Jennifer > Recent Status Updates

I’m trying to find the desire to pick this up and read. It’s been at the top of the pile of books next to the couch since August, and I want it off of my tbr this year. I’d better get to reading, as the year ends in 2 days.

It seems like it’s floundering - perhaps because the characters are? Idk, it’s just really not engaging. Vin is… boring. Elend is so one dimensional it’s painful.

I am not ok with chapter 14. Not. Ok.

I may come back someday, but it keeps kicking me out of the story. Incomplete sentences, missing words, sudden changes in POV in the middle of a paragraph…
I just can’t do it anymore today.

I’m all of 13% into this book and I already can’t stand it. Sadly, it’s going into the DNF pile.

Perhaps it’s the fact I have 2 daughters of “Marriageable Age” but the fact that she only speaks to her mom once throughout the entire boo - and then rushes a wedding in another country & her parents are not even worth a passing thought?

Who does that?

No thoughts of anyone outside her new little circle of ‘special people’ even exists in her mind. Meh.

I’m 60% through, and the story has already had a major climactic moment.

It has felt very rushed, with weeks skipping past in about a paragraph. It feels like book 1 should’ve ended a chapter ago, but there wasn’t enough “meat” to the story to really have the reader invested enough to continue with another book.

Carlin needs more depth as a character. Maddox is moody & dark. That’s about it.

Did I mention she’s in command of a merchant fleet? She is young enough to not have been married off, and suddenly she is in command - not the uncle who is now her guardian, not the male cousins who have been trained to be her officers.

Add to that the bouncing POV, and this has become a likely DNF. Maybe someday, but it’s doubtful.

“When he had barged into the sick bay, he stopped in his tracks when he saw her in the light. She was exotic, with almond-shaped green eyes, the color of a lush garden in spring. Her long, flowing white and yellow hair was pulled to the side. Everyone he knew had dark features. As he tried to assert himself, his mind had wandered. Her presence disarmed him.”

He’s Asian, BTW, & she’s Irish.

I’ve made it to chapter 5. I don’t think I can go much further.

There is no depth. The main character’s parents are killed in chapter 1, she completely rolls with it, takes control through magic (that she isn’t supposed to show anyone, but makes sure her uncle sees), and sets off on an 18 month journey.

Suddenly you are introduced to a new character, who dreams of her. They meet and are drawn together.

An example:

“I’d love the recipe if you’re willing to share it,” the Human said. “I think they’d make a great special offering at the bakery when Yule rolls around.”

Really? Just use her name. Ugh.

I all of 2 chapters in & already the racial references are annoying. Just use the characters names! solo & Arleta are having a conversation, then suddenly its “The Human” or “The Elf” or “The Dwarf”.

It feels.like the author really wanted to write a book about racial tension and inter-racial romance, but couldn’t just write a story. They want to make sure you KNOW they are are different creatures.

This one is going in the ‘nope’ pile.

I made it through all of Episode 1. I won’t be going any further.

I don’t want to read scenes. I want a little actual story, not just conversation.

This is probably going to be a DNF. Reading this is forcing me to relive parts of my life I’d rather leave in my past. Reading about someone going through a marriage & family life that Lina is going through dredges up far too much.

I will say, it’s well written. (I can’t speak to the handsome new man coming in, but I can speak about the marriage & kids part).

There were at least 5 grammatical and/or spelling errors in the first 3 pages. I pressed on to see if the story is worth it. I’m over 50% through it, and I am still undecided. Apparently each main character needs to have a ‘I must have them - I cannot resist’ type of love interest.

We shall see. It may become a DNF.

Why is it that the books that are hailed as ‘amazing’ & ‘must read’ & ‘life changing’ well, aren’t.

Granted, I’ve not given it much (I’m only on page 26 of 148) but I simply can’t continue.

A story about 3,000 people who can’t think for themselves, think themselves superior to all, and isolate themselves start killing newborn babies & harming pregnant women. No thank you.

I'm not certain how far into this book I got before I gave up (for now at least). Apparently I'm only in the 'intro' section still, but I am struggling to get into the story. I will admit that it's been a book that I've been reading 'as I have a few moments', but I do that with most books, and they still manage to keep my attention.

This one just isn't. Which is sad, as SO MANY people seem to love it.

Someday...

Reading through what Stalin did to cripple Russia prior to WWII is both eye opening & makes me grieve for the generations who were raised under this tyranny. Stalin & Hitler were both totalitarians, Communism being far left & Fascism being far right - both wanted full governmental control over everything. I highly recommend this book. It is not a work of fiction. This is history.