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blumenstadtkind's review against another edition
5.0
<3
this book has everything you can wish for and leaves you craving for the last book in this series to come
this book has everything you can wish for and leaves you craving for the last book in this series to come
auroara's review against another edition
3.0
full german review
This series seriously frustrates me. I was such a fan of the series and the first few books really surprised me, but since Sabine showed up, I feel like the series gets worse with every book. Almost every character is such a pain in the ass. I was so annoyed, it took me a whole month to finish.
I always liked it when the gang came together and fought the bad guys but now they are on such bad terms with each other, I wouldn't call this friendship at all.
Things that bothered me:
- I like Kaylees relationship with Tod, but it was too much "You are the love of my life, I want to spend all my afterlife with you, you are the only person that makes me feel alive and if you are not with me, everything feels pointless and empty" blah blah blah... really? The worst thing about this is that there are so many repitations and the love story seems to be more important and takes more space then the actual story line itself - and I hate when this happens. I also can't fully comprehend how both are so suddenly in love with each other and don't have any feelings for Nash or Addy.
- Nash being a total dick - I get it, he's hurt. Of course he is, everyone would be. But he makes Kaylee feel bad for frames him for murder, even though she had no choice and everyone would have done the same in a situation like this. Furthermore he says he's still in love with her, but sleeps with Sabine (I still don't get how he can like her?) - he can't choose between two girls, but blames Kaylee for choosing one of the brothers? I mean, I like him and Kaylee as a couple at first, but then he started lying and lying and hurt Kaylee again and again. He did some aweful things but blames Kaylee for leaving him. In my opinion, it is for the better, they are too different and don't really belong together, they don't match.
- Sabine and Sophie, being their usual bitchy selfs
- Kaylee always plays the victim. She wants to protect everyone and feels responsible for everything, but she doesn't want anyone else to help her and pitties herself all the time. It's so annoying. The whole series she is not strong, only the opposite of a heroine. I'm not saying that woman can't be weak, but if you want to fight evil then stop whinning and start kicking some ass!
- All the adults aren't really helpful and let their kids do whatever they want to do, even when it's that dangerous - it's so unrealistic, I don't understand why any parent would do that
- The narrative style is very slow and nothing really happens until the end - where everything happens at once. Many situations are so obvious and unlogic I had to roll my eyes.
Are there any things I liked? Probably. The story itself isn't that unappealing and the bad guys are great at being evil. There are some twists and jokes I enjoyed. But overall all the things that annoyed me overshadow the things I liked. It's such a pity. When the characters wouldn't be so onedimensional and grow more, the series would be a lot more awesome.
This series seriously frustrates me. I was such a fan of the series and the first few books really surprised me, but since Sabine showed up, I feel like the series gets worse with every book. Almost every character is such a pain in the ass. I was so annoyed, it took me a whole month to finish.
I always liked it when the gang came together and fought the bad guys but now they are on such bad terms with each other, I wouldn't call this friendship at all.
Things that bothered me:
- I like Kaylees relationship with Tod, but it was too much "You are the love of my life, I want to spend all my afterlife with you, you are the only person that makes me feel alive and if you are not with me, everything feels pointless and empty" blah blah blah... really? The worst thing about this is that there are so many repitations and the love story seems to be more important and takes more space then the actual story line itself - and I hate when this happens. I also can't fully comprehend how both are so suddenly in love with each other and don't have any feelings for Nash or Addy.
- Nash being a total dick - I get it, he's hurt. Of course he is, everyone would be. But he makes Kaylee feel bad for frames him for murder, even though she had no choice and everyone would have done the same in a situation like this. Furthermore he says he's still in love with her, but sleeps with Sabine (I still don't get how he can like her?) - he can't choose between two girls, but blames Kaylee for choosing one of the brothers? I mean, I like him and Kaylee as a couple at first, but then he started lying and lying and hurt Kaylee again and again. He did some aweful things but blames Kaylee for leaving him. In my opinion, it is for the better, they are too different and don't really belong together, they don't match.
