Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.61 AVERAGE
3.61 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Loveable characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
hopeful
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:
Yes
adventurous
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
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
idk why this book took me so long to finish but once i got into it, was a quick read. so many things to love; wlw, a mystery, a group of unlovable characters on a quest, fmc who is lowkey not self aware and brooding, YEARNING, “sunshine” love interest! chefs kiss
Saints, did the synopsis of this have me hooked. However, my overall consensus is that of mild disinterest.
The creatures (wildeleute) were fantastical, and description of the environment and aether/magic were wonderful. I was mostly intrigued by the FMC being a folklorist, and while some of the folklore snippets were great, they were interspersed in a very contrived manner that did not feel authentic to the natural flow of the story.
The majority of the characters were insufferable, but I had a particularly difficult time remaining invested in the FMC. Lorelei struggles with rampant unresolved trauma and internalized anti-semitism to the degree that her nickname is the “viper” for how cruelly she lashes out at others. It’s a challenge to find redeemable qualities or root for her during the story. I love an academic rivalry and opposites attract, but it didn’t present genuinely when **SPOILERS** the manic pixie dream girl harboured unrequited amorous feelings for the FMC, even after being viciously betrayed by her.
The creatures (wildeleute) were fantastical, and description of the environment and aether/magic were wonderful. I was mostly intrigued by the FMC being a folklorist, and while some of the folklore snippets were great, they were interspersed in a very contrived manner that did not feel authentic to the natural flow of the story.
The majority of the characters were insufferable, but I had a particularly difficult time remaining invested in the FMC. Lorelei struggles with rampant unresolved trauma and internalized anti-semitism to the degree that her nickname is the “viper” for how cruelly she lashes out at others. It’s a challenge to find redeemable qualities or root for her during the story. I love an academic rivalry and opposites attract, but it didn’t present genuinely when **SPOILERS** the manic pixie dream girl harboured unrequited amorous feelings for the FMC, even after being viciously betrayed by her.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
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:
Yes
I really enjoyed this one. I like Lorelei a lot and I appreciated how much worldbuilding went into this. The world felt rich and vibrant.
I really liked the intro to the folk tales always being the same (Back when wishes still had power...) because it marked a clear point where the actual narrative stopped and the story Lorelei was telling us started. I understand why I've seen some critics call it repetitive, but when you're talking about a folk tale in a fantasy world, the clear marker was very helpful. We also do the exact same thing with folk tales and fairy tales (Once upon a time...) so it didn't feel out of place or awkward.
4 stars due to a few typos and errors, I feel like this could have done with one final sweep from an editor. I also wasn't a massive fan of the ending - the two characters talking about marriage at the end didn't know each other well enough romantically to get married IMO and I really dislike the "disappears for months only to suddenly reappear and propose" trope.
I really liked the intro to the folk tales always being the same (Back when wishes still had power...) because it marked a clear point where the actual narrative stopped and the story Lorelei was telling us started. I understand why I've seen some critics call it repetitive, but when you're talking about a folk tale in a fantasy world, the clear marker was very helpful. We also do the exact same thing with folk tales and fairy tales (Once upon a time...) so it didn't feel out of place or awkward.
4 stars due to a few typos and errors, I feel like this could have done with one final sweep from an editor. I also wasn't a massive fan of the ending - the two characters talking about marriage at the end didn't know each other well enough romantically to get married IMO and I really dislike the "disappears for months only to suddenly reappear and propose" trope.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
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
This book wants to do many things, and while you could argue that it does them all, it somehow does them all wrong.
It doesn’t deliver the dark academia it promises at all. The atmospheric writing is there, but it moves us further and further away from the academic world, and the discoveries being made aren’t grounded enough for the reader to actually care about the way the world is configured or the creatures that inhabit it, which, while creative, aren’t fully fleshed enough to make you understand the stakes, and just leave you confused most of the time. The murder mystery is perhaps the most interesting part about it, but the way they go about investigating it is not the best either.
The romance is not that unbelievable, but as a reader you have a hard time rooting for the relationship when the main character’s insecurity makes her bitter and unapproachable while the love interest acts like a perfect saint time and time again—which is fine, I have no issues with unlikeable characters… unless they’re also stupid, which our main character definitely is.
The secondary characters are an amalgam of stereotypes that could, again, manage to be well-fleshed if they had more room to breathe or if most of the relationships between them weren’t already formed at the beginning of the book—definitely to make you and the main character feel like outsiders, but at their detriment,
All of those collide in the world building, which could make for a way more thought-provoking story. It sets up a politically conflicted world that could develop into a very interesting game of power with many parts in place,
All in all, they do go on an adventure, and there’s a murder and huge disagreements, and a sapphic romance, and none of it it’s satisfactory whatsoever.
It doesn’t deliver the dark academia it promises at all. The atmospheric writing is there, but it moves us further and further away from the academic world, and the discoveries being made aren’t grounded enough for the reader to actually care about the way the world is configured or the creatures that inhabit it, which, while creative, aren’t fully fleshed enough to make you understand the stakes, and just leave you confused most of the time. The murder mystery is perhaps the most interesting part about it, but the way they go about investigating it is not the best either.
The romance is not that unbelievable, but as a reader you have a hard time rooting for the relationship when the main character’s insecurity makes her bitter and unapproachable while the love interest acts like a perfect saint time and time again—which is fine, I have no issues with unlikeable characters… unless they’re also stupid, which our main character definitely is.
Spoiler
Seriously, the letters’ thing pissed me off so bad.The secondary characters are an amalgam of stereotypes that could, again, manage to be well-fleshed if they had more room to breathe or if most of the relationships between them weren’t already formed at the beginning of the book—definitely to make you and the main character feel like outsiders, but at their detriment,
Spoiler
even when you end up siding with them on the big final battle, probably against the writer’s wishes.All of those collide in the world building, which could make for a way more thought-provoking story. It sets up a politically conflicted world that could develop into a very interesting game of power with many parts in place,
Spoiler
yet not only does it not play into that, but it reinforces the colonialism situation presented to us in the beginning, disregarding the very realistic complaints of the countries annexed while at the same time ignoring the issues experienced by a people being abused and often even killed because of their ethnicity, to the point they’re introduced as a background for the main character backstory but not addressed at the end of the book, when she manages to get what she wants and gets away from her roots.All in all, they do go on an adventure, and there’s a murder and huge disagreements, and a sapphic romance, and none of it it’s satisfactory whatsoever.
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes