I dnf'ed at page 97. I probably could've read a bit more, but it feels like a chore to keep going. Life is too short to force yourself to continue somI dnf'ed at page 97. I probably could've read a bit more, but it feels like a chore to keep going. Life is too short to force yourself to continue something you don't enjoy. The book is extremely boring. It doesn't know if it wants to be a retelling, but in the lens of someone who is more based in reality and isn't as imaginative as Alice or what. I think I would've enjoyed it more if it showed Wonderland in a different lens, but it lost me. The wording was extremely pompous. It's okay to use bigger words once in a while. It helps expand the younger audiences' vocabulary, and adults who have never heard of those words can expand on it as well. However, this book abuses it, and instead of sounding intelligent, it sounds pompous and pretentious. Since this is supposed to take place in the Victorian times, it's hard to tell if it's because of the time period or if the author was trying a style with it.
This work isn't for me, and a dnf felt warranted at this time. Though the cover is adorable so I at least liked that....more
Trigger Warnings for those who need it: Animal death, blood, child death and abuse, death, dismemberment, domestic violence, drug mention, gore, racisTrigger Warnings for those who need it: Animal death, blood, child death and abuse, death, dismemberment, domestic violence, drug mention, gore, racism, rape, sexism, suicide
I wanted to like this book. I've seen so many reviews of people praising it, and I really wanted to be one of those who loved it. It really fell hard with a loud splat. I hated almost every character in this book. If I spoke to my mom like Patricia's kids speak to her, my ancestors and my future self would feel the rage my mother would release on me. I can see there's a message somewhere in it, but I really don't think it came across well. This takes place around the 80s and 90s when racism was still prevalent, so I can see where the racism can occur, but it seems like an excuse just to write racism for the sake of it. It gives a white savior narrative because Mrs. Greene, a black woman who knows what's happening, is pushed to the side, and it's Patricia, who has no idea what's going on, trying to help and get others to help.
Speaking of others, the fact that people continue to think Patricia is crazy until close to end is baffling. That's not to say they should believe her in an instant; it's normal to be skeptical in the beginning. But in a fictional book with a vampire in it, you'd think at least one other person, and even Mrs. Greene herself would help secretly, but no. She's crazy and then time jumps to 3 years later.
The pacing was also off, and the prose was overwritten. In the beginning, I understood it being slow. It starts off with Patricia, at this point, still a housewife, being bored with her life , which would lead to a slow, crawling feeling. However, it kept going slow, would show some gore and shock, and then all of a sudden, in the end, rush for no reason. The way it's written doesn't help its pacing. It's overwritten and cringe, I'm looking at James Harris's monologuing at the end; that left me cringing and wincing at it.
All in all, the title lied to me. It makes it sound like it's a horror comedy romp about a book club that finds a vampire and documents the rules and tips to fight it off. There is a book club and vampire, but definitely not for the faint of heart. While I wasn't terrified of the book, I don't think this book is for me. I do think you can have in-depth conversations on this book, but it's not something I'd read again. If you love Grady Hendrix and if you loved this book and got something out of it, that's amazing, and I'm glad you enjoyed it! For me, I don't think I'll read this again. I'll have to read one more of Hendrix's work to see if I like him. But so far, I don't think he is an author for me....more
Usually, I summarize and detail my thoughts and feelings as cohesively as possible. However, I have nothing to say about this. The volume is fine. I lUsually, I summarize and detail my thoughts and feelings as cohesively as possible. However, I have nothing to say about this. The volume is fine. I liked the dynamic of King and Ban, but the overpowered fight scenes have taken precedence over the plot so far.
I give this a lukewarm 3 out of 5 stars. I hope the other volumes get better....more
The Seven Dials Mystery is about a group of people gathering at the English estate the Chimneys, rented out to steel and iron magnate Sir Oswald and hThe Seven Dials Mystery is about a group of people gathering at the English estate the Chimneys, rented out to steel and iron magnate Sir Oswald and his wife, Lady Coote. Gerry Wade, a young man visiting, is known for coming late to breakfast, so the group forms a plan to plant eight alarm clocks in his room to wake him up. The next day, we find out the prank backfired, and he's dead. One of the clocks ends up missing. Lord Caterham owns the manor, and his daughter, Lady Eileen Brent, known as Bundle, becomes involved when she realizes she knows several people.