- Sabine and Sophie, being their usual bitchy selfs
- Kaylee always plays the victim. She wants to protect everyone and feels responsible for everything, but she doesn't want anyone else to help her and pitties herself all the time. It's so annoying. The whole series she is not strong, only the opposite of a heroine. I'm not saying that woman can't be weak, but if you want to fight evil then stop whinning and start kicking some ass!
- All the adults aren't really helpful and let their kids do whatever they want to do, even when it's that dangerous - it's so unrealistic, I don't understand why any parent would do that
- The narrative style is very slow and nothing really happens until the end - where everything happens at once. Many situations are so obvious and unlogic I had to roll my eyes.
Are there any things I liked? Probably. The story itself isn't that unappealing and the bad guys are great at being evil. There are some twists and jokes I enjoyed. But overall all the things that annoyed me overshadow the things I liked. It's such a pity. When the characters wouldn't be so onedimensional and grow more, the series would be a lot more awesome.
trisha_thomas's review against another edition
4.0
"You're not lost, Kaylee. You can't ever be lost, because I'll always know where you are."
wow, this latest installment has turned so many corners and go through so many twists
I hope the last book in the series covers what needs to happen
I need a big win in the good guys' corner!!
and Tod, honestly, I love that guy!
oh, and the line that made me laugh the most:
""I can't believe they even bothered filling that faculty position. They might as well rename the class Defense Against the Dark Arts. I mean, seriously, who would answer an ad for this job."
wow, this latest installment has turned so many corners and go through so many twists
I hope the last book in the series covers what needs to happen
I need a big win in the good guys' corner!!
and Tod, honestly, I love that guy!
oh, and the line that made me laugh the most:
""I can't believe they even bothered filling that faculty position. They might as well rename the class Defense Against the Dark Arts. I mean, seriously, who would answer an ad for this job."
madwonder's review against another edition
4.0
I have some very mixed feelings about this book. The one thing that I have loved with this series is that I just find it incredibly easy to read. Everything is straight forward and you aren't trying to do guess work the entire time. The fact that I find these simple is sometimes also a bad thing for me. There was barely any action and not even as much confrontation. I wouldn't go as far as calling it dull, because I did still enjoy it, but it was very quaint.
I absolutely adored Tod. He is funny, snarky, and super sweet. Their intimate relationship is what keeps me reading these books. Nash needs to seriously realize what Tod and kaylee have and try to forgive his brother. There wasn't a whole lot else that stood out for me except for the end. WTF is what I say to that. It just ended. It's pulse went from stable to flat in seconds. I did not like that what so ever. Nor did I like the fact that. Whoa. Why? Slightly annoyed with that.
Overall, despite the fact that this book wasn't really any marginally different than the others and wasn't remotely filed with actual excitement, i still enjoyed the read. Tod kept me drawn and he will continue to do so through the next one as well. Because of him is why this book will get 4 stars instead of the 3 I have been contiplating.
I absolutely adored Tod. He is funny, snarky, and super sweet. Their intimate relationship is what keeps me reading these books. Nash needs to seriously realize what Tod and kaylee have and try to forgive his brother. There wasn't a whole lot else that stood out for me except for the end. WTF is what I say to that. It just ended. It's pulse went from stable to flat in seconds. I did not like that what so ever. Nor did I like the fact that
Spoiler
they killed Emma and then threw her in a different body.Overall, despite the fact that this book wasn't really any marginally different than the others and wasn't remotely filed with actual excitement, i still enjoyed the read. Tod kept me drawn and he will continue to do so through the next one as well. Because of him is why this book will get 4 stars instead of the 3 I have been contiplating.
lindaunconventionalbookworms's review against another edition
5.0
This and other reviews can also be found on my blog (un)Conventional Bookviews.
This book had absolutely everything I could have wanted to make it a great book! Kaylee finally figuring out what it means to be an extractor as well as a bean sidhe, Tod and Kaylee growing closer, and Kaylee fighting with all she has to save her friends and family.
