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3.62 AVERAGE
3.62 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I wish I had expected less from this book, that I might be less disappointed. This book touched so many genres (dark academia, enemies to lovers, backpack fantasy, murder mystery) and struggled to deliver on any of them. I felt there were too many empty promises made by the plot; some questions answered so disappointingly I struggled to move past them.
I loved the purple prose (surely the author and I enjoy similar fanfiction). I enjoyed the world building and exploration. I adored the creatures tremendously. Truly, again, the creatures were wonderful. I enjoyed the use of folklore storytelling as narrative framing and theme!
I am not Jewish, and felt curious about the Yeva as allegory and exploration. I have enjoyed listening to other people describe their relationship to this representation. I have also enjoyed others discussing their relationship to such a flawed main character expressing such panicky anger.
I have rarely disliked a main character as much as I disliked being in Lorelei's head. (I will say, this may be in part to having read this in audiobook format. I would suggest reading this to yourself rather than hearing someone, in dedicatedly bitter tones, read aloud Lorelei's thoughts for 11 hours.) She was unfailingly dense when otherwise described to be sharp. Her reasoning and drive were startlingly absent. In absence of any reasoning, her hatred not only felt cruelly empty but misogynistic in the ways she expressed hatred for the women (weak, feminine, clueless, annoying, too smart, too stupid, silly, pawns) vs the men (bad morals, bad choices). These last two points are emphasized by their relationship to Sylvia: Lorelei's "rivalry" with Sylvia is so poorly explained (a final chapter declaration of reason does not count as narrative force), her hatred so poorly founded, that it not only killed any of my belief in the enemies to lovers narrative but highlighted how much of Lorelei's described hatred hinges on her descriptions of Sylvia's femininity. Which only feels worse when Lorelei is positioned, in contrast, as butch(er). Without any indication in the text of what this gender dynamic might otherwise represent (ties to racialization or socioeconomic position), it lands instead on old harmful narratives of misogyny and gender rigidity. As almost insult to injury, when Lorelei does finally contend with Sylvia as a person and express attraction, unfailingly her expression of sexual desire is followed by fantasies of violence. The theme of this book is that we make monsters of Other by making them the monsters in our stories -- Sylvia refuses to believe the stories and therefore loves Lorelei like she loves any other creature, and Lorelei rewrites stories to be human. But in the moments of character climax and potential, Lorelei unfailingly chooses monstrosity (I want to hurt her, I want to be the monster) and Sylvia unfailingly confirms this (youre out of a nightmare). This isn't a story that builds room for exploration of violence in sex or desire. Without any narrative support, this desire for violence just undoes what little narrative work has been done.
But my last issue with this book, and what I found difficult to move past in order to finish it, is that this entire adventure takes place in the bubble of being complict in violent conquest. I agreed with our revealed villain. I could forgive more the sins of what this plot does to its context if it did not take upon itself so consistently the goal of grappling with its context. If you are going to write about how victors write history and oppression breeds violence, don't ask me to cheer for our protagonist choosing violence and victors. Don't ask me to believe in the power of gay love changing the conquest kingdom from inside the palace.
I loved the purple prose (surely the author and I enjoy similar fanfiction). I enjoyed the world building and exploration. I adored the creatures tremendously. Truly, again, the creatures were wonderful. I enjoyed the use of folklore storytelling as narrative framing and theme!
I am not Jewish, and felt curious about the Yeva as allegory and exploration. I have enjoyed listening to other people describe their relationship to this representation. I have also enjoyed others discussing their relationship to such a flawed main character expressing such panicky anger.
