Victoria Moschou's Blog, page 78
December 5, 2019
BOOK REVIEW: The Raven Boys (The Raven Cycle, #1), by Maggie Stiefvater ~ What just happened?
~ The Raven Boys (The Raven Cycle, #1), by Maggie Stiefvater
[image error]
It’s always hard for me to talk about books that the majority of the bookish community loves, but I end up feeling “meh” about. And not only that, but the characters and the plot of the book leave me confused, not only of what actually happened in the novel, but also why I bothered reading it in the first place.
I’m talking of course about none other than The Raven Boys, the first book in The Raven Cycle series; a book that friends of mine have recommended to me multiple times and I only got to read it last month. I regret that decision.
[image error]
And that is because my initial reaction when finishing the book was…
What the actual hell?
Everyone was raving about this book and when I first read the synopsis I thought I’d love it so very much, that it would end up being one of my favourite books of the year.
Unfortunately, this just wasn’t the case.
I couldn’t connect with any of the characters, the writing style felt a bit strange, the plot was just a huge blur to me, and overall I had lost my interest in the book in the first fifty pages or so, mostly because of the confusing plot line, the multiple POVs and the fact that I got something completely different from what I expected to get. And I know for a fact that if I were reading it in physical form instead of listening to the audiobook, I would’ve ended up DNFing it. The narrator did his best to put as much emotion to the story as possible and to bring that metaphysical, eerie, almost gothic vibe of this magical realism book, but that just wasn’t enough for me to be hooked.
I think I would’ve liked the book more if it had actually focused on what its pitch suggested it was about; a girl who would probably kill the love of her life, and not about confusing parallel stories, lay lines and a possibly saved by a king (?), resurrected guy.
[image error]
I realised that The Raven Boys just wasn’t the book for me and I don’t think I’ll keep up with the series, at least not any time soon.
Maybe the timing wasn’t right, for I strongly believe that timing is everything when reading a book, but I ended up rating this particular novel with 2/5 stars, simply because the idea had A LOT of potential and it simply was executed awkwardly, at least in my personal opinion.
But then again, maybe mine is the unpopular one. I mean the book has an average rating of 4.06 FREAKING STARS! 
BOOK REVIEW: The Raven Boys (The Raven Cycle, #1), by Maggie Stiefvater ~ What just happened?
~ The Raven Boys (The Raven Cycle, #1), by Maggie Stiefvater
[image error]
It’s always hard for me to talk about books that the majority of the bookish community loves, but I end up feeling “meh” about. And not only that, but the characters and the plot of the book leave me confused, not only of what actually happened in the novel, but also why I bothered reading it in the first place.
I’m talking of course about none other than The Raven Boys, the first book in The Raven Cycle series; a book that friends of mine have recommended to me multiple times and I only got to read it last month. I regret that decision.
[image error]
And that is because my initial reaction when finishing the book was…
What the actual hell?
Everyone was raving about this book and when I first read the synopsis I thought I’d love it so very much, that it would end up being one of my favourite books of the year.
Unfortunately, this just wasn’t the case.
I couldn’t connect with any of the characters, the writing style felt a bit strange, the plot was just a huge blur to me, and overall I had lost my interest in the book in the first fifty pages or so, mostly because of the confusing plot line, the multiple POVs and the fact that I got something completely different from what I expected to get. And I know for a fact that if I were reading it in physical form instead of listening to the audiobook, I would’ve ended up DNFing it. The narrator did his best to put as much emotion to the story as possible and to bring that metaphysical, eerie, almost gothic vibe of this magical realism book, but that just wasn’t enough for me to be hooked.
I think I would’ve liked the book more if it had actually focused on what its pitch suggested it was about; a girl who would probably kill the love of her life, and not about confusing parallel stories, lay lines and a possibly saved by a king (?), resurrected guy.
[image error]
I realised that The Raven Boys just wasn’t the book for me and I don’t think I’ll keep up with the series, at least not any time soon.
Maybe the timing wasn’t right, for I strongly believe that timing is everything when reading a book, but I ended up rating this particular novel with 2/5 stars, simply because the idea had A LOT of potential and it simply was executed awkwardly, at least in my personal opinion.
But then again, maybe mine is the unpopular one. I mean the book has an average rating of 4.06 FREAKING STARS!
