Wyrdness > Recent Status Updates

I'm so far behind on my book challenge and it feels like I've been cursed never to read a decent book again. Kind of burnt out on romance at the moment, yet it's in everything! All I basically want is CSI: Spookyville where the characters and murders are supernatural and the interesting (main) female characters don't want to date their co-workers. Is that so much to ask for? ~sigh~

EEEEEEEEEE!! I have been waiting for book 2 for what feels like forever. I didn't need sleep tonight anyway!

The 3 rotating POVs are annoying because each chapter ends on a mini cliffhanger and by the time I've got through 2 chapters to get back to the original character I've half-forgotten what was so interesting and, again, why I cared. Also why is Janco the 3rd? He's so bloody annoying!

Ehhhh. I didn't bother to read the novellas or the Glass series and so I have no idea who this suspected villain is or why I should care.

Finding it hard to believe I'm enjoying a YA novel, been a long while since that happened.

I'm already enjoying this way, way more than the last book I read. Unless something awful happens between now and the end this is definitely a 4 star read.

The UK cover for this sucks, so I'm kind of glad I only have it as an ebook.

The dialogue is by turns completely wooden, exceptionally hammy and utterly cheesy. It's practically it's own flavour of crisps/ chips. I guess this sex scene is about to make it the "deep ridge cut" version of wood-smoked ham and cheese flavour...

Synopsis for this sounded fun, but currently I'm not feeling it. The few reviews and ratings it has so far seem to be favourable, but it's seriously irritating the hell out of me in numerous trivial but persistent ways.

I also just realised that this is a novel that claims to be only 182 pages long yet it has 19 CHAPTERS. That's just excessive. What could you possibly need 19 chapters for? (it took 5 just to get to the main plot). In my experience run-away chapter counts are a sign that the novel is YA/ NA, badly written, or both. I'm leaning to both here. Copy editors are your friends, please hire them. No, really.

There's so much useless repetition in this about inconsequential stuff, like the magical ever-falling never-gathering cherry blossom in a place the character is about to leave and not come back to for the rest of the novel. Also Arielle having a "just 'cause" aversion to humans and technology in general comes across as petty and stupid. Reads like YA fiction and is really irritating me so far, may have to DNF.

Also it's good to differentiate opponents in a fight, but don't give them cutesy nicknames and then use them over and over again in a single paragraph. I KNOW who you're facing off against and will presume it's them unless told otherwise, I don't need "CHAIN did this, then CHAIN did that, before CHAIN did this other thing".

Better time to explain Elition abilities and what a Phantom or a Prophet is would have been back when the terms were first introduced 2 chapters ago, not right before a surprise attack/ assassination attempt. Not only does it break the tension but by then I'd already pretty much figured out the basics anyway.

Not sure how much I'll be able to read this. I already think the Crown Prince is a moron and I don't understand why the King of the Elition WANT an alliance with a people who treat them as cannon fodder and who could make the C17th French Aristocracy look level-headed and frugal. You have a single aide that could pretty much take out the entire room of nobility single-handedly, doooo itttt!

Whilst I'm bitching I also want to know what they were thinking with that cover. If you want to make your book look like inconsequential YA fluff then you did it!

Overland travel between Scotland and England is... Problematic... In this world. The author seems to think that the only way to get there would be to embark on some super-tour "cross the Channel to France and then gone overland across Europe and up to Scandinavia." When it'd have been much more simply to either ferry via Denmark to Norway, or go via Ireland... Bit of a pain, but not a major one.

Reading this is sometimes difficult and confusing. I am completely over mentions of Kessa's "ugly beast eyes" and how everyone constantly flinches at them. Yes, they're startling and unflattering, get over it already.

*sigh* It WAS going well until chapter 17-18 when the main character decides that no, actually, she WILL take a route through the TSTL wasteland. Her brashy impetuousness slides straight to bullying assault at the same time. It's really difficult to root for the "moralistic enforcer in a sea of corruption" when they're ALSO a significant part of the problem.

So far not too bad. Naya does sometimes come across as a bit petulant and immature when she's having an angry, surly moment, but so far she's not crossed in to TSTL.

Though the author did drop the whole "oh, she's a cat shifter so she goes in to heat twice a year and her hormones a whacked out hump machine months in advance" anvil pretty early on, so kind of expecting Chief Mage sex at any moment.

It's a pleasant read so far, but just had the weird experience of being yanked hard out of the story by a character describing toad-in-the-hole as "a fried egg in the center of toast with cheese". To me, a British woman, that's egg in a basket. Toad-in-the-hole is sausages baked in a large Yorkshire pudding. Kind of wasn;t expecting either version to exist in a sci-fi romance set 1000 years in the future.

Discord has just commented on pretty much all the negatives I wrote in my last review, telling herself to do better. Spooky spooky!

I don't seem to be feeling this yet and I'm getting really annoyed with the constant disruption of massive info-dumps in the form of lengthy, rambling letters.

Why can't we just see the "New" Myfanwy try and ease in to "Old" Myfanwy's life with the assumption she's reading the letters to help her.

That way we can learn about the Chequy Group as it becomes relevant.

Oh, and I am still really suspicious about both Mediators and Shades both having purple eyes. That's a whole lot of coincidence in a plot that doesn't seem to be big on them.

I'm beginning to expect an extra surprise twist. I'm wondering if it'll coincide with Shit Getting Real and Ayala requiring to go on the run. Which will be interesting since she's supposedly incapable of leaving Tennessee.

Just wanted to state for the record that I find Gregor has always come over more sketchy than "supportive mentor" to me. I suspect Ben and Gryfflet are directly working for him, and from the synopsis I'm expecting excrement to hit the fan at any moment. I'm hoping that Ripper will reappear and have Ayala's back along with Mira.

Free Summit provided tea and coffee to all Mediators. Hmmm, that's not suspicious at all when you combine it with witches on the payroll...

I am suspicious over Ayala's constant use of sunblock because it's always done in a subtle, casually offhand way and I don't recall it really being explained.

Supernatural detectives. Shows signs it may possibly evolve in to a decent plot.

Hate the arsehole of a main character though. Barely started and already he's made a bunch of sexist, racist and ageist 'joke' remarks.

I know it's meant to hark back to "a man's man" characters in old style detective novels, but it just doesn't work and in a modern book where we know better it's really not needed or appreciated.

Damn, Nick's Alpha-dad/ family/ entire pack are a bunch of controlling, misogynist arseholes. Force choke them all and burn the village to the ground, Cordi! Run, save yourself! Ditch Nick too whilst you're at it since he never actually has your back (emotionally) about anything!

P.S: If her incredibly wealthy "kindly grandpa" of a boss, Mr Whitehaven, didn't secretly set up her "discovering" this house some how then I will amazingly surprised.