Till It Arrives is inspired by Jamie from The Perpetual Page-Turner’s Save the Date feature. Sometimes I read books that are not released anytime soon, but I want to share some of my feelings on the book right away, so Till It Arrives is born! (It also allows me to read books that appear later in my schedule, so that’s awesome too.) Since I don’t usually use GIFs in my reviews, I thought I’ll use plenty of GIFs to describe my feelings for the book I’m talking about in this feature!
Trial By Fire
Author: Josephine Angelini
Series: The Worldwalker Trilogy #1
Genre: Young Adult, Romance, Fantasy
Release Date: September 2, 2014
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Summary:
This world is trying to kill Lily Proctor. Her life-threatening allergies keep her from enjoying many of the experiences that other teenagers take for granted…which is why she is determined to enjoy her first (and perhaps only) high-school party. But Lily’s life never goes according to plan, and after a humiliating incident in front of half her graduating class Lily wishes she could just disappear.
Suddenly Lily is in a different Salem – one overrun with horrifying creatures and ruled by powerful women called Crucibles. Strongest and cruellest of all the Crucibles is Lillian…Lily’s identical other self in this alternate universe. This new version of her world is terrifyingly sensual, and Lily is soon overwhelmed by new experiences.
Lily realizes that what makes her weak at home is exactly what makes her extraordinary in New Salem. It also puts her life in danger. Thrown into a world she doesn’t understand, Lily is torn between responsibilities she can’t hope to shoulder alone, and a love she never expected.
But how can Lily be the saviour of this world when she is literally her own worst enemy?
First Sentence: Lily Proctor ducked into the girls’ room, already yanking back her rebellious hair.
I received a copy of the book from the publisher in exchange for a honest review. All opinions are my own and I was not compensated for this review.
A Tale of Boredom:
When I first heard that there was a book about witches and parallel universes set in Salem Massachusetts:
When I saw that Josephine Angelini wrote it:
*Side-Note: I did not enjoy her books Starcrossed and Dreamless.
When there was surprisingly no insta-love:
When I saw Josephine Angelini’s writing:
As I was reading:
When I finally reached the middle of the book:
When I finally finished the book and can start another book:
To sum the book up in a GIF:
Oh no…Sorry to hear that you didn’t enjoy this one…I was really looking forward to it, but now I think I’ll push it back and read some other books beforehand. :/
Emily @ Books & Cleverness recently posted…Waiting on…In A Handful of Dust by Mindy McGinnis
Yeah…I’m sad to say that if you want to read Trial By Fire, I strongly recommend you go into it with lower expectations. :l
Kelly recently posted…Till It Arrives: Trial By Fire – Josephine Angelini
I read the entire Starcrossed series and did not enjoy it at all (Why did I read the whole series? I have no frexing clue). While this book looks interesting, I’m really hesitant on reading it thanks to the authors previous series. It’s great that there’s no insta-love! But it seems that her writing is still a problem.
I’ll probably just opt out of this one.
Jessica recently posted…Waiting on Wednesday: The Young Elites by Marie Lu
Ha ha, I bought Goddess after reading both Starcrossed and Dreamless and hating them both. Why do we do these things? D:
I never did read Goddess though.
Yeah, even though there wasn’t any insta-love in this one (YES!), the writing is horrible. It improved a little, but the problems are still there.
Kelly recently posted…Till It Arrives: Trial By Fire – Josephine Angelini
I loved the Starcrossed series so I’m still going to give this book a try just to see what the differences in opinions are
If you love the Starcrossed series, you’ll probably love this one too! I just have a huge problem with Josephine Angelini’s writing, but it looks like you don’t have that problem. (:
Kelly recently posted…Till It Arrives: Trial By Fire – Josephine Angelini
I definitely have to agree on Josephine Angelini’s writing…just ugh. Her earlier series involved things I normally love — Greek mythology, set on an island, etc…but it was just so complex with characters I could never remember, and it was always a struggle to get through her books. I doubt I will be reading this one.
Lina recently posted…Review: ‘If I Stay’ by Gayle Forman
Agreed and agreed.
