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3.61 AVERAGE
3.61 AVERAGE
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
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:
Yes
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-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
Lu en anglais.
Un roman d'enquête dans une ambiance dark academia assez bien. Les deux personnages principaux sont attachants et leur romance mignonne. Le worldbuilding est intéressant et on aimerait en savoir plus, connaître encore plus son histoire. Dans le même sens, les personnages secondaires sont peu développés alors qu'ils restent intéressant.
Au final, une bonne lecture, mais un peu rapide ou d'autres tomes pour développer l'univers seraient la bienvenue
Un roman d'enquête dans une ambiance dark academia assez bien. Les deux personnages principaux sont attachants et leur romance mignonne. Le worldbuilding est intéressant et on aimerait en savoir plus, connaître encore plus son histoire. Dans le même sens, les personnages secondaires sont peu développés alors qu'ils restent intéressant.
Au final, une bonne lecture, mais un peu rapide ou d'autres tomes pour développer l'univers seraient la bienvenue
This book felt really rushed. It started off strong, and I absolutely loved the inclusion of the tales from folklore and the different mythical creatures, but honestly, they were the best part of the whole book. The world-building is nothing spectacular and the characters feel flat, and I disliked the main character Lorelei a lot by the end. The ending itself wasn't very satisfying, either.
Sylvia deserves better.
Sylvia deserves better.
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I have mixed feelings.
On one hand, it was beautifully written. Lorelei was such a unique POV character, at least to me, with her bitterness and sharp internal monologue. The ending had me giggling. The world building was atmospheric. I enjoyed the cast of characters and how they played off of each other; it was an interesting look into how it feels to suddenly be forced into a group that already has a lot of history with each other. The yearning was impeccable.
On the other hand, however… I was frequently left confused because, despite sounding beautiful, much of the description was still vague.
1) Maybe one or two of the numerous wildeleute were actually described in detail, most were just described using their names or vague things like “fur” or “round face”, so I had to dig through my memories of various IRL fae creatures and match them up by what they were doing (as most also had altered names).
2) A detail would be stated, then maybe five to ten pages later, there would be a scene just adding more to the detail but without any context tying it to the previous detail.
(For example, a character is wounded in a specific spot. Then several scenes later, they treat the wound, but it never describes the wound’s placement in the second scene which gave me kind of… a “white room” feeling. I was constantly having to go back to figure out what was actually being described, when realistically a well written scene would be giving me enough info to conceptualize things.)
3) Conversations also felt lacking for the most part. It was almost as if the beginning or end was cut off, giving the impression that you missed some context. This was especially the case in the first half. The last half was considerably more developed feeling.
4) There was missing continuity in scenes and character descriptions. Packs appear and disappear when convenient, which was especially apparent when things happened that would be impossible with the pack still worn (free diving through a narrow passage, for example… and somehow nothing was wet or ruined?) or characters would pick up their pack that they never put down, etc. Sylvia was described variably as tiny and light, muscular and dense, very thin, and “I can’t ride with her, we’ll capsize the boat” (so when combined with the tall and lanky Lorelei, somehow heavier than all the other people described as bigger than her?).
5) Action scenes felt so flimsy. Either the tension was weak, or movements weren’t described so it felt like people were just standing around.
I really wanted to love it, but these issues had me feeling bored at multiple points and I would put the book down for days at a time. It wasn’t until I hit 60% that I was able to read it all in one sitting.
On one hand, it was beautifully written. Lorelei was such a unique POV character, at least to me, with her bitterness and sharp internal monologue. The ending had me giggling. The world building was atmospheric. I enjoyed the cast of characters and how they played off of each other; it was an interesting look into how it feels to suddenly be forced into a group that already has a lot of history with each other. The yearning was impeccable.
On the other hand, however… I was frequently left confused because, despite sounding beautiful, much of the description was still vague.
1) Maybe one or two of the numerous wildeleute were actually described in detail, most were just described using their names or vague things like “fur” or “round face”, so I had to dig through my memories of various IRL fae creatures and match them up by what they were doing (as most also had altered names).
2) A detail would be stated, then maybe five to ten pages later, there would be a scene just adding more to the detail but without any context tying it to the previous detail.
(For example, a character is wounded in a specific spot. Then several scenes later, they treat the wound, but it never describes the wound’s placement in the second scene which gave me kind of… a “white room” feeling. I was constantly having to go back to figure out what was actually being described, when realistically a well written scene would be giving me enough info to conceptualize things.)
3) Conversations also felt lacking for the most part. It was almost as if the beginning or end was cut off, giving the impression that you missed some context. This was especially the case in the first half. The last half was considerably more developed feeling.
4) There was missing continuity in scenes and character descriptions. Packs appear and disappear when convenient, which was especially apparent when things happened that would be impossible with the pack still worn (free diving through a narrow passage, for example… and somehow nothing was wet or ruined?) or characters would pick up their pack that they never put down, etc. Sylvia was described variably as tiny and light, muscular and dense, very thin, and “I can’t ride with her, we’ll capsize the boat” (so when combined with the tall and lanky Lorelei, somehow heavier than all the other people described as bigger than her?).
5) Action scenes felt so flimsy. Either the tension was weak, or movements weren’t described so it felt like people were just standing around.
I really wanted to love it, but these issues had me feeling bored at multiple points and I would put the book down for days at a time. It wasn’t until I hit 60% that I was able to read it all in one sitting.
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
relaxing
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
It is a beautiful, sapphic standalone story that also touches on subjects of discrimination. A murder mystery mixed into the world of magic, folklore, and education. This book wasn’t what I had expected at all, but it was a real eye opener to what I enjoy reading. A very very small bit of spice; maybe 2 pages at most. A slow burn, enemies to lovers, found family story. It is truly bittersweet that this story is a stand-alone but I am looking forward to reading it again in a few years time.
slow-paced
Oh, how I wanted to love this. The set up for the expedition, and the political machinations as they announced the lucky people to lead it, this book had such a strong start! We got a feel for how the society was set up including some pretty interesting parallels to current (and past) events. The stage was set on the academic competition between Lorelei and the others, and the prestige of the expedition, it was so petty to see them all catfight over it!. And then…crickets. Even with a murder, I was struggling to stay engaged. I thought it might be a case of format, so I snagged the audiobook on Libby and hoped that would hook me. Nope, that didn’t do it. I switched back to the book, and still… nothing. It was a hard decision (mainly because I bought a very pretty special edition of this book), but it was a DNF for me.
This had so much going for it, I really wish it had worked out. I think there’s a few big elements that didn’t work for me as a reader. One was the cast, there were so many to keep track of, that I just couldn’t keep them straight. They weren’t really defined outside of how they reacted to Lorelei. I felt like the author overindexed on Lorelei to the point that the rest of the characters suffered. And maybe they were supposed to, it made it hard to care when things started to happen to them. I would have liked to see more from their perspective, especially how they perceived Lorelei. With us just getting her perspective only, it felt flat. She didn’t care about them as people, so why should the readers? The other big hurdle for me was the magic system/setting. I don’t mind when it’s big and complicated, or even a bit mysterious. The exception to that is when I’m launched into it with no explanation AND it’s not fully explored. Between trying to tell everyone apart, feeling mired in Lorelei’s POV, and not getting enough grounding in the magic system, this one just didn’t make it past the 30% mark for me.
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Loved the misty, waterlogged atmosphere of this read. And I absolutely oved the folklore and water magic!
Sylvia and Lorelei's relationship was also such a great thing to read! I loved their chemistry and loved them as a couple.
While I read majority of this waiting for my plane at an airport, I still think I would have been absolutely engrossed reading this one at home. It totally held my attention.
Granted, I believe it's a standalone but I would also like to read more of this couple navigating the difficult world they've found themselves in. The bittersweet ending was also appreciated.
Sylvia and Lorelei's relationship was also such a great thing to read! I loved their chemistry and loved them as a couple.
While I read majority of this waiting for my plane at an airport, I still think I would have been absolutely engrossed reading this one at home. It totally held my attention.
Granted, I believe it's a standalone but I would also like to read more of this couple navigating the difficult world they've found themselves in. The bittersweet ending was also appreciated.