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A review by ladydewinter
Midwinterblood by Marcus Sedgwick
3.0
This was an unusual read for me because it wasn’t a book I would have picked for myself. I got it from Sarah during our book club Christmas exchange, and I will say I relished the feeling of reading a book I didn’t know anything about and with no expectations of where it was going.
That being said, I found it a bit frustrating overall. I’m going to try very hard not to spoil anything, so I’ll try explain what I mean without going into details. The book is 263 pages long and it’s split into seven parts, and I suppose that’s why it felt too fragmented for me. There were plenty of moments where I though, oh this is great, I like where this is going - but then we’re already off to the next part. I think I would have enjoyed it more if I had been able to linger more in each part. My favorite hands down was part five - I liked every single word of that.
I do think a lot of it was me rather than the book - judging from the publisher and the Goodreads category, it’s YA, and I just don’t enjoy YA that much (which is fine because I am not its target audience). The same goes for the fact that the first couple of parts are written in present tense, which is something I tend to have to tolerate rather than enjoy. (Which is to say I read it but I find it irritating in 95% of the pages - it’s kind of like sushi for me. Lots of people like it, and I do see why sometimes, but nowhere near as often as I encounter it.)
That being said, I liked the eerie atmosphere of the book, the setting and scenery of the island, and the overall concept. The execution just didn’t quite work for me, but that doesn’t mean it’s a bad book. Part five was - aptly- a five star read for me, but the rest fluctuated too much for me to give it more than three stars. But I’m glad I read it.
That being said, I found it a bit frustrating overall. I’m going to try very hard not to spoil anything, so I’ll try explain what I mean without going into details. The book is 263 pages long and it’s split into seven parts, and I suppose that’s why it felt too fragmented for me. There were plenty of moments where I though, oh this is great, I like where this is going - but then we’re already off to the next part. I think I would have enjoyed it more if I had been able to linger more in each part. My favorite hands down was part five - I liked every single word of that.
I do think a lot of it was me rather than the book - judging from the publisher and the Goodreads category, it’s YA, and I just don’t enjoy YA that much (which is fine because I am not its target audience). The same goes for the fact that the first couple of parts are written in present tense, which is something I tend to have to tolerate rather than enjoy. (Which is to say I read it but I find it irritating in 95% of the pages - it’s kind of like sushi for me. Lots of people like it, and I do see why sometimes, but nowhere near as often as I encounter it.)
That being said, I liked the eerie atmosphere of the book, the setting and scenery of the island, and the overall concept. The execution just didn’t quite work for me, but that doesn’t mean it’s a bad book. Part five was - aptly- a five star read for me, but the rest fluctuated too much for me to give it more than three stars. But I’m glad I read it.