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3.33 AVERAGE
3.33 AVERAGE
This is a really difficult book for me to review because it took me everywhere from 2 to 5 stars. I'm glad I love Roan Parrish so much because otherwise I might have put it down early and would have missed the best parts that came later in the book.
I think the main reason why I had so much trouble with this books is not the story itself but the presentation. It just frustrated me to no end that I had to dig through the words to get to the actual story. That's probably a very subjective criticism but that's what book reviews are about, right? It has a lot to do with the way I actually read tweets IRL, for example. I always perceive the person visually rather than read through their name and tag line. I go right to the essence of the tweet. Because this was in book form, I could not do that, hence my frustration.
That being said, the parts where there was actual text or dialogue was awesome. Some of them made the book so worth reading. Not just the story but also the thoughts and considerations of the characters. There are so many contemporary problems addressed - which I LOVED!
So, would I recommend that you read this book? Yes.
Would I let you read it without warning you that some people might find it difficult to read? No.
Will I read it again (which would equal a 4 star rating)? Not likely. BUT I might skip to the end and read that again because, yeah, that absolutely rocked!
I think the main reason why I had so much trouble with this books is not the story itself but the presentation. It just frustrated me to no end that I had to dig through the words to get to the actual story. That's probably a very subjective criticism but that's what book reviews are about, right? It has a lot to do with the way I actually read tweets IRL, for example. I always perceive the person visually rather than read through their name and tag line. I go right to the essence of the tweet. Because this was in book form, I could not do that, hence my frustration.
That being said, the parts where there was actual text or dialogue was awesome. Some of them made the book so worth reading. Not just the story but also the thoughts and considerations of the characters. There are so many contemporary problems addressed - which I LOVED!
So, would I recommend that you read this book? Yes.
Would I let you read it without warning you that some people might find it difficult to read? No.
Will I read it again (which would equal a 4 star rating)? Not likely. BUT I might skip to the end and read that again because, yeah, that absolutely rocked!
Read: 09/28
4.5
Literally just trying to update before the new year, but yep, I'm four months behind on GR.
4.5
Literally just trying to update before the new year, but yep, I'm four months behind on GR.
Really enjoyed the twist on a classic horror story. As much as I appreciated the symbolism of modern vampirism, I felt kind of let down by the lack of realistic horror present after the twist was revealed.
started better than it finished
Been a fan of Roan Parrish for years & while bits of this were clever, it wasn’t so much a ‘re-telling’ as lightly inspired by sort of project. Stealing names from the book doesn’t really count when you just give up the whole idea 2/3 of the way through and finish it as a romance.
Been a fan of Roan Parrish for years & while bits of this were clever, it wasn’t so much a ‘re-telling’ as lightly inspired by sort of project. Stealing names from the book doesn’t really count when you just give up the whole idea 2/3 of the way through and finish it as a romance.
Mixed media is my favorite type of writing but this storyline was great and engaging until the end and it just completely dudded out.
Well...huh. Right up until the end, my review was going to be something to the effect of, "I'm never a fan of the multimedia/digital communication format for books, but this was a good story, even though I would have liked it better as an actual story."
And then the end took a very, very weird turn. Much as I agree with it in a political sense, that twist felt completely unjustified by the rest of the story, and left me confused and unsatisfied with all the now-irrelevant hints that had been dropped earlier.
I want to like this. I wish I liked this. But...no.
And then the end took a very, very weird turn. Much as I agree with it in a political sense, that twist felt completely unjustified by the rest of the story, and left me confused and unsatisfied with all the now-irrelevant hints that had been dropped earlier.
I want to like this. I wish I liked this. But...no.
1. Soo this was something of a disappointment but I absolutely think that's because I came in expecting a gay modern AU Dracula retelling and instead got three (2.5?) romances with some ominous stuff happening in the background.
2. I mean there was a lot of romance in this, you guys. So much more than I expected? And a lot of it is explicit sexual stuff which- I guess has its' place but that place should not involve it pushing aside the already sparse plot-based sections.
3. And it was a competent plot! It was well done and I was interested in the mystery. It's just that there was less of it than I would have liked and I'm not sure what I feel about the conclusion. Things ended up being very different from what I expected coming into this story.
4. It was still fun and I was invested.
2. I mean there was a lot of romance in this, you guys. So much more than I expected? And a lot of it is explicit sexual stuff which- I guess has its' place but that place should not involve it pushing aside the already sparse plot-based sections.
3. And it was a competent plot! It was well done and I was interested in the mystery. It's just that there was less of it than I would have liked and I'm not sure what I feel about the conclusion. Things ended up being very different from what I expected coming into this story.
