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arthuriana's reviews
611 reviews
If on a Winter's Night a Traveler by Italo Calvino
5.0
You picked up a book. You read it. You are marveling at Calvino's genius.
The Nine Pound Hammer: Book 1 of the Clockwork Dark by John Claude Bemis
3.0
Meeeeeeehhhhh. That's all this book was for me. It was distinctly average, though I'd have no doubts that a child would have fun reading it. The mythology was great, though, and while I wouldn't be actively seeking out the sequel, I'd pick it up if I were to discover it one day, just to see more of how the author would continue this world-building.
Delirium by Lauren Oliver
3.0
Okay, how do I start with this book? I never would have read this book if not for the fact that it's sequel, [b:Pandemonium|9593911|Pandemonium (Delirium, #2)|Lauren Oliver|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1310371414s/9593911.jpg|14480923] was going to be required reading for one of my class' groups this year and if they hadn't made me do their book review.
The thing is, there's been some kind of mix-up in the system that meant that Pandemonium was assigned to the group without even making sure of the fact that they've read the first book, which is this one. Maybe that's part of the reason why they asked me to do their book review for them, I guess, seeing as I have somewhat of a reputation for being a bookworm in the class. They probably assumed that I read this and would have no trouble reading the second one.
The thing is, I haven't read the first book, and usually I'd be fine with reading a book series in a random order; after all, I've read The Lorien Legacies in backward order. I'm pretty sure that I'll be done reading Pandemonium in a jiffy.
I was so, so wrong and, in the end, I read Delirium just so I could know why the hell Alex is so important and what the hell happened to him and why the hell love is a disease all of a sudden.
The thing is, while the book certainly delivered on the first and second questions, it did rubbish at the third. The world-building is basic at best, hopelessly and utterly basic, seeing as the author did nothing at all to show her readers why love was suddenly being treated as worse than cancer all of a sudden. Despite some few good background information (like the bits that start off the chapter and the fact that Romeo and Juliet was treated as a cautionary tale instead of, well, the literary masterpiece that it is today), I felt as if the author didn't really delve deeper into her world. Hell, there's not even a mention of what the other countries are doing in response to the crazy things that Lena's country is doing. You'd think there might be a single mention in the whole book, but nope, there's not a single thing in there that would enlighten you about foreign relations and diplomacy, which is just a bit hard to believe, seeing as America is technically forcing its citizens to become mindless, careless zombies that just accept what the government is doing for them.
You know, that's a hole that most dystopian novels often fall into. In fact, I've only seen one dystopian novel that dealt with the foreign relations aspect, and that was the mother of all dystopian novels: George Orwell's [b:1984|5470|1984|George Orwell|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1348990566s/5470.jpg|153313].
Still, the book offered a not-bad-but-could-have-been-better read and the ending was quite well-done. Though I've got to admit, if Pandemonium wasn't required reading for me, I wouldn't have actively sought it out; the thing is, it was required reading and the book was already there in front of me, so I plunged straight into it.
The thing is, there's been some kind of mix-up in the system that meant that Pandemonium was assigned to the group without even making sure of the fact that they've read the first book, which is this one. Maybe that's part of the reason why they asked me to do their book review for them, I guess, seeing as I have somewhat of a reputation for being a bookworm in the class. They probably assumed that I read this and would have no trouble reading the second one.
The thing is, I haven't read the first book, and usually I'd be fine with reading a book series in a random order; after all, I've read The Lorien Legacies in backward order. I'm pretty sure that I'll be done reading Pandemonium in a jiffy.
I was so, so wrong and, in the end, I read Delirium just so I could know why the hell Alex is so important and what the hell happened to him and why the hell love is a disease all of a sudden.