I have rarely disliked a main character as much as I disliked being in Lorelei's head. (I will say, this may be in part to having read this in audiobook format. I would suggest reading this to yourself rather than hearing someone, in dedicatedly bitter tones, read aloud Lorelei's thoughts for 11 hours.) She was unfailingly dense when otherwise described to be sharp. Her reasoning and drive were startlingly absent. In absence of any reasoning, her hatred not only felt cruelly empty but misogynistic in the ways she expressed hatred for the women (weak, feminine, clueless, annoying, too smart, too stupid, silly, pawns) vs the men (bad morals, bad choices). These last two points are emphasized by their relationship to Sylvia: Lorelei's "rivalry" with Sylvia is so poorly explained (a final chapter declaration of reason does not count as narrative force), her hatred so poorly founded, that it not only killed any of my belief in the enemies to lovers narrative but highlighted how much of Lorelei's described hatred hinges on her descriptions of Sylvia's femininity. Which only feels worse when Lorelei is positioned, in contrast, as butch(er). Without any indication in the text of what this gender dynamic might otherwise represent (ties to racialization or socioeconomic position), it lands instead on old harmful narratives of misogyny and gender rigidity. As almost insult to injury, when Lorelei does finally contend with Sylvia as a person and express attraction, unfailingly her expression of sexual desire is followed by fantasies of violence. The theme of this book is that we make monsters of Other by making them the monsters in our stories -- Sylvia refuses to believe the stories and therefore loves Lorelei like she loves any other creature, and Lorelei rewrites stories to be human. But in the moments of character climax and potential, Lorelei unfailingly chooses monstrosity (I want to hurt her, I want to be the monster) and Sylvia unfailingly confirms this (youre out of a nightmare). This isn't a story that builds room for exploration of violence in sex or desire. Without any narrative support, this desire for violence just undoes what little narrative work has been done.
But my last issue with this book, and what I found difficult to move past in order to finish it, is that this entire adventure takes place in the bubble of being complict in violent conquest. I agreed with our revealed villain. I could forgive more the sins of what this plot does to its context if it did not take upon itself so consistently the goal of grappling with its context. If you are going to write about how victors write history and oppression breeds violence, don't ask me to cheer for our protagonist choosing violence and victors. Don't ask me to believe in the power of gay love changing the conquest kingdom from inside the palace.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Antisemitism
Minor: Murder
Lorelei whispered. “The loveliest fairy tale I have heard in all my life.”
“Yes,” Sylvia said, with such emphatic tenderness. “But it’s ours."
Back in the days when wishes held power, a Sapphic Romantasy held so much promise only to ultimately leave us with the message of: Let's Concede to Empire. Yes, I am an immediate sucker for a mature, hopefully well-written dark academia sapphic story, and I do not begrudge this book of the sweetness of its love story, as exemplified by my chosen quote above. The romance was this novel's one saving grace. The sweet interactions they had and Sylvia's flusteredness in the face of Lorelai's freakiness was legitimately enjoyable. I loved the hair braiding and the funny quips, for example, Lorelei upon seeing Sylvia's poetry:
about piercing gazes and capacious black cloaks before she decided she really did not want to know.
“So. Our plan.”
In ADADT, Lorelei Kaskel is a Yeva (historically oppressed) who scales the ivory tower through her academic excellence. She;s mentored by this eccentric adventurer-scientist type, Ziegler. Her fellow mentee is an actual princess, Sylvia von Wolff. They are opposites in every aspect: Lorelai's methodical and discriminated against, whereas Sylvia's a free-tumbling fairy spirit celebrated for her whimsy (and also, her privilege). They are set to go on an expedition looking for the ultimate source of power: the Ursprung. To everyone's shock, Ziegler appoints Lorelei as the co-head of the expedition, which ruffles her fellow expedition-mates and Sylvia's friends' feathers. When Ziegler gets murdered on the boat, this only gets worse, especially with Sylvia finding her in a compromising position. They end up in an allyship of sorts. The king tells Lorelai not to come back without the Ursprung and the murderer's identity. So they sail on, even if Lorelei had doubts about the location Ziegler left them to find. They get to Albe eventually and after a lot more sabotage (one of them becomes cursed to turn into a tree) they end up at a similarly magical pond, but not the Urpsrung. They could ask one question, which Lorelai used to find the Ursprung's real location. They regroup at their boat and on the way to finding the real Ursprung Lorelai finds out that the murderer was Adelheid, who wanted to take the Ursprung's power for herself so she could free her people. An incident with nixies leaves Johann dead, and then Sylvia and Lorelai become separated from Adelheid and Heike. They end up finding the Ursprung and consummating their love then soon after the other two arrive. Adelheid forces the Ursprung to give her the power. Sylvia is deemed worthy and is given the power. Lorelai.... well.. is sidelined. They eventually beat Adelheid and go back to the king, where Sylvia decides to use the Ursprung's power to protect his reign and quell rebellious sentiments. Heike becomes the queen. Lorelai becomes Wilhelm's adviser. In the end, Lorelai and Sylvia marry.
