Friday, March 6, 2015

Review: Gates of Thread and Stone by Lori M. Lee

I'm not sure where to begin with this book. I wish I could say that I loved it. I wish I could say that it was special to me. Because I wanted it to be. As I adore the author, Lori. But. No. I did not like this book. I wanted to so badly, but I didn't. And I have many reasons for why it wasn't good enough for me. Sigh.

I shall begin talking about the writing. I knew from the very beginning that I wouldn't like it. But I wanted to try, even so. But it just grew worse for me. I didn't like the writing at all. It annoyed me. I didn't feel for any of the characters, because none of them sounded real. Hmph. Small warning. My review contains spoilers. But I do suggest that you read it even so.

And the main character. Kai. I didn't understand her at all. Sure, she loves her kind-of-brother. But why? I have this why question for just about everything. I felt like nothing made sense in this book. And the writing ruined so much of it for me. I didn't connect to Kai, because it didn't sound like she was thinking at all. She also just let things go, and buried it, aka forgot about it for the moment. Which, ugh. Is not a real thing. I just didn't think she felt real at all. Oh, and another thing that bothers me in books. Girl about to cry, but thinking that she cannot let them see/hear her. It is so annoying. So, what. You just stop the want and need to cry? I wouldn't give a damn if anyone saw me cry. And I hate when characters have an "issue" about it. Sigh. I just didn't enjoy reading about Kai.

I don't think I will talk too much about the plot in this book. Maybe. So I shall talk about the romance. With Kai and Avan. I didn't get it. Why does Avan seem to like her? And why does she like him? And why the hell is she always thinking about him sleeping with boys and girls? And I didn't see the point in that either. Hmph. I felt like too much were thought about the characters, yet I didn't really get to see anything about any of them. How mean. I wanted and needed so much more. This book sort of sucked.

But anyway. The romance. I didn't like it. There is two kisses in this book. The first was written so badly that I actually hated a kissing scene. I don't get it. I need romances in my books. Yet I found this to be so badly written. Sigh. I did not approve. Then there was this other boy, that was so obviously in love with Kai from the moment he met her. And she can't seem to understand it. And blah blah blah. Fuck love triangles. Okay, there isn't really one, but it bothered me like crazy. Just, this was not for me.

I should also mention how the book ends. It doesn't end good. And I didn't care at all. I have known of the ending for months, and I thought it would hurt my heart, but yeah. I didn't care. And it makes me so sad. I wanted to love this book. But I didn't. I enjoyed some small parts, but that was it. Sigh. I'm not sure how much to share about this. So sharing a bit more, then I'm done talking and thinking about this book. I just want to hide it. Despite it being so gorgeous looking. Well. Pretty covers can be deceiving.

I don't get the plot in this book. The main character, Kai, is supposed to be able to stop and speed forward time. But how? And why? And how does it work? And why does she never use it? And why is it almost never talked about? It bothered me so much. Didn't feel like a real plot, because it isn't really a part of the book. Sigh. So yeah. Her powers sucked. And I didn't enjoy reading about it, because there weren't much to read about it at all. Hmph. I wanted so much more from this storyline. I'm disappointed.

Oh, and then there is more of the plot. That I didn't see the point of. Some weird creatures living outside the wall of their city. Whom kill people. And one man had created them. I think. It wasn't described well enough. Oh, and there are immortals in this book. That made NO SENSE AT ALL. It bothered and annoyed me so much. And it didn't seem to affect any of the main characters; they didn't care. Wth. This plot annoyed me. Most of the things made no sense. Like the city they lived in. Sigh.

I'm not sure how to say this. But I had planned on reading The Infinite too. But. I read reviews. And I peeked at the book. And I am so angry and disappointed. There is no way I'm reading it. I wanted to, because I'm a part of the blog tour next week, but I can't do it. I just can't. Hoping that's okay. Since my tour post is an interview, I think it will be fine. Probably. I'm just sorry that I hated this book so much. Sigh. But I couldn't enjoy it. I just couldn't. It wasn't for me. And now I kind of regret reading it. Sigh.

Anyway. Back to why I'm not reading the sequel of this book. Because I really should read it, as I own an hardcover of it. But I can't. I have peeked. There is a love triangle. Kissing with another boy, whom was seriously crushing on her in this book. And she is even having these strange and weird feelings about her adopted brother. It's not okay. And yeah. I'm very upset about it. I won't read it. Not my kind of story at all. Plus, didn't like the writing. Sigh. It makes me sad, but I shall deal with it. Hoping to forget it.

I wish I could recommend you all to read this book. But I really think you should skip it. In my eyes, it was just so badly done. I couldn't stand the way it was written. Everything felt silly to me. The romance was weird. The characters had no feelings or personality. The plot was boring. Okay, I found some things to be exciting, hence the two star rating, but it was far from enough. I wanted and expected so more. Which is why I don't think I'm the only one to dislike it. Sigh. But I'm curious about other thoughts :)


8 comments:

  1. I completely agree with this review! This book didn't work for me either. The world building was confusing, the romance made me uncomfortable - I didn't get their attraction either and Avan's past wasn't my favorite. Then the end changed everything before they could work through anything! I didn't care for Kai much either, and she didn't explore her ability enough. This book had a lot of potential that it didn't deliver on. I don't think I'm curious about the future of the series to read further. Thanks for your honest review!

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  2. I really enjoyed the first book, but the sequel was pretty dreary, and the love triangle was quite prominent. I was pretty disappointed.

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  3. Yeesh. I don't like love triangles even if they're only mildly implied. Skipping this book.

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  4. I'm so so sorry you didn't like it :( I gave it 4 stars and I'm actually looking forward to the sequel :)

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  5. This makes me sad because the cover is gorgeous and the author seems nice! The sibling relationships would bug me to no end, definitely skipping this.
    -Jon from Bookish Antics!

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  6. Well, I didn't dislike this one as much as you, but I definitely thought it had it's problems. I gave it a 3.5. One thing I remember is the pacing was very up and down---a couple of really slow draggy parts, but I did like the world building and the sibling relationship. Great honest review, Carina!

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  7. I have this book on my kindle, but have not come as far to read it yet. Let's hope I like it. It has been very different opinions about this book. Love your honest review :)

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  8. I gave this three stars, but I had to go back and read my review to figure out why. I'm so with you on her powers! There's so little talk of it that it's rather a pointless thing to include. You'd think the ending would be upset, too, but I wanted it to be permanent!

    Weird feelings about her adopted brother in The Infinite? EEK. I got it off Netgalley and will read it, but...that's awkward. I'm sorry you didn't like this, Carina! :(

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