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arthuriana's reviews
611 reviews
Living Dead Girl by Elizabeth Scott
5.0
I've read this last night, planning to start it just before I go to bed, read some few chapters, drift off to sleep, then continue it in the morning. Suffice to say, that plan didn't exactly work out too well and, before I knew it, I finished this book well into the early hours of morning.
I was, to put it plainly, hooked. The prose was sparse, yet so undeniably beautiful that one cannot help but read and read and read until one finally realizes that one is near to the finish of the book. It was, to put it plainly, quite spellbinding.
The characters, too, are well drawn-out and haunting. I'm pretty sure that Alice will stick with me for a long time. It was realistic--in fact, everything was realistic. Scott was pretty much alright with showing what happens in such a scenario. It might turn off some readers and maturity is a requirement to read this book. There's a lot of things depicted in here that a lot of people would rather be ignored, but things such as these are happening and Scott does a good job in painting a harsh reality.
Not to mention, the ending is the closest thing to perfection in prose. I did nothing but stare at that ending line because . . . wow, that is just a piece of good writing and everything all developed into that single line and it was just . . . well, awe-inspiring.
Actually, that could describe the entirety of this book: awe-inspiring.
I was, to put it plainly, hooked. The prose was sparse, yet so undeniably beautiful that one cannot help but read and read and read until one finally realizes that one is near to the finish of the book. It was, to put it plainly, quite spellbinding.
The characters, too, are well drawn-out and haunting. I'm pretty sure that Alice will stick with me for a long time. It was realistic--in fact, everything was realistic. Scott was pretty much alright with showing what happens in such a scenario. It might turn off some readers and maturity is a requirement to read this book. There's a lot of things depicted in here that a lot of people would rather be ignored, but things such as these are happening and Scott does a good job in painting a harsh reality.
Not to mention, the ending is the closest thing to perfection in prose. I did nothing but stare at that ending line because . . . wow, that is just a piece of good writing and everything all developed into that single line and it was just . . . well, awe-inspiring.
Actually, that could describe the entirety of this book: awe-inspiring.
The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory
2.0
I don't know what to feel about this book.
On one hand, it's a good read--not disappointing, but not great either. It was good, nothing more and nothing less. On the other hand, it ignores historical fact so much that my eyes just kind of glazed over for some parts of the book. I do understand that, yes, this is fiction, but to ignore even the most basic facts such as birth order (modern historians now contest that Mary is the eldest child) and Mary's reputation in France (the French king called Mary Boleyn as the 'English Mare'--take of that what you will) is just plain unprofessional.
More than that, the blurb is especially misleading. Two sisters competing for the love if a king? Sure, for only about half of the book. I had expected a romance to develop between Mary and Henry VIII. What I got was something so underdeveloped that it was hardly a romance.
The characters, too, are rather weak. Anne is portrayed as nothing more than that evil older sister that you love to hate in movies (or, alternatively, in books). The king is portrayed as nothing more than a lustful man, which, personally I find hard to believe. He's a bloody king, for God's sake! Do you honestly expect me to believe that all he did was chase women's petticoats all throughout his reign?
Though, I'll be honest, this book is not without its good sides. George is the first thing that comes to mind, and so does the growth of Mary (though, perhaps, not Mary herself). I think those two were done rather well and were the only things that kept me plowing through the whole thing.
Still, I am far too irritated about the plethora of historical inaccuracies within this book. Gregory's portrayal of Anne is incredibly biased--which is interesting considering that when one feels as if Gregory is trying to make a feminist remark with the whole Mary following her heart kind of thing, one is simply left baffled as to her portrayal of Anne Boleyn, one of the most powerful women in history.
I know, I know. This is a novel, and I would have gladly taken it as such and gave this a three-star rating if not for the utter presumption in the Q&A thing found at the book. Especially the whole George sleeping with Anne thing. I don't know whether to laugh or cry at her statement of George being the 'obvious' choice. Forgive me, but how the hell is George, her brother, the obvious choice?
Oh, silly me, incest was obviously all the rage back then.
I also find it quite presumptious that the reading group guide thing ask the reader how the author creates sexual tension. I wouldn't know, seeing as I saw no sexual tension at all.
Perhaps I'm a little too harsh. After all, I started with very high expectations, knowing that this book has received high praise far and wide. Maybe it's because I just set the bar too high, but this book just didn't sit well with me overall.
On one hand, it's a good read--not disappointing, but not great either. It was good, nothing more and nothing less. On the other hand, it ignores historical fact so much that my eyes just kind of glazed over for some parts of the book. I do understand that, yes, this is fiction, but to ignore even the most basic facts such as birth order (modern historians now contest that Mary is the eldest child) and Mary's reputation in France (the French king called Mary Boleyn as the 'English Mare'--take of that what you will) is just plain unprofessional.
More than that, the blurb is especially misleading. Two sisters competing for the love if a king? Sure, for only about half of the book. I had expected a romance to develop between Mary and Henry VIII. What I got was something so underdeveloped that it was hardly a romance.
The characters, too, are rather weak. Anne is portrayed as nothing more than that evil older sister that you love to hate in movies (or, alternatively, in books). The king is portrayed as nothing more than a lustful man, which, personally I find hard to believe. He's a bloody king, for God's sake! Do you honestly expect me to believe that all he did was chase women's petticoats all throughout his reign?
Though, I'll be honest, this book is not without its good sides. George is the first thing that comes to mind, and so does the growth of Mary (though, perhaps, not Mary herself). I think those two were done rather well and were the only things that kept me plowing through the whole thing.
Still, I am far too irritated about the plethora of historical inaccuracies within this book. Gregory's portrayal of Anne is incredibly biased--which is interesting considering that when one feels as if Gregory is trying to make a feminist remark with the whole Mary following her heart kind of thing, one is simply left baffled as to her portrayal of Anne Boleyn, one of the most powerful women in history.
I know, I know. This is a novel, and I would have gladly taken it as such and gave this a three-star rating if not for the utter presumption in the Q&A thing found at the book. Especially the whole George sleeping with Anne thing. I don't know whether to laugh or cry at her statement of George being the 'obvious' choice. Forgive me, but how the hell is George, her brother, the obvious choice?
Oh, silly me, incest was obviously all the rage back then.
I also find it quite presumptious that the reading group guide thing ask the reader how the author creates sexual tension. I wouldn't know, seeing as I saw no sexual tension at all.
Perhaps I'm a little too harsh. After all, I started with very high expectations, knowing that this book has received high praise far and wide. Maybe it's because I just set the bar too high, but this book just didn't sit well with me overall.
Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick
1.0
Just when I thought that the world could not possibly spew up anything worse than Twilight, this book came along to change that fact. It's . . . it's . . . well, there are no words sufficient enough to sum up the feelings of utter hatred I have towards this book. It rips off Twilight so much and doesn't even bother to hide the fact; the characters are lousy and one-dimensional; the dialogue, stilted; the premise . . . well, the premise could actually work (and be the cornerstone of something great), but this book did such a horrible job to such a great idea that I was just disappointed all the way through.
It's a page-turner, though. It makes you feel as if you just have to see how much this book could possibly fail more. It's like watching a train crash, really.
And what kind of name even is Patch? Like, you could choose from literally thousands of names that could evoke 'dark, sexy, and mysterious' and you choose Patch? Really?
It's a page-turner, though. It makes you feel as if you just have to see how much this book could possibly fail more. It's like watching a train crash, really.
Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake
3.0
This book started off great--it was amazing, in fact. Sure, I wasn't as creeped out as the reviews in here said I would at all, but it was perhaps one of the greatest starts I've ever read. It's strong and powerful and you just can't help but think wow because, honestly, that's how good the start was.
Then it started going downhill and I strangely find myself quite forgiving of that because of the ass-kicking beginning. But it only took a turn for the worse and, before I knew it, I found myself wanting to get to the end of this book as soon as possible because I honestly did not want to get stuck reading that stuff for a second longer than I have to.
The first half is fun, exciting, and fresh--it was simply amazing. Sadly, the same can't be said to the second half. The second half slowed down to the point that everything was almost at a standstill . . . and when you compare that to the first half, you'd find yourself wondering "what the everliving fuck happened?". It's the same case with [b:Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children|9460487|Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children (Miss Peregrine, #1)|Ransom Riggs|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1320564598s/9460487.jpg|14345371]. Unlike that book, however, this book didn't redeem itself for me. Instead, I felt like I was cheated out of a majestic, ass-kicking ending much like the beginning of this book.
