Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.5 AVERAGE
3.5 AVERAGE
funny
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
slow-paced
I didn't understand the format of why this was told in the way of Tabatha telling us the story. The weird little editorial comments in there were jarring and threw off the pacing. It would also make the narrative switch between first and third person constantly, which was also jarring. Also all the weird race references in the beginning were odd and felt forced; especially since it never really came up again after the first 15-20%.
There is also a huge lack of character development; we really don't know anything about these characters or what makes them who they are. Tabatha never uses magic in the book, even though she's a sorcerer's apprentice...????? And all the going on and on about how her parents would find it dangerous and all that. Like, what? Too much just didn't make sense in this book.
There is also a huge lack of character development; we really don't know anything about these characters or what makes them who they are. Tabatha never uses magic in the book, even though she's a sorcerer's apprentice...????? And all the going on and on about how her parents would find it dangerous and all that. Like, what? Too much just didn't make sense in this book.
You’re a practicing apprentice under one of the most powerful sorceresses, when suddenly you’re thrust into investigating your boss’s death, and you quickly realize that not everything is as it seems.
A+ for the premise of the story. Focused on the daughter of immigrants who battles the expectations her parents have placed on her when it comes to her future, we see her find the accepting love she doesn’t experience from her own parents. And that’s about where the story stopped making sense.
If you’re writing a story about an apprentice under one of the most powerful sorceresses…would you not want to give at least a FEW pages of how sick she is? But no - I was so frustrated by how dim the author made the FMC out to be. She didn’t impress me until the last hour of the book, and when she did she popped off!
It was odd to me to have the FMC talk continuously about the pressure her parents constantly placed her under, and we didn’t really see much dialogue between her and her family. If one of the highest tension points for your character isn’t shown or at least given substance to between the pages, it’s not worth adding in imo.
The redeeming factor of this book in my eyes, was not truly knowing who did what until the very end of the book. The plot definitely can twist your brain a little bit, but some of the holes were just too big and some of the end results a bit too predictable.
A+ for the premise of the story. Focused on the daughter of immigrants who battles the expectations her parents have placed on her when it comes to her future, we see her find the accepting love she doesn’t experience from her own parents. And that’s about where the story stopped making sense.
If you’re writing a story about an apprentice under one of the most powerful sorceresses…would you not want to give at least a FEW pages of how sick she is? But no - I was so frustrated by how dim the author made the FMC out to be. She didn’t impress me until the last hour of the book, and when she did she popped off!
It was odd to me to have the FMC talk continuously about the pressure her parents constantly placed her under, and we didn’t really see much dialogue between her and her family. If one of the highest tension points for your character isn’t shown or at least given substance to between the pages, it’s not worth adding in imo.
The redeeming factor of this book in my eyes, was not truly knowing who did what until the very end of the book. The plot definitely can twist your brain a little bit, but some of the holes were just too big and some of the end results a bit too predictable.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
3.5 stars
rep: Chinese-American protagonist
cw: gore, blood
Okay this will be a short review because frankly it's been too long since I've read it now and I put off writing this since I didn't have that much to say about it in the first place. These Deadly Prophecies is actually one of the rare cases where I think a book should be longer. If you know me, I'm always advertising for books to be shorter, but in this case, the length didn't allow for much development.
The pacing was all over the place, considering this was a short book. It would speed up and I'd think we were going somewhere, then it would end in nothing and slow down again. This is one thing, but I also wasn't left with any impression of what the actual mystery part was. Like, to me, the book just ended. The prophesying magic as well was shown maybe once or twice? And not even the protagonist's magic, someone else's; so I couldn't even tell you what exactly they do, which was pretty bad considering that the prophecy was the whole crux of the book.
I read this shortly before starting Tang's 2023 release (Kingdom of Without, which...I also had issues with), and I think I'm starting to realize that her writing is not for me anymore. I loved her first two books even if the plot/worldbuilding was not all there, but the characters can't always carry the entire story. Actually maybe that was my whole issue with this one because I don't think the characters were developed enough in the first place which made it even harder to overlook the pacing issues.
Overall, I did enjoy this book despite my review suggesting otherwise. It's just that it was disappointing after I loved Tang's previous books.
original review:
hmm I did enjoy this one but I think this book should’ve been longer bc the pacing was all over the place
rep: Chinese-American protagonist
cw: gore, blood
**I received an ARC from the publisher (thank you, Penguin Teen!). These are my honest opinions, and in no way was I compensated for this review.**
Okay this will be a short review because frankly it's been too long since I've read it now and I put off writing this since I didn't have that much to say about it in the first place. These Deadly Prophecies is actually one of the rare cases where I think a book should be longer. If you know me, I'm always advertising for books to be shorter, but in this case, the length didn't allow for much development.
The pacing was all over the place, considering this was a short book. It would speed up and I'd think we were going somewhere, then it would end in nothing and slow down again. This is one thing, but I also wasn't left with any impression of what the actual mystery part was. Like, to me, the book just ended. The prophesying magic as well was shown maybe once or twice? And not even the protagonist's magic, someone else's; so I couldn't even tell you what exactly they do, which was pretty bad considering that the prophecy was the whole crux of the book.
I read this shortly before starting Tang's 2023 release (Kingdom of Without, which...I also had issues with), and I think I'm starting to realize that her writing is not for me anymore. I loved her first two books even if the plot/worldbuilding was not all there, but the characters can't always carry the entire story. Actually maybe that was my whole issue with this one because I don't think the characters were developed enough in the first place which made it even harder to overlook the pacing issues.
Overall, I did enjoy this book despite my review suggesting otherwise. It's just that it was disappointing after I loved Tang's previous books.
original review:
hmm I did enjoy this one but I think this book should’ve been longer bc the pacing was all over the place
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Good set up, I was hoping for a better ending. Not to say the ending wasn’t good, a part of me I guess wished it was longer, so there would be a bit more closure in the end. I suppose I’ve been spoiled by Agatha Christie with impossible connections to be made. Not to say this was a bad book, I quite enjoyed it. That being said, I was hoping for the ending to be a bit more.
I got this book as an ARC at 2024 YallFest. So I wanted to read it for sure before it came out, and the. I never made the review in time…
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated