RMFAO (Reading My Frigging A** Off) discussion

Thanks for the reminder, Dagny.

Pardon the newbieness, but what's a Buddy Read? Is that like what everybody is going to read next month? And, I didn't find a Dec 2018 Genre Challenge? Thanks.

Mine came in today too and it's a 2 week book. Not sure if it's able to be renewed- but I will keep a book a little over if I need to.

Thanks for setting this up, Dagny. I'll broadcast a message to all the members today itself.

I'm yet to receive my book (will get it probably in the first week of December) so I'll have to wait. I'm looking forward to reading this book but I hope it doesn't turn out to be as dull as the last two books for buddy read (I still can't believe books by Stephen King, Owen King and Joe Hill could be so disappointing. I think the King family should up their game!!)
Anyway, I hope this one's as good as some of the reviews suggest.

I wasn't planning on reading this in December but sounds good! I'll try :)

Kind of gives me Night Circus vibes (I have that in my library but haven't read it as of yet.) Super interested in this buddy read if I can get my hands on the book in time!

Tiphanie wrote: "Kind of gives me Night Circus vibes (I have that in my library but haven't read it as of yet.) Super interested in this buddy read if I can get my hands on the book in time!"

The Buddy Read lasts all of December, so you can jump in any time. If you don't finish by the end of the month, you can still post your discussions about the book.

Thanks Dagny, I'll try to add Caraval to my already teetering read pile.

I'll be receiving my book next week so I'll be starting late... god, I hate waiting :(

FOR ALL MEMBERS

Please do not post spoilers at least till the 15th of the month giving everyone a chance to read the book as much as they can. After 15th, please make sure to add 'SPOILERS' at the start of your comments if you'd be sharing spoilers.

Is anybody else finding this book a slow start? I am 100 pages in and it seems to be dragging for me.

Marjorie wrote: "Is anybody else finding this book a slow start? I am 100 pages in and it seems to be dragging for me."

I am. Not loving the middle, it is taking too long to get into the challenge I think and the MC seems kind of useless.

Thanks. Will continue on

I'm 100 pages in and am completely enthralled. It does remind me of the Night Circus like several other people have commented on. I'm so excited to continue with it.

Oh god, you guys are making me so curious! I'll be receiving my book on the 8th (the day after tomorrow) so I'm finishing a couple of other books I had to read so that when I start this one, I won't have any other book's tension.

Bonnie wrote: "Marjorie wrote: "Is anybody else finding this book a slow start? I am 100 pages in and it seems to be dragging for me."

I am. Not loving the middle, it is taking too long to get into the challenge..."
I am continuing on. After 225 pages what I thought was happening seems to be unfolding. Now I am waiting to see how wrong I am.

I am liking the buddy read. It makes me read more. I enjoy have people to talk about the book with. It will be even better when we can actually talk about it.

I received my book!! Yay... I'll start reading today and will join the discussion as soon as I'm done with some pages.

Marjorie wrote: "I am liking the buddy read. It makes me read more. I enjoy have people to talk about the book with. It will be even better when we can actually talk about it."

Yes! It does help in reading more and makes it pretty interesting. And please feel free to start discussing the book. Teh Spoiler rule is there so that the book is not ruined for anyone. But don't hesitate becaus eof it. Just add SPOILER to your comment and discuss in detail to your heart's content :) (hopefully I'll be joining you soon too!)

Marjorie wrote: "Bonnie wrote: "Marjorie wrote: "Is anybody else finding this book a slow start? I am 100 pages in and it seems to be dragging for me."

I am. Not loving the middle, it is taking too long to get int..."

I'm still enthralled with the author's use of description and the cryptic riddles keep me guessing. Is anyone really enjoying this? I'm mesmerized and completely under Legend's spell.

I already requested the second book in the trilogy. I want to be able to read it as soon as I finish this one, though I am curious as to what the end will look like at this point. There are so many unresolved questions that I doubt they will be tied into a neat bow by the end.

Heena wrote: "Marjorie wrote: "I am liking the buddy read. It makes me read more. I enjoy have people to talk about the book with. It will be even better when we can actually talk about it."

Yes! It does help i..."

It is a very descriptive book. Sometimes to much so. I mean I really do not need a full description of every dress. Really!

Totally surprised by the ending. Can't wait to hear what everyone else thinks.

Marjorie wrote: "It is a very descriptive book. Sometimes to much so. I mean I really do not need a full description of every dress. Really!"

Even I'm finding the descriptions too lengthy and mostly unnecessary.

