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3.85 AVERAGE
3.85 AVERAGE
adventurous
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I picked up this book because I realised that Percy Jackson series aside, I have been snobbing fantasy written by white men. It was a mistake.
I thought the main character being a woman would be a fun experience, and the weird 12-years-old-vibes oversexualisation of most of her interactions was annoying and boring.
On the plus side, the last part of the book with more action and a main character that starts to show growth was entertaining. And the trials scene were a good read.
I know I can be a harsh critique of pop culture references in fantasy, and isekai in general, but having just read (and liked) I got abducted by aliens and now i'm trapped in a romcom by Kimberly Lemming I can safely say that it's not a genre problem, I just disliked this book.
Don't let me put you off of it though, maybe overtly wordy footnotes and movie-esqu flashbacks and triple betrayal are your thing? And in this case, you'll be having a blast reading it.
I thought the main character being a woman would be a fun experience, and the weird 12-years-old-vibes oversexualisation of most of her interactions was annoying and boring.
On the plus side, the last part of the book with more action and a main character that starts to show growth was entertaining. And the trials scene were a good read.
I know I can be a harsh critique of pop culture references in fantasy, and isekai in general, but having just read (and liked) I got abducted by aliens and now i'm trapped in a romcom by Kimberly Lemming I can safely say that it's not a genre problem, I just disliked this book.
Don't let me put you off of it though, maybe overtly wordy footnotes and movie-esqu flashbacks and triple betrayal are your thing? And in this case, you'll be having a blast reading it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, War
Minor: Torture
adventurous
dark
funny
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:
Complicated
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
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
funny
lighthearted
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
3.5 stars, but I round up.
20% into the book, i was having pretty serious doubts about this book. As other people said, Davi is presented as a fairly sex-obsessed, overly crude and confident, driven-by-her-sexual-impulses character. She is also bisexual and that just kinda sucks for bi representation. The stereotype of the constantly-horny bi girl is very, very overdone. And this book is also written by a man... and the constantly-horny, always ready for sex, sarcastic and overly confident bi girl written by a man... gawd that's just WAY overdone. And 20% of the book is a LONG time to live in that stereotype.
Okay, but hear me out. THAT Davi seems a bit necessary so you can meet the much more nuanced Davi at the end of the book. When Davi realizes that in this timeline, things matter, the book actually gets really interesting and depth is shown in Davi's character that makes the horny bi-girl trope more of a facade that Davi has had to wear, as opposed to her actual personality. (I also appreciate that Davi does not have a "come to Jesus" moment where she realizes monogamy is the only way forward. Rather, her desire for sex was part of her just having a really bizarre life, that only she can really understand, that has been going on for nearly a thousand years, so why not play it super fast and loose if you are going to be alone forever?)
Now, should the reader have had an understanding that Davi's nonchalance could be altered by the timeline she was in having actual consequences before we reached 85% of the way through the book? Yes. This book is about 70 pages too long. But based on the way this book ends, will I read the 2nd one? Hell yes.
20% into the book, i was having pretty serious doubts about this book. As other people said, Davi is presented as a fairly sex-obsessed, overly crude and confident, driven-by-her-sexual-impulses character. She is also bisexual and that just kinda sucks for bi representation. The stereotype of the constantly-horny bi girl is very, very overdone. And this book is also written by a man... and the constantly-horny, always ready for sex, sarcastic and overly confident bi girl written by a man... gawd that's just WAY overdone. And 20% of the book is a LONG time to live in that stereotype.
Okay, but hear me out. THAT Davi seems a bit necessary so you can meet the much more nuanced Davi at the end of the book. When Davi realizes that in this timeline, things matter, the book actually gets really interesting and depth is shown in Davi's character that makes the horny bi-girl trope more of a facade that Davi has had to wear, as opposed to her actual personality. (I also appreciate that Davi does not have a "come to Jesus" moment where she realizes monogamy is the only way forward. Rather, her desire for sex was part of her just having a really bizarre life, that only she can really understand, that has been going on for nearly a thousand years, so why not play it super fast and loose if you are going to be alone forever?)
Now, should the reader have had an understanding that Davi's nonchalance could be altered by the timeline she was in having actual consequences before we reached 85% of the way through the book? Yes. This book is about 70 pages too long. But based on the way this book ends, will I read the 2nd one? Hell yes.
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Loved this! Read for FTP bookclub and didn't have it done before our meeting. Everyone else rated it 5/5, so my scoreight be a little influenced by that. But I really liked the characters and plot even though I could kind of see where some of it was going.
adventurous
funny
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:
Complicated
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No