8 posts tagged “richelle mead”
so, i wanted to start off by saying that something seriously kept me from logging this, and i have no idea what it was. laziness? suddenly learning how to copy wii games? who knows. but in any case, i guess i mostly just wanted a break from reading. yeah, i didn't think i'd ever say that either, but there it is.
strangely, this book held less sway for me than the last one, succubus dreams, did. i realize she must have had to write a book within two months in time for the editing process to kick in too, but after the heartbreak of the last book, i'm not sure i can still invest as much in georgina. most of this book was just drama, drama, drama. seth still seems to be a part of her life, and that just annoys me. i like maddie okay, but seth.. not so much, still. i don't care that he did what he did to "save" her (though in this book it was more like destroy instead), and the fact that she still feels soft toward him is just weak to me. lashing out? okay. getting back with him? ...not.
as someone else has mentioned in a review on amazon somewhere, georgina needs to learn. she keeps making the same mistakes, over and over, and it's cheating and not being able to own up to it that made her a succubus to begin with. we keep hearing about everything that's ever gone wrong through the eons she's lived through, but seriously, what good is it if she doesn't change? does age make a person incapable of that? to be fair though, i guess i could feel the magnetism between seth and georgina. somewhat. maybe not to its full effect, because i was still ridiculously pissed at seth. but georgina, despite knowing right and wrong, shoves aside her morals for indulgences that she can't help but want, possibly even need. i guess i can't fault her for that too much, and yet, lust is her major downfall, every time. i don't know how much more obvious a lesson can get before it gets a little too drawn out.
moving on the other men then; dante thoroughly annoyed me, not necessarily with his cynicism, but with his cruelty. i understand that's all in his character and in his past, but i didn't think georgina could be the same, even in her rage. there were some parts of it where i went soft on him though, simply because he cares so much about her--all the gifts to try to cheer her up and whatnot considered. i was beginning to hope that maybe prolonged exposure to georgina will somehow redeem him, soul-wise. i'm even still hoping by the conclusion of this book that that will somehow come to pass, but maybe we'll never even see him again. and i might or might not be spoiling things a bit when i say that there is a bit of soul-damning a little closer to home that needs watching, in the meantime. but to sum this little part with dante up, he's much too violent and destructive for anyone's taste, i feel. it's a wonder georgina felt fondness toward him at all.
the big, BIG thing i really wish i hadn't known going into reading this: roman comes back. because someone already mentioned this in an amazon review, i kept expecting him to pop up everywhere, and so all the things that were happening, i already knew who was behind them. crap. i'm sure the surprise would've been nice though, if i hadn't been spoiled ahead of time. but anyway, there seems to be a big hinting of roman coming back into her life as a love interest, because despite the role she played in his twin sister's death, he still seems to care about her. he's very nonchalant in his reactions to most things, which is a good counterpoint for georgina's impulsive and, in this book, destructive force, and i felt that they balanced out well. that one scene right after the big showdown with the villain of the book when he mentions georgina's men's antics and her stolen car had me laughing out loud, so i'm going to say that to me, roman is now the most convincing as an other half for georgina. because.. while i can't see seth in a suit, roman isn't out of the question. nyx's dream can still come true for georgina, i just don't think seth is going to be any part of it.
in her dream, her yard looks out onto snow--i wonder if her new place is close enough north to snow from time to time? i also wanted to note that i wish carter had more face time, and that i was so sure i knew who the villain was that i didn't expect it to be who it ended up actually being. that's some good bait-and-switching there. i guess i can also finally close this by saying after reading the preview chapters at the end, i can at least admit to being interested in roman's involvement in her life and how that'll play out, because technically, she now has a higher immortal to help her in these things. and lastly, i can't help but be curious about how many more books this will be, because much as i love this series, i really do want georgina's happy ending to come about. i'm just as desperate as she is, because how much more suffering can she be put through? and let's hope maddie can save seth there.
sigh, here we go again then. i remember reading somewhere on her blog that that's lissa and dimitri on the cover, and it's supposed to be in the pov of rose looking at the two of them and having to choose--or something like it. i could imagine that being dimitri (though i thought he'd be a bit less lanky and more buff), but that's not really how i imagined lissa, since she's supposed to be all daintiness and pale nordic beauty. the girl on the second book's cover fit my imagined lissa a bit more, but hey, that's me.
