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katie_winter16's review against another edition
5.0
i absolutely loved this book!! i wasn’t expecting that betrayal haha can’t wait to read the next one.
lelila's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
inhisbluegardens's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
I've been meaning to get to this series for literal years and I'm so glad I finally have. It follows Jude, a human who was, alongside her sisters, taken by a Fey assassin following the murder of her parents and forced to grow up in the bloodthirsty Fey courts.
Black writes a Fey realm that is cruel and sinister, an immersive world of spies, political intrigue and cut-throat ambitions. Deceit and murder is commonplace and Jude is very much a product of her environment. She, a mortal, struggles to make space for herself in a world that rejects her but she doesn't let this stop her from climbing the ladder of power to get what she wants, the only way she's been taught - lies cunning and betrayal. We love a scheming, bitchy queen.
This was an incredibly fun read and I can't wait to read more.
Black writes a Fey realm that is cruel and sinister, an immersive world of spies, political intrigue and cut-throat ambitions. Deceit and murder is commonplace and Jude is very much a product of her environment. She, a mortal, struggles to make space for herself in a world that rejects her but she doesn't let this stop her from climbing the ladder of power to get what she wants, the only way she's been taught - lies cunning and betrayal. We love a scheming, bitchy queen.
This was an incredibly fun read and I can't wait to read more.
poppyisabella's review against another edition
2.0
i liked this book. i like jude. i can’t figure out what i think about cardan. the writing style is obvs different to sjm but it’s nice to read a shorter book for once. the aesthetic is cute
annabikker's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
I think my expectations were a bit too high for this one. Don’t get me wrong - I absolutely loved the plot and general idea. However, the writing style just isn’t my cup of tea. This is not any criticism towards the author, it’s just personal preference, and frankly the writing just didn’t have me fully engaged at any point in the book. It felt more like a chore to finish this book instead of me looking forward to reading further.
As for the characters, I found them interesting, despite some of them being severely flawed, cruel, or annoying (Taryn..), but a lot of things in the book fell flat for me throughout.
The plot is really great though and I loved the world building. However, given the overall writing style, I don’t think I’ll have the motivation to give the second book a chance in the near future.
As for the characters, I found them interesting, despite some of them being severely flawed, cruel, or annoying (Taryn..), but a lot of things in the book fell flat for me throughout.
The plot is really great though and I loved the world building. However, given the overall writing style, I don’t think I’ll have the motivation to give the second book a chance in the near future.
darsee's review against another edition
challenging
lighthearted
fast-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? It's complicated
3.0
yonimaes's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
inspiring
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? It's complicated
4.0
dolphin_reader's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-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
4.5
wbunnyberry's review against another edition
adventurous
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
4.25
emzareads's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
this book was SOO GOOD!! i literally forgot how much i forgot i love reading fantasy books, so after reading the secret history this was such a nice, refreshing change. (although to be honest, literally anything would be refreshing after the rollercoaster that was the secret history)
holly black's writing is so nice to read, it's the perfect balance of description and characters and plot for me. i also really enjoyed the way the writing felt like it was a perfect balance of describing jude's inner thoughts and why she did what she did, without just spelling out exactly what was happening and making it way too obvious. also, the plot twists in this book were so good - i kind of predicted them all, like the thing about who liriope's child was, but not the final one at the end about cardan which was so exciting. i also didn't even mind being able to predict the plot twists because it made me feel so excited when i got round to reading it and i turned out to be correct. this was one of those books that had me giggling and kicking my feet in bed when i was reading it because it was so good, i loved it.
the development of the relationship between jude and cardan was also SO GOOD, i hate to say it because he was so horrible to her at the start of the book but the end of it, the way they were working together was sooo good to read about. all of the ending of this book was just really good actually, kind of surprising as the whole book was really good so i didn't know how much better it could get but it really did!
overall, i'm going to give it a provision five stars but i have a hopeful feeling that i'll have to rate it down later purely because the other two books in the trilogy will be comparatively better. cannot wait to read more books by holly black!
holly black's writing is so nice to read, it's the perfect balance of description and characters and plot for me. i also really enjoyed the way the writing felt like it was a perfect balance of describing jude's inner thoughts and why she did what she did, without just spelling out exactly what was happening and making it way too obvious. also, the plot twists in this book were so good - i kind of predicted them all, like the thing about who liriope's child was, but not the final one at the end about cardan which was so exciting. i also didn't even mind being able to predict the plot twists because it made me feel so excited when i got round to reading it and i turned out to be correct. this was one of those books that had me giggling and kicking my feet in bed when i was reading it because it was so good, i loved it.
the development of the relationship between jude and cardan was also SO GOOD, i hate to say it because he was so horrible to her at the start of the book but the end of it, the way they were working together was sooo good to read about. all of the ending of this book was just really good actually, kind of surprising as the whole book was really good so i didn't know how much better it could get but it really did!
overall, i'm going to give it a provision five stars but i have a hopeful feeling that i'll have to rate it down later purely because the other two books in the trilogy will be comparatively better. cannot wait to read more books by holly black!