Reviews tagging 'Death'

One for My Enemy by Olivie Blake

52 reviews

erinreadsbooks's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

What a fantastic roller coaster of a book. The plot drove relentlessly forward, the main cast of characters were clearly outlined from the beginning but were filled in as the story progressed, and the foreboding air of tragedy hung above the whole time but didn’t fall predictably. It really did feel like reading a tragic play; the focus was entirely on the characters and their relationships and histories and the worldbuilding really only consisted of “vaguely moody New York City but with some witchcraft”. I didn’t mind the sparse setting details seeing as the plot was so active I never felt bored. The stakes were high and the tensions were higher and I enjoyed watching things fall apart and get rebuilt as everything spiraled into tragedy.

Read if you like dramatic tragedies with both poetic speeches and also realistic dialogue.

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readbyjaimes's review

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dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? N/A
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

I read this a few weeks ago and remember like two things that happened lol

But in all honesty, this book felt really lackluster for me. The romance was really lacking, especially since this was a Romeo and Juliet retelling. I also didn't care that much about any of the characters. I honestly found the other sisters wayyyy more interesting than Masha or Sasha. It was also soooo slow. I was sitting there waiting for something to actually happen. It was so disappointing though because once something did happen I felt like I had waited so long for it that I didn't care anymore. I don't know if I was just in a slump or what but I was so excited for this and I was so done with it about halfway through. I appreciated the aesthetic of the book though and that was fun.

I read MoD by Olivie first and then tried to read TAS, dnf'd it and then read this. I think Olivie might be a one-hit-wonder author for me.

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eatallthestars's review

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emotional funny inspiring mysterious sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.25

I would rate higher but it just didn't have that 'spark' for my personal taste of books. Absolutely fantastic book for anyone a fan of Romeo&Juliet rewrites.

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gabi_715's review

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challenging dark mysterious sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

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carrie_reads's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I absolutely loved Sasha scaring the shit out of Roma - I was laughing so hard I couldn't handle it.

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e_riahh's review

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dark emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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praaliine's review against another edition

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emotional fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

this was a story about family, duty, and love. it was devastatingly romantic. the prose was so silky smooth and i lost count of how many memorable quotes there were (i made sure to mark every single one). however, there was hardly any magic practiced by any of the characters, considering what the premise of the book is. also, at some point, i was expecting a bit more depth from the characters (not to say that they completely lacked depth). but these little quirks just felt so insignificant as i read on. i won’t be forgetting this one anytime soon.

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sissizc's review

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emotional hopeful sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

Olivie Blake is a wonderful character driven author who creates unique characters with their own voices and narratives. She, however, doesn’t set these characters up for success in a plot that lacked world building and action sequences mostly only told through dialogue and not shown.

It made it hard to really connect to the characters on the intensity of the situation. The origin of the rivalry wasn’t impactful enough to have made me justify the continuation of it on a years long scale.

The premise is also set on these characters being magic users but the magic doesn’t really get shown until 1/3 into the book. I almost forgot it is a family of witches.

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mrs_bastos's review against another edition

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emotional funny mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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carly_reads's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense

4.5

Alright I loved this more than I thought I would. It’s not surprising that a modern day Romeo and Juliet retelling with rival witch families and Russian folklore, set against the backdrop of NYC would get me. People either like Olivie Blake’s writing or they don’t, and I happen to like it. The flowery prose really adds to the ambiance of the storyline. Since you know it’s a R&J retelling, you know you’re in for some heartbreak and turmoil, but I still gasped several times while reading. I do also appreciate the number of declarations of undying love. This was a very interesting exploration of power, family, duty, betrayal, loss, and love. This was also genuinely funny- some of the characters were so sassy and the quips were perfectly executed.

Sometimes it was a bit hard to follow along because everyone is constantly making deals, and you switch between various characters story lines often, but ultimately, the vibes make up for it. The ins and outs of the magic system are not explained at all but that doesn’t really bother me. The real strength of this book was all of the amazing quotes:

“Tell Koschei that Baba Yaga sends her love,” she said simply.

This is the important thing, after all: nobody fears a beautiful woman. They revere her, worship her, sing praises to her—but nobody fears her, even when they should.

“Why didn’t you let me choose you?” he asked hoarsely. “I would have gone to you, Masha, if you’d asked. You would’ve only had to ask, and I would have chosen you over everything.”

She was a fucking nightmare and he was desperate to keep her, to have her for himself.

At best, Dimitri Fedorov was Marya Antonova’s greatest weakness. At worst, she was his.

“Write me a tragedy, Lev Fedorov,” she whispered to him. “Write me a litany of sins. Write me a plague of devastation. Write me lonely, write me wanting, write me shattered and fearful and lost. Then write me finding myself in your arms, if only for a night, and then write it again. Write it over and over, Lev, until we both know the pages by heart. Isn’t that a story, too?” she asked him softly.

“What does it mean to be a Fedorov son if we destroy ourselves in the process?” Dimitri asked, and his expression was nothing Lev had ever seen on his face before. “What does it mean to be this family or that, if loss is the only thing that comes from it?”

The universe spoke a language, if you were paying close enough attention. Many languages, even. Stars, leaves, flowers, cards, dirt—the universe was constantly spelling things out, though people rarely listened.

Power is knowing what you’re capable of and choosing if and when you give it to the world. Power is knowing when to be delicate and soft, like my sister, and when to make foolish, small-minded people think beauty and goodness are the same.

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