In the beginning, Bundle wants to satisfy her curiosity about poor dead Gerry as she pokes around the house. She finds part of a letter written and feels she should deliver it to his surviving sister, Loraine. As she's taking the car out for a quick errand, she runs into a man on the road. Not long after, she joins forces with one of the men in the house party, Jimmy Thesiger and Lorraine Wade. The investigation takes them from the countryside to a seamy club to a political house party.
The tone was all over the place. It doesn't know if it wants to be a murder mystery, a light-hearted romp, a daring espionage thriller,r or something else. It tried to do so much that with the murders and state secrets at risk, I think it would've done better to either stick with the murder mystery or stick with a daring espionage and keep it to one tone. It also gave me a lot of questions and left me puzzled.
Overall, the story, without being gripping or especially memorable, was all right. It's not one of my favorite Agatha Christie novels, but it's still an okay read, and the ending surprised me. I give it 3 out of 5 stars, though if I were to reread any books, I wouldn't do this one....more
This was another book I read as a child, and I remember adoring it; I'd have discussions about it with my English teacher, and I'd finish these books This was another book I read as a child, and I remember adoring it; I'd have discussions about it with my English teacher, and I'd finish these books in a day. I have every book from The Angel Experiment to Maximum Ride forever, so it's safe to say I was a big fan. With the nostalgia in mind, I thought I'd love it just as much as I did back then. However, as I grew older and changed, so did my taste in books and my thoughts about this.
The book was. . all right. The story was all over the place. All everyone did was fly around and constantly get attacked. I didn't feel like it went anywhere. You can tell it's trying to go somewhere and do more, but it's not landing for me. Then the ending was. . .something. The dialogue is also something to be desired, which I just rolled with as a child, but now it sounds like Patterson has no idea how to write children. The chapters are relatively short, which helps make it quicker than most read, but also, I feel some chapters could be combined into one chapter (one instance would be having chapters 17-19 be one chapter because it's just Max, Fang, and Nudge in the same place to name). You also could have eliminated chapter 53; It added nothing to the story.
So, all in all, I didn't have much to say about this book. I loved it as a child, but now, as an adult, it's not doing it for me as it once did. The concept is cool, but currently, it just lacks substance. I'll give it three stars because of nostalgia alone (and because I felt terrible for Ari and liked him), but I won't reread the series.
I have all the works of the Witch and Wizard series, another series I loved, so let's hope that I like it more than because of its nostalgia. ...more
If it weren't for the fact I like the art, I would've given it a one star. I've seen mixed reviews on this, but I figured it probably isn't that bad, If it weren't for the fact I like the art, I would've given it a one star. I've seen mixed reviews on this, but I figured it probably isn't that bad, so let me give it a shot; it's probably better than the negative reviews. Boy, I was wrong. It started all right, then just went downhill from there. The lack of consent from this first volume threw me for a loop, and the pacing was all over the place. I've seen reviews calling it trashy, and while I only read just the first volume, I don't want to call it that, it's not something I'd read again or continue. ...more
I tried. I really tried but I stopped it at page 60. I was so bored I couldn't do it. Jeanie sucks as a character and nothing exciting drew me in. It'I tried. I really tried but I stopped it at page 60. I was so bored I couldn't do it. Jeanie sucks as a character and nothing exciting drew me in. It's like those boring lifetime movies; not my cup of tea. Definitely my first ever dnf....more
The actuaTrigger Warnings if needed: Adoption, alcoholism, child abuse, mentioned death, epilepsy, homophobia, prison, racism, seizures, slight gore.
The actual rating is 2.75
I wanted to like this book; I really did. Every review I've seen on Goodreads and the web was positive, with 4-5 stars. Everyone hyped this book, and I wanted to get into the hype. However, at this point in time, I don't think the book is for me. It dragged in the beginning, picked up at the stolen box, and went downhill again. Nothing was egregious, and it was the worst thing ever. I just found it boring and dragging. It was just there for me. Below, I'll go over the characters, plot/ending, and my overall opinion on the first book of the Montague Siblings series.
To start off the characters, we have Henry "Monty" Montague. I didn't like him. His whole personality just rubbed me the wrong way. I think it's because reading a character who's immature, whiny, judgmental, and narcissistic and seems to stay on that note becomes annoying after a while, especially with one extremely impulsive decision that kills it.
