the writing was great. But the story was not what I expected
596386
As always, the writing was great.  But the story was not what I expected ...I wasn't crazy about it.
674809
This is one of those books that I started with great anticipation, and although I liked it, I just didn't find it as satisfying a read as I expected. Yes, it's a great little story of a poor black soldier trying to return home to Georgia after returning from the Korean War, dealing with what we now recognize as post-traumatic stress together with segregation and hostile discrimination. Yes, the writing is great, and the character development is great. But I never felt that need to pick it up and read in every spare moment, which to me is mandatory for a four-star review. Having never read Toni Morrison before, I don't know whether or not this is a reaction to this particular book or to her writing in general. Still, all in all, it's a book I'm glad to have read, and one I would recommend for an interesting glimpse into Frank Money's struggle with his memories and his current life, and his need to return Home.
1899531
This book was just not my style.  The writing was great and I can see why people love it, but for me the story was a little slow.  In addition, I am not really into books about groups of women banning together to overcome tragedy-too realistic for my entertainment needs.  I want a book to take me away from the realities of this world with an over the top storyline or make me want to be a teenager again.  This was a little to close to the nightly news for me.
4190998
Great writing, as usual, but not as good as I had expected. No quirks like I have come to expect
4531598
Great for young teens but not what I thought. Great writing. Great story but not a great read as an adult. Ultimately disappointed.
4592076
This was not quite what I expected, but in a good way. I expected the writing style to be similar to <i>Shiver</i> but it wasn't. I did love the writing style in the other series, but it wouldn't have matched this series. This is a much darker story that I thought it would be.

Blue was interesting. She seemed pretty independent and pretty confident in herself and who she is as a person. She didn't seem to have any friends, other than the psychics who lived at her house and even then they were more maternal figures than friends. She definitely seemed more romance driven compared to the other characters. There were moments where she seemed almost like a push over but she was able to rebel in her own way at the same time.

The psychics that Blue lived with were pretty crazy. It's weird to think that a group of similarly talented people could all congregate in the same house and actually somewhat get along. The only one who seemed atypical was Neeve. She very subtly plays a large part in what's happening in Henrietta. I'm curious to know what happens to her since it was left very open at the end. Also, I'm curious about "Butternut".

The other main characters were the Raven Boys who go to the private school Aglionby.
-Adam is the stereotypical scholarship student. He has many issues at home and the typical not enough money issues as well. He works hard to move his way up but at the same time this determination is almost a crutch. He is not a very trusting person and definitely holds a lot of anger. After what happens at the end of this first book, I can only imagine the kind of hell he is going to have to deal with in the future.
-Gansey is basically the leader in this group of Raven Boys. He is rich and oblivious of how to deal with it basically. He definitely fits the role of an obsessive kid. He seems to be pretty history and curiosity driven. It was unexpected to find out what sparked this interest in his hunt/obsession.
-Ronan is the tortured soul. I can't wait to learn more about him and his history as it is only briefly touched upon so far. I do wonder why they mention he is "more raven" than the others.
-Noah. Poor, poor Noah. I can't say much more without spoiling anything.

There are some pretty obvious parts. It was easy to predict who the bad guy was and history certainly repeats itself with what happened to him prior to this book and what happens at the end of this book. There's still enough left open to wonder what will happen in the sequel (out later this year). I'm looking forward to reading more in this series!
705076
The Girl in Seat 24B by Jennifer Peel was definitely a struggle for me.  The writing was amazing.  Jennifer Peel has an amazing way of making you feel, deeply, for her characters.  The problem that I had was that I felt very strong undesirable feelings for the Husband of the main character...  Strong feelings the went beyond the ability for me to change my opinion of him.  Towards the end of the book, the plot takes a turn that I couldn't follow, and for that, I have serious mixed feelings about the book.  Great writing, yes.  But the plot...  I believe it crossed a line that made it unbelievable for me to recover from without our hero having a serious character growth that I didn't feel happened.

Side note, I listened to the audio version of this book.  I was given a free copy of the audio book from the author for a review.  I almost feel guilty about that because I didn't want to write the review when I was done.  I have to say, the reader was not my favorite.  The voice she used for the male characters and for the children grated my nerves, which is very unfortunate.
797514
The writer is talented and tells a great story. The story itself is new and unique,and the author does a great job telling it. If I have a critical thing to say, it would be I don't think the author needed three books to tell the story. It seemed there was some needless filler.
1475566
I really didn't like this type of story not for me. But if you are into that kind of thing and that type of writing then it is a book for you but it wasn't for me.
489224
I'll be honest up until the halfway mark, I wasn't a fan of this story. The characters felt very stereotypical and two dimensional and I had to will myself to finish it.  Although the writing is good, actually very good, I was not connecting to it at all.  However, once the characters went through their life changing moments, my feelings for them changed. They actually felt more real if that makes any sense.

To me, Julia was the worst of the three sisters. Was not a fan of her story at all, until she went through a situation that many of us women have been in. It was only then I was able to empathise with her.

Sophie was next. Her story very stereotypical and cringe worthy to me. However once she had her life altering moment, I grew to have a lot more respect for her. Her character transformed in a wonderful way and I'd imagine that a lot of the readers would grow to like her more as well.

And Louise, to me she was the most believable character. I felt like she was more of a real person and in fact found myself identifying with her. In fact, I think I was able to assign a character to myself and my two sisters, because they had characteristics of us as well (i have two sisters like the story).  Although I unfortunately don't have a relationship with my sisters like that of Julie.

So although, i wasn't a fan of the characters at first, in the end I did enjoy their transformations and struggles.  The writer had a wonderful way of executing the dialogue and writing, I think I've enjoyed it the most out of all the stories in that POV that I've read so far! I do look forward to reading the second book in this series, now that the characters have been developed with more reality to them I think I would enjoy them more. So if you haven't read this one yet, then I recommend you do.
1065233
This is an excellent book but not what I had expected.
1548435
I loved the writing.  Insightful observations, but I felt the story didn't quite hang together effectively.
3258776
In my first reading, I got about 2/3 of the way through the book, but eventually, despite the vivid imagery, I got lost in the storyline and became confused and then bored soon after. I kept waiting for more information but was never satisfied. Perhaps this isn't the genre for me. I'm not a huge fan of not having enough information. Great writing, though.
4046528
The writing did not live up to my expectations but the story line itself was great. Cami is a stronger character then Abby but the witty arguments between Abby and Travis were more entertaining. Overall I can't wait until her book on Thomas M.
1207246
Incredibly good descriptive writing but ultimately, when I finished the book I thought "Really? That was it?" I think I was expecting some great reveal that didn't happen.
4179134
I wasn't sure what to expect from this book, but I really liked it!  The story was captivating, and the writing was excellent.  Overall a good read.
88583
Was not what I expected , but enjoyed the dark unexpected parts.