4. It was still fun and I was invested.
2.5 Stars - This Book didn’t work for me!
Okay firstly I’d like to thank A Novel Take PR and publisher for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Review to come tomorrow .
Okay firstly I’d like to thank A Novel Take PR and publisher for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Review to come tomorrow .
I'm...not entirely sure how I feel about this book.
While I understand the allagory for vampirism the authors were attempting to make with this book, I think calling this a "Dracula retelling" is a bit misleading. It's told in a similar style, and it using names from Dracula, but that's pretty much where the similarities end. Personally, I found that disappointing, as Dracula is actually one of my favorite novels and because it was billed as a retelling, I went into it with that expectation and ended up with a feeling of disappointment that I likely would not have felt if the authors had tweaked the language on how they were selling the book just a bit.
I thought the style was actually quite effectively used here and very fun. It's not an easy style to master, and there were definitely things that you end up missing because you're not there in real time, but generally speaking, I thought it was well done.
I liked that the representation of different sexuality and YAY for queer women of color! I tend not to be as captivated by established relationships in stories, so while I very much like Mina and Lucy, Arthur & August were definitely my favorites. I will say, given the style of the story-telling, there were often periods of time where we got a lot of one couple and then a lot of the other, and I personally would have preferred a more even spread, but I liked them both quite a lot.
There were a number of elements I enjoyed, but in the end, something about this book didn't *quite* satisfy. The mystery aspect was just very bizarre, and I had a hard time understanding Lucy's persistent reluctance to bring in the police on her missing brother. Which, as a white women, I understand my interactions and perceptions of the police are quite different from people of color, but while an explanation was given, I felt like (and this is probably partially an issue with the writing style) I didn't really get a good emotional understanding of where Lucy was at with her missing brother. At times it seemed like she was quite content to go about her life while only casually trying to find him via a game that might not have had anything to do with his disappearance. It just didn't totally ring authentic to me.
I also thought the ending, while very interesting, kind of went a strange direction that didn't feel in line with the rest of the book. I think if there'd been more of that kind of ~moral of the story~ messaging throughout the book, it might have landed better, but honestly, the ending just didn't satisfy me.
Like I said, this book has left me a bit confused, as I'm not totally sure how I feel about it. I like both of these authors a great deal, I very much respect what they tried to do here, I love that they're experimenting and pushing themselves, and I'm glad I read this book, though it's not one I'm likely to pick up again.
While I understand the allagory for vampirism the authors were attempting to make with this book, I think calling this a "Dracula retelling" is a bit misleading. It's told in a similar style, and it using names from Dracula, but that's pretty much where the similarities end. Personally, I found that disappointing, as Dracula is actually one of my favorite novels and because it was billed as a retelling, I went into it with that expectation and ended up with a feeling of disappointment that I likely would not have felt if the authors had tweaked the language on how they were selling the book just a bit.
I thought the style was actually quite effectively used here and very fun. It's not an easy style to master, and there were definitely things that you end up missing because you're not there in real time, but generally speaking, I thought it was well done.
I liked that the representation of different sexuality and YAY for queer women of color! I tend not to be as captivated by established relationships in stories, so while I very much like Mina and Lucy, Arthur & August were definitely my favorites. I will say, given the style of the story-telling, there were often periods of time where we got a lot of one couple and then a lot of the other, and I personally would have preferred a more even spread, but I liked them both quite a lot.
There were a number of elements I enjoyed, but in the end, something about this book didn't *quite* satisfy. The mystery aspect was just very bizarre, and I had a hard time understanding Lucy's persistent reluctance to bring in the police on her missing brother. Which, as a white women, I understand my interactions and perceptions of the police are quite different from people of color, but while an explanation was given, I felt like (and this is probably partially an issue with the writing style) I didn't really get a good emotional understanding of where Lucy was at with her missing brother. At times it seemed like she was quite content to go about her life while only casually trying to find him via a game that might not have had anything to do with his disappearance. It just didn't totally ring authentic to me.
I also thought the ending, while very interesting, kind of went a strange direction that didn't feel in line with the rest of the book. I think if there'd been more of that kind of ~moral of the story~ messaging throughout the book, it might have landed better, but honestly, the ending just didn't satisfy me.
Like I said, this book has left me a bit confused, as I'm not totally sure how I feel about it. I like both of these authors a great deal, I very much respect what they tried to do here, I love that they're experimenting and pushing themselves, and I'm glad I read this book, though it's not one I'm likely to pick up again.
the ending was so anticlimatic and the sex scenes written by the characters turned me off so bad lol which is a pity bc i liked the characters well enough