Still, I like the book well enough. I could even tolerate the main character most of the time when reading it (sometimes, though, I just needed to take a good step back because, boy, he sure was right when he said that he was every psychiatrist's wet dream). Anna was okay, too, I guess. But what really surprised me was the amount of love I had for the minor characters. Carmel seriously outshone Anna for me (which is, like, WHAT?!?!?!?!) and I really liked her character. She's not your typical 'Queen Bee' type of character, that's for sure. Honestly, the cast of minor characters were so awesome that it was worth it to plod through the latter half of the book just to see more of them.
Then it started going downhill and I strangely find myself quite forgiving of that because of the ass-kicking beginning. But it only took a turn for the worse and, before I knew it, I found myself wanting to get to the end of this book as soon as possible because I honestly did not want to get stuck reading that stuff for a second longer than I have to.
The first half is fun, exciting, and fresh--it was simply amazing. Sadly, the same can't be said to the second half. The second half slowed down to the point that everything was almost at a standstill . . . and when you compare that to the first half, you'd find yourself wondering "what the everliving fuck happened?". It's the same case with [b:Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children|9460487|Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children (Miss Peregrine, #1)|Ransom Riggs|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1320564598s/9460487.jpg|14345371]. Unlike that book, however, this book didn't redeem itself for me. Instead, I felt like I was cheated out of a majestic, ass-kicking ending much like the beginning of this book.
Still, I like the book well enough. I could even tolerate the main character most of the time when reading it (sometimes, though, I just needed to take a good step back because, boy, he sure was right when he said that he was every psychiatrist's wet dream). Anna was okay, too, I guess. But what really surprised me was the amount of love I had for the minor characters. Carmel seriously outshone Anna for me (which is, like, WHAT?!?!?!?!) and I really liked her character. She's not your typical 'Queen Bee' type of character, that's for sure. Honestly, the cast of minor characters were so awesome that it was worth it to plod through the latter half of the book just to see more of them.
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum
4.0
Wonderfully outlandish and childishly brilliant, this is clearly a novel for the younger readers. It's charming and imparts a good message on its readers: two necessary aspect for a children's book. In those two, this book has delivered rather well.
So why not five stars? Well, it's almost as if it's too outlandish most of the times. This is a problem shared by Alice in Wonderland. Sometimes I just feel as if the authors of these kinds of books got high and wrote down what they saw afterwards. Some might say that they're obviously using metaphor in order to impart messages on adult readers that would otherwise be lost to children, but I feel as if the message was just lost in the lands of outrageous situations.
Still, that really doesn't detract much from the reading experience. After all, this is a children's book and it should be read as such, but be warned: don't question anything while reading. Doubtless, things will get weirder afterwards. Just read and don't question anything--this seems like a good plan as any.
So why not five stars? Well, it's almost as if it's too outlandish most of the times. This is a problem shared by Alice in Wonderland. Sometimes I just feel as if the authors of these kinds of books got high and wrote down what they saw afterwards. Some might say that they're obviously using metaphor in order to impart messages on adult readers that would otherwise be lost to children, but I feel as if the message was just lost in the lands of outrageous situations.
Still, that really doesn't detract much from the reading experience. After all, this is a children's book and it should be read as such, but be warned: don't question anything while reading. Doubtless, things will get weirder afterwards. Just read and don't question anything--this seems like a good plan as any.
Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion
4.0
This is one of those instances where the movie was so amazing and brilliant and awesome that I decided to check out the novel as soon as possible. Thankfully, 'as soon as possible' ended up being a day due to my relentless hunting and pure, dumb luck.
Suffice to say, this is a lot different from the movie. R was still his loveable, zombie self and Julie was still Julie and the Romeo-and-Juliet feel was still there (albeit multiplied by a factor of 3286598820); but it's different--though that doesn't stop it from being good. It's breathtakingly original in its subject matter (I can't really vouch for the number of zombie romances where the male lead is a zombie, but I think it's safe to say that there aren't a lot) and it's fun seeing that idea float and do its thing.
The novel, truth be told, was enjoyable. The world-building could suck you in and it's really well though-out for a zombie novel. Instead of the usual brainless, grunting animated corpses, what we get in Warm Bodies is drastically different: they're still hanging on to the fragile thread that they have with their humanity. They almost have something akin to a community (they even have a school, for God's sake), however primitive it is. The first few chapters does a good job in bringing you into the novel's world.
Take note that I said the first few chapters. This is one of the novels where it had an amazing start, slowed down, then made you feel as if the only good parts in the novel were to be found in the beginning. It's a good thing that the author does a good job in picking up the story back to its original pace and made things exciting and good again. It was a real turn-around, suffice to say--and the slooooooow moments in the story didn't even take up too much pages.
The ending, though . . . I almost gave this book three stars just because of its ending. I feel as if it ended far too abruptly and wasn't given as much thought as the other parts in the novel (yes, even the slooooooow parts). It left me hanging and, when I closed the book, the first thought I had was, "that was it?". It was a real disappointment for me, to say the least, and I had hoped for a more satisfying finish to what is otherwise a brilliant novel.
Suffice to say, this is a lot different from the movie. R was still his loveable, zombie self and Julie was still Julie and the Romeo-and-Juliet feel was still there (albeit multiplied by a factor of 3286598820); but it's different--though that doesn't stop it from being good. It's breathtakingly original in its subject matter (I can't really vouch for the number of zombie romances where the male lead is a zombie, but I think it's safe to say that there aren't a lot) and it's fun seeing that idea float and do its thing.
The novel, truth be told, was enjoyable. The world-building could suck you in and it's really well though-out for a zombie novel. Instead of the usual brainless, grunting animated corpses, what we get in Warm Bodies is drastically different: they're still hanging on to the fragile thread that they have with their humanity. They almost have something akin to a community (they even have a school, for God's sake), however primitive it is. The first few chapters does a good job in bringing you into the novel's world.
Take note that I said the first few chapters. This is one of the novels where it had an amazing start, slowed down, then made you feel as if the only good parts in the novel were to be found in the beginning. It's a good thing that the author does a good job in picking up the story back to its original pace and made things exciting and good again. It was a real turn-around, suffice to say--and the slooooooow moments in the story didn't even take up too much pages.
The ending, though . . . I almost gave this book three stars just because of its ending. I feel as if it ended far too abruptly and wasn't given as much thought as the other parts in the novel (yes, even the slooooooow parts). It left me hanging and, when I closed the book, the first thought I had was, "that was it?". It was a real disappointment for me, to say the least, and I had hoped for a more satisfying finish to what is otherwise a brilliant novel.
Heist Society by Ally Carter
3.0
I'm going to be honest: I just picked up this book solely for the reason that I wanted to add a book for my reading challenge this year. I knew it was going to be light and would provide a fast read (which, basically, describes the whole young adult genre and also the reason why I dabble in the genre in the first place) and that was why I decided to read it. Simple as that.
In the end, I was right. It was light and provided a fast read, but I'm still on the fence whether or not it was a good read.
The characters were okay, though I felt incredulous that they're just in their teens. I know, I know, Frank Abagnale, Jr. started out when he was young too; but this is just way too unbelievable. At some moments, I felt as if the characters were too perfect. (Take, in this instance, Hale--nobody could possibly be what Hale was described in the novel at just sixteen--billionaire status be damned.) The whole reason of the conflict reads out as ridiculous. If I was the main character, I'd have just waited out the whole two weeks. By then, the bad guy would then predictably visit the main character's father and realise what a goddamned fool he's been all along.
So you could kind of imagine what I felt when the main character was whining about how her father is doomed.
And the plot . . . it was, to put it plainly, fast-paced--far too fast-paced in my opinion. It almost made it seem that they could have done this even without the threat to the main character's father hanging on the line. It certainly didn't look like what the characters were making it out to be when they all talked about how the Henley couldn't be robbed.
The writing was okay, though, despite the fact that the author uses ellipses like mad (the same way I use my italics, to tell the truth).
Still, this book was a light, fun read. It even made me laugh out loud in some moments. I don't regret reading it, and--who knows?--perhaps I might get my hands on the sequel.
In the end, I was right. It was light and provided a fast read, but I'm still on the fence whether or not it was a good read.
