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3.74 AVERAGE
3.74 AVERAGE
P.98
Lots of sibling drama with Elle, not sure what's up with Luc. It seems like a fine book, it's just not grabbing me.
Lots of sibling drama with Elle, not sure what's up with Luc. It seems like a fine book, it's just not grabbing me.
This book is a lot. It expects a lot out of the reader, like knowledge of mythical creatures from many different cultures. Also, knowledge of the fantasy romance genre. Not that this was necessarily a bad thing, it was just like a slap in the face at the beginning. The pacing of this book is wack. I have truly never read anything like it before and I'm not sure that's a good thing. I was confused a lot of the times and the relationship at the middle of this book made no sense in the beginning, or really well into the meat of the book. I just wanted the author to slow the fuck down. Maybe it didn't start in the right place. Of maybe they just trusted the reader too much. I'm not sure.
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I really wanted to like this book and there were elements I really enjoyed - especially the big fight scene in the middle that felt straight out of a wuxia. And I loved the concept of this world and it's magic. But unfortunately, that's all we ever got - a rough idea of the concept. And then some of the banter was fun. But other than that, this book was a bit of a hot mess.
1) World Building - nothing was explained. Bits and pieces were randomly dropped but without any explanation, it was impossible to understand. Half the time is seems like all the magical beings work for one giant agency but then other times, it seems they do not. Are normal people aware of magic in this world or not? It seemed like they weren't but no one ever seemed to behave like they didn't. Why is Oberon seemingly not accountable to ANYONE for his actions? Or Elle and Tony's brother for that matter? Laes did not make a lot of sense to me - if one cannot live without it, how did they get them in the first place? It's not like they came out of the womb holding a laes in their hand. And if they are issued at birth, why can't they be issued again later if broken? And Luc's half-elveness had zero to do with the plot other than the very odd event at the end of the book so it feels like he was only half-elven because he needed to be for that event.
2) Romance - this book tried but there wasn't a lot of foundation to the relationship so the romance was severely lacking. Luc & Elle were cute but we start the book after a year of them flirting and then suddenly they are together but since there was no build-up, the stakes and investment in their relationship weren't really there. It was basically insta-love and there were also two random explicit scenes dropped in the book that served no purpose other than filling pages.
3) Plot - what I thought was supposed to be the plot was rushed and basically over halfway through the book. And then the story never picked back up or returned to anything relevant. The two main characters spent the rest of the book whining about people pushing them around and their solution was anticlimactic and sad/pathetic. Characters were one-dimensional with not a lot to define them (Oberon, Tony almost was developed but the story stopped short of explaining his past actions, Lira sounded too awesome but I barely knew who she was, The Wrecking crew had interesting potential but they were caricatures I couldn't keep straight, etc.)
There was also a lengthy list of lgbtq characters, none of which had anything to do with actual story, character-development, or plot development, so it felt like they were there merely to check a box.
1) World Building - nothing was explained. Bits and pieces were randomly dropped but without any explanation, it was impossible to understand. Half the time is seems like all the magical beings work for one giant agency but then other times, it seems they do not. Are normal people aware of magic in this world or not? It seemed like they weren't but no one ever seemed to behave like they didn't. Why is Oberon seemingly not accountable to ANYONE for his actions? Or Elle and Tony's brother for that matter? Laes did not make a lot of sense to me - if one cannot live without it, how did they get them in the first place? It's not like they came out of the womb holding a laes in their hand. And if they are issued at birth, why can't they be issued again later if broken? And Luc's half-elveness had zero to do with the plot other than the very odd event at the end of the book so it feels like he was only half-elven because he needed to be for that event.
Spoiler
Also, I was really expecting it to turn out that Oberon was his father. Why else would he possibly be SO invested in Luc taking over the agency/bureau some day? And why did Elle destroy Tony's laes in the first place? Was it a random accident?2) Romance - this book tried but there wasn't a lot of foundation to the relationship so the romance was severely lacking. Luc & Elle were cute but we start the book after a year of them flirting and then suddenly they are together but since there was no build-up, the stakes and investment in their relationship weren't really there. It was basically insta-love and there were also two random explicit scenes dropped in the book that served no purpose other than filling pages.
3) Plot - what I thought was supposed to be the plot was rushed and basically over halfway through the book. And then the story never picked back up or returned to anything relevant. The two main characters spent the rest of the book whining about people pushing them around and their solution was anticlimactic and sad/pathetic.
Spoiler
Do they really expect Oberon to just walk away now that they are defenseless? Is Elle's brother really supposed to just happily sit under house-arrest forever after explicitly trying to kill both his siblings more than once? Is Tony going to finally start being a responsible member of society instead of running away to play while letting people die? And if so, why now instead of earlier?There was also a lengthy list of lgbtq characters, none of which had anything to do with actual story, character-development, or plot development, so it felt like they were there merely to check a box.
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
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
Oh how I adore this book!!!
The world, the magic system, the diversity, the romance
The world, the magic system, the diversity, the romance
Great characters, a fascinating setting, some excellent erotica, and a solid plot about magic, familial responsibility, and dealing with personal sacrifice all come together perfectly in this fantasy novel. I enjoyed everything from the various forms of magic to the fantastical transportation systems to the seedy side of corporate magic. A fun read. More please, and with more about the ghosts?
I put this book on hold so long ago I thought it was a YA fantasy romance. As I was reading it made sense: (almost) insta-love, two characters who are self-loathing but super powerful, self-sacrificing "but I can fix them" shit that my teenage self would EAT UP. For the majority of the book, I was vibing -- I enjoyed the superfluous cringe-y romance and inner/outer dialogues, felt like the action scenes added drama and excitement telenovela-vibes, and appreciated how (most) of the characters were good at communication despite being flawed.
However, around the last third of the book I lost interest. Elle became another "weak female protagonist" who needed men to save her(?) But also Luc was a "weak male protagonist" who needed Elle to save him(?) IDK it was too much "don't sacrifice yourself for me, too late I already did, too late I paid you back, too late I'm selfish" back and forth without any real balance or lessons learned. I had to read ahead for the last 30 pages of the book because I couldn't handle it -- and it just proved everything I thought was right. Random miscommunication was used a major plotline in the last third which baffles me considering how I was so happy that wasn't a point of conflict for the first 2/3 of the book.
However, as someone who is also Taiwanese-American, I appreciated how the author interwove Mandarin Chinese, pinyin and other languages and also made a note as to her intentionality to not have translations at multiple times with multiple languages. IYKYK. I wish this might've been explored more -- like imagine if Lucien was BIPOC instead of alive when France colonized a lot of the world? A better read imo.
This was also labelled as LGBT so kudos to some of the side characters being LGBTQ+ identified... but I think this would've been much more enjoyable (to me) if the lead characters were also queer/trans... (Also a personal issue but I'm TIRED of WMAF couples... please... no more...)
Looking back, maybe I would've liked this more if I didn't read it during pride month and I was actively searching for that GOOD GOOD QTBIPOC love.
However, around the last third of the book I lost interest. Elle became another "weak female protagonist" who needed men to save her(?) But also Luc was a "weak male protagonist" who needed Elle to save him(?) IDK it was too much "don't sacrifice yourself for me, too late I already did, too late I paid you back, too late I'm selfish" back and forth without any real balance or lessons learned. I had to read ahead for the last 30 pages of the book because I couldn't handle it -- and it just proved everything I thought was right. Random miscommunication was used a major plotline in the last third which baffles me considering how I was so happy that wasn't a point of conflict for the first 2/3 of the book.
However, as someone who is also Taiwanese-American, I appreciated how the author interwove Mandarin Chinese, pinyin and other languages and also made a note as to her intentionality to not have translations at multiple times with multiple languages. IYKYK. I wish this might've been explored more -- like imagine if Lucien was BIPOC instead of alive when France colonized a lot of the world? A better read imo.
This was also labelled as LGBT so kudos to some of the side characters being LGBTQ+ identified... but I think this would've been much more enjoyable (to me) if the lead characters were also queer/trans... (Also a personal issue but I'm TIRED of WMAF couples... please... no more...)
Looking back, maybe I would've liked this more if I didn't read it during pride month and I was actively searching for that GOOD GOOD QTBIPOC love.
This book was fun and easy. But what I'm most interested in was the author's note on language at the end. She writes in this note about people using languages she doesn't know as feeling like a door shutting. She says, of her choice to use multiple languages in the book, "There isn't anything in the non-English dialogue that's critical to the overall understanding of the text, but I wanted explicitly for readers to experience the shutting of the door, the dropping of the portcullis." I cannot imagine relating to anything less. I do not know all of the languages used in this book, but the idea that encountering another language would feel like a shutting of a door is so completely bizarre to me and could not be further from my experience, both reading/listening to this book and in the world in general (I listen and read books simultaneously whenever possible.) Audiobooks offer particular rewards in this, giving the listener the joy of hearing a language. I don't disagree with the author's interpretation of imperialism, or the critique of English dominance. But systemic analysis is different than what one imagines of one's own readership.
I just cannot imagine as a reader thinking that encountering another language in a book is anything other than normal, a part of character development, world building, sometimes mundane and sometimes wonderful and enticing. Maybe it's that I know more than one language, have studied linguistics, interpreting, and translating, and live in a multilingual city, where if anything I am constantly saddened by how English dominant it remains, especially in all seats of power. I just, I don't feel exhilarated or excited by the idea of this author of this book trying to get readers to feel that shutting of a door. I feel alienated from an author who imagines that's even remotely what's happening for her readers or who thinks this extremely unchallenging and unserious book (not a criticism) involves any kind of confrontation with the reader, or of the reader with themselves internally. I'm left feeling like I have no idea what this author thinks was happening at all throughout this book. I wasn't alienated by the use of multiple languages in this book, but I am left feeling very alienated by this bizarre image of how small minded she thinks her readers are.
Now that I've written this out I realize really, I'm insulted that she thinks so little of her readers. And ending a book feeling insulted and belittle by the author is a pretty bad feeling. I will not read more of her work. Before reading this note, my feelings about the book were more positive.
I just cannot imagine as a reader thinking that encountering another language in a book is anything other than normal, a part of character development, world building, sometimes mundane and sometimes wonderful and enticing. Maybe it's that I know more than one language, have studied linguistics, interpreting, and translating, and live in a multilingual city, where if anything I am constantly saddened by how English dominant it remains, especially in all seats of power. I just, I don't feel exhilarated or excited by the idea of this author of this book trying to get readers to feel that shutting of a door. I feel alienated from an author who imagines that's even remotely what's happening for her readers or who thinks this extremely unchallenging and unserious book (not a criticism) involves any kind of confrontation with the reader, or of the reader with themselves internally. I'm left feeling like I have no idea what this author thinks was happening at all throughout this book. I wasn't alienated by the use of multiple languages in this book, but I am left feeling very alienated by this bizarre image of how small minded she thinks her readers are.
Now that I've written this out I realize really, I'm insulted that she thinks so little of her readers. And ending a book feeling insulted and belittle by the author is a pretty bad feeling. I will not read more of her work. Before reading this note, my feelings about the book were more positive.
It’s time to stop pretending i will eventually finish this book