Danni Mae

DNF. Something about the spasmatic nature of the main character was simply annoying to me. I mean, I know this is a big deal and all, but one page of run-on freaking out is good enough. After only a few pages I was reading only the dialogue just to skip ahead and find out why her face was on a milk carton. Once I did, I dropped the book.

I bought The Silent Wife immediately after reading a review on the back that claimed it was better than Gone Girl. I was sorely disappointed. The beginning of the book dragged on forever, and often it seemed as if there were no plot or point to the information I was receiving. And I was receiving quite a lot of information. A.S.A. Harrison meticulously describes every detail of Jodi and Todd's average lives, down to how Todd brushes his teeth, (the fast, but WRONG way.) I am not by any means a murderer, but by the time I got halfway through the book and Todd still wasn't dead I was ready to strangle the man myself and be done with it. I began to write in my head what I would say when I reviewed The Silent Wife, and it wasn't going to be nice.

But that was halfway through the book, and now that I've finished it I have to say that The Silent Wife changed from a book I couldn't wait to finish to a book I couldn't wait to continue. Everything seemed to happen all at once and suddenly there was conflict and engagement and surprises, and I very much enjoyed myself once I got to the action. The main characters are deep and philosophical and Jodi's decent into madness was both believable and interesting. In the end, I thoroughly enjoyed The Silent Wife. Well, most of it. Half of it.

I do think it was a big mistake mentioning Gone Girl, though. Not only does it set standards far higher than this book, in my opinion, can reach, but Gone Girl and The Silent Wife are literally opposites. In Gone Girl, there was a murder at the very beginning of the book and it was the main plot point. In The Silent Wife the murder wasn't until the very end of the book and how it was going to happen was the main plot point. In Gone Girl, you have no idea how the victim disappeared, and why, and in The Silent Wife it tells you right at the beginning that Jodi will be murdering Todd. No mystery to it. They really are completely different, and I don't think they should have been compared at all.

Spoiler Tidbit: A lot of the chapters are dedicated to Jodi’s past with her brothers, and in the end it comes to the conclusion that Jodi was abused as a child. This is told at the very end, and I don’t really understand the point of it at all. It didn’t seem important in Jodi’s decision to murder Todd, because through all of the events that happened, in the end it was Alison that convinced Jodi to go through with it and Alison who did all of dirty work, anyway. It doesn’t make sense that that one childhood problem shaped her significantly as an adult, because Jodi is a compliant person, and during the event in question she was not compliant at all. Nor did she learn to accept things as they were. I just don’t understand the point the author is trying to make with that last twist, unless they believe that Jodi’s circumstances alone weren’t enough to push her to murder, which I doubt because I think the descent was very well written and the beginning of the book foreshadows a change in Jodi that she would not have thought conceivable. So if anyone has read the book and has any thoughts on why the author put that piece in, I’d love to hear them.

To be fair, I'll admit that my two-star rating may be a little biased. This book wasn't bad, it just simply wasn't my type. When I read the title, ""One Week Girlfriend,"" it had the same lightness to it as ""Anna goes Shopping,"" or ""Georgia finds The One,"" and although I wasn't exactly looking for a children's novel, I wasn't looking for a sex book either.
A lot of the points in this book were far too graphic for me, and I'll admit that halfway through I started to skim those scenes instead of fully reading them, but the reason I didn't just put this down, deciding it wasn't for me, was all the mystery surrounding Drew's character.
If there's one thing I love, it's a secret.
Other than all the sex, the several bombshells and surprises this book offers keeps it very interesting, so I had to see it through.
Overall, I think it's a wonderful book for someone who enjoys something a little more kinky, but that's just not me.

There are so many good things to say about this book that I don't even know where to start. The characters are all dynamic and lovable, the plot is unpredictable and enthralling, the writing style is easy to follow and - unlike most books I've read with differing viewpoints - clearly distinguishes between characters, even through a third person viewpoint, which I found very impressive.
Cress has so many memorable moments, it is definitely my favorite of the three books in this series. And to my excitement, it's not a trilogy as I previously thought! I can't wait for the next installment, because I've fallen in love with everything about this book, even the characters I'd previously hated. Definite must-read!

I was addicted to this book by the first chapter. In Crewel, Gennifer Albin weaves a beautiful world that I instantly fell in love with. One thing I adored about this novel was the strong theme of contrast: how Adelice, the main character, seemed to have nothing when she was being given 'everything,' how those who seemed the least trustworthy became the most, and finally, how the very reality she lives in is.. well, I won't spoil it.
Crewel's best quality is its characters; everyone, down to the valets and maids is strongly developed and believable, and Albin's ability to make every character as unique and unpredictable as real people is something that really makes her novel shine. Albin created characters that I despised at the beginning of the novel, liked by the middle, and wanted to kill by the end with a fluidity of writing style that was gorgeous.
Some books are predictable; you can see where they're going to end up. Crewel had me guessing from beginning to end, and although some things I could see coming, I could seriously feel the helplessness of Adelice's situation, and I was constantly wondering, ""How is she going to get out of this?""
From the start of this book to the end, Crewel was a suspenseful and fulfilling read that I could not put down until I'd read the last word. I can't wait to get my hands on the sequel!