This book had absolutely everything I could have wanted to make it a great book! Kaylee finally figuring out what it means to be an extractor as well as a bean sidhe, Tod and Kaylee growing closer, and Kaylee fighting with all she has to save her friends and family.
erinarkin20's review against another edition
4.0
So I decided to review the 6 books so far in one review since I had the opportunity to read them all back to back. Overall I would give this series a 3.5. It was interesting enough to keep me reading and I (for the most part) liked the characters.
From a timing standpoint, the books flow one right after the other and I thought that was a positive - there isn't much time lost from one to the next. I won't do a summary here - there wouldn't be enough room. Instead - just a brief overview...Kaylee is a 16 (almost 17) year old high school girl who has grown up living with her cousin and aunt/uncle since she was 3. She doesn't have much of a relationship with her father and her mother died - we are introduce to Kaylee and her best friend Emma at the beginning of the series and eventually find out that Kaylee suffers from "panic attacks". Turns out that isn't really the case and she is really a bean sidhe....Oh and she just happens to go to school with a male bean sidhe. Enter Nash - turns out his ability allows him to help Kaylee through the times when she feels a scream coming on.
I actually liked the relationship development and the interaction between Kaylee and Nash - I really did and I can't really understand why there has to be a love triangle. At book 6 I see why Vincent did what she did but I'm not sure I like it. Some of my favorite characters were Emma, Kaylee's uncle Brendon, Harmony and Alec. I will admit - I didn't like Tod at all in the first books but he did eventually grow on me and by book 6 he earned it. I didn't really care for Sabine and after a few great books where Nash was lovely, supportive and caring - he transformed into something entirely different for the next books. Sophie was super annoying and in most cases, not really necessary.
I am for sure looking forward to the last book in the series. Based on how book 6 wrapped up I will be curious to see how things progress and what Kaylee and the group do to get this wrapped up.
From a timing standpoint, the books flow one right after the other and I thought that was a positive - there isn't much time lost from one to the next. I won't do a summary here - there wouldn't be enough room. Instead - just a brief overview...Kaylee is a 16 (almost 17) year old high school girl who has grown up living with her cousin and aunt/uncle since she was 3. She doesn't have much of a relationship with her father and her mother died - we are introduce to Kaylee and her best friend Emma at the beginning of the series and eventually find out that Kaylee suffers from "panic attacks". Turns out that isn't really the case and she is really a bean sidhe....Oh and she just happens to go to school with a male bean sidhe. Enter Nash - turns out his ability allows him to help Kaylee through the times when she feels a scream coming on.
I actually liked the relationship development and the interaction between Kaylee and Nash - I really did and I can't really understand why there has to be a love triangle. At book 6 I see why Vincent did what she did but I'm not sure I like it. Some of my favorite characters were Emma, Kaylee's uncle Brendon, Harmony and Alec. I will admit - I didn't like Tod at all in the first books but he did eventually grow on me and by book 6 he earned it. I didn't really care for Sabine and after a few great books where Nash was lovely, supportive and caring - he transformed into something entirely different for the next books. Sophie was super annoying and in most cases, not really necessary.
I am for sure looking forward to the last book in the series. Based on how book 6 wrapped up I will be curious to see how things progress and what Kaylee and the group do to get this wrapped up.
ellenpenleysmith's review against another edition
4.0
This review, among others, was written and posted for my blog, Reading's My Drug .
Warning: spoilers for previous books.
After the amazing precedent of If I Die, I was actually worried that Before I Wake wouldn’t live up to its standards. And for the first quarter of the book, I did actually wonder. It seemed like everything I wanted had happened and I had no real reason to continue reading, so why was I? Kaylee was still the same selfless character, Tod was still a snark Apricot jam loving Reaper and the rest of the characters hadn’t really changed from If I Die. Sabine was a bit nicer though.
Then something strange happened.
A new mystery was brought forward and suddenly, I was interested again as to how this would all work out. But then, I kind of started to get disinterested. Because what stakes were there to Kaylee? I didn’t really understand what Kaylee could lose because she was already dead and she couldn’t grasp a hold on humanity while adjusting to live in the human world so I felt like she didn’t even want to be dead/alive. She was floating in her mind absently and the only thing that felt alive to her was Tod (which I totally approve of), but after a while even that got boring.