It was really fun, though their pre-expedition relationship begged some explanation. Lorelai's extreme antagonism just felt out of nowhere. I guess when you've been through as much as she has... it's easy to be mean, especially to your direct competitor. But certainly a mile or a little kindness is not out of reach? Just felt way too one-note. Actually, everyone felt so one-note. Like there was no nuance at all, but more on that later. I just accepted this at it is, because the rest of the novel was proving to be exciting. A locked room murder mystery with nobles and sabers? Say no more. I loved Gideon the Ninth. The writing was also optimally purple ala Erin Morgenstern's Night Circus. I enjoyed the fantastical elements and desciptions, like the Vereist's blackness and the eternal night in the mountains of Albe. Delicious gothic atmosphere. AND you give me the hottest masc sapphic ever? Everytime Lorelei was described as a tall, beautiful, brooding, handsome, short-haired evilette, I'd scream into my fist. Again: I loved Gideon the Ninth. I have a type. This book was setting up to be exactly in my alley; hence the depth of my disappointment is at literal nadir precisely because it was so excellent at the beginning.
Someone was like, man, I should write dark academia for vibes. How can something operate on politics solely but be painfully apolitical in the end? Is mental gymnastics that only white women are capable of. The author set up the conflict between kingdoms, colonialism, and oppression with repeated emphasis. She even literally already pointed out how none of this was stable and reunification could not be trusted. How King Wilhelm was cruel and could not be trusted. How Lorelei becoming a shutzyeva was inherently selfish and meant nothing for the emancipation of the Yevanverte. How reunification destroyed individual cultures and meant a suppression of freedom, despite fancy policies. How colonization destroyed and killed and is devastating ultimately. AND for literally what? Saft does NOTHING with this.
First of all, Lorelai. Honey, I'm so sorry. Look at what they did to my son. What the hell kind of character development was that for Lorelei? If the point is that she's not the monster she thinks she is, why then does the conflict end with the narrative being like Yep she's a viper. Viper to viper, right, Adelheid? I almost screamed NO!! in real life. Yes, I KNOW she did a abd thing, but only because she was under threat of her people's literal extinction. Aside from that, she isn't even that bad. And even if she was: where is the nuance (not the first time you'll read this)? Well, I hoped I was wrong. Maybe it's just her acknowledging the things she was forced to become to survive. The plot clues us in to her awakening to her internal goodness, and I would have been happily, willingly blindly convinced had the rest of the story not happened.
WHY wasn't she chosen by the Ursprung? Like, COME ON. Her entire character arc is her working so hard to desreve where she is, despite all the challenges and discrimination she faces. Isn't that honorable at all? Wouldn't the natural culmination of that be her crowning as someone deserving of the ultimate power, especially given how she was forced to hide her her magical abilities because of said discrimination? Like why is that even a plot point if not to fulfill it as heir to the Urpsrung, if not just a cheap tactic to further illustrate discrmination against her. How come that even in the end, she was sidelined in her own story? Why is the literal WHITE HAIRED WHITE PRINCESS growing up NOBLE and a literal PERSON KILLER WARMONGER (choices bedamned!) the one that gets the power of the Ursprung simply because she has wonderment, innocence, sparkly eyes, and naivete. Man, seriously...
Tapos Lorelai's character had so much ambition! So much promise to become a naturalist, even if she was groomed to be a folklorist! After all the growth throughout the journey: her learning to love, bringing her walls down, forgiving herself, letting herself desire and be desired-- you would think she'd grown a little bolder in shaping her own life. You'd think she'd want more than to just settle. Nah. Her ending is just her getting everything she ever wanted at the beginning--which is so anticlimatic. I had hoped for a change, at least, like her pursuing a career as a naturalist. But it's realistic for the political situation! Her oppression just doesn't disappear! Well, I'm not asking her to be king! Just some autonomy over her own life would've been great. And: brother, this is a fantasy novel (again, not the first time you'll hear this). Can we not be a little improbable? Apparently not. Wilhelm's right-hand man it is. What the hell.