The thing is, while the book certainly delivered on the first and second questions, it did rubbish at the third. The world-building is basic at best, hopelessly and utterly basic, seeing as the author did nothing at all to show her readers why love was suddenly being treated as worse than cancer all of a sudden. Despite some few good background information (like the bits that start off the chapter and the fact that Romeo and Juliet was treated as a cautionary tale instead of, well, the literary masterpiece that it is today), I felt as if the author didn't really delve deeper into her world. Hell, there's not even a mention of what the other countries are doing in response to the crazy things that Lena's country is doing. You'd think there might be a single mention in the whole book, but nope, there's not a single thing in there that would enlighten you about foreign relations and diplomacy, which is just a bit hard to believe, seeing as America is technically forcing its citizens to become mindless, careless zombies that just accept what the government is doing for them.
You know, that's a hole that most dystopian novels often fall into. In fact, I've only seen one dystopian novel that dealt with the foreign relations aspect, and that was the mother of all dystopian novels: George Orwell's [b:1984|5470|1984|George Orwell|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1348990566s/5470.jpg|153313].
Still, the book offered a not-bad-but-could-have-been-better read and the ending was quite well-done. Though I've got to admit, if Pandemonium wasn't required reading for me, I wouldn't have actively sought it out; the thing is, it was required reading and the book was already there in front of me, so I plunged straight into it.
Dirty Little Secret by Jennifer Echols
4.0
There's really nothing to say except for the fact that I liked this book, but I didn't love it, and I don't know why. It had a strong cast of characters, a solid plot-line, and beautiful character arcs that delivered well; but, I dunno, rating it five stars somehow seem wrong, in a way.
Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver
4.0
Okay, so if you've read my review of Delirium, you would've known that I only read this because it was required at school.
Like [b:Revolution|7558747|Revolution|Jennifer Donnelly|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1320530843s/7558747.jpg|9871439], this was stellar and provided a good read. In fact, it was a huge improvement from the first book, which was so average and dull. This book made Lena into a strong character that you could actually like and offered her some character growth that never happened in the first book. Furthermore, the introduction of Julian and their romance was spell-binding (yes, I think that Lena and Julian should end up together, suck it) and that it actually felt more developed than Lena's romance with Alex.
Though, to be honest, the book still didn't delve deeper into the world-building thing. About the only thing it did in that front was to offer you information about the Wilds (which just basically made it read like a book about the environment or something) and introduced this Scavengers thing.
And, I've got to admit, the end was really, really disappointing. A lot of readers were surprised by the ending, I'm sure, but I've felt it coming ever since Book One, and I hoped desperately that the author wouldn't do another blasted love story kind of thing.
I mean, what is it with blasted love triangles and YA literature?
Like [b:Revolution|7558747|Revolution|Jennifer Donnelly|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1320530843s/7558747.jpg|9871439], this was stellar and provided a good read. In fact, it was a huge improvement from the first book, which was so average and dull. This book made Lena into a strong character that you could actually like and offered her some character growth that never happened in the first book. Furthermore, the introduction of Julian and their romance was spell-binding (yes, I think that Lena and Julian should end up together, suck it) and that it actually felt more developed than Lena's romance with Alex.
Though, to be honest, the book still didn't delve deeper into the world-building thing. About the only thing it did in that front was to offer you information about the Wilds (which just basically made it read like a book about the environment or something) and introduced this Scavengers thing.
And, I've got to admit, the end was really, really disappointing. A lot of readers were surprised by the ending, I'm sure, but I've felt it coming ever since Book One, and I hoped desperately that the author wouldn't do another blasted love story kind of thing.
I mean, what is it with blasted love triangles and YA literature?
Across the Universe by Beth Revis
5.0
I was looking for a 'distinctly average but still good enough book that I wouldn't want to bash my head into the wall repeatedly' kind of read in here, so I must admit that I was surprised when I ended up actually liking the blasted book.
I mean, I love the characters, I love the setting, I love the character arcs and the character development and, holy hell, I loved the ending so much.
