Take a photo of a barcode or cover
emmxy19 's review for:
While Paris Slept
by Ruth Druart
1.5 stars
maybe i went into this book with expectations that were set too high, having read so much good historical fiction that i forgot how terrible it can be if executed improperly.
this book again demonstrates good concept and absolutely terrible execution, especially with the writing and the characters.
usually, writing is the least i'm concerned about when i read, because i'm just used to solid, descriptive writing. but druart's prose was so dry, so bland, so utterly tell-not-show that i felt like dnfing within the first 50 pages. the pacing was weird, too, with some climatic parts getting rushed over and some scenes being absolutely unnecessary (). it got a little better at the very end, but not enough to pull my rating back from the brink.
i know what the author's trying to get at, and the theme is very clear, but it's so poorly written that downgrades the quality of the idea. there's literally a chapter that ends with "A lot had happened since then". i'm sorry, what?? is this fifth grade wattpad fanfiction i'm reading right now?? can't get myself to care.
then there's the character. at first they were bland at best, but nearing the end of the book i really wanted to give them a good beating. of course, nothing wrong with dislikable characters. it's just that they weren't even consistent istg.
if you just look at my (very explicit and angry) reading progress logs you'll see how riled up i got toward the end about the characters and their nonexistent development, especially charlotte and david. i'm not going to restate that entire rant in detail, but in short, every 5 pages, one of them would do something completely ooc or uncalled for or stupid (as if the author put those flaws in them just for the sake of giving them flaws and making them "round" characters) and i'd get so pissed off at them that i'd have to slam the book shut. maybe it's because of my intolerant personality but it was not it for me.
i wanted to see how the characters could amaze me more (not in a good way). the only thing that kept me reading this book until the end was my pure hatred of it.
if you really want to know specifics you can look at my reading logs with real-time reactions, but tbh i don't want to think about this book or talk about it or contemplate it anymore. i want to move on and forget its existence and how it's a shame upon a favorite genre of mine.
just don't read it.
maybe i went into this book with expectations that were set too high, having read so much good historical fiction that i forgot how terrible it can be if executed improperly.
this book again demonstrates good concept and absolutely terrible execution, especially with the writing and the characters.
usually, writing is the least i'm concerned about when i read, because i'm just used to solid, descriptive writing. but druart's prose was so dry, so bland, so utterly tell-not-show that i felt like dnfing within the first 50 pages. the pacing was weird, too, with some climatic parts getting rushed over and some scenes being absolutely unnecessary (
Spoiler
sam's entire pov and the prolonged time spent reading about paris lifei know what the author's trying to get at, and the theme is very clear, but it's so poorly written that downgrades the quality of the idea. there's literally a chapter that ends with "A lot had happened since then". i'm sorry, what?? is this fifth grade wattpad fanfiction i'm reading right now?? can't get myself to care.
then there's the character. at first they were bland at best, but nearing the end of the book i really wanted to give them a good beating. of course, nothing wrong with dislikable characters. it's just that they weren't even consistent istg.
if you just look at my (very explicit and angry) reading progress logs you'll see how riled up i got toward the end about the characters and their nonexistent development, especially charlotte and david. i'm not going to restate that entire rant in detail, but in short, every 5 pages, one of them would do something completely ooc or uncalled for or stupid (as if the author put those flaws in them just for the sake of giving them flaws and making them "round" characters) and i'd get so pissed off at them that i'd have to slam the book shut. maybe it's because of my intolerant personality but it was not it for me.
i wanted to see how the characters could amaze me more (not in a good way). the only thing that kept me reading this book until the end was my pure hatred of it.
if you really want to know specifics you can look at my reading logs with real-time reactions, but tbh i don't want to think about this book or talk about it or contemplate it anymore. i want to move on and forget its existence and how it's a shame upon a favorite genre of mine.
just don't read it.