Take a photo of a barcode or cover
ebonwilde's Reviews (901)
straightforward, simple writing. wattpad level simple writing. maybe i just read too much fantasy, but the prose was awful. the forceful quirkiness was too much. i kid you not, someone actually describes the female lead by saying “i always thought you were a conundrum before we became close. you just have so many different sides to you, you know? you dress super girly, but you’re also an athlete who loves to wear sweats. you nerd out over superheroes, but you also love to be outside and away from technology. you love to draw and be soft, but pretend you aren’t.” ?? wow, she's a multifaceted person. isn't that crazy. i was laughing at the dialogue the entire time, so points for comedy.
the mmc is a virgin, which i think is great, because we definitely need more of those. but. he's a virgin because he was cheated on in high school. seven years ago. are you kidding me ?? people don't laugh at these white men enough. all this supposed trauma but aurora broke down his walls by being hot and nothing else. okay.
another thing. the characters are overly dependent on each other and spend entire chapters crying about how they won't be together when one leaves for a job interview which is ?? you've been dating for three months, not seven years, get it together.
there are a lot of cutesy moments, but they're very surface level and neither character has substance outside of whatever archetype they're portraying. at least the mmc is respectful, which is more than i can say for a lot of romance books.
2.5 stars
the mmc is a virgin, which i think is great, because we definitely need more of those. but. he's a virgin because he was cheated on in high school. seven years ago. are you kidding me ?? people don't laugh at these white men enough. all this supposed trauma but aurora broke down his walls by being hot and nothing else. okay.
another thing. the characters are overly dependent on each other and spend entire chapters crying about how they won't be together when one leaves for a job interview which is ?? you've been dating for three months, not seven years, get it together.
there are a lot of cutesy moments, but they're very surface level and neither character has substance outside of whatever archetype they're portraying. at least the mmc is respectful, which is more than i can say for a lot of romance books.
2.5 stars
it's cute. nice setup for the dreamer trilogy. doesn't really matter because i won't be reading it, but anyway. i was mostly reading the series for bluegansey, so i'm sad they didn't make an appearance. overall, it was okay, nothing special.
i need to stop having such high expectations for books because. why was this so slow?? i'd think a military fantasy would have more action. and, well, magic. it's meant to be a fantasy, but it reads more like dull historical fiction. i loved the romance between kittwinnow, but i wanted more out of this. the writing itself was underwhelming. it's strange because it's so pretty and ethereal, but shallow at the same time. reading this was like floating on air, viewing everything from the loveliest vantage point but feeling utter emotional disconnect.
this was fairly interesting at first, and in fact most of the way throughout, i'd say until page 250 or so. it's more character focused than plot focused, so somewhat difficult to get into if you're there for the thriller part, but was still enjoyable for two-thirds or so.
the characters were well developed, if unlikable, except for my girl liz callaghan. maybe it's my romancephobia, or the fact that her only personality was that she was sexually harassed a lot but she didn't care because she was a strong woman, but we need to ban men from writing female characters.
the whole twist with the uncle came out of nowhere, and his reasoning was frankly unnecessary. it would have been quite interesting if it was followed upon—i actually thought the father's behavior was hinted at several times before—but wouldn't you know it, the book ended with the uncle being boxed into crazy and the father being a saint. so.
also, and this doesn't particularly matter, but i don't understand why it takes place in the 1980s. the time period neither adds nor takes anything away from the book, or maybe i just wasn't paying attention, but i don't really get the point.
2.8 stars because liz callaghan.
the characters were well developed, if unlikable, except for my girl liz callaghan. maybe it's my romancephobia, or the fact that her only personality was that she was sexually harassed a lot but she didn't care because she was a strong woman, but we need to ban men from writing female characters.
the whole twist with the uncle came out of nowhere, and his reasoning was frankly unnecessary. it would have been quite interesting if it was followed upon—i actually thought the father's behavior was hinted at several times before—but wouldn't you know it, the book ended with the uncle being boxed into crazy and the father being a saint. so.
also, and this doesn't particularly matter, but i don't understand why it takes place in the 1980s. the time period neither adds nor takes anything away from the book, or maybe i just wasn't paying attention, but i don't really get the point.
2.8 stars because liz callaghan.
this was absolutely perfect. so quick and easy to read; i completed it in less than two hours. the plot of a con artist in vegas trying to catch a serial killer is uniquely hilarious. amber easily draws you in with her witty humor, and every other character is just as enjoyable. i loved the writing, and i think there's supposed to be a sequel, which i can't wait to read.
a nice, cozy read, but has unnatural pacing. very slow for most of the book with all the action packed into the last 50-60 pages. while i felt connected to the nari/rose character, and somewhat to the white alice pov, i wouldn't say i really cared about grant. it's not mentioned how he connects to the other povs until the last 10 or so pages, and i simply couldn't muster up enough feeling about him by then. on the other hand, i really liked rose and her cynical-but-actually‐caring persona. she was a well thought out character; i enjoyed her dynamic with her mother and simply the way her pov was written.
the white alice storyline was also quite intriguing—a self sustained feminist colony that murders and thieves to protect themselves—but we only get a glimpse of this. i especially like how their perspective is written in a sort of all-is-one way to represent the communal being of the the colony. most of the white alice sections are just slow background information, and i wish their dynamic was explored more instead because it's the most interesting part of the novel. i also felt that everything was a bit vague and understated, with the hows and whys of things remaining mostly unexplained.
overall, i'd say this was nice enough. something to distract yourself on a rainy summer afternoon.
3.5 stars
the white alice storyline was also quite intriguing—a self sustained feminist colony that murders and thieves to protect themselves—but we only get a glimpse of this. i especially like how their perspective is written in a sort of all-is-one way to represent the communal being of the the colony. most of the white alice sections are just slow background information, and i wish their dynamic was explored more instead because it's the most interesting part of the novel. i also felt that everything was a bit vague and understated, with the hows and whys of things remaining mostly unexplained.
overall, i'd say this was nice enough. something to distract yourself on a rainy summer afternoon.
3.5 stars
