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literarylunatic's reviews
51 reviews
Proxy by Alex London
4.0
This was a pretty good story. The interwoven themes of debts, forgiveness, responsibility, and culpability were pretty good and strong. It drove much of the story, so there was a cohesive plot.
Some things that could be annoying: head-hopping or POV changes within one scene. This was really frustrating when Knox and Syd finally met and the thoughts of both these characters were so obvious because the author told us. This was slightly dampened by the fact that the book is written in 3rd person, so it's not as confusing as it would have been if it was written in 1st person.
Knox was very, very annoying. I seriously hated. Yes, he had some redemption towards the end, but it seemed like quite a jump from when he was still thinking only about himself and how he had suffered. Compared to Syd's? No way.
But he did exhibit redeemable qualities throughout the story, although it was a bit slow, then there was that jump towards the end - like, was he desperate enough to do what he did in the climax?
In any case, this is a good YA dystopian novel. Syd is gay, but he doesn't have a romantic interest here, although I read that he will in the 2nd book. He is a believable and strong character. That scene with Egan - waterworks, I tell you!
Definitely worth picking up and moving on to the 2nd book.
Some things that could be annoying: head-hopping or POV changes within one scene. This was really frustrating when Knox and Syd finally met and the thoughts of both these characters were so obvious because the author told us. This was slightly dampened by the fact that the book is written in 3rd person, so it's not as confusing as it would have been if it was written in 1st person.
Knox was very, very annoying. I seriously hated. Yes, he had some redemption towards the end, but it seemed like quite a jump from when he was still thinking only about himself and how he had suffered. Compared to Syd's? No way.
But he did exhibit redeemable qualities throughout the story, although it was a bit slow, then there was that jump towards the end - like, was he desperate enough to do what he did in the climax?
In any case, this is a good YA dystopian novel. Syd is gay, but he doesn't have a romantic interest here, although I read that he will in the 2nd book. He is a believable and strong character. That scene with Egan - waterworks, I tell you!
Definitely worth picking up and moving on to the 2nd book.
Unnatural by Michael Griffo
2.0
This is a case of "I should've listened."
I had to DNF this.
I was looking for YA m/m paranormal (without much sexy times, although scenes with 'em are also fine), and I stumbled upon this. I read the reviews and saw the one-stars, and thought, Maybe I'll have a different opinion. Maybe I'll like it.
... I was wrong.
Head-hopping
There are some books where the head-hopping wasn't so intrusive. Unfortunately, Unnatural wasn't one of those books. It was really annoying. I had to double back to remember who was speaking and thinking.
Too sappy
Ugh, insta-luv. Maybe it could have been better if Michael and Ronan had some internal personality conflicts instead of just outside force keeping them apart. Because the romance lacked depth. It was... so pathetic.
Michael is a sad kid
That's not a bad thing, actually. He's had a rough life so I really wanted to see him be a hero in his own right - without clinging to someone to make his life better. I wanted to see him rise above his problems. But...
One-dimensional characters
Where is the inner conflict? No... The characters here, as far as I have read, only have one side to them - just one! No moral struggles. No hidden depth. What you see is what you get.
You might like this book if you want boarding school romance, weird hybrid-vampires, and sappy love, but if you're looking more action and something deeper, stay away.
I had to DNF this.
I was looking for YA m/m paranormal (without much sexy times, although scenes with 'em are also fine), and I stumbled upon this. I read the reviews and saw the one-stars, and thought, Maybe I'll have a different opinion. Maybe I'll like it.
... I was wrong.
Head-hopping
There are some books where the head-hopping wasn't so intrusive. Unfortunately, Unnatural wasn't one of those books. It was really annoying. I had to double back to remember who was speaking and thinking.
Too sappy
Ugh, insta-luv. Maybe it could have been better if Michael and Ronan had some internal personality conflicts instead of just outside force keeping them apart. Because the romance lacked depth. It was... so pathetic.
Michael is a sad kid
That's not a bad thing, actually. He's had a rough life so I really wanted to see him be a hero in his own right - without clinging to someone to make his life better. I wanted to see him rise above his problems. But...
One-dimensional characters
Where is the inner conflict? No... The characters here, as far as I have read, only have one side to them - just one! No moral struggles. No hidden depth. What you see is what you get.
You might like this book if you want boarding school romance, weird hybrid-vampires, and sappy love, but if you're looking more action and something deeper, stay away.
Rise of Heroes by Hayden Thorne
3.0
3.5 stars
Masks Book 1 is a fun read.
There were some things that bored me, though, that's why this is only 3.5 stars.
Anti-climactic
I know the superheroes and supervillains here are just coming into their powers, but I was hoping for some ups and downs in the storyline. Instead, it was just very steady - like monotonous kind of steady. There was nothing that got my blood pumped up. And this is superhero stuff. I'm a sucker for superhero stories.
Mysteries unsolved
In connection to the story being anti-climactic, there were important mysteries, but I felt like not one of them was solved. The supervillain has plans for our stalwart protagonist - not yet solved, but the villain's teasing. There's something mysterious about the carnival that came to town - obviously not yet solved. There's a new supervillain introduced towards the end - nobody yet knows what part he plays or how evil he is.
The thing with these mysteries is that they made the book feel like a prologue to the main event, which is Book 2. That's annoying. And it contributed to the anti-climactic feel of the book.
But, of course, there were great things about the book.
Eric's POV
I loved that our 16 year old protagonist sounded young. He liked poetry and classical books, but he didn't think he was smarter than the rest of his classmates and often acknowledged his own stupidity and low grades. Plus, he was funny, and real. He definitely sounded like a teen. A gay teen.
Eric's friends
Yes, his friends are cool. There's, of course, the girl friend who's smarter than her guy friends. I'll take it, though, considering Althea's quick-thinking saved their lived. Eric's best friend, Peter, is sweet and kind. Their romance isn't insta-luv or sappy. I like that.
Eric's family
Very funny these guys, although they could be very stereotypical. I guess that's their point, though, to be the average, stereotypical family in contrast to the not-normal superhero life that Eric's introduced to.
Overall
I like the story and I'm going to read the 2nd book because, like I said, I'm a sucker for superhero stories, and Masks has a pretty interesting set of characters and world.
Masks Book 1 is a fun read.
There were some things that bored me, though, that's why this is only 3.5 stars.
Anti-climactic
I know the superheroes and supervillains here are just coming into their powers, but I was hoping for some ups and downs in the storyline. Instead, it was just very steady - like monotonous kind of steady. There was nothing that got my blood pumped up. And this is superhero stuff. I'm a sucker for superhero stories.
Mysteries unsolved
In connection to the story being anti-climactic, there were important mysteries, but I felt like not one of them was solved. The supervillain has plans for our stalwart protagonist - not yet solved, but the villain's teasing. There's something mysterious about the carnival that came to town - obviously not yet solved. There's a new supervillain introduced towards the end - nobody yet knows what part he plays or how evil he is.
The thing with these mysteries is that they made the book feel like a prologue to the main event, which is Book 2. That's annoying. And it contributed to the anti-climactic feel of the book.
But, of course, there were great things about the book.
Eric's POV
I loved that our 16 year old protagonist sounded young. He liked poetry and classical books, but he didn't think he was smarter than the rest of his classmates and often acknowledged his own stupidity and low grades. Plus, he was funny, and real. He definitely sounded like a teen. A gay teen.
Eric's friends
Yes, his friends are cool. There's, of course, the girl friend who's smarter than her guy friends. I'll take it, though, considering Althea's quick-thinking saved their lived. Eric's best friend, Peter, is sweet and kind. Their romance isn't insta-luv or sappy. I like that.
Eric's family
Very funny these guys, although they could be very stereotypical. I guess that's their point, though, to be the average, stereotypical family in contrast to the not-normal superhero life that Eric's introduced to.
Overall
I like the story and I'm going to read the 2nd book because, like I said, I'm a sucker for superhero stories, and Masks has a pretty interesting set of characters and world.
The Flame by Skylar Jaye
3.0
Skylar Jaye introduced me to a pretty interesting world about elemental mages and runecasters, but "The Flame" was kinda lame. It had its moments that's why I gave it a three. It's a pretty good story and there's certainly a magikal society there that's interesting to explore. Plus, many of the elemental mages feel that they're better than others so that was a great social dynamic. Except "The Flame" really only explores Marcus and Jeremy's romance.
The blurb says that Marcus is accused of a crime, but that doesn't happen till more than 70% into the story. Also, the romance... I don't know where to begin. Like, what did they see in each other? How did they develop feelings for each other? Marcus met Jeremy just a few times then asks him out and declares him the one because a powerful runecaster says that someone will love him for who he his blah blah blah. Is that it? Marcus is described as a hot dude, but as for his personality... likes and dislikes... I didn't even get to see which things they had in common.
It'd be great if "The Flame" does get a longer sequel with a more tangible plot and some tension between Marcus and Jeremy. Everything was just too perfect for them. The world has so much potential, though, since not a lot of urban fantasy feature mages in college. Plus, the runes! It was really interesting what they were and how Jeremy could use them. And David Fairfax sounded like a super cool character. Really awesome.
The blurb says that Marcus is accused of a crime, but that doesn't happen till more than 70% into the story. Also, the romance... I don't know where to begin. Like, what did they see in each other? How did they develop feelings for each other? Marcus met Jeremy just a few times then asks him out and declares him the one because a powerful runecaster says that someone will love him for who he his blah blah blah. Is that it? Marcus is described as a hot dude, but as for his personality... likes and dislikes... I didn't even get to see which things they had in common.
It'd be great if "The Flame" does get a longer sequel with a more tangible plot and some tension between Marcus and Jeremy. Everything was just too perfect for them. The world has so much potential, though, since not a lot of urban fantasy feature mages in college. Plus, the runes! It was really interesting what they were and how Jeremy could use them. And David Fairfax sounded like a super cool character. Really awesome.