A review by bahbadook
Oh. My. Gods. by Tera Lynn Childs
3.0
Comfortable little snack instead of a buffet
Kindle version read and I believe that this is important.
This wasn't a complicated book. There was a fake big cast of characters. The plot was pretty linear and there was barely a subplot going on.
So this book was about Phoebe running. Not running away. Just...running. And it was fine. I realized very early on what the twist was but the twist didn't come until very late game. So that was a little surprising.
Two things though:
1. Pertaining to the Kindle edition specifically. I don't know if it is different in the physical book. But there weren't any breaks between places or time jumps. So that was a big formatting error that threw me until I realized it was the case and just had to mentally flex around the jarring. There is also a section of text that is primarily IM messages back and forth between Phoebe and her friend from home, and Phoebe and her new friend at school. Again, this could just be a Kindle error in formatting but it would have been a little more readable to have the two different conversations one different sides of the page because, despite the fact that I have done what happened many times, it still took me five minutes of rereading before I understood what had happened.
2. The ending didn't feel like an ending. It felt like, if you'll excuse the metaphor, a second wind before the big problems erupted. Because of this, I am going to have to grudgingly read the second book. I'm not sure I liked this one well enough to warrant a sequel read if it weren't for the fact that the story didn't feel ended. The ending felt like the ending of Alita: Battle Angel, which was a little annoying to watch because as I told my dad, the ending didn't feel like an ending. It felt like a pause. And this could just be me finally developing a taste for stories but I think I like my endings to feel like endings, even in middle of the series media. My favorites tend to be middle stories though there are some exceptions.
There we go! I figured out what this felt like in terms of plot. The entire book was exposition and the twist at the end felt like the inciting incident. That's what this felt like.
I think this book might be suitable for high school aged individuals who are more casual in their readership than I've ever been. But it was a nice enough read as long as you are looking for something comfortable and following of the tropes and plot of this kind of book. If you're looking for complicated, this is the wrong tree to be barking up.
One thing I will note and do greatly appreciate is that the potential for a love triangle was there and it was side stepped AND while there is a romance element to the book, it wasn't anywhere near the focus. I'd actually say it was third in line behind Phoebe's running and the family dynamic. If the book had been more focused on the romance, it would have dropped a star in my estimation. The prophecy though. That was intriguing.
Kindle version read and I believe that this is important.
This wasn't a complicated book. There was a fake big cast of characters. The plot was pretty linear and there was barely a subplot going on.
So this book was about Phoebe running. Not running away. Just...running. And it was fine. I realized very early on what the twist was but the twist didn't come until very late game. So that was a little surprising.
Two things though:
1. Pertaining to the Kindle edition specifically. I don't know if it is different in the physical book. But there weren't any breaks between places or time jumps. So that was a big formatting error that threw me until I realized it was the case and just had to mentally flex around the jarring. There is also a section of text that is primarily IM messages back and forth between Phoebe and her friend from home, and Phoebe and her new friend at school. Again, this could just be a Kindle error in formatting but it would have been a little more readable to have the two different conversations one different sides of the page because, despite the fact that I have done what happened many times, it still took me five minutes of rereading before I understood what had happened.
2. The ending didn't feel like an ending. It felt like, if you'll excuse the metaphor, a second wind before the big problems erupted. Because of this, I am going to have to grudgingly read the second book. I'm not sure I liked this one well enough to warrant a sequel read if it weren't for the fact that the story didn't feel ended. The ending felt like the ending of Alita: Battle Angel, which was a little annoying to watch because as I told my dad, the ending didn't feel like an ending. It felt like a pause. And this could just be me finally developing a taste for stories but I think I like my endings to feel like endings, even in middle of the series media. My favorites tend to be middle stories though there are some exceptions.
There we go! I figured out what this felt like in terms of plot. The entire book was exposition and the twist at the end felt like the inciting incident. That's what this felt like.
I think this book might be suitable for high school aged individuals who are more casual in their readership than I've ever been. But it was a nice enough read as long as you are looking for something comfortable and following of the tropes and plot of this kind of book. If you're looking for complicated, this is the wrong tree to be barking up.
One thing I will note and do greatly appreciate is that the potential for a love triangle was there and it was side stepped AND while there is a romance element to the book, it wasn't anywhere near the focus. I'd actually say it was third in line behind Phoebe's running and the family dynamic. If the book had been more focused on the romance, it would have dropped a star in my estimation. The prophecy though. That was intriguing.