Hello there guys!
Happy weekend! I hope you guys are having a great weekend, all I'm hoping is for a pair of quiet shifts at work, because at least I have awesome co-workers for the weekend!
For today's Saturday Pages I have a DNF review... I have a hard time not finishing books, but I'm learning to let go of those that really don't grab me enough, so I can focus on the next one that I might just LOVE!
Imagine a time when
the gods turn a blind eye to the agony of men, when the last of the
hellions roam the plains and evil stirs beyond the edges of the map. A
time when cities burn, and in their ashes, empires rise.
Alexander, Macedonia’s sixteen-year-old heir, is on the brink of discovering his fated role in conquering the known world but finds himself drawn to newcomer Katerina, who must navigate the dark secrets of court life while hiding her own mission: kill the Queen. But Kat’s first love, Jacob, will go to unthinkable lengths to win her, even if it means competing for her heart with Hephaestion, a murderer sheltered by the prince. And far across the sea, Zofia, a Persian princess and Alexander’s unmet fiancée, wants to alter her destiny by seeking the famed and deadly Spirit Eaters.
Weaving fantasy with the salacious and fascinating details of real history, New York Times bestselling author Eleanor Herman reimagines the greatest emperor the world has ever known: Alexander the Great, in the first book of the Blood of Gods and Royals series
DNF Review:
I was quite excited to read this one because Alexander the Great is quite a favourite historical character of mine, and the Alexandros series by Valerio Massimo Manfredi is one of my favourite historical fiction series!
That one is NOT YA and this book is, and I hope that I was not drawing unconscious comparisons mentally while reading, because that wouldn't have been fair to the book...
I read till 48% of the book, stopped... and didn't feel like getting back to it at all. I sort of wanted to know what happened, but I just didn't want to grab the book again AT ALL. And that's a sign that I needed to DNF for sure.
My first issue with the book was the multiple POVs. I don't always enjoy multiple POVs, but there are books that I've loved to bits and the different POVs have not been a hindrance for the plot or the storytelling, but here... we jumped from one POV to the next with very little information about what would tie them all together, or where the story was going. And when we did, we got the information repeated in various POVs... And by halfway through the book I wasn't sure of the relevance of some of the POVs to the story overall... Somehow I barely cared about the different characters and I didn't find them compelling.
The plot... we get too many unsubtle hints about some things and at the same time, we have no idea why the different POVs matter or how they will combine to form a coherent plot...
I liked that it seemed to be a mix of historical fiction and fantasy, but the writing and the character progresion (or lack thereof) really were off putting for me. I just didn't care enough!
So, if I had to sum up my review for this book in one word and the reason why I DNFed it?: MEH!
Now, for something different I leave you with Iron Maiden's Alexander The Great! An epic song that tells the whole story much better than this book would in about 8 minutes!
Happy weekend! I hope you guys are having a great weekend, all I'm hoping is for a pair of quiet shifts at work, because at least I have awesome co-workers for the weekend!
For today's Saturday Pages I have a DNF review... I have a hard time not finishing books, but I'm learning to let go of those that really don't grab me enough, so I can focus on the next one that I might just LOVE!
Alexander, Macedonia’s sixteen-year-old heir, is on the brink of discovering his fated role in conquering the known world but finds himself drawn to newcomer Katerina, who must navigate the dark secrets of court life while hiding her own mission: kill the Queen. But Kat’s first love, Jacob, will go to unthinkable lengths to win her, even if it means competing for her heart with Hephaestion, a murderer sheltered by the prince. And far across the sea, Zofia, a Persian princess and Alexander’s unmet fiancée, wants to alter her destiny by seeking the famed and deadly Spirit Eaters.
Weaving fantasy with the salacious and fascinating details of real history, New York Times bestselling author Eleanor Herman reimagines the greatest emperor the world has ever known: Alexander the Great, in the first book of the Blood of Gods and Royals series
DNF Review:
I was quite excited to read this one because Alexander the Great is quite a favourite historical character of mine, and the Alexandros series by Valerio Massimo Manfredi is one of my favourite historical fiction series!
