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dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
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:
No
Russian mafia witches. That's what I describe this book as to all of my friends and demand that they read it. If you like fantasy then you will love this book! You're hooked from the first chapter! It's so captivating and throws you in for loops.
Content Warnings
Minor: Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, Grief
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Review of One for my Enemy
By: Olivie Blake
Two witch families, both alike in magic, in dangerous Manhattan we lay our scene. From ancient rivalry, results a new war for power where wicked deals make wicked hands unclean. From forth the heirs of these two witches, two pairs of rivaled lovers are forced to make a sacrifice.
This is a paranormal retelling of Romeo and Juliet that was sexy and exciting as the next generation must bear the burden of their parent’s greed. Blake creates several characters that each have their own personalities, but because Blake only wanted to focus certain a lot of the other characters suffered lack of development. The romances were enjoyable to read, and the sexy times aren’t two graphic. Sasha was my favorite of the sisters. I was disappointed by the Fae, Byrn, who was introduced as someone playing both sides. He is implied as half human and half Fae, but he came as a weak and passive character, just sassy. He doesn’t have much power, and the witches have more power that he covets. I know the author wanted to focus on the witches being the dangerous ones, but I guess I’m used to Fae having more power than humans. There is drug use with characters selling drug that causes hallucinations and puts you in euphoric state of mind. There is also violence, because this is a mafic type of story but with witches and magic. I liked the references to Russian mythology and fairytales combined with the retelling of the famous Shakespeare play. There’s a lot of clever ways Blake pays homage to the original Shakespeare play, but if you’ve never read or seen Romeo and Juliet you can still enjoy this story.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Violence, Blood, Stalking, Alcohol, Sexual harassment
Absolutely nothing was happening except characters getting killed and brought back to life a ridiculous number of times and I just couldn’t take it anymore.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death
adventurous
mysterious
slow-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
easy to get into but dragged in the last couple acts
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Injury/Injury detail
emotional
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I’ve always liked Blake’s writing but there was some back and forth life and death moments that had me at the edge of my seat and not trusting of anything the characters are doing.
Personally not my top Blake book, but it was still good.
Personally not my top Blake book, but it was still good.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
i liked the idea of the book, and i liked some of the characters, it was an interesting take in romeo and juliet. my only issues were:
1. i wasn’t a fan of the narrator of the audiobook and
2. there wasn’t much plot, it was just a lot of dialog that wasn’t going anywhere
that being said there were some very poetic moments in the author’s writing. overall i liked it
1. i wasn’t a fan of the narrator of the audiobook and
2. there wasn’t much plot, it was just a lot of dialog that wasn’t going anywhere
that being said there were some very poetic moments in the author’s writing. overall i liked it
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Murder, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Cursing, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Blood, Grief, Gaslighting, War
Minor: Child abuse, Sexism, Sexual content, Torture
challenging
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cursing, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Murder, Alcohol, Sexual harassment
Minor: Death of parent
dark
emotional
sad
tense
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:
Yes
What a fantastic roller coaster of a book. The plot drove relentlessly forward, the main cast of characters were clearly outlined from the beginning but were filled in as the story progressed, and the foreboding air of tragedy hung above the whole time but didn’t fall predictably. It really did feel like reading a tragic play; the focus was entirely on the characters and their relationships and histories and the worldbuilding really only consisted of “vaguely moody New York City but with some witchcraft”. I didn’t mind the sparse setting details seeing as the plot was so active I never felt bored. The stakes were high and the tensions were higher and I enjoyed watching things fall apart and get rebuilt as everything spiraled into tragedy.
Read if you like dramatic tragedies with both poetic speeches and also realistic dialogue.
Read if you like dramatic tragedies with both poetic speeches and also realistic dialogue.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Murder
Moderate: Death, Drug use, Blood, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual harassment
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I read this a few weeks ago and remember like two things that happened lol
But in all honesty, this book felt really lackluster for me. The romance was really lacking, especially since this was a Romeo and Juliet retelling. I also didn't care that much about any of the characters. I honestly found the other sisters wayyyy more interesting than Masha or Sasha. It was also soooo slow. I was sitting there waiting for something to actually happen. It was so disappointing though because once something did happen I felt like I had waited so long for it that I didn't care anymore. I don't know if I was just in a slump or what but I was so excited for this and I was so done with it about halfway through. I appreciated the aesthetic of the book though and that was fun.
I read MoD by Olivie first and then tried to read TAS, dnf'd it and then read this. I think Olivie might be a one-hit-wonder author for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gun violence
Moderate: Sexual content
emotional
funny
inspiring
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I would rate higher but it just didn't have that 'spark' for my personal taste of books. Absolutely fantastic book for anyone a fan of Romeo&Juliet rewrites.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Suicide, Murder, Sexual harassment
Minor: Misogyny, Sexism