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samanthampg's reviews
258 reviews
Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas
3.0
I have a lot of conflicting opinions about this novel. For me, personally I felt there were a few topics that it covered that didn't quite meet my expectations, which I realize may be on me as a person.
First of all the plot of the novel seemed to fall short for me, I was expecting something similar to The Hunger Games where we got to know and understand the other Champions in this competition, but in reality we only got to meet a few. For me this downplayed the seriousness of Celaena having to win because the lack of interaction with the others made them feel disposable and lessoned the intensity of the competition. I mean we all knew she was going to win but sometimes it would've been nice to doubt it.
Secondly, I wasn't heavily invested in either of her love interests. Perhaps it's because I'm tired of reading love triangles but neither of them seemed to reach anything past the surface elvel for me. I did lean more towards Prince Dorian but that might be more to do with my love of couples that go from enemies to lovers and less of the writing style
I did however love the style of writing, I read he book relatively quickly and thouroughly enjoyed the way Sarah J. Maas let the story unfold! I also loved the concept, it was unique and something that I hadn't really seen before which I greatly enjoyed! I think you really have to read the book to be able to give a good opinion on it because I hear a lot of people who love it and a lot who don't!
While I perticualrly wasn't a huge fan of the novel I can see how it would be a super popular read for others and who knows, maybe in the future I'll be more into it! for now I'm only gonna give it three stars as there was some parts of the book that fell flat for me but think that I could enjoy it in the future!
First of all the plot of the novel seemed to fall short for me, I was expecting something similar to The Hunger Games where we got to know and understand the other Champions in this competition, but in reality we only got to meet a few. For me this downplayed the seriousness of Celaena having to win because the lack of interaction with the others made them feel disposable and lessoned the intensity of the competition. I mean we all knew she was going to win but sometimes it would've been nice to doubt it.
Secondly, I wasn't heavily invested in either of her love interests. Perhaps it's because I'm tired of reading love triangles but neither of them seemed to reach anything past the surface elvel for me. I did lean more towards Prince Dorian but that might be more to do with my love of couples that go from enemies to lovers and less of the writing style
I did however love the style of writing, I read he book relatively quickly and thouroughly enjoyed the way Sarah J. Maas let the story unfold! I also loved the concept, it was unique and something that I hadn't really seen before which I greatly enjoyed! I think you really have to read the book to be able to give a good opinion on it because I hear a lot of people who love it and a lot who don't!
While I perticualrly wasn't a huge fan of the novel I can see how it would be a super popular read for others and who knows, maybe in the future I'll be more into it! for now I'm only gonna give it three stars as there was some parts of the book that fell flat for me but think that I could enjoy it in the future!
We All Looked Up by Tommy Wallach
2.0
First of all I was super excited to read this book, it sounded like the kind of philosophical read that I needed in my life, an inescapable end of the world, a bunch of lost teenagers trying to make sense of it all. It seemed to be something that I could thoroughly and happily enjoy - until I actually read it.
The description of the book suggests that these four stereotyped teens are going to try and reinvent themselves from their stereotypes as the end of the world draws. In a Breakfast Club meets the apocolypse sort of way but it doesn't really do that for me. While they moved away from the defining boxes within their high school, they allowed these labels to transition into different areas of their lives. I understand that it's not so easy to give up the bases of who you are as a person, but the story revolved less around them trying to free themselves of these chains and more about hooking up with each other before the world ended.
Next was the writing style. While I appreciate the interowoven seeds of deep philosphical thought that Wallach wrote, I was thrown off by the amount of times I found myself rolling my eyes at how I was being MANSPLAINED. It wasn't just the male characters that did it - everybody was over explaining everything. While I think the author did a good job of telling the story in a non-confusing manner that flowed, I was unimpressed by the sheer amount of basic explanation I was being fed.
Unfortunately I would not read this books again.
The description of the book suggests that these four stereotyped teens are going to try and reinvent themselves from their stereotypes as the end of the world draws. In a Breakfast Club meets the apocolypse sort of way but it doesn't really do that for me. While they moved away from the defining boxes within their high school, they allowed these labels to transition into different areas of their lives. I understand that it's not so easy to give up the bases of who you are as a person, but the story revolved less around them trying to free themselves of these chains and more about hooking up with each other before the world ended.
Next was the writing style. While I appreciate the interowoven seeds of deep philosphical thought that Wallach wrote, I was thrown off by the amount of times I found myself rolling my eyes at how I was being MANSPLAINED. It wasn't just the male characters that did it - everybody was over explaining everything. While I think the author did a good job of telling the story in a non-confusing manner that flowed, I was unimpressed by the sheer amount of basic explanation I was being fed.
Unfortunately I would not read this books again.
Stalking Jack the Ripper by Kerri Maniscalco
3.0
Really a 3.5 !
This book caught my eye because I've always loved to read stories surrounding the Jack the Ripper case which to me is one of -if not the- biggest mystery of all time. The book delivered just what I was looking for on this aspect, it was a unique and interesting way to tell the story and included the letters and key points of the case that made it even more chilling! Also, parts of the crimes that nobody could explain (such as why they took the organs) were given reason throughout this novel and I really enjoyed it!
The main character Audrey Rose was also fun to accompany on this journey, given that she was living in 1888 it was a rough time for women but she was still a feminist. Obviously she was still held to certain rules within society but she supported women getting careers and standing up for themselves and admired when others did the same. She was a wonderful protagonist!
And the love interest was also perfect (Thomas Creswell is my homeboy now), he was charming and sassy and perhaps a little mean at times but never enough to warrent me disliking him. He was just the perfect blend of what I appreciate in a love interest - it also didn't take up the entire book and make it into a romance novel. This is a good time, considering I was mainly reading it because of it's connection to the Jack the Ripper case, I was happy with the balance of the murders and the romance! (I never thought I would write that sentence but here we are folks)
Also not gonna lie, I figured out who Jack was way before Audrey Rose did which made me pat myself on the back but also made me wonder if it was just the writing or if I'm really a genuis??? (Probably just the writing and being able to understand clues)
I think the genre was the hardest part for me - it's not easy to get into historical fiction if you're not used to it so I found completely losing myself in the story to be harder than usual. But I enjoyed it once I got there and I'm excited to read the second one!
This book caught my eye because I've always loved to read stories surrounding the Jack the Ripper case which to me is one of -if not the- biggest mystery of all time. The book delivered just what I was looking for on this aspect, it was a unique and interesting way to tell the story and included the letters and key points of the case that made it even more chilling! Also, parts of the crimes that nobody could explain (such as why they took the organs) were given reason throughout this novel and I really enjoyed it!
The main character Audrey Rose was also fun to accompany on this journey, given that she was living in 1888 it was a rough time for women but she was still a feminist. Obviously she was still held to certain rules within society but she supported women getting careers and standing up for themselves and admired when others did the same. She was a wonderful protagonist!
And the love interest was also perfect (Thomas Creswell is my homeboy now), he was charming and sassy and perhaps a little mean at times but never enough to warrent me disliking him. He was just the perfect blend of what I appreciate in a love interest - it also didn't take up the entire book and make it into a romance novel. This is a good time, considering I was mainly reading it because of it's connection to the Jack the Ripper case, I was happy with the balance of the murders and the romance! (I never thought I would write that sentence but here we are folks)
Also not gonna lie, I figured out who Jack was way before Audrey Rose did which made me pat myself on the back but also made me wonder if it was just the writing or if I'm really a genuis??? (Probably just the writing and being able to understand clues)
I think the genre was the hardest part for me - it's not easy to get into historical fiction if you're not used to it so I found completely losing myself in the story to be harder than usual. But I enjoyed it once I got there and I'm excited to read the second one!