoria Schwab is one of my favorite authors, I have to be just as hard as I would go on any other author. So here is my – somewhat – negative review.
But lets start with a few positive points. First, I liked the interaction between Cassy and Jacob. In my opinion this book also had the perfect amount of spookiness, for adults and children alike. It was a very atmospheric read and the descriptions very lively (see what I did there? XD).
Okay, now lets go over the stuff I didn’t like… I thing that the biggest problems in the book can be summarized in one word: pacing. In the beginning, I found that the plot moved rather slowly. In the first half of the book there doesn’t seem to be much of a plot. Then, when the Raven, an evil spirit who kills innocent children, and at the same time the ghost hunters are introduced, everything moves way too fast.
The issues that (I think) should have been elaborated on more, are totally overlooked. Lara turns a ghost into ash and Cassy is like: well, okay, guess I’ll do that too. Never once does she consider if these ghost actually want to ‘go one’, never once does she wonder if she sends these ghosts to a even more horrible place. Maybe this kind of questions are just to heavy for a middle grade book. I don’t know. However, I do think that the story stays really surface level. Sending on Jacob = bad. Sending on other ghosts = good. That’s it, no questions were asked.
My second big problem is that I didn’t find the characters that interesting. Cassy looks an awful lot like those ‘I’m not like other girls’ kinda girls. Lara really hasn’t much to her and well, I think Jacob was fine :’) These character just didn’t feel as real as the characters in other books by V.E. Schwab.
My last complaint are the endless Harry Potter references. I do not like Harry Potter that much, but I can take one reference. Or two. Or maybe even three. But… There. Were. So. Goddamn. Much. Of. Them. A ghost with a Slytherin scarf? Really? Describing a scene or character by comparing them to a scene or character from Harry Potter – that’s just really unoriginal writing, I believe.
Overall, this was enjoyable and a quick read, but it just wasn’t as good as the other books by V.E. Schwab that I’ve read. At least the cover looks pretty on my bookshelf, I guess.
Although Victoria Schwab is one of my favorite authors, I have to be just as hard as I would go on any other author. So here is my – somewhat – negative review.
But lets start with a few positive points. First, I liked the interaction between Cassy and Jacob. In my opinion this book also had the perfect amount of spookiness, for adults and children alike. It was a very atmospheric read and the descriptions very lively (see what I did there? XD).
Okay, now lets go over the stuff I didn’t like… I thing that the biggest problems in the book can be summarized in one word: pacing. In the beginning, I found that the plot moved rather slowly. In the first half of the book there doesn’t seem to be much of a plot. Then, when the Raven, an evil spirit who kills innocent children, and at the same time the ghost hunters are introduced, everything moves way too fast.
The issues that (I think) should have been elaborated on more, are totally overlooked. Lara turns a ghost into ash and Cassy is like: well, okay, guess I’ll do that too. Never once does she consider if these ghost actually want to ‘go one’, never once does she wonder if she sends these ghosts to a even more horrible place. Maybe this kind of questions are just to heavy for a middle grade book. I don’t know. However, I do think that the story stays really surface level. Sending on Jacob = bad. Sending on other ghosts = good. That’s it, no questions were asked.
My second big problem is that I didn’t find the characters that interesting. Cassy looks an awful lot like those ‘I’m not like other girls’ kinda girls. Lara really hasn’t much to her and well, I think Jacob was fine :’) These character just didn’t feel as real as the characters in other books by V.E. Schwab.
My last complaint are the endless Harry Potter references. I do not like Harry Potter that much, but I can take one reference. Or two. Or maybe even three. But… There. Were. So. Goddamn. Much. Of. Them. A ghost with a Slytherin scarf? Really? Describing a scene or character by comparing them to a scene or character from Harry Potter – that’s just really unoriginal writing, I believe.
Overall, this was enjoyable and a quick read, but it just wasn’t as good as the other books by V.E. Schwab that I’ve read. At least the cover looks pretty on my bookshelf, I guess.