lcmarie19's reviews
2173 reviews

INSANELY FANTASTIC! It is my 2nd favorite of the trilogy. I don't know WHAT people were griping about, because this was awesome!

An ending can honestly change one's entire opinion about a book -- if done correctly (or incorrectly). In this case, Andrew Smith did it correctly. Definitely a book worth reading. Don't really want to review this book. Mainly because I don't know what to say about it. I'm still processing my thoughts. It was a good read, though. A really interesting read.

Really good book! I KNEW I liked Wolf! And Kai is still my number one guy, but Wolf is fantastic! Detailed review to come soon. I need to process my thoughts...

Maybe a 2.5. Maybe.

This book was pretty bad. I honestly think it deserves to be categorized as bad fan fiction. But I digress. This is the lowest rating I've ever given, that I can recall, and I have not a single ounce of guilt in saying so.

The characters weren't believeable, the plot was very weak, and the title of the book is the real kicker. "The Promise of Amazing"? Really? There's nothing amazing about this promise. As a matter of fact, I feel like I wasted my time.

Wren and Grayson are just so annoying together, as well as separate. I think the author tried to build something worthwhile & genuine between these two, but fell quite short. Wren was a just quiet naive girl and Grayson swept in with all of his problems, and it became your typical, predictable, boy meets girl story. Even the secondary characters were weak.

Wren's friends were boring and somewhat inauthentic to me. The friendship between them was just off. I didn't feel like they were good friends, they felt like some people that Wren just happened to know. And Grayson's friends were just as bad, though we learn why his friends are they way that they are. Luke was an asshole, unnecessarily. He really was just a whiny brat, who pissed in your cereal if he didn't get his way. And his flavor of the moment, Ava, was just as bad.

The only redeemable characters in this book for me were Brooke, Wren's sister, and Eben, Wren's coworker. They seemed like they had decent heads on their shoulders. I actually wanted to learn more about them, as opposed to everyone else. Wren's parents were background characters at best, and Grayson's parents were just there. I know that his parents were supposed to paint a deeper picture of Grayson's life and why he's the way that he is -- but nope. That was a fail, too. You get a tiny glimpse into Grayson's vulnerability with the hosptial scene, but it was over in like 2 pages.

I couldn't bring myself to care about ANY of these characters. And I think that's why I'm so PISSED! I just didn't care. The only person I wanted to know about was Brooke and that was because she was pregnant (that's not a spoiler). That's it. And I know that wasn't the author's intention, which allows me to further state that this book was lukewarm and all over the place.

By the end of the book, when it came to Grayson & Wren, I was ready to scream "just break up and be done already!" Nothing is worth how bored I am with this relationship. He lied constantly, for NO reason at all, brought Wren into his web of issues. And Wren bought it. Girl, what? ASK questions. Do not be that girl. Yes, I know they're teenagers, but I know a lot of girls (and guys) who are more mature about things than these two. It just wasn't realistic for me. And I felt like everything was being forced to happen. And what made it worse -- it was all happening within a plot that was weak to begin with.

I remember by the end of like, chapter 3, Grayson was talking about the "connection" he felt with Wren. What connection? You literally JUST met her, like one paragraph ago. What connection? She uttered ten words to you. I'm confused. I felt like a couple of chapters had been torn out or something. There was just a huge gap in character development. And it made me angry.

This is the harshest review I've ever written, but I write so many positive reviews that I feel I need to make sure I'm as honest with the books I don't like as well.

I'm going to talk specifically of the artwork because my review of the actual story will be attached to the original book. I've always loved Cassandra Jean. I think she is a very sweet woman and is brilliant with a pen. So when I heard she was doing the artwork for the story, I KNEW I had to get my hands on it. She's responisble for bringing the world of The Mortal Instruments, The Infernal Devices, and The Raven Boys to life, and is also the reason why I fall in love with various fictional worlds.

When I was reading this graphic novel, I couldn't help but stare at the familiar detailing that I have grown so fond of. It was wonderful to see it paired with something created by Ransom Riggs. Overall, I really enjoyed the art paired with the words. It was quick, but it was also engaging and fun to read.

