glitterbomb47's review against another edition
4.0
I enjoyed this novel quite a lot. Taylor created a fascinating world, and I'm looking forward to reading the second installment.
I didn't care so much for the first half - I found the take on religion quite one-sided. Brimstone was extremely derisive of religion in general.
I don't know that I would call this YA fiction, though that is what it is marketed as. I would say 16+ for thematic elements. I guess younger teens could read it but I bet some of the material would go right over their heads.
I didn't care so much for the first half - I found the take on religion quite one-sided. Brimstone was extremely derisive of religion in general.
Spoiler
But then in the second half of the book one sees that Taylor's angel-chimera world is heavily influenced by eastern religions. So I guess it's just western religions we can't believe in. *eyeroll*I don't know that I would call this YA fiction, though that is what it is marketed as. I would say 16+ for thematic elements. I guess younger teens could read it but I bet some of the material would go right over their heads.
chloelouise_xiv's review against another edition
This is one of those books that was SO GOOD in the beginning and then it just slowly got worse and worse until I couldn’t stand it anymore. For the first third I was hooked - the characters were interesting, the chimaera were fascinating and their world intriguing…. and then the angel came and it suddenly turned into a teen romance. All the world building went out the window to be replaced by pages of Karou fawning over a guy she met 0.3 seconds ago… not to mention the fact that there’s a war going on and they’re supposed to be on opposite sides?? It’s a huge shame because the general idea is great, just really ~really~ poorly executed in my opinion.
titleduntitled's review against another edition
4.0
What a trip, the worldbuilding in this book was really interesting and well done. I liked seeing a setting in Prague and not England/France or the USA, it was a nice change.
The story was a definitely fairly unique though one particular thing I keep seeing in books lately is though it was done in a different way than anything I've read so that helped.
I just wasn't really sure about the love interest or just the romance in general.. it just felt like it was really lacking and I'm not entirely sure why. I just didn't subscribe to how it all went down so I wasn't really invested in them together which I think kind of takes away a bit of the story but I enjoyed it regardless and I'm hoping that ties in better in the next book.
The story was a definitely fairly unique though one particular thing I keep seeing in books lately is
Spoiler
re-birthI just wasn't really sure about the love interest or just the romance in general.. it just felt like it was really lacking and I'm not entirely sure why. I just didn't subscribe to how it all went down so I wasn't really invested in them together which I think kind of takes away a bit of the story but I enjoyed it regardless and I'm hoping that ties in better in the next book.
annielovesstories's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
nglofile's review against another edition
3.0
At different parts of the story, I might have rated this work lower or higher. It's inventive, and I initially loved the character of Karou (even wishing we'd spent more of our time experiencing her life in Prague). However, there were long stretches when I lost interest, pressing on simply to finish. The very end restored a little faith, I'm glad to say, but I don't know how truly invested I am in this world.
audiobook note: A strong performance by Khristine Hvam, but this may be one of those books I would have liked more had I read it in print. More than once scenes were muddled because a transition wasn't clearly buffered or communicated, whereas a paragraph break or spacing would have signaled the change. I also wonder whether some of the issues I had with pacing would have been similarly offset with visual cues.
audiobook note: A strong performance by Khristine Hvam, but this may be one of those books I would have liked more had I read it in print. More than once scenes were muddled because a transition wasn't clearly buffered or communicated, whereas a paragraph break or spacing would have signaled the change. I also wonder whether some of the issues I had with pacing would have been similarly offset with visual cues.
mpalma24's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
ems_98's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
kcoccia's review against another edition
3.0
Seeing as it took me 6 months to read it, I may not have figured out what everyone loved about it so much but I'm hoping the second one is better.