The next character is Percy Newton. He's my second favorite character in this novel. I wish he was the main character instead of Monty because I wanted to read his thoughts on everything through the lens of a mixed-race boy with epilepsy in a world that's not diverse and the same throughout. (view spoiler)[I also wanted to know his thoughts about the healing heart and if it was a hard decision to not want it to cure his epilepsy. (hide spoiler)]
Finally, we have Felicity Montague, Monty's younger sister and my number one favorite character. She's intelligent and capable, wants to be a physician, and reads medical journals. As someone who loves science, I can relate to her. I know that her desire to be a physician is central to the second book (If I am wrong about that, forgive me), so I am excited. I didn't hate her relationship with Monty all that much. It's at least a realistic view of how siblings bicker and act around each other
In terms of the plot, I have mixed feelings on the issue. Initially, I wouldn't say I liked the part about the Grand Tour of Eastern Europe. It sounded like fun, but I was bored with it. When it changed to a heist/hijacking, I got interested. I love accidental heists where you must figure out what to do and delve into the mystery. Granted, the fact what was stolen was just lying around at a party where anyone could've taken it was a bit weird. At that point, the box was asking to be stolen, and they assumed Monty had taken it, which was something else. Yes, he did take it, but I don't think they had a basis to go off of other than blaming him. Also, really quickly, we should go out to the pirates, ahem, I mean privateers. They were the real MVPs near the end. I know that not all fiction has to be realistic and make sense. . but in regard to this work, which is historical fiction, some realism can be needed. Example? The fact is that within a week, they run out of everything they need and yet continue on. They do show things being stolen for food, but that was few and far between, and they don't even show suffering from lack of food. They mention they have no money and they'd be starting fresh, but it's never said as if it's a problem. If this was a solely fantasy novel, I could suspend my disbelief. Still, in historical fiction, there is typically a sense of realism, and maybe some elements can be overlooked.
The ending of the book was. . .predictable. At least to me. (view spoiler)[ By the end, I realized what would happen with the heart being destroyed and everything. (hide spoiler)] Predictability isn't necessarily a bad thing. I think I was already bored with how the book was going and predicting it and reading it felt like a chore. I did like the bit about the pirates and Felicity, though. (view spoiler)[Good on her for showing enough skill to be asked to be a surgeon on their ship. I'd have taken it right then and there. (hide spoiler)]
All in all, the book was meh. I feel bad I think this way because everyone was hyping this up and loving it. I think what got me is that I fell for the hype and had high expectations, which ended up disappointing. The book wasn't horrible and the worst thing ever, but it wasn't this astounding and fantastic book, in my opinion. Would I recommend this book to others? Even though I wouldn't say I liked it, I can see an audience who will love it. I liked the queer representation between Monty and Percy and liked the ace rep with Felicity, but all that isn't enough to make me rate the book 5 stars.
This book gets a 2.75 out of 5 stars. I will reluctantly consider reading the second book, But only because I want more Felicity. ...more
(Unorthodox, but I am updating as I read due to the novel being all three separate works into one)
Trigger Warnings if needed: Alcohol, attempted sexu(Unorthodox, but I am updating as I read due to the novel being all three separate works into one)
Trigger Warnings if needed: Alcohol, attempted sexual assault, blood, child abuse, death, domestic abuse, drowning, drug use, gore, homophobia, kidnapping, racism, references to eating disorders, gun violence, self harm and suicide, smoking, swearing, violence
Tithe: 3.5; Definitely wasn't what I expected, but I loved the faerie lore (Updates below on 10 Oct 2024) Valiant: 2; I absolutely hated everyone, but Ravus and Ruth and Val and Luis grew on me. I like the overall idea of this story, but it fell flat for me, and like there should've been more to it. Ironside: 3; It was a fine conclusion. There is nothing really worthy to note. It was an all right end. The Lamet of Lutie Loo: 2; With everything that happened, I was rather bored with this work. I skimmed it to see if it would get better, but no, it didn't.
Overall, it was mediocre. I can definitely see an appeal to it! Especially back when it was first published. However, with how I am feeling mentally and at this point, I didn't vibe with it. Maybe in the future, I'll reread to see if I were to enjoy it in a different mindset, but for now, 2.63 out of 5 stars....more
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