Friday, January 28, 2011

Recap 1/22 to 1/28


In case you missed anything, here's a recap of what was posted Saturday, January 22nd through Friday, January 28th. 



(Click on the links to go to my reviews)

Memes



Features



What's Your Status? Is a meme created by Zakiya from Butterfly Feet Walking on Life where we recap our reading week. Feel free to visit her site and link up your own What's Your Status Posts. Here's how my week went:

Finished

Winter's Passage (Iron Fey novella) by Julie Kagawa
(Click on the link to go to Goodreads)

The Witch's Daughter by Paula Brackston
(Click on the link to go to Goodreads)

Most Wanted by Kate Thompson
(Click on the link to go to Goodreads)


Currently Reading


(Click on the link to go to Goodreads)

Did Not Finish

Minder by Kate Kaynak
Page132 of 264
Received: From author

I really enjoyed the beginning of this book, but as it went on I started to like it less. I loved the atmosphere of the school, the fact that the students all had powers, and the conflict brewing between the different students. Often in books like this, each character has a unique power (think X-Men), but in Kate's story school cliques are formed by students who share the same powers. Chimes, students who had the power to speak instructions the recipient was compelled to follow were the antagonists. I thought they were done really well and their powers were frightening. I also liked how the main character stood up to the Chimes, coming up with some really great ways to stick it to them. 

The MC was a bit too powerful, though. She was so powerful that a lot of the conflict of the story was removed. She could easily overcome any antagonist, so there wasn't much tension. I've seen some people also criticize her for using her telepathy to read everyone's mind. People have complained that this is unethical. I agree, it is...but if I were a teen who just found out I was a telepath, you'd better believe I'd use my power. Unethical, yes, but the temptation is so huge I don't think I could fight it. I can't blame the MC for using it, though I did like her a little less because of it.

My interest started to really lessen with the introduction of the love interest. This was the insta-love type of romance, and while it does make more sense because the MC is a mind reader and so she really does know him inside and out very quickly, I still didn't really like it. I prefer my romance to build slowly over the course of the book. I found myself skimming paragraphs after a while. Large sections (even entire chapters) are devoted to the two main characters sharing thoughts about how much they love one another and marveling over their relationship. That's just not my kind of thing.

Readers who don't mind insta-love and lots of talk about that love would probably enjoy this book. I also recommend it to people who enjoy reading about people with powers. It reminded me a lot of X-Men (which I like), so people who enjoy X-Men might want to check it out.



Miss anything last week? Click here to read a Recap





10 comments:

  1. You have had a busy week! It sucks that you didn't enjoy Minder. I think I will skip that one as I am not a fan of xmen type of love stories :)

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  2. I'm always so impressed with all you get done in a week! Happy Friday!

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  3. Thanks for trying MINDER; sorry that you didn't like it. You were so close, though! Things change between M&T less than 10 pages after the place you stopped, and the major action kicks in by chapter 15. Oh, well. Different strokes and all. Take care! - Kate

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  4. I've seen Kat Kaynak's books on a lot of different blogs. Sounds kind of cool, though. I like that you explain why you didn't finish it. Great honesty! I'm looking forward to what you think of Kat, Incorrigible! I want to read it so bad. The cover is absolutely adorable :)

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  5. It's funny, your description of Minder, actually really makes me want to read it!

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  6. I love love LOVE your recaps!!!

    I can't believe you got halfway through that book and had to put it down. I know exactly how that is!! I should've done that with this last thing I e-read. It was so bad and it was like 340 pages.

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  7. Nic and Miss Remmers, I love posting these recaps and hearing people say I had a busy week. It makes me feel all productive :)

    Kate, Oh, good to know! I often go back to my DNF books and finish them, so I may pick up Minder again at some point when I'm in a different reading mood. Thank you again for the opportunity.

    Julie, I don't feel like I can write a full review on books I don't finish, but I like to at least try to explain why I put the book down. I'm happy to hear you like that. As for Kat, Incorrigible, I am loving it!

    Madigan, Good! It's not a bad book at all, especially for people who like a lot of romance.

    Lazy Girl, :D I'm so glad you love them! I used to try to push through and finish books I just wasn't feeling, but I try not to do that any more. I'd rather DNF a book and then pick it up again when I'm more in the mood for it than force myself to finish. There are too many books I want to read to spend my time reading something that isn't working for me. :)

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  8. Ahh instant love. It never really bothered me before but now it's becoming a bit of a pet peeve. I like books with people with powers though, so I'm still interested in reading Minder, and hopefully the love won't be too over the top for me.

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  9. I do love X-Men but I'm still pretty ambivalent about that series. Will probably skip in favour of a bazillion books that I want to read more.

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  10. Laura, I didn't used to mind it as much, but I think I'm just getting really tired of it.

    Aylee, I love X-Men too. :)

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