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eliserosereads 's review for:
Graceling
by Kristin Cashore
DNF at like 50%. I really absolutely positively was NOT feeling it. This is the second time I’ve tried to read this book, and I got a lot further than the first time.
The mc is a jerk, especially about really random things like not letting her horses rest ever or, I dunno, breaking her friend’s nose for something that wasn’t even remotely about them? She’s so violent about everything I couldn’t sympathize with her or even really like her… at all.
Po is great, on the other hand, and so is Raffin(?). I wish they had showed up in a book I could enjoy more. I hated the romance, #1 because mc (Katsa?) treats Po like absolute trash and knows it. #2, I’m 1,000% spoiled by slow burns now, so I was taken off guard when their relationship held none of the suspense or depth I’m used to. With slow burns (done right), the relationship grows and changes as the characters slowly realize how the other person makes them feel. And then it’s finally so satisfying and validating when they stop being adorable idiots and recognize each other. With this book, it was just like: oh he’s hot, chat for ten chapters, and at 40% into the book they’ve confessed their love. It feels so cheap and so fake.
The plot was fine, I guess, but I felt like it was meandering. By halfway through, it seemed to finally be building up to something with potential. I stopped because I wasn’t feeling it at all. Picking up the book felt like a chore, and I didn’t want to go through the emotion of a climax. It’s been a long time since I’ve been so uninvested in a book. Usually, even if I’m not loving it, I’m still interested to know how it wraps up. Not the case here. I really couldn’t care less.
So… yeah, I figured I’d give it a try since it’s a modest staple in the YA fantasy genre, but I really don’t get it.
And this is a random, totally personal peeve, but the character names are so uninteresting. It’s a fantasy world, you can literally call people whatever you want. At this point, all I’m asking for are names that aren’t straight up desperately unattractive. Is that really too much to hope for?
The mc is a jerk, especially about really random things like not letting her horses rest ever or, I dunno, breaking her friend’s nose for something that wasn’t even remotely about them? She’s so violent about everything I couldn’t sympathize with her or even really like her… at all.
Po is great, on the other hand, and so is Raffin(?). I wish they had showed up in a book I could enjoy more. I hated the romance, #1 because mc (Katsa?) treats Po like absolute trash and knows it. #2, I’m 1,000% spoiled by slow burns now, so I was taken off guard when their relationship held none of the suspense or depth I’m used to. With slow burns (done right), the relationship grows and changes as the characters slowly realize how the other person makes them feel. And then it’s finally so satisfying and validating when they stop being adorable idiots and recognize each other. With this book, it was just like: oh he’s hot, chat for ten chapters, and at 40% into the book they’ve confessed their love. It feels so cheap and so fake.
The plot was fine, I guess, but I felt like it was meandering. By halfway through, it seemed to finally be building up to something with potential. I stopped because I wasn’t feeling it at all. Picking up the book felt like a chore, and I didn’t want to go through the emotion of a climax. It’s been a long time since I’ve been so uninvested in a book. Usually, even if I’m not loving it, I’m still interested to know how it wraps up. Not the case here. I really couldn’t care less.
So… yeah, I figured I’d give it a try since it’s a modest staple in the YA fantasy genre, but I really don’t get it.
And this is a random, totally personal peeve, but the character names are so uninteresting. It’s a fantasy world, you can literally call people whatever you want. At this point, all I’m asking for are names that aren’t straight up desperately unattractive. Is that really too much to hope for?