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acinonyx's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
lighthearted
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Essentially a South Asian Witcher, this story’s greatest strength was its world and magic system. There is soooo much potential here, and I would be psyched to read more stories in this setting. The devas, guardians, spirits, phi, and politics were all so interesting and fresh compared to most things I’ve read, and I'm desperate to know more.
Perhaps because it’s the authors first novel, the writing, pacing, and character work were all a bit lack luster for me. Some of the prose was clumsy and confusing at points; though I was grateful the dialogue did not suffer the same. The pacing was a little jarring, ramping up very quickly to a climax and then ending even more suddenly, and taking off again in a new direction.
The characters were somewhat interesting, but didn’t have the spark that made me really feel like I knew them well, even by the end. Although we were in Ex’s head for most of the novel, his motivations seemed shallow and incomplete. Arinya was immediately likable, but her actions later into the book seemed unsupported by our knowledge of her to that point, even though she explained her reasoning afterward.
I think overall the book suffered most from the lack of character development, which inevitably bled into other components of the story. Despite this, I do hope the author continues to write in this world because I think they’ve created something very unique and there are so many ideas and themes here that deserve to be thoroughly explored!
Perhaps because it’s the authors first novel, the writing, pacing, and character work were all a bit lack luster for me. Some of the prose was clumsy and confusing at points; though I was grateful the dialogue did not suffer the same. The pacing was a little jarring, ramping up very quickly to a climax and then ending even more suddenly, and taking off again in a new direction.
The characters were somewhat interesting, but didn’t have the spark that made me really feel like I knew them well, even by the end. Although we were in Ex’s head for most of the novel, his motivations seemed shallow and incomplete. Arinya was immediately likable, but her actions later into the book seemed unsupported by our knowledge of her to that point, even though she explained her reasoning afterward.
I think overall the book suffered most from the lack of character development, which inevitably bled into other components of the story. Despite this, I do hope the author continues to write in this world because I think they’ve created something very unique and there are so many ideas and themes here that deserve to be thoroughly explored!
merchant_of_mishaps's review
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
belle2022's review
5.0
This was absolutely fantastic, unlike any fantasy I’ve read before. This was such a unique and well written novel. I especially enjoyed the book as it was inspired by Thai folklore which I’m pretty certain I haven’t read before or even come across. It was still easy to grasp in terms of the demons and the peoples backgrounds. I had a great time with the magic system and developed the absolute biggest soft spot for the MMC, Ex.
Ex is fun, he is witty and sarcastic. But still has deep emotions and can act silly at times. He is honourable and there isn’t just one layer to him. I could not predict anything in this book and there were sooo many good moments. There are a few plot lines and while it was hard to get a follow on them at first, I ended up being very invested.
This book has many demons, ghosts, spirits and humans all inspired by thai folklore. We have multiple POVs in this novel which made it more interesting to read. It’s definitely more character driven and I would have liked more plot building but I firmly believe we will get this in book 2! Really good pacing and prose too. I am hoping for a sequel as that ending could definitely be yielding to one.
If you enjoy some jaded humour, inspired folklore, maybe a bit of a cheesy romance, good pacing and a fantasy like you’ve not read before. I highly recommend this! I gave it a 4.5 stars.
Ex is fun, he is witty and sarcastic. But still has deep emotions and can act silly at times. He is honourable and there isn’t just one layer to him. I could not predict anything in this book and there were sooo many good moments. There are a few plot lines and while it was hard to get a follow on them at first, I ended up being very invested.
This book has many demons, ghosts, spirits and humans all inspired by thai folklore. We have multiple POVs in this novel which made it more interesting to read. It’s definitely more character driven and I would have liked more plot building but I firmly believe we will get this in book 2! Really good pacing and prose too. I am hoping for a sequel as that ending could definitely be yielding to one.
If you enjoy some jaded humour, inspired folklore, maybe a bit of a cheesy romance, good pacing and a fantasy like you’ve not read before. I highly recommend this! I gave it a 4.5 stars.
wwrlad's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
gjkennedy's review
Just so much sex without being sexy. And no plot. But like not in the sexy way. Not that sexy is what I wanted from this book anyway? Just continuously baffled by the plot choices made, read a third and didn’t have any solid plot hooks. Weird.
hrgisahero's review against another edition
4.0
An enjoyable read, no doubt - the main caricature is just that at times, so that can be annoying, in fact a number of the characters seem to lack depth but it is a great romp with plenty of mythology and world-building that is not as easily found in English language books, very much enjoyed!
cjrtb_books's review
3.75
Firstly, let me say this cover is stunning!
Ex is a young phi hunter who comes upon a very pregnant woman, Arinya, who asks for his help getting through the spirit forest.
What follows is probably one of the most unique stories I've read! It was quite gory in places too!
I did find the first half a bit slow going but the romance was so beautiful that I couldn't stop reading! Utterly beautiful!
The writing was so good and the way the characters were written made me fall in love with them, especially Ex!
Cant wait to see more from this author!
Ex is a young phi hunter who comes upon a very pregnant woman, Arinya, who asks for his help getting through the spirit forest.
What follows is probably one of the most unique stories I've read! It was quite gory in places too!
I did find the first half a bit slow going but the romance was so beautiful that I couldn't stop reading! Utterly beautiful!
The writing was so good and the way the characters were written made me fall in love with them, especially Ex!
Cant wait to see more from this author!
impalalove's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
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
2.75