Kiku

One of the best reads this year

Revisado: 05-25-23

I'd been looking forward to this book and it did not disappoint. There is a lot more to the story than the summary lets on, some heavy topics and trauma both boys deal with. But I loved every minute of seeing them find each other, help each other, and heal, with of course some sweet fluff and humor that had me laughing out :)

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

esto le resultó útil a 1 persona

Not bad, but not great

Revisado: 02-12-23

I was excited for some mer-rom and the summary of this book sounded fun enough, and I did enjoy it to good degree. Unfortunately, several things caused me to lower my rating more than I'd hoped.

The writing style felt stiff. It made me think of an unnecessarily big red circle on a video telling you where to look, how it over-described things the author wanted you to pay attention to. Dialogue often felt like characters reading a script, and I mean their choice of words more than narration. Additionally, the lengthy inner monologues tremendously slowed down any critical situations that begged for a fast pace.

All of the characters were kind of 'blowholes', as the mer put it. Even in their numerous moments of coming clean and heart-to-heart talks, I generally still came out wondering what the flick they were doing. It didn't help that cheating, fighting cheating by cheating, and trying to get back a cheater, is a whole trope that leaves a sour taste in my mouth, even if they kinda acknowledged the errors of their ways in the end. The romance I wish were a bit more about affection, and a little less hormone-y. There was SO much focus on the physical stuff.

The book had a great rep of LGBTQ+, but Crest having such strong feelings about the gender topic solely because genders don't exist for mer, and bringing it up constantly, seemed more like a message and less a natural part of the story. Following that logic he really could have hated nearly everything on land that doesn't exist in the ocean, which left the focus on genders feeling artificial.

Considering most of the plot decisions, I was a little surprised by the ending, pleasantly so. It didn't raise the book's rating in my eyes, but allowed me to leave this story with less frustration. And despite everything, I don't regret picking this book up, as it did have its moments and can be a relatively enjoyable listen for something light while working on your own stuff.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

esto le resultó útil a 1 persona

Kinda interesting idea, but lacking in execution

Revisado: 01-20-23

To put it simply, this book felt like I was back in 2012, getting my reading fix on Wattpad. There wasn't much variation from ending all dialogue with "[person] said", it had a very sudden insta-love, the characters' overall the decision-making and critical thinking abilities were questionable at best, and the bad guys acted too much like textbook-version supervillains despite it mostly seeming very impractical of them.

Perhaps my biggest frustration was said lack of critical thinking, especially in the face of danger. Burning things down, causing major private property damage, wasting the resources of putting out fires, and risking the lives of whole neighborhoods suddenly became a thing that just happens sometimes (or is a way to send messages, apparently). If your condition makes you combust spontaneously, I would think you've planned out measures to contain it as best as possible, and I can think of a few ways myself. I get not wanting to be a science experiment, but it concerned me how none of the supposedly "good" guys ever thought that maybe, just maybe, it really is a good idea to keep someone who could potentially accidentally kill hundreds of people, away from society. But no, let him go to school and run free and we'll help hide any evidence linking him to the destruction.

It's still an okay read if you are less nitpicky and just want to read about two boys trying to navigate love, school, and superpowers. I liked how this book explored non-romantic friendships and occasionally, it even made me laugh. A solid three stars!

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

The romance in this is painful

Revisado: 01-05-23

This whole book has been frustrating. There's genuinely good story and worldbuilding here, but it all gets bogged down by the very present and very toxic romance aspect. It doesn't help that literally no character properly calls it out either. Even more, they egg Alyssa on at times. Looking at you, Queen Ivory.

As in the first book, my main gripes are with Morpheus. The book clearly wants you to like him, despite the asshole he's being. There's always a comfortable excuse to his actions, there's always a soft side, he grew up with Alyssa so he'll be sad if... No. That's not how healthy relationships work. Heck, I truly like him as a character; his decisions and motives make for a compelling story. But I hate that everything he does is tied up to "romance" and him acting like Alyssa is a prize he's owed. And I hate that the book treats it as if that's okay. They may have a past, there may be feelings or hormones involved, whatever, but the guy is disturbingly possessive and has made very clear his lack of care for her free will or feelings, be it her feelings towards him, or her feelings towards her world and the relationships he's ruining. His actions do often frustrate her, but never does she seem to recognize the toxicity of it. She's just torn between the two boys and will forgive Morpheus at his very next display of "kindness". Every time they're together, it gets incredibly uncomfortable. Would they really intend to build a healthy future out of this possessive scheming and trickery? Not to mention the kind of gross consideration concerning Jeb's mortal life span. You could argue that Wonderland and Alyssa have madness in them anyway, but the book does a very poor job of using it as an excuse if so. Alyssa is presented as a human more than anything. The relationship dynamics are very non-fantasy. These things exist in real life and they're nothing to swoon over.

Jeb isn't a flawless option either, but I feel he got less chance to let his good or bad side shine in this book. I can say though that Alyssa's and Jeb's hypocritical mutual jealousy dynamic is a very annoying trope. They're the kind of people who can't stand the idea of their lover being in the same room with a same-age opposite-sex person, and it gets old so fast.

Lastly, I just want to point out how skeptical I am that a group of mental health specialists can't detect a plain faker.

Now that my vent is out of the way, despite everything, yes, I will be moving onto the third book. Partly because it's in the Plus catalog, partly because thank Audible's narration speed options. And partly because underneath everything I pointed out, I am curious about how the trilogy plans to wrap up.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

It had potential

Revisado: 12-28-22

As the book started out, the setting and plot promised to be quite interesting. I wouldn't even say it didn't live up to it, to a point. But alas, the flaws were too overshadowing for me.