Moving on: I just REALLY hated the political messaging behind this. As a third-world person from a country thrice-colonized. Feels like Saft was setting up her points then totally missed them all, like some sort of bourgeoisie praxis. All talk no execution. Even more disappointing because she had all the ingredients, all the set-up, and for a fantasy novel that can literally invent impossiblities like floating islands and shit you'd think she'd be capable of a braver, more inventive ending. Revolution's not realistic? Well what about the man who turned into a tree? Take one look at any colonized country and you'd see that it is real. It's how we're here still. EVEN WORSE is how she portrayed the people fighting for their country's emancipation (Adelheid, Anja von Wolff) as the Ultimate Villains. In my country they'd be heroes! If that isn't the most paranoid-of-communism/revolution shit ever. To me, Adelheid's IS a worthy cause. The twee violence-is-not-the-answer sentiment is so juvenile. In the face of oppression do you expect oppressed peoples to just sit down kumbaya and die? It's just kind of..... telling of the author. To me, it seems obvious that the author's either 1) not really faced real colonial oppression 2) didn't bother to research and be a little more inventive, thus the shallowness of her take on it.
And you're telling me that Sylvia, who grew up with massive privilege and has held positions of power in war, and who only has like mild child abandonment trauma to her name, is more deserving of the Ursprung's power than Lorelai, the literal oppressed person who clawed her way up from nothing and as such, is treated as a viper (I understood this perception, but I didn't know even the AUTHOR would perceive her this way in the story!!)? Simply for making space for herself? Sorry for the repetition, but I just very much despise this portrayal of Lorelai. Back to Sylvia, who employs Rurouni Kenshin levels of moral purity. Legitimately ZERO nuance, zero grey area, just juvenile idealism. Thou shall not kill, thou shall adhere to pacificist principles, thou shall pledge loyalty to the oppressor despite having all the opportunities to free her people. She argued an empire-is-the-lesser-evil, we-cannot-ensure-stability-with-different-leaders (but baby, that's a slippery slope fallacy!) but wow, the deciding factor was just being unsettled by effigies? My people do that ROUTINELY. Of course not the racial discrimination one, but the effigies of the king? I would've been lighting the matches! Sylvia's Bad Experience with the War is just not enough to justify her not fighting for the emancipation of her country! If she didn't want ALL wars, then why pledge to be the empire's biggest WEAPON OF WAR. She was literally given the Ursprung's power as well, the MOST POWER EVER IN THE HISTORY OF THEIR WORLD. She could have freed her country in a heartbeat, without even any real violence, just a demonstration of her power (as she showed, but she did it for Wilhelm's purposes!). Jesus, it just doesn't make sense. She could have found a way to protect the Yevanverte. If she was also raised to be a ruler, then why SUBMIT TO WILHELM. She did not seem that spineless for all her frolicking.
Her becoming Wilhelm's weapon despite her people's clamor for freedom is just the most centrist, fuck ass pacifist take ever. Giving the author the benefit of the doubt also doesn't work for me, regarding if they meant for it to be realistic, gritty, ambiguous, unstable.... on all counts, it's just not well done. No weight because suddenly you have the hopefulness of Lorelai and Sylvia's marriage, and the tonal shift to their hopes that they'll be accepted despite the discrimination. Are we just meant to accept that only in privileged individualism, and not freedom, can the characters find joy? And that that is some sort of bittersweet? It just seemed not well thought-out. Bittersweet for edginess' sake. No real bite either way.
How unfortunate. This was so promising, but the last few chapters led me to actually put the book down and sigh in disbelief. Just read The Locked Tomb. Trust me.
Notes and stuff in my google docs.
“Yes,” Sylvia said, with such emphatic tenderness. “But it’s ours."
