irareads's review
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
bibillieophile's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 stars actually
To be very honest, at the first 100 pages of this book is hard to get through. It makes me confused because the concept of The Grand Jeu is still abstract for me until I finish it. But by ignoring the actual meaning of it, I actually can ge through it eventually. But I have expected it to happen on my reading experience, Because I think type of book like this used to make us confused at first and slowly it will make sense at the end.
So, this book has 4 different point of views. The first is from The Rat, then Leo, Magister Ludy and also the third party pov from the past. Until the end of the book I only could see the connection between 3 povs except the Rat. I still do not understand why it was there, honestly. But suprisingly I quite enjoy the character development between the povs except the Rat and I can guess the plot twist in the middle. I think it is easy to guess the plot twist if you pay attention to the details on every point of views on this book.
Yeah it was fun to read but not the best. If you are curious enough to experience it yourself pick this up.
To be very honest, at the first 100 pages of this book is hard to get through. It makes me confused because the concept of The Grand Jeu is still abstract for me until I finish it. But by ignoring the actual meaning of it, I actually can ge through it eventually. But I have expected it to happen on my reading experience, Because I think type of book like this used to make us confused at first and slowly it will make sense at the end.
So, this book has 4 different point of views. The first is from The Rat, then Leo, Magister Ludy and also the third party pov from the past. Until the end of the book I only could see the connection between 3 povs except the Rat. I still do not understand why it was there, honestly. But suprisingly I quite enjoy the character development between the povs except the Rat and I can guess the plot twist in the middle. I think it is easy to guess the plot twist if you pay attention to the details on every point of views on this book.
Yeah it was fun to read but not the best. If you are curious enough to experience it yourself pick this up.
tstevenson_'s review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
robyn_ms's review against another edition
Really disappointed and ended up not being able to finish the book. The idea seemed promising but this felt very much a style over substance for the story. It plays with abstract idea of a mathematical cross philosophical cross musical game but feels too loose to ground yourself anywhere in the book. I can’t in good conscious recommend this book to anyone.
It may be that the book picks up and gains legs later in the story but if it takes over the third of the book to do so it’s probably not for me. Just a shame as I was really hoping for more.
It may be that the book picks up and gains legs later in the story but if it takes over the third of the book to do so it’s probably not for me. Just a shame as I was really hoping for more.
laurenmsj23's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
oliwiaprokorym's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
loz_kelly's review against another edition
3.0
I really enjoyed reading this book, it was mesmerising, however I wasn’t satisfied. I feel like I was left with so many unanswered questions and loose ends.
shelfexplorer's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
4/10
⭐⭐️
The Betrayals wasn't for me. I'm not sure if it is because I listened to the audiobook which perhaps led to me not paying as much attention, but there wasn't much of a plot to be found nor were many of the main themes explained.
A large focus of the book centres around a set of 'games' which I'm sure were never explained, neither on the whole or on an individual basis. It was mentioned in the author's note at the end that they were inspired by another book which I have never read, but maybe if I had they would have made more sense to me.
I did enjoy the dynamic between the characters, especially after part two when they were more cemented within the story. That said none of them were particularly likeable, not because they were in anyway evil, but they just didn't interest me.
All in all whilst I can see many people enjoying this book, it just wasn't to my tastes and I don't think I'll be reading anymore by this author in the future.
⭐⭐️
The Betrayals wasn't for me. I'm not sure if it is because I listened to the audiobook which perhaps led to me not paying as much attention, but there wasn't much of a plot to be found nor were many of the main themes explained.
A large focus of the book centres around a set of 'games' which I'm sure were never explained, neither on the whole or on an individual basis. It was mentioned in the author's note at the end that they were inspired by another book which I have never read, but maybe if I had they would have made more sense to me.
I did enjoy the dynamic between the characters, especially after part two when they were more cemented within the story. That said none of them were particularly likeable, not because they were in anyway evil, but they just didn't interest me.
All in all whilst I can see many people enjoying this book, it just wasn't to my tastes and I don't think I'll be reading anymore by this author in the future.