well, anyway.
le sigh.. this book.. changes things. a lot. and i have no idea how to touch base, at all. i don't even have any idea if there's any hope of salvation for rose in the end, because things seem pretty dark for her right now. and i'm not sure if the therapist in the book got to me, but i ended up resenting lissa myself throughout--mostly because she's so oblivious to what rose sacrifices in order to save her, but also because it doesn't seem like the sentiment is mutual. when lissa said no--it broke my heart. especially since we've just gone through three books seeing rose throw herself into harm's way for lissa's sake, no matter what. i almost wanted to smack lissa at the end; if you were really her friend, you wouldn't ask her to choose. neither friends nor friendship are property, and that's how lissa seems to treat them in my eyes. maybe she'll manage to redeem herself. who knows.
the most painful part was seeing a glimmer of hope for rose and having it destroyed. the masterful part of it was that i loved every moment of it, even the painful ones--and i applaud ms. mead for being able to be such a skilled writer to have played with my emotions so well, even though she has no idea who the hell i am. i do feel so sorry for adrian though, especially since he genuinely seems to have feelings for rose. i almost want something--even a brief mistake--to happen between them, but of course that would just cause more of a mess. so i'm not sure how things could possibly play out from here, which returns me to my original sentiment.
but either way, knowing her style of writing now.. i know she has something planned, and i know it's gonna be something good. i just can't wait another year for it to come. i think i may even personally be in love with rose. not too hard to cry just thinking about her. so a prayer to whoever is up there, rose needs to stop suffering.
guess that's enough of my ranting in this one.
wow. just.. wow.
i didn't think this series could get much better, since it seemed to be off to an episode of the week type of thing, where georgina runs into this and that, and wins at the end of the day for whatever reason. while i have to admit i didn't particularly like seth, the conclusion of this book still left me in heartbreak. you just can't help but feel how georgina feels--it is that good. it took me along for the ride and wouldn't let go until it was done with me. in that way, i was in no way an active participant, even if i was the one who chose to read this book. i actually ended up staying up the whole night to read this, and was pretty dead and screwed by the end; history hw took a backseat.
a lot of stuff in this book sums up what i thought about her as a character throughout the first and second books, and i'm guessing that might be the point. the palm reading where she was told she is destined for heartbreak, that she won't change, and will keep making the same mistakes--that just sums up her and her mistakes in the second book, as compared to her and her husband, perfectly. and for some odd reason, i feel like walter makes a good romantic interest--but of course, that's not quite possible. we get a glimpse of what might be georgina's salvation in the future, and it's hinted that it's not seth. what exactly does that mean? a man in a business suit, with a briefcase. i keep wondering if it will be a character we already met. i guess i will eventually find out, but that depends on how long this series is set to be. a book a year--that means.. i'm assuming these things are usually five or six books, another two or three years?
i literally wanted to hug this book to sleep.
when georgina got hurt i wanted to reach out and give her a hug myself. richelle mead has a way with her characterization--they are so very human, even if they're immortal. i can't really describe it, but i definitely know what this is what LKH is missing, despite her claims. part of what makes the ending so moving is that georgina finds out what she does in the worst possible way too, and no punches are held.
what walter means to tell her in the end.. i suspect i know what it was, and why niphon was out to get her. i suspect it's been hinted at ever since the first book, and even jerome knows of it. in fact, i suspect walter may in sorts be her guardian angel--i don't know why i think that at all. he just seems to show up at the most convenient times. anyway, what i suspect is that she's nearing her salvation, and that is why niphon was trying so hard to break her and seth up. does that mean seth might be the one anyway? and, i think, salvation is hinted at in the first book when someone mentions, i forget who, that love conquers all. i think it was walter. and obviously, it's her relationship with seth that could eventually save her. we know that she ends up in a cold climate somewhere, and that's where she'll settle--she's heading to canada next. what does this mean?
i think it means i'm nearing that conclusion i'm waiting so eagerly for :) and god, i really just can't wait!
love the cover, but i really thought they could've picked up the design of the font for the title and author a bit.. those look really cheaped out to me. but aside from that, this is another richelle mead book, so what else can i say? besides that i LOVE it, that is.