Back in the days when wishes held power, a Sapphic Romantasy held so much promise only to ultimately leave us with the message of: Let's Concede to Empire. Yes, I am an immediate sucker for a mature, hopefully well-written dark academia sapphic story, and I do not begrudge this book of the sweetness of its love story, as exemplified by my chosen quote above. The romance was this novel's one saving grace. The sweet interactions they had and Sylvia's flusteredness in the face of Lorelai's freakiness was legitimately enjoyable. I loved the hair braiding and the funny quips, for example, Lorelei upon seeing Sylvia's poetry:
about piercing gazes and capacious black cloaks before she decided she really did not want to know.
“So. Our plan.”
In ADADT, Lorelei Kaskel is a Yeva (historically oppressed) who scales the ivory tower through her academic excellence. She;s mentored by this eccentric adventurer-scientist type, Ziegler. Her fellow mentee is an actual princess, Sylvia von Wolff. They are opposites in every aspect: Lorelai's methodical and discriminated against, whereas Sylvia's a free-tumbling fairy spirit celebrated for her whimsy (and also, her privilege). They are set to go on an expedition looking for the ultimate source of power: the Ursprung. To everyone's shock, Ziegler appoints Lorelei as the co-head of the expedition, which ruffles her fellow expedition-mates and Sylvia's friends' feathers. When Ziegler gets murdered on the boat, this only gets worse, especially with Sylvia finding her in a compromising position. They end up in an allyship of sorts. The king tells Lorelai not to come back without the Ursprung and the murderer's identity. So they sail on, even if Lorelei had doubts about the location Ziegler left them to find. They get to Albe eventually and after a lot more sabotage (one of them becomes cursed to turn into a tree) they end up at a similarly magical pond, but not the Urpsrung. They could ask one question, which Lorelai used to find the Ursprung's real location. They regroup at their boat and on the way to finding the real Ursprung Lorelai finds out that the murderer was Adelheid, who wanted to take the Ursprung's power for herself so she could free her people. An incident with nixies leaves Johann dead, and then Sylvia and Lorelai become separated from Adelheid and Heike. They end up finding the Ursprung and consummating their love then soon after the other two arrive. Adelheid forces the Ursprung to give her the power. Sylvia is deemed worthy and is given the power. Lorelai.... well.. is sidelined. They eventually beat Adelheid and go back to the king, where Sylvia decides to use the Ursprung's power to protect his reign and quell rebellious sentiments. Heike becomes the queen. Lorelai becomes Wilhelm's adviser. In the end, Lorelai and Sylvia marry.
It was really fun, though their pre-expedition relationship begged some explanation. Lorelai's extreme antagonism just felt out of nowhere. I guess when you've been through as much as she has... it's easy to be mean, especially to your direct competitor. But certainly a mile or a little kindness is not out of reach? Just felt way too one-note. Actually, everyone felt so one-note. Like there was no nuance at all, but more on that later. I just accepted this at it is, because the rest of the novel was proving to be exciting. A locked room murder mystery with nobles and sabers? Say no more. I loved Gideon the Ninth. The writing was also optimally purple ala Erin Morgenstern's Night Circus. I enjoyed the fantastical elements and desciptions, like the Vereist's blackness and the eternal night in the mountains of Albe. Delicious gothic atmosphere. AND you give me the hottest masc sapphic ever? Everytime Lorelei was described as a tall, beautiful, brooding, handsome, short-haired evilette, I'd scream into my fist. Again: I loved Gideon the Ninth. I have a type. This book was setting up to be exactly in my alley; hence the depth of my disappointment is at literal nadir precisely because it was so excellent at the beginning.
Someone was like, man, I should write dark academia for vibes. How can something operate on politics solely but be painfully apolitical in the end? Is mental gymnastics that only white women are capable of. The author set up the conflict between kingdoms, colonialism, and oppression with repeated emphasis. She even literally already pointed out how none of this was stable and reunification could not be trusted. How King Wilhelm was cruel and could not be trusted. How Lorelei becoming a shutzyeva was inherently selfish and meant nothing for the emancipation of the Yevanverte. How reunification destroyed individual cultures and meant a suppression of freedom, despite fancy policies. How colonization destroyed and killed and is devastating ultimately. AND for literally what? Saft does NOTHING with this.
First of all, Lorelai. Honey, I'm so sorry. Look at what they did to my son. What the hell kind of character development was that for Lorelei? If the point is that she's not the monster she thinks she is, why then does the conflict end with the narrative being like Yep she's a viper. Viper to viper, right, Adelheid? I almost screamed NO!! in real life. Yes, I KNOW she did a abd thing, but only because she was under threat of her people's literal extinction. Aside from that, she isn't even that bad. And even if she was: where is the nuance (not the first time you'll read this)? Well, I hoped I was wrong. Maybe it's just her acknowledging the things she was forced to become to survive. The plot clues us in to her awakening to her internal goodness, and I would have been happily, willingly blindly convinced had the rest of the story not happened.
WHY wasn't she chosen by the Ursprung? Like, COME ON. Her entire character arc is her working so hard to desreve where she is, despite all the challenges and discrimination she faces. Isn't that honorable at all? Wouldn't the natural culmination of that be her crowning as someone deserving of the ultimate power, especially given how she was forced to hide her her magical abilities because of said discrimination? Like why is that even a plot point if not to fulfill it as heir to the Urpsrung, if not just a cheap tactic to further illustrate discrmination against her. How come that even in the end, she was sidelined in her own story? Why is the literal WHITE HAIRED WHITE PRINCESS growing up NOBLE and a literal PERSON KILLER WARMONGER (choices bedamned!) the one that gets the power of the Ursprung simply because she has wonderment, innocence, sparkly eyes, and naivete. Man, seriously...
Tapos Lorelai's character had so much ambition! So much promise to become a naturalist, even if she was groomed to be a folklorist! After all the growth throughout the journey: her learning to love, bringing her walls down, forgiving herself, letting herself desire and be desired-- you would think she'd grown a little bolder in shaping her own life. You'd think she'd want more than to just settle. Nah. Her ending is just her getting everything she ever wanted at the beginning--which is so anticlimatic. I had hoped for a change, at least, like her pursuing a career as a naturalist. But it's realistic for the political situation! Her oppression just doesn't disappear! Well, I'm not asking her to be king! Just some autonomy over her own life would've been great. And: brother, this is a fantasy novel (again, not the first time you'll hear this). Can we not be a little improbable? Apparently not. Wilhelm's right-hand man it is. What the hell.
Moving on: I just REALLY hated the political messaging behind this. As a third-world person from a country thrice-colonized. Feels like Saft was setting up her points then totally missed them all, like some sort of bourgeoisie praxis. All talk no execution. Even more disappointing because she had all the ingredients, all the set-up, and for a fantasy novel that can literally invent impossiblities like floating islands and shit you'd think she'd be capable of a braver, more inventive ending. Revolution's not realistic? Well what about the man who turned into a tree? Take one look at any colonized country and you'd see that it is real. It's how we're here still. EVEN WORSE is how she portrayed the people fighting for their country's emancipation (Adelheid, Anja von Wolff) as the Ultimate Villains. In my country they'd be heroes! If that isn't the most paranoid-of-communism/revolution shit ever. To me, Adelheid's IS a worthy cause. The twee violence-is-not-the-answer sentiment is so juvenile. In the face of oppression do you expect oppressed peoples to just sit down kumbaya and die? It's just kind of..... telling of the author. To me, it seems obvious that the author's either 1) not really faced real colonial oppression 2) didn't bother to research and be a little more inventive, thus the shallowness of her take on it.
