Reviews

The Black Veins by Ashia Monet

izzymenzies's review

4.0

3.5* (Lowkey can't stop thinking about this tho) (Book 2) (Please,,,, now...)

The Good:
- The characters: They were all so well developed and three dimensional. Their interactions were so infused with good platonic chemistry and I couldn’t help but root for their friendship.
- The world: While I do think that this novel is far from finished concerning world-building, I really enjoyed seeing what we got to see of the guardians’ world in this book.
- Humor: This book has some of the best representation of what it’s like to be a teenager that I’ve ever read about. The references, the jokes, the witty comebacks all felt authentic and realistic.

The Bad:
- Typos and mistakes: Certain words were spelled wrong, and certain aspects of the book didn’t make sense i.e. a character speaking in a scene he was not there prior to him speaking.
- The pacing: I just found this to be super messy. Every quarter of the book was paced differently, and that sometimes irked me.
- The solutions (and plot overall): I felt that every problem was solved way too easily, and the plot definitely felt like a random string of events. The author wrote herself into corners and used the deus ex machina trope a lot.

The Ugly:
- Not Jay

seventhaurora's review

4.0

crying bc of found family

(4.25 stars)

broccoli_baz's review

5.0

THIS BOOK IS THE FREAKING FUTURE OF YA OKAY

I’m blessed to have read a bunch of earlier versions and I love this book with all my heart. It is game-changing. Ashia’s writing is visual and cinematic, the cast is uniquely real and messy and authentic, and honestly reading it makes my heart race. There’s action, magic, politics and proper good wholesome fRiEnDsHiP yes please thank you.

And so. much. meme. material.

YA has no idea what’s coming for it and I can’t wait!!!

tigger_1005's review against another edition

5.0

CASPIAN IS BEING ADDED TO MY LIST OF FAVOURITE GHOSTS

also magicians, found family, road trip, no romance, ghosts, monsters - this book is actually perfect

oliviab28's review

adventurous lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

probably_reading_right_now's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective 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

3.5

This was a really great YA fantasy that doesn’t go too far into sounding YA, but definitely still reads as YA. Hopefully that makes sense. None of the characters had the “chosen one” syndrome, or “not like the other girls” energy that is absolutely RAMPANT in YA and one of my pet peeves about the genre. I really liked this one and it’s marked as a book one so excited to see where the story goes.

rians_world's review

3.0

i got this book because i found the writer on twt and thought she looked cool and her wips looked even better, so i thought to check out her first book. honestly i dnf'ed this book but not because i didnt like it, but i just lost motivation to read in general and this book happened to be what i was reading at the time. i did really like it, when i first began reading it it inspired me to continue writing my own book because i enjoyed the prose. the characters and worldbuilding are fun and i especially love caspian, yall already know.
its on my reread list and ill update this once ive refreshed myself.
(im also super hype for monet's iabob because ive been wanting to read more gothic stuff other than the classics and i know she going to do it well)

daniimcc's review

adventurous medium-paced

4.0

sielantgem's review

adventurous medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.25

OK this was really cute. Had a lot of representation. Lovable characters. I Y a fantasy with sound family and road trip tropes. Kind of a cliffhanger with a war finally announced and family members are missing from multiple members of the guardian group. I am willing to read the second book but I’m not sure when it’s coming out. 

sanaya863's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful mysterious 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

4.0