mehsi's review against another edition
4.0
This was a good book in this series, however I am truly getting sick and tired of the whole Eric x Sasha x Jacob thing that apparently never will get resolved.
But even with that the book was good, there is also enough excitement because the YENT is coming closer and closer, and our characters are all working hard (some even work harder than is healthy for themselves and their horses) to make sure they get into YENT. I just loved the lessons, and the parts with the horses. Sasha was really great in this book, she is one of the few characters that understood that training is necessary, but overtraining/overworking your horse is not healthy. I am so glad that she has a strong head on her shoulders. And sure, she worries, she wavers, she is thinking she might not be good enough, but I think that makes her more realistic. Worrying is a good thing, I would be worried if she was just acting all cool. :)
I didn't like how she clung to Jacob. I can imagine she wants to be friends, but does she truly not see the hints? Is she so blind that she can't see further than her vision of friends? Can't she see that Jacob is clearly thinking of other stuff.
And that brings me to Jacob. Dear Lord, I hated him in this book. He was disgusting and I disliked him so much in this book. His behaviour and the thing he did near the end? It was horrendous and I just wanted to smack him so hard. That he would do such a thing. Oh well, I know how this will end, which didn't make me happy. Thanks spoilers... *sighs*
Eric, ah, Eric, I just loved him. He is so sweet and cute and he is just the perfect boyfriend for Sasha. He really cares about her, even giving her something that he knew she would love.
Jasmine, and also the Belles. Those girls are just the worst. I didn't like her when she made small appearances in the books prior to this/previous one, but I am just hating the fact she is so fully there in these books. Finally Heather is acting a bit more normal, and now we have a new überbitch? Urgh, no thank you! Can't she just go away, or at least go through a redemption arc? Or something else? Not that I would ever like her, should she go through such a redemption arc, but well, at least she would be a bit likeable. Now? Not at all. Her mean words, her bullying, the things she does. It is just disgusting.
I was happy to see Callie and Sasha being best friends again, they are such good friends and I was worried they wouldn't get back together as friends any more after all that happened. Thankfully they are back to friends. Though I wonder how long, considering some stuff that happened. Oh well, we will see in the next book (which I bought, currently waiting for it to be delivered, soon!).
The richness of the girls is also something that stands out at times. These girls can apparently just shop whenever they want, they have lip gloss drawers and so much more. At times it felt just weird and fake.
Again the ages. I will keep mentioning this. These girls are not 11 to 13. The way they act, the way they have relationships, the love triangles, sorry, these girls are (for me) 14 to 16 years old. Not younger.
All in all though this is a good series and I am really enjoying it. Never thought I would love it so much, sure it did look good, but I was still worried it would get boring. But that is something that never happens.
Review first posted at http://twirlingbookprincess.com/
But even with that the book was good, there is also enough excitement because the YENT is coming closer and closer, and our characters are all working hard (some even work harder than is healthy for themselves and their horses) to make sure they get into YENT. I just loved the lessons, and the parts with the horses. Sasha was really great in this book, she is one of the few characters that understood that training is necessary, but overtraining/overworking your horse is not healthy. I am so glad that she has a strong head on her shoulders. And sure, she worries, she wavers, she is thinking she might not be good enough, but I think that makes her more realistic. Worrying is a good thing, I would be worried if she was just acting all cool. :)
I didn't like how she clung to Jacob. I can imagine she wants to be friends, but does she truly not see the hints? Is she so blind that she can't see further than her vision of friends? Can't she see that Jacob is clearly thinking of other stuff.
And that brings me to Jacob. Dear Lord, I hated him in this book. He was disgusting and I disliked him so much in this book. His behaviour and the thing he did near the end? It was horrendous and I just wanted to smack him so hard. That he would do such a thing. Oh well, I know how this will end, which didn't make me happy. Thanks spoilers... *sighs*
Eric, ah, Eric, I just loved him. He is so sweet and cute and he is just the perfect boyfriend for Sasha. He really cares about her, even giving her something that he knew she would love.
Jasmine, and also the Belles. Those girls are just the worst. I didn't like her when she made small appearances in the books prior to this/previous one, but I am just hating the fact she is so fully there in these books. Finally Heather is acting a bit more normal, and now we have a new überbitch? Urgh, no thank you! Can't she just go away, or at least go through a redemption arc? Or something else? Not that I would ever like her, should she go through such a redemption arc, but well, at least she would be a bit likeable. Now? Not at all. Her mean words, her bullying, the things she does. It is just disgusting.
