Shaped by a book discussion

Hey you guys! I gave this books three stars, and to get the conversation going I am going to explain why! First, let me say I loved loved loved the characters. Elliot, Luke, and Serene were all incredibly complex, funny and interesting. Not to mention a lot of the secondary and background characters were also amazing. However, this book almost read to me like fan fiction. It took amazing characters, and kinda just talked about them. For like, 400 pages. There was no main conflict or story ark. I have found that I don't love character driven novels, and I think thats what bugged me about in other lands. What do you guys think?

I’m still in the midst of reading it (it FINALLY came), and I agree. Character driven books are just less interesting for me, but that’s just my opinion. At the same time, these are some pretty great characters. What I’m saying is that it’s not a bad book, per se, it just doesn’t fit my taste as much. But I’m still enjoying it!

I really did enjoy this book, and Elliot, Luke, and Serene were all amazing characters. As I was reading, Elliot routinely made me actively laugh, not just do the *smiles and blows air out nose* thing, which is always an accomplishment by a book. I think that making the book this character driven was likely intentional, as to do that you need interesting characters and SRB definitely did. One thing I loved and found interesting about the world was the elven culture, and how it flipped basically all of the gender roles we live with on their heads. Not to mention the comedy it created. I'd love to hear what other people thought about that.

I didn't really enjoy this book as much as the others that I have been reading. This may be because I read it off my computer. I found that there wasn't really a main conflict and that really made me like it less. I haven't rated this book yet but I would give it 2.5 stars. I've noticed that I don't enjoy books about characters as much as action or mystery novels. It wasn't a bad book it just wasn't my style.

OKAY LILY YES THE ELVEN SOCIETY IS INCREDIBLE. I also thought Elliot's interests were very specific and added a lot to his character. For instance, he has trouble talking about his emotions, so he found a way to learn every language he could. He has trouble working through personal conflicts so he explored how country's worked through their conflicts.

We liked this book and while it didn’t have a character arc or main conflict, it was still interesting. We thought this felt different and unique from most magical land books, and showed a more technical and detailed side, going into the politics and more than just letting magic explain everything. We really liked the characters and all the humor, even though it didn’t have a huge suspenseful buildup or wasn’t the most interesting book we’ve read. It also would have been nice to see more of the world as well as more of a story arc.

I thought the beginning of this book was a bit slow: I was like, what is the main story for this??? But as I kept reading, I was honestly kind of hooked. The whole romance aspect of it was really gripping for me, like with Dale and Luke. Though the whole time I was like ELLIOT! ARE YOU BLIND? GET WITH LUKE!!! and then they finally did and that made me really satisfied. Adding on to what most people said about liking the characters, I think all of them were great! I actually really love Luke and his transformation throughout the book. I especially think that the whole Luke being a harpy thing helps bring out the fact that every one has something about themselves that they don't like. I also really like Elliot, I think he is really smart and the fact that he speaks his mind is a good trait. ALSO, DID I MENTION HOW MUCH I SHIP HIM AND LUKE :) anyway, overall I really enjoyed this book, though I do agree it would have been even better if there was more of a main story.

YES I AM SO GLAD SOMEONE ELSE SHIPPED THEM AS HARD AS I DID. also, i will just say it, elliot is a bicon. another comment that actually has analysis will come soonish, i just need to get those two thoughts out.

Okay, could somebody explain the whole mermaids thing? like, I understand Elliott likes them, but why are they on the cover? is there like a meaning I am missing? or am I just overanalyzing...?

Yeah, I agree with Noa. The mermaids were mentioned a few times and there was one interaction with them- but they seemed like they were supposed to play a bigger part. I wonder why SRB chose to do that. -We 2.0

yeah i agree about the mermaids. elliot had an obsession with them for some reason (?) but they only came in to the story a couple of times. it confuses me that they are on the cover when it could be something more meaningful. its quite misleading.