amandalina

Surely I read a different book than the rest of the world? I can't even bring myself to give this two stars, although I don't hate her writing. I just will never understand how this story is worshiped and romanticized by so many. I understand:evil begets evil. This was just insane, though. This is Kafkaesque before the phrase came into existence. I honestly wouldn't be surprised if the family from House of 1000 Corpses were inspired by these people.
To quote young Linton:
"Indeed, I hate them all: they are odious beings."

Kellan Kyle: most sexually objectified character I have EVER read.

I am so disappointed. NO, not by the book. By the readers. You see I'd been on a sort of self-enforced avoidance of most things book related so as not to spoil Dead Ever After for myself. And I emerged to find out that Charlaine Harris has been receiving death threats.

I can't believe I feel like I have to preface what I'm about to say, but I will. I am not one of those “be nice” people who thinks everything has to be rainbows and butterflies. My favorite reviews on Goodreads are negative reviews. If I'm being honest, the Sookie Stackhouse novels aren't even my favorite series anymore. I've moved on to others and it's been more of a nostalgia thing for me lately. But I will never, ever, ever understand how anyone could think threatening an author is OK. And threatening to kill yourself if Sookie doesn't end up with your choice? Talk about entitled readers; this takes it to a whole new level.

As for this book I'm not even going to review it. I don't really review series books on here. But I guess I kind of wanted to document my thoughts on the whole HEA controversy. I'm going to try not to brag about how **Possible spoilers to people I've discussed this with**I was right and many of my predictions pretty much came true. (Please note: that statement in no way reflects which male character I have preferred throughout the series.)

My issue is that I've seen people online making accusations that Charlaine lied when she said she knew since Book 2 how this would end and just the general unhappiness with how it played out. (And by the way, I would actually call this a HFN rather than a HEA.) Putting aside the fact that every copy of this book I own calls them Fantasy/Mystery NOT romance. I really, really have to wonder how many people out there read these books with rose-colored (or maybe blood-colored?) glasses and didn't actually pay attention to the words on the page. I mean, I know these are notorious for being stream of consciousness books, but if you actually pay attention to the thoughts that Sookie is having...it's pretty enlightening.

Not to mention I have to wonder if people who consider themselves such fans that they are so enraged over the ending were ever fans enough to take a peak at Charlaine's website anytime in the past four years. Because I remember clearly an interview being featured for the longest time that is still listed on her Biography & Interviews page. Part two of an interview from 2009.

Even if you only watch the last minute or so you will see Charlaine give the following answer:

“Sookie will pick the right person for her based on her long term needs and goals.”

I think that's all I'm going to say in regards to whether or not Charlaine has stayed true to her original plans.

Sometimes it can be tricky to read a series in an omnibus like this. You don't get the chance to read and experience each book individually. However as a whole, this series was practically a masterpiece for me. It is so engrossing and thought-provoking. I've always considered myself an optimistic pessimist. I think humans have so much potential that we will probably never reach, so long as we're bogged down by several things I'm not even going to get into right now. My point is, if I were ever anywhere near talented enough to write a sci-fi about this subject...well it doesn't matter because Octavia Butler pretty much wrote exactly how I would envision it and then some.

Oh, I just wanted to mention this quote in the About the Author: "I'm a fifty-three-year-old writer who can remember being a ten-year-old writer who expects someday to be an eighty-year-old writer" is one of the saddest things I've ever read. Such a shame there will be no more books by such a talented lady.

I don't know what pains me more, reading this book or having to DNF it. But I told myself this would be the year I'd stop forcing myself to read books I couldn't get into no matter how long I waited to borrow it. Well, I waited over four months for this one and it's taken me a week to read 47 pages. I dunno, I just find the writing smug and pretentious and bogged down in unnecessary details. I realize this is most likely a part of the storytelling, but either way I find it tortuous. Tatiana said it best when she said she's not into reading about rich white people's problems. I've read plenty of reviews saying this is about unlikable characters, and I'm going to assume it also involves some sort of psychopathy, so I guess it boils down to me NOT being in the mood for that.

This review is going to be a complete anomaly from me. I'm going to do several things I've never done nor ever thought I would do. First and foremost I'm about to get real. More real that I've ever been on this site.
Sometimes I think (and probably unfairly) that there are two kinds of writers. I guess you could break it down to followers vs. leaders. It seems like some write because they are following a trend, be it vampires, angels, dystopias, what have you. Then there are those writers who seem to only write a book because they have a story in their mind that needs to be told. I think it's safe to say Tiffanie DeBartolo falls in the “leaders” category. I've now read both of her books and they are both amazing. I'm just blown away by how talented she is, and I don't mean to sound like an entitled reader but it pains me to think that she hasn't written more. If I ever had the chance to speak to Ms. DeBartolo, I don't think I'd be able to stop myself from quoting Magneto and exclaiming:




So, have you ever heard the phrase “the human condition”? I have, and to be honest, I've never really bothered to find out exactly what it means; I've just come up with my own assumption. And to me, Tiffanie DeBartolo gets it. There are so many lines from this book that so utterly rang true to me. For instance:

"I always felt like that myself, that I didn't marry into the landscape of the human world like others did, that I was on the outside looking in.”

Or:

“As long as I can remember being conscious of existence, I've been conscious of death. Eternal rest isn't some abstract concept for me. It's real. It chases me down like a dog behind a bicycle. I'm faster than it is, for the moment, but I might pop a tire any second and it'll sink its teeth into my heel. Or worse, into the heels of someone I love.”

