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bookswithjax's reviews
725 reviews
The Serpent King by Jeff Zentner
4.0
Okay so this book isn't the type I usually go for these days. However I had heard good things and found myself drawn to it. I read through it quickly and without a whole lot of dissection. I ended up crying for many many pages and it was some ugly crying too!
Now that I've had time to recover and really think about the story I obviously see what so many people loved it. I can also see why a few people had issues as well. One reviewer said they could tell this was a story from a first time writer and I can agree with that, but that doesn't make it a bad book. Everyone starts somewhere and no one is perfect right out of the gate, if I could give half ratings I'd probably go with 3.5. One thing that I didn't like was the weird name dropping. He used Dolly Parton which was great, as were the quotes used to push the story. However when it came to the fashion stuff it was kind of made up names very similar to real fashion icons. It just rang false for me and every time It was a little jolt as I would read it. This is nitpicking and the author may not even have realized he was doing it, but as someone very familiar with the blogging world it felt a bit half heartedly researched. Lydia's blogging was a significant point in the story and I'm well versed in that world so it kind of was one of those "wait what?" moments in the book. I kept thinking I was going crazy lol.
Many people were put off by the "stereotypes" depicted about southerners. Well I was born and raised in the south and I'm sorry... these are real people! Is it how everyone in the south is, of course not! You can't scream "I'm southern and offended, because not everyone is like that." That's akin to burying your head in the sand, because I know people like each one of these characters. Just because you don't see it or live near it doesn't mean it doesn't exist. I thought the writer did a good job touching on what drove the characters to act the way they did. Obviously you can't develop every single sub character extensively or the book would be a million pages. The writer made the assumption the reader would use intelligent inference, and I could appreciate that. The small town mentality, alcoholism, the religious aspects, etc. that is all real world things. I felt the authors depictions were dead on, even down to Lydia's cluelessness. Were all the kids in the high school assholes, probably not? However this is a point of view story and that's how it would have been perceived by these three characters in their bubble at 17.
The characters: Sigh Dill was a character who took too long to develop, and normally I would be annoyed. Except now I'm older and wiser and have seen just how hard it is for those small town boys to reach beyond their family circumstances and to get out of their own heads long enough to allow themselves to grow and succeed. (Holy run on sentence Batman.) Lydia is a young girl who was raised with few obstacles. That is how she reacts to things, but I love that her father had conversations with her to gently wake her up to reality. She had growth, maybe not enough for many readers... however I remember being 17 and just how clueless I was. It takes a long time to grow into being an adult. I'm still working on it at 35 ;) Now Travis... that's the one that hits you in the gut. He deserved so much more than he got. He was the source of my tears. He was the character I loved... He has a quiet strength and it's because of him that Lydia and Dill could succeed, grow, and move forward. He was the catalyst!! I fell in love with him right away and that won't go away easily.
This day in age in a sea of YA Dystopian action, this book is a slow burn. It's a human interest piece with little action. Some find that hard to read, I found it to be an interesting change of pace. There's lots of everyday life going on that many found boring. I, however, don't mind it and got lost in it. I don't think this book will ever land in being a favorite and I'm not sure i'd read it again, but it moved me and I found it to be a good starting point for this new author!
Sorry for rambling... but it's my two cents without spoilers.. take it or leave it as you will :)
Now that I've had time to recover and really think about the story I obviously see what so many people loved it. I can also see why a few people had issues as well. One reviewer said they could tell this was a story from a first time writer and I can agree with that, but that doesn't make it a bad book. Everyone starts somewhere and no one is perfect right out of the gate, if I could give half ratings I'd probably go with 3.5. One thing that I didn't like was the weird name dropping. He used Dolly Parton which was great, as were the quotes used to push the story. However when it came to the fashion stuff it was kind of made up names very similar to real fashion icons. It just rang false for me and every time It was a little jolt as I would read it. This is nitpicking and the author may not even have realized he was doing it, but as someone very familiar with the blogging world it felt a bit half heartedly researched. Lydia's blogging was a significant point in the story and I'm well versed in that world so it kind of was one of those "wait what?" moments in the book. I kept thinking I was going crazy lol.
Many people were put off by the "stereotypes" depicted about southerners. Well I was born and raised in the south and I'm sorry... these are real people! Is it how everyone in the south is, of course not! You can't scream "I'm southern and offended, because not everyone is like that." That's akin to burying your head in the sand, because I know people like each one of these characters. Just because you don't see it or live near it doesn't mean it doesn't exist. I thought the writer did a good job touching on what drove the characters to act the way they did. Obviously you can't develop every single sub character extensively or the book would be a million pages. The writer made the assumption the reader would use intelligent inference, and I could appreciate that. The small town mentality, alcoholism, the religious aspects, etc. that is all real world things. I felt the authors depictions were dead on, even down to Lydia's cluelessness. Were all the kids in the high school assholes, probably not? However this is a point of view story and that's how it would have been perceived by these three characters in their bubble at 17.
The characters: Sigh Dill was a character who took too long to develop, and normally I would be annoyed. Except now I'm older and wiser and have seen just how hard it is for those small town boys to reach beyond their family circumstances and to get out of their own heads long enough to allow themselves to grow and succeed. (Holy run on sentence Batman.) Lydia is a young girl who was raised with few obstacles. That is how she reacts to things, but I love that her father had conversations with her to gently wake her up to reality. She had growth, maybe not enough for many readers... however I remember being 17 and just how clueless I was. It takes a long time to grow into being an adult. I'm still working on it at 35 ;) Now Travis... that's the one that hits you in the gut. He deserved so much more than he got. He was the source of my tears. He was the character I loved... He has a quiet strength and it's because of him that Lydia and Dill could succeed, grow, and move forward. He was the catalyst!! I fell in love with him right away and that won't go away easily.
This day in age in a sea of YA Dystopian action, this book is a slow burn. It's a human interest piece with little action. Some find that hard to read, I found it to be an interesting change of pace. There's lots of everyday life going on that many found boring. I, however, don't mind it and got lost in it. I don't think this book will ever land in being a favorite and I'm not sure i'd read it again, but it moved me and I found it to be a good starting point for this new author!
Sorry for rambling... but it's my two cents without spoilers.. take it or leave it as you will :)
Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard
3.0
Sooooo yeah... my opinion is simple. This book was neither amazing, nor terrible. Is the MC a selfish, can't make up her mind, pain in the tail? Why yes, yes she is! However she's also 17, and frankly I have yet to meet a 17 year old who isn't at least partially like that. I can cut her some slack for that; however she does make a terrible, TERRIBLE, heroine. The author made one fatal flaw, (solely my opinion), and that is she didn't have her MC commit to being a badass kick butt heroine, or commit to being the benevolent I will save everyone kind of heroine. Instead she makes her flit back and forth between the two. Therefore Mare comes across bi-polar, making her hard to relate to. You may find yourself screaming at her to wake the heck up and stop being so naively stupid. I swear I didn't hate it though haha. The world itself that the author created is fun. I like the premise, and I feel like the series has potential to be saved. There are a good many secondary characters to love. I'm a sucker for secondary characters, (Cisco on The Flash anyone). I developed a thing for Cal from the beginning. I had specific ideas about him and the author had me so confused on him. I found myself saying to the book, no that's not what is supposed to happen!! I think she was trying not to be predictable, exactly where I wanted her to be predictable. To be fair she was predictable, when I wanted her to be different as well. Can't please everyone lol. Also people just stop comparing it to Red Rising. It's not the same, I promise it's not. She didn't rip off the story, but like most Dystopian YA type novels it all kind of blends together without any stand out originality. Basically Red Queen is Hunger Games blended with Divergent, blended with X-Men. Doesn't mean it's bad, just means the genre has been flooded for the last decade and we all read A-LOT! So yeah I didn't hate it, and I'm going to continue with the series and see what happens.
Flawed by Cecelia Ahern
4.0
I read this book in an afternoon... needless to say I liked it! It had a kind of "The Giver" feel to it. The world not the plot. Many reviews I've read on here complained that some scenes were too graphic/real for them and they didn't like it. That is probably exactly why I liked it. It could be a bit tense to read, however that's because it was just, well real. Kudos to the author for that!
In the beginning the MC Celestine was annoyingly perfect, (think Pleasantville), so you knew immediately she was going to have a fall from grace. It didn't happen the way I expected though. What I love most about this book is that Celestine had an internal struggle for a bit and then she freaking commits to who she is!! The last two books I've read that was the biggest pet peeve for me. Also shout out to the parents in this book. I was impressed with how that plays out, and especially loved the mothers reaction and subsequent growth. The little brother is a throw away character and unnecessary to the story, not sure why he was included.
The love story is not the main focus of this story, at least not yet. That could change with the next one. I'm going to keep my fingers crossed that it's not a love triangle scenario as that's very much available for the authors use. I'd like to see this MC stay strong and committed and to keep moving forward!!
Many found it boring, probably because it has a big political intrigue vibe going on. Personally that's right up my alley. I didn't find myself flagging very often in the book. There were a few scenes I am not certain about their purpose. However I get a tv show feel from it. Sometimes a scene is there not for that episode but to set up subsequent episodes. Hopefully that's the case here.
Overall I liked it and am looking forward to the next one!
In the beginning the MC Celestine was annoyingly perfect, (think Pleasantville), so you knew immediately she was going to have a fall from grace. It didn't happen the way I expected though. What I love most about this book is that Celestine had an internal struggle for a bit and then she freaking commits to who she is!! The last two books I've read that was the biggest pet peeve for me. Also shout out to the parents in this book. I was impressed with how that plays out, and especially loved the mothers reaction and subsequent growth. The little brother is a throw away character and unnecessary to the story, not sure why he was included.
The love story is not the main focus of this story, at least not yet. That could change with the next one. I'm going to keep my fingers crossed that it's not a love triangle scenario as that's very much available for the authors use. I'd like to see this MC stay strong and committed and to keep moving forward!!
Many found it boring, probably because it has a big political intrigue vibe going on. Personally that's right up my alley. I didn't find myself flagging very often in the book. There were a few scenes I am not certain about their purpose. However I get a tv show feel from it. Sometimes a scene is there not for that episode but to set up subsequent episodes. Hopefully that's the case here.
Overall I liked it and am looking forward to the next one!