Take a photo of a barcode or cover
pages_and_procrastination's Reviews (1.6k)
adventurous
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I was given a digital copy of this title for review. All opinions are my own.
Wow! DJ sure knows how to attract the craziest men. So much stuff happens in this third book. Things are getting political and I am honestly not sure how things are going to work out. But I am pretty sure that nothing good is going to come from this. It seems that with each book DJ gains some knowledge or skill. But, she also loses something. Her ragtag group of friends are expanding and I’m growing more attached to them. Which means it’s going to be even more devastating if something happens to them. Most especially Jean Lafitte! This book has sealed the deal for me with the rest of the series. I have purchased physical copies to add to my collection and I am certain that I will return to this time and
Wow! DJ sure knows how to attract the craziest men. So much stuff happens in this third book. Things are getting political and I am honestly not sure how things are going to work out. But I am pretty sure that nothing good is going to come from this. It seems that with each book DJ gains some knowledge or skill. But, she also loses something. Her ragtag group of friends are expanding and I’m growing more attached to them. Which means it’s going to be even more devastating if something happens to them. Most especially Jean Lafitte! This book has sealed the deal for me with the rest of the series. I have purchased physical copies to add to my collection and I am certain that I will return to this time and
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
*If you would like my boiler-filled thoughts than be sure to check out my read-a-long discussion posts. *
My opinion is probably the least popular, but oh well. This is the first book in what will be at least be a trilogy. There are a lot of things that happen or develop, but nothing significant until the last quarter of the book. Yeah - the last quarter. Therein lies the problem for me. It's really hard to say if its lazy writing or a really slow reveal. catalyst of things that will happen in the next book. To be quite honest, I am not sure if my opinion will be fully developed until after I've read the entire series.
I get why people have loved this. There are a lot of things that Stewart does exceedingly well. Her characters always make you feel something. Not every feeling will be positive. Most of what I felt was distrust. I hated the emperor and I don't think he should remain in power. But, I don't trust Lin and I'm not sure she would do much better. She wouldn't do any worse but that's setting a low bar. She is selfish and too focused on proving herself to the emperor who has proven to be cruel and not worthy of respect. Then there is Phalue, Ranami, Gio and Bayan. And nope, I don't trust any of them. Jovis and Mephi are my favorites, I am secretly hoping that they turn out to be the heroes of the story.
On to the plot of the story.......
I am still unsure about so many things and nothing is made clear at the end either. We are told that the Alangas are the enemy, but not really why. There isn't any evidence that they still need to be feared. We know a lot about bone shard magic , but nothing about the Alangas' magic. We know that the emperor is evil, but we don't really know who the big villain is. (Since there are so many characters that I don't trust and that have their own motivations for going after the emperor, could they all be villains?) There are a lot of threads and a lot of possibilities. But there's nothing concrete to suggest a direction for the story. This is not necessarily a bad thing, since this is the first book. This is very readable. Even though you are not sure about (pretty much everything) where the story is going or who the bad guys are, this was well written and something always brings you back to the book. There are things that I wish would have happened on the page-like what changed with Phalue and Ranami. I am not happy with how things were settled with them. I still have questions, and I am curious. I am interested in seeing what happens in the next book.
If you are someone who needs each book to have its own resolution and a story with a clear direction, this may be one where you wait so that you can binge the entire series. But, if not I would say that this is definitely one to check out.
mysterious
fast-paced
This is a comic that I randomly picked up from Hoopla. I am sure someone pointed me in this direction, but I can't remember who that was. But thanks. It is a fresh take on teens who gain superpowers in the middle of a school shooting. It's interesting and way more political than I anticipated, but I am curious.
adventurous
funny
fast-paced
I picked this up because it was my selection fo the StoryGraph Onboarding reading challenge. I ended up liking this more than I anticipated. I can't make up my mind of Delilah was crazy smart or crazy reckless. It was a. fun adventure that uses both of the characters, Dirk and Selim to show both the positive and negative side of a life full of adventure. I couldn't help bu liking Delilah and will be checking out the rest of the series.
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This was an e-arc that I received via Edelweiss. All opinions are my own.
I also preordered the audiobook, which is the format in which I read it. This a middle grade dystopian where Earth has been destroyed by a flood. Flood City is the last habitable place on Earth and is being protected/held hostage by the Star Guard. The Chemical Barons escaped the floods and want to return to Earth. This was interesting and a quick read. I wouldn't say that we got the same depth of characters from the author of Shadowshaper, but I did enjoy watching the characters come into their own Each had their own path to take, but they all came together in the end. TBH- I am little over the conflicts that arise over skin color and painting an entire group with the same brush.
I also preordered the audiobook, which is the format in which I read it. This a middle grade dystopian where Earth has been destroyed by a flood. Flood City is the last habitable place on Earth and is being protected/held hostage by the Star Guard. The Chemical Barons escaped the floods and want to return to Earth. This was interesting and a quick read. I wouldn't say that we got the same depth of characters from the author of Shadowshaper, but I did enjoy watching the characters come into their own Each had their own path to take, but they all came together in the end. TBH- I am little over the conflicts that arise over skin color and painting an entire group with the same brush.
This was a book that I was going to purchase so I was able excited when I saw that it was on scribd. But I’m so glad that I didn’t buy this, because this just wasn’t what I was looking for. I think the pacing was slow and there wasn’t enough tension - for me. I know that this MG and usually I find a nice soft balance. Maybe it wasn’t supposed to be scary?
Hmm. It took me a minute to start liking Rhi. But I lost interest about midway through because it was a bit predictable. I felt like I could pretty much guess what was going to happen based on the tropes used. Sometimes being predictable is ok, but it didn’t work in its favor this time.
challenging
dark
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This is a crime fiction/thriller about an enforcer on the reservation and how he handles it when his nephew almost dies from an overdose and then later arrested for drugs. Weiden is a Native author. I can't say that I enjoyed this story. But I also don't want to discourage anyone from reading it, because it is a well written story. I think that the way life on the reservation will bother some people and make them uncomfortable. As it should. But that's not what bothers me about the story. It is simply just messed up and almost feels like trauma on display.