I absolutely loved Amy and Elder (despite the fact that I hate that stupid name and I keep wishing that he changes it or something) and their chemistry was intriguing and lovely to watch. It wasn't exactly the type of edge-of-your-seat thrilling, but it did make me wonder about what would happen to them as a couple and, you know, actually look forward to their development as such. The good thing is, their whole romance thing didn't feel forced at all: it was like watching a plant thrive, all natural and instinctual.
And I must say that I wasted a lot of time thinking afterwards about Elder. Like, holy shit, his character was just so . . . so believable and complex and well thought-out. Most of all, the disclosure of his secret was so very shocking, yet still within the realms of possibility. I mean, it wasn't just a surprise that was created just so the author can say she wrote a 'Big Reveal' kind of thing in her novel, the reader actually gets clues and stuff: jus the right amount so that we can say that it's believable, but not so much that it ended predictably.
The plot, too, I dare say, is phenomenal. Just when you thought you've got it right, it makes for another turn; and though I pretty much guessed who the hell was murdering all those people halfway through, the reading experience was in no way negated because of it. In fact, it makes it more thrilling, in a way: it makes me want to see if I'm right (though, oddly, with any other book, I would've called the plot childish and far too easy to guess—something about the writing, I suppose).
All in all, the book was amazing. While I'm pretty sure that other readers don't love it as much as I do and also of the fact that, technically, this book should've only gotten three or four stars from me, I don't really mind. There was a certain something to this book that added a kind-of depth for me, and it worked out marvelously well.
I mean, I love the characters, I love the setting, I love the character arcs and the character development and, holy hell, I loved the ending so much.
I absolutely loved Amy and Elder (despite the fact that I hate that stupid name and I keep wishing that he changes it or something) and their chemistry was intriguing and lovely to watch. It wasn't exactly the type of edge-of-your-seat thrilling, but it did make me wonder about what would happen to them as a couple and, you know, actually look forward to their development as such. The good thing is, their whole romance thing didn't feel forced at all: it was like watching a plant thrive, all natural and instinctual.
And I must say that I wasted a lot of time thinking afterwards about Elder. Like, holy shit, his character was just so . . . so believable and complex and well thought-out. Most of all, the disclosure of his secret was so very shocking, yet still within the realms of possibility. I mean, it wasn't just a surprise that was created just so the author can say she wrote a 'Big Reveal' kind of thing in her novel, the reader actually gets clues and stuff: jus the right amount so that we can say that it's believable, but not so much that it ended predictably.
The plot, too, I dare say, is phenomenal. Just when you thought you've got it right, it makes for another turn; and though I pretty much guessed who the hell was murdering all those people halfway through, the reading experience was in no way negated because of it. In fact, it makes it more thrilling, in a way: it makes me want to see if I'm right (though, oddly, with any other book, I would've called the plot childish and far too easy to guess—something about the writing, I suppose).
All in all, the book was amazing. While I'm pretty sure that other readers don't love it as much as I do and also of the fact that, technically, this book should've only gotten three or four stars from me, I don't really mind. There was a certain something to this book that added a kind-of depth for me, and it worked out marvelously well.
Golden by Jessi Kirby
2.0
This book should've been amazing, it should've been stellar, it could have inspired me to do something with my so-called 'one and precious life' and motivated me; so when it didn't do any of this things, I was disappointed.
I was disappointed, because this book could have been honest-to-God amazing with a capital A and it failed to do it. Everything in here didn't suck, but I felt as if it could have gone better in every way. The characters could have developed more, the plot could have been more thrilling instead of the dull narration that it had, Parker could be more exciting, the romance could have been more well-done instead of the author leaving it half-baked—more, more, more.
You see, this novel had promise. It had potential. It could be one of the greatest books ever to grace YA literature.
But, the thing is, while it didn't really suck, it never really shined.
I was disappointed, because this book could have been honest-to-God amazing with a capital A and it failed to do it. Everything in here didn't suck, but I felt as if it could have gone better in every way. The characters could have developed more, the plot could have been more thrilling instead of the dull narration that it had, Parker could be more exciting, the romance could have been more well-done instead of the author leaving it half-baked—more, more, more.