Before I say too much about the book itself, I first want to write a quick note about ratings. For me, a five star rating means ""I want to own this book so I can read it again and again. I thought about it for days after I was finished reading it."" And it is completely true with this ""Monsters of Men.""
When I started reading the Chaos Walking Trilogy with ""The Knife of Never Letting Go,"" I didn't believe it was going to be anything more special than any regular book, but I have to say this Trilogy has to be the most well thought out, suspenseful, unpredictable, thought provoking, beautifully written series I have ever read! And, for the first time since I've picked up my first book, I can undoubtedly say that every installment in this trilogy is a fantastic improvement from the last. I could not put down ""Monsters of Men"" until I was completely done and I'd read the acknowledgements and publication info to be sure I got everything I could out of it that I could. The worst thing about this book is that it ended!
What can I say about ""Monsters of Men"" that will justify how I feel? The last words ring in my mind at random intervals throughout the day. I still get a sense of surprise when I think about the plot. I love the characters so much I wouldn't mind if Patrick Ness wrote a book about their nine-to-five jobs when they're done fixing the world. It's a perfection that has me giddy thinking about it, and I DEMAND to know why I'm not seeing this cover everywhere I go!
One of the most fantastic things about it was its believability. Yes, we all know Mayor Prentiss is a cruel, ruthless dictator, but when Todd believes that he can be good, so did I. Maybe it's because I'm a fool, but I'd like to think it's because Patrick Ness is a genius. I was so in sync with the characters, I loved who they loved and felt how they felt. I was annoyed with Viola for her worry for Todd, and I was mad at Todd for lying to Viola. I believed that the man who shot his son without a second thought could redeem himself; at the very beginning, I thought the Spackle were almost mindless animals.
Monsters of Men features a new viewpoint that I absolutely adore: Todd's Spackle. In ""The Ask and the Answer,"" I could never understand his hatred for Todd, but it is explained perfectly in his new view. Every chapter of this book had something that surprised me, hurt me, made me hope- if I could read any book again for the first time, it would be this one. (Especially if I could get the whole series.) I love everything about it from the characters to the fact that the Spackle's viewpoint will always be on a separate chapter, whereas Todd and Viola's viewpoints share a chapter. (Why? I don't know. I think it speaks for how divided the two races are, and how close Todd and Viola are, whether it was intended to be for this reason or not.)
Overall, this book will always be one of my favorites, and it is definitely a must read!

The Divergent series is a beautifully written trilogy in which every addition is packed full of adventure and surprises, and Allegiant is no exception. However, despite the fact that there were several more significant events happening in Allegiant than in either of the other two books in this series, I spent my whole time feeling as though nothing was happening at all.
I think the author of this series, Veronica Roth, does her best work when she is focusing on characters rather than plot events; the first book, Divergent, in my opinion, was hands-down the most intriguing and well-written of the three because it focuses only on Tris and the events in her life until close to the end of the book. Allegiant, aside from a short part of the novel, had no character development whatsoever, and focused only on the plot, which was interesting, but it was just not what I was looking for.
Allegiant also featured another viewpoint in its writing- that of Tobias. Although I was excited when I first saw that the chapters were divided this way, I soon realized that Tobias's viewpoint sounded exactly like Tris's... just somewhere else doing something else. The two were so close in writing style that I would get a few paragraphs in and have to recheck the chapter because I couldn't tell whose viewpoint I was reading.
Regardless of my initial disappointment, Allegiant really redeemed itself (in my eyes, at least) at the end, with developments between Tris and Caleb, as well as- less significantly- Tobias and Christina. Their interactions were heartfelt and really left me wanting more, so I was sad with how quickly it ended, but I was overall satisfied with Allegiant.
So in general, Divergent will always be my favorite book in this series, but I'd say every one of them is worth the read.

Brilliant! Most sequels really only shine from the after-glow of the first in the series, but not this one! I think this book far surpassed its predecessor in so many ways. I loved the change in the characters as the novel goes on, and the constant reminder of the theme, ""We are the choices we make."" The first book in this series was full of secrets and surprises, and this one did not disappoint! I can't wait to get my hands on the next one.

One part in particular really hit me with this book: when Via's boyfriend is talking to Miranda, and she says, ""The universe has not been kind to August Pullman."" He agreed at first, but then he thought, 'maybe not with his face, but the universe balances things out.' August has a loving family and protective friends, whereas he had neither of those growing up.
It really made me wonder if our universes really do balance us out.

When I discovered this was a debut novel, I was so impressed. There is so much detail that goes into the landscape, characters, and world of this novel that I was sure Kristin Cashore was an experienced writer. I feel like this is the kind of story that is with the author for a long time before she even begins writing, and I look forward to seeing more from the world she's drawn out.
First off, the characters were all so easy to fall in love with. I actually laughed out loud at the humor between the heroes of this story, and I loved all exchanges.
On a more negative note - but not really - I really wanted to see more Graces and I think the Graces had a lot of potential that was not used. Although the story was never boring, I think it could have been a lot more interesting, but I think we'll see more of that in Bitterblue, anyway.