Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor
Strange the Dreamer has peaked my interest for a month or two now. I've seen a lot of people talking about it and reviewing it, all raving about how wonderful the story is. It also has a beautiful blue and gold cover that immediately draws your attention. As I thought about my 2018 reading goals, I realized that reading "Strange the Dreamer" would allow me to tick off two of my boxes. 1) Listen to a book as an audio book. "Strange the Dreamer" falls into the fantasy genre. With fantasy writing, there tends to be some odd names. Some of my struggle with reading fantasy is that it can be hard for me to follow because I can't grasp the pronunciation of the names, cities, and it makes the dialogue tricky. If I can listen to someone do that for me, it may make it easier for me. 2) Read more "current" or "trendy" books. A lot of people listed this book on their top reads for 2017. I may be a little behind, but I'm hoping I can still ride the wave since it was just published March 2017.
I found an app called "Overdrive" for audio books. I could plug in all of my library card information once, and then I had access to my library's e-book and audio book files without having to re-login every single time. You still have to make sure that something is in your library's collection, wait for it to be available, and follow the check-out guidelines, but it just seemed more convenient than going through my library's website.
For me personally, I find it difficult to listen to audio books without the text in front of me. I need the visual in front of me to focus. Otherwise, I find myself a half hour into an audio book, and I realize I've been thinking about my grocery list, the laundry that needs done, how the weather is outside... and I have absolutely no idea what I've just listened to. But it was a massive help that the audio book narrator was the one who had to struggle through the foreign names and wacky pronunciations. Luckily, I found the e-book online and was able to read along while I listened to the audio book to help keep my concentration and focus. The only other issue I found with that, was that I visually read faster than the narrator talked. Sometimes when a big plot twist was coming, I would spoil myself by speed reading ahead and then wait for him to catch up.
With about 50 pages left, I had to check to see if it was a stand alone or a series because there was NO WAY it was all going to wrap up in just a few pages. It sounds like she is in the midst of writing the second book, and we aren't sure if it will be a duology or a trilogy by the end. As of now, it doesn't appear that there is a release date for the second book. Be prepared for things to feel unresolved at the end of this first book.
I loved the layout of the book. It is broken into four parts, but I obviously don't want to spoil the book by covering all of them. Part One covers the introduction and basics for one of the main characters named Lazlo Strange. You find out that he is an orphan who has an affinity for this lost city of "Weep." Weep actually had a different name at one point, but it was attacked and the true name of the city was stripped away and all that remained was Weep. Most people don't really care or remember much about Weep, but Lazlo wants to learn all he can about it. The book follows Lazlo's journey to learn about Weep as well as his own past. You meet some other people along the way, but I think it's best to go into the book a little blind. It helps when you let your idea of the world build with Lazlo's knowledge.
I thought the ending was really rushed. I read that she had intended for it to be one book and then decided to extend it, and I think that really shows. We also meet a love interest later on in the book, but I thought their dynamic was so-so. I think the author was trying to portray them both as very innocent and naive but to me that came across as lacking depth. The plot and character developments just started out so strong, and I felt it started to decline by the end. Regardless, I'm still really looking forward to the other book(s) in the series!
Rating: 3.75 out of 5
* Positives: Lazlo's character growth and development, layout of the first half of the book, and really most things surrounding Lazlo. I loved his character.
* Negatives: There were a few times I felt lost which were usually cleared up later, the rushed ending, and the "romance."
I found an app called "Overdrive" for audio books. I could plug in all of my library card information once, and then I had access to my library's e-book and audio book files without having to re-login every single time. You still have to make sure that something is in your library's collection, wait for it to be available, and follow the check-out guidelines, but it just seemed more convenient than going through my library's website.
For me personally, I find it difficult to listen to audio books without the text in front of me. I need the visual in front of me to focus. Otherwise, I find myself a half hour into an audio book, and I realize I've been thinking about my grocery list, the laundry that needs done, how the weather is outside... and I have absolutely no idea what I've just listened to. But it was a massive help that the audio book narrator was the one who had to struggle through the foreign names and wacky pronunciations. Luckily, I found the e-book online and was able to read along while I listened to the audio book to help keep my concentration and focus. The only other issue I found with that, was that I visually read faster than the narrator talked. Sometimes when a big plot twist was coming, I would spoil myself by speed reading ahead and then wait for him to catch up.
With about 50 pages left, I had to check to see if it was a stand alone or a series because there was NO WAY it was all going to wrap up in just a few pages. It sounds like she is in the midst of writing the second book, and we aren't sure if it will be a duology or a trilogy by the end. As of now, it doesn't appear that there is a release date for the second book. Be prepared for things to feel unresolved at the end of this first book.
I loved the layout of the book. It is broken into four parts, but I obviously don't want to spoil the book by covering all of them. Part One covers the introduction and basics for one of the main characters named Lazlo Strange. You find out that he is an orphan who has an affinity for this lost city of "Weep." Weep actually had a different name at one point, but it was attacked and the true name of the city was stripped away and all that remained was Weep. Most people don't really care or remember much about Weep, but Lazlo wants to learn all he can about it. The book follows Lazlo's journey to learn about Weep as well as his own past. You meet some other people along the way, but I think it's best to go into the book a little blind. It helps when you let your idea of the world build with Lazlo's knowledge.
I thought the ending was really rushed. I read that she had intended for it to be one book and then decided to extend it, and I think that really shows. We also meet a love interest later on in the book, but I thought their dynamic was so-so. I think the author was trying to portray them both as very innocent and naive but to me that came across as lacking depth. The plot and character developments just started out so strong, and I felt it started to decline by the end. Regardless, I'm still really looking forward to the other book(s) in the series!
Rating: 3.75 out of 5
* Positives: Lazlo's character growth and development, layout of the first half of the book, and really most things surrounding Lazlo. I loved his character.
* Negatives: There were a few times I felt lost which were usually cleared up later, the rushed ending, and the "romance."
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