Like the first book, the adventures of the twins of legend are still thrilling. I love how Machiavelli has his own powerful ways to get to the twins fast and unlike Dee, he uses gadgets to contact other allies. Every chapter leaves a good cliffhanger that made me want to read more.
The Good: I love how intense it gets when there's a game going on, and I kind of wish the author actually put the complete chess notations for each game so I can also witness how it played while reading. So generally, I love all the parts with a game going on.
The Bad: Flat characters. Absolutely no character development. Characters appear and disappear for zero to minimal reasons. The deaths of characters have no impact.
The Ugly: The blatant racism and child sexual abuse. I could probably let the racism pass as it was set in the '60s and it's probably just trying to be realistic (and maybe just trying to establish the closeness between Jolene and Beth), but I could not let the sexual abuse pass. Chapter 1 was disgusting.
Overall, giving this a 3. It wasn't the best but it wasn't the worst either.
I'm speechless. I've been reading full length books since I was 15 years old. I'm 27 now. This is the very first book that made me cry. It's so bittersweet. Easily favourite read in 2021!
Most things being “mechanical” definitely still show the book's age and make it seem outdated. But the whole idea and concept behind “happiness” is still surprisingly relevant today. Everyone wants to be happy all the time, and that's what's eerie about this book. Makes you appreciate the dynamic of the ups and downs of life. I enjoyed this book!
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