eugenie is sort of a cross between her two other protagonists.. i was about to say that she's the bitchiest character i've ever read from her, but no, rosa does that hands down. i'm not too crazy about kiyo as a male protagonist though.. it definitely leans in his favor in this book, but he seems unstable. not his psyche, i meant as in whether he'll stick around. he did claim he has trouble with wanting to jump every female he sees sometimes, because of his fox nature. that doesn't speak for much in his favor, personally.
while i'm not too crazy about dorian either (his ambitions are kind of out there), i find his character much easier to love. when he says that life is too sad not to make a joke of everything, it speaks so much for his character, i think. the romance between kiyo and eugenie isn't.. built up enough for me to care THAT much, but i did find myself caring from time to time. i found myself laughing through a lot of the references she made, like the star wars and the father thing, and the crown of thorns thing. and although there were some parts that were really predictable (the way aeson is defeated) there were some twists that i wouldn't have seen coming even if i were looking for it. can't wait to read more.
i wonder if dorian will ever get the time of day? :(
okay, so i was soo looking forward to this, it might have blindsided me on the bias area a little. not that it didn't live up to its hype--it did. i just kinda was expecting it to live up to its hype and beyond, but hey, that's not me complaining. well, maybe just a little, because the next book couldn't get here soon enough. *glare*
so, general thoughts: unfitting title. not enough scenes with the characters actually in them. rose really takes center stage from here on out, and it's heartbreaking. dimitri actually didn't make me salivate as much as he did in the last book. okay so maybe that's not really a legitimate claim, but i wished there was more of him. rose did act really childish throughout, and it made me want to reach out and smack her, which was pretty much how i felt about her in the last book. there is something about her that's rather endearing though. the whole thing with adrian and darkness.. that.. could redefine guardians all over again. seems lissa isn't the only one fighting for control, mentally.
but really, by the end of this, i could've cared less that the entirety of the book really has nothing to do with frostbites. or the cold, relatively much, for that matter. instead, i also wish there was room enough to explore magic a little more--the entire book flew by so fast i had to wonder if the typesetters were cheating me somehow. i did notice that the pages were relatively thick in heft, and the lines were nearly double-spaced--but this was a YA novel, so what did i expect? it seems when i really like a book, i can rarely find things to say about it, because most of what i say tend to be criticisms. so umm.. yyyeah. oh of course i had something else to say. adrian sounds HOT. and hey, if rose really wanted to put him off, she could just as easily have worn every perfume he sent her, it'll keep his eyes watering for days. i'm sure he'll have nightmares afterward. just saying.
hmm, i guess the overall pace wasn't as fast as the one that the last book set. maybe she has something really complicated set up for the next book that this one is only just touching on :D i can certainly see it has something to do with the strigoi, and i can see rose is turning more badass. man, i'm taking my entire vocab from this book. i feel 16 again, but that's really what's awesome about it. it's so entirely infectious. one last thing i can possibly complain about is that i really wish lissa and dimitri had more active roles in the actual action taking place. but i suppose it was in sorts a dedication to mason, and a way to flush out christian's character a bit more. since everything seems so set up now, i cannot wait until whatever events may follow in the next installation.
wow, and i am convinced! richelle mead is simply a really great writer, and i'm determined to follow loyally from here on. this book wowed me beyond even the high expectations i had for it, and that's kind of really saying something, considering how critical i am. she is able to take a simple enough plot and weave it so that it holds so well together that i don't stop to question it at all along the way, unlike the other book i read today. but, as with all good things, i have to get nitpicky with it, and if there manages to be little enough complaints then i'll consider myself satisfied. here goes:
- the main character is a REAL BITCH. there were times when i just really wanted to slap her, like the huge lie she told christian. despite her belief that she was doing the right thing, things like that are not her right to rule--and she had no right to step in like that. of course, i think if that was the real reason why lissa got mad at her it would have been somewhat more plausible. but the way it is works, anyway.
- the reasons dimitri refused her ultimately seem reasonable.. but i was left with the sense that there was a way to breach this somehow, and with so much longing for them to be together, that it actually hurts. this is, no doubt, an example of how well she writes, but regardless, i felt terrible by the book's closing. not much else to complain about there, though.
