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May 31, 2013

Mini Reviews: Gameboard of the Gods by Richelle Mead & The Testing by Joelle Charbonneau


Gameboard of the Gods (Age of X, #1)
Gameboard of the Gods (Age of X, #1)
Richelle Mead
June 4, 2013 from Dutton Adult
2/5 stars
















*shakes head* Gameboard of the Gods.. how disappointing and long and excruciating you turned out to be. I was SO happy when I got a review copy from Penguin Canada and I couldn't wait to dive in. Yes it is a hefty book, but who cares? the synopsis sounded fantastic and it is Richelle Mead for God's sake! The reason why I opted for a mini review instead of a full one is because I have so much to complain about and it isn't really effective for me to whine so I'll just summarize all the problems I had with this book that made it in the end a not so happy reading experience. This is an NA book, however with the graphic and descriptive scenes I felt it is more adult, and I didn't appreciate the careless nature the main characters had in regards to their love life, or more like lust life. Justin was such a womanizing Jerk while Mae was just void of any emotional depth. All Justin thought about was women and drugs while Mae basically felt like a robot to me. Then there was the actual plot which was basically a mind melting one, not the good kind. I just felt that we were left in the dark for too
long and I didn't appreciate not knowing what the hell was going on. At times I had to go and read reviews just to understand some aspect of the world building because it was so confusing. Also, the plot promises a murder mystery investigation but so much happened in this book, the deities and religions, the dystopian world, the murder, the supposed romance, and the promise Justin has to fulfill. It was a bit too much to take for a single book and while the plot had a lot going for it, most of the time I was pretty bored. I personally wouldn't recommend it to anyone because this book put me in a reading slump and I managed to read it in around 8 days. If you know me, that is pretty bad since I usually finish a 500 page book in two days maximum. All in all, this book won't shape my opinion of Richelle Mead and I do intend on reading her VA and Bloodline series, but just not this one.

Note: apparently the back of the book said "new adult series" meaning it is a new ADULT series, like brand new. That completely threw me off! 

The Testing (The Testing, #1)





The Testing (The Testing, #1)
Joelle Charbonneau
June 4, 2013 from HMH
2/5 stars
Goodreads | Amazon | Indigo | B&N 



The Testing, unfortunately, turned out to be a much safer, tamer, and less interesting novel to the ones it was compared to, The Hunger Games and Divergent. I expected to be horrified, to see things without any sugar coating, and to have an emotional connection with the main protagonist as well as scenes that cause my heart to go on overdrive. However, I got the baby of those two novels, because The Testing had a lot of similarities to both novels, but it fell flat in comparison. We have the tests, which in theory remind me of Divergent, however the first test was them completing written tests then a few unexplained deaths here and there, but what annoyed me is that no one questioned them, and I think that was my biggest problem with the characters in this book. Then there are tests 2 and 3 which are pretty much forgettable, and lastly test 4, which is very similar to the game in THG. However, again, we get pretty uneventful scenes. I just wanted more, however all I got was a few tiny bursts of a would be horrific scene but then the author quickly masks it and I'm like: but.. I want to know more, I want more action, I want more depth from these characters, but unfortunately the author only scratched the surface with the plot and the characters. So, The Testing was a disappointment in the end and I honestly am not invested enough with the plot and characters to pick up the sequel. 


19 comments:

  1. Aww, I'm sorry TGotG didn't work out for you. Even though I love Mead's Bloodline series, I just knew that TGotG wouldn't be my cup of tea. Ughh, the mcs sounds horrible!

    "The Testing had a lot of similarities to both novels, but it fell flat in comparison."
    ^ That is exactly why I ended up DNF'ing The Testing. Sadly it wasn't very original. :(

    I hope your next read is more enjoyable. <3 Thanks for the honest reviews!

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  2. What a shame! Gameboard of the Gods sounds so good based on the blurb :( I'm not sure how I feel about The Testing, since I've read some very positive reviews too. Thanks for the honest mini-reviews!

     Mel@thedailyprophecy.

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  3. Aww.. I'm really excited for both the Testing and Game Board of the Gods. Eh.. I don't know if I want to read either if you had trouble with them. I think I'll still read them anyways!

