495 reviews for:

Empty Smiles

Katherine Arden

3.71 AVERAGE


Well, that was underwhelming.
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bookdeviant's review

3.0

:(

Really enjoyed this and I feel that the series redeemed itself a bit after book 3, but I was really let down by the ending which wasn't very satisfying at all. I was really hoping for at least a little more explanation and a point to the whole adventure.
adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective fast-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 dark emotional funny mysterious tense fast-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

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

Definitely my least favorite of the series.

I understand now other readers' complaining about how the end felt rushed and unfulfilling at the same time.

I was hoping that we would learn more about the Smiling Man and I am disappointed that we did not.

I am sad that the series ended at this book :(

4.5 stars

Feeling like I was the only one who enjoyed this book and only leaving out that 0.5 because I wanted more answers from the ending. I know that this is the last book of the series, but that ending left me wanting another book, instead of giving me an unsatisfied feeling, iykwim.

Although I understand how it can be disappointing for others, but I personally liked this one. Kept me on my toes and scared me that I had to stop reading it at night HAHAHAHAHAHAHA.

SpoilerThe way this book also made me like the Smiling Man a bit, though... It made him seem human, especially when Ollie figured out why he thought that no one could get through the fun house alone. Makes me want to know more about his background.
dark emotional hopeful mysterious tense fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus: No
adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated
adventurous fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

The ending was really rushed and there could have been more character development, especially for the Smiling Man.