I love taking a look at a book cover and description and then coming up with my own idea of what the book will be about. Sometimes I’m right, sometimes I’m so wrong it’s almost funny. So I’ve decided to launch myself off of WWW Wednesday, a bookish meme run by Sam@Taking on a World of Words, and write about my first, middle, and last impressions of each book I read.
The first impression is based solely on the cover and description. What do I think it will be about?
The middle impression is kind of a check-in on how the story is going about halfway through.
The last impression is my final thoughts on the book, what I’m left thinking.
I hope you have as much fun with this as I will!
The City of Dusk by Tara Sim – Fantasy
First Impression: I’m anticipating this will be an intriguing fantasy, and maybe a bit on the dark side. I mean, look at that cover…
Middle Impression: So far, I’m enjoying the story and like the slow unraveling of what’s going on and what the characters are going to do about their small and large problems. The story does not shy away from anything so far. The only thing that seems a little odd to me, though, is that all the heirs are about the same age. Considering they come from different families and considering these families who don’t seem to socialize with each other appear to be having children at about the same time, well, it just seems like too much of a coincidence and I would have liked differently aged heirs. But I do love the world building and am dying for more of it, and the magic and the way it’s used is fascinating.
Last Impression: This is dark and complex with layers and so many conflicting motivations. At times, it was a little difficult to figure out who was on which side and wanted which outcome, and I definitely became a little confused more than once. Some things also felt a little too convenient, almost like threads were getting too overloaded or long. But the characters were wonderful and complex and so very human. The world, too, is incredible and I can’t wait to explore more of it in the next book.
Tales of Atlantis: The Dawning of a New Age by D. M. White – Fantasy
First Impression: Atlantis! I’ve been intrigued by Atlantis since I was 12, so this one really caught my attention. From the description, I’m expecting this to be complex and full of action with multiple layers and perspectives. And there’s a baker? I’m expecting…food?
Middle Impression: My gut says I’m not impressed, which makes me kind of sad because it involves Atlantis. It took an awful long time for the story to catch up to the description. It offers an interesting take on Greek mythology and flirts between ancient and modern times, which didn’t always make a lot of sense to me. The sense of time and place felt oddly warped, or the author was just uncertain of ancient or modern so just mashed both together.
Last Impression: I have to say this book made good use of the material in Greek mythology, and I got my Heracles this time. However, I felt there were just too many story lines and they did not receive equal treatment. Some characters just vanished for good chunks before suddenly resurfacing after a jump in time, but I wanted to know what happened during that time. Weirdly, it felt like there was too much going on and not enough. There are a lot of story lines, but they all seemed fairly simplistic.
Billy Bean’s Ghost by John York – Mystery
First Impression: I’m expecting a fun, fast-paced mystery with a ghost.
Middle Impression: I scare far too easily. The main story involves a ghost and murder mystery and it’s seriously freaking me out. I’m reading this to my daughter and to myself while she falls asleep at night and let’s just say she falls asleep fast while I’m peeking at shadows and wondering if I’m just imagining that stabby sensation in my shoulder. I’m super spooked. Fortunately, it’s very nicely balanced with humor, a sweetly awkward romance, and a delightful main character who takes things in stride and inspires me to calm down. Sort of.
Last Impression: Surprisingly, with how the book ended, the scare factor went way down for me. Even through all the harrowing events, the humor was spot on and really helped relieve the tension and mounting fright in me. The characters did come off as a little too bubbly sometimes, but I loved how it counterbalanced the scarier bits. I had some suspicions about what what happened, but it was still fun to find out.
What about you?
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