For the smaller issue, I often had trouble visualizing what was going on in times of action, and the landscape they were in. I don't know if I could be the reason, perhaps something distracted me, but this is not normally something I struggle with. Made me wonder if this is kind of what aphantasia feels like, hearing words and making sense of them just enough, but not seeing it play out.

The main problem I had, however, which frustrated me quite a bit since it was woven into the whole thing, was the horrible love triangle. Both guys attempted to control Alyssa's life and while she didn't like it, she also went along with it a lot of the time. Jeb was caring, but often not quite as romantic as the author probably intended. And then Morpheus, who was fascinating as a character, but whose potential was stripped by being shoved into a love interest role. Every single "lovey" moment he spent with Alyssa was possessive and uncomfortable. Alyssa forgiving him the way she did was uncomfortable.

I'll probably still be listening to the rest since the trilogy is in the Plus catalog. We'll see if anything changes.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

Not bad

Revisado: 12-19-22

What I liked: the romance was cute, there was a lot of representation, and I liked that in the end, they didn't chalk all the problems entirely down to magic baking.

What I didn't like: It may not matter to everyone, especially if you enjoy baking, but I found the overwhelming amount of baking references cheesy. Like yes, I know this is a story about a bakery, but it made the main character sound very one-dimensional. Everything they observed could be turned into some baking-related metaphor. At one point the other character even had to specifically ask the MC to list non-baking related things about themselves.

Overall, my rating comes mainly from the fact I found myself being bored. It's still worth giving this book a try, though, as sometimes a book just doesn't do it for you. For me, it was one of those times.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

Sad it's over..

Revisado: 12-17-22

This book was a rollercoaster. The ending, especially, still has me feeling things. Rarely does a book leave me feel strong things anymore, but this trilogy definitely did it. There were small flaws, such as romance being shoved in at inappropriate times, or characters talking too much in the heat of danger. Perhaps my biggest grievance was that I, personally, could not understand how mistreatment, abuse and threats were so easily forgiven. And perhaps forgiveness was important for the story, but I wish there had been more to it. When it comes down to the book overall, however, these things were not enough to disrupt my enjoyment. One of the best books I've read this year, and I'm very glad I picked them up in the Plus catalog.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

Interesting concept

Revisado: 12-09-22

The setting was a bit difficult for me to get into, as it's not a genre I'm used to, but in the end I did find myself enjoying the world this novel painted.

Danny, the main character, felt a little irrational at times. I don't even mean the emotional stress he was under, which definitely also lead to some not so great decisions, but I don't fault them for the sake of the story. Rather, occasionally, in small scenes really, decisions and actions were inconsistent, without thought, or perhaps just weren't explained thoroughly. Danny would do things and the expected consequence wouldn't come, or he'd be held back and I wouldn't understand why or by what. He definitely had character, though. And development, even if I'd have liked to see more.

I loved the clock spirits. Colton especially, needless to say, and I think the narrator's voice for him was an excellent fit for his character. And yes, he was a cute love interest, but what I really loved about the clock spirits is how they fit one of my favorite character types - the truly kind and passionate, childishly innocent and curious, while still having distinct personality and flaws, in this specific way that Timekeeper pulled off very well. Without being shallow. Like little rays of hope in a harsh world.

There's definitely more questions to answer - the one that emerged at the end of the book, and of course the big elephant in the room of this being a romance between a mortal and an immortal. I'll be interested to see what the rest of the trilogy brings.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

Worth a listen

Revisado: 12-07-22

Overall, it was an interesting and enjoyable read. Aboriginal culture is one I don't know much about, so this is something new for me, and I'm glad I gave this book a chance.

The negatives - The main reason for lower rating is just that there wasn't a whole lot going on. For the most part, it's about the boys hanging out and other activities of their everyday life. The beginning especially felt slow. The writing style, while not necessarily bad, felt a little dry or stiff at times. And lastly, though it's more of a me-problem as a non-native English speaker, it took me several chapters to get used to the narrator's accent. I assume it's the correct accent for the book's setting, which I do admit is a great choice, but regardless it meant there were parts of the book I wasn't able to decipher. But it did get easier the more I listened.

The positives - I enjoyed the glimpse into Aboriginal culture, however small of an example it may be. The romance was cute and well executed, and the relationships with all the other characters - family and friends - felt genuine. Most of the characters were very likeable. There was clear character development and coming to terms with one's own identity, with a satisfying ending to the book.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

It was alright

Revisado: 12-02-22

My overall feeling across the trilogy has remained the same: not overwhelmingly exciting, but decently enjoyable.

Like in the previous two books, the romance in this one didn't seem all too realistic. In fact, it confused me here the most. In book one, it grew relatively naturally, until it exploded into passion that discarded common sense. In book two, romance was sudden and out of nowhere, but at least the characters acknowledged that fact, and there was a clear sense that stress probably drove them. In book three.. it started from nowhere, it developed from nowhere, and after barely spending time together at all, they spoke as if they'd known each other for years. The constant inner monologues about trust and how they knew each other et cetera became so repetitive. There was no real substance to it, though.

The entire setting of Their Fractured Light seemed harder to buy into, actually. Maybe it's just me, but several times I found the things that happened to be.. sort of unrealistic. The whole scene with LaRoux on screen after the Big Incident, for one. And coming back to romance, it often felt too invasive on the plot. Perhaps I'm growing out of some of the typical YA cornerstones, but if the world is ending and people are dying, the frequent focus shift back to romance at every step started feeling just a little inappropriate at times.

I partially predicted the ending since I started this last book, but even so, it was at least interesting seeing it play out. I liked the voice acting, though. As always, it's odd hearing the previous books' main characters in new voices, but that can't be helped of course. In everything else, I found they did an excellent job.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña