Well I decided to come back and actually put in a review for this book since all I'd done is give it a star and go on my merry little way.
Hated this b...moreWell I decided to come back and actually put in a review for this book since all I'd done is give it a star and go on my merry little way.
Hated this book. Flat out, this book was the worst of the whole seven-book series.
I bought HBP the day it was released and I was very excited to read something new in the series. To my shock, I couldn't believe how bad the story was. Something happened to JKR's editor. I think perhaps foul play was involved because apparently the editor was completely absent. Someone forgot to tell Jo that her book kinda (no actually "really really") sucked.
I'm not speaking from a shipping aspect because in the grand scheme of things I don't care who ends up with who. But it was the writing that made baby Jesus cry. The complete and utter abysmal writing. The rate of revelation in this book was appalling. The plot basically sucked and the use of flashback was overdone. The ENTIRE book was a "tell" and not a "show". Cardinal rule of writing. SHOW DON'T TELL.
JKR should have gotten some writing lessons before she wrote this one. Someone should have told her on the rough draft read-through that this was bad. Someone should have forced her to stay away from schmoopy romance because GAG.
What a complete stinker.
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02/22/12 - four-ish years later and although I still dislike this book, my opinion has mellowed. It's an amazing series, but this is my least favourite. I'm not editing the review as my opinion four years ago is still just as valid.
**spoiler alert** I actually quite enjoyed it as a story in itself. I was worried there would be a lot of eyerolling and whatnot as I read somewhere t...more**spoiler alert** I actually quite enjoyed it as a story in itself. I was worried there would be a lot of eyerolling and whatnot as I read somewhere that SMeyer recommends this book and her word is about as useless as a cat with ice skates.
But it wasn't terrible. Oh there were lots of cliches and whatnot. The story was told from first person, so I rather expected the main character to make it to the end. Though with it being present tense, the author could have easily made it do something else. Who knows.
I expect I'll keep my eyes open to see if there's a second book. But if you're looking for something to keep yourself occupied for a good few hours, this is a good start.
I expect it would actually make a better movie than Twilight... but then a 2 hour film on grass growing would be a better movie than Twilight.
2013: still the same opinion of the plot, though I spotted countless sentence structure errors. O.o(less)
Don't get me wrong, I really liked the HBO show, but I have never been so bored while reading a book as I was during all of this. It just didn't end....moreDon't get me wrong, I really liked the HBO show, but I have never been so bored while reading a book as I was during all of this. It just didn't end. And it was dry, dry, dryyyyy
There probably two main reasons why I disliked this book.
1) Constant POV shifts. I can't stand them in books. I want to stick by one character throughout the whole story.
2) It's high fantasy-ish. Or Medieval fantasy... or whatever. It's just not my cup of tea.
I won't be reading the rest of this series. I'll stick to the show and let that be my exposure to GRRM. Sorry. Just didn't like this.(less)
I think this one might actually be one of my favourites of the series.
Oh Jim Butcher... do you realise how many times you describe stuff? Li...moreAudio book
I think this one might actually be one of my favourites of the series.
Oh Jim Butcher... do you realise how many times you describe stuff? Listening to all 12 books in a row one right after the other, means I get to hear about the mismatched blue beetle, Karin's eyes/height/history over and over and over again.
I've come to learn that reading/listening to these all in a row one right after the other... it just reminds you how many times Jim Butcher...moreAudio book.
I've come to learn that reading/listening to these all in a row one right after the other... it just reminds you how many times Jim Butcher has to repetitively describe things.
Every aspect of the world of Harry Dresden is repeated over and over.
I suppose this is okay because you could pick up any volume and not really be crazy lost in the world.... but really. How many times do I need to hear about Murphy's height or the fact that the Blue Beetle isn't really blue?
I felt very swept along in this story. The main character has such a strong voice and tells her life very well. I found myself empathising with her si...moreI felt very swept along in this story. The main character has such a strong voice and tells her life very well. I found myself empathising with her situation and wanting to know more and more of her life. Sometimes I felt like the details were missing, but it felt like how it would if someone sat down and started telling you their life. They wouldn't necessarily remember everything, just the larger events. Things that stood out for them personally.
I felt this way with Meena. I mean, I could understand when it seemed as though she wasn't giving us all the information or all the facts of her life. Because she was telling this story as an old woman, looking back and trying to recall. The fact that she does recall so much is lovely.
I don't feel cheated. I can see now why this book won the CBC Canada Reads for 2009. It was much deserved.(less)
I had to return it to the library. Didn't care for the style and after two days of reading, nothing had stuck. Meaning nothing was memorable. Maybe an...moreI had to return it to the library. Didn't care for the style and after two days of reading, nothing had stuck. Meaning nothing was memorable. Maybe another time. Though likely not.(less)
The author was trying too hard and Melody's voice wasn't authentic enough.
Outside of that, I did enjoy the story. Just had trouble believing that it w...moreThe author was trying too hard and Melody's voice wasn't authentic enough.
Outside of that, I did enjoy the story. Just had trouble believing that it was really Melody's voice.
The other children sounded so fake and very un-11yearold.(less)
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