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coralinejones's reviews
372 reviews
The Art of Prophecy by Wesley Chu
3.5
It's well written and extremely detailed with it's world building but I didn't care all that much about any of the characters aside from Jian. I found him to be the most interesting, so when we were focused on other povs I just couldn't focus as heavily. Not to mention the first 150 or so pages were EXTREMELY strong while the rest fell a bit flat. All the action scenes capture my attention; they were tense and full of aggression, however the rest was a little slow, especially when it came to the political intrigue
My Throat an Open Grave by Tori Bovalino
Did not finish book. Stopped at 65%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 65%.
Mild spoilers ahead.
I'm sorry, maybe I shouldn't simply pick books up because I enjoy the covers. Had I'd known this would be ROMANTASY I would've never put this on my TBR to begin with. The gothic atmosphere, religious undertones, and mild horror were all very stunning and parts of the story I enjoyed. But the romance KILLED all the momentum. I'm so sick of the, "I'm supposed to HATE you but you're so ATTRACTIVE so I INSTANTLY fall in love with you instead." give me a break.
Not to mention, this forest God creature being this conventionally attractive emo seventeen year old boy golden rings ad freckles is so pathetic, especially in this setting. I understand it's meant to divert expectations of our main character and make her realize the society she's been brought up in is so cult-like and phony but... Please. These tropes man, these tropes.
I'm sorry, maybe I shouldn't simply pick books up because I enjoy the covers. Had I'd known this would be ROMANTASY I would've never put this on my TBR to begin with. The gothic atmosphere, religious undertones, and mild horror were all very stunning and parts of the story I enjoyed. But the romance KILLED all the momentum. I'm so sick of the, "I'm supposed to HATE you but you're so ATTRACTIVE so I INSTANTLY fall in love with you instead." give me a break.
Not to mention, this forest God creature being this conventionally attractive emo seventeen year old boy golden rings ad freckles is so pathetic, especially in this setting. I understand it's meant to divert expectations of our main character and make her realize the society she's been brought up in is so cult-like and phony but... Please. These tropes man, these tropes.
The Final Gambit by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
3.0
Significantly lame in comparison to the first two books. I get why people don't like this one as much. I did NOT care about Tobias' backstory and felt like nothing present in this book was as interesting, or even related to Avery, the way the first two installments were. I was mostly confused reading this one as, again, there were so many characters and dynamics to keep track of. I just did not care for Rebecca.
I can acknowledge this is 100% on me but, this series did not play out the way I wish it did. The mystique and the aesthetic in the first book was so exciting. This random girl inheriting billions and nobody knows why. The danger of everyone gunning after her to get what they think is theirs. Ough. It was everything.
Then slowly all these twists and turns made the story lame. Like not as "scary" as it once was, for lack of better word.
The ending of this one annoyed me as well. This all ended over a chess game? Girl. I guess.
I can acknowledge this is 100% on me but, this series did not play out the way I wish it did. The mystique and the aesthetic in the first book was so exciting. This random girl inheriting billions and nobody knows why. The danger of everyone gunning after her to get what they think is theirs. Ough. It was everything.
Then slowly all these twists and turns made the story lame. Like not as "scary" as it once was, for lack of better word.
The ending of this one annoyed me as well. This all ended over a chess game? Girl. I guess.
The Hawthorne Legacy by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
4.0
Okay, so. This review will be all over the place because I kind of just want to start book 3.
As much as I love mystery novels, book two suffers from what most mystery novels suffer from, and that's becoming extremely convoluted and ridiculous by the end. Way too many twists and turns start to occur about 70% of the way through, and it's not really fun to read anymore because too much is going on. Just too much. I found myself growing really confused and slightly agitating the more twists unfolded. Between finding out the fathers of each Hawthorn, or lack of fathers in Avery's case, the romance plot, fucking MAX (I will get into her in a bit), all the new characters and family dynamics, and having to wrap up what we learnt in book one... I was ready for it to be over.
Not to mention I thought the ending was dumb but I assume my opinions will change once I start book 3.
I still enjoyed the book though. There were many moments early on that were super fun to read and, of course, the games were fun to follow with our main characters. However, unlike in book one where we learned who everyone was and what their relation to their grandfather was, this was very repetitive in comparison.
As much as I love mystery novels, book two suffers from what most mystery novels suffer from, and that's becoming extremely convoluted and ridiculous by the end. Way too many twists and turns start to occur about 70% of the way through, and it's not really fun to read anymore because too much is going on. Just too much. I found myself growing really confused and slightly agitating the more twists unfolded. Between finding out the fathers of each Hawthorn, or lack of fathers in Avery's case, the romance plot, fucking MAX (I will get into her in a bit), all the new characters and family dynamics, and having to wrap up what we learnt in book one... I was ready for it to be over.
Not to mention I thought the ending was dumb but I assume my opinions will change once I start book 3.
I still enjoyed the book though. There were many moments early on that were super fun to read and, of course, the games were fun to follow with our main characters. However, unlike in book one where we learned who everyone was and what their relation to their grandfather was, this was very repetitive in comparison.
- Max was annoying as fuck. I could excuse her lack of swearing because she wasn't really a main character in book one, but her arrival in book two made me want to DNF this multiple times. I don't care what her reasoning was for not swearing, she either shouldn't have be trying to swear at all or just use the actual swear words.
- Jameson was also fucking annoying. I didn't like him in book one, but again, I didn't mind. Though, in this book, he was doing entirely too much. Just like everything else.
- Not enough Xander. He's my favorite.
- Avery kept repeating over and over about how she just "didn't belong here" and how she'll "never get used to this lifestyle." and look, I get it, and I understand that this book takes place RIGHT after book one, so there's really not enough time for Avery to get accustomed to her new life but DAMN SISTER...
The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
5.0
Sorry, I had the time of my life. Officially my new favorite guilty pleasure.
I can't even get into why I liked this so much. Parts of this story was as basic as it gets, and yet, I couldn't put the book down. I cannot wait to get to book two.
I can't even get into why I liked this so much. Parts of this story was as basic as it gets, and yet, I couldn't put the book down. I cannot wait to get to book two.
The Clinic by Cate Quinn
2.25
This book was so stupid, oh my God. ðŸ˜
When I saw "Chapter 100" I literally sighed with the fact that we still weren't done. I hate when mystery thrillers get so convoluted and dumb by the end
Not to mention the way some of these characters talk about mental health... I know some of them are supposed to be villains, won't say who to avoid spoilers, clearly, but even the good guys? Were being so weird towards mental health like OCD. I didn't like that very much
When I saw "Chapter 100" I literally sighed with the fact that we still weren't done. I hate when mystery thrillers get so convoluted and dumb by the end
Not to mention the way some of these characters talk about mental health... I know some of them are supposed to be villains, won't say who to avoid spoilers, clearly, but even the good guys? Were being so weird towards mental health like OCD. I didn't like that very much
A Deal with the Elf King by Elise Kova
Did not finish book. Stopped at 50%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 50%.
i just stopped caring. not that i really cared to begin with, but. it went from being very interesting to boring
The Eyes Are the Best Part by Monika Kim
2.75
You go girl! Or not. I don't know.
I didn't like the later half of this novel. Found my amusement and interest dwindling as the story progressed.
Funnily enough, the most "horrific" part of the novel was the detailed description of our main character eating fish eyes. Other than that, we're just reading about her distaste for her mother's racist boyfriend as her mother cries and is pathetic.
I didn't like the later half of this novel. Found my amusement and interest dwindling as the story progressed.
Funnily enough, the most "horrific" part of the novel was the detailed description of our main character eating fish eyes. Other than that, we're just reading about her distaste for her mother's racist boyfriend as her mother cries and is pathetic.