Review to come when I'm back in the groove, for now I'm just glad I finally managed to read a book again. (Have been in a massive reading slump for ovReview to come when I'm back in the groove, for now I'm just glad I finally managed to read a book again. (Have been in a massive reading slump for over two years now - not because of this book, this was great!)...more
This was a good book, but it wasn't as great as I had expected. However, I also need to admit that I'm simply not a fan of books about vampires. I'm nThis was a good book, but it wasn't as great as I had expected. However, I also need to admit that I'm simply not a fan of books about vampires. I'm not interested in the Paranormal genre and I would have never picked up this book if it wouldn't have been written by Stephen King. King is my favorite author, so I want to read everything by him.
And you know, I didn't have a bad time with this story. It was entertaining the entire way through and the writing style was (unsurprisingly) wonderful. (Although I noticed that I generally seem to enjoy the writing in King's later books more than in his earlier works. I have no idea why, though.)
I liked all the characters. However, I sometimes felt that it would have been better if there would have been less people involved (and this is something I thought I'd never say in regards to a King book). I just thought not all of them were needed, or at least it wasn't needed that they were so heavily involved with the storyline. I got confused at times about who's who, so I guess they weren't fleshed out enough for me, or at least they didn't make enough of an impression on me. Again, I liked them, none of them annoyed me or were just straight-up bad characters or something like that, I just...I don't know. Something simply didn't click, you know?! I especially wasn't particularly interested in the villains. Well, actually I was, but I didn't find out enough about them to really care about what they did or might do and what would happen to them. I would have loved to find out more details about them, about their past etc.
As mentioned above, I enjoyed the plot, I didn't feel bored and was excited to find out how everything would end. But I didn't feel the same thrill I usually feel when I read a King book. But I do really think this is completely down to me not being a fan of vampires. I can easily see others totally loving this book. So at the end, I would still completely recommend it, as long as you're into Paranormal/Supernatural stuff, or if you simply want to read something good, intriguing and (relatively light) in-between....more
I can't believe how much I hated this book. It's been two months since I read it and I'm still furious about it. Looking at the other reviews, I seem I can't believe how much I hated this book. It's been two months since I read it and I'm still furious about it. Looking at the other reviews, I seem to be in the minority though. I've been trying to figure out why I liked it so much less than so many others and I haven't found a good, solid answer yet. My only idea is that, maybe, I have simply outgrown YA at this point. It definitely made me want to stay away from the genre for a bit.
I don't even know with what to start. Because I just disliked everything. First of all (and maybe most importantly): the writing style. It was so...juvenile? That's the word that first comes to mind. I constantly had the feeling that the book was written by a teenager, maybe as a project for a creative writing class or something like that. But I feel like I'm being unfair to teenagers when I say this. I have read works from teenagers before, and their writing style often was A TON better than this. Yes, the story was told from the perspective of a teenager, but that doesn't justify the crude writing. Tons of books have been written in this perspective, without making me want to go crazy. This book consisted mainly of short sentences, sometimes ending right in the middle. What is this?? If that's a special artistic way of teenagers expressing themselves, then I'm sorry - I just don't get it.
Now, the characters. Jesus...I hated EVERY. SINGLE. ONE. OF. THEM! I was waiting and waiting to find a tiny bit of love for at least one of them but I was left waiting. I just didn't care for them, like, at all! This is something very, very rare to happen to me. The main character though, without a doubt, was the absolute worst. He's actually one of the worst fictional characters I have ever encountered. He was EXTREMELY self-absorbed and he only saw the bad in everyone. There was a ridiculous amount of self-pity. I'm not a psychiatrist, but I wouldn't be surprised if someone would diagnose him with a Narcissistic personality disorder. It didn't take me long to be utterly annoyed by him and his behavior. At times, he was straight-up creepy and grossed me out. For example, the way he acted towards his best friend, Audrey, who he has a crush on. He lets her know he has feelings for her, she makes it clear she just sees him as a friend. He then goes on to picture her naked several times. Like, I get it, he's a teenager and stuff, but the way it was written just seemed quite disrespectful?! I felt sorry for Audrey, because the boundaries she set weren't respected. He also acts too sexual towards an underage girl, for my liking. He didn't even interact too much with her, but when he did, it left me feeling uncomfortable.
In my opinion, the author didn't try at all to make any of the side characters have any kind of layers. This was most obvious in how Ed's mother was portrayed. I have the feeling that Zusak decided that she's is a bad mother, and that was that. He didn't try to show another side of her or try to explain her stand point. So she made her react badly and overly upset about every little thing. It was so incredibly over the top and ridiculous.
Then there were times were the story (especially in regards to the love story) became cheesy as hell. I guess it could have been cute to some extent, if the rest of the story would have been similar. But it wasn't, so it just seemed misplaced. This was noticeable in the end in particular. The ending in general seemed completely disconnected from the rest. It made zero sense to me, there was no good lead up or anything. And worst of all, it left me with the question: What was the point? That's not a question you want to ask yourself after finishing a book. I didn't even feel satisfied or happy that I was finally at the end. I felt angry that I kept holding on to hope that the story might get better. And afterwards, I fell into a horrible reading slump for over a month. So thanks for that!
It's a shame really, because I loved The Book Thief, and because the synopsis sounded quite exciting and unique. But the execution was so incredibly bad. I'm sorry to the many people who love I Am the Messenger, but this is the worst book I have read in my entire life....more
How am I supposed to write a review for this humongous masterpiece of a book? I honestly can't think of anything good or profound to say. It was perfeHow am I supposed to write a review for this humongous masterpiece of a book? I honestly can't think of anything good or profound to say. It was perfect - period. Extremely entertaining and interesting; I didn't feel bored for a single second (and this is a huge deal, considering this book has over 1.700 pages). I loved all the characters (heroes and villains alike) and their different traits. I know I will never forget some of them.
This book definitely isn't for everyone. It's incredibly long and goes into lots and lots of detail. The story could have been told in far less pages, yes. But this is Stephen King we're talking about. If you love him and his writing style, then this is for you. If you want a quick and exciting read, you better choose something else. For me personally, this is exactly the kind of book I love and adore. So I really have absolutely zero complaints....more
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I usually prefer long books with lots of details and drawn-out adventures, but once in a while it's nice to read a shoI thoroughly enjoyed this book. I usually prefer long books with lots of details and drawn-out adventures, but once in a while it's nice to read a shorter story where lots of things happen. This is the third book by Jules Verne I've read and I loved all three of them. The story just brought me a lot of joy and it was fun to read it. His way of storytelling is simply amazing and ahead of his time. There isn't a lot I can say, it's just a nice little fun book to read in-between. I definitely recommend it! ...more
You shouldn't go into this book thinking is going to be super scary. It's more of a coming-of-age story. These are my favourite kind of books, I love You shouldn't go into this book thinking is going to be super scary. It's more of a coming-of-age story. These are my favourite kind of books, I love reading about characters getting older and finding out what things and situations shape them and influence their life. So for me, this book was a wonderful little treat for in-between! It wasn't the most exciting or special book, and I definitely wouldn't recommend it to someone who hasn't read King before, but for an already established fan - this is wonderful. I definitely liked it more than I expected. However, it's also a book where I don't have a lot of things to say. I had a nice reading experience, but I know the story won't stick in my mind for very long. But that's not necessarily a bad thing! After all, not every book needs to be over the top amazing. ...more
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