I think what’s dragging this series out for me is Kaylee herself. I mean, she died protecting other people and she still isn’t sick of saving people and help them. I just don’t get it. Surely there is not one person who can die and still feel compassionate about saving people. Sure, her job kind of required it (saving stolen souls and all that), but come on! Surely you had enough by now? I kind of feel like I should go back and re-rate all the books because this isn’t the first time Kaylee’s compulsion for helping others has annoyed me. But it’s the sixth book and this act is starting to wain on me, much like it is on Avari (yes, he’s still around). She died and still has no sense of self preservation which is beyond ridiculous.
It’s really the last quarter of the book that saved me. Because each book in this series has really been a stand-alone plot. Yeah, some aspects continue throughout the books (Demons breath and Avari for example), but each mystery is solved and dealt with by the final page. Before I Wake was different. By the last page, Kaylee is out for revenge and that has me excited for With All My Soul. And this is why I don’t want to re-rate all the other books. Because as much as Kaylee has annoyed me now and before, I desperately want the next book to see what happens which is where Vincent did it right.
I’m so torn on this rating. It was better than the other books, but at the same time it grated on my nerves which made me hate it, but the ending just makes me want the last book even more. I feel like I can’t rate it any lower than the other books because it was better despite my commentating, but I can’t rate it any higher either.
Warning: spoilers for previous books.
After the amazing precedent of If I Die, I was actually worried that Before I Wake wouldn’t live up to its standards. And for the first quarter of the book, I did actually wonder. It seemed like everything I wanted had happened and I had no real reason to continue reading, so why was I? Kaylee was still the same selfless character, Tod was still a snark Apricot jam loving Reaper and the rest of the characters hadn’t really changed from If I Die. Sabine was a bit nicer though.
Then something strange happened.
A new mystery was brought forward and suddenly, I was interested again as to how this would all work out. But then, I kind of started to get disinterested. Because what stakes were there to Kaylee? I didn’t really understand what Kaylee could lose because she was already dead and she couldn’t grasp a hold on humanity while adjusting to live in the human world so I felt like she didn’t even want to be dead/alive. She was floating in her mind absently and the only thing that felt alive to her was Tod (which I totally approve of), but after a while even that got boring.
I think what’s dragging this series out for me is Kaylee herself. I mean, she died protecting other people and she still isn’t sick of saving people and help them. I just don’t get it. Surely there is not one person who can die and still feel compassionate about saving people. Sure, her job kind of required it (saving stolen souls and all that), but come on! Surely you had enough by now? I kind of feel like I should go back and re-rate all the books because this isn’t the first time Kaylee’s compulsion for helping others has annoyed me. But it’s the sixth book and this act is starting to wain on me, much like it is on Avari (yes, he’s still around). She died and still has no sense of self preservation which is beyond ridiculous.
It’s really the last quarter of the book that saved me. Because each book in this series has really been a stand-alone plot. Yeah, some aspects continue throughout the books (Demons breath and Avari for example), but each mystery is solved and dealt with by the final page. Before I Wake was different. By the last page, Kaylee is out for revenge and that has me excited for With All My Soul. And this is why I don’t want to re-rate all the other books. Because as much as Kaylee has annoyed me now and before, I desperately want the next book to see what happens which is where Vincent did it right.
I’m so torn on this rating. It was better than the other books, but at the same time it grated on my nerves which made me hate it, but the ending just makes me want the last book even more. I feel like I can’t rate it any lower than the other books because it was better despite my commentating, but I can’t rate it any higher either.
sjtouqan's review against another edition
4.0
I loved this book, I really did, but I can't bring myself to give it five stars. I'm sorry Ms. Stiles, but I just can't. Kaylee changed to me, and the constant Gary Stu way she thought of him annoyed me. He isn't perfect, but he is so very very beautiful, evidently. I couldn't help but think that part of me missed his protective best friend mode in the fourth book. I don't know, maybe it's just me. But I did love the book. Alec broke my heart. I cried and laughed and yelled. Truly a great book. Cannot wait for the end.