- i kinda knew who the villains were halfway through the book. that seems to be a bad habit of mine, where i guess and am usually right about these things. books that surprise me have my utmost respect, since they rarely do. it did make up for the (somewhat) predictable outcome by throwing in a couple of events that weren't predictable at all, just when you were settling down to expect a conclusion. for that it's won points back from me.
i am soo glad that the next book comes out soon (not soon enough, though). i don't know about ordering it immediately as i'm flat broke, but i'm desperately looking it up at the library so i could manage to hopefully put it on hold before anyone else. unlike most other paranormals, there is a real sense of a hard road ahead for all the characters involved, and i am dying to find out how they'll manage. and by the way, i'm not the only one who thinks that cover is a knockoff of angelina jolie's face, right?
i just couldn't help myself to reading this one, especially when the semester is so close at hand now and who knows i'll have time to read freely again? anyway, i didn't find this installment as appealing as the first book--maybe it was just me being tired, who knows. somehow the existence of a choice between men for georgina was more appealing to me than her moral dilemmas; which isn't to say i don't find her moral dilemmas fascinating, simply that i like character interaction more. a lot of the choices she makes made me really examine her failing in character to begin with, and whether she might attain some form of redemption yet. although her actions don't equate the events of her damning to begin with exactly, in that it was a bit more morally correct.. it would just have been appealing to see her put up more of a fight, or after the mistake at least have the audacity to admit it to seth, knowing honesty is what he prefers. but since it is mentioned that it will be the last chance seth will give her--i can't help but think to myself, dear god, this woman just can't help herself. there is just something really fucked up with her that way. she won't learn. in a way this sets it up for a nice emotional wire to screw with later, because it's seriously got me hooked, knowing that this succubus is going to be destined to repeat the same mistake over and over, and that it would be her downfall.
on the other hand, the deal with dana--i saw that coming a mile away. the clues weren't exactly subtle, though i suspect maybe i was simply on the lookout for such clues from the get-go. but those are all old tricks, and i've seen it used so many times it doesn't impress me as much as it used to. or it could be my former understanding of homosexuality altogether that really made it such a sore thumb, that the most homophobic people are only so vehement about it because they're afraid of some ingrained truth about themselves. i guess overall, it wasn't as imperfect as i made it out to be--i just like to rant about faults more than qualities. i am really looking forward to the next book now, and maybe we'll begin to see some resolutions of conflicts with old enemies too.
by the way, did i mention what an awesome cover that is? now that is the real way to do a sex goddess image. although the face might still look a bit creepy to me.. i'm sure the next cover will be gorgeous too.
i think i was actually surprised this turned out to be good, despite noticing how effortlessly the author writes compelling dialogue even from the opening of the book. i skimmed a few lines from the ebook a few months ago while the fall semester was still in session, was impressed, but completely forgot about it after the first chapter or so. now i am glad i followed through because this turned out to be so rewarding.
first off, i found the description of roman attractive and.. boyishly charming. i found it a shame that it resulted in her ending up with seth, which isn't so bad, admittedly, when the love he has for her is fully described--and after his (roman's) being described to having no qualms about being violent with her, even after the "betrayal." i did find it strange that most of the book is found describing her time spent with roman and building up the character of roman to be so appealing, just to slap her on seth at the end. i did, however, see roman's real identity coming a long way off, even before her suspicions of carter the angel. although, as time passed, it did seem seth could be a candidate for a nephilim as well, since he was in such close proximity to her all the time (his being in the bookstore to write). but roman's real identity gave new meaning to her dubbing him a stalker.
i feel sad that had she not made that call, everything would have turned out differently. she would undoubtedly have run away with roman, and she would have grown to love him. also, to see such a mentally damaged man left the way he was to rot further from his sister's death.. i'm dreading his return, to say the least, because i'm afraid how much more twisted he can become without that love. however, i did find it fitting that she would have two love interests in both her past and present that represent her dilemma--one to embody love, and one to embody lust. maybe now i can move on to the next one, but i'll have to hope she writes 'em faster than seth writes his books :)
EDIT: last thoughts--what is up with the woman on the cover? she doesn't BEGIN to cover the image of a beauty beyond natural limits..