Excellent story. Fantastic plot. Great characters. Ransom Riggs is weird. Review to come soon.

Ugh, I couldn't WAIT to be done with this book. Honestly, this wasn't a good read for me at all. But to be honest, I didn't expect it to be. Lola was a whiner, Max was a jerk, Norah got on my nerves, and Calliope and Lindsey were just background noise.

Cricket was the only potentially redeemable character for me, and even HE couldn't make me like this book.

I will read Isla and the Happily Ever After -- ONLY because I don't like to not finish "series". But that will probably be the last thing I read from Stephanie Perkins. I'm just not a fan.

A really cute story. It took me a minute to warm up to Anna because she was all over the place! But then I remembered, she's a teenager in her senior year. She's crazy! Once I got into that perspective, I enjoyed the story a lot more.

Etienne is a doll! I really enjoyed his character and his story. The other supporting characters -- Meredith, Josh, and Rashmi -- were fun to read about and interact with as well. They all have problems that you can relate to on a personal level, which makes the story that much more interesting.

Also, can I just say -- I LOVE Paris. I want to go now! And watch films all day.

Overall, an enjoyable story. Warm-hearted. With characters that you can't help but like!

Really good story.

Rating: 4.5/5

Wow. Such a great story! A bit of confusion on terminology of theoretical explanations, but I followed along fairly well. The ending, for me, was pretty dang perfect. It's also weird how you can love and hate the same characters at the same time, but McNeil did a great job in making me do so.

The story started off with a few situations that I'm actually very sensitive to. Dissolving marriages, infidelity, mistrust. I immediately became hooked on those things alone. The main character, Josie Byrne, was experiencing quite a bit of stuff right at the beginning of the book. Through Josie, we are introduced to other characters that become a bit more important as the plot thickens -- Nick, Madison, Penelope, etc.

I will say that at the beginning of the story, I wasn't a fan of Nick and I was suspicious of Madison from minute one (but not for the reasons you're probably thinking). Penelope and Josie were the only two that I liked from the very beginning. Flaws and all. Penelope is a lot like me, when it comes to honesty. Why sugarcoat it? Here's the deal. I respected her from minute one and I like how McNeil developed her character. Josie was a likable character for me because she seemed authentic. She was real and honest. Granted, she made a few mistakes here and there, but that was part of her charm.

Then there's Jo, Josie's doppleganger, who I did not like. But again, not for the reasons you may think. She was just a selfish girl who needed a wake up call. When Josie and Jo switch worlds, I start to become a bit schizophrenic, only because I couldn't remember why I liked/disliked certain character or I got dopplegangers mixed up. For example, I disliked Nick, but I liked his doppleganger. I liked both Penelopes and I disliked both Madisons.

The storyline, in my opinion, was brilliant but sometimes a bit hard to follow. But that wasn't a huge issue with me. The concept of the Nox was really interesting and I liked the thrilling, scary aspect that they brought to the story. The plot was almost a mixture of subplot. You got Josie's original life and the crap that she's dealing with, you've got the parallel universe and its situation, and you've got Josie's new life in the parallel universe. While all of it ties together, they are still individual stories that need to be followed carefully.

McNeil does a great job of tying up all of the ends and there are a few surprises that happend throughout the book. Some things even catch me off guard, even though once they were revealed to me, I was like "duh".

The ending to this story was great. I liked the buildup to the climax, the climax, and the conclusion. For the tpye of book that this is -- thrilling, mysterious YA fiction -- the ending worked very well. It leaves space for a sequel should McNeil wish to write one, but I don't think it's necessary. The ending works.

Overall, I really enjoyed this story. The main character was fantastic. She was smart as a whip, brave, compassionate, and vulnerable. I love female leads that embody those qualities, where they're not only one thing. The supporting characters were great, even the ones I didn't like (because they aided in the protagonist's development). The world building, though confusing at times, was very interesting. And the ending rocked.

Great read, McNeil.