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jaxyway's reviews
731 reviews
Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi
Did not finish book.
Did not finish book.
I really wanted to read and love this book and the two others in the trilogy. The author, whom I’ve seen around on various blogs and Instagram, is so damn cute! I’ve heard so much about the third novel especially, and I just wanted to spend an entire weekend loving the series for everything it was.
Yeah, that didn’t happen.
Here's why:
Fucking strikethroughs. Way too many fucking strikethroughs. They’re on every page.
Deep ass sentences that mean nothing: “I hate the lackadaisical ennui of a sun too preoccupied with itself to notice the infinite hours we spend in its presence.” U wot m8?
Sentences that are just poorly constructed and bad: “So much everything all the things dead.”
Purposeful lack of punctuation like it’s cute: “Two three four fifty thousand pieces of feeling stab me in the heart, melt into drops of warm honey that soothe the scars in my soul.” (Also, what?)
Oh yeah, and the author never spells out numbers except for one time, which was referenced above for lacking commas. She even begins sentences with numbers: “2 knocks at the door and we’re both on our feet, abruptly startled back into this bleak world.”
Done. I can’t do it. I quit after reading only 60 pages.
The plot and characters? Not a problem. The bad writing is what makes this a DNF.
Reviewed on my blog, www.bibliobrat.com
Yeah, that didn’t happen.
Here's why:
Deep ass sentences that mean nothing: “I hate the lackadaisical ennui of a sun too preoccupied with itself to notice the infinite hours we spend in its presence.” U wot m8?
Sentences that are just poorly constructed and bad: “So much everything all the things dead.”
Purposeful lack of punctuation like it’s cute: “Two three four fifty thousand pieces of feeling stab me in the heart, melt into drops of warm honey that soothe the scars in my soul.” (Also, what?)
Oh yeah, and the author never spells out numbers except for one time, which was referenced above for lacking commas. She even begins sentences with numbers: “2 knocks at the door and we’re both on our feet, abruptly startled back into this bleak world.”
Done. I can’t do it. I quit after reading only 60 pages.
The plot and characters? Not a problem. The bad writing is what makes this a DNF.
Reviewed on my blog, www.bibliobrat.com
Once We Were Brothers by Ronald H. Balson
Did not finish book.
Did not finish book.
A Holocaust novel that I couldn't get through is a terrible Holocaust novel indeed.
Rapture by J.R. Ward
Did not finish book.
Did not finish book.
Could not get into this book at all. Unfortunately, the series has steadily gotten worse since the first novel, and I have officially given up on it.
Aloha Also Means Goodbye by Jessica Rosenberg
Did not finish book.
Did not finish book.
Note: I received an advanced copy from Netgalley, courtesy of the publisher.
I could not get into this book at all. Far-fetched and contrived. I abandoned ship very early on, because I didn't like the characters, and I had zero interest in finding out what happens.
The protagonist is about to renew her wedding vows (yes, she's already married) with her husband in Hawaii. A remote area of Hawaii. And guess who is there? Her ex-boyfriend that broke her heart. With his young daughter from another woman. How does any of that sound desirable? If my ex just so happened to magically book a vacation in the same exact remote island at the same exact time I did, and he had broken my heart in the past and then had a KID, and not to mention I myself was already married, this is what I'd do: NOTHING. Bad plot.
I could not get into this book at all. Far-fetched and contrived. I abandoned ship very early on, because I didn't like the characters, and I had zero interest in finding out what happens.
The protagonist is about to renew her wedding vows (yes, she's already married) with her husband in Hawaii. A remote area of Hawaii. And guess who is there? Her ex-boyfriend that broke her heart. With his young daughter from another woman. How does any of that sound desirable? If my ex just so happened to magically book a vacation in the same exact remote island at the same exact time I did, and he had broken my heart in the past and then had a KID, and not to mention I myself was already married, this is what I'd do: NOTHING. Bad plot.
Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty
3.0
A murder. Maybe. The blurb says there might have been a murder. Or maybe an accident? Does someone die? Who dies?
Well, I'm not going to tell you who dies, or if it was a murder, an accident, or just parents behaving badly. But I will tell you that you won't know who dies until, well, they die. At the very end of the novel.
The book opens with something happening at an elementary school. We have no idea what happened, only that something did, and we only know that is was something major because the blurb tells us that someone dies. It's very unclear what happens in the beginning; we are told there is a scuffle of sorts witnessed by an elderly lady with a cat named Marie Antoniette (let them eat cake) in the very beginning. Then the novel takes us back six months and introduces us to entirely new characters. Bye, old lady. Hello, three 30-something ladies.
The author tells us just enough to pique our curiosity early on. One of the characters may have a psychotic monster child. Another may be a victim of domestic abuse. But the question still remains -- WHO DIES? (And should we care?)
The novel is well-written, with relatable, although slightly clichéd characters, but it's the schoolyard scandal (read: kindergarten politics) that killed it for me. I lost interest about halfway through the novel, but pressed on, because, well -- WHO DIES?
The ending is actually very good -- there are some twists that you will probably see coming, but the slow build-up was worth it. I gobbled up the last quarter of the novel greedily; once it got good, it was very good.
This book will be well received by women ages 25-45 with elementary school children.
Well, I'm not going to tell you who dies, or if it was a murder, an accident, or just parents behaving badly. But I will tell you that you won't know who dies until, well, they die. At the very end of the novel.
The book opens with something happening at an elementary school. We have no idea what happened, only that something did, and we only know that is was something major because the blurb tells us that someone dies. It's very unclear what happens in the beginning; we are told there is a scuffle of sorts witnessed by an elderly lady with a cat named Marie Antoniette (let them eat cake) in the very beginning. Then the novel takes us back six months and introduces us to entirely new characters. Bye, old lady. Hello, three 30-something ladies.
The author tells us just enough to pique our curiosity early on. One of the characters may have a psychotic monster child. Another may be a victim of domestic abuse. But the question still remains -- WHO DIES? (And should we care?)
The novel is well-written, with relatable, although slightly clichéd characters, but it's the schoolyard scandal (read: kindergarten politics) that killed it for me. I lost interest about halfway through the novel, but pressed on, because, well -- WHO DIES?
The ending is actually very good -- there are some twists that you will probably see coming, but the slow build-up was worth it. I gobbled up the last quarter of the novel greedily; once it got good, it was very good.
This book will be well received by women ages 25-45 with elementary school children.