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thecaffeinatedreader's Reviews (685)
medium-paced
Despite having a very intriguing premise, espionage, and an amazing political timeline and location (Warsaw Poland, 1990s) this book did not hit the mark for me.
I did not care for Jay (the protagonist not the author lol) at all. All the characters were shallow which can happen in a plot-driven novel but the problem was that this was NOT a plot-driven novel as much as I thought it would be. There were also so many explicit scenes which just seemed like not useful to the book. It just felt so weird...
There is some LGBTQIA representation but not exactly in the best of lights. You have a suppressed soldier who feels guilty about his desire for men, a CIA man who uses his own sexuality on the job because he says 'being gay is a tool' and the women are just pure stereotypes.
I'm not saying there wasn't anything enjoyable about the book, because it was to a degree, I just would hope for more. Such a neat idea, just not executed to my tastes I would have liked to see more about the actual plot.
I received this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Hey Everyone! So, another review, I know, so many this week, it makes for a boring read. I’m sorry! But I’ll have a different sort of post tomorrow! I just really wanted to finish this so I could focus on my eARCs. [Especially Descendant of the Crane] Not to mention I really wanted to see what was going to happen next. I would say if I was giving it a harder look I’d give it a half instead of full rating on my last planet. And that’s because of a few issues that really just kind of kept jumping out at me. So, know, I enjoyed this 4/5 but I’m giving it 3.5/5 on this review so I can point out the flaws I think are important to note.
So here we go again, me being a cynic, but Parzival and Art3mis just didn’t gel well for me. I just feel like Art3mis felt more animosity than affection which is within her right all the way, but, it doesn’t make for a great romance when it’s like that through like 89% of the book.
Aech was definitely my favorite, I mean, hands down as their avatar and in real life, Helen was amazing. I also felt it was heartbreaking that in order to do well in even a virtual reality world, Helen became Aech and hid the color of her skin. But, the reasoning is sadly logical from the point of where her Mother was coming from in advising her to do that.
I freakin loved the 80s references, I’m an 80s baby which means my early life is plagued by 80s, and even now my hair naturally looks like I’m from an 80s hairspray commercial, which is…sad, but you know, what you can do. My nickname at Uni was Flashdance (no, I didn’t strip, I just like to wear legwarmers, probably could have paid off debt if I had decided to strip.)
fast-paced
Chloe Holden has always known she was adopted, her parents love her and she has a good life. Suddenly her parents are divorced and Chloe and her Mom are left to deal with cancer and a move to Joyful, TX right before Chloe starts her senior year.
While Chloe's life is turning upside down, she meets Cash a foster kid of the Fullers who lost their daughter, Emily Fuller, 15 years ago, kidnapped under the watch of her Nanny.
What's the connection between Emily and Chloe?
The plot keeps you engaged and entertained, you really feel bad for both Chloe and Cash for their own respective hard points in their lives. There's more of Chloe's parents in this book than most YA novels so that was actually a nice change.
The characters are not very deep but the fast pace of the plot makes up for it and you do get enough into Chloe and Holden's heads that it doesn't feel like they're shallow, just that you could have left wanting more.
There's some awkward writing at some rare moments (I'm not clear why boobs are such an awkwardly written thing in this but they are), but overall Hunter was fun to read and there are definitely some stereotypes but that didn't take away from it being fun to read.
It was paced fast enough that I really didn't want to put it down after starting it and I thought the ending was great. I felt not as much sympathy for Chloe's Mom or for Mrs. Fuller but you could at least see where they were coming from and the interaction between Chloe and Cash was quite cute in the end.
An enjoyable and easy read, I would recommend it to those who like this sort of YA 'mystery' genre or looking for a quick read. I would pick up another book by C.C. Hunter.
I received this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion.
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
First off, the author uses 1920s slang and I loved it but it may not be everyone's cup of tea. But honestly, I felt like it really just showed the effort and work she'd put into researching. Lieber does a great job of putting magic into this time period and in the style of a prohibition against it. I'm reading another book in this same time period so I think that actually just made this book that much more fun for me to read.
Lieber gives us a protagonist who is not only a private detective but a flapper and I loved that she didn't make our flapper detective a Witch instead she made her just a human and it was fun to see her navigate through magic and witches as a human private eye.
The book was definitely more erotic than I thought and someone who is super selfconscious, I'm so glad I wasn't reading this on the train, but it's not the entirety of the novel and it's not necessarily a romance because of it rather than it just expands the story and gives you some cheeky reading!
I would say her intentions with the character Jack weren't supposed to be a surprise to use the readers but for her protagonist and the little twist at the end was great. Not to mention I'm so hoping there is more to come for Caill.
I read this in just a matter of hours, and it would have been less if I hadn't been so tired when I picked it up last night! I would highly recommend this to those who like Urban/Historical Fantasy with some romance and mystery thrown in! I'll be keeping an eye out on Lieber from now on.
