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dark
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Genocide, Gore, Infertility, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Infertility, Sexual content, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This was so good.
It had no right being this good.
It had no right being this good.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Violence, Blood
Moderate: Torture, Murder, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Infertility, Death of parent
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I guess this is my unpopular opinion about a well-known and loved book. I wanted to like this so bad, but I didn't.
Saeris Fane lives in a place where water is a precious resource. No one knows about her stealing water from the Undying Queen's reservoirs, and no one knows about the strange powers she possesses.
When Saeris comes face-to-face with "Death" himself, she opens a portal between realms and is transported to a land of ice and snow where Fairies are real. Saeris finds herself caught in a centuries-long conflict and mistakenly joins forces with Kingfisher, a handsome faerie warrior who harbors secrets and nefarious plans.
The book is too long. It has many scenes that could have been shortened or left out altogether. It's not a book that needs 600 pages.
The author repeatedly uses the same narrative device to build suspense. Characters often find themselves in conversations containing crucial information, only for an unexpected event to abruptly interrupt the dialogue. This pattern occurs repeatedly, and by the end, it became frustrating how the conversations consistently stalled midway and never resumed the original topic.
Spoiler ahead!
The book presents several plot holes that bothered me. For example, the Third District is under quarantine, and no one can enter or leave. However, the guards come looking for Saeris when she steals the glove, and afterwards they take her to the palace. So, I wonder: does the rule only prohibit commoners from entering or leaving the third district, or does it apply to everyone?
In one of the opening scenes, it's mentioned that the Fae have highly developed senses and can smell hormones when someone is aroused (this is something that plays a huge role throughout the book), and they can also hear from afar. However, Saeris manages to slip past the guards guarding a door without them noticing. This leads to a contradiction: do the Fae only detect certain hormones? Hypothetically, the guards should have detected her scent because she was escaping, and the adrenaline and fear of being caught should have activated her endocrine system; therefore, the guards should have sensed her fear.
Another inconsistency I found was that Saeris is supposed to be the greatest alchemist who ever lived. She can speak with the Quicksilver and strike bargains. Yet, she can't get the Quicksilver out of Fisher's body.But a Witch and a fae healer can do wonders. They can do what the greatest alchemist of all time can not.
Another inconsistency was that the vampire king died at the hands of Searis. The author had already established that the blood of a member of a specific royal family was the only thing that could kill the vampire king. However, the vampire king doesn't die when he drinks the blood of one of the characters, who is revealed to be the last member of the royal family. Instead, he is weakened, and Searis, a human, on the verge of death, manages to kill the vampire king. Then she became a hybrid. I won't discuss it because the only hybrid this house will ever know is Klaus Mikaelson.
The book attempts an enemies-to-lovers plot, but it ultimately fails. Both have a sexual interest in each other and find each other extremely attractive, but that sexual attraction turns into frustration and endless flirting. This isn't enemies to lovers. It's two people in lust who don't want to accept what they feel and, on top of that, don't have much chemistry. Besides, Saeris flirts with Fisher in the same way as she does with Carrion.
I found Saeris quite annoying. She tries to be a strong and sassy female character, but she comes across as capricious and arrogant. I also dislike it when a supposedly independent, strong, and self-sufficient female character is treated or behaves like a child, with the love interest changing her clothes, bathing her, and telling her to eat. For God's sake, she's already 25! She can take care of herself. It irritates me.
Fisher's character is flat. He serves only as Saeris's love interest. Beyond being a tormented hero who's always willing to sacrifice himself for others, we learn nothing more about him.
Carrion, on the other hand, is an interesting character. He is funny and smart. He assists Saeris in understanding how Quicksilver works. Carrion carried the entire book for me. I liked his twist at the end. The only thing that doesn't make much sense is that other Fae should have detected he wasn't human based on his scent or something.
Unfortunately, the book focuses on Saeris and Fisher's romance. Other characters and world-building are relegated to a secondary role. I would have loved to know more about the kingdoms' politics and how magic works. I also would have loved to have gotten more context about the Gods and the similarities and differences between Fisher's and Saeris's worlds. There was also a lack of context regarding the story's villains. How did the evil triad ally themselves, and what were their plans?
I won't continue this series, despite liking the last few chapters. If I hear Fisher, Kingfisherrrr, Osha, and mate one more time, I'll go crazy.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Sexual content, Blood, Kidnapping, Murder
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Sexual content, Blood, Death of parent
Moderate: Confinement, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Genocide, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Cultural appropriation, War
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
tense
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
Review to come! 🫶🏼
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Cursing, Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
Moderate: Confinement, Infertility, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Grief, Alcohol
Minor: Drug use, Genocide, Sexual violence, Slavery, Kidnapping, Suicide attempt
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-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:
Yes
Sometimes a romantasy is just the exact right thing, and this was the exact right thing. This book takes a bit to get going - we don't meet a few key characters until about 1/3 of the way in - but then it really gets going. I appreciated that the main character was 23 and actually had a life and talents and opinions, and the romance felt more real and deep than in other romantasy books. The plot moves fast and delivers information at a solid pace, which I always like, and the love interest was suitably complicated and interesting without being irredeemable. This definitely feels like an ACOTAR rip-off at some points, and the combination of fae + vampires + magic users + dragons?? is a bit much. But overall the worldbuilding felt accessible enough, and this is just a super fun book that I devoured. I'm really excited for the next book!
I really didn't see the end coming, and I'm not sure I'm totally on board for it - the fae/vampire thing isn't that intriguing to me. But Hart seems to have good narrative control and plotting skills, so I'm excited to see where it goes.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Genocide, Gore, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, War, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Confinement, Rape, Sexual violence, Torture
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
sad
tense
fast-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:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Deadnaming, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Infertility, Physical abuse, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, War, Injury/Injury detail