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manikahemmerixh's Reviews (220)
Very interesting concept but writing is a bit basic. First half felt very obvious but was not quite as much so by the end. None of the characters are particularly likeable and that bothered me for a while, but was alleviated by the author’s commitment to letting them be unlikeable rather than trying to redeem them with arbitrary “good” qualities in the end.
Close round up to a 4 star, but maybe not quite. If I had read it when I was 16 I probably would rate it higher (which makes sense since it's YA). It's fast paced and there's plenty of action, but a consequence of that is that sometimes things feel rushed. The story's intriguing and in some ways I didn't know which path this book was going to go down. It ends with a trope I personally kind of hate but since there's only one sequel I may go ahead and pick that one up to finish Iris and Roman's story.
This book is sweet. I read the majority of it with a smile on my face. The characters are loveable, and of course I'm first and foremost referring to Sebastian, but Raine and Jack as well. The seriousness of each character's struggle with mental illness is woven very well into the story and I appreciated the emphasis on not having to have a traditional life or relationship dynamic, but the relationship still feels real. I had no doubt about Jack and Raine's feelings for one another.
slow-paced
I guess Fraser's aren't the only ones who are stubborn because it was from sheer force of will alone that I finished this book. I was worried in the beginning, but things picked up for me with the switch between characters and time lines and I thoroughly enjoyed the middle of this book with the same peaceful rhythm I felt reading the majority of the previous books in this series.
That was until about the last 300-400 pages of this book. Finishing it felt like pulling teeth, and if I was not so put off by the idea of losing a challenge, I may have DNF'd it. There were small moments of respite (I love Lord John Grey more and more with every time he's appeared in this series) but overall it was slow, felt repetitive of themes and content in previous novels in the series, and just kind of boring.
I'd like to give The Fiery Cross a chance but after dragging myself through this one, head down pushing through the storm (and knowing that that book is somehow nearly 500 pages longer than this one), I'm going to take a good break from the series and see if at some point I feel compelled to pick that one up.
That was until about the last 300-400 pages of this book. Finishing it felt like pulling teeth, and if I was not so put off by the idea of losing a challenge, I may have DNF'd it. There were small moments of respite (I love Lord John Grey more and more with every time he's appeared in this series) but overall it was slow, felt repetitive of themes and content in previous novels in the series, and just kind of boring.
I'd like to give The Fiery Cross a chance but after dragging myself through this one, head down pushing through the storm (and knowing that that book is somehow nearly 500 pages longer than this one), I'm going to take a good break from the series and see if at some point I feel compelled to pick that one up.
Cute book. I figured out the ending about halfway through, but was still glad when I got there and was proven right. I've read a lot of little romance books like this one and I really appreciated the way that this wove magical realism into the story. Parts of it are a bit flowery and maybe a little gimmicky, but the premise of the book itself is appealing and it's written well enough.
Reading this book is very thought provoking. Caitlin has lived an incredibly interesting life, and she not only describes it well, but makes her unique experiences relevant to anyone because at the core of her, less than usual, life is something that every human must come eye to eye with (someway, somehow); death.
It's not gruesome though, in fact that's whole point Caitlin aims to make. By being so scared of death and trying to hide it behind flowery customs and expensive burials we've done the disservice of ridding ourselves from the comfort of accepting that death is inevitable. Caitlin talks about death in a way that's not desensitized but that embraces it.
It's not gruesome though, in fact that's whole point Caitlin aims to make. By being so scared of death and trying to hide it behind flowery customs and expensive burials we've done the disservice of ridding ourselves from the comfort of accepting that death is inevitable. Caitlin talks about death in a way that's not desensitized but that embraces it.
I find memoirs hard to rate, especially one like this where the author's just laying down her life experience. It's a well written story though, easy to follow, and poignant. Sometimes it's nice to be reminded that other people in the world have carried skeletons similar to yours and still managed to "figure things out".
What I struggled with the most about this book was the romance. I love enemies to lovers but I feel like some of the foundational work here was lacking, as well as Reid's character development. By the end of the book he's ready to accept Lou and can't live without her because he loves her. The story should have had me well and truly convinced he'd be ready to throw away everything he's known before for her, but it's more something that I just took at face value. Their banter was cute, but I wasn't even entirely convinced they were compatible.
The story was good though and I was glad to see the author tie back and clear up some things that happened at the beginning and make them more reasonable by the end of the book. I'm not dying to read the rest of the series though, and that's never a good sign.
The story was good though and I was glad to see the author tie back and clear up some things that happened at the beginning and make them more reasonable by the end of the book. I'm not dying to read the rest of the series though, and that's never a good sign.
For a short and fairly light hearted book, this story tackles a lot. At its heart it’s a serious story about the choices we make, why we make them, and how we navigate life after loss. How we live. The writing is a bit elementary and much of the story is quite surface level. There are beautiful descriptions of scenery and character, but it lacks nuance to make a truly deep and moving story. It’s good for what it is though.
I thought I knew where this book was going, and I was sort of right, sort of wrong. Nothing ground breaking, but good for what it is. I appreciated the first half of the story when it's just the men tramping through woods they don't understand, more than the second half where things get a bit gimmicky for my liking.