alyram4's review against another edition
2.0
Ok look hear me out... I actually didn't expect myself to like the book very much to begin with. I've heard all the hype, seen all the posts, and I still wasn't sure. When I got the ARC, I read the synopsis and I honestly didn't think this would be my type of book. I like the idea of it, but I wasn't sure if it would work out for me.
Spoiler alert: I ended up not liking it very much.
I tried hard to find enough of the positives to get me to enjoy it -and they're definitely there!- but there was too much glaring at me.
First off: This book has such a rough start I almost decided not to read it. I'm ok with rocky beginnings, but this was just a bit too jumbled up where I almost said "nah fuck it I'm not reading this". I kept going though and it got better! I began to get into it at around Chapter 3, so it wasn't too bad. What sucks is that after the first third it all goes downhill again. Things move too fast or too slow, plot points are tossed into the wind, characters make decisions that make no sense, and we get more info about the world without truly understanding it.
There is SO LITTLE I know about this world, its history, and how all the current events and groups come into play. We get little understanding of how all the powers work, so for the entire book you're just winging it and hoping you're getting the basic idea. Also, there's supposed to be this super historic event that occured in the past called Blackout but... I don't know what the heck that is? It's mentioned, sure, but you don't get a good understanding of what happened and the effect it has now. It was brushed away like a speck of dust.
I could keep going, but I'll just leave it as is. I came in knowing that this may not be a fit for me and I was right. Other people may love this, as it is with any other book. With all the hype this has been receiving though, i honestly did expect a bit more "WOW". I didn't get any of that, and I feel pretty empty after reading this.
ARC provided to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Spoiler alert: I ended up not liking it very much.
I tried hard to find enough of the positives to get me to enjoy it -and they're definitely there!- but there was too much glaring at me.
First off: This book has such a rough start I almost decided not to read it. I'm ok with rocky beginnings, but this was just a bit too jumbled up where I almost said "nah fuck it I'm not reading this". I kept going though and it got better! I began to get into it at around Chapter 3, so it wasn't too bad. What sucks is that after the first third it all goes downhill again. Things move too fast or too slow, plot points are tossed into the wind, characters make decisions that make no sense, and we get more info about the world without truly understanding it.
There is SO LITTLE I know about this world, its history, and how all the current events and groups come into play. We get little understanding of how all the powers work, so for the entire book you're just winging it and hoping you're getting the basic idea. Also, there's supposed to be this super historic event that occured in the past called Blackout but... I don't know what the heck that is? It's mentioned, sure, but you don't get a good understanding of what happened and the effect it has now. It was brushed away like a speck of dust.
I could keep going, but I'll just leave it as is. I came in knowing that this may not be a fit for me and I was right. Other people may love this, as it is with any other book. With all the hype this has been receiving though, i honestly did expect a bit more "WOW". I didn't get any of that, and I feel pretty empty after reading this.
ARC provided to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
nosinne's review
3.0
Waarom ik 2,75 sterren gaf aan dit boek? Je leest het in mijn uitgebreide recensie op Geekish.nl
jshado1's review
fast-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
1.0
Wow this was terrible. All the characters are moronic, and they're not supposed to be.
megan_kiwi's review
4.0
Before reading this book I saw nothing but negative reviews so usually, I would not read it but its Adam Silvera so I had too.
I ended up loving this story, characters were great especially Emil who I found to be quite a relatable and realistic protagonist. Brighton could be quite annoying however overall he wasn't unbearable and I could understand why he did some of his actions.
Plot-wise I agree with others that it was quite faced paced however it was consistent and I didn't mind it being that way. I have heard others say that there were too many POVs however that was also not a problem for me.
To be honest I am quite surprised by how low the average rating for this book is. I felt like it was a case of I must be reading a different book to everyone else. Which usually is the case for when I disliked a book.
Overall this book does not deserve this low average rating it has (it is probably the lowest average rating on a book I have seen so far on GoodReads) and I am really looking forward to the sequel (especially after the ending).
I ended up loving this story, characters were great especially Emil who I found to be quite a relatable and realistic protagonist. Brighton could be quite annoying however overall he wasn't unbearable and I could understand why he did some of his actions.
Plot-wise I agree with others that it was quite faced paced however it was consistent and I didn't mind it being that way. I have heard others say that there were too many POVs however that was also not a problem for me.
To be honest I am quite surprised by how low the average rating for this book is. I felt like it was a case of I must be reading a different book to everyone else. Which usually is the case for when I disliked a book.
Overall this book does not deserve this low average rating it has (it is probably the lowest average rating on a book I have seen so far on GoodReads) and I am really looking forward to the sequel (especially after the ending).
bufffreeman22's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.75
courtneys__library's review
1.0
DNF- I couldn’t do it. I love Adam Silvera but I just couldn’t do it.
evacarter03's review
3.0
didn’t really enjoy it, was very very YA and i didn’t really engage with the story so i didn’t really know what was going on. one of the main characters was v annoying but a different one was called eva so that was cool :)
sourpandaaa's review against another edition
inspiring
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0