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3.91 AVERAGE
3.91 AVERAGE
inspiring
mysterious
slow-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
“ɢᴏɪɴɢ ᴛʜʀᴏᴜɢʜ ᴛʜᴇ ᴍɪʀʀᴏʀꜱ ʀᴇQᴜɪʀᴇꜱ ᴄᴏɴꜰʀᴏɴᴛɪɴɢ ʏᴏᴜʀꜱᴇʟꜰ. ʏᴏᴜ ɴᴇᴇᴅ ɢᴜᴛꜱ, ʏᴏᴜ ᴋɴᴏᴡ, ᴛᴏ ʟᴏᴏᴋ ʏᴏᴜʀꜱᴇʟꜰ ꜱᴛʀᴀɪɢʜᴛ ɪɴ ᴛʜᴇ ᴇʏᴇꜱ, ᴛᴏ ꜱᴇᴇ ʏᴏᴜʀꜱᴇʟꜰ ᴀꜱ ʏᴏᴜ ᴀʀᴇ, ᴛᴏ ᴅɪᴠᴇ ɪɴᴛᴏ ʏᴏᴜʀ ᴏᴡɴ ʀᴇꜰʟᴇᴄᴛɪᴏɴ. ᴛʜᴏꜱᴇ ᴡʜᴏ ʜɪᴅᴇ ᴛʜᴇɪʀ ꜰᴀᴄᴇꜱ, ᴛʜᴏꜱᴇ ᴡʜᴏ ʟɪᴇ ᴛᴏ ᴛʜᴇᴍꜱᴇʟᴠᴇꜱ, ᴛʜᴏꜱᴇ ᴡʜᴏ ꜱᴇᴇ ᴛʜᴇᴍꜱᴇʟᴠᴇꜱ ʙᴇᴛᴛᴇʀ ᴛʜᴀɴ ᴛʜᴇʏ ᴀʀᴇ, ᴛʜᴇʏ ᴡɪʟʟ ɴᴇᴠᴇʀ ʙᴇ ᴀʙʟᴇ. ꜱᴏ ʙᴇʟɪᴇᴠᴇ ᴍᴇ, ɪᴛ ᴅᴏᴇꜱɴ'ᴛ ʀᴜɴ ᴛʜᴇ ꜱɪᴅᴇᴡᴀʟᴋꜱ!”
𝔾𝕖𝕟𝕣𝕖: Fantasy / Adventure / YA
ℙ𝕒𝕘𝕖𝕤: 492
Long story short...reader, I loved it!
I can't put my finger on why I was so enamoured with this book but I couldn't put it down!
Ophelia is smart and stubborn and witty and extraordinary. I adore her relationship with her God-father and her great-aunt.
Thorn is stoic and frosty and calculated and mighty. He has had it bloody rough but he cares (a bit too much too soon if you ask me but I was still here for it).
The story is set in a world so similar to the one we know (or are at least aware of), but also so different because we can feel the vibrations of something magical hanging in the air over the characters at all times. I am not surprised though, given how normalised the use of physical and emotional abuse is...definitely leaves me despising a few of the women we come across.
The chapters don't drag and in typical French style, the entire book just gets to the point which means there is always something to discover with every turn of the page.
The world building and atmosphere were phenomenal and I cannot wait to see where the story goes especially as I want something awful to happen to the Knight.
I don't care that he's only 10 years old; I'd like to see someone deliver a slow and painful death upon him somewhere in the coming books.
He's a character that I love to hate, because he is so petulant which turns him sinister.
Feels like an adult Narnia-type story and is definitely one for fans of people who love stories about journey's and discovering new worlds.
𝔾𝕖𝕟𝕣𝕖: Fantasy / Adventure / YA
ℙ𝕒𝕘𝕖𝕤: 492
Long story short...reader, I loved it!
I can't put my finger on why I was so enamoured with this book but I couldn't put it down!
Ophelia is smart and stubborn and witty and extraordinary. I adore her relationship with her God-father and her great-aunt.
