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alliehwilliams's review against another edition
5.0
As a fan of The Replacement, I had high expectations for this book and Yovanoff did not disappoint. She is one of the better YA authors at building atmosphere and tension. I am not a big fan of description but Yovanoff does a great job of building each scene in a way I can easily visualize, without drowning me in overwritten, adjective-y floweriness. She writes as though she is writing for the screen and it makes her world-building that much stronger.
Despite being the daughter of Lilith and Lucifer, Daphne is one of the more innocent, earnest YA protags I've come across in a long time. Much as I love a good snarky heroine, it was a really nice change of pace to experience a point of view such as Daphne's. I was less enthusiastic about Truman. Yes, he is understandably damaged but there were a few points where I just wanted to shake him...maybe I just wasn't in the right frame of mind to love him. I would also have liked to know Obie better, although I understand I got to know him as well as possible considering the plot.
The only thing keeping this from 5 stars is that ending felt rushed to me. Regardless, Brenna Yovanoff's future releases have earned a place on my 'must buy' list. I highly recommend to fans of YA paranormal with a strong romantic element. Also fans of beautiful, descriptive writing.
Despite being the daughter of Lilith and Lucifer, Daphne is one of the more innocent, earnest YA protags I've come across in a long time. Much as I love a good snarky heroine, it was a really nice change of pace to experience a point of view such as Daphne's. I was less enthusiastic about Truman. Yes, he is understandably damaged but there were a few points where I just wanted to shake him...maybe I just wasn't in the right frame of mind to love him. I would also have liked to know Obie better, although I understand I got to know him as well as possible considering the plot.
The only thing keeping this from 5 stars is that ending felt rushed to me. Regardless, Brenna Yovanoff's future releases have earned a place on my 'must buy' list. I highly recommend to fans of YA paranormal with a strong romantic element. Also fans of beautiful, descriptive writing.
tmm80's review against another edition
2.0
I don't know how to rate this book. I am going to say 2.5 stars. I didn't really like the beginning but ending was unexpected..
yousrabushehri's review against another edition
3.0
It was an interesting book. Playing around with the idea of good and evil. Pain and healing. Love and friendship. I couldn't put the book down and had to read it all in one sitting. I loved the concept of it, but it's something I've read of before, not completely original, but still, it was a good read and I see myself rereading it at some point in the future. It was definitely worth the read.
annaoneil's review against another edition
5.0
GOOD ASS BOOK i love this book so much i read it when i was in middle school and then reread it a few years ago in high school. im definitely going to reread it soon, i dont know what it is about this book but it just itches a gothic YA shaped scratch
tristamaxine's review against another edition
4.0
“My father's answer was revenge-has always been revenge-and the outcome was just, but not better. Nothing is fixed.”
Wow, I really enjoyed that! This is a book that I've owned for a while now and finally decided to pick it up last night on a whim. I think the reason it took me so long was because I was a bit hesitant after my first experience with the author ([b:The Replacement|7507908|The Replacement|Brenna Yovanoff|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327088378s/7507908.jpg|6911742], which I totally plan on trying again sometime). In my opinion though this novel was extremely more interesting.
Like many people, what first drew me to this was the idea of the daughter of Lilith and Lucifer. It isn't exactly the type of plot that you come across every day, and in a sea of YA books that all start to seem the same that means something. Sure it was a little disappointing that Daphne's parents didn't make more of an appearance, but those times they did show up weren't wasted.
I liked every character in this book. Normally I'll like a few of the characters and just barely tolerate the rest, but I really can't think of one in [b:The Space Between|218357|The Space Between Us|Thrity Umrigar|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1347577895s/218357.jpg|1183462] that I didn't find likable to some degree. Daphne was just great; I loved that for a demon she was so innocent and good. Even if she doesn't quite understand what it means at first, she genuinely cares about the people in her life and would go to all lengths for them. Truman, tragic and miserable as he was, never really got on my nerves like most similar characters might have. He's on a self-destructive path spiraling downward, but you can tell that deep down he wishes he could find a way out of it. That's something that he starts to realize once Daphne shows up in his life. It's like you can really see him start to heal parts of himself that he thought was ruined the more time they spent together.
All of these characters have layers to them. Even the ones we don't see much of, such as Azrael, Charlie, Alexa, and Daphne's family. Actually one of the characters I found the most intriguing was Moloch; he just ended up being so different than I'd originally thought him to be. These people, even if their appearances were scarce, mattered to the story...and that can't always be said for the minor characters.
There were many other things that I really loved; the imagine we are given of hell, for instance. Let's not forget the romantic side of things. The relationship between Truman and Daphne actually develops at a *gasp* normal pace! They aren't madly in love with each other the first day that they meet and actually get to know one another before they start making grand declarations of their undying devotion.
