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cassandradelune's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
3.5
turnip28's review against another edition
3.0
rating this a few weeks after reading so memory is fuzzy, but ig that says smth?
so this book was enjoyable, don't get me wrong i spent all day reading this instead of doing my english assignment <3 but it had. SO. MUCH. WASTED. POTENTIAL. ugh.
starting on a positive note, reid was sooo cuuute and soo refreshing i loved his character so much although sometimes he seemed one dimensional. actually that was all of the characters, they seemed kind of flat. louise was... interesting? the author tried so goddamn hard to make her "not like the other girls" and especially "quirky" which made me cringe at times, or like a "badass" which was believable usually but sometimes it was just so off the mark and forced. the side characters were nice and likeable, but i couldn't really bring myself to get extremely attached to them. although ngl ansel was so adorable and deserves the whole world <3
the writing was subpar at most, kinda felt like fanfiction or wattpad at times lol. magic system is nonsense and makes no sense, the world building is really meh, the villain and a bunch of characters we are told are important are introduced mid or towards the end of the story which messed up the flow of the story. the climax felt like so anticlimactic and i'm usually a sucker for good plot twists but the one in the climax (if you can even call it a plot twist?) just felt so unneeded.
all that is tolerable, bc i aint gonna sit here and pretend i didnt just pick this up bc i wanted some cute romance, and i wouldn't say it completely failed in that department although it came pretty damn close. after cringing for the first time during the read when louise says bas had a, uh, "tight little ass"
...what
so this book was enjoyable, don't get me wrong i spent all day reading this instead of doing my english assignment <3 but it had. SO. MUCH. WASTED. POTENTIAL. ugh.
starting on a positive note, reid was sooo cuuute and soo refreshing i loved his character so much although sometimes he seemed one dimensional. actually that was all of the characters, they seemed kind of flat. louise was... interesting? the author tried so goddamn hard to make her "not like the other girls" and especially "quirky" which made me cringe at times, or like a "badass" which was believable usually but sometimes it was just so off the mark and forced. the side characters were nice and likeable, but i couldn't really bring myself to get extremely attached to them. although ngl ansel was so adorable and deserves the whole world <3
the writing was subpar at most, kinda felt like fanfiction or wattpad at times lol. magic system is nonsense and makes no sense, the world building is really meh, the villain and a bunch of characters we are told are important are introduced mid or towards the end of the story which messed up the flow of the story. the climax felt like so anticlimactic and i'm usually a sucker for good plot twists but the one in the climax (if you can even call it a plot twist?) just felt so unneeded.
all that is tolerable, bc i aint gonna sit here and pretend i didnt just pick this up bc i wanted some cute romance, and i wouldn't say it completely failed in that department although it came pretty damn close. after cringing for the first time during the read when louise says bas had a, uh, "tight little ass"
...what
alli_gator's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
nikii94's review against another edition
4.0
Engaging, and I always love a snarky, vulgar main character. When the identity of Madame Labelle was revealed, I felt it was a little underwhelming, but the others had me almost in hysterics, lol.
klaudia102's review against another edition
4.25
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.25/⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The ending was a rather disappointment for me. You spend the whole book believing one thing only at the end to completely redefine the sense of the story? The end was also somewhat predictable.
On the other hand I am completely in love with Lou, a strong, witty and brave female main character. I need more like her!
The ending was a rather disappointment for me. You spend the whole book believing one thing only at the end to completely redefine the sense of the story? The end was also somewhat predictable.
On the other hand I am completely in love with Lou, a strong, witty and brave female main character. I need more like her!
caillours's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
annmeyer's review against another edition
DNF at about 60% back in 2021 (updating here for records). tried to push through to see if it would get better, but just wasn't into it.
in short, icky, and bad.
a lot of the tropes in this book aren't necessarily uncharacteristic for YA fantasy (e.g. forced marriage/marriage of convenience, protagonist on the run/in hiding, love triangle, slow-burn romance). in the case of this book, though, none of these ever felt natural or like they came together well. the misogynistic/patriarchal, hyper-religious society isn't even unusual; many YA novels feature unequal societies and moral conundrums that readers (and the protagonists) are meant to learn from or react to, typically negatively. the elite are usually douchebags, etc.
this book checks off all the boxes, technically, but the writing didn't feel realistic, especially in terms of dialogue and character dynamics. instead, it felt cheesy and annoying. most of the characters and places of note didn't really evoke strong feeling or sentiment, because it felt that they existed only to check off boxes for content and plot advancement. even though the stakes were life and death, it never really felt like it mattered. there's little time or space to properly attach yourself to the characters and their world (the first chapter really just jumps into it, and there's very little backtracking to fill the reader in on what's going on and why any of it matters). perhaps the ultimate issue with the book is how much it throws at you at the very beginning, how quickly the elements that require necessary labor/love (read: time) are shoved in your face. i think this is really apparent as you gradually learn about other fantastical creatures/species, but only because someone's out hunting them or killed them, making them critical to the character's backstory as opposed to what the real/physical world is like or what exists in it.
i feel weird criticizing this book, both because it seems generally well-received and because i think this has all of the moving parts to be a really good book, but the writing just missed the mark for me. there are so many YA fantasy novels i'd rather read, that i know are engaging and well-executed, that demand and earn attachment and investment from the reader. (for example, jennifer l. armentrout's from blood and ash series is extremely similar in terms of tropes, especially the religion and purity, but the pacing and romance are infinitely better.)
in short, icky, and bad.
a lot of the tropes in this book aren't necessarily uncharacteristic for YA fantasy (e.g. forced marriage/marriage of convenience, protagonist on the run/in hiding, love triangle, slow-burn romance). in the case of this book, though, none of these ever felt natural or like they came together well. the misogynistic/patriarchal, hyper-religious society isn't even unusual; many YA novels feature unequal societies and moral conundrums that readers (and the protagonists) are meant to learn from or react to, typically negatively. the elite are usually douchebags, etc.
this book checks off all the boxes, technically, but the writing didn't feel realistic, especially in terms of dialogue and character dynamics. instead, it felt cheesy and annoying. most of the characters and places of note didn't really evoke strong feeling or sentiment, because it felt that they existed only to check off boxes for content and plot advancement. even though the stakes were life and death, it never really felt like it mattered. there's little time or space to properly attach yourself to the characters and their world (the first chapter really just jumps into it, and there's very little backtracking to fill the reader in on what's going on and why any of it matters). perhaps the ultimate issue with the book is how much it throws at you at the very beginning, how quickly the elements that require necessary labor/love (read: time) are shoved in your face. i think this is really apparent as you gradually learn about other fantastical creatures/species, but only because someone's out hunting them or killed them, making them critical to the character's backstory as opposed to what the real/physical world is like or what exists in it.
i feel weird criticizing this book, both because it seems generally well-received and because i think this has all of the moving parts to be a really good book, but the writing just missed the mark for me. there are so many YA fantasy novels i'd rather read, that i know are engaging and well-executed, that demand and earn attachment and investment from the reader. (for example, jennifer l. armentrout's from blood and ash series is extremely similar in terms of tropes, especially the religion and purity, but the pacing and romance are infinitely better.)