I don’t think her Starcrossed series was complex exactly; it’s just that there were so many little things happening that made everything feel fast-pace.
I wanted to DNF Dreamless and Trial By Fire SO badly. It was a real struggle to finish them both sadly. :l
Kelly recently posted…Till It Arrives: Trial By Fire – Josephine Angelini
Aww, sad to hear you didn’t like this! I agree that witches and parallel universes sound very interesting. I haven’t read any of Josephine Angelini’s books so I can’t say I know what you mean when you talk about her writing but I totally understand the feeling of being bored with a book and just wanting it to be over with. I have this thing where I really HATE DNFing a book once I’m past the 200 page mark even if it’s like super boring so those last few pages, I’m basically trying to read as fast as I can to get to the ending so I can pick up another book! Anyway, thanks for the heads up and by the way, I love this feature! It’s interesting to see what you think about up and coming books and the gif reactions are great!
Annie recently posted…Happy Canada Day!
Josephine Angelini’s writing is frankly horrible. I don’t want to go in-depth with her writing because I’m saving that rant for my review, but it’s just simply a mess.
I wanted to DNF Trial By Fire SO badly, but since Macmillan sent me an ARC, I thought it was only fair I finished the book so I can write a full review for it.
I’m glad you love this feature! It’s so fun finding the perfect GIFs, yet at the same time, it’s also time consuming because everything needs to be PERFECT. I am a perfectionist. ;D
Kelly recently posted…Till It Arrives: Trial By Fire – Josephine Angelini
LOL! I love the gifs!! I actually liked the first one but then I was all like. . .this is too much *runs and hides* I still sort of need this one. . .even if it’s only because I ADORE that cover.
Jackie~
Jackie @ No Bent Spines recently posted…Waiting on Wednesday
What is too much? o:
Ha ha, sadly, the cover of Trial By Fire does nothing for me. I just don’t like it that much. :l
Kelly recently posted…Till It Arrives: Trial By Fire – Josephine Angelini
Sorry you didn’t like this :(
I personally can’t wait to read it as I really enjoyed the Starcrossed series.
Cool gifs! :)
Jess W (A Book Addict’s Bookshelves) recently posted…Blog Tour + Interview + Giveaway – Carrier (The Line, #1) by Anne Tibbets
If you really enjoyed the Starcrossed series, then you’ll probably like this one!
Ha ha, thank you! It took a lot of GIF hunting. :P
Kelly recently posted…Till It Arrives: Trial By Fire – Josephine Angelini
Ooh, that’s disappointing. I hoped this one would be good. But, awesome (and highly entertaining) post!
Lea @ YA Book Queen recently posted…Waiting on Wednesday (144): WHAT WAITS IN THE WOODS
I really hoped this one would be good too. Just, THAT PREMISE.
Yay, I’m glad you found this post entertaining! :D<3
Kelly recently posted…Till It Arrives: Trial By Fire – Josephine Angelini
I really love her books about Helen in Starcrossed, so I can’t wait to read this new book. <3
If you really enjoyed Starcrossed, you’ll probably like this one too then Cali! (:
Kelly recently posted…Till It Arrives: Trial By Fire – Josephine Angelini
Definitely wanted to see what you had to say because I didn’t like Starcrossed AT ALL…. So I’ll safely be skipped over this one. :)
Kayla recently posted…How to Train Your Dragon by Cressida Cowell
Let me just say: Heck YES to those gifs. I had never read one of her books previously. I didn’t even get past the fifth chapter..Looking forward to your review!
Hawwa @ It Was Lovely Reading You recently posted…[capture that heart] review: the winner’s curse by marie rutkoski
I love gif reviews for early reviews!! It’s fun and amusing and does a good job of expressing your reading experience without spoiling anything.
Annie recently posted…the Summer Solstice
I think I’ll skip this one because I didn’t like Starcrossed. In fact, that was the only book I read because I just hated the characters (I don’t remember about the writing). However, I really wanted to read this, but now, I don’t know.
Lis @ The reader lines recently posted…What’s new? The Stars Never Rise by Rachel Vincent
I have never read anything by Josephine Angelini and I don’t think I will anytime soon. This book does not sound like something I will enjoy especially now that I have seen your review.