Honestly I can't even think of anything negative to say right now (aside from a few pacing issues here and there). I found this to be a touching, unique, and quick read that I enjoyed a good deal. Naturally it won't be everyone's cup of tea but I do think that it brings something new to the genre and I could see myself reading it again sometime.
Wow, I really enjoyed that! This is a book that I've owned for a while now and finally decided to pick it up last night on a whim. I think the reason it took me so long was because I was a bit hesitant after my first experience with the author ([b:The Replacement|7507908|The Replacement|Brenna Yovanoff|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327088378s/7507908.jpg|6911742], which I totally plan on trying again sometime). In my opinion though this novel was extremely more interesting.
Like many people, what first drew me to this was the idea of the daughter of Lilith and Lucifer. It isn't exactly the type of plot that you come across every day, and in a sea of YA books that all start to seem the same that means something. Sure it was a little disappointing that Daphne's parents didn't make more of an appearance, but those times they did show up weren't wasted.
I liked every character in this book. Normally I'll like a few of the characters and just barely tolerate the rest, but I really can't think of one in [b:The Space Between|218357|The Space Between Us|Thrity Umrigar|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1347577895s/218357.jpg|1183462] that I didn't find likable to some degree. Daphne was just great; I loved that for a demon she was so innocent and good. Even if she doesn't quite understand what it means at first, she genuinely cares about the people in her life and would go to all lengths for them. Truman, tragic and miserable as he was, never really got on my nerves like most similar characters might have. He's on a self-destructive path spiraling downward, but you can tell that deep down he wishes he could find a way out of it. That's something that he starts to realize once Daphne shows up in his life. It's like you can really see him start to heal parts of himself that he thought was ruined the more time they spent together.
All of these characters have layers to them. Even the ones we don't see much of, such as Azrael, Charlie, Alexa, and Daphne's family. Actually one of the characters I found the most intriguing was Moloch; he just ended up being so different than I'd originally thought him to be. These people, even if their appearances were scarce, mattered to the story...and that can't always be said for the minor characters.
There were many other things that I really loved; the imagine we are given of hell, for instance. Let's not forget the romantic side of things. The relationship between Truman and Daphne actually develops at a *gasp* normal pace! They aren't madly in love with each other the first day that they meet and actually get to know one another before they start making grand declarations of their undying devotion.
Honestly I can't even think of anything negative to say right now (aside from a few pacing issues here and there). I found this to be a touching, unique, and quick read that I enjoyed a good deal. Naturally it won't be everyone's cup of tea but I do think that it brings something new to the genre and I could see myself reading it again sometime.
joyousreads132's review against another edition
4.0
Brenna's debut novel, The Replacement didn't really appeal to me. Don't get me wrong; the novel was a study in world building with a story line that's quite unique. But the lyrical writing left me completely baffled. I thought that the book was better suited for the intellectual types, because heaven knows, I've yet to figure out what it was about.
When I saw this book on Goodreads, I'd given it a somewhat lukewarm reception. I was expecting the same writing style - puzzling in a lot of ways but beautiful nonetheless. But after reading just the first two chapters of The Space Between, I could tell that my reactions to Brenna's books would be as different as night and day.
The simplistic beauty of Ms. Yavanoff's writing quickly ensnared me. I know that lyrical prose are just the bees' knees but sometimes, authors tend over-write a story. I'm a fan of say what you mean, and mean what you say principle in life and the same goes when I read. Don't over think a scenario. Don't convolute the story with flowery words that has a tendency to complicate the simplest of things. If we were to speak in fashion terms, don't over accessorize. I think Brenna's straightforward writing in this novel made my reading experience much more pleasant.
There are a lot of ways where TSB trumps all the other angels and demons books that are out there. First of all, angels blur the line of good and evil and the same goes for the demons. It was so easy to root for the demons because other than collecting souls destined to hell, they weren't the homicidal, evil bunch that we've come to know. Angel Azrael particularly, makes the perfect candidate for the most sinister, pyschopathic character of the year. He's an angel...of the blood-letting, torture-loving variety. The good and evil scale was certainly imbalanced in this book. There were more good on the demons' side than on the angel's side. Confused yet? It's simple really. It was a role-reversal of epic proportions. But not all demons were sporting an invisible halo - as was in the case of Beezlebub. I'm still on the fence about where to categorize him but knowing the reasons for doing what he did, I could sympathize to a point.
Daphne, the main character is a spawn of Lilith and Lucifer who decided to go earth-bound to find her brother Obie. The best thing about these siblings is that they seemed to have not gotten the memos that they were supposed to be evil. Obie, for instance, saves broken souls from an imminent eternal stint in hell. Granted, his father is Adam (yes, that Adam!) but her mother is Lilith. In Jewish Mythology, she was Adam's first wife - the disobedient one and consequently, the evil one. Obie decided to leave Pandemonium for good in exchange for a dismal life on earth. But when he disappeared, Daphne had no choice but to find the only semblance of love she knows - that of her love for her brother. On the surface, it would seem like she's just a half-demon, half-angel who was suffering from an identity crisis. But deep inside, she's really consciously fighting her true nature - the succubus. This girl has some pretty wild abilities. Aside from being a firestarter, she could take away a person's dark emotions - sadness, grief. She could also walk in your dreams and her shed blood turns into an army of Daphne. I honestly think that being a demon doesn't fit her bill. She wasn't evil - maybe a little confused about her identity but definitely far from evil.
I know this review is getting longer but I really must say a few words about Truman. He's angsty, rebellious and had a predilection to suicide. I just want to take this boy home, feed him, clothe him, cuddle him. It's the mother in me. His loneliness was so real that the sadness just drips off the pages. And this was where Daphne had to fight her instinct to drink all of Truman's darkness away. In fact, she could've easily have taken all his pain but she chose not to because it wasn't hers to take. Truman also has a bit of a history. The fight to skip through pages took a lot from me. I was impatient to know the real Truman and when the revelation happened, it was a little...underwhelming. There wasn't much fan fare. I thought that his reactions toward the appearance of Daphne and her kind in his life was too nonchalant - as was his reaction when he learned who his real father was.
Even so, this book was amazing. I think that Ms. Yovanoff went over and above all the angels and demons myth retellings that we've been reading. The most admirable element about her writing is her ability to create the most visceral and yet fantastical world. The Space Between clearly shows her versatility in such a way that she was able to go off tangent from her inaugural work. I couldn't say it was a personal growth as a writer but I think she just widened her spectrum to reach a broader audience.
When I saw this book on Goodreads, I'd given it a somewhat lukewarm reception. I was expecting the same writing style - puzzling in a lot of ways but beautiful nonetheless. But after reading just the first two chapters of The Space Between, I could tell that my reactions to Brenna's books would be as different as night and day.
The simplistic beauty of Ms. Yavanoff's writing quickly ensnared me. I know that lyrical prose are just the bees' knees but sometimes, authors tend over-write a story. I'm a fan of say what you mean, and mean what you say principle in life and the same goes when I read. Don't over think a scenario. Don't convolute the story with flowery words that has a tendency to complicate the simplest of things. If we were to speak in fashion terms, don't over accessorize. I think Brenna's straightforward writing in this novel made my reading experience much more pleasant.
There are a lot of ways where TSB trumps all the other angels and demons books that are out there. First of all, angels blur the line of good and evil and the same goes for the demons. It was so easy to root for the demons because other than collecting souls destined to hell, they weren't the homicidal, evil bunch that we've come to know. Angel Azrael particularly, makes the perfect candidate for the most sinister, pyschopathic character of the year. He's an angel...of the blood-letting, torture-loving variety. The good and evil scale was certainly imbalanced in this book. There were more good on the demons' side than on the angel's side. Confused yet? It's simple really. It was a role-reversal of epic proportions. But not all demons were sporting an invisible halo - as was in the case of Beezlebub. I'm still on the fence about where to categorize him but knowing the reasons for doing what he did, I could sympathize to a point.
Daphne, the main character is a spawn of Lilith and Lucifer who decided to go earth-bound to find her brother Obie. The best thing about these siblings is that they seemed to have not gotten the memos that they were supposed to be evil. Obie, for instance, saves broken souls from an imminent eternal stint in hell. Granted, his father is Adam (yes, that Adam!) but her mother is Lilith. In Jewish Mythology, she was Adam's first wife - the disobedient one and consequently, the evil one. Obie decided to leave Pandemonium for good in exchange for a dismal life on earth. But when he disappeared, Daphne had no choice but to find the only semblance of love she knows - that of her love for her brother. On the surface, it would seem like she's just a half-demon, half-angel who was suffering from an identity crisis. But deep inside, she's really consciously fighting her true nature - the succubus. This girl has some pretty wild abilities. Aside from being a firestarter, she could take away a person's dark emotions - sadness, grief. She could also walk in your dreams and her shed blood turns into an army of Daphne. I honestly think that being a demon doesn't fit her bill. She wasn't evil - maybe a little confused about her identity but definitely far from evil.
I know this review is getting longer but I really must say a few words about Truman. He's angsty, rebellious and had a predilection to suicide. I just want to take this boy home, feed him, clothe him, cuddle him. It's the mother in me. His loneliness was so real that the sadness just drips off the pages. And this was where Daphne had to fight her instinct to drink all of Truman's darkness away. In fact, she could've easily have taken all his pain but she chose not to because it wasn't hers to take. Truman also has a bit of a history. The fight to skip through pages took a lot from me. I was impatient to know the real Truman and when the revelation happened, it was a little...underwhelming. There wasn't much fan fare. I thought that his reactions toward the appearance of Daphne and her kind in his life was too nonchalant - as was his reaction when he learned who his real father was.
