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3.62 AVERAGE
3.62 AVERAGE
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
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:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
slow-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:
Complicated
It takes some doing to get me to quit a book halfway through, but here we are.
Really, really wanted to love this. Struggled a bit with Lorelei being so hostile to everyone, particularly people who are actually being nice to her. Sure, traumatic backstory, but you can have trauma without being mean. Got a bit bored with the folk tales being told because they just weren’t that interesting, everything was mostly transplanting existing folklore into the new world context without meaningfully changing it, so there was nothing much new and it was a lot of time to spend rehashing old tales.
Ultimately when I was struggling to motivate myself to keep going, I looked into reviews and read some spoilers. And I had already had some iffy feelings about the cruel king being portrayed as the best hope for the future because he (forcibly) united territories (bc better than potentially rogue states if given independence?) but I was holding out hope that there would be learnings and character development etc. Well. So much for that hope, I guess. I’m done here.
Really, really wanted to love this. Struggled a bit with Lorelei being so hostile to everyone, particularly people who are actually being nice to her. Sure, traumatic backstory, but you can have trauma without being mean. Got a bit bored with the folk tales being told because they just weren’t that interesting, everything was mostly transplanting existing folklore into the new world context without meaningfully changing it, so there was nothing much new and it was a lot of time to spend rehashing old tales.
Ultimately when I was struggling to motivate myself to keep going, I looked into reviews and read some spoilers. And I had already had some iffy feelings about the cruel king being portrayed as the best hope for the future because he (forcibly) united territories (bc better than potentially rogue states if given independence?) but I was holding out hope that there would be learnings and character development etc. Well. So much for that hope, I guess. I’m done here.
medium-paced
I do have to say it’s nice to see a one-sided rivalry done well, as well as sunshine and grumpy from the grump’s perspective and done in a way that doesn’t end with the grump being so nice at the end. I found the end itself somewhat underwhelming, though I couldn’t begin to say what I would change with it. I enjoyed the writing and I enjoyed being wrong about the murderer’s identity. A good read, recommended for anyone looking for sapphic enemies to lovers between academics.
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
i got up in the middle of a chapter to go clean my cat's litterbox and it was a more exciting activity than reading this book
adventurous
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
It’s difficult to listen to as an audiobook. I normally love this narrator, but I don’t know. I think the story just has too much to follow audibly. I may enjoy it more as a physical copy.
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I think I enjoyed this more than the average reader, from what I’ve gathered.
I liked Lorelei as a POV character but I can easily see where she wouldn’t resonate with everyone. She taciturn to say the least, she has some beats to her character arc that can be repetitive or poorly paced, and some important themes for hersuch as the ghosts she sees aren’t introduced all that well. I also felt invested in the character relationships—and not just the romantic ones.
The world building is also intriguing, I think. The magic system people use is touched on only vaguely in favor of highlighting the magical features of the setting’s the natural world.
That being said, the book was slow to hook me and it does read very YA/New Adult.
I liked Lorelei as a POV character but I can easily see where she wouldn’t resonate with everyone. She taciturn to say the least, she has some beats to her character arc that can be repetitive or poorly paced, and some important themes for her
The world building is also intriguing, I think. The magic system people use is touched on only vaguely in favor of highlighting the magical features of the setting’s the natural world.
That being said, the book was slow to hook me and it does read very YA/New Adult.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Hate crime, Antisemitism, Religious bigotry, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Violence, Xenophobia, Grief, Murder, Toxic friendship, Classism
Minor: Body horror, Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, Genocide, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Blood, Vomit, War
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
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