non-m/m

Review: In the After + Giveaway

4 Comments

In the After
In the After by Demitria Lunetta
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I read quite a few YA post-apocalyptic, dystopian books and I’d say this is about average. It fits within the genre without redefining or contributing in any meaningful way. The writing is clean, almost too clean and sparse, with a lack of exposition that I almost missed. The story is told in three parts and the first part is the best. It grabbed me right from the start and I sped through the first half. The second and third parts definitely slowed and while it’s an easy book to read, and very quick despite the 400-page length, I didn’t love the second and third parts as much. I’ll probably continue with the series if the next book comes out pretty soon but if too much time passes I’ll forget about the series and probably not even cares what happens. Continue reading →

Review: The Casual Vacancy

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The Casual Vacancy
The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Having recently finished The Casual Vacancy on audio book, I’m left wondering at the point of the entire story and why I wasted so much time on this book. I wouldn’t say it’s necessarily a bad book, but I think it’s over written with a wandering plot and abrupt ending, but it’s definitely not a great, wonderful, read over and over again book (like the Harry Potter series). The prose often feels as though it’s trying entirely too hard to be clever and unique while the plot never has a cohesive trajectory. The vast cast of characters is certainly multifaceted and nuanced but entirely reprehensible with not a single likeable character in the entire book. I don’t really know what point the author was trying to convey with this book, nor what the book is actually about. Continue reading →