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thelittlestmermaid's review against another edition
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.0
Isobel is a fine character. She's not the most entertaining main character ever, but I still enjoy her.
The action at the end of the book wasn't given enough time to shine, I think. While finishing up the book with 10 pages left, I was thinking there was no way on earth it would wrap up in such a small number of pages. I think the story would've benefited from a little less traveling through the fae world and a little more dealing with the conflict at the end. And the whole "summer land is rotting" thing just was never really explored, which also drove me a little bit bonkers. All this stuff that could've been explored in a series, even just a duology, was crammed into a book that's barely 300 pages long. I dunno, I just wanted to learn more about all the stuff going wrong in the world and the consequences of the characters' actions.
Fun book, though! Highly recommend if you're not like me and want every book to be ridiculously long and detailed.
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Murder, and Violence
emily_mh's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
However, this book had some redeeming qualities. It was relatively enjoyable, and very easy to read. I also liked Rogerson's writing style. Rook and Isobel as characters were entertaining and felt real, though they weren't quite loveable (although March and May were). Finally, the world building was unique and fascinating, as it was in Sorcery of Thorns.
Moderate: Blood, Body horror, Death, Death of parent, and Vomit
Minor: Ableism, Alcohol, Animal death, Cursing, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, and Suicide
its_van_vulpen's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Blood and Violence
Minor: Death, Death of parent, and Murder
literarypenguin's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
The writing was so exquisitely beautiful and made the atmosphere of this book just a wonder to read. I loved the way Margaret Rogerson described fae and the fae world. I never once felt lost or confused and everything felt well thought out and clear. The humor in this book was witty and charming and at times truly unexpected. It felt natural and not forced even the slightest bit.
Isobel was a joy as a main character. I loved how passionate she was about her art and her painting. She is also very loyal and protective of her family and would do anything for them and give anything to make sure their safe. She was willing to do anything to keep and protect her Craft and the thought of her losing it was a fate worse then death to her. I loved how compassionate and intelligent she is, knowing how to talk to a Fair Folk and see past their glamour and honeyed words.
Rook was a very charming character. He was the perfect blend of cocky and vulnerable. No matter what he said or did he always care for Isobel and would go to great heights to protect her. He was also a very skilled fighter and was definitely no pushover when it came to a fight. I couldn’t help but fall in love with his character.
I feel like the beginning of the romance was a bit too fast and love at first sightish but both of the characters were so adorable and sweet that I couldn’t help but adore their relationship. The chemistry was definitely there and interactions between the two of them were so cute. I loved them traveling together in the forest and the challenges they faced.
The plot was very good but at times it did drag a bit especially toward the end. I also really loved the side characters and enjoyed them just as much as the main characters. I felt like they offered a lot more to the story and made the world so lively.
Overall I really enjoyed this book and am looking forward to more from this author and hopefully more stories set in this world.
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Blood and Gore
Minor: Sexual content
wrenxavier's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Minor: Blood and Death
naomidanae's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Moderate: Blood, Body horror, Gore, and Violence
Minor: Animal death and Death of parent
valyn_grebe's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Moderate: Blood, Death, and Violence
booksthatburn's review against another edition
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
The lens of this story is focused tightly on the two main characters as the MC is kidnapped by her eventual love interest and initially forced to travel with him. We learn a little about a couple of secondary characters by spending more time with them in the second half of the book, but it isn't really about them or about exploring the setting. It's a romance full of will-they/won't-they, with an interesting wrinkle that "will they" might actually be a bad option in this world. It created a decent sense of tension that complicated my feelings about whether I wanted them to be together and was very effective for gradually raising the stakes.
While the book generally treated the secondary characters as background in low focus, I loved the (very different) treatments of Lark, Gadfly, and Aster. Lark genuinely felt like a faerie version of a kid, whether it was by relative age or just a matter of temperament was unclear, but her version of faerie callousness was a recognizable kind and it gave me an in for her character. I liked Gadfly better in the second half than the first, and that's all I can really say without spoilers. His early understatedness had a great payoff and I loved it. Aster's story was heartbreaking in the best way, I would love to get more of her story but I suspect that this small dose of her was the most satisfying version.
I loved the ending, it pulled together some little details that had seemed arbitrary or inconsistent to finish the story in a really great way.
Moderate: Blood and Death
CW for blood, description of wounds, death.