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adafae's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
I will start with I didn’t want to put this book down. The story is beautiful it captures you. Lore the main character is a strong women independent and protective. The story never stagnates it moves and a good pace.
However, there are some negatives which I want to mention. Sometimes the language used is crass and take a leap towards more modern and not fitting with the setting. It also has some descriptions in scenes I would not expect to find in a YA book that make it seem that it might be better suited as the adult fantasy genre. There were also a few times where the wording or sentences structure throw me off or consistencies where changed like the scent of someone changing when mentioned but always said as their familiar scent.However this might be linked to the twist at the end of the story, with Asher, it might make some of the inconsistencies make sense if that was the intention of the author.
Overall I enjoyed the book, I read it in no time and it kept me guessing. I cannot wait for the second book to come outI cannot wait to find out more about Finn and how he is so good at fighting and to see future works by this author.
However, there are some negatives which I want to mention. Sometimes the language used is crass and take a leap towards more modern and not fitting with the setting. It also has some descriptions in scenes I would not expect to find in a YA book that make it seem that it might be better suited as the adult fantasy genre. There were also a few times where the wording or sentences structure throw me off or consistencies where changed like the scent of someone changing when mentioned but always said as their familiar scent.
Overall I enjoyed the book, I read it in no time and it kept me guessing. I cannot wait for the second book to come out
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Murder, Sexual content, Violence, and Death
Moderate: Kidnapping and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Death of parent, Rape, Pregnancy, and War
lyndsayscan's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Rape
stardust22's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism and Violence
Moderate: Blood
Minor: Death of parent and Rape
erinreadsbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
Unfortunately, this book was not enjoyable to me. The writing style felt juvenile, full of “telling” rather than “showing”, which made it feel like the author was speaking down to the reader, spelling things out that didn’t need to be spelled out. The worldbuilding was also severely lacking; there wasn’t much explanation about how the magic worked in this world, especially regarding the magical grimoire. The whole thing just felt underdeveloped. The rough storyline was interesting but overall, the writing style just made me cringe.
Read if you like romantasy and if you don’t mind a more blunt, simple writing style.
Read if you like romantasy and if you don’t mind a more blunt, simple writing style.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence
Minor: Misogyny, Death of parent, Rape, Sexual violence, and Sexual assault
singingshooter's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
2.75
Really struggled with how choppy this book felt.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content, Slavery, and Violence
Minor: Rape
sandreline's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
The nicest thing I can say about this was that it was an easy read. Because if it wasn't, I would have DNF'd it.
This reads very much like a YA. But there are explicit sex scenes, which muddies that.
Lore's entire personality is just "charge headfirst into danger, and somehow it turns out fine." Even though we were in her point of view, I got very little sense of her motivations. Her wants, her needs, her strengths and flaws. Her flaws, in particular, are minimal and go largely unaddressed.
I have no idea why everyone around her loves her so much.
She spent her whole life terrified of fae. They killed her father in front of her and oppressed her people. But when one (who has her imprisoned) tells her she can't go to a FESTIVAL, she pouts and then risks her life to steal cookies. I can't. I just can't.
I think she's supposed to be pragmatic and headstrong, but she just comes off as dumb and inconsistent.
And I thought they might set up a cute polycule. It's 2024, who even does love triangles anymore? But it's giving Rhysand and Tamlin, neither of whom I'm terribly fond of.
This reads very much like a YA. But there are explicit sex scenes, which muddies that.
Lore's entire personality is just "charge headfirst into danger, and somehow it turns out fine." Even though we were in her point of view, I got very little sense of her motivations. Her wants, her needs, her strengths and flaws. Her flaws, in particular, are minimal and go largely unaddressed.
I have no idea why everyone around her loves her so much.
She spent her whole life terrified of fae. They killed her father in front of her and oppressed her people. But when one (who has her imprisoned) tells her she can't go to a FESTIVAL, she pouts and then risks her life to steal cookies. I can't. I just can't.
I think she's supposed to be pragmatic and headstrong, but she just comes off as dumb and inconsistent.
Content Warnings
Minor: Rape
naomi_k's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Xenophobia, and Violence
Moderate: Classism, Hate crime, Kidnapping, Physical abuse, Forced institutionalization, Colonisation, Toxic relationship, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Rape, and Sexual content
Minor: War and Alcohol
kstacy91's review against another edition
Librarian here to leave a review on a book I was REALLY looking forward to. This book is poorly edited and written. So much so that it was distracting. The descriptions were all over the place. For example, Lore is speaking with the High Steward about why she’s there and suddenly we get a description of the room and what he looks like. It threw me off completely. Then, I came across the part where she entered the library, which was beautifully written! But after that section, she’s back outside the library again and convincing herself to open the door to the library. I couldn’t push through after that. Though this is marketed towards adults, it’s definitely YA. Yes, there’s sexual content (because I flipped through to find it), but it aligns with current YA trends, descriptions, and patterns that are acceptable for the genre. Overall, the writing is stilted, lacks depth, and consistency. While I think the author has some great ideas, the delivery was so lackluster that any positives were snuffed out instantly.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Rape and Sexual content
apierlessbridge's review
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
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? No
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Rape
destdest's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
First, I LOVE this cover (shoutout to the artist @green446004 (instagram) and fantasy Black people. Let’s go!
But the pacing and storytelling weren’t for me. The writing felt heavy on the telling and was too fast-paced. But the last third of the book picked up until it jumped the shark a little bit. I thought the book would take place in one location and was surprised when it moved to somewhere unexpected for the brunt of the book.
With the worldbuilding, the fae/different types of fairies are established to be very dangerous. There's a serious class issue and they all have unique magical traits, view humans as beneath them, and are execution-style scary supposedly. But, it didn't make any sense the way and how quickly Lore would mouth off. She wavered between being afraid of them to not caring. Can or cannot these people smite you where you stand???
I wanted to like Asher and Lore more, but their connection felt like we were on a speed-run. The core building of their relationship mostly happens offscreen, so the romantic strides felt unearned. I couldn't get into their banter either. Also, the ending... I don't even know even more. what? whole time he's been living a lie??? did he get lost in the lie? why did he let the relationship go romantic if he was just using her?
i didn't want to mention them making out after finding out the human women are being forcefully impregnated because I thought it was a final hurrah/going out with a bang because they might die. but nah, it makes sense. y'all are acting horny after hearing that??? because you're a doggone villain!
The second male lead, Finndryl was rude and standoffish, but he was the strong, quiet type. These are the main types who have undying loyalty to the fmc when they get their act together lol. He and Lore kept getting on each other's nerves for the smallest things, but I liked him better because we got to see him slowly defrost. Then, freeze again. Slightly thaw. And freeze again.
Unfortunately, the majority of the character interactions felt like I was being "told" things. Let it marinate. Lore's friendship with Grey didn't have much time, but I believed in their relationship way more than the one with Asher and later Isla.
The editing process probably cut a lot of things which made the book pacing feel too fast. I don't like needless filler, but I think it would've made me more invested in the characters. One scene I liked in particular was when Lore gets pushed in a swing. Just a peaceful moment that let the story breathe.
Still, I'd check out book two! I'm ready to see Lore gain mastery over her skills. I also want to see the Finndryl route.
2.5 stars
Drinking Games:
But the pacing and storytelling weren’t for me. The writing felt heavy on the telling and was too fast-paced. But the last third of the book picked up until it jumped the shark a little bit. I thought the book would take place in one location and was surprised when it moved to somewhere unexpected for the brunt of the book.
With the worldbuilding, the fae/different types of fairies are established to be very dangerous. There's a serious class issue and they all have unique magical traits, view humans as beneath them, and are execution-style scary supposedly. But, it didn't make any sense the way and how quickly Lore would mouth off. She wavered between being afraid of them to not caring. Can or cannot these people smite you where you stand???
I wanted to like Asher and Lore more, but their connection felt like we were on a speed-run. The core building of their relationship mostly happens offscreen, so the romantic strides felt unearned. I couldn't get into their banter either. Also, the ending...
i didn't want to mention them making out after finding out the human women are being forcefully impregnated because I thought it was a final hurrah/going out with a bang because they might die. but nah, it makes sense. y'all are acting horny after hearing that??? because you're a doggone villain!
The second male lead, Finndryl was rude and standoffish, but he was the strong, quiet type. These are the main types who have undying loyalty to the fmc when they get their act together lol. He and Lore kept getting on each other's nerves for the smallest things, but I liked him better because we got to see him slowly defrost. Then, freeze again. Slightly thaw. And freeze again.
Unfortunately, the majority of the character interactions felt like I was being "told" things. Let it marinate. Lore's friendship with Grey didn't have much time, but I believed in their relationship way more than the one with Asher and later Isla.
The editing process probably cut a lot of things which made the book pacing feel too fast. I don't like needless filler, but I think it would've made me more invested in the characters. One scene I liked in particular was when Lore gets pushed in a swing. Just a peaceful moment that let the story breathe.
Still, I'd check out book two! I'm ready to see Lore gain mastery over her skills. I also want to see the Finndryl route.
2.5 stars
Drinking Games:
- Lore fretting about her hair
- Asher’s "long legs"
- Lore drinking too much alcohol
- Finndryl being moody
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction, Alcohol, and Alcoholism
Minor: Abandonment, Rape, and Sexual content
CW: forced breeding