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3.56 AVERAGE
3.56 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Complicated
The idea behind the story is okay, but there is a lot of repetitive dialogue. I felt like I was reading the same conversation being held between different characters.
This book was clearly used to set up the series.
This book was clearly used to set up the series.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
dark
mysterious
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:
Complicated
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
dark
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:
No
Ends without finalizing anything
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
It was very gripping and I liked the magic system
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-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
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
adventurous
tense
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
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I really wanted to give this a solid 4 stars. But this first book in her series really lacks so much.
On the positive: the magic of the rune marked humans is fascinating! Loved the Norse mythology weaved in. And who doesn’t love a touch her and die shadow daddy? Fast paced and riddled with action, this is a fast read with a cliffhanger that will make you want to read the next book to figure out what happens!
On the negative:
- the rune marked humans are such a cool concept…. And there’s little to no explanation or lore or history to explain how they were born like this and what other rune marked ones can do.
- The world building is mid at best. The author rushes through to get to the next action sequence that it lacks the depth to really feel like this is believable in the world she created. It’s like I got an annotated cliffs notes version of the real story and I’d love to read the unabridged version (of course there isn’t one but that’s what it feels like). For example,the prince makes Reyna his betrothed so that he can save her from his evil stepmom the now queen. He puts a warding spell on Reyna’s headband so the Queen can’t enter her mind and pull out his secrets. And then when they sit at dinner with the Queen, nothing happens. The Queen doesn’t try to pry into her head or anything. Just felt like a plot hole. And a big one at that. ALSO— then the Queen gets mad and decides to throw them a ball to “trip them up”. The ball happens at midnight that night. Are you serious??? This is so not believable! And then— once Reyna is at the ball with the prince and the queen, the queen doesn’t do anything that fucks them over so… what was the point of that scene?? It lessened the stakes and didn’t make Reyna trust the prince at all which further devolves their enemies to lovers connection.
- the stakes are surprisingly low for an FMC whose life is literally on the line every day. She seems to get away with being a petulant brat for no reason except that she’s valuable. It makes no sense because they have killed others for much less.
- Speaking of the FMC, Reyna is not a character I would root for. I personally LOVE smart characters— and in this book, she is anything BUT smart. She acts like a spoiled brat who didn’t get her dessert and treats those who save her life with such ill repute… it’s kind of mind boggling to me how anyone would find her redeeming or likable. I mean she wants to save her friends no matter what. That’s the only quality that I find in her to be attractive. Other than that, she’s being rude for no reason except it’s her defense mechanism. Which causes her to make stupid decisions that cost her. And she constantly needs others to save her because she can’t save herself. Pitiful.
- the hero in this book is the MMC. I am gonna continue the series to see his development because HIS story is captivating! I wish we learned more about him instead of reading how much she is trying to deny her attraction to the MMC.
- I don’t feel like this is a true enemies to lovers. He’s respectful and kind to her and she’s a fucking brat. She doesn’t deserve him imho
- oh and one last thing: the only Norse mythology in the book are the gods they pray to when they are frustrated and the Yggdrasil tree. And runes. That’s it. So if you’re looking for real Norse mythology woven in, it’s not there.
I could go on and on but I’ll keep it there for right now. At least I read it pretty quickly so im praying that the development begins to happen in book 2!
On the positive: the magic of the rune marked humans is fascinating! Loved the Norse mythology weaved in. And who doesn’t love a touch her and die shadow daddy? Fast paced and riddled with action, this is a fast read with a cliffhanger that will make you want to read the next book to figure out what happens!
On the negative:
- the rune marked humans are such a cool concept…. And there’s little to no explanation or lore or history to explain how they were born like this and what other rune marked ones can do.
- The world building is mid at best. The author rushes through to get to the next action sequence that it lacks the depth to really feel like this is believable in the world she created. It’s like I got an annotated cliffs notes version of the real story and I’d love to read the unabridged version (of course there isn’t one but that’s what it feels like). For example,
- the stakes are surprisingly low for an FMC whose life is literally on the line every day. She seems to get away with being a petulant brat for no reason except that she’s valuable. It makes no sense because they have killed others for much less.
- Speaking of the FMC, Reyna is not a character I would root for. I personally LOVE smart characters— and in this book, she is anything BUT smart. She acts like a spoiled brat who didn’t get her dessert and treats those who save her life with such ill repute… it’s kind of mind boggling to me how anyone would find her redeeming or likable. I mean she wants to save her friends no matter what. That’s the only quality that I find in her to be attractive. Other than that, she’s being rude for no reason except it’s her defense mechanism. Which causes her to make stupid decisions that cost her. And she constantly needs others to save her because she can’t save herself. Pitiful.
- the hero in this book is the MMC. I am gonna continue the series to see his development because HIS story is captivating! I wish we learned more about him instead of reading how much she is trying to deny her attraction to the MMC.
- I don’t feel like this is a true enemies to lovers. He’s respectful and kind to her and she’s a fucking brat. She doesn’t deserve him imho
- oh and one last thing: the only Norse mythology in the book are the gods they pray to when they are frustrated and the Yggdrasil tree. And runes. That’s it. So if you’re looking for real Norse mythology woven in, it’s not there.
I could go on and on but I’ll keep it there for right now. At least I read it pretty quickly so im praying that the development begins to happen in book 2!