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bookishmillennial's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
disclaimer: I don’t really give starred reviews. I enjoy most books for what they are, & I extract lessons from them all. Everyone’s reading experiences are subjective, so I hope my reviews provide enough information to let you know if a book is for you or not. Find me on Instagram: @bookish.millennial or tiktok: @bookishmillennial
I think I would have preferred reading this via ebook or physical copy because Jasmin Walker and Marlo Su were great narrators but, I just think with first-person, present-tense writing, it personally works better for me as I read the ebook copy. Truly no disrespect to the narrators — I genuinely enjoyed their voices and narration! The way the POV was written just felt distracting sometimes. I almost wish the prose was just a bit more flowery if that makes sense.
Anyway, this was a curious new adult fantasy novel! The concept of two sisters one year post-trauma, and living in completely different realities, was quite fascinating. I did struggle with the voice/writing at times, like I mentioned above, but the plot was intriguing enough for me to follow. The worldbuilding felt a bit soft at times, with me not fully understanding how characters could jump between planes of reality. I wanted to comprehend the magic system and curses a bit more, but ultimately, I was pulled to the sisters' story in reclaiming their lives, and recovering after the events of a year ago (parents kidnapping and the curse enacted). I would love to hear ownvoices reviews about the representation of Alyssa as a disabled main character. I'm not entirely satisfied with the ending, so I'd love to hear more from my disabled friends on Alyssa's character and ending in particular.
Overall, I would try to read another book by Moreau, and I think it could be fruitful for her to try writing fantasy for younger readers too (many authors write across ages, and I think she could be one of them).
Thank you for Libro FM for the ALC - I'm sharing this honest review voluntarily.
cw: death of parents, sexual assault of a disabled person, anxiety, panic attack
I think I would have preferred reading this via ebook or physical copy because Jasmin Walker and Marlo Su were great narrators but, I just think with first-person, present-tense writing, it personally works better for me as I read the ebook copy. Truly no disrespect to the narrators — I genuinely enjoyed their voices and narration! The way the POV was written just felt distracting sometimes. I almost wish the prose was just a bit more flowery if that makes sense.
Anyway, this was a curious new adult fantasy novel! The concept of two sisters one year post-trauma, and living in completely different realities, was quite fascinating. I did struggle with the voice/writing at times, like I mentioned above, but the plot was intriguing enough for me to follow. The worldbuilding felt a bit soft at times, with me not fully understanding how characters could jump between planes of reality. I wanted to comprehend the magic system and curses a bit more, but ultimately, I was pulled to the sisters' story in reclaiming their lives, and recovering after the events of a year ago (parents kidnapping and the curse enacted). I would love to hear ownvoices reviews about the representation of Alyssa as a disabled main character. I'm not entirely satisfied with the ending, so I'd love to hear more from my disabled friends on Alyssa's character and ending in particular.
Overall, I would try to read another book by Moreau, and I think it could be fruitful for her to try writing fantasy for younger readers too (many authors write across ages, and I think she could be one of them).
Thank you for Libro FM for the ALC - I'm sharing this honest review voluntarily.
cw: death of parents, sexual assault of a disabled person, anxiety, panic attack
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Mental illness, Ableism, and Death
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