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planetshelf's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
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? No
2.5
This book is a complete mess, so I can’t make a review that’s anything but fragments I thought up during my read.
~ REPETITIVE speech patterns:
- “For long seconds . . .”
- “*insert place to fly to* on my own power.”
- “_____ AF.”
- “hella”
- “_____. Like, . . ._____” (to say something for the second time, but slightly differently, with more emphasis)
- “Nothing to do with _____, and everything to do with _____.” (Most often, the first blank is filled with “Alaska,” or “the cold.”)
- “My mouth is/goes desert-dry.”
- “FML”
- “Freaking”
- “Every hair on my body stands up straight.”
- “Give myself over to . . .”
- “Civil twilight”
- “Listing”
+ The chapter titles are really funny and actually pretty good.
~ <slight spoiler> The way two characters said “. . .dr—“ and then corrected themselves while referring to Flint before any reveal. . . .</slight spoiler>
~ VERY predictable:
- I was able to say things to my sister (while we were listening and sewing) like, “Watch, it’s Jaxon,” or, “It’s definitely not her uncle.”
- <slight spoiler> My sister said to me, “Dragons?” when I told her what I thought the types of paranormal creatures that went to the school would turn out to be because what the FUCK. Of all things? </slight spoiler> I mean, I guess I can’t say it isn’t unique.
+ Some of the quirky quips are entertaining; some were even clever.
+ I did appreciate that Grace was never an NLOG. She probably knew she was very much like other girls.
# How did they release so many books in this series in such a short amount of time?
+ This isn’t a Twilight knockoff. It’s extremely different, though I’m not sure if it’s taken from other supernatural teen franchises.
+ I love Macy. She's truly the best cousin ever. The way she got everything in hot pink for Grace because that was the most recent favorite color she knew of made me do that, for lack of a better phrase, affectionate type of frown.
# Why does Grace say “freaking” so often if the author is clearly fine with using “fuck”?
———
Despite all of this, it’s a guilty pleasure read, I guess. I couldn’t help but laugh — or pause and laugh every few seconds.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Cursing
Minor: Car accident and Death of parent
ashleyvharris's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
A fun, romantic vampire story that feels inspired by some of the 2000’s most popular YA series, most obviously, Twilight.
The derivativeness of book 1 is crystal clear, but Wolff never tries to hide that or pretend otherwise. She embraces the role that Twilight has played in her writing by briefly mentioning the book and acknowledges its existence in the world she’s created. Although, I think the execution of this scene isn’t quite smooth enough, I recognize Wolf’s intention.
I enjoyed the characters in Book 1 a lot. Most of them felt well-defined and dynamic. Jaxon Vega clearly a stand out as the tortured anti-hero, the final and additional chapters from his perspective were wonderful and added extra dimension to his character and those particular scenes.
Understanding this is Book 1 of a 4-book series, I couldn’t help but be a little frustrated with the ambiguity of some details. Wolff doesn’t dive into many specifics of how the supernaturals operate within the world she’s building which leaves a lot of gray area for readers. Other details, like Amka’s note for Flint in the library or Lia and Jackson’s altercation in the gazebo , are described but never explained.
Overall, the plot isn’t the strongest, but Wolf’s characters make up for much of it with witty dialogue and believable interactions. The real star here, much like in Twilight, is the love story. Grace and Jaxon have chemistry and tension for miles and it’s easy to root for them. I’m looking forward to what plot twists throw their course off track and how they find their way back to one another.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Death, Gore, and Medical content
Minor: Child abuse, Genocide, Physical abuse, Car accident, Murder, and War
kinsportch's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Death and Kidnapping
forthesanityof1's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Read this on a whim for October because I wanted something with a bit of horror/supernatural in it. This was like an alternate timeline Twilight but Twilight was better. I liked the inclusion of different supernatural beings, but I wish their differences and attitudes were more fleshed out. It feels like I only learned about vampires with no real emphasis on the others. Even the vampire stuff was uninteresting until the end when they were talking about hormones in animal blood versus human blood and how that affects sensitivity to sunlight. That was super interesting. More lore please.
I also have a gripe with several other aspects of this book. I know it's YA and geared towards teens, but there are ways to make stories like this marketable to your target audience without talking about Harry Styles and Dr. Pepper and emoji pants. Those very specific details added nothing. I already knew how young the MC was from the beginning and from other aspects of the narrative. I also disliked the over-usage of text talk, the word "like" and "very" and "really." It ruined the atmosphere the author was building in several scenes and would also lead to unnecessary detail or narration from the MC that added nothing to her character or the story. All it did was make me, as the reader, angry.
Additionally, I want to talk about the development of the relationship because it feels very internet psychology (I'm a therapist) and not necessarily in a positive way. The insta-love/lust/connection at the beginning was forged through curiosity, boundary violations, and some sense of shared trauma over a single moment undercut with lust. I found this to be unique but still not my personal type of story I would rush over to read if it was pitched as having some "deeper" connection between the MC and the love interest. I did appreciate the openness of a few of the conversation, but again, it felt like I was hearing the author speaking (probably from her own therapy experience) instead of the character. I also wonder who, exactly, Grace is? The book opens with her grief and trying to keep herself together. Somewhere along the way, that just...disappears. The source of her grief is never mentioned again until the last 70 or so pages when the author drops in a few very out-of-the-blue plot twists that had little to no lead up (i.e. I cannot trace back through the book and pinpoint subtle hints or clues) and destroyed the narrative quality she'd been creating. Genuinely have no clue where one in particular came from and the MC's reaction to it left a lot to be desired.
Despite all of this, I did have a relatively enjoyable time. I tried not to take it too seriously and over-analyze everything, but the bad parts really stood out as bad parts. I would point out the same things in any book, regardless of targeted age group. I'll probably read the rest of the series because it was easy and not super complicated on my very tired brain. I did enjoy some of the character interactions and I think aspects of it are genuinely interesting. WhenJaxon brought her a copy of Twilight, I started cackling like an idiot. I loved the self-awareness. . I do wonder how the future relationship will go because it feels like the author has affirmed a lot of insecurities from both characters that would normally be drawn out over the course of the series. We shall have to see.
I also have a gripe with several other aspects of this book. I know it's YA and geared towards teens, but there are ways to make stories like this marketable to your target audience without talking about Harry Styles and Dr. Pepper and emoji pants. Those very specific details added nothing. I already knew how young the MC was from the beginning and from other aspects of the narrative. I also disliked the over-usage of text talk, the word "like" and "very" and "really." It ruined the atmosphere the author was building in several scenes and would also lead to unnecessary detail or narration from the MC that added nothing to her character or the story. All it did was make me, as the reader, angry.
Additionally, I want to talk about the development of the relationship because it feels very internet psychology (I'm a therapist) and not necessarily in a positive way. The insta-love/lust/connection at the beginning was forged through curiosity, boundary violations, and some sense of shared trauma over a single moment undercut with lust. I found this to be unique but still not my personal type of story I would rush over to read if it was pitched as having some "deeper" connection between the MC and the love interest. I did appreciate the openness of a few of the conversation, but again, it felt like I was hearing the author speaking (probably from her own therapy experience) instead of the character. I also wonder who, exactly, Grace is? The book opens with her grief and trying to keep herself together. Somewhere along the way, that just...disappears. The source of her grief is never mentioned again until the last 70 or so pages when the author drops in a few very out-of-the-blue plot twists that had little to no lead up (i.e. I cannot trace back through the book and pinpoint subtle hints or clues) and destroyed the narrative quality she'd been creating. Genuinely have no clue where one in particular came from and the MC's reaction to it left a lot to be desired.
Despite all of this, I did have a relatively enjoyable time. I tried not to take it too seriously and over-analyze everything, but the bad parts really stood out as bad parts. I would point out the same things in any book, regardless of targeted age group. I'll probably read the rest of the series because it was easy and not super complicated on my very tired brain. I did enjoy some of the character interactions and I think aspects of it are genuinely interesting. When
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
maxima5's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- 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
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Genocide, Blood, and Death of parent
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail
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