I was happy to see Callie and Sasha being best friends again, they are such good friends and I was worried they wouldn't get back together as friends any more after all that happened. Thankfully they are back to friends. Though I wonder how long, considering some stuff that happened. Oh well, we will see in the next book (which I bought, currently waiting for it to be delivered, soon!).
The richness of the girls is also something that stands out at times. These girls can apparently just shop whenever they want, they have lip gloss drawers and so much more. At times it felt just weird and fake.
Again the ages. I will keep mentioning this. These girls are not 11 to 13. The way they act, the way they have relationships, the love triangles, sorry, these girls are (for me) 14 to 16 years old. Not younger.
All in all though this is a good series and I am really enjoying it. Never thought I would love it so much, sure it did look good, but I was still worried it would get boring. But that is something that never happens.
Review first posted at http://twirlingbookprincess.com/
lavendermarch's review against another edition
5.0
I've reread this series a million times. Heather is, to date, my favorite character after Sasha. I love how bitchy she is to Jasmine. It's so fun!
booksforlosers's review against another edition
5.0
The cliff hangers in these books are so.... annoyingly amazing?
(Why do I picture Eric looking like Cole Sprouse?)
danerysss's review against another edition
Fun and entertaining, very superficial.
olivianoack's review against another edition
3.0
Pretty sure this book was just a crap-ton of riding drama, which to be honest wasn't that interesting. It also doesn't make sense to me how Sasha is constantly down-playing her riding skills and saying how much better Heather and Jasmine are, but she's somehow on the same team as them.
thisisbert's review against another edition
2.0
I think what gets me about these books is that sports stories (including ones about competitive equestrian events) and school stories each have some established traits or tropes which the main character personifies and which give us a reason to root for their success even in situations where that means another character will fail, but Sasha Silver doesn't... have or do any of it.
In sports or pony stories, our heroine is usually a scrappy underdog without the privileges her competition has enjoyed, which could sort of describe Sasha, but the scrappy underdog usually compensates not just with natural talent (and in pony stories an overwhelming compassion for animals) but also with an incredible amount of dedication and hard work. In this series it's Heather, an antagonist, who is depicted working hard while Sasha eats cupcakes and buys lip gloss. In school stories, our heroine usually wins out through a steady work ethic, kindness and genuine desire to help others. In this series, Sasha consistently lets her schoolwork go to the point where she has to rely on last-minute cram sessions to avoid being kicked out of school (in year seven!) and behaves inconsiderately to basically everyone she meets. She's selfish, pays no attention to other people's needs and is basically pretty horrible.
I find it quite hard to read the storylines where Sasha's peers are obviously upset or facing some injustice and she just shrugs her shoulders and goes to eat muffins with her boyfriend or the roommate who makes no emotional demands of her. I instinctively expect the main character in this genre to want to leap in and help other people, and Sasha barely even cares about her own goals, let alone what happens to others. I don't really care what Sasha does with her life and would probably be more interested in reading a book about Heather, who has been more substantively developed as an interesting character over the past five books than the narrator, and her two friends who have had more interesting and dramatic plot developments than Sasha or her friends have.
Anyway I bought the next one so stay tuned for another rant I guess.
In sports or pony stories, our heroine is usually a scrappy underdog without the privileges her competition has enjoyed, which could sort of describe Sasha, but the scrappy underdog usually compensates not just with natural talent (and in pony stories an overwhelming compassion for animals) but also with an incredible amount of dedication and hard work. In this series it's Heather, an antagonist, who is depicted working hard while Sasha eats cupcakes and buys lip gloss. In school stories, our heroine usually wins out through a steady work ethic, kindness and genuine desire to help others. In this series, Sasha consistently lets her schoolwork go to the point where she has to rely on last-minute cram sessions to avoid being kicked out of school (in year seven!) and behaves inconsiderately to basically everyone she meets. She's selfish, pays no attention to other people's needs and is basically pretty horrible.
I find it quite hard to read the storylines where Sasha's peers are obviously upset or facing some injustice and she just shrugs her shoulders and goes to eat muffins with her boyfriend or the roommate who makes no emotional demands of her. I instinctively expect the main character in this genre to want to leap in and help other people, and Sasha barely even cares about her own goals, let alone what happens to others. I don't really care what Sasha does with her life and would probably be more interested in reading a book about Heather, who has been more substantively developed as an interesting character over the past five books than the narrator, and her two friends who have had more interesting and dramatic plot developments than Sasha or her friends have.
Anyway I bought the next one so stay tuned for another rant I guess.
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