Slayer

I absolutely loved Kiersten White's interpretation of the Buffy world! This book definitely gave me a glimps of the world I missed while imagining and craving a different side of it entirely. I loved the continued plot twists and *spoiler* demon drama that ensued. I absolutely recommend to those who love the Buffy world and pretty much anyone else. I'm sure I've said it before and I'll say it again, I love Kiersten White's writing

4.5 stars the end thooooo i knew it!!!!!11

Wow, this actually turned out to an enjoyable read. I am never too sure about spinoffs in any shape or form because most of the time they never turn out well. However, White did an amazing job of setting up the same old world as depicted in "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" but with a new cast of characters that were as delightful as the show.

Начать, пожалуй, тут нужно с того, что «Истребительница» Кирстен Уайт – книжка для die hard Buffy fans, то есть тех, кто не только смотрел 7 сезонов «Баффи», но и 5 сезонов «Ангела», киноприквел 1992 года и читал комиксы, в частности, серию «8 сезон». Ко всему этому в тексте есть отсылки, ну и начинается история в том месте, где закончился 8 сезон – Баффи уничтожила источник всей магии на Земле, все сидят, колдовать не могут, гроб, гроб, кладбище. Нашу героиню зовут Афина, но все используют имя Нина, как бы намекая, что имени воинственной богини она не заслужила. У Афины есть сестра-близнец Артемида (без уменьшительных), и они из оставшихся Наблюдателей (чью штаб-квартиру взорвали в конце 7 сезона «Баффи»). Эта грозная кучка живет в замке недалеко от Дублина и презирает компашку Истребительниц под предводительством Баффи, которые отказались от услуг Совета Наблюдателей. Жизнь Афины-Нины чрезвычайно уныла и бессобытийна, пока однажды вдруг не выясняется, что она может завалить Адскую Гончую голыми руками (играет заставка с закадровым голосом In every generation there is a Chosen One....) Главная неудача «Истребительницы» – безумно скучная героиня, в голове которой три мысли: 1) мама меня не любит; 2) ненавижу Баффи; 3) мой наблюдатель такой миленький. Между этими тремя мыслями, как между соснами, она и ходит в своих многочисленных внутренних монологах. В каком-то месте Нина даже подумала «возможно, мне нужен психотерапевт», и я практически в голос закричала «да! это можно выслушивать только за деньги!» Зачем Кирстен Уайт устроила нам этот праздник рефлексии, решительно непонятно. Может быть, она решила показать, что НА САМОМ ДЕЛЕ быть Истребительницей очень тяжело? Но о чем же тогда был оригинальный сериал, особенно последние два сезона? Разве не целиком и полностью о том, как трудно и одиноко быть Избранной? Помимо скучнотищи, наша Нина еще и глуповата, и в боевых сценах размышляет примерно так: «какой красивый осенний день, как ему подходит по цвету мое оранжевое пальто... ой, я же приехала убивать вампиров, наверное надо было в черное одеться, да?... а также я, кажется, забыла оружие...». Отдельно отмечу дурацкую ситуацию, когда Наблюдателем Нины назначают мальчика на 3 года старше, в которого она влюблена. Я столько времени провела с раскладом, что Джайлс для Баффи – father figure, что прям вообще не готова менять свои представления о природе взаимоотношений Наблюдателя и Истребительницы. Или, может быть, кто-то перепутал сериалы 90-х, и на самом деле думал про Пайпер и Лео из «Зачарованных»? Героев-вампиров в книге нет, интересных второстепенных героев тоже нет, зачем в повествовании гей-пара, чьи отношения никак не развиваются – непонятно (и несколько оскорбительно по отношению к оригинальному сериалу, который аж в 1997 году очень эмоционально показал первые long-term lesbian relationship на американском телевидении). Все чаще подозреваю, что некоторые писатели вписывают персонажей-геев для галочки, просто чтобы делать маркетинг на ЛГБТ-аудиторию. В общем, это даже не фанфик. В фанфике ты хотя бы с любимыми персонажами встречаешься, а здесь только сильно выхолощенный мир, унылые герои и предсказуемые события. Дислайк.

UPDATE 07/08/2020: re-read, even better than the first time!! still a 5 star and still a fav of course, will start book 2 tomorrow <3 This was everything I needed. First favorite of the year and now in my top 5 fav book series 📖 ❤️👌

4.5 Stars WHAT A WILD RIDE. This book gave me all the crazy feels. Like, in the beginning, the MC Nina talks about her hate for distaste for Buffy and ya know, I grew up with Buffy so I wanted to defend her to the death! But as things went on, you really got where she was coming from. Nina is a great character. She has a lot of development throughout the book, more than you would expect from a single novel. I LOVE RHYS AND CILLIAN. OH MY WORD. They have my heart. There's a lot of BTVS universe stuff here (and if you're somewhat familiar with the comic books, it helps) but honestly, you could read this without any knowledge of the show or comics. It'll all make sense. The last 50 pages or so of this book were just a ridiculous roller coaster ride. SO MUCH HAPPENED. I cannot wait until the next book in this series, I have a feeling it's going to be amazing!