Even so, this book was amazing. I think that Ms. Yovanoff went over and above all the angels and demons myth retellings that we've been reading. The most admirable element about her writing is her ability to create the most visceral and yet fantastical world. The Space Between clearly shows her versatility in such a way that she was able to go off tangent from her inaugural work. I couldn't say it was a personal growth as a writer but I think she just widened her spectrum to reach a broader audience.
kaitrosereads's review against another edition
5.0
I hate myself right now. I’ve had Brenna’s books on my shelf for quite some time and I only just recently picked one up and read it. Now I’m definitely going to make time to read her others because The Space Between was completely mind-blowingly fabulous!
From the very start of the book I was intrigued. Daphne is the demon daughter of Lucifer and Lilith who sets off into the mortal world in search of her half brother who is the son of Adam and Lilith. Along the way she meets some very interesting characters, including Truman who I will talk more about later. The prologue grabs reader’s attention immediately and while my attention did wane a little bit in the first few chapters I was quickly hooked again once I got about 60 pages into the book. And while the first few chapters are a little dull, Brenna’s gorgeous writing makes up for it.
The characters were interesting, to say the least. Daphne has grown up in Pandemonium (Hell) and she has had pretty much no interaction with humans. What she knows about humans comes from TV shows and things her brother brings back for her from the mortal world. Needless to say when she gets to the mortal world she is a little overwhelmed. She doesn’t know how to interact with humans, how to act like a human, and she’s a little closed off but that’s why she has Truman! Truman is one of the most messed up characters I have ever read about and all I wanted to do through the whole book was help him. He was super sweet and funny in a totally twisted way. His life was even more messed up than Daphne’s but he was willing to help her. And along the way they are joined by the completely fabulous Raymie but I won’t tell you any more about her. Just expect a surprise.
The writing was by far the best part of The Space Between. Don’t get me wrong, I loved the characters and I loved the story but the writing was beyond amazing. It was lyrical and captivating and reason enough for me to read every other book Brenna Yovanoff ever writes. It’s a very different story but I have to say that with the writing style I was reminded of Laini Taylor’s books and that is high praise coming from me.
Overall, The Space Between is worth checking out. It’s a creepy, lovely, awesome book that I definitely plan to read again sometime in the future!
From the very start of the book I was intrigued. Daphne is the demon daughter of Lucifer and Lilith who sets off into the mortal world in search of her half brother who is the son of Adam and Lilith. Along the way she meets some very interesting characters, including Truman who I will talk more about later. The prologue grabs reader’s attention immediately and while my attention did wane a little bit in the first few chapters I was quickly hooked again once I got about 60 pages into the book. And while the first few chapters are a little dull, Brenna’s gorgeous writing makes up for it.
The characters were interesting, to say the least. Daphne has grown up in Pandemonium (Hell) and she has had pretty much no interaction with humans. What she knows about humans comes from TV shows and things her brother brings back for her from the mortal world. Needless to say when she gets to the mortal world she is a little overwhelmed. She doesn’t know how to interact with humans, how to act like a human, and she’s a little closed off but that’s why she has Truman! Truman is one of the most messed up characters I have ever read about and all I wanted to do through the whole book was help him. He was super sweet and funny in a totally twisted way. His life was even more messed up than Daphne’s but he was willing to help her. And along the way they are joined by the completely fabulous Raymie but I won’t tell you any more about her. Just expect a surprise.
The writing was by far the best part of The Space Between. Don’t get me wrong, I loved the characters and I loved the story but the writing was beyond amazing. It was lyrical and captivating and reason enough for me to read every other book Brenna Yovanoff ever writes. It’s a very different story but I have to say that with the writing style I was reminded of Laini Taylor’s books and that is high praise coming from me.
Overall, The Space Between is worth checking out. It’s a creepy, lovely, awesome book that I definitely plan to read again sometime in the future!
cjyu's review against another edition
4.0
4.5 stars
I got slightly confused at the end, but otherwise than that, pretty good. A good book, but still kind of your average thing of fallen angels and hell and demons. I like the idea of Lilith and Lucifer as a couple though, interesting idea. Unique take, and likable characters, AND DEEP. This has a slight element of a lost broken down character in a contemporary novel.
I got slightly confused at the end, but otherwise than that, pretty good. A good book, but still kind of your average thing of fallen angels and hell and demons. I like the idea of Lilith and Lucifer as a couple though, interesting idea. Unique take, and likable characters, AND DEEP. This has a slight element of a lost broken down character in a contemporary novel.