I received an ecopy of this in exchange for my honest review via NetGalley
Trigger Warnings: For some, the erotic content might be more of a put off than a trigger, character death, 1920s slang ;)
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
I thought this was a very good sci-fi/dystopia read. I loved the use of chips and how there was always a blurred line to using them, is it okay is it not? I mean you think it's not okay but once humanity had destroyed itself what choice did they have in this world? But it went too far and it's on Raissa, Caleb, and Christian to save the world. I really enjoyed the feel of it. and I never thought I'd say this but the reason it didn't get 4 stars is that it was actually a little too fast paced (in that I mean it was hard to accept some things that happened as it all happens in the span of a few days).
Scott Cramer did a great job with the plot and Christian was by far my favorite character (and also the one I most wanted to kick in the first 30%). He had a lot of complexities and I really admired Raissa's strength -I mean literal strength, the girl is a tank-, Cramer didn't make flower descriptions of her, and he gave her so many cool fight scenes. Also kudos to have violists, having 2 in one book was the most unbelievable aspect to this whole dystopia novel lol.
Overall this is a solid read and I'm glad I picked it up, I really wasn't able to put it down once I started it. Anyone looking for an awesome YA steeped in sci-fi with a different sort of dystopia feel might find this worth a quick read.
adventurous
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
It took me until 25% to actually get into this book. For those of you who have seen Hot Fuzz, it's that type of humor and with that type of level of gore at times as well! The problem for me was that I liked it when I had it in my hands but didn't want to pick it up again when I put it down, until 25% and then I really got into it and just accepted the humor for what it was. At first, I wasn't sure what was going on, but either way, in the end, I really enjoyed this!
Some nice use of misdirection, some annoying characters that were blessedly meant to be annoying and a whole gang of ridiculous constables that had me chuckling at times. I can't imagine how Inspector Church didn't smack them all about.
If you enjoy a mystery novel that doesn't mind takin' a laugh and not being too serious, I would recommend this. It is the first in the series so no stepping into the middle and being confused for me.
I read this as a free reader copy from Netgalley and was not paid or swayed in any other way on my rating and opinion of this book.
Some nice use of misdirection, some annoying characters that were blessedly meant to be annoying and a whole gang of ridiculous constables that had me chuckling at times. I can't imagine how Inspector Church didn't smack them all about.
If you enjoy a mystery novel that doesn't mind takin' a laugh and not being too serious, I would recommend this. It is the first in the series so no stepping into the middle and being confused for me.
I read this as a free reader copy from Netgalley and was not paid or swayed in any other way on my rating and opinion of this book.
adventurous
funny
fast-paced
Overall I thought this was a pleasant read, I didn't know this was the second book until after I'd started it, but I did not count anything lost on me against its rating. Brynn writes in first-person with ease and despite it switching around to other characters she flawlessly writes from each one's pov. I think it was my overall lack of belief that Holmes would have a daughter that had made me skeptical (stop correcting me autocorrect, I'm American) of Arabella, but if he ever would have been written to have one, no doubt she would have similar emotional issues just like Brynn has written Arabella. Henry is nice, he's real, and he's also quick to show his emotions which makes a nice contrast.
My biggest issue with this book was that it was just too much by the end. It wasn't until over halfway through that we really got on track with the mystery, and after that, I flew through it but it was a very slow start to get there and never enough time spent on it because at the end you were left there going 'wait did that really happen?' it was much too came out of nowhere, left wing. and it felt ludicrous because of this. Not only in plot but Arabella's emotional development, I was actually SO disappointed that the one thing that seemed plausible for her to feel in regards to being conventional in a role as a wife was suddenly just changed for the love of Henry. I think it was her desire to make it a nice ending with no loose ends and I wouldn't hesitate to tell her to let it get messy, because she can write wonderfully and I would love to see more grittiness from her. [Despite my disappointment I would not hesitate to recommend this to those who liked Stalking Jack the Ripper and in my opinion, she's done a better job with her novel than Stalking Jack the Ripper]
Still, I enjoy Brynn's writing style and I look forward to going back and reading the first novel.
I read this as a free reader copy from Netgalley and was not paid or swayed in any other way on my rating and opinion of this book.
My biggest issue with this book was that it was just too much by the end. It wasn't until over halfway through that we really got on track with the mystery, and after that, I flew through it but it was a very slow start to get there and never enough time spent on it because at the end you were left there going 'wait did that really happen?' it was much too came out of nowhere, left wing. and it felt ludicrous because of this. Not only in plot but Arabella's emotional development, I was actually SO disappointed that the one thing that seemed plausible for her to feel in regards to being conventional in a role as a wife was suddenly just changed for the love of Henry. I think it was her desire to make it a nice ending with no loose ends and I wouldn't hesitate to tell her to let it get messy, because she can write wonderfully and I would love to see more grittiness from her. [Despite my disappointment I would not hesitate to recommend this to those who liked Stalking Jack the Ripper and in my opinion, she's done a better job with her novel than Stalking Jack the Ripper]
Still, I enjoy Brynn's writing style and I look forward to going back and reading the first novel.
