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librarydoc's review against another edition
1.0
This was a DNF for me. I got through 2 chapters and just couldn't do it. When one of the characters was literally "Fat Jagger", a giant Mick Jagger look-alike, I was done.
Sorry PYRCA folks, just not for me.
Sorry PYRCA folks, just not for me.
daphx00's review against another edition
3.0
Final rating 3.5/5
Being blurbed by JK Rowling really sets high expectations for this book. While the setup and storyline were interesting, I wasn't blown away.
I love the idea of the magic in this book. The world is built by mister Kristoff, the former owner of the house and I loved that idea and the interpretation of it. It was creative and very imaginative, almost cinematic at certain parts.
While I liked the three main characters, I felt like I was reading about siblings that reminded me an awful lot of Harry, Ron and Hermione. There was a brave kid, a smart kid and a third one who kept them together.. I wish there was a little more originality there. It wasn't necessarily that they looked like the Harry Potter characters, it was more the feel that I got from them. I mean, they are siblings instead of friends the same age, but I couldn't help but feeling this way.
I really enjoyed reading this book. I really liked the rollercoaster ride aspect of it and I loved the fictional world in the book. Having said that, I think the book dragged on too long. At 560 pages, it's a long book, especially if you consider it's the first book in a middlegrade series. I found it dragging in certain parts and I really wish it hadn't. But to compensate that, the ending felt rushed, predictable and an easy way out. It was terribly obvious and I would have thought that after 500+ pages of adventure and mystery and the characters being thrown into situation after situation, the ending could have been more surprising.
I quite enjoyed myself reading House of Secrets. It sure is exciting and interesting -- I just wish it was a little shorter and the main characters were a little more original. The other characters, however, were excellent. I love how they were portrayed and I really enjoyed reading more about them.
I'm not sure how this compares to Vizzini's other work, as I have not read it, but if you're into exciting and adventurous middlegrades, you might want to give House of Secrets a shot.
Find this review and others on Loving Books.
Being blurbed by JK Rowling really sets high expectations for this book. While the setup and storyline were interesting, I wasn't blown away.
I love the idea of the magic in this book. The world is built by mister Kristoff, the former owner of the house and I loved that idea and the interpretation of it. It was creative and very imaginative, almost cinematic at certain parts.
While I liked the three main characters, I felt like I was reading about siblings that reminded me an awful lot of Harry, Ron and Hermione. There was a brave kid, a smart kid and a third one who kept them together.. I wish there was a little more originality there. It wasn't necessarily that they looked like the Harry Potter characters, it was more the feel that I got from them. I mean, they are siblings instead of friends the same age, but I couldn't help but feeling this way.
I really enjoyed reading this book. I really liked the rollercoaster ride aspect of it and I loved the fictional world in the book. Having said that, I think the book dragged on too long. At 560 pages, it's a long book, especially if you consider it's the first book in a middlegrade series. I found it dragging in certain parts and I really wish it hadn't. But to compensate that, the ending felt rushed, predictable and an easy way out. It was terribly obvious and I would have thought that after 500+ pages of adventure and mystery and the characters being thrown into situation after situation, the ending could have been more surprising.
I quite enjoyed myself reading House of Secrets. It sure is exciting and interesting -- I just wish it was a little shorter and the main characters were a little more original. The other characters, however, were excellent. I love how they were portrayed and I really enjoyed reading more about them.
I'm not sure how this compares to Vizzini's other work, as I have not read it, but if you're into exciting and adventurous middlegrades, you might want to give House of Secrets a shot.
Find this review and others on Loving Books.
ohtrisarahtops's review against another edition
2.0
This review can also be found here
I was really looking forward to this book. Once I read the description I thought this book was going to be amazing. However, I was extremely wrong. What I was expecting was a book full of action and adventure. What I got was a book that had adventure but it was slow and seemed to drag on a lot.
If this book had been cut down some and a lot of the slow parts were taken out, maybe the book would have been more interesting and exciting. The book definitely had potential, it was the way it was done that really took away from the story. It seemed at times that things were being told to you and not shown and that really took away a lot of my enjoyment during the story.
I wasn't really that invested in the characters either. The only character I really liked was Will Draper, and he wasn't even one of the three siblings who started out the adventure. However, half way through the story I began to not even like Will. He made a lot of sexist remarks about men's minds being superior to women's and things like that and I was not a fan of that at all.
I will not be finishing this series. I have no emotional investment in the characters and I have no urge to really find out what happens to them in the end since I really didn't like them to begin with. However, you may like this story. I just went into it expecting a fast-paced story full of action.
