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nikolinaza's reviews
526 reviews
Heartless by Marissa Meyer
1.0
Actual rating: 1.5 ⭐
Oh, God. Oh, Dear Allah.
I was a big fan of The Lunar Chronicles, to the point I collected almost all of the books. They got me hoping so much for Marissa Meyer's other works, especially this one.
But when TLC was full of actions and adventures, this supposed-to-be-magical-book had given me....
Totally, almost nothing.
The fact that I spent ten days to read this after a long, boring, work hours annoyed me so much. Why didn't I just stop? Because I still have my hopes. But things wouldn't always turned out to be as what you hoped for, I see.
I don't know what happened with the author when she wrote this--maybe she fell in love so deep with the whole story and decided to prolong nearly EVERYTHING in the book. Dozens of pages were spent to describe every single damn thing in the world building detailedly. I mean yeah, it's important. But when it gets too long—who cares?
The characters. The main heroine, Lady Catherine Pinkerton. Oh God, it was sooooo hard to like her. I even don't understand why the King favored her so much. Said she's the one with the heart of a steel, so strong and so brave, when mainly all she does is just whining, whining, and whining non stop. I know it's sort of obligatory for kids to obey their parents, but when you're forced to marry the stupid, disgusting King, why don't you stand up for yourself instead of complaining over the silly 'courtship' (ah, I got goosebumps) inside your head for every single damn time?
Remember Scarlett Dragna from Caraval? Well, Catherine Pinkerton is like her worse twin sister.
Also, the minuscule King and Catherine's parents. I have no idea who was more disgusting than who, but I do think it's best for the trio to just get married to each other. I mean, why the heck would you marry your 'dearest' daughter with a man who's fifteen years her senior but act like a five years old dwarf who giggled at every chance he got?
If I were to be the citizen of Hearts, I'd do some sacrifice for the Jabberwock to snatch the King (who by the way, reminded me so much of my equally disgusting, silly, crazy neighbor) and turned him into a pack of minced meat before giving it to Cheshire (who'd probably refused). Easy coup d'état, and we could put someone more capable in the throne. Cheshire, maybe. That feline was at least the more reasonable than all of the people here.
Also, what's with the marriage between animal and human here? I never read Alice in Wonderland before, but I don't think it's in here? What is the bestiality thing about?
The only thing that could at least redeem the whole story was the ending. At last, at the very last, our Catherine could stand at her very own feet! One and a half stars for that.
Think I'll keep it because the cover is so pretty, tho.
Oh, God. Oh, Dear Allah.
I was a big fan of The Lunar Chronicles, to the point I collected almost all of the books. They got me hoping so much for Marissa Meyer's other works, especially this one.
But when TLC was full of actions and adventures, this supposed-to-be-magical-book had given me....
Totally, almost nothing.
The fact that I spent ten days to read this after a long, boring, work hours annoyed me so much. Why didn't I just stop? Because I still have my hopes. But things wouldn't always turned out to be as what you hoped for, I see.
I don't know what happened with the author when she wrote this--maybe she fell in love so deep with the whole story and decided to prolong nearly EVERYTHING in the book. Dozens of pages were spent to describe every single damn thing in the world building detailedly. I mean yeah, it's important. But when it gets too long—who cares?
The characters. The main heroine, Lady Catherine Pinkerton. Oh God, it was sooooo hard to like her. I even don't understand why the King favored her so much. Said she's the one with the heart of a steel, so strong and so brave, when mainly all she does is just whining, whining, and whining non stop. I know it's sort of obligatory for kids to obey their parents, but when you're forced to marry the stupid, disgusting King, why don't you stand up for yourself instead of complaining over the silly 'courtship' (ah, I got goosebumps) inside your head for every single damn time?
Remember Scarlett Dragna from Caraval? Well, Catherine Pinkerton is like her worse twin sister.
Also, the minuscule King and Catherine's parents. I have no idea who was more disgusting than who, but I do think it's best for the trio to just get married to each other. I mean, why the heck would you marry your 'dearest' daughter with a man who's fifteen years her senior but act like a five years old dwarf who giggled at every chance he got?
If I were to be the citizen of Hearts, I'd do some sacrifice for the Jabberwock to snatch the King (who by the way, reminded me so much of my equally disgusting, silly, crazy neighbor) and turned him into a pack of minced meat before giving it to Cheshire (who'd probably refused). Easy coup d'état, and we could put someone more capable in the throne. Cheshire, maybe. That feline was at least the more reasonable than all of the people here.
Also, what's with the marriage between animal and human here? I never read Alice in Wonderland before, but I don't think it's in here? What is the bestiality thing about?
The only thing that could at least redeem the whole story was the ending. At last, at the very last, our Catherine could stand at her very own feet! One and a half stars for that.
Think I'll keep it because the cover is so pretty, tho.
A Reaper at the Gates by Sabaa Tahir
5.0
I... am at loss of words.
It's been four years since I read A Torch Against the Night because the local publisher didn't continue to translate this (and making the book a lot more cheaper for me). But now, I've gotten my hands on Reaper, and I am beyond happy to be able to reunite with this epic series.
It took time to catch up since I forgot most of the dead characters (apparently they still got some role here) but overall, the story was easy to follow. As always, Sabaa Tahir's writing flowed smoothly, making it quite easy to read, even in the most difficult scene to bear (pardon my weak heart, but the whole series has a lot of trauma stored in every pages, so). And even so, knew well on how to make a reader didn't want to let go of the book—by ending every single short chapters with a cliffhanger.
Heck, if it wasn't for my 8 to 4 job, I'm devouring the whole book in a day. Two day tops.
It's nice to see the story narrated by three main point of views of Laia, Elias, and my baby angel Helene a.k.a. Blood Shrike (God I love her SO MUCH) as each of them had the problem of their own. It felt scattered and all over the place at first, but eventually, the three stories tied up on each other perfectly. I can't really wait to see my three babies reunite and fight together.
This may be a wishful thinking, but I do hope they have their happy ending. Especially my baby Helene....
It's been four years since I read A Torch Against the Night because the local publisher didn't continue to translate this (and making the book a lot more cheaper for me). But now, I've gotten my hands on Reaper, and I am beyond happy to be able to reunite with this epic series.
It took time to catch up since I forgot most of the dead characters (apparently they still got some role here) but overall, the story was easy to follow. As always, Sabaa Tahir's writing flowed smoothly, making it quite easy to read, even in the most difficult scene to bear (pardon my weak heart, but the whole series has a lot of trauma stored in every pages, so). And even so, knew well on how to make a reader didn't want to let go of the book—by ending every single short chapters with a cliffhanger.
Heck, if it wasn't for my 8 to 4 job, I'm devouring the whole book in a day. Two day tops.
It's nice to see the story narrated by three main point of views of Laia, Elias, and my baby angel Helene a.k.a. Blood Shrike (God I love her SO MUCH) as each of them had the problem of their own. It felt scattered and all over the place at first, but eventually, the three stories tied up on each other perfectly. I can't really wait to see my three babies reunite and fight together.
This may be a wishful thinking, but I do hope they have their happy ending. Especially my baby Helene....
Legenda Perompak Naga: Reinkarnasi Burung Langit by Wisnu Suryaning Adji
5.0
Setelah tragedi pengkhianatan dan kematian Naga Tiga Belas, Juru Masak--yang bernama asli Bajra Jaladara--pun memegang tampuk kepemimpinan di Kapal perompak Naga Hijau. Sebagai sesosok remaja yang belum mencapai dua puluh tahun, Bajra dilanda kebimbangan dan kebingungan atas masa depan geng Perompak Naga. Namun, satu celah rahasia yang disembunyikan Naga Tiga Belas di Pulau Kematian Bidadari membawanya ke sebuah tempat di mana rahasia-rahasia lain terungkap, dan tempat di mana ia menemukan jalan pulang.
Seperti biasa, tulisan Mas Wis selalu memukau. Konflik dalam RBL ini sebetulnya simpel saja, pencarian 'rumah' baru bagi geng perompak, tetapi tarafnya lebih berat dibanding di buku sebelumnya. Namun dengan tambahan adegan-adegan komedi yang agak receh nan konyol (dialog Bajra dan Tabib Ramuan itu super. Rasanya kayak nonton dua orang kurang waras yang mencoba berkomunikasi), rasanya nyaman-nyaman saja ketika membaca buku ini, tidak ikut-ikutan overthinking macam Bajra.
(Meski aku beberapa tahun lebih tua dibanding si Naga-garis-miring-Juru-Masak, kebimbangan tentang hidup itu selalu ada, kok--lah, curhat, HAHAHA.)
Di buku ini pula karakter Bajra jadi lebih tereksplor, dan Mas Wis berhasil membuat dia menjadi salah satu hero yang realistis. Ya, dia punya kekuatan super yang tidak dimiliki teman-temannya. Dia ditakdirkan menjadi pemimpin. Namun, di sisi lain, dia salah satu kru paling muda di kapal yang minim pengalaman. Banyak sekali yang harus dia pelajari, dan alih-alih bersikap sok tahu (yah, mungkin kadang), dia masih bersedia meminta pertimbangan dari kru-kru lain yang lebih tua. Meski karakter lainnya jadi kurang screentime karena lebih berfokus ke perkembangan diri Bajra, tetapi dinamika antara tiap karakter masih kental terasa.
Mungkin ada satu kekurangan buku ini. Mulai bab pertama hingga pertengahan, cerita terasa santai mengalir. Namun, di bagian pertengahan hingga akhir, semuanya terasa dikebut. Tokoh-tokoh baru langsung muncul, rahasia-rahasia para Naga terkuak, dan musuh baru tiba-tiba datang. Semua informasi baru ini disajikan langsung tanpa jeda sehingga rasanya malah seperti info dump. Ditambah lagi, berakhirnya adegan pertarungan Bajra dengan si musuh baru berakhir sedikit terlalu cepat, sehingga terkesan antiklimaks. Sayang sekali, padahal jika fakta-fakta baru ini dijabarkan mulai awal atau mungkin durasi cerita diperpanjang, maka keseluruhannya akan lebih enak untuk dibaca.
Overall, aku benar-benar suka buku ini. Enggak sabar menunggu buku ketiga terbit!
Seperti biasa, tulisan Mas Wis selalu memukau. Konflik dalam RBL ini sebetulnya simpel saja, pencarian 'rumah' baru bagi geng perompak, tetapi tarafnya lebih berat dibanding di buku sebelumnya. Namun dengan tambahan adegan-adegan komedi yang agak receh nan konyol (dialog Bajra dan Tabib Ramuan itu super. Rasanya kayak nonton dua orang kurang waras yang mencoba berkomunikasi), rasanya nyaman-nyaman saja ketika membaca buku ini, tidak ikut-ikutan overthinking macam Bajra.
(Meski aku beberapa tahun lebih tua dibanding si Naga-garis-miring-Juru-Masak, kebimbangan tentang hidup itu selalu ada, kok--lah, curhat, HAHAHA.)
Di buku ini pula karakter Bajra jadi lebih tereksplor, dan Mas Wis berhasil membuat dia menjadi salah satu hero yang realistis. Ya, dia punya kekuatan super yang tidak dimiliki teman-temannya. Dia ditakdirkan menjadi pemimpin. Namun, di sisi lain, dia salah satu kru paling muda di kapal yang minim pengalaman. Banyak sekali yang harus dia pelajari, dan alih-alih bersikap sok tahu (yah, mungkin kadang), dia masih bersedia meminta pertimbangan dari kru-kru lain yang lebih tua. Meski karakter lainnya jadi kurang screentime karena lebih berfokus ke perkembangan diri Bajra, tetapi dinamika antara tiap karakter masih kental terasa.
Mungkin ada satu kekurangan buku ini. Mulai bab pertama hingga pertengahan, cerita terasa santai mengalir. Namun, di bagian pertengahan hingga akhir, semuanya terasa dikebut. Tokoh-tokoh baru langsung muncul, rahasia-rahasia para Naga terkuak, dan musuh baru tiba-tiba datang. Semua informasi baru ini disajikan langsung tanpa jeda sehingga rasanya malah seperti info dump. Ditambah lagi, berakhirnya adegan pertarungan Bajra dengan si musuh baru berakhir sedikit terlalu cepat, sehingga terkesan antiklimaks. Sayang sekali, padahal jika fakta-fakta baru ini dijabarkan mulai awal atau mungkin durasi cerita diperpanjang, maka keseluruhannya akan lebih enak untuk dibaca.
Overall, aku benar-benar suka buku ini. Enggak sabar menunggu buku ketiga terbit!
Enjoy The Little Things by Kincirmainan
Did not finish book.
Did not finish book.
Dnf. Udah kucepet-cepetin bacanya, udah nahan-nahan emosi, akhirnya gak tahan juga sama Rani. Dia bahkan lebih nyebelin dari bapaknya :)