You see, this novel had promise. It had potential. It could be one of the greatest books ever to grace YA literature.
But, the thing is, while it didn't really suck, it never really shined.
Requiem by Lauren Oliver
1.0
I—I . . . I thought this book would be alright and, yeah, I've always braced myself for the possibility that it would never be quite as good as Pandemonium, but never in my life did I prepare for this route.
You see, this book, when compared to Pandemonium—and even the less stellar Delirium—sucked, like, a lot. Sucked, sucked, sucked: suckity-suckity-sucked. Sucked with a capital S. It suuuuuuuuckeeeeed.
I could go on about how much it sucked for hours on end, but I'm going to limit myself to one reason, though it's the best one: the character development, on a rate of one to ten, scored a motherfucking million on the Bad Scale. It was more than bad, it was awful. It was terrible. It was unbelievable. It was absolutely everything that a pamphlet on how not to write characters would have contained.
For starters, the author got Julian Fineman, who is basically the most promising character ever in the whole trilogy—yes, more promising than Lena, seeing as she's already had her growth in the second book—and degraded him to this cardboard cutout kind of character who literally does nothing except be used by Lena in some kind of hare-brained attempt to make Alex jealous. Do we get any explanations for this? Is this doing the character justice? In the second book this character was so intriguing: from the Golden Boy slash Poster Child for the DFA, he became to a teenager actually infected with the disease. He turned his back on basically all he knew just for the person he loved and, yeah, this kind of treatment that we see in this book? It does not look cool, it isn't cool. The author basically wasted potential, there: potential that could have made this book become amazing through one of its characters.
And Lena? Please. Don't even get me started. She was so strong in the second book, so sure of herself—sure, she might be a bit bitter, but that was because she motherfucking lost the person she loved and endured heartbreaking loss. She's been lied to all her life, told that love was a disease when it's actually one of the greatest things ever, and now she found herself in this new environment with people she didn't know and, for most of her life, didn't even know existed. But guess what? She survived, she lived, she thrived.
This third book? This Requiem? It invalidated her growth, it made her the weak little girl that she was at the beginning of the first book. In fact, she's worse in this book, since she becomes far too dependent on the love of one person who's already told her that their shared love was a lie. I mean, I don't know about you, but I'd have told that person to go fuck themselves and I'll just fucking move on. The Lena in the second book would most probably have punched that person for good measure. This Lena? She just becomes more needy and more annoying. She ends up using Julian in this twisted way that will give her a relationship where she receives love while not even giving any in return—all for a boy whom, in the second book, it was already quite established that Lena moved on from.
But what about Alex? you ask. Surely Alex isn't in this kind of fuckery. But, NOPE. He totally is. In fact, the selfless, lovable Alex we knew of is gone and basically turns into some kind of jackass that wouldn't even acknowledge his motherfucking ex and move on. Actually, no character in here ever moves on, but Alex just takes the motherfucking cake. And don't even dare of thinking to tell me that Alex just loves Lena so much that it's his way of coping with the pain. Don't even try. He got his chance to start anew with Lena, to rekindle their romance, so to speak. In fact, I would've supported this decision if it meant that the book wouldn't turn out like this, even if my supported hypothesis regarding Lena's boyfriend would fall down to Ashes (in simple English: even if my ship will sink). Yet what does he do with that chance? He blew it. He totally blew it. He tells Lena that their love was a lie and that he never really loved her.
Ha, ha. Fuck you.
One star is entirely too generous for this book. This deserves a rating well into the negative range.
Yet, I think that this book is aptly named. Requiem, indeed! A requiem, in fact, for the potential that this book series could have had, going out in a bang. Instead, it ended with a whimper, a pitiful sound that promised much but failed to deliver, a failed promise of what could have been.
You see, this book, when compared to Pandemonium—and even the less stellar Delirium—sucked, like, a lot. Sucked, sucked, sucked: suckity-suckity-sucked. Sucked with a capital S. It suuuuuuuuckeeeeed.