Thorn is stoic and frosty and calculated and mighty. He has had it bloody rough but he cares (a bit too much too soon if you ask me but I was still here for it).
The story is set in a world so similar to the one we know (or are at least aware of), but also so different because we can feel the vibrations of something magical hanging in the air over the characters at all times. I am not surprised though, given how normalised the use of physical and emotional abuse is...definitely leaves me despising a few of the women we come across.
The chapters don't drag and in typical French style, the entire book just gets to the point which means there is always something to discover with every turn of the page.
The world building and atmosphere were phenomenal and I cannot wait to see where the story goes especially as I want something awful to happen to the Knight.
I don't care that he's only 10 years old; I'd like to see someone deliver a slow and painful death upon him somewhere in the coming books.
He's a character that I love to hate, because he is so petulant which turns him sinister.
Feels like an adult Narnia-type story and is definitely one for fans of people who love stories about journey's and discovering new worlds.
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
When I began reading this book, I was very excited. I loved the idea of history and magic intertwining, feeding off each other. That aspect hasn't changed at all since I've finished the book. What has changed was my excitement. I originally believed that this story would be more adventurous, but perhaps that is my fault for not trusting the synopsis of the book enough. When it says that it's a political drama, it really does mean it's a political drama first and foremost. And it's slow. I don't mind slow books, I usually really prefer them to shorter books because I feel as though there's more payoff towards the end, but since this is setting up a trilogy, it genuinely just felt slow.
I like the inspiration that the author took on royal courts! I also really enjoyed the characters and their dynamics with our heroine, Ophelia. Ophelia herself does at times feel very 2013, and by that I mean in her character design and in the way that she lets whatever happen wash over her rather than doing something herself, but I still really like her. The way that her personality and Thorn's personality seems at odds with one another but it's revealed more and more that they are alike (even though she still denies it).
As for the treatment that she is given by Thorn's family... frustration and indignation cannot be enough to describe what I felt for Ophelia. At times I found myself comparing her experience in the manor with Jonathan Harker's in Dracula. They're both "guests" at beautiful homes but are mostly isolated from everyone and everything, are manipulated to rely on people who outright want to use them, and have the habit of wandering when they really, very much shouldn't. Overall, I hope her circumstances change in the next book and she is able to relinquish the hold that Thorn's family has on her.
The magic system is gorgeous. It's so unique and interesting, and I like how each of the characters' abilities speak on their personalities. I also like the contrast in their abilities.
I wish my French was better so I could read this in the original language. A major critique I have is that the translation is very Brit-picked. I very much doubt Dabos originally wrote common English phrases such as "in the soup" as much as Hildegarde Serle did. If I'm mistaken, let me know, but I doubt I will be.
I don't have any quotes as nothing really stood out to me while reading. I enjoyed this book but it didn't wow me, and I didn't love it. But I do have a spoiler discussion.
*spoiler discussion*
I hate Berenilde with a burning passion. I don't care about her past, and I don't think it's enough for Ophelia to feel as though she should forgive her of her treatment of her. I think she's a bitter old woman who took out her frustrations and insecurities on Ophelia unjustly, and I hope in the next book or two she'll die a horrid bitter death. One of the most contemptuous characters I've ever read.
But that being said, I think Ophelia's forgiveness of her speaks more on her character than Berenilde's. She says that she forgives her because Berenilde was honest, and it made me think about Ophelia's past. She's a historian. A mix of historian and archaeologist, sure, but enough of a historian for me to understand her. As a historian, I try to make sure that I don't place my opinions on the people I'm researching. I have to be somewhat detached, and I think Ophelia is so used to having to feel detached by the objects she reads that she feels this way towards her own life as well. It isn't until the end of the book that she realizes that she has agency and should use her powers to her advantage to make her own way in life, rather than let it happen around her (as she has been doing painstakingly for the whole goddamn book). I don't think she should have forgiven Berenilde, but I think I understand why she did so.
Anyway! Favorite character was Fox! Least favorite is obviously Berenilde. Hope she dies.
I like the inspiration that the author took on royal courts! I also really enjoyed the characters and their dynamics with our heroine, Ophelia. Ophelia herself does at times feel very 2013, and by that I mean in her character design and in the way that she lets whatever happen wash over her rather than doing something herself, but I still really like her. The way that her personality and Thorn's personality seems at odds with one another but it's revealed more and more that they are alike (even though she still denies it).
As for the treatment that she is given by Thorn's family... frustration and indignation cannot be enough to describe what I felt for Ophelia. At times I found myself comparing her experience in the manor with Jonathan Harker's in Dracula. They're both "guests" at beautiful homes but are mostly isolated from everyone and everything, are manipulated to rely on people who outright want to use them, and have the habit of wandering when they really, very much shouldn't. Overall, I hope her circumstances change in the next book and she is able to relinquish the hold that Thorn's family has on her.
The magic system is gorgeous. It's so unique and interesting, and I like how each of the characters' abilities speak on their personalities. I also like the contrast in their abilities.
I wish my French was better so I could read this in the original language. A major critique I have is that the translation is very Brit-picked. I very much doubt Dabos originally wrote common English phrases such as "in the soup" as much as Hildegarde Serle did. If I'm mistaken, let me know, but I doubt I will be.
I don't have any quotes as nothing really stood out to me while reading. I enjoyed this book but it didn't wow me, and I didn't love it. But I do have a spoiler discussion.
*spoiler discussion*
I hate Berenilde with a burning passion. I don't care about her past, and I don't think it's enough for Ophelia to feel as though she should forgive her of her treatment of her. I think she's a bitter old woman who took out her frustrations and insecurities on Ophelia unjustly, and I hope in the next book or two she'll die a horrid bitter death. One of the most contemptuous characters I've ever read.
But that being said, I think Ophelia's forgiveness of her speaks more on her character than Berenilde's. She says that she forgives her because Berenilde was honest, and it made me think about Ophelia's past. She's a historian. A mix of historian and archaeologist, sure, but enough of a historian for me to understand her. As a historian, I try to make sure that I don't place my opinions on the people I'm researching. I have to be somewhat detached, and I think Ophelia is so used to having to feel detached by the objects she reads that she feels this way towards her own life as well. It isn't until the end of the book that she realizes that she has agency and should use her powers to her advantage to make her own way in life, rather than let it happen around her (as she has been doing painstakingly for the whole goddamn book). I don't think she should have forgiven Berenilde, but I think I understand why she did so.
Anyway! Favorite character was Fox! Least favorite is obviously Berenilde. Hope she dies.
Read this if you want to feel like plucking your eyelashes one by one
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Really interesting world and magic. Looking forward to reading more!
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
relaxing
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
A very enjoyable read - a whole new world Ophelia has to navigate against her will, as she tries to come to terms with leaving her home and comfort behind for an icy fiance and his freaky family. Many clans and many mishaps ensue - most of them stressful but wow what a read!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Child death, Death, Death of parent
Minor: Drug use, Suicide
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
i can't say there was anything particularly wrong with this book i just couldn't connect to it the way i wanted to.
maybe it's me and my reading slump but i found it incredibly slow. i don't mind plot heavy books but i felt that we spent so much time world building that i don't really know the characters at all.
i really liked opheila and thorn as characters as well as their relationship and don't get me wrong i am a slow burn girly till i die but i would've enjoyed it a lot more if we had a more interesting plot to follow
maybe it's me and my reading slump but i found it incredibly slow. i don't mind plot heavy books but i felt that we spent so much time world building that i don't really know the characters at all.
i really liked opheila and thorn as characters as well as their relationship and don't get me wrong i am a slow burn girly till i die but i would've enjoyed it a lot more if we had a more interesting plot to follow
I read this for a book club, otherwise I wouldn't have finished it- not because it's not good, it's just not my style. I struggle with fantasy- to follow the characters and setting and to create new worlds.
world building is so good characters are so interesting love love love, and ty for getting me out of a reading slump!!