I'm an avid reader of all genres, but primarily young adult fiction. This is my first foray into the world of reviewing and bloging!
This what pretty good. I found the first half to be a little repetitive and dull, but the second half got a lot more interesting. Not a huge fan of the ending though- super cheesy.
I really enjoyed this. I am not one that goes for your typical "romance" story, but this had so many more layers than that. Nyx was a fun heroine- she has a little bit of a wicked side that sets her apart. I loved the relationship between her and Ignifex. It was sweet, while never falling into cheesy territory. I did find a lot of the plot (and mythological aspects) to be quite confusing though, particularly around the last 1/4 of the book. It slightly lessened my enjoyment and I may need to go back and do a reread at some point to have a better grasp on just what exactly happened.
Wow. This book was wonderful. If you liked [b:Code Name Verity|11925514|Code Name Verity|Elizabeth Wein|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1388161911s/11925514.jpg|16885788] at all, then you will love this as well. I'd say its slightly better, mainly because I found Rose's narration style to be easier to follow.
Just could not get through this one. Made it about 30%. I thought the first in the series was mediocre but decided to give this one a shot anyway; however this installment was worse and from what I read is overwhelmingly focused on relationship-drama. No thanks.
I didn't have super high expectations for this one, based on others' reviews, so I shouldn't be that surprised. The first few chapters were packed full to bursting with YA high school stereotypes. Once the faery- aspects come into play, things got a little better. The world building and imagery were probably the novel's strongest points and the plot is fast paced and exciting, making this a fairly quick read. However, I felt like it was so action-packed that there was time for little else- for example, important aspects such as character development and relationships are seriously neglected. Meghan is in a new crappy situation literally every single chapter. Meghan herself as a character is kind of bland and irritating. Puck was really annoying, and you can barely feel the "best-friend" relationship that is supposed to be present between he and Meghan. The romance with Ash seemed thrown in at the last minute and is one of the worst cases of insta-love that I've come across. The relationship has hardly any build-up aside from Meghan commenting on how hot Ash is, and then they are suddenly making out and in love. Eye roll. However, I feel like the world that Kagawa has created here has potential. I think I'll give the series one more try to clean up some of the issues in the sequel.
Well that was disappointing. So much potential overshadowed by generic love-triangle drama. It could have been great if the romance was cut and the plot amped up, with more focus on each character's backstory and their (non-romantic) relationships with each other in the "band."
This was a very powerful and beautiful read, and further cemented my love for Patrick Ness as a writer. I love the Chaos Walking series, although this really couldn't be any more different. I can honestly say that it is unique from anything I have read in the past, and reads like a modern fable or fairy tale. It pulled at the heartstrings (hard), but somehow managed to avoid being overly cheesy/ preachy/ etc. The writing was simple but impactful and suited the tone perfectly. Highly highly recommend this to anyone.
3.5 stars. 
I'm glad I got this on my Kindle and not a hard copy because that cover is horrendous. Anyway, I did find this book enjoyable. I'm on a historical fiction kick lately so that 1876 setting was right up my alley. I also liked the use of zombies, although they are more like Inferi in the Harry Potter series than "The Walking Dead"- type of zombies. However, it felt as if something was missing and it wasn't quite as strong of a debut as it could be. I wish that there had been more backstory to Elijah and Eleanor's relationship and that the secondary characters had been more developed (Joseph, Jie, etc). As I have seen others mention, the plot was pretty predictable. I guessed the necromancer's identity fairly early (although there was another character who I thought was a pretty suspicious candidate as well). It was a good (but not great) read and I'll probably check out the sequel at some point.
Unfortunately for me, this book was just mediocre. I can't really even put my finger on exactly what exactly I liked or didn't like, but I didn't enjoy it as much as I expected and it didn't hold my attention. One thing I can specify is that although Penryn's whole purpose in the novel is trying to find her sister, we're given very little insight into their relationship. I think that if some more anecdote's from their past together had been included I would have cared more about her rescue mission. As it was we only had small details, and at one point Paige is described as "dali-lama" like and the reader has no clue why. I just didn't care the way the author intended.
Loved this the whole way through- would have been 5 stars if not for the ending.
3.5 stars
I was feeling like this was around 4 stars the whole time, up until the ending. It was way too open-ended for my liking. I mean this was the finale of a trilogy! Where's the resolution? If Lauren Oliver said she was writing a fourth book I wouldn't be surprised.
In the first few chapters, this book had me hooked. The premise itself is I found really interesting and super unique. It is crazy to watch Ig discovery his new horn-powers and the scandalous things that people confess to him. However, the plot does have to move on from crazy confessions, and this middle section of the book is where I found it to be weaker. It took me ages to read the middle half of the book. Some of the flashback chapters ( while obviously necessary for the story) were dull. The "reveal" moments for some of the plot points seemed a little strangely organized to me. This book could at times dive into the very disturbing- I'm looking at you Lee! Overall, what I am left with most after reading this book is frustration... Ig's backstory shows us that he really was just a normal, nice guy who always wanted the best for his loved ones, and in the present he is hated by nearly everyone and to top it off he is slowly and irreversibly turning into a demon.
Really glad I decided to give this one a shot even after my mediocre feelings towards Smoke & Bone. In book one, I really enjoyed the atmosphere and the writing, but the further along I read the more eyeroll-inducing the romance became for me. This book, however, has all the great atmosphere and beautiful prose with a much more manageable amount of romance plus a violent and brutal war. It hardly felt like a 500+ page novel. Can't wait for the next one!