The GIFs are wonderful! THANK YOU, THANK YOU for sharing your reading experience from pre-read to post-read! It will be one less book I don’t have on my TBR!
ummm can I it……please?
Can I have it please? :-))))
Brittany T recently posted…On Vacation!! *HUGS*
The early reviews I’ve seen for this book all seem to be in favor or excited about this book. I’ve never read a book from Josephine Angelini, but I’ve heard okay, not okay, and great stuff so it only helps to confuse me. I’m still thinking about this one though…especially since it seems to not be as awesome as some have made it out to seem…
It’s such a shame that you didn’t like it :( The synopsis was really intriguing and I was really looking forward to reading this book, despite the author being Josephine Angelini. I mean parallel universes, witches and NOW I find out there’s no insta-love!! YES PLEASE! But it looks like (once again) the plot just can’t make up for poor writing. *sigh* At least my TBR pile is a little smaller.
It’s too bad you didn’t like it.. Oh well, I enjoyed the Starcrossed trilogy so I’ll probably like this book! :)
I’ve never read anything by Josephine Angelini. Although I have such high standards for writing I’m fairly sure I won’t pick anything up by her. This one looked so good too. That’s a total bummer. Thanks for the review, and well, saving me from picking up the book!
LOVE your review!!
But it’s awful you didn’t like it! I too hear about a witch book and am immediately into it, but if the writing isn’t the style I like, I can get how you’re frustated.
Concept wise it’s unique, to run into yourself in a parallel universe.
It sucks that you disliked it! I was considering buying it just because of the gorgeous cover. I haven’t read any of Angelini’s other books, but I’ll be sure to go into them knowing they are probably terrible.
Thanks for the review!
Aw, I’m sorry to hear that you didn’t like it. I LOVED Josephine Angelini’s Starcrossed trilogy and I’m excited to read Trial By Fire. Hopefully, I’ll enjoy it; the beginning line seems weird, but hey, it’s just the opening line. Thanks for your honest opinion; I like to read other people’s reviews – it’s interesting! :-)
Aw man, I’m so sad to see that you did not enjoy this book :( This is actually on my most anticipated books list but I’m still willing to give it a try nonetheless.
This is a great post btw! The GIFs made me LOL >.<
EM @ Books and Iced Coffee recently posted…Top Ten Tuesday (24): The Harry Potter Spells Tag
Awh, this was one I was looking forward to picking up. Much like yourself, I’m a sucker for Salem with books. But, I have read many, not just Salem based witch books, but witch books in general, that haven’t been that interesting. Where the plot moves too slowly, or there’s just no real depth the the characters, so it isn’t that hard to believe that this one couldn’t quite make it too success either. Sorry to hear you had to read a not-so-great book. It’s never a good feeling when you put time and effort into something and it doesn’t pay off.
This book sounded really interesting and I definitely wanted to read it, but after seeing your amazing compilation of gifs :D regarding your feelings about this book. I’m now wondering whether i should just cross this off my TBR or not. But i DID actually quite enjoy the Starcrossed trilogy.. hmm.. Well i can’t wait to read your non-gif review :)
Oh bummer, your review is the first I’ve read for Trial by Fire and now I’m a bit worried and also not sure if I want the cheaper Kindle version or the expensive hardcover.
I actually liked Josephine’s Starcrossed trilogy – except for the last few chapters of Goddess – and I also found the parallel universe idea quite interesting. So I guess you didn’t like it because of the boring plot and the writing style? How many goodreads stars would you give it?
Ah no.. what a shame you didn’t enjoyed the book :(
I was actually really excited about this book but after your gif review I don’t know if I wanna read it after all.
Man, I am so bummed to hear that the book wasn’t all that great. I found it on accident, looking through BookTube videos and my first impressions, like yours, was OH MY GOD! This is just going to be AWESOME! I love reading about witches but I just haven;t found a good book about them yet :( I think I’ll still pick it up anyway though, just to see. Who knows, maybe I’d like it :)
Thanks for the review!