*I got this book early from the publisher for my honest thoughts* I really enjoyed this book alot. I really found the tiebacks to the actually buffy characters a nice element. I really would loved a bit more connections to the buffy characters. I really enjoyed the new setting of this book and also the new set of characters. I found the premise of this book to super well done. I was really liked nina and loved her storyline in this book. I found her to be such a unique slayer. I also really liked the various mysteries we met had in this story. I wanted to the end to be a bit more fleshed out but I am so excited for book 2!!!

*4.5 Stars

I had extremely high expectations going into this book just based on how much I love the Buffy-verse. I have to admit, this left me...underwhelmed. I felt the dialogue at times tried way too hard to be as punny and sarcastic as the TV show that it felt forced. Although their relationship does work itself out towards the later half of the novel, Nina spends the majority of the book bashing Buffy because she feels she ruined her life, and that got old real quick. I did enjoy some aspects of the story line and characters such as Rhys and his boyfriend Cillian, and there were a few funny bits thrown into the mix. I also found it interesting to see this world through the Watcher's perspective. In BtVS, we really are just following Buffy's life and her duty, so it's nice to flip the script. As a fan, I did like all the nods to the show and comics as well. Even though this didn't turn out to be everything I had hoped it'd be, I did feel it picked up towards the end and came into its own. I'm not sure if I'll continue with this series, but it was fun for what it is.

I still had this mini review on my notes and completely forgot about it... Slayer was a bit “Meh” I really never watched “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” growing up because my mom was weird and will make a fuss every time I tried saying I was to young. It took me forever to finish this book and that is sign enough that I was not connecting with the story, characters or anything in particular. Still I finished it and I’m pretty sure months later I’ll not remember much about it. One of my biggest issues is that this book was not supposed to be about “Buffy” but it’s incredible the amount of times Buffy is mentioned or shown on the story. Will I be reading the next one? Probably, there is a specific character that I’ll like to know what happened to it.

Buffy is my all time favorite series, such a happy place I go to when I feel down. It makes me so cheerful, it’s my whole childhood. And this was little bit like coming back home. The beginning was not the best, there was a lot of to understand and get into, but it got so much better in the half. I really felt like the author could describe well how slayers feel in their lives, so powerful yet so alone. Coming home made me feel good. Author made it feel like BUFFY again, although the characters were new. Don’t get me wrong, nothing is as good as Buffy, but this was really cute and promising first book. So glad authors still like to get back to the best original stories.

I'm gonna be honest with you, the first third or so of this book is DULL. Nina, is winy and her personality can be summed up with some serious family issues and a constant hatred of one (in)famous Buffy Summers, and then things finally get interesting and I started to slowly and ever so surely warm up to it over the course of the rest of the book. It's fun y'all, like genuinely fun, but it's also kinda basic too. It feels like there's a lot of diversity for diversity's sake thrown in (view spoiler)[like Artemis/Honora (who I COULD have totally rooted for, if y'know, Kiersten White had actually had them together for more than five pages) and Rhys/Cillian who....well we just don't actually know much about them really. (hide spoiler)] Slayer is full of a ton of background characters who unfortunately are sidelined in order for Nina to receive her own arc. The good news is that this is the first book in the series so this problem can be rectified in future books, however the bad news is that sometimes when the inevitable bad things happen and stakes are high for any of the supposed main characters, part of you might be left wondering 'do I actually care as much as I know I'm meant to?' It's definitely not all bad though. There's a lot of action, and this is definitely written by someone who is a fan of the Buffyverse thanks to the namedrops of (off the top of my head) (view spoiler)[Pylea, Angel Investigations, Wesley Wyndam-Pryce and Robin Wood (hide spoiler)] oh and maybe some cameos by none other than (view spoiler)[Faith Lehane and Buffy Summers herself. (hide spoiler)] There's definitely the basis for a good series, but an obvious villain and lack of character development for supposed main characters means I can't rate this any higher than a four. Definitely looking forward to seeing where Kiersten White takes this next though.

When I first read the synopsis of this book, I didn't realised it was kind of a sequel to Buffy ( the tv series). I was excited to read it, mostly because I haven't seen the show and it was a chance to meet some of the characters and learn about the universe. To be honest, my expectations weren't very high because I knew it would be tricky because of my lack of knowledge of events and characters. In general, I liked the book. I liked most of the characters, I liked the story, I found it funny and I am going to read the next book. So the story starts after the events of the series, when Buffy destroyed the Seed of Wonder, that fed all magic on earth, and destroyed the world as they knew it. Her actions meant that no generation of Slayers will rise again and the Watchers have lost most of their legacy. Nina is the main character and the Chose One, the last Slayer. She is sweet, smart and brave, but she is afraid to show her capabilities because her mother never believed in her. After her powers start showing she got more self esteem and managed to grow into herself. We see her struggle with a lot, such as her relationship with her mother, her sister and her beliefs. She doesn't want to fight, her instincts are about healing and we see her struggle with this and try to make the right choices for her, not what she is expected to do. Artemis, her twin sister, was the tough sibling. She was the one who had to protect Nina all her life, and the one who had to make difficult choices because of her mother's expectations. She had to learn to trust Nina, and start to work with others not by herself. Leo was nice too. He is smart, kind, intelligent and loyal. But, he has some secrets that made it difficult for him to navigate his relationships and beliefs. Rhys, his human boyfriend and the Coldplay fan demon areamazing! What I didn't like was the relationship between Nina and her mother, who almost seemed like she hated it her own daughter. I also didn't like how Artemis puts Honora above her sister and turns a blind eye on how she has treated Nina in the past. Lastly, I predicted most of the twists very early in the story and I was a little annoyed. ARC provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

