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3.73 AVERAGE
3.73 AVERAGE
After seeing so many controversy around it i decided to read it for myself. The controversies were just simply hearsay, from how far I read there was nothing controversial about it. I loved the concept but the author gave us so little about the world and the other witches, I simply grew bored at times. The writing was nice but I just couldn’t finish it! Maybe I’ll try again later.
adventurous
dark
hopeful
inspiring
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:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Please see BIPOC reviewers reviews for more insight into this book.
Edit to include I did receive an ARC of this on NetGalley.
Edit to include I did receive an ARC of this on NetGalley.
I liked this book a lot more than expected. It didn't feel YA at all. The world and magic system were really interesting. The characters did frustrate me at a few points, though.
adventurous
emotional
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
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:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
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:
Yes
adventurous
tense
fast-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
This book wasn’t anything special to me until I read the author’s note. Mix discusses the importance of healing and self-love so passionately there that I realized I had kind of been focused on the wrong things throughout the story. This was a book club book, so I looking for depth and subtlety when there really wasn’t any. It is super obvious from the first chapters that Ranka has low self-esteem and that she is going to go on a journey away from the manipulators in her life. The various plot twists and betrayals weren’t really unexpected to me, and the world-building was really the main thing holding my interest— that and the fact that Ranka is very loveable. As far as the main romance— I had the awkward feeling if standing next to someone who ships it really hard, watching them get excited but not really feeling strongly myself. I’m not sire if this is a personal problem or a problem with the writing— it may also just be the fact that it’s very obvious from the beginning who will fall for who.
But despite all of this shoulder shrugging, I think this is a really good book. I respect what Mix has done here, especially because I think that fantasy books don’t typically focus on something like this. This could be a really powerful book for a young person, or anyone who is just a lot less critical and/or questioning their self worth. Mix tied all of this talk of trauma and growth to magic in a really neat way, and I think that is what I like most about this book- the concepts of magic and the beautiful arc that Ranka has.
But despite all of this shoulder shrugging, I think this is a really good book. I respect what Mix has done here, especially because I think that fantasy books don’t typically focus on something like this. This could be a really powerful book for a young person, or anyone who is just a lot less critical and/or questioning their self worth. Mix tied all of this talk of trauma and growth to magic in a really neat way, and I think that is what I like most about this book- the concepts of magic and the beautiful arc that Ranka has.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Xenophobia, Vomit
Honestly, what I really took away from this was the atmosphere. It was so well-crafted and it evoked all the right notes. The other bit I loved was Ranka figuring out for herself that what Ongrum and Vivna gave her wasn't love but abuse, that she'd survived them and not flourished under them. But everything else felt very meh to me. The plot wasn't unique enough and the characters weren't unique enough, all of that just came off very bland for me, which probably means I am reading way too much Fantasy right now and I need to take a breather from it because all I could see in this was the formula rather than the heart.