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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
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.
ambeesbookishpages's review against another edition
3.0
Reviews + more can be found at The Book Bratz
Books that are always popular on social media before their release dates are always the ones I struggle with the most. I have one expectation for the book, but when I actually read it it isn't what I expected it to be at all. I am going to call this the "Book Media Effect."
My main problem with Into the Dim was the main character Hope. I was able to connect with her on an emotional level with her anxieties. In the first few pages she is seemingly made to be this delicate girl that is scared of almost everything. But then she does anxiety inducing things, with out the anxiety. I think this is more of a me problem since I know anxiety first hand and expect it to be the same for everyone. (Even though I know it isn't) She was also very naive at moments, things would be right in front of her and she literally DID.NOT.GET.IT. Hope also came off as a know it all because of her photographic memory and I hate know it alls. Ending it with this: I did not like Hope at all.
The secondary characters where entertaining and well developed, but I couldn't fully enjoy them do to my issues with the main character. This is why I say connections to characters are IMPORTANT.
The idea and world building were interesting, and I loved the good vs. evil aspect that it had going on. Especially the world that they traveled to (Which I had issues with because all Hope did was gush about how much she loved it and became and encyclopedia of facts and information. Like girl, you are suppose to be saving her mother that you are heart broken about.)
Books that are always popular on social media before their release dates are always the ones I struggle with the most. I have one expectation for the book, but when I actually read it it isn't what I expected it to be at all. I am going to call this the "Book Media Effect."
My main problem with Into the Dim was the main character Hope. I was able to connect with her on an emotional level with her anxieties. In the first few pages she is seemingly made to be this delicate girl that is scared of almost everything. But then she does anxiety inducing things, with out the anxiety. I think this is more of a me problem since I know anxiety first hand and expect it to be the same for everyone. (Even though I know it isn't) She was also very naive at moments, things would be right in front of her and she literally DID.NOT.GET.IT. Hope also came off as a know it all because of her photographic memory and I hate know it alls. Ending it with this: I did not like Hope at all.
The secondary characters where entertaining and well developed, but I couldn't fully enjoy them do to my issues with the main character. This is why I say connections to characters are IMPORTANT.
The idea and world building were interesting, and I loved the good vs. evil aspect that it had going on. Especially the world that they traveled to (Which I had issues with because all Hope did was gush about how much she loved it and became and encyclopedia of facts and information. Like girl, you are suppose to be saving her mother that you are heart broken about.)