BOOK REVIEW: The Raven Boys (The Raven Cycle, #1), by Maggie Stiefvater ~ What just happened?
~ The Raven Boys (The Raven Cycle, #1), by Maggie Stiefvater
[image error]
It’s always hard for me to talk about books that the majority of the bookish community loves, but I end up feeling “meh” about. And not only that, but the characters and the plot of the book leave me confused, not only of what actually happened in the novel, but also why I bothered reading it in the first place.
I’m talking of course about none other than The Raven Boys, the first book in The Raven Cycle series; a book that friends of mine have recommended to me multiple times and I only got to read it last month. I regret that decision.
[image error]
And that is because my initial reaction when finishing the book was…
What the actual hell?
Everyone was raving about this book and when I first read the synopsis I thought I’d love it so very much, that it would end up being one of my favourite books of the year.
Unfortunately, this just wasn’t the case.
I couldn’t connect with any of the characters, the writing style felt a bit strange, the plot was just a huge blur to me, and overall I had lost my interest in the book in the first fifty pages or so, mostly because of the confusing plot line, the multiple POVs and the fact that I got something completely different from what I expected to get. And I know for a fact that if I were reading it in physical form instead of listening to the audiobook, I would’ve ended up DNFing it. The narrator did his best to put as much emotion to the story as possible and to bring that metaphysical, eerie, almost gothic vibe of this magical realism book, but that just wasn’t enough for me to be hooked.
I think I would’ve liked the book more if it had actually focused on what its pitch suggested it was about; a girl who would probably kill the love of her life, and not about confusing parallel stories, lay lines and a possibly saved by a king (?), resurrected guy.
[image error]
I realised that The Raven Boys just wasn’t the book for me and I don’t think I’ll keep up with the series, at least not any time soon.
Maybe the timing wasn’t right, for I strongly believe that timing is everything when reading a book, but I ended up rating this particular novel with 2/5 stars, simply because the idea had A LOT of potential and it simply was executed awkwardly, at least in my personal opinion.
But then again, maybe mine is the unpopular one. I mean the book has an average rating of 4.06 FREAKING STARS!
BOOK REVIEW: The Raven Boys (The Raven Cycle, #1), by Maggie Stiefvater ~ What just happened?
~ The Raven Boys (The Raven Cycle, #1), by Maggie Stiefvater
[image error]
It’s always hard for me to talk about books that the majority of the bookish community loves, but I end up feeling “meh” about. And not only that, but the characters and the plot of the book leave me confused, not only of what actually happened in the novel, but also why I bothered reading it in the first place.
I’m talking of course about none other than The Raven Boys, the first book in The Raven Cycle series; a book that friends of mine have recommended to me multiple times and I only got to read it last month. I regret that decision.
[image error]
And that is because my initial reaction when finishing the book was…
What the actual hell?
Everyone was raving about this book and when I first read the synopsis I thought I’d love it so very much, that it would end up being one of my favourite books of the year.
Unfortunately, this just wasn’t the case.
I couldn’t connect with any of the characters, the writing style felt a bit strange, the plot was just a huge blur to me, and overall I had lost my interest in the book in the first fifty pages or so, mostly because of the confusing plot line, the multiple POVs and the fact that I got something completely different from what I expected to get. And I know for a fact that if I were reading it in physical form instead of listening to the audiobook, I would’ve ended up DNFing it. The narrator did his best to put as much emotion to the story as possible and to bring that metaphysical, eerie, almost gothic vibe of this magical realism book, but that just wasn’t enough for me to be hooked.
I think I would’ve liked the book more if it had actually focused on what its pitch suggested it was about; a girl who would probably kill the love of her life, and not about confusing parallel stories, lay lines and a possibly saved by a king (?), resurrected guy.
[image error]
I realised that The Raven Boys just wasn’t the book for me and I don’t think I’ll keep up with the series, at least not any time soon.
Maybe the timing wasn’t right, for I strongly believe that timing is everything when reading a book, but I ended up rating this particular novel with 2/5 stars, simply because the idea had A LOT of potential and it simply was executed awkwardly, at least in my personal opinion.
But then again, maybe mine is the unpopular one. I mean the book has an average rating of 4.06 FREAKING STARS!