I could go on about how much it sucked for hours on end, but I'm going to limit myself to one reason, though it's the best one: the character development, on a rate of one to ten, scored a motherfucking million on the Bad Scale. It was more than bad, it was awful. It was terrible. It was unbelievable. It was absolutely everything that a pamphlet on how not to write characters would have contained.
For starters, the author got Julian Fineman, who is basically the most promising character ever in the whole trilogy—yes, more promising than Lena, seeing as she's already had her growth in the second book—and degraded him to this cardboard cutout kind of character who literally does nothing except be used by Lena in some kind of hare-brained attempt to make Alex jealous. Do we get any explanations for this? Is this doing the character justice? In the second book this character was so intriguing: from the Golden Boy slash Poster Child for the DFA, he became to a teenager actually infected with the disease. He turned his back on basically all he knew just for the person he loved and, yeah, this kind of treatment that we see in this book? It does not look cool, it isn't cool. The author basically wasted potential, there: potential that could have made this book become amazing through one of its characters.
And Lena? Please. Don't even get me started. She was so strong in the second book, so sure of herself—sure, she might be a bit bitter, but that was because she motherfucking lost the person she loved and endured heartbreaking loss. She's been lied to all her life, told that love was a disease when it's actually one of the greatest things ever, and now she found herself in this new environment with people she didn't know and, for most of her life, didn't even know existed. But guess what? She survived, she lived, she thrived.
This third book? This Requiem? It invalidated her growth, it made her the weak little girl that she was at the beginning of the first book. In fact, she's worse in this book, since she becomes far too dependent on the love of one person who's already told her that their shared love was a lie. I mean, I don't know about you, but I'd have told that person to go fuck themselves and I'll just fucking move on. The Lena in the second book would most probably have punched that person for good measure. This Lena? She just becomes more needy and more annoying. She ends up using Julian in this twisted way that will give her a relationship where she receives love while not even giving any in return—all for a boy whom, in the second book, it was already quite established that Lena moved on from.
But what about Alex? you ask. Surely Alex isn't in this kind of fuckery. But, NOPE. He totally is. In fact, the selfless, lovable Alex we knew of is gone and basically turns into some kind of jackass that wouldn't even acknowledge his motherfucking ex and move on. Actually, no character in here ever moves on, but Alex just takes the motherfucking cake. And don't even dare of thinking to tell me that Alex just loves Lena so much that it's his way of coping with the pain. Don't even try. He got his chance to start anew with Lena, to rekindle their romance, so to speak. In fact, I would've supported this decision if it meant that the book wouldn't turn out like this, even if my supported hypothesis regarding Lena's boyfriend would fall down to Ashes (in simple English: even if my ship will sink). Yet what does he do with that chance? He blew it. He totally blew it. He tells Lena that their love was a lie and that he never really loved her.
Ha, ha. Fuck you.
One star is entirely too generous for this book. This deserves a rating well into the negative range.
Yet, I think that this book is aptly named. Requiem, indeed! A requiem, in fact, for the potential that this book series could have had, going out in a bang. Instead, it ended with a whimper, a pitiful sound that promised much but failed to deliver, a failed promise of what could have been.
The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman
2.0
Exquisite and unforgettable? Garbage. I could hardly remember the names of the main characters.
Drawn by Cecilia Gray
3.0
This book started off well enough (and no, I'm not talking about the comics, I'm talking about the actual chapters) but failed to follow up such an intriguing and spellbinding premise. A girl who can make you tell your deepest secrets by just using her voice: that idea was actually awesome and had potential; the book failed to deliver. I don't know why: maybe it's the writing or maybe it was the characters. Maybe it was because of the fact that the book was utterly and completely unbelievable, in terms of character development and story arcs.
Yet the book offered a strong, fantastic plot that I just had to give it three stars.
Yet the book offered a strong, fantastic plot that I just had to give it three stars.