And you're telling me that Sylvia, who grew up with massive privilege and has held positions of power in war, and who only has like mild child abandonment trauma to her name, is more deserving of the Ursprung's power than Lorelai, the literal oppressed person who clawed her way up from nothing and as such, is treated as a viper (I understood this perception, but I didn't know even the AUTHOR would perceive her this way in the story!!)? Simply for making space for herself? Sorry for the repetition, but I just very much despise this portrayal of Lorelai. Back to Sylvia, who employs Rurouni Kenshin levels of moral purity. Legitimately ZERO nuance, zero grey area, just juvenile idealism. Thou shall not kill, thou shall adhere to pacificist principles, thou shall pledge loyalty to the oppressor despite having all the opportunities to free her people. She argued an empire-is-the-lesser-evil, we-cannot-ensure-stability-with-different-leaders (but baby, that's a slippery slope fallacy!) but wow, the deciding factor was just being unsettled by effigies? My people do that ROUTINELY. Of course not the racial discrimination one, but the effigies of the king? I would've been lighting the matches! Sylvia's Bad Experience with the War is just not enough to justify her not fighting for the emancipation of her country! If she didn't want ALL wars, then why pledge to be the empire's biggest WEAPON OF WAR. She was literally given the Ursprung's power as well, the MOST POWER EVER IN THE HISTORY OF THEIR WORLD. She could have freed her country in a heartbeat, without even any real violence, just a demonstration of her power (as she showed, but she did it for Wilhelm's purposes!). Jesus, it just doesn't make sense. She could have found a way to protect the Yevanverte. If she was also raised to be a ruler, then why SUBMIT TO WILHELM. She did not seem that spineless for all her frolicking.
Her becoming Wilhelm's weapon despite her people's clamor for freedom is just the most centrist, fuck ass pacifist take ever. Giving the author the benefit of the doubt also doesn't work for me, regarding if they meant for it to be realistic, gritty, ambiguous, unstable.... on all counts, it's just not well done. No weight because suddenly you have the hopefulness of Lorelai and Sylvia's marriage, and the tonal shift to their hopes that they'll be accepted despite the discrimination. Are we just meant to accept that only in privileged individualism, and not freedom, can the characters find joy? And that that is some sort of bittersweet? It just seemed not well thought-out. Bittersweet for edginess' sake. No real bite either way.
How unfortunate. This was so promising, but the last few chapters led me to actually put the book down and sigh in disbelief. Just read The Locked Tomb. Trust me.
Notes and stuff in my google docs.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-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:
No
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I like how it was mostly about the story and THEN about the forbidden love. I found this to be a very enjoyable read.
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
“there is so much more to living than fear, lorelai. for once in your life, let someone worry for you the way you worry for others. let me worry about you.”
this is a book that i’ve had my eye on for so long, and whilst it didn’t disappoint me in the slightest, it also didn’t completely draw me in; i loved the concept, and really enjoyed the writing style, loved the dynamics between the characters, but it still fell a bit short for me because of the pacing.
i really liked our main character, and the way we got to see how her brain works; the self sabotaging, and believing she simply cannot be loved. seeing her development, in particular around sylvia, was beautiful.
i loved the atmosphere of this story, it felt both eerie and enchanting, and it really did fit this story; it must be my favourite part about the book. overall, it was an enjoyable read!
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
reflective
slow-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
In a world that considers her either a threat or a liability, Lorelei is gifted the opportunity of a lifetime as the head of an expedition charged with finding the source of all magic. Except her nemesis is joining the group, conflicting loyalties clash, and tragedy strikes early on, upending Lorelei’s world and shattering her certainties. To survive, she will have to find allies where she once saw rivals and perhaps discover even more in the process.
This adventure meets mystery meets slow-burn romance was fun to read and implied a lot more plot than the previous book I'd read by Allison Saft — A Far Wilder Magic (which was enjoyable but suffered from its blurb).
Here, the world-building was kept to a minimum, but there was still a lot of room to explore religious prejudices (as in AFWM) and character studies. The blend of real-world-inspired beliefs worked really well alongside fictional folklore, our main character being a folklorist joining forces with a naturalist. I loved the variety of female characters depicted in this novel and the utter absence of sexism. That was quite refreshing and didn't mean less drama, far from it. But I agree with the author that if we can have magical creatures and water-based magic, we can have a world in which same-sex unions work as diplomatic marriages and in which women aren’t considered second-grade citizens.
This quest narrative bringing together ill-assorted people could have benefitted from a map, but to make up for it I had the pleasure of reading it in this stunning Illumicrate edition which was a gift from me to me last December. I recommend it for those of you who enjoy a slow pace, complex characters, and a whole lot of yearning.
Rep: sapphic characters.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Antisemitism
Moderate: Religious bigotry, Murder, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Blood
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes