Take a photo of a barcode or cover
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A really great read! Very easy to immerse into the story and the settings with the characters. A lovely book to read after having not read for a very long time!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Violence, Blood, Murder, War
Moderate: Sexual content, Xenophobia
Minor: Death, Abandonment
adventurous
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Solid, expertly written book. Some issues with depictions of trauma.
New Adult Dark High Fantasy about a young woman who accidentally kills the friend of a fae lord while hunting. He forces her to come live in the fae world for the rest of her life. They become romantically involved and other faeries find out he's with a human. This enrages the jealous queen, who then tries to kill her and destroy his house by making him her slave. She even has another man she keeps for her own enjoyment already while terrorizing the entire kingdom and just slaughtering everyone who gets in her way. It's clear she enjoys toying with people and lashing out when she doesn't get what she wants. Things go from 0 to 300 quick.
ACOTAR has an initially slow start that really picks up in the middle. Full of action and a badass female protagonist who is also fragile emotionally and physically in comparison to the immortals around her. It's a little spooky and gritty. Lots of monsters and mystery. It's violent and dark and has a lot of great twists. Even the ending of this book is a twist in itself for the rest of the series. Book 1 is sort of: "What had happened was..." in a way that genuinely feels like immersing in a fairytale and then later seeing it has gone very very wrong. You get more and more of some great character building as it becomes less Disney and more reality, making it a really fun read.
Great intro to the series. Though a little flawed for the more serious themes it explores and how they are represented in book 1, (I feel they aren't remedied until the start of book 2) but they are mostly remedied by a large percentage when they are. That's a dangerous game when depicting a high fantasy that is realistically depicting so much trauma. There are a lot of themes which may offend or trigger but the characters just sort of live in it... So, read on! But just be aware this book may insinuate it is actually ignoring the important subjects it means to talk about... attention to them just comes in late.
You can tell that Maas is a smart writer who has seen many fairytales she was really fed up with. She takes every opportunity to bring in the rage she wishes those characters showed. And she is an expert writer who hides some really sweet details throughout her books. You may come out with an even better perspective and deeper appreciation on a second read because it does such a good job of upsetting the reader on the first read.
Definitely recommended. I just feel that an important part of the readership might fall off before the series really gets into what it's largely about, which was frustrating as a reader and as someone who can closely relate to some of those issues.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Kidnapping
Moderate: Bullying, Confinement, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Medical trauma, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, War, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Rape, Slavery
Discussions about abuse, neglect, etc are less prevalent in book 1 and more prevalent in book 2. For the worse in my opinion. Because it doesn't allow for discussion ABOUT the abuse and that it is abuse until this book has ended. The characters just live in the abuse in book 1 and not much is done about it or contextualized. It's very realistic and well-researched but the handling isn't very delicate to start. However, the abusive bits also aren't graphic and book 2 has more delicate handling and continued light mentioning coupled with a more serious discussion. Disappointing weakening of book 1 a bit. But hey... surviving trauma also teaches you that we can't expect perfection. The year was 2015. I'm glad it was talked about at all.
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
๐ฌ๐ง๐น๐ฌ ๐ฎ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐ฟ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ฝ๐๐๐๐๐น by Sarah J. Maas โ ๏ธ๐บ๐๐๐๐๐๐-๐๐๐๐โ ๏ธ
โน๏ธPRODUCT AD-PR
โ ๏ธTWโ ๏ธ Please be aware, this book could contain mentions of violence, death on the page
๐ฌ๐ง
Hi!๐๐ผ
Today is review day, so Iโm going to talk about of ๐น๐ฌ ๐ฎ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐ฟ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ฝ๐๐๐๐๐น.
First of all Iโd like to thank @tandemcollectiveglobal and @bloomsburypublishing for giving me the opportunity to participate in this Readalong (re-read) and sending me the copy๐ซถ๐ป.
As for the re-reading Iโve to say that I have enjoyed it half-heartedly, since I have chosen fantasy to read for the first time in English isnโt the best idea. In my defense Iโll say that Iโm glad to have read it previously in my mother tongue (Spanish), that has allowed me not to get lost and feel more confident when reading in another language.
This second time reading it, my opinion of some characters is different ๐
, but I don't want to say too much to avoid spoilers for those of you who haven't read it. However, it may have been influenced by having read ๐๐ผ ๐พ๐ค๐ช๐ง๐ฉ ๐ค๐ ๐๐๐จ๐ฉ ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐๐ช๐ง๐ฎ๐ง๐ปโโ๏ธ(the second of the saga) recently, where the good stuff starts๐.
Although it is a rather introductory book, something very necessary at the beginning of a fantasy saga, I highly recommend it.
โน๏ธ For more information see the highlighted stories๐ฑin my Instagram account @elfaro_literario
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Blood, Murder, Injury/Injury detail
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
...I liked this more than I want to admit
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Trafficking, Death of parent, War, Injury/Injury detail
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Torture, Blood, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Death of parent, Alcohol
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Slavery, Torture, Murder
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book could have been better, not in terms of plot, that I was fine with, but in terms of character actions, and the author desperately needing a GOOD editor.
If I have to read the phrase "lazy smile" again in this series, I'm likely to throw myself into the abyss. A thesaurus would be a very advantageous resource for this author and an editor willing to point out the gross overuse of certain phrases.
Outside of the complaints about unfortuately typical YA romantic toxic relationships, and lack of character diversity, it does have a feeling of being a reimagined Beauty & the Beast but in a Fae world to explain the magic. Unlike Beauty & the Beast, our main character has a stubborn streak that is spiteful to the point of self sabotage.
She does have character growth with her stubborness and her "oh woe is me" attitude does improve. She begins to take time to understand those around her, especially of her dysfunctional family.
If I have to read the phrase "lazy smile" again in this series, I'm likely to throw myself into the abyss. A thesaurus would be a very advantageous resource for this author and an editor willing to point out the gross overuse of certain phrases.
Outside of the complaints about unfortuately typical YA romantic toxic relationships, and lack of character diversity, it does have a feeling of being a reimagined Beauty & the Beast but in a Fae world to explain the magic. Unlike Beauty & the Beast, our main character has a stubborn streak that is spiteful to the point of self sabotage.
She does have character growth with her stubborness and her "oh woe is me" attitude does improve. She begins to take time to understand those around her, especially of her dysfunctional family.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Physical abuse, Sexism, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Murder, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail
dark
emotional
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Last half of the book is the best half - most of the story in the first half is spent establishing the characters, world, and building relationships between said characters and the world. Starts slow, ends fast, and sets up the reader for a killer story in the second book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Cursing, Death, Sexual content, Blood, Grief, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Torture