I read this as a free reader copy from Netgalley and was not paid or swayed in any other way on my rating and opinion of this book.
adventurous
fast-paced
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
A Chief Overlord has imposed a dystopian culture on society and most seem to just accept it, but there is a hero amongst them and will stop at nothing to help the world and Malik is caught in the middle.
Despite this not being a first edition and not truly an ARC (Published in 2015 first), it was in need of some HEAVY editing. There were so many grammatical errors and they were enough that you were like 'did anyone read through this beforehand? Did a seal edit this and its flippers caused some of these errors?'
A lot of people complained about character development and I could see why but I do have to say something in defense of the Author at this point; his story wasn't about the characters. It was about society, it was about the power of government and what is plausible if people let others take power and never step in. Not every story we read is about the characters, but, the others were right to a point, Malik (our main character) did not seem to grow and at one point in the book when one would think he would have matured he doesn't. Not to mention he and the others are so flat, that with the fact that the rest of the writing is subpar, means that unfortunately this novel was a huge NO for me at the end of the day despite me really wanting to like the story.
I hope he does more editing, frankly, it needs to be rewritten but if he does and really works at it, I could see it being a pretty damn good novel, for now? I'm gonna go detox.
Great ideas, definitely a creative mind to come up with them but poorly executed.
Despite this not being a first edition and not truly an ARC (Published in 2015 first), it was in need of some HEAVY editing. There were so many grammatical errors and they were enough that you were like 'did anyone read through this beforehand? Did a seal edit this and its flippers caused some of these errors?'
A lot of people complained about character development and I could see why but I do have to say something in defense of the Author at this point; his story wasn't about the characters. It was about society, it was about the power of government and what is plausible if people let others take power and never step in. Not every story we read is about the characters, but, the others were right to a point, Malik (our main character) did not seem to grow and at one point in the book when one would think he would have matured he doesn't. Not to mention he and the others are so flat, that with the fact that the rest of the writing is subpar, means that unfortunately this novel was a huge NO for me at the end of the day despite me really wanting to like the story.
I hope he does more editing, frankly, it needs to be rewritten but if he does and really works at it, I could see it being a pretty damn good novel, for now? I'm gonna go detox.
Great ideas, definitely a creative mind to come up with them but poorly executed.
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I have to admit, I read The Prince’s Boy in under three hours, and I enjoyed every moment of it. On Goodreads, I gave it 3/5 but I would say it’s really 3.5 (I seem to really like the number 3.5).
Points I loved about it:
-The romance was poignant and it felt true to how it can feel to be in love. The ups and downs.
– I wasn’t completely sure what sort of ending it would have
-Paul Bailey did a great job in making you feel you were in Paris in 1927.
There are more, but I don’t want to spoil the book for anyone who would like to read it.
I should say now I’m not a huge fan of romance novels in general, so I was unsure of what I would find. However, this was a love story, and it showed.
Why not 5 stars? Well, it had its downfalls, whereas I felt it was written like someone in love going through all the cycles of it, it felt at times like you were disconnected from the main character and there was never enough of the actual ‘Prince’s Boy,’ he felt so alienated to me like the main character could at times and it left an unsatisfied feeling in me when I reflected at the end. It’s no literary masterpiece but a love story of two men who completed each other in all the lovely and sometimes sad ways people do when in love, in a time where their love was at best ignored by the world.
informative
medium-paced
If you read my Metro 2033 review you’ll see I’ve been on a bit of a Russian History binge. This is just another addition to me trying to conquer all available library books on the Russian Revolution. This was a very interesting read as it was giving accounts of British, American, and some French expats views of their time in Petrograd during the Revolution. There are journalists, nurses, ambassador’s and families of them and military and even bankers. To be truthful the bankers usually had my favourite (guys this thing just tried to correct my spelling, I’m American, there’s no u in my favorite, damn it) stories. Now, these are not written as eye witness accounts, it’s all been put together and written by Helena Rappaport who does a good job, for me, on keeping the pace.
From other reviews, you’ll see that most saw this as a slow read whereas I found it super enjoyable and didn’t feel a slow lapse. Be warned though this is a very common complaint, so if you read it and are like ‘that wench lied,’ I did not! I warned you! I would have liked more quoted eyewitness stuff to be included but I may just have to do some more hunting on my own.
I gave it 5 stars because I enjoyed reading it that much, however as far as the quality of it as a nonfiction novel, if I gave a more critical look to it I might give it 3.5 for not having enough sources and eyewitness things, and all that jazz. There you go, another review! (Also the last of my 2018 books, bring on 2019)