izzyproudfoot's review against another edition
5.0
I read this a while ago, I really loved it. I had no idea where it was going, a great un-predictable read.
diaryofthebookdragon's review against another edition
2.0
Another Little Piece is a debut novel by Kate Karyus Quinn. It's a story about a 17-year-old girl who stumbles out of the forest not remembering anything. The police officers tell her she's called Annaliese Rose Gordon and send her home with her loving parents. How did Annaliese disappear? Where was she for a year while she was missing? What happened to her?
Told in a first person point of view full of shocking discoveries, gruesome flashbacks and scary truths, Another Little Piece is never boring. There is always just another little piece missing and only person more eager than the me to solve the whole puzzle is the Annaliese herself. And I can bet that the ending will not be what you have expected.
Although I appreciated uniqueness and originality of Another Little Piece, sadly this is one of those young adult books that make me feel like a black sheep, in other words the book that I think everyone will love but me. :(
The start was great, the mystery and everything around Annaliese was so chilling and with shocking discoveries every 20 pages or so I was literally glued to the screen of my ereader reading like there was no tomorrow. But as the story developed it was inhabited with too much drama llamas for my taste. Seriously, could not just one character in this book be normal and ordinary? Everybody had some deep dark secret or tragic past...
Add to this too many plot holes in paranormal background of the story, some loose ends left hanging, feeling that ya characters in this book are having too much sex (no explicit descriptions of course) and you got me sighing and sadly concluding that this book was just not for me.
If you like ya horror novels about amnesia full of tragic characters and nail-biting mystery, and you are not put-off by some gruesome scenes involving blood then Another Little Piece by Kate Karyus Quinn might be the book for you. There is also this cute iconographic with similar books to help you decide.
My rating: 2.5 stars
Disclaimer: I was given a free eBook by the publisher via Edelweiss in exchange for a honest review. This text is also posted on my blog Bookworm Dreams in a little bit more styled edition.
Told in a first person point of view full of shocking discoveries, gruesome flashbacks and scary truths, Another Little Piece is never boring. There is always just another little piece missing and only person more eager than the me to solve the whole puzzle is the Annaliese herself. And I can bet that the ending will not be what you have expected.
Although I appreciated uniqueness and originality of Another Little Piece, sadly this is one of those young adult books that make me feel like a black sheep, in other words the book that I think everyone will love but me. :(
The start was great, the mystery and everything around Annaliese was so chilling and with shocking discoveries every 20 pages or so I was literally glued to the screen of my ereader reading like there was no tomorrow. But as the story developed it was inhabited with too much drama llamas for my taste. Seriously, could not just one character in this book be normal and ordinary? Everybody had some deep dark secret or tragic past...
Add to this too many plot holes in paranormal background of the story, some loose ends left hanging, feeling that ya characters in this book are having too much sex (no explicit descriptions of course) and you got me sighing and sadly concluding that this book was just not for me.
If you like ya horror novels about amnesia full of tragic characters and nail-biting mystery, and you are not put-off by some gruesome scenes involving blood then Another Little Piece by Kate Karyus Quinn might be the book for you. There is also this cute iconographic with similar books to help you decide.
My rating: 2.5 stars
Disclaimer: I was given a free eBook by the publisher via Edelweiss in exchange for a honest review. This text is also posted on my blog Bookworm Dreams in a little bit more styled edition.
somarostam's review against another edition
4.0
Did not finish due to typography issues
It's not working on my device very well
But it got 4 stars from me until the middle!
It's not working on my device very well
But it got 4 stars from me until the middle!
leann_ange's review against another edition
3.0
This is quite possible the slowest book by Quinn that I've read thus far, but it also had the least lazy ending I've read by her, so I have mixed feeling about how to rate it.
As always, I love the scenarios Quinn sets up, and as always, I'm a little disappointed with the simplicity of how the situation came to be as it is. (Or the lack of any real explanation.) This time there's an ambiguous situation of accidental deals with the devil, but it still felt lackluster in it's reveal. However, explanation aside, the girl who must kill roughly once a year while stealing the bodies of her victims after tricking them to more or less sell their souls was a pretty interesting situation. The added problem of the protagonist having no memories of her deal, body hopping, or anything else added to the story.
Also a positive, the ending didn't feel like a total cop out. I could have used a little more detail in the final confrontation, but it at least matched how a lot of other scenes in the book are described. Plus, while it is the final confrontation, what felt like the real climax came shortly before. I think this is officially the first Quinn book I read that doesn't summarize its climax after the fact.
As for the negatives, this book is slow. Shockingly so, considering it involves an early scene of one girl carving out and eating another's heart. I mostly blame this on the protagonist, who only feels truly proactive a few times in the book. For most of the story, even if she said she was looking for clues, it felt like she was going about her daily life and waiting for people to just trigger the right memories. This is also two out of three Quinn books I've read now where there wouldn't even be a mystery if something didn't happen to the protagonist's memory, which gave a sense of repetition.
Seriously, though. It isn't until past the half-way point that the protagonist actually starts trying to track down people who might know anything about her past--or stops running from the guy who really obviously knows the whole situation. Most of the mystery isn't really SOLVED by her. She just happens to remember the right details in a compelling order.
As always, I love the scenarios Quinn sets up, and as always, I'm a little disappointed with the simplicity of how the situation came to be as it is. (Or the lack of any real explanation.) This time there's an ambiguous situation of accidental deals with the devil, but it still felt lackluster in it's reveal. However, explanation aside, the girl who must kill roughly once a year while stealing the bodies of her victims after tricking them to more or less sell their souls was a pretty interesting situation. The added problem of the protagonist having no memories of her deal, body hopping, or anything else added to the story.
Also a positive, the ending didn't feel like a total cop out. I could have used a little more detail in the final confrontation, but it at least matched how a lot of other scenes in the book are described. Plus, while it is the final confrontation, what felt like the real climax came shortly before. I think this is officially the first Quinn book I read that doesn't summarize its climax after the fact.
As for the negatives, this book is slow. Shockingly so, considering it involves an early scene of one girl carving out and eating another's heart. I mostly blame this on the protagonist, who only feels truly proactive a few times in the book. For most of the story, even if she said she was looking for clues, it felt like she was going about her daily life and waiting for people to just trigger the right memories. This is also two out of three Quinn books I've read now where there wouldn't even be a mystery if something didn't happen to the protagonist's memory, which gave a sense of repetition.
Seriously, though. It isn't until past the half-way point that the protagonist actually starts trying to track down people who might know anything about her past--or stops running from the guy who really obviously knows the whole situation. Most of the mystery isn't really SOLVED by her. She just happens to remember the right details in a compelling order.
ninjabunneh's review against another edition
2.0
Give me strange, creepy, gory, bizarre any day of the week in a book. As a pre-teen and teen my nose could be found in Stephen King, Dean Koontz, John Saul, just to name a few. Horror novels were my middle name. Fast forward *cough* a few years and here I am reading YA books way past my allowed expiration date. So when I saw that this book was, in essence, a horror YA novel mirroring the likes of my fav Mr. King, I was like *happy dance*. This story just left me exhausted. So convoluted and just darn right confusing. And not confusing/mind-fucking in a good Inception kind of way. I actually found myself fighting to stay awake reading it and not completely flouncing. The premise and idea behind the book sound great and oh so intriguing. It's just there is no cohesiveness or explanation to so so so many things that warrant explaining. I'm sorry to say I can't rate this better than 2 stars. I had higher hopes for a book that seemed right up my alley.
aschwartz184's review against another edition
2.0
I'm sad to say that I gave up on this book. I really enjoyed the first half. Even though Annaliese wasn't a very likable character, I found the story captivating. I was more than halfway through this and it just seemed to ramble on and on and on.
aichaa's review
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood and Gore
Minor: Sexual assault, Incest, and Cannibalism
forsakenfates's review against another edition
4.0
“Confession is good for the soul, they say. I'd imagine this is true. But my sins were too convoluted. And from the little I understand--too damning.”
I really struggled with what I wanted to say about this book and that is not because I did not enjoy it, the opposite really. It was unlike what I was expecting. I expected a thrilling contemporary book about a missing girl who returns with amnesia. Instead I got a book that had paranormal elements as well. I really think people should go into this book with little to no expectations or idea of what the story entails. I think this book is one that you need to go into blind about the plot and characters.
I absolutely loved Kate’s writing style, she really pulled you into the story and got you hooked. The story was told through the present, the past, and poems. At times it could be confusing when we went to a flashback, but I soon quickly picked up on the flip. The poems throughout the book were also great little glimpses into Annaliese’s life prior to the “accident”. The best part about the writing for me was how quickly we could go from normal typical contemporary to crazy, what just happened there. It really added to the overall feeling of the book. I also loved how it was the mom and the dad not mom and dad. To Anna these people were strangers not her parents. Even though it was something small it really added to the overall feeling of the book.
My only real issue with this book was the rushed ending. It was all building up to Anna’s 18th birthday and what she was going to do. Then the last 30 pages were action packed with her choice and the consequences. However, I liked that the ending was mostly wide open. We have an idea of what will become of the characters but not concretely.
This is a short review but that is not because the book was not enjoyable, it is because I do not want to give away too much about the plot of this book. Overall, though this is a great read if you want some contemporary with twists and some paranormal aspects. And let me be clear this book is weird, strange, and at times incredibly bizarre, but still so unique and wonderfully written. You can tell that Kate was very particular and careful when she wrote this. I also now want to get Kate's other book (Don't You) Forget About Me.
I really struggled with what I wanted to say about this book and that is not because I did not enjoy it, the opposite really. It was unlike what I was expecting. I expected a thrilling contemporary book about a missing girl who returns with amnesia. Instead I got a book that had paranormal elements as well. I really think people should go into this book with little to no expectations or idea of what the story entails. I think this book is one that you need to go into blind about the plot and characters.
I absolutely loved Kate’s writing style, she really pulled you into the story and got you hooked. The story was told through the present, the past, and poems. At times it could be confusing when we went to a flashback, but I soon quickly picked up on the flip. The poems throughout the book were also great little glimpses into Annaliese’s life prior to the “accident”. The best part about the writing for me was how quickly we could go from normal typical contemporary to crazy, what just happened there. It really added to the overall feeling of the book. I also loved how it was the mom and the dad not mom and dad. To Anna these people were strangers not her parents. Even though it was something small it really added to the overall feeling of the book.
My only real issue with this book was the rushed ending. It was all building up to Anna’s 18th birthday and what she was going to do. Then the last 30 pages were action packed with her choice and the consequences. However, I liked that the ending was mostly wide open. We have an idea of what will become of the characters but not concretely.
This is a short review but that is not because the book was not enjoyable, it is because I do not want to give away too much about the plot of this book. Overall, though this is a great read if you want some contemporary with twists and some paranormal aspects. And let me be clear this book is weird, strange, and at times incredibly bizarre, but still so unique and wonderfully written. You can tell that Kate was very particular and careful when she wrote this. I also now want to get Kate's other book (Don't You) Forget About Me.
rachielove9's review against another edition
3.0
I've officially decided October is for creepy reading (I mean, I guess that just makes sense?) and so I put some holds on decidedly creepy titles. This one didn't disappoint on the creepy factor and it will probably give me some pretty choice nightmares. The writing was okay, but overall I found the story a bit mushed and shoved together. I mean, it makes sense that there were a lot of histories (it's about a girl who takes over other girls bodies by eating their hearts out...seriously), but it still got pretty confusing sometimes. I did like the poetry, which is probably weird and not the normal takeaway, but..you know.
If you're looking for an easy, creep-tacular read, I'd recommend picking it up. Just don't expect great literature when you delve in. Do expect a wild ride.
If you're looking for an easy, creep-tacular read, I'd recommend picking it up. Just don't expect great literature when you delve in. Do expect a wild ride.
novelheartbeat's review against another edition
4.0
Another Little Piece was dark and rather twisted, and I think that’s why I enjoyed it. It was kinda f*cked up at times, and sometimes I wondered what the heck I was reading, but in a good way!
Every time I found another piece of the past, I wasn’t remembering it so much as reliving it.
I like the way the story was told, with little snippets of flashbacks mixed in with the present. I saw a lot of complaints that it was confusing, but it worked for me. It kept me intrigued, wondering what the hell happened to Annaliese, and with each piece of memory I became more and more involved. This made the pacing very fast – because it’s a mystery and a thriller, you can’t help but turning pages in desire for the truth.
There were some more serious aspects to the story because it touched (a little) on tough subjects like rape. I was surprised at these elements, but again it wasn’t a bad thing. Fluffy reads are great, but sometimes I need to read something dark and gritty!
There were also some major WTFery moments where I was just like, uhhhhhmmmm……. Like when Anna was just chilling and smoking a cigarette, then exhales a plume of smoke and puts out the burning cigarette on her thigh and is totally emotionless about it. Or when she looked at someone and thought:
It didn’t resemble sweat so much as the juices dripping from the crisped and cracking skin of a roasted chicken. I wanted to sink my teeth into him.
I thought it was interesting how Anna always referred to Annaliese’s mom and dad as ‘the mom’ and ‘the dad.’ Every single time. I got so used to it that I stopped noticing it after a while. But it helped to convey that she truly didn’t believe that she was Annaliese, even when she couldn’t remember her past. She felt like an impostor.
The characters were pretty good. I liked Anna and I enjoyed following the journey she took in finding herself. I loved Dex! The romance was sweet – even though it moved a little fast, it wasn’t in a bad way. Eric creeped me out! He was slimy and I couldn’t stand him.
I don’t want to say too much about this one because I don’t want to give it away, but I loved the background story. Again, probably just because it was so twisted. All of the girls and the Physician, the spell and the promise. Especially the ritual! The first scene regarding it I was like whaa did she just…? She did! That’s a little bit sick, dude…
It was kinda awesome though! I haven’t read anything like it before. I do recommend giving it a try, especially if you’re a fan of horror or twisted paranormal stories. This book isn’t for everyone, and I can see how some might not enjoy it. I think it’s hit or miss, but it was a hit for me!
Favorite Quotes:
Sometimes it was just so fucking wonderful to be alive.
“Things happen in life. Things don’t go the way you plan. And when they do, it doesn’t feel the way you thought it would.”
ASSESSMENT
Plot: 4.5/5
Writing style: 4/5
Originality: 5/5
Characters: 3.5/5
Pace: 5/5
Cover: 4/5