    -Ariella @ Secrets of Lost Words

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  4. Awww! I have high expectations for The Testing and am excited to read it. Now that I have read your review I won't expect much from it. Thanks! :)

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  5. Oh no! :( These are both books that I've been looking forward to a long long time. :( I actually just got Gameboard today, but now I'm not so sure I want to read it... I HATE confusing books, and the fact that the romance isn't very real makes me hesitate. And isn't it embarrassing when books don't live up to their comparison (THG and Divergent)? I don't think I'll be picking the Tesing up, I just don't want to be disappointed. Thanks for the mini reviews!

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  6. Dang :D I was looking forward for these books :D Now I'm scared to read them lol. Thanks for the honest reviews.

    -Dannielle

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  7. I was really looking forward to Gameboards of the Gods, I really liked the VA series from Mead. But this one might not be for me from the sounds of it. The Testing is one that I have and need to read, but I keep putting it off. Thanks for honest thoughts on both.

    Jenea @ Books Live Forever

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  8. I'm reading Gameboard of the Gods and it was pitched to me as an adult novel, actually they said it was her first fully adult novel (though ive read her other adult novels, so maybe they are considering those NA?) Anyway, I'm liking it but I read adult books a lot so maybe that makes a difference? I'm not even a quarter in though, so we'll see.
    I have heard The Testing is pretty blah so I haven't been interested in reading it.
    Sorry these didn't work for you!

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  9. I read and liked The Testing but I do agree that is to similar to The Hunger Games.
    And I was looking forward to read The Gameboard of Gods, I loved VA and Bloodlines series. :(
    thanks for the mini reviews.

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  10. It makes me unbelievably sad to see tons of people saying that Gameboard didn't live up to their expectations. It's like I want to read it, but I don't. I ADORE Richelle Mead and I don't want my opinion of her to diminish any.

    As for the testing, it did have some astounding similarities to THG, but I more or less enjoyed it. I kind of feel like the 2nd book will feel less like an imitation.

    Great reviews, though. The mini-reviews are certainly effective when it comes to negative reviews!

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  11. Awww too bad Gameboard of the gods didn't work for you. I thought it was adult and not new adult?! Well either way I usually love her adult books so I am a little worried now. The Testing never sounded very exciting to me. Just sounded like an overly dramatic SAT test. I've seen quite a few lackluster reviews for that one.

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  12. I've really been looking forward to Gameboard of the Gods (I loved Mead's Vampire Academy series), but I think I'll definitely have to lower my expectations now. I couldn't get through The Testing in the end, unfortunately, but now I'm glad that I abandoned it when I did.

    Lovely mini reviews, Juhina, but I'm sorry that neither of these particularly worked for you!

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  13. Ha. I couldn't finish The Testing. It was too much for me.
    Umm.. Damn. I was really excited about Gameboard of the Gods because I love Richelle Mead but I despise womanizing jerks. Conflict.
    To buy or not to buy.
    :/
    Great mini reviews :)

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  14. It seems every blog that I read really has only bad things to say bout Gameboard of the Gods which is sad because I was really looking forward to it. I'm sorry you also didn't like The Testing since I have heard good things about that one.

    Ultimately thanks for the great reviews I'm just sorry you didn't like the books.

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  15. Thanks for stopping by my blog and commenting on my review of The Testing. I love that we can all have different opinions of books and share them freely. I can see your point-of-view, but in the end I enjoyed The Testing. Sorry you didn't. I will definitely be reading your blog from now on so thanks for letting me know you are here!
    Have a wonderful week!

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  16. I'm shocked about Gameboard of the Gods! Love Richelle Mead, so I'll pick it up, but... I'm kind of worried now.

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  17. I had been struggling to finish this book too. So glad I'm not the only one.

    Hyacinth Marius (Everett Bankruptcy Attorney)

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  18. I've seen so many conflicting reviews about Gameboard of the Gods...people seem to either enjoy it, or be REALLY let down. You're not the only one though so at least that's not so bad but I am sorry you didn't enjoy it better. I'll be reading it soon but it'll also be my 1st Richelle Mead read! Seems like the ones who enjoyed GotG the most are the ones who hadn't read anything else by her, and had nothing to compare to, so I'm crossing my fingers I guess haha I had heard good things about The Testing though, so I'm sorry you didn't have better luck with it. We can't all enjoy the same books I guess :) Thanks for sharing your thoughts!!

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  19. I wasn't sure if I would like this book but am so glad I took the chance. This book was amazing. Richelle did a great job writing this, she is an author who writes amazingly. She doesn't just give you all the answers in the beginning. You have to figure them out by reading more and more. And some of the mysteries in this book makes you want to read on and fill the holes. If you're looking for a great read you just found it!
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