I was really looking forward to this book. Once I read the description I thought this book was going to be amazing. However, I was extremely wrong. What I was expecting was a book full of action and adventure. What I got was a book that had adventure but it was slow and seemed to drag on a lot.
If this book had been cut down some and a lot of the slow parts were taken out, maybe the book would have been more interesting and exciting. The book definitely had potential, it was the way it was done that really took away from the story. It seemed at times that things were being told to you and not shown and that really took away a lot of my enjoyment during the story.
I wasn't really that invested in the characters either. The only character I really liked was Will Draper, and he wasn't even one of the three siblings who started out the adventure. However, half way through the story I began to not even like Will. He made a lot of sexist remarks about men's minds being superior to women's and things like that and I was not a fan of that at all.
I will not be finishing this series. I have no emotional investment in the characters and I have no urge to really find out what happens to them in the end since I really didn't like them to begin with. However, you may like this story. I just went into it expecting a fast-paced story full of action.
uutopicaa's review against another edition
2.0
Sinceramente, es uno de los peores libros que he leído. Es un cliché detrás del otro. Personajes planos y simples -bastante molestos- una historia que no termina de tener coherencia en sí misma (más allá de ser un libro fantástico).
La verdad, me llevé terrible decepción.
La verdad, me llevé terrible decepción.
naja's review against another edition
This came up as the random pick of a book i own for the month of april but honestly don't want to read it right now or really own it so will pass it on to someone who's maybe actually the target audience and read it maybe in the future from the library or something.
galathyn's review against another edition
5.0
I can relate with Cordelia (character) about reading :3 Wanna start on book 2 now.....!
echaurz's review against another edition
3.0
it was like someone tried to make a story out of a scrapped movie description
fela_feli's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
I LOVE THIS BOOK SM. I read it when I was like 11 and it was my favorite childhood book ever. and now i'm rereading it when i'm 17 and i still love it just as much. if not more. honestly, idk for sure if this book is actually good or if childhood me just loved it sm i don't really have the capacity to hate it. i mean, i think it is, without a doubt, a good book. but it's just greater to me because it's more dear to my heart. i think the plot is pretty interesting! for a kid's book anyway. and i actually love how realistic brendon, cordelia and eleanor are. and my favoritest ever is will ofc. has always been! my first book bf. he's so so dear to me. i love that he's british so he's all "what in the bloody blazes" and "crikey" it threw me off that he was kinda sexist. i forgot about that but like given he's from the 1900s it makes sense, sort of. that his view on women are stuck in the 1900s. i didn't really like penelope hope appearing because like 11 year old me wanted cordelia and will to end up together so bad and penelope got in the way. she wasn't bad but like girl existed for 3.5 seconds so uh.. yeah. but cordelia and will seemed like a one-sided crush thing so, that was awkward. the kiss still made me giggle but it wasn't really much. i felt bad for will when penelope died, though. but he was kinda an ass when he was captain draper, but like he apologized so everything is all good because will is perfect. oh and i felt so bad for him because he's just a character and doesn't even have parents and when he died omg i was about to cry. the fact he thought his death wouldn't matter to anyone because nothing he knew was real but then he realizes brendan, eleanor and especially cordelia would care ☹ made me so emotional. in the ending it seemed like everything got resolved kinda.. just like that. not much of a struggle there but it was relieving anyway. i actually really love how adventurous this book is, too! like it's one of my favorite things ever. and it's also pretty funny! and it keeps me from being bored and i can't wait to read the next book!!!
elefly115's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
webz's review against another edition
4.0
I somehow accidentally deleted my last review so now I have to start ALL over! :'( Where do I begin?! Okay so this book is a middle grade read but it was SO good. The bad guys/villains were crazy wicked and horrible. I got a bit freaked out at the descriptions of what was happening at this one part (it was night and I was alone and reading in the dark! What can I say, it was horribly awesome!) I loved how the characters seemed real and how you can really bond with them. Stuff keeps happening that constantly keeps you turning pages! Can I go on about how evil and wicked the bad people were in this book! Ah! They were crazy horrible! A lot of the stuff made me think that the book should be considered YA....but that's why I read middle grade books! Sometimes I'll find a little gem like this one in the juvenile section in the library and I'm pleasantly surprised with how good the book is. And can I just express my horror at a characters death? I mean, they didn't stay dead but for the parts when the character wasn't there I was in shock! Just a bit of a character crush yah know? haha, here's the spoiler: This book really has everything! Pirates, band of bad men, a witch! It was awesome. And I could go on but I think you get the point. So....just read it okay? I promise you won't regret it!