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beu_94's review
Not in the mood for reading this type of book. Also the writing style I don't quite like it
gaviaroma's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
issianne's review against another edition
3.0
Dang, I was hoping to love this one! It's definitely atmospheric, and I truly don't think I'll ever look at ink the same way again... But, honestly, there wasn't much of a plot and the characters so desperately wanted to be fleshed out more but fell short. They had pretty deep backstories, but their personalities within the book felt hollow. Also--it wasn't slow burn enough for me. Oops!
nightingale_reading's review
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
alice_clawford's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
moonlight161's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-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
4.25
Enjoyable and entertaining, relationship of two MCs was enjoyable and endearing
lavdisy's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
3.5
I think "weird" is the exact feeling to describe how I feel when I read this. When you look into the description, it's really compelling – all about a haunted library where there's a forbidden grimoire, and our main characters intentionally opened it despite it being dangerous. I really am waiting for some engaging plot, but I don't get it. The plot is so flat; even the devil isn't frightening, and he (yes, it was he) is so chill to the point I'm frustrated. Like, why doesn't he do anything? Then, finally up until 80%, the interesting parts come. Also, there's not much origin about this book, and that was the weak part for being the reason why our main characters can't finish their task.
The romance in this plot wasn't my favorite either. It felt like he suddenly liked her despite only knowing her for a few days. While it's okay for the story to unfold like that, there was no chemistry between them, making their romance relationship feel awkward. I think if they had just remained friends, it would have been better. Also, some scenes with the devil confused me; I didn't understand why she did certain things. I don't think those scenes were necessary.
That ending part was something that caught me off guard. I was not really thinking about how it ends, but that sentence was really good. So, I liked the book, and surprisingly, I wasn't bored while reading it, but it's not really going to be my favorite. I actually read her latest release, and I can see her improvement from this book. Maybe this book would fit for dark, mysterious happenings in academia, but keep it simple.
The romance in this plot wasn't my favorite either. It felt like he suddenly liked her despite only knowing her for a few days. While it's okay for the story to unfold like that, there was no chemistry between them, making their romance relationship feel awkward. I think if they had just remained friends, it would have been better. Also, some scenes with the devil confused me; I didn't understand why she did certain things. I don't think those scenes were necessary.
That ending part was something that caught me off guard. I was not really thinking about how it ends, but that sentence was really good. So, I liked the book, and surprisingly, I wasn't bored while reading it, but it's not really going to be my favorite. I actually read her latest release, and I can see her improvement from this book. Maybe this book would fit for dark, mysterious happenings in academia, but keep it simple.
courtney_saba's review against another edition
3.0
Demons and devils and libraries, oh my. Sounds magnificent, right? Unfortunately for this book, it fell a bit short.
I'm finally reviewing this book after weeks of pushing it aside, and idk what to say now. It had everything that you could ever love: devils and romance and darkness and a little horror. It should've been a 5 star read. But there was something off about it.
The chemistry between our two leads was a little off. I didn't believe it entirely.
The darkness, horror, and devil aspects were all there, but didn't live up to their potential. I felt like there was a cloudy veneer over the book: you could see the greatness, the excitement, the black delicious soul of it, but the author just didn't hit the mark, didn't follow through, didn't fully execute it.
Maybe it's bc the book was settled in the back row of the YA section, the one you may come across as you're painstakingly browsing each and every book on the shelves at Barnes and Noble. The one that makes you think, "wow, this MUST be amazing," and then you finish it and wish it was deemed New Adult or Adult so that it could be a gorgeous story with themes that are catnip for most readers. I think the YA label limited the author. I also think the characters were too young. This could have easily been set at a university with college age students and the adult themes played with freely.
And the magic aspect? It wasn't utilized or explained as succinctly as I wanted it to be.
Though I will say, it's a pretty dark book for the YA genre, and the author took some liberties with her book that made my black soul squeal in delight. This is why, at the end of the day, I gave it 3 stars, but it couldn't measure up to 4 or 5 bc of its flaws, which is a shame. With a title, cover, and blurb like that, it deserved to be on my favorites shelf, but alas, it fell short.
Was I entertained? Yes. Despite my complaints, it kept me engaged and I wanted to see what the author came up with next. Plus, the devil was charming and slick and clever and spine-tinglingly hot. I will forever think this book should have been aged up bc of the possibilities the author could have taken, the doors that could've been opened for this gem... Whew. A missed opportunity, for sure.
Would I re-read this? I may skim some parts, but overall, I couldn't bring myself to reread the entire thing again.
Would I recommend this? You know? Sure. Maybe someone else would really love this and all its tame, but slightly, darkly spiced glory.
Happy reading, Goodreads fiends.
I'm finally reviewing this book after weeks of pushing it aside, and idk what to say now. It had everything that you could ever love: devils and romance and darkness and a little horror. It should've been a 5 star read. But there was something off about it.
The chemistry between our two leads was a little off. I didn't believe it entirely.
The darkness, horror, and devil aspects were all there, but didn't live up to their potential. I felt like there was a cloudy veneer over the book: you could see the greatness, the excitement, the black delicious soul of it, but the author just didn't hit the mark, didn't follow through, didn't fully execute it.
Maybe it's bc the book was settled in the back row of the YA section, the one you may come across as you're painstakingly browsing each and every book on the shelves at Barnes and Noble. The one that makes you think, "wow, this MUST be amazing," and then you finish it and wish it was deemed New Adult or Adult so that it could be a gorgeous story with themes that are catnip for most readers. I think the YA label limited the author. I also think the characters were too young. This could have easily been set at a university with college age students and the adult themes played with freely.
And the magic aspect? It wasn't utilized or explained as succinctly as I wanted it to be.
Though I will say, it's a pretty dark book for the YA genre, and the author took some liberties with her book that made my black soul squeal in delight. This is why, at the end of the day, I gave it 3 stars, but it couldn't measure up to 4 or 5 bc of its flaws, which is a shame. With a title, cover, and blurb like that, it deserved to be on my favorites shelf, but alas, it fell short.
Was I entertained? Yes. Despite my complaints, it kept me engaged and I wanted to see what the author came up with next. Plus, the devil was charming and slick and clever and spine-tinglingly hot. I will forever think this book should have been aged up bc of the possibilities the author could have taken, the doors that could've been opened for this gem... Whew. A missed opportunity, for sure.
Would I re-read this? I may skim some parts, but overall, I couldn't bring myself to reread the entire thing again.
Would I recommend this? You know? Sure. Maybe someone else would really love this and all its tame, but slightly, darkly spiced glory.
Happy reading, Goodreads fiends.
annettebooksofhopeanddreams's review against another edition
4.0
I've lost count of how often I grabbed this book, planning on making it my next read, and on how often I put it back and picked another book instead. This book sounded really like my thing, like something I would like, but for some reason there were always other books grabbing my attention and pulling me away from this one. However, since I officially think I have way too many unread book box books I'm gonna try and read some of them soonish. Starting with this one.
The atmosphere of this book was absolutely and totally amazing! I loved the library, filled with magical books and other dark secrets. I loved how spooky everything was, how hard it was to determine what was real and what wasn't and what was happening in the heads and dreams of the characters and what was truly dangerous. I won't get any nightmares, even though the book was gruesome at times, but I really enjoyed how dark the author dared to go.
Even though we don't get to see much of the rest of the school, it's a summer holiday and although our hero is following some summer classes they are not really important and therefore not described or shown, I did get the college feeling and could have spent way more pages in this library. At times I would have loved a more detailed description of the nooks and hidden places, but who knows what dangers might be lurking there.
I also quite liked the characters in this story! Both of them are going through a hard time, dealing with issues no-one their age should have to deal with. I liked how they kept on fighting, kept on trying, kept on hoping. And even though our hero had some magic in his blood, his issues were quite mundane and I'm afraid also quite common. I'm not entirely sure about the romance between them, but I do believe that for now they are the person the other needs!
The atmosphere of this book was absolutely and totally amazing! I loved the library, filled with magical books and other dark secrets. I loved how spooky everything was, how hard it was to determine what was real and what wasn't and what was happening in the heads and dreams of the characters and what was truly dangerous. I won't get any nightmares, even though the book was gruesome at times, but I really enjoyed how dark the author dared to go.
Even though we don't get to see much of the rest of the school, it's a summer holiday and although our hero is following some summer classes they are not really important and therefore not described or shown, I did get the college feeling and could have spent way more pages in this library. At times I would have loved a more detailed description of the nooks and hidden places, but who knows what dangers might be lurking there.
I also quite liked the characters in this story! Both of them are going through a hard time, dealing with issues no-one their age should have to deal with. I liked how they kept on fighting, kept on trying, kept on hoping. And even though our hero had some magic in his blood, his issues were quite mundane and I'm afraid also quite common. I'm not entirely sure about the romance between them, but I do believe that for now they are the person the other needs!