Sunday 19 October 2014

Mini Reviews ft. Black Ice, Throne of Glass and 172 Hours on the Moon



★★★☆☆
Appreciated the Attempted Message

Black Ice by Becca Fitzpatrick
It's no secret that I enjoyed the Hush Hush series by the same author.  Maybe it's because I hadn't read much else in the YA genre.  Either way, I've become attached to the series.  Black Ice was a different story.  First off, I didn't like any of the characters.  In fact, most of them annoyed the heck out of me.  Especially the best friend - who is actually a really terrible friend - Korbie.  I could tell that the MC, Britt, was supposed to grow throughout the story, but I wasn't feeling it.  It was almost like she was just telling the reader that she had changed.  She was also fairly dumb.  I don't know about you, but I don't think it's smart to take supplies before you leave a cabin to hike through the snow.  I think it's common sense.  I think I could have dealt with this if the book hadn't been written from Britt's perspective.
There was a lot more of an emphasis on romance in this than I was expecting, but that's my fault, not the book's (with the tagline of "Danger is Hard to Resist", I should have been more prepared).  Because of this though, I found large chunks of the story to be boring.
There was a lot of talk about relying on yourself but I'm not sure that the message was executed entirely well.  There's plenty of angry reviews about this on the books Goodreads page, if you want to see more on this topic.
I guessed the main "big secret" almost straight away, but Black Ice kept me reading to find out how all the details fit together, and was overall mildly entertaining.

Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas
There's not much more I can say on this fantastic book that hasn't already been said a thousand times, but here's a list of them:
- After rereading this after finished The Assassin's Blade (a bind up of the series novellas) I definitely found that I appreciated and connected with Celaena's character more.
- I feel like I am the only one who actually thinks Dorian and Celaena would make a better pair than Chaol and Celaena (however I do feel bad for Chaol in saying this, and I also have not yet read Crown of Midnight which I have a feeling may change things).
- I really wanted to hear more about the Tests.  There was enough action throughout for me not to mind too much, but I feel like more of them could have been included.
★★★★☆
☺︎☺︎☺︎

★★★☆☆
Scary...
...in the Last Quarter

172 Hours on the Moon by Johan Harstad
I'm going to be blunt:  The first half of this book was too boring for me.  I mean, they didn't even get to the moon until this point.  The only reason I kept going until this point was that I'd heard some really good things about this book, and I was intrigued by the little hints dropped here and there in the first half.  I didn't connect with the characters, and that's certainly part of why I didn't end up liking this as much as I could have.  I'm terrified of space as it is (in a "There is no end to it!  How is that possible?  You could just go on forever until you died!" kind of way) and this book has solidified that fear for me!  The ending was kind of awesome - it was just disappointing that it took so long to get to the point of the story.  It seemed like there was so much unnecessary detail in the beginning.

If you've read any of these books, please share your thoughts (especially on the 172 Hours - I'm interested to hear what people liked in the first half), and I will have another post up soon! :)

10 comments:

  1. I love Doraena <3 *sniffs* tho Samaena will always hold a bittersweet place in my broken heart, and Chaolaena is also a great ship! Honestly, Celaena is amazing with anyone hahah!
    –B

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    1. Ahaha I have to agree with everything you said! I just try not to think about Sam... it hurts too much </3

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    2. Saaam :'( He was perfectttt

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  2. I love your mini reviews, you manage to express your thoughts so succinctly and efficiently :)
    It's always disappointing when a fantasy or dystopia book focuses wayyy more on the romance than the cool worldbuilding, action, mystery, etc. I mean, I have nothing against romance--it adds a lot of dimension (and feels) to a book! But unless the book is marketed as a romance, it annoys me that fantasy/dystopian elements are shunted aside.

    Thinking about Celaena and her, um, suitors (?? don't know what word to use, I'm blanking lol) makes me want to cry BECAUSE THEY'RE ALL SO PERFECT. And just, just, the feels </3

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    1. Thanks Connie, that means a lot!
      Yeah I agree! It's like... aren't you dealing with more important issues than who you should be dating? Or falling in love with, since they seem to skip the whole dating thing in fantasies and dystopians xD It is nice to have some romance though.

      Haha yup... Suitors is a good word :P They really are *sigh*

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  3. Nice mini reviews! First, I have no intention of reading Black Ice simply because the booktube community is creating such a big hype about this book and I feel is not even that great (even though I haven't read it, but I feel it in my gut. Is that weird?). Second, I have been meaning to read Throne of Glass for forever... then other books get in the way but I don't mind because I think this series is going to be 6 books and I'm not one for waiting around... so I think I'll wait. And finally, about 172 hours on the moon well, that cover scares the crap out of me and that might be the only reason why I don't want to read this book hahahaha

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    1. Thanks! I wouldn't recommend it. Trust your gut :P I don't know how to feel about its hype on booktube. Because even though certain booktubers say that being sponsored for a video doesn't change their opinion, I feel like it could sway it - even subconsciously.
      I'd been considering waiting for more books to come out in the Throne of Glass series, but because it's so popular, I didn't want to run the risk of getting spoiled.
      If the cover alone scares you, then I would not recommend it! I'm still thinking about it days after I read it D;

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  4. I have to agree on your review of Black Ice! It was extremely annoying, especially the ending Korbie was useless. I'm guessing Becca Fitzpatrick put her as a link to Britt and Calvin? I honestly don't know..
    This book has ruined whatever motives I had to read the Hush Hush series, I gave it 3 stars as well, I liked that is was fast paced (not towards the middle though) and I liked the suspense factor.
    Great reviews :)! I'm a new followers of yours btw x
    - Jay
    http://booksbyj.blogspot.com/

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    1. I'm glad you agree with me! I suppose you're right - she is the link between Britt and Calvin. But honestly... she was kind of terrible. Not to mention Bear - he never even made an appearance!
      That's probably a good decision. Yeah, the suspense was good.
      Thank you!

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