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zee_reads's review against another edition
2.0
I loved this series when I was younger and stumbled upon it a few days ago.
Right of the bat, the FL was extremely obnoxious (painfully obvious that she was written by a man)
She got a bit better over time.
Then there’s the excessive descriptions of her surroundings.
I love good world building but there’s only so many times I can read about the olive trees, ruins, trash bags and rocks lying around in Sicily.
Skimmed those parts.
The romance was meh.
The build up was basically non-existent.
No chemistry and then it went from 0 to 100 out of nowhere.
But I will say that there’s potential, so they’ll probably be really cute together in the rest of the series.
The plot itself is interesting and I loved the concept
So I might have been forcing myself to get through it, but I really wanted to know what happens.
All in all it’s a decent book but I would not necessarily go around recommending it.
Right of the bat, the FL was extremely obnoxious (painfully obvious that she was written by a man)
She got a bit better over time.
Then there’s the excessive descriptions of her surroundings.
I love good world building but there’s only so many times I can read about the olive trees, ruins, trash bags and rocks lying around in Sicily.
Skimmed those parts.
The romance was meh.
The build up was basically non-existent.
No chemistry and then it went from 0 to 100 out of nowhere.
But I will say that there’s potential, so they’ll probably be really cute together in the rest of the series.
The plot itself is interesting and I loved the concept
So I might have been forcing myself to get through it, but I really wanted to know what happens.
All in all it’s a decent book but I would not necessarily go around recommending it.
vanikr's review against another edition
4.0
Ein sehr schönes und spannendes Buch, das Ende ist ein bisschen traurig und den Anfang mochte ich auch nicht so gerne, erst als sie mehr Zeit mit Alessandro verbracht hat mochte ich das Buch immer mehr.
elli131001's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
ja_nee's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
redentrapy's review against another edition
3.0
I loved the plot line of this book. It was original and interesting. The thing that bugged me about it though is that there are too many mysteries. There are thousands of questions and even by the end of the book only a couple are answered. This made it frustrating and confusing to read, but even so I wanted to find out what happened so badly even though it was frustrating.
Another problem was that I think there was a lot lost in translation because it was a little stilted and some of the sentences were strange. Also the characters were a little stilted also. They were shallow. Didn't grow or change. Even so Rosa is a fiery, sarcastic heroine who takes shit from no one and follows her own rules. She never listens to anybody else. Of course with her family and background thats good she shouldn't trust anybody. After everyone in the Mafia tries to lie, cheat, and kill everyone else for more status and money. This book is no different. Alessandro is the fun fly by the seat of his pants kind of guy who in person is actually strong, independent, and calculating. Loved his character.
In this book though most of the Mafia families in control are something special and turn into animals, because of a curse put on King Lyaocon by King Zeus because he was a cannibal.
Another problem was that I think there was a lot lost in translation because it was a little stilted and some of the sentences were strange. Also the characters were a little stilted also. They were shallow. Didn't grow or change. Even so Rosa is a fiery, sarcastic heroine who takes shit from no one and follows her own rules. She never listens to anybody else. Of course with her family and background thats good she shouldn't trust anybody. After everyone in the Mafia tries to lie, cheat, and kill everyone else for more status and money. This book is no different. Alessandro is the fun fly by the seat of his pants kind of guy who in person is actually strong, independent, and calculating. Loved his character.
In this book though most of the Mafia families in control are something special and turn into animals, because of a curse put on King Lyaocon by King Zeus because he was a cannibal.
missbookiverse's review against another edition
3.0
Toll gelesen wie zu erwarten von Andreas Fröhlich.
Die Charaktere sind interessant, gerade Rosa, weil sie so anders ist als ihr Name erwarten lässt. Alessandro fand ich nach einer Weile auch interessant und attraktiv.
Es ist immer wieder beeindruckend, dass Kai Meyer sich einfach ein neues Gebiet sucht und darauf seine ganze eigene originell Welt aufbaut.
Der Schreibstil war atemberaubend, sehr dicht und atmosphärisch.
Irgendwie hat es für mich aber an der Story gehapert. Gerade im ersten Teil zieht sie sich ewig hin und nichts passiert so recht. Leider wusste ich auch vorher von den "Transformationen", was mir glaube ich einigen Hörspaß verdorben hat.
Es fällt mir zu schwer herauszufinden, was genau mich nicht richtig von Arkadien überzeugt hat, deshalb hier nur so ein paar Wortfetzen. Lust auf den 2. Teil habe ich trotzdem.