When I first read the synopsis of this book, I didn't realised it was kind of a sequel to Buffy ( the tv series). I was excited to read it, mostly because I haven't seen the show and it was a chance to meet some of the characters and learn about the universe. To be honest, my expectations weren't very high because I knew it would be tricky because of my lack of knowledge of events and characters. In general, I liked the book. I liked most of the characters, I liked the story, I found it funny and I am going to read the next book. So the story starts after the events of the series, when Buffy destroyed the Seed of Wonder, that fed all magic on earth, and destroyed the world as they knew it. Her actions meant that no generation of Slayers will rise again and the Watchers have lost most of their legacy. Nina is the main character and the Chose One, the last Slayer. She is sweet, smart and brave, but she is afraid to show her capabilities because her mother never believed in her. After her powers start showing she got more self esteem and managed to grow into herself. We see her struggle with a lot, such as her relationship with her mother, her sister and her beliefs. She doesn't want to fight, her instincts are about healing and we see her struggle with this and try to make the right choices for her, not what she is expected to do. Artemis, her twin sister, was the tough sibling. She was the one who had to protect Nina all her life, and the one who had to make difficult choices because of her mother's expectations. She had to learn to trust Nina, and start to work with others not by herself. Leo was nice too. He is smart, kind, intelligent and loyal. But, he has some secrets that made it difficult for him to navigate his relationships and beliefs. Rhys, his human boyfriend and the Coldplay fan demon areamazing! What I didn't like was the relationship between Nina and her mother, who almost seemed like she hated it her own daughter. I also didn't like how Artemis puts Honora above her sister and turns a blind eye on how she has treated Nina in the past. Lastly, I predicted most of the twists very early in the story and I was a little annoyed. ARC provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

So, this was an okay read for me. In the beginning I was really annoyed with the characters - specially Nina's twin sister Artemis, who would not let Nina do anything - ugh. But as the story progressed, the action got better and it felt like Buffy and reminded me of the show, so the nostalgia thing got me and I enjoyed the process. I still thing the plot was too contrived and convenient at some points, most of the twists were obvious and the characters were mostly one-dimensional (and often super dumb). But... I might continue on with the series. We'll see.

Slayer Series: Slayer : ★★★★★ Chosen: TBD Blog | Twitter | Instagram | Direct link to this review can be found here. HOO, BOY. I did not expect to love this like I did. Actually, that's a bold lie: I adore Kiersten White and basically worship the very ground she walks on. Not to mention the fact that I adore Buffy the Vampire Slayer. So, this is kind of hitting all the right spots for me and makes me both nostalgic and excited for the future of this Slayer series. There was something so highly entertaining about this book and boy did it hook me from the start. This book DOES NOT ruin the original series legacy. It only ruins memories if you let it. That being said, Slayer is tied into the series while maintaining that line of who's who and what story belongs where. This is related to Buffy the Vampire Slayer and pays homage to it, but it doesn't inherently try to be it--which makes it work all the more. Kiersten White's signature tone is present throughout the course of this first installment and when combined with the dry wit of the television series, it's a hit. She breathes life's complexities into her characters as per usual and creates intriguing dynamics throughout Slayer, while gracefully balancing other plotlines and tropes. The characters, and a group dynamic, take up the spotlight of Slayer and readers will easily slip into these scenes. While there is a little romance sprinkled throughout the novel, it never takes on the overwhelming tone that many of its counterparts do. It is there. You see it. It never keeps you in a choke-hold and I love that. It never feels forced and that is essential to keeping a specific balance to novels; I expect nothing less of White (as she always manages to outdo herself and maintain that balance) and Slayer benefits from this. If you are not familiar with Buffy the Vampire Slayer there are some things that may confuse you--but only slightly. Fear not! You can always binge watch the original series to prepare yourself for Slayer (which I OBVIOUSLY recommend) or merely look these things up online as you reach them. Overall, I adored Slayer and thought that White honored the original series beautifully. The novel itself is gripping, energetic and fun. I feel a little nostalgic after having read it and definitely feel like a Buffy rewatch is in order IMMEDIATELY.

I enjoyed this immensely! It was so good, characters were fab, storyline was gripping, setting was awesome. The only thing I would have appreciated would have been a little 'story so far' type thing as I stopped watching with the tv series so had no idea what happened in the comic book series which this follows on from. But I managed to get the jist of it.