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megsbookishtwins's review
1.0
I received this free from the publishers via NetGalley
DNF - 23%
I don't believe that Into the Dim is anything, special, new or original. Granted, I didn't even get to the half way mark but it is full of cliches of a typical YA book which I am bored to tears of. She is the 'chosen one' with the knowledge needed to save her mother.
Our actually beautiful - but doesn't really know she's beautiful - protagonist also makes it clear that she is not one of those girls - those "slutty St. Sebastian girls", she's different because "while most girls probably obsessed over singers or movie stars, I'd been infatuated with famous historical figures"! I, for one, hate this specific trope of a girl thinking she's better than other girls because she doesn't like what she considers frivolous things - like, I really hate this trope. Hope, ultimately, really dislikes other girls.
And the setting was dull and underdeveloped, yeah a few people were written with Scottish accents, but that was about as well as it got in what I read. From other people's reviews I've read, the historical aspect and world was not done well either, and that the time travel didn't actually happen until nearly the half way mark.
I may have continued reading this had the timing been different but at the moment I'm falling behind on my NetGalley books drastically, I haven't actually finished anything in weeks and I am drowning in my University dissertation. So while I don't like to DNF books, especially ones I have to review, I just don't have to time at the moment to read books that are full of overused tropes and a boring protagonist.
DNF - 23%
I don't believe that Into the Dim is anything, special, new or original. Granted, I didn't even get to the half way mark but it is full of cliches of a typical YA book which I am bored to tears of. She is the 'chosen one' with the knowledge needed to save her mother.
Our actually beautiful - but doesn't really know she's beautiful - protagonist also makes it clear that she is not one of those girls - those "slutty St. Sebastian girls", she's different because "while most girls probably obsessed over singers or movie stars, I'd been infatuated with famous historical figures"! I, for one, hate this specific trope of a girl thinking she's better than other girls because she doesn't like what she considers frivolous things - like, I really hate this trope. Hope, ultimately, really dislikes other girls.
And the setting was dull and underdeveloped, yeah a few people were written with Scottish accents, but that was about as well as it got in what I read. From other people's reviews I've read, the historical aspect and world was not done well either, and that the time travel didn't actually happen until nearly the half way mark.
I may have continued reading this had the timing been different but at the moment I'm falling behind on my NetGalley books drastically, I haven't actually finished anything in weeks and I am drowning in my University dissertation. So while I don't like to DNF books, especially ones I have to review, I just don't have to time at the moment to read books that are full of overused tropes and a boring protagonist.
kmkasiner's review
4.0
I went in with somewhat low expectations based on the "Outlander for teens" tagline, but I really liked this book! Yes, it was a little corny in parts, but in a good way. It was a fast-paced adventure with a sweet romance. The main character was clueless and a little arrogant at the beginning, but I think that she developed throughout the story. It had a satisfying ending while still leaving it open for the next book.
sherwoodreads's review
Copy provided by NetGalley:
Hot Scots in history has been a thing in historical romance for decades. Many believe that Dorothy Dunnett's Lymond Chronicles kicked it off, and I have no quarrel with that for the adult audience, but the first one I ever read and loved was Sally Watson's Witch of the Glens, which was written for the young adult audience.
And here is a new entry for young adults. (I would say for the high end of young adults, as there is a lot of rough language and some frank sexual discussion, including a couple of attempted rapes and references to off-screen rape.)
A teen who is okay with the above is bound to enjoy the story, which starts off at a brisk clip, and accelerates to non-stop, high tension action once the time travel happens. I think a teen won't mind the somewhat jumbled explanation for the time travel (though a combination of Tesla and ley lines was a lot of fun), and won't notice inconsistent language and details of clothing, anymore than they'll mind the total Evilness of the bad guys.
Pluses are a sympathetic treatment of Jews, various cute guys, Hope's eidetic memory, which she deploys to awesome effect, and feisty Phoebe, Hope's first friend. I really liked the girls' relationships in this story, and for that matter, the women's, barring the Evil Villainess.
Another big plus: Eleanor of Aquitaine, demonstrating her extreme coolness.
If this book sparks in young readers an interest in reading history, that would be an added bonus to a roller-coaster ride of a read.
It's the first in a series, and I will keep an eye out for the next.
Hot Scots in history has been a thing in historical romance for decades. Many believe that Dorothy Dunnett's Lymond Chronicles kicked it off, and I have no quarrel with that for the adult audience, but the first one I ever read and loved was Sally Watson's Witch of the Glens, which was written for the young adult audience.
And here is a new entry for young adults. (I would say for the high end of young adults, as there is a lot of rough language and some frank sexual discussion, including a couple of attempted rapes and references to off-screen rape.)
A teen who is okay with the above is bound to enjoy the story, which starts off at a brisk clip, and accelerates to non-stop, high tension action once the time travel happens. I think a teen won't mind the somewhat jumbled explanation for the time travel (though a combination of Tesla and ley lines was a lot of fun), and won't notice inconsistent language and details of clothing, anymore than they'll mind the total Evilness of the bad guys.
Pluses are a sympathetic treatment of Jews, various cute guys, Hope's eidetic memory, which she deploys to awesome effect, and feisty Phoebe, Hope's first friend. I really liked the girls' relationships in this story, and for that matter, the women's, barring the Evil Villainess.
Another big plus: Eleanor of Aquitaine, demonstrating her extreme coolness.
If this book sparks in young readers an interest in reading history, that would be an added bonus to a roller-coaster ride of a read.
It's the first in a series, and I will keep an eye out for the next.
emleemay's review against another edition
1.0
In my sixteen years on this earth, no guy had ever, ever flirted with me. The redneck boys where I was from preferred girls like my cheerleader cousins. Size two. Blond. Busty. Brainless.
This book is being marketed as [b:Outlander|10964|Outlander (Outlander, #1)|Diana Gabaldon|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1402600310s/10964.jpg|2489796] for teens. It isn't. It's a serious insult to teens to say they're incapable of appreciating anything beyond this cliched, slut-shaming drivel.
Time travel doesn't even rear its head until the poor reader (me) has sat through pages and pages of innate, inexplicable specialness, mysterious boys with pretty eyes *gasp*, and listening to a narrator who is beautiful without knowing it, stupid and yet somehow the key to everything, and completely, most definitely, NOT one of those slutty girls.
Oh, wait a minute, who are those "slutty girls", again? Well they're blonde, obvs. Cheerleaders, because duh. Both a size two and with ginormo boobs (something which is actually quite difficult without expensive surgery, but I digress). Like ewww, guys.
“But then again, I’m not one of those slutty St. Sebastian girls.”
Honestly, can anyone actually stand this girl?
Like with [b:Outlander|10964|Outlander (Outlander, #1)|Diana Gabaldon|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1402600310s/10964.jpg|2489796], this book takes us to the Scottish Highlands. After Hope's mother dies, she goes to stay with her extended family in a huge beautiful house, where she's about to discover her mother's deepest secret - time travel.
Scotland?
Intriguing new setting?
Family secrets?
Time travel?
Holy shit, sign me up!
Too bad that Hope is too busy becoming obsessed with a local boy to actually do anything interesting. Does she explore this fascinating new place? Like hell she does. Do we meet some awesome Scottish characters? Not unless you mean undeveloped characters called things like "Mac" and "Bran", who all talk like Scottish people *might* have talked, say, five hundred years ago.
I don't know who to recommend this for. Younger teens who enjoy Bella Swan-style wish fulfillment? Maybe. Those who like reading about a boring, chaste, slut-shaming, oh-so-misunderstood chosen one? Sure.
"You have more knowledge of history, and archaic languages, than many learned professors could absorb in their lifetime. Do you now understand why? You’ve been training for this since you were four years old. We need that knowledge. We need you.”
Oh, hell.
And back to the language for a second - it really is just ridiculous. Present day Scottish people aside, when Hope finally gets her ass in gear and goes back in time nearly a whole millennium, everyone she meets just drops a bunch of “g”s and “f”s and inserts apostrophes instead. Are you fucking kidding me?
If you're a teenager and you think [b:Outlander|10964|Outlander (Outlander, #1)|Diana Gabaldon|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1402600310s/10964.jpg|2489796] sounds interesting, bloody hell, just read it. Not this annoying high school rom-com version that may result in the loss of brain cells.
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ksophialydia's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
informative
mysterious
tense
fast-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? It's complicated
2.0
booksarebetter's review
5.0
I loved this book! Will need to read it again, and make sure that I didn't miss anything the first time around, I read it so fast! Review to come later.
mallikadesai's review
4.0
To be honest, this was a perfect blend of YA romance, action, history, and science fiction time travel. Vivid action scenes in the climaxes of the book and hairpin plot twists add to the beautifully written book. However, I did find that some of the characters could have been presented more dimensionally and diversely. Overall, this was a good one week read for rainy afternoons if you are looking to be transported into the era of castles, queens, and mysterious time-traveling sorceresses with a pinch of unique romance of perplexing orphans.