mythos05's review
1.0
1/5 stars
Possible spoilers:
I really tried to like this book but couldn't bring myself to.
Summary:
Our main character, River, is obsessed with the Grace family, which has a complicated history. She is in love with Fenrin Grace, who's supposed to be the most attractive guy at school. He also has two sisters, Summer and Thalia Grace. Summer is gone, whereas Thalia is both beautiful and untouchable. River wants to be a part of their group but knows that they tend to switch friends rather quickly.
My problems with these books are:
1) This book is the Walmart version of Twilight. Twilight was more enjoyable because I could actually find enjoyable moments within all that mess.
2) We have an all-white cast with one token, possibly a South Asian character. I wasn't really sure what her ethnicity was. All the characters are either problematic or show no growth throughout the book. Thalia has no other interesting character traits other than how she dresses. Summer is transparent. She doesn't hide anything and just tells River everything. Fenrin is only shown as unattainable and hot. It is stated that he is possibly bisexual, but this is used to show how the other characters are biphobic/queerphobic. Trigger Warning: From River to Fenrin's own mother, they both use the word "disgusting" to describe Fenrin. River because Fenrin's kissing another boy. His mother likely called him that for the same reasons. This was a breaking point and they almost immediately dropped it.
3) River is practically obsessed with the Graces. This is shown through their thoughts and is a recurring problem as they can be creepy and borderline stalker-like. We learn that River isn't her real name. She does everything she can in order to become a different person. She does so in order to please others. Specifically, people she doesn't even know well. She is constantly putting other girls down. From judging their mannerisms to how much lip gloss they have on. Again, I know sometimes you can read a book and not like the main character, but she has no redeeming qualities, and this affects all the other characters, who barely have a personality.
4) SO MANY TROPES THAT I DESPISE. I can usually excuse tropes I dislike. I'm not like other girls' tropes, using diverse characters to give other characters "development", "mean girl" status, etc. All these tropes combined can only make a mess of a book. Perhaps they would work with a better set of characters, but the current set is not worth reading. In addition, the writing isn't that good either. It's a rather slow story, and there are parts where you feel as if the problem was just added to create drama or some form of plot which there was none of.
5) I skimmed the book all the way to the end. Without any spoilers, given the ending was a set up for you to go read the other book. It leaves you with a cliffhanger.
To summarize, the characters suck, there is no plot, there are so many bad tropes used, and this book has no redeemable qualities. Go read Twilight or any other book that's better than this one.
Possible spoilers:
I really tried to like this book but couldn't bring myself to.
Summary:
Our main character, River, is obsessed with the Grace family, which has a complicated history. She is in love with Fenrin Grace, who's supposed to be the most attractive guy at school. He also has two sisters, Summer and Thalia Grace. Summer is gone, whereas Thalia is both beautiful and untouchable. River wants to be a part of their group but knows that they tend to switch friends rather quickly.
My problems with these books are:
1) This book is the Walmart version of Twilight. Twilight was more enjoyable because I could actually find enjoyable moments within all that mess.
2) We have an all-white cast with one token, possibly a South Asian character. I wasn't really sure what her ethnicity was. All the characters are either problematic or show no growth throughout the book. Thalia has no other interesting character traits other than how she dresses. Summer is transparent. She doesn't hide anything and just tells River everything. Fenrin is only shown as unattainable and hot. It is stated that he is possibly bisexual, but this is used to show how the other characters are biphobic/queerphobic. Trigger Warning: From River to Fenrin's own mother, they both use the word "disgusting" to describe Fenrin. River because Fenrin's kissing another boy. His mother likely called him that for the same reasons. This was a breaking point and they almost immediately dropped it.
3) River is practically obsessed with the Graces. This is shown through their thoughts and is a recurring problem as they can be creepy and borderline stalker-like. We learn that River isn't her real name. She does everything she can in order to become a different person. She does so in order to please others. Specifically, people she doesn't even know well. She is constantly putting other girls down. From judging their mannerisms to how much lip gloss they have on. Again, I know sometimes you can read a book and not like the main character, but she has no redeeming qualities, and this affects all the other characters, who barely have a personality.
4) SO MANY TROPES THAT I DESPISE. I can usually excuse tropes I dislike. I'm not like other girls' tropes, using diverse characters to give other characters "development", "mean girl" status, etc. All these tropes combined can only make a mess of a book. Perhaps they would work with a better set of characters, but the current set is not worth reading. In addition, the writing isn't that good either. It's a rather slow story, and there are parts where you feel as if the problem was just added to create drama or some form of plot which there was none of.
5) I skimmed the book all the way to the end. Without any spoilers, given the ending was a set up for you to go read the other book. It leaves you with a cliffhanger.
To summarize, the characters suck, there is no plot, there are so many bad tropes used, and this book has no redeemable qualities. Go read Twilight or any other book that's better than this one.
gracexo7's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
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
aimee's review
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-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
5.0
caseymalsam's review
2.0
Blah. It is so angsty and a bad version of "Heathers," which isn't necessarily a bad thing. But for this book it all seemed so pointless, and the big reveal at the end makes NO SENSE.
A book with a synopsis like this is usually right up my alley, but this did not hit the mark.
A book with a synopsis like this is usually right up my alley, but this did not hit the mark.
salinabear's review
3.0
I'm glad I finished this book. I felt like the ending tied it up nicely. Sure, it had some stunted dialogue and stunted character development. But I felt the ending was fitting. And the book did have good atmosphere. It makes me sad to see that a lot of people haven't finished it.
thebookconfessions's review
2.0
I rarely give books a rating so low but this book just didn't work for me. All I knew before starting it was that it's a story about witches and I was sold. However, it fell so flat. I kept waiting and waiting for the story to pick up but it didn't. I'm not saying this often about books and I always try to find something I like in books but it was boring. So boring.
I'm a stubborn person and that's why I refused to DNF it and I wanted to give a chance for the story to go somewhere interesting. It didn't. Where was the plot? I have no idea. It wasn't any I guess. The writing seemed too unnatural, it didn't flow well. It lacked in mystery and the big plot twist didn't seem like a twist at all. You can guess it since the start.
Many people like this book and it's a series but I'm not picking up the sequel. Maybe it's me or maybe it's the story, maybe both but I've read many better stories about witches. Stories with a better concept that feature characters with depth. This book just wasn't the one offering that to me. I now need a better witches story.
I'm a stubborn person and that's why I refused to DNF it and I wanted to give a chance for the story to go somewhere interesting. It didn't. Where was the plot? I have no idea. It wasn't any I guess. The writing seemed too unnatural, it didn't flow well. It lacked in mystery and the big plot twist didn't seem like a twist at all. You can guess it since the start.
Many people like this book and it's a series but I'm not picking up the sequel. Maybe it's me or maybe it's the story, maybe both but I've read many better stories about witches. Stories with a better concept that feature characters with depth. This book just wasn't the one offering that to me. I now need a better witches story.
ark99's review against another edition
2.0
I.. really just read this bc the cover is so pretty.
So this book made me realize that I REALLY don't like unreliable narrators. Like yeah it's cool and all, but something about these narrators just.. I don't really like.
It reminded me a lot of we were liars because it was unreliable. It also gave me twilight vibes?? and I haven't even read twilight... But this was pretty cool. I liked the mysterious vibes, and the way it ended where it wasn't really a happy ending. It was just a little odd. I will probably read the sequel eventually, because I want to know the ending, but other than that it was okay.
So this book made me realize that I REALLY don't like unreliable narrators. Like yeah it's cool and all, but something about these narrators just.. I don't really like.
It reminded me a lot of we were liars because it was unreliable. It also gave me twilight vibes?? and I haven't even read twilight... But this was pretty cool. I liked the mysterious vibes, and the way it ended where it wasn't really a happy ending. It was just a little odd. I will probably read the sequel eventually, because I want to know the ending, but other than that it was okay.
caliesha's review against another edition
3.0
The cover is beautiful! The jacket, first pages and chapter pages are all beautifully designed and coloured. Here are my thoughts on the story:
-Contemporary story with fantasy elements
-A bit confusing about River's backstory since it isn't fully explained
-Characters were somewhat generic but make sense for the scope of the story
-Some parts weren't believable
-Fenrir's story line was predictable but was still a great twist
-Quick light seaside town read with some witches
Overall - 3.5 stars
-Contemporary story with fantasy elements
-A bit confusing about River's backstory since it isn't fully explained
-Characters were somewhat generic but make sense for the scope of the story
-Some parts weren't believable
-Fenrir's story line was predictable but was still a great twist
-Quick light seaside town read with some witches
Overall - 3.5 stars
caitminch's review
3.0
this feels like sort of a guilty pleasure book? the plot was really messy and i feel like certain points were told too messily to keep up the whole mystery feel, but i was stupidly invested. it was just a really easy and mindless read.