BOOK REVIEW: The Raven Boys (The Raven Cycle, #1), by Maggie Stiefvater ~ What just happened?
~ The Raven Boys (The Raven Cycle, #1), by Maggie Stiefvater
[image error]
It’s always hard for me to talk about books that the majority of the bookish community loves, but I end up feeling “meh” about. And not only that, but the characters and the plot of the book leave me confused, not only of what actually happened in the novel, but also why I bothered reading it in the first place.
I’m talking of course about none other than The Raven Boys, the first book in The Raven Cycle series; a book that friends of mine have recommended to me multiple times and I only got to read it last month. I regret that decision.
[image error]
And that is because my initial reaction when finishing the book was…
What the actual hell?
Everyone was raving about this book and when I first read the synopsis I thought I’d love it so very much, that it would end up being one of my favourite books of the year.
Unfortunately, this just wasn’t the case.
I couldn’t connect with any of the characters, the writing style felt a bit strange, the plot was just a huge blur to me, and overall I had lost my interest in the book in the first fifty pages or so, mostly because of the confusing plot line, the multiple POVs and the fact that I got something completely different from what I expected to get. And I know for a fact that if I were reading it in physical form instead of listening to the audiobook, I would’ve ended up DNFing it. The narrator did his best to put as much emotion to the story as possible and to bring that metaphysical, eerie, almost gothic vibe of this magical realism book, but that just wasn’t enough for me to be hooked.
I think I would’ve liked the book more if it had actually focused on what its pitch suggested it was about; a girl who would probably kill the love of her life, and not about confusing parallel stories, lay lines and a possibly saved by a king (?), resurrected guy.
[image error]
I realised that The Raven Boys just wasn’t the book for me and I don’t think I’ll keep up with the series, at least not any time soon.
Maybe the timing wasn’t right, for I strongly believe that timing is everything when reading a book, but I ended up rating this particular novel with 2/5 stars, simply because the idea had A LOT of potential and it simply was executed awkwardly, at least in my personal opinion.
But then again, maybe mine is the unpopular one. I mean the book has an average rating of 4.06 FREAKING STARS!
December 2, 2019
Magical Readathon ~ Winter 2019
Hello, hello awesome nerds and happy December everyone!
The merriest of the months has finally begun and I’m hoping it’s going to be an EPIC one! Or at least as magical as possible… And we have G, from Book Roast to thank for that. 
For those of you who are familiar with G’s readathons, you probably already know about the O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s readathons, hosted in March and July consecutively. This was the third year hosting these readathons, and they were both enriched with careers and diploma, something that I find f*&% amazing!
But those aren’t the only readathons this amazing BookTuber hosts. This year is the second year of the Winter Magical Readathon, inspired by Harry Potter’s second year at Hogwarts. I mean, you’ve figured it out by now that all those readathons are inspired by the Harry Potter series, right?
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So, the Winter 2019 Magical Readathon is essentially a monthly readalong, from December 1st to December 29th, with prompts inspired by Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. There are five chapters to be completed, each of which will open every Sunday at 1pm, Hogwarts local time (UK).
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The first chapter opened yesterday and I have already figured out what my first prompt is going to be: Grab your most recently acquired read! Be that bought, borrowed or inherited!
And that would be… A River of Royal Blood, by Amanda Joy.
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Although I have already started reading Ninth House and I’m halfway through Six of Crows, both by Leigh Bardugo, I’m gonna start this beauty, too, because it seems really interesting.
Fair warning though. Just because I ended up with just one prompt for this week, doesn’t mean the same will happen to every single one of the readers who decide to participate. As G specifically points out in her announcement: “In each Magical Chapter you will get a minimum of 1 and maximum of 2-3 prompts, depending on your choices! If you are lucky, you might finish the adventure with as little as 5 prompts or you might get all 12!”
This is definitely going to be fun, plus I’m hoping it’ll help me get over my reading slump. I’m better but I haven’t managed to overcome it 100% yet, as The Raven Boys left me feeling meh, to say the least. But more about that this Thursday.
For the time being though, let me tell you that I’ll try to update you every Monday on how the Magical Readathon is going, as well as how my writing and reading routines are in general. If you haven’t figured it out by now, NaNoWriMo was an almost disaster this year, but I’m hoping I’ll manage to write more and have the manuscript ready by the end of this coming summer. 