That one is NOT YA and this book is, and I hope that I was not drawing unconscious comparisons mentally while reading, because that wouldn't have been fair to the book...
I read till 48% of the book, stopped... and didn't feel like getting back to it at all. I sort of wanted to know what happened, but I just didn't want to grab the book again AT ALL. And that's a sign that I needed to DNF for sure.
My first issue with the book was the multiple POVs. I don't always enjoy multiple POVs, but there are books that I've loved to bits and the different POVs have not been a hindrance for the plot or the storytelling, but here... we jumped from one POV to the next with very little information about what would tie them all together, or where the story was going. And when we did, we got the information repeated in various POVs... And by halfway through the book I wasn't sure of the relevance of some of the POVs to the story overall... Somehow I barely cared about the different characters and I didn't find them compelling.
The plot... we get too many unsubtle hints about some things and at the same time, we have no idea why the different POVs matter or how they will combine to form a coherent plot...
I liked that it seemed to be a mix of historical fiction and fantasy, but the writing and the character progresion (or lack thereof) really were off putting for me. I just didn't care enough!
So, if I had to sum up my review for this book in one word and the reason why I DNFed it?: MEH!
Now, for something different I leave you with Iron Maiden's Alexander The Great! An epic song that tells the whole story much better than this book would in about 8 minutes!
Man... this stinks! I keep hearing these same things about this one. A friend sent me her copy since she didn't want it but now I don't know that I really want to bother with this one. So many trusted bloggers have DNF'd it. I'll probably skip for now.
ReplyDeleteI read a pair of rather positive reviews that still said the book took a lot time to pick up, quite a few DNF and also some 2 stars, so I think I did the right thing by DNFing... Yeah, I cannot recommend this one at all Jess!
DeleteUgh, so so sorry that you didn't like this book Pili :( Having to DNF is such a bad feeling. I hate it when I hate books, lol :) And this one sounds so so bad. Too many point of views can be such a bad thing, sigh. You are awesome for trying, though :) Thank you for sharing your thoughts about it. <3 I won't ever read it, lol.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much sweetie! The worst thing is that I don't even hate it, I just feel so MEH about it!
DeleteOH NO!! I am so sad about this one. I was really really wanting to love it but have heard less then good things. If you DNF'ed it then it is def a pass for me. Thanks for the heads up my dear! Hope all is well! xoxox
ReplyDelete<3
Britt @ PleaseFeedTheBookworm.com
It is SO sad indeed! =( I hate DNFing... All is well otherwise, getting my sofa next week! How are you doing?
DeleteYeah, I had zero character connection and it was the type of book easily put aside and forgotten :-( if had such high hopes too
ReplyDeleteRight?!? Seriously a big bummer for me to not like this one...
DeleteSo disappointing to know the overall feedback for this book. Like you, I was so excited because it was going to be a retelling of a historical character that don't really get that big of a highlight, so heck yeah I wanted to read it. But so many of my friends (and even my co-blogger) simply hated it :( Tried some pages too and couldn't get into it myself. Sigh. What a disappointment!
ReplyDeleteFaye at The Social Potato
Really big disappointment! If you want an amazing story about Alexander the Great, go for the Alexandros series that I mentioned! LOVED THEM! Not YA though...
DeleteI had a feeling you would DNF! Things didn't start to get going for me until the second half, maybe three-fifths into the book. And that is a really long time to be bored, before things pick up! The book ENDED really excitingly, and I can see myself reading the sequel, but the journey to getting to the ending was... a challenge. I know how you feel!
ReplyDeleteLovely review, Pili!
Alyssa @ The Eater of Books!
Yeah... I might ask you to spoil me so I know what all happened in the end because I really DON'T feel like picking this one up again!
DeleteEven though you didn't like this one, I am thinking that maybe it is the kind of book I would be able to enjoy? I am someone who loves Game of Thrones (referring to the books here, I haven't seen the show) and that one has quite a lot of POVs and also subplots, but I loved it nonetheless. So maybe I will still enjoy this one? Not sure yet...
ReplyDeleteMaybe give this one a try if you can get it from the library. I also love the Song of Ice and Fire books with the multiple POVs and plots, but multiple POVs aren't always a success for me...
Delete