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3.67 AVERAGE
3.67 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Harvoin hahmot ärsyttää näin paljon mutta loppu sai haluamaan lisää.
adventurous
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
The Court of Shadows introduces us to an interesting and really brutal vampire world but sadly is lacking in almost all other areas. The character are so unlikable and the way the story progresses was just frustrating.
First, I was intrigued by the premise: vampires in historical Europe that have taken over the world, and our main character Jeanne has to navigate in this threatening and dark world after her family gets killed by vampires. But the book is not really historical but societal development only got stuck because of the vampires – if I now write it down like this, it’s kinda understandable and realisitc in a sense. The beginning with Jeanne’s whole family dying was really shocking but it was just a bit too much for me. In general, the book is really brutal and cruel for a YA book, like everyone gets beheaded (I mean, the author is French after all lmao). It was just too much misery and too negative for my taste. Just imagine the most terrible things that could happen to Jeanne – it will happen. Of course, she gets bullied, of course, she gets thrown out of the school , and so forth.
My other and probably biggest issue was with the way the story was told and how it progressed. Some things are really predictable and many things are quite convenient, like Alex just being there at the right time . Even though there’s a lot of cruelty, Jeanne gets out of many situations she shouldn’t be able to get out. It was also clear from the beginning who would be in the final round of the competition. What I did like though was the twist at the end that Tristan fights for the royals and not the poor people, although I knew that Jeanne would kill him instead of the King . Others things didn’t just make sense to me: When the vampires kill so many people, how are there still people left? Why can people argue at the school but throwing things is too much? how did no one else see the mouse head in Jeanne’s soup? . I sound quite critical but there are still something I enjoyed. I liked the depiction of vampires here, they are really threatening and creepy. I’m also always a fan of random boarding schools where students from different nations. Inequality was also thematized quite well.
Jeanne is quite the edgy and broody main character and not really likable. She experiences many deaths throughout the story, but she barely reacts in an emotional way – this, of course, can be a trauma response but it doesn’t seem to be the case here. She also annoyed me in a way I struggle to describe: I hate how she hurts everyone around her, even when they want to help her. She also just has too much luck in some moments that it was not really believable while at the same time, nothing works in her life. Besides her, we have people from different nationalities like in Scholomance which I liked but here, everyone needs to have an overly dramatic backstory which bothered me as well.
I’m not quite sure whether I would recommend The Court of Shadows since I was so disappointed with the way the series ended. Maybe if you care about the characters and the world more than I do, the books are more engaging.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Bullying, Confinement, Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, Classism
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Body horror, Drug abuse, Drug use, Kidnapping, Grief, Sexual harassment
Minor: Chronic illness, Homophobia, Cannibalism, War
challenging
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
medium-paced
Loveable characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
It’s been so long since I read a classic, exciting YA book that I kind of forgot how fun it could be. This book was a little cliche and trope-y — the plot was something I’ve definitely seen before — but I had such a great time reading it. The writing and prose is beautiful, and I kind of wish I knew French so I could read the original.
A few random notes:
A few random notes:
- I love the traditional take on vampyres. I feel like that isn’t seen much these days, and it was both interesting and refreshing. Although, that they slept in literal coffins made me giggle a bit.
- The worldbuilding was so well thought-out and executed! This is really where the book shone, and it thoroughly made up for a less-than-original plot.
- The plot twist at the end was predictable but well-executed, and for the first time in a while, I’ve felt compelled to actually continue with a book series (which means an English translation better come out for the second book if it hasn’t already).
- The epilogue was the most pointless thing I’ve ever read, but did not detract from my overall enjoyment.
- I met the author; isn’t that cool?
Overall, an excellent read!
3,8/5
J’ai enfin commencé cette saga que j’ai beaucoup vu passer sur bookstagram. J’ai décidé de l’écouter en audiobook et j’ai beaucoup aimé l’expérience de l’écoute. En effet on a pas mal de bruit d’ambiance qui coïncident avec les différents événements au bon moment à chaque fois.
Ce tome 1 reste plutôt introductif on découvre Jeanne alias Diane et sa quête de vengeance envers le Roy des Ténèbres : Louis l’immuable. Les vampires ont le contrôle absolu sur le peuple et n’hésitent pas à être sans cœur pour obtenir ce qu’ils désirent.
Jeanne va devoir intégrer une école à Versailles. Son but est de devenir écuyère du Roy afin de se rapprocher de lui et de déjouer ses plans et son but ultime. J’ai trouvé Jeanne assez froide et insupportable par moment. Cependant à d’autres moments elle a su faire preuve de compassion et de clémence même si sa mission passe avant tout.
Je pense que j’aurai pu mettre une note plus haute si on n’avait pas été dans une école, j’ai trouvé ce coté un peu lent selon les chapitres. Néanmoins, on voit le côté indispensable à l’histoire et au futur de Jeanne.
En résumé, nous avons un premier tome introductif pour la plupart du temps mais aussi très intriguant qui nous donne envie de continuer la saga pour suivre les aventures et les manipulations de Jeanne.
J’ai enfin commencé cette saga que j’ai beaucoup vu passer sur bookstagram. J’ai décidé de l’écouter en audiobook et j’ai beaucoup aimé l’expérience de l’écoute. En effet on a pas mal de bruit d’ambiance qui coïncident avec les différents événements au bon moment à chaque fois.
Ce tome 1 reste plutôt introductif on découvre Jeanne alias Diane et sa quête de vengeance envers le Roy des Ténèbres : Louis l’immuable. Les vampires ont le contrôle absolu sur le peuple et n’hésitent pas à être sans cœur pour obtenir ce qu’ils désirent.
Jeanne va devoir intégrer une école à Versailles. Son but est de devenir écuyère du Roy afin de se rapprocher de lui et de déjouer ses plans et son but ultime. J’ai trouvé Jeanne assez froide et insupportable par moment. Cependant à d’autres moments elle a su faire preuve de compassion et de clémence même si sa mission passe avant tout.
Je pense que j’aurai pu mettre une note plus haute si on n’avait pas été dans une école, j’ai trouvé ce coté un peu lent selon les chapitres. Néanmoins, on voit le côté indispensable à l’histoire et au futur de Jeanne.
En résumé, nous avons un premier tome introductif pour la plupart du temps mais aussi très intriguant qui nous donne envie de continuer la saga pour suivre les aventures et les manipulations de Jeanne.
adventurous
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
El libro es bastante entrenido y es muy rápido, pero a la vez está virtud es una carencia. La trama avanza y nos quedamos con ganas de que se desarrolle más lo que está pasando.
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
The world is INCREDIBLE, while some of the characters were extremely unrealistic in terms of manners and thought processes. The protagonist is MAD annoying and acts in a stupid manner, while some of the side characters were more interesting. I will be continuing just to see where the world goes, and pray that the protagonist becomes more cohesive.