readingrobyn's reviews
736 reviews

Since I don't really know where to start I'll just go with the basics, this book was a great read.

I liked the characters of Killian and Alona and how their personalities were a balanced between being stereotypical teenagers and being average teenagers. The relationship between the two characters however... Although I enjoyed seeing some of their smaller moments there was something a bit lacking with how much they actually interacted with each other. Under the ghostly circumstances I can sort of understand how their relationship could turn romantic but I feel like the book wasn't long enough to give that dynamic any sort of extra push in that direction. I will say though, while reading this "lack" wasn't something I bother paying attention to. The plot was what kept my attention all the way through, with the ghostly development and the living, breathing conflicts surrounding the secondary characters. Each character had something interesting to add even if it didn't amount to much it rounded out the story and kept the plot at a good pace.

Now, the one thing I really look forward to seeing in "ghost fiction" (give me a better title and I'll use it gladly.) is how the limits are set in the story, explaining a persons after death existence can be very much hit or miss. In The Ghost and the Goth I found the authors explanation to be really well done, serving the purpose of the story without getting to overly complicated.

Now I'll be honest I wasn't really sure what to think of The Ghost and the Goth till the final part of the book, without giving spoilers the really story picked up for me and brought everything together in a way that made sense without being incredibly obvious.

I'm intrigued to see how the story continues in the next book with things developing between Killian and Alona which I very much hope to be picking up sometime soon.

When I first read about Soulless I was excited to finally find supernatural fantasy fiction that was readable for young adults but located outside of the section. I have long given up on supernatural YA, although I find it enjoyable everything eventually started to look the same. Now however, I have found a new love in steampunk.
Before reading Soulless I had only heard of the genre briefly and had never really looked into steampunk novels but in June I added this book to my yearly reading list.

Reading this book, I was not disappointed.
The characters were interesting and the fantasy world Carriger created based on politics and mannerisms more then violence and uncertainty compelled me to read on more then I would have expected. Although the romantic plot was not by any means unpredictable it seemed to fit with the more expected romanticism of the Victorian age.

The only thing I found particularly frustrating about the book was that during points in the story the romance plot-line would stick itself right in the middle of a tension plot filled situation where it just didn't belong! It felt in the way and the plot could have lived without it.

Despite my annoyance, in the end I found myself thoroughly enjoying Soulless and am now on the prowl for more specifically steampunk fantasy.

This one was a disappointment for me, it lacked the little things I loved about the last book and although the plot was interesting the characters had lost a lot all of their former likability replacing it with whining and a complete lack of common sense.

Spoiler

Alona please, tell us more about your infinite self-destructive problems! And Will really you're going to question your entire philosophy after just one conversation with someone you don't even trust!? And while you're at it just go ahead and ignore these giant red flags about this little secret society. Let us review: your father quit, made sure they didn't know about your existence, then committed suicide! Maybe hanging around these folk is not a wise idea!

which also doubles as a rant~

Now, I have a feeling that this is one of those times where it just wasn't my thing and a lot of people will love this book because of their love for the first one.

This was just not the sort story that I expected for the sequel of [b:The Ghost and the Goth|7008041|The Ghost and the Goth (The Ghost and the Goth, #1)|Stacey Kade|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1268423785s/7008041.jpg|7252832], a book that had such an amazing start with the world it was building. I wanted to see more of that layering but instead the book took off in what felt like a different direction, instead of sticking with its guns. I did however like the Alona-Lilly moments, they were very emotional and are what managed to bring me back into the story.

Its fall out for me was that at its core it is a character driven story where I did not feel a connection to the characters. The first book had a strong foundation but this time around I was not invested and the little things gradually became more and more annoying.

Now this is just me nit-picking, but an example of this were the constant "what happen last time!" info tidbits thrown about like confetti, there were just to many of them! The book needed an overview I'll admit that, but it should not still be happening past page 100 and should at least somewhat acknowledge that some readers did in fact read the first book.

Overall, I just could not get past it's faults. There was some great potential, if only there was a little more love for the fantasy and a little less drama-angst!

This book was another case of my not being able to connect to the main character, despite even having a good amount in common with her at the time of my reading this.

The writing was solid and I like the concept behind the plot but Egg's narrative just wasn't enough to keep me invested. Not a bad book, but not my thing.

It first hit me on page 81, I was bored. So very, very bored.

My main problem and probably the reason I'm so disappointed can be summed up this way, on the back of the book there is this a praise by Stephen King:

"Every novel [Ira Levin] has ever written has been a marvel of plotting. He is the Swiss watchmaker of the suspense novel." - Stephen King

I absolutely agree that Ira Levin is an amazing writer and to have come up with and popularized this story I give him full credit and praise. However, even the best of Swiss watches can't compare to an iPhone. ...I think it is safe to assume that I am part of the generation that has felt the trickle down of this novel and such social commentary on women's issues throughout my popular culture. This made the major draw of the book, the chilling implications of a woman's struggle in society, more of a mute point for me.

For the first 50 or so pages I enjoyed reading the narrative of a stay-at-home mother who had just moved to a suburb town called Stepford. The story takes place as she tries to balance the responsibilities of self, husband, and home while looking dubiously upon her neighbours who behave as 1950's housewives and lack all facets of personality. That right there was interesting, the plot was interesting! And having seen the 2004 movie I had the unspoken promise that I already had a general idea of where the plot would go (only general because the movie was remake.)

But then it hit me, by page 81 I was ready to be done with Stepford.

Suspense as a genre is all about the build up, creating tension and interest where there may or may not be something afoot and although The Stepford Wives has this excellent concept and is well written, gradually the book transformed from a novel to what felt like a very, very long short story. (Perhaps it is more of a novella?) I expected more, maybe too much but I at least expected to not feel like a book that is less then 130 pages to drag on.

I found that the ending although smart and suspenseful just wasn't worth it. A definite disappointment.