In all honesty, I was expecting this book to be as good as The Night Circus, but I'm really not impressed by the writing. Where I was expecting enchanting descriptions, I found them to be forced and unnecessary. Even the world-building failed to fascinate me. Maybe it's because my mind is constantly trying to compare this book with Night Circus, but I don't find the book as appealing as I thought I would. I'm skimming over descriptions and just trying to read the book as fast as I can to be done with it.

What do you think about the characters?? So far I'm not able to connect to anyone, though I do like how Julien is described.

I finished it...yippee. And while I felt dazzled throughout the entire book, the last couple chapters and explanations felt dull and forced. And perhaps a little rushed? I'm not sure what word I'm searching for, but it went from being awesome to meh quickly. Did anyone else feel this way?

Finished but didn't love it. It was OK. The character's weren't well developed to me. The main ones seemed dumb and didn't grow. One honest conversation between any two of them would have solved the little plot.

Fran wrote: "I finished it...yippee. And while I felt dazzled throughout the entire book, the last couple chapters and explanations felt dull and forced. And perhaps a little rushed? I'm not sure what word I'm ..."

I'm 200 pages in and I'm already feeling it...

Bonnie wrote: "Finished but didn't love it. It was OK. The character's weren't well developed to me. The main ones seemed dumb and didn't grow. One honest conversation between any two of them would have solved th..."

I have a feeling I'm going to be equally disappointed by the time I'll be done with it.

I'm feeling a little interested in the plot now, but still not able to relate to any of the characters. The descriptions feel like a waste so I'm skimming a lot. Hopefully, I'll be done with it in a day or two.

Heena wrote: "I'm feeling a little interested in the plot now, but still not able to relate to any of the characters. The descriptions feel like a waste so I'm skimming a lot. Hopefully, I'll be done with it in ..."

It wasn't my favorite.

Finished it and felt that overall it was an okay read - not as enchanting as I expected it to be (not by far) but not ridiculously bad too. I liked the ending part because it was a bit interesting, but that's about it. The characterization felt very week and the descriptions felt very forced and too flowery to even like. The plot was good but wasn't well-executed. I feel it was missing a lot of things that a basic Fantasy story should have. Anyway, for me, it is a 3/5 read and I won't be recommending it to anyone other than teen girls.

Come to think of it, comparing this book to The Night Circus is insulting Night Circus as it doesn't even come close to the brilliance Night Circus unquestionably is.

Did anyone else noticed the overuse of words 'ribbon' and 'butter'?? It made me laugh every time I came across either one.

I did not notice butter so much as I did ribbon and buttons.

I do not know about anyone else, but by the time I was have way through the book I was really over Scarlett. I just did not like this whinny child. She is so worried about escaping her father through a marriage to a man her father had chosen (that was my first clue that he would not be a good guy) that she misses all of the sings in front of her. There really was no growth in this character. She just fell flat for me.

Dagny wrote: "I noticed ribbon, but must have blanked out butter since it's banned from my diet, lol. "

Hahaha... That must be it :D
But honestly I thought the author went a bit overboard with the whole colours-for-descriptions thing. I mean it felt like Scarlett might have even taken a dump in colours. I mean what the hell was all that!? And here I thought I might be the worst writer ever because my exposition is not good. Lol. I really wasn't expecting anything like this from such a popular book.

Marjorie wrote: "I did not notice butter so much as I did ribbon and buttons."

Oh, yes! Buttons too. Lol.

Marjorie wrote: "I do not know about anyone else, but by the time I was have way through the book I was really over Scarlett. I just did not like this whinny child. She is so worried about escaping her father throu..."

You're described it so well. That is exactly how Scarlette came across. Half of the book I was like 'seriously?'
The character arc is literally non-exsistent and it totally ruined what otherwise could have been a really good story.

Heena wrote: "Come to think of it, comparing this book to The Night Circus is insulting Night Circus as it doesn't even come close to the brilliance Night Circus unquestionably is."

Okay, I have been reading raves for Night Circus here for a month, so which Night Circus (i.e. author)? I have found 4 books with that title. I'm not digging Caraval at all. I just started Chapter 5 and don't know how much longer I'm going to stick with it. Maybe I'll put Caraval down and pick up Night Circus.

Dominic wrote: "Okay, I have been reading raves for Night Circus here for a month, so which Night Circus (i.e. author)? I have found 4 books with that title. I'm not digging Caraval at all. I just started Chapter 5 and don't know how much longer I'm going to stick with it. Maybe I'll put Caraval down and pick up Night Circus."

Yes, you really need to read The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern. It is this one - The Night Circus
We had it for a buddy read for last year's fantasy month (December) and we all loved it! It is definitely a thousand times better than Caraval.

Thanks

Dominic wrote: "Thanks"

Pleasure!

I just posted my review of this book: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...