Die Charaktere sind interessant, gerade Rosa, weil sie so anders ist als ihr Name erwarten lässt. Alessandro fand ich nach einer Weile auch interessant und attraktiv.
Es ist immer wieder beeindruckend, dass Kai Meyer sich einfach ein neues Gebiet sucht und darauf seine ganze eigene originell Welt aufbaut.
Der Schreibstil war atemberaubend, sehr dicht und atmosphärisch.
Irgendwie hat es für mich aber an der Story gehapert. Gerade im ersten Teil zieht sie sich ewig hin und nichts passiert so recht. Leider wusste ich auch vorher von den "Transformationen", was mir glaube ich einigen Hörspaß verdorben hat.
Es fällt mir zu schwer herauszufinden, was genau mich nicht richtig von Arkadien überzeugt hat, deshalb hier nur so ein paar Wortfetzen. Lust auf den 2. Teil habe ich trotzdem.
vivcrepsley's review against another edition
5.0
Diese Reihe verbinde ich so sehr mit meiner Jugend. Sie ist einfach grandios geschrieben und die Charaktere sind ein Traum. Große Empfehlung!
christajls's review against another edition
4.0
Originally reviewed at Hooked on Books
There are so many beautiful things about this novel. Not Hollywood beautiful, i.e overdone with glitz and glam. A real authentic, gritty sort of beautiful. A diamond in the rough kind of novel.
This novel takes place in Europe, Sicily, to be exact. Right off the bat, this was a major plus for Arcadia Awakens. It gave it an exotic and gritty feel, that just can't be replicated in a North American setting. Since the story centers strongly around the mob, it could have easily taken in place in New York or New Jersey but benefited greatly from a setting that could tie the story directly with ancient history. The history was also something unique and exciting. Instead of focusing on more commonly known mythology like the Greek gods, Kai Meyers brings us into the world of Arcadians. It was something I had never read about before and something I definitely wanted to research further upon finishing.
The characters that make up this story were all very interesting. My initial fear, was that because they were all mobsters they would fall into some of the more typical, comical stereotypes. Thankfully, this was not the case. There was a lot of depth to the main cast of characters and I found them quite realistic. Despite the fact that I enjoyed almost all the characters in this book, I still have some reservations about Rosa. I don't dislike her but I never reached the point where I really warmed up to her. At times she was incredibly irrational and at other times I found her motivations really unclear. But it could just be me.
Overall, Arcadia Awakens is a really unique book. It brings something new and unexpected to the YA landscape. Mixing an interesting setting, with an unusual cast of characters (the mob) and adding a dash of mythology was just the right recipe for this stunning novel. I'm looking forward to the rest of the series.
There are so many beautiful things about this novel. Not Hollywood beautiful, i.e overdone with glitz and glam. A real authentic, gritty sort of beautiful. A diamond in the rough kind of novel.
This novel takes place in Europe, Sicily, to be exact. Right off the bat, this was a major plus for Arcadia Awakens. It gave it an exotic and gritty feel, that just can't be replicated in a North American setting. Since the story centers strongly around the mob, it could have easily taken in place in New York or New Jersey but benefited greatly from a setting that could tie the story directly with ancient history. The history was also something unique and exciting. Instead of focusing on more commonly known mythology like the Greek gods, Kai Meyers brings us into the world of Arcadians. It was something I had never read about before and something I definitely wanted to research further upon finishing.
The characters that make up this story were all very interesting. My initial fear, was that because they were all mobsters they would fall into some of the more typical, comical stereotypes. Thankfully, this was not the case. There was a lot of depth to the main cast of characters and I found them quite realistic. Despite the fact that I enjoyed almost all the characters in this book, I still have some reservations about Rosa. I don't dislike her but I never reached the point where I really warmed up to her. At times she was incredibly irrational and at other times I found her motivations really unclear. But it could just be me.
Overall, Arcadia Awakens is a really unique book. It brings something new and unexpected to the YA landscape. Mixing an interesting setting, with an unusual cast of characters (the mob) and adding a dash of mythology was just the right recipe for this stunning novel. I'm looking forward to the rest of the series.
gldnhaze's review against another edition
5.0
Kai Meyer wird langsam, aber sicher zu einem meiner Lieblingsautoren. In diesem Buch hat er drei verschiedene Dinge sehr gekonnt miteinander verbunden - die Mafia, die Arkadier (Gestaltwandler) und natürlich die Liebe zwischen zwei jungen Menschen. Die Handlung ist spannend vom Anfang bis zum Ende und die beiden Hauptcharaktere sind sympathisch und sehr facettenreich. Ich hoffe, ich kann mir bald Band 2 leisten!