And then there's this:

"I like to say I don’t believe in mystics. I don’t believe in fate. I don’t believe in destiny or kismet. I don’t believe in God. I don’t believe in anything.
But I believe in the possibility of everything."

There are many more but they would seriously require copying pages of text. I had a note where I would write down a page with a quote I liked, and part of it says 57, 58, 59. She's just one of those rare authors who it feels like is writing things that exist in my head, only far more eloquently than I ever could.
      If your intentions are pure
      I'm seeking a friend for the end of the world.
I mean the woman wrote a personal ad using a Chris Cornell song. And I kid you not, a few days before reading this, I was in the mood to listen to Audioslave, and found myself googling Chris Cornell, telling myself I need more of his music.

I don't intend to talk about anything too spoilerific, but I'm using a spoiler tag just to be safe.

There are so many books out there with numerous gif-heavy, 5-star reviews. And when I read them myself, I’m either left indifferent, or baffled because often all I felt was contrived angst. Just when I start to question how picky I am when it comes to star ratings, a book like this comes along and completely validates my position. It is just in a completely different stratosphere. THIS is heartache. THIS is anguish. This is worthy of the expression “it feels like my still beating heart was ripped out of my chest.”
I realize this is not the opinion of a well-adjusted 30 year old, but I've always thought the phrase “'Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all” to be...well kind of a crock of shit. Now, this is where the whole “writing things that exist in my head” comes to play. It's as if this entire book was like her literary version of my own wildest dream and worst nightmare, all in one. Rather cryptic, but it makes sense to anyone who's read it. Obviously I felt the aforementioned heartache. After finishing, I would drift off to sleep only to suddenly remember what happened and feel that punch in my gut. But the strange thing is, instead of falling into a dark, despondent place where I feel righteously withdrawn from the world, I actually feel a sliver of hope. That maybe there is something to that quote above. After all, "Fear won't keep you safe from being hurt.”



So there we have it. A highly opinionated, quote laden, image macro included, spoiler tag containing review—a first by yours truly. There's so much more I wish I could say about this book, and [b:How to Kill a Rock Star|113791|How to Kill a Rock Star|Tiffanie DeBartolo|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1348314742s/113791.jpg|109560] for that matter, but skilled with words I am not. I will end this by saying I sincerely hope this is not the last book I read by this author.

I really enjoyed this. Didn't want it to end! Highly recommend.
Oh, and can I just say that the author's bio is one of the funniest things I've read!

4.5

Holy hyphens, Batman!

First things first, I feel the need to mention that I don't really write negative reviews. Not because I think everyone should be nice, but because I'd rather just move on to another book, especially considering the length of my to-read list. However, I am so unbelievably perplexed by how popular and highly rated this book is, I just had to write something.
I was so looking forward to this series. I was ready to splurge on the first two books, but then I saw the set was added to my library's ebooks and joined the waiting list. From the very start I found myself skeptically questioning practically everything. At first I thought I was just in a bad mood because of what happened here in CT, but I was able to read another book just fine, so that wasn't it. I dunno, it just seemed like too many things happened simply for shock value, or to create some contrived sense of foreboding or danger. I presume the faction names are meant to sound clever, but really they just come off as self-congratulatory for knowing how to use a thesaurus. Maybe it's intentional, but I found the world building nonexistent, and the characters one-dimensional and unlikable. Perhaps worst of all were the random lack of contractions that served no purpose other than to ruin my immersion.
I'm going to stop here. If I had actually paid for the books or written this straight after finishing I might have elaborated more. Truth is, the only reason I took the time to write anything at all is that I haven't been in the mood to read anything after this book, and I figured anything that puts me off reading is most definitely noteworthy.
*Edited to add* I think it's pretty obvious I won't be continuing this series. So I'm just going to have to assume these people were a part of some huge social experiment. That's the only thing that seems halfway plausible to me.

More like to be continued until I can read a physical copy. Kindle edition just isn't doing it for me, so back to the library it goes.

I am pleasantly surprised by how much I liked this. Interesting topic with some pretty great "Oh shit" moments. Got it for an absolute bargain at $1.99, so no sweat of my Amazon gift card, haha. Definitely checking out more of her books.

I wasn't even sure I would give this five stars. For several days I had to force myself to read it. But something happened and I don't even know how to explain it. Firstly, I am totally enamored of the illustrations. This is huge since I am not a comic book or graphic novel reader. It's definitely the first time stunning illustrations have influenced my rating. Then there's the last story, which blew me away and left me wishing it had been a full novel. And finally there's the fact that reading this was reminiscent of the few times I've read Gaiman. Sometimes you're confused, sometimes you're not even sure even sure you completely get it, but always you're cognizant of the fact you're in the presence of something truly special and unique.

Could almost be a 5 because *goddamn*, almost every other "rock star" novel I've read absolutely pales in comparison to this. But stupid Eliza with her stupid stupidity....

Is it fair to rate up a book after reading another book by the author? Oh well, because I'm bumping this up to a full 5 stars. [b:God Shaped Hole|248103|God Shaped Hole|Tiffanie DeBartolo|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1349041219s/248103.jpg|240394] totally rocked my world and I actually love it a bit more, but it made me even more appreciative of Tiffanie DeBartolo's talent.

For most of this book I had the biggest goofy grin on my face. I had to give it 5 stars.

Quick read that was pretty good but I just have to say this: The excessive use of italics was rather annoying. Sometimes you have to trust your readers to know which words in a sentence should be emphasized.