The characters were okay, though I felt incredulous that they're just in their teens. I know, I know, Frank Abagnale, Jr. started out when he was young too; but this is just way too unbelievable. At some moments, I felt as if the characters were too perfect. (Take, in this instance, Hale--nobody could possibly be what Hale was described in the novel at just sixteen--billionaire status be damned.) The whole reason of the conflict reads out as ridiculous. If I was the main character, I'd have just waited out the whole two weeks. By then, the bad guy would then predictably visit the main character's father and realise what a goddamned fool he's been all along.
So you could kind of imagine what I felt when the main character was whining about how her father is doomed.
And the plot . . . it was, to put it plainly, fast-paced--far too fast-paced in my opinion. It almost made it seem that they could have done this even without the threat to the main character's father hanging on the line. It certainly didn't look like what the characters were making it out to be when they all talked about how the Henley couldn't be robbed.
The writing was okay, though, despite the fact that the author uses ellipses like mad (the same way I use my italics, to tell the truth).
Still, this book was a light, fun read. It even made me laugh out loud in some moments. I don't regret reading it, and--who knows?--perhaps I might get my hands on the sequel.
Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell
5.0
When I've read somewhere that Cloud Atlas was going to be somewhat like an anthology of six novellas compiled into one book, I've braced myself for reading separate stories that only have its authorship (and, perhaps, some themes) as the only thing in common that it shares with one another.
In this account, I'm both right and wrong.
While Cloud Atlas certainly is an anthology of six novellas, it doesn't feel like one. (Or, at least in my case, it doesn't.) Cloud Atlas tells the story of six individuals scattered throughout time--from the 1800s to a post-apocalyptic future. Sometimes the story is told in first-person; sometimes it isn't. Ranging from journals to epistolaries to a pseudo-novel, Mitchell tells six stories that manages to suck you in. And, despite being authored by a single person, the six tales are so distinct that it seems as if the characters themselves came to life to tell their own stories.
Personally, I find Sloosha's Crossin' an' Ev'rythin' After to be the weakest part--not because of its story, for I personally find its background to be the richest compared to the rest and its characters to be the strongest, but because of the narrative style. The main character's accent, I find, was extremely unnecessary. Still, even if I find it as the weakest part of the novel, when it stands on its own, it's still brilliant as the rest.
On the other hand, Letters from Zedelghem stands as my favourite and, therefore, it won't be much of a wonder when I declare that it's the strongest. I've found Robert Frobisher to be the most compelling character in the whole novel and I was deeply charmed by him. And, not to mention, his romance with Rufus Sixsmith was gravely damaging for my emotional and mental health because *SQUEEEE* interesting, to say the least.
To conclude: Cloud Atlas is a richly imagined work of sheer and utter brilliance.
In this account, I'm both right and wrong.
While Cloud Atlas certainly is an anthology of six novellas, it doesn't feel like one. (Or, at least in my case, it doesn't.) Cloud Atlas tells the story of six individuals scattered throughout time--from the 1800s to a post-apocalyptic future. Sometimes the story is told in first-person; sometimes it isn't. Ranging from journals to epistolaries to a pseudo-novel, Mitchell tells six stories that manages to suck you in. And, despite being authored by a single person, the six tales are so distinct that it seems as if the characters themselves came to life to tell their own stories.
Personally, I find Sloosha's Crossin' an' Ev'rythin' After to be the weakest part--not because of its story, for I personally find its background to be the richest compared to the rest and its characters to be the strongest, but because of the narrative style. The main character's accent, I find, was extremely unnecessary. Still, even if I find it as the weakest part of the novel, when it stands on its own, it's still brilliant as the rest.
On the other hand, Letters from Zedelghem stands as my favourite and, therefore, it won't be much of a wonder when I declare that it's the strongest. I've found Robert Frobisher to be the most compelling character in the whole novel and I was deeply charmed by him.
Spoiler
AND HIS SUICIDE TORE ME TO PIECES WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT ALL ABOUT GOD FUCKING DAMN IT IF I WANTED EMOTIONAL DESTRUCTION I'D HAVE SAID IT, MITCHELLTo conclude: Cloud Atlas is a richly imagined work of sheer and utter brilliance.