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3.83 AVERAGE
3.83 AVERAGE
mysterious
slow-paced
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-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:
Complicated
The story was well-crafted and historically accurate, however, I found the story rather slower-moving than I usually enjoy, and had a little difficulty in connecting with the characters in any meaningful way.
adventurous
relaxing
slow-paced
The first bit of the book I absolutely loved. Most of the book was set in the library and I adored that. Secondly, she's a historian. Another check mark for me. I'm a bit of a history buff. Add vampires and daemons and witches, oh my?! Fantastic.
Or so I thought. As the book progressed it became less about the library, super rare manuscript and people trying to kill her for it. Instead it became about her romance with a vampire. I'm all for forbidden love stories but I didn't find that aspect of it was well written. Like it was literally them against the world for a while. But then in the matter of a couple of minutes to a couple of days (depending which character), she was able to poof away racism between vamps and witches for a couple of characters. It just got annoying.
Now I can appreciate the fact he's a vampire and therefore has really old and rare books. But he just happens to have an alchemy book that has 2 illustrations that no one has ever seen before? Really? But alright, I'll let that go because the history nerd in me would kill almost anyone for an opportunity like that. But there was also a whole lot of name dropping in the book. Everyone in history she admired or appreciated the works of? Mr. Vamps was good buddies with them, naturally!
Matthew really wasn't that captivating of a character either. He was just kinda there. Nothing about him really stood out to make him memorable.
Oh and we can't forget that she's the daughter of the two most powerful witches of their time. So that means she's beyond powerful and nobody knows the extent of her powers. Not even her, because her powers were bound when she was a kid by her parents who died trying to protect her because she's so special. Even old manuscripts depict her and Sir Vampsalot.
It started to get painful to read. Especially the part where they did a DNA test to see what magical powers she possessed and she seemed to have in her blood the means to do everything, even though every other witch can only do one or two. Of course, these things only manifested after the results came in.
How could I possibly forget that there was breaking news! Vampires may be able to reproduce after all! Better start freaking out about that as though she missed her period. Oh but wait. THEY HAVEN'T EVEN HAD SEX. Because even though they've known each other for a month and have gotten married, they decided to wait to sleep together.
All in all, not that great. That's unfortunate, given how much I enjoyed the beginning. Will I read the next two? No, probably not.
Or so I thought. As the book progressed it became less about the library, super rare manuscript and people trying to kill her for it. Instead it became about her romance with a vampire. I'm all for forbidden love stories but I didn't find that aspect of it was well written. Like it was literally them against the world for a while. But then in the matter of a couple of minutes to a couple of days (depending which character), she was able to poof away racism between vamps and witches for a couple of characters. It just got annoying.
Now I can appreciate the fact he's a vampire and therefore has really old and rare books. But he just happens to have an alchemy book that has 2 illustrations that no one has ever seen before? Really? But alright, I'll let that go because the history nerd in me would kill almost anyone for an opportunity like that. But there was also a whole lot of name dropping in the book. Everyone in history she admired or appreciated the works of? Mr. Vamps was good buddies with them, naturally!
Matthew really wasn't that captivating of a character either. He was just kinda there. Nothing about him really stood out to make him memorable.
Oh and we can't forget that she's the daughter of the two most powerful witches of their time. So that means she's beyond powerful and nobody knows the extent of her powers. Not even her, because her powers were bound when she was a kid by her parents who died trying to protect her because she's so special. Even old manuscripts depict her and Sir Vampsalot.
It started to get painful to read. Especially the part where they did a DNA test to see what magical powers she possessed and she seemed to have in her blood the means to do everything, even though every other witch can only do one or two. Of course, these things only manifested after the results came in.
How could I possibly forget that there was breaking news! Vampires may be able to reproduce after all! Better start freaking out about that as though she missed her period. Oh but wait. THEY HAVEN'T EVEN HAD SEX. Because even though they've known each other for a month and have gotten married, they decided to wait to sleep together.
All in all, not that great. That's unfortunate, given how much I enjoyed the beginning. Will I read the next two? No, probably not.
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
I'm...not sure what this was, exactly.
I love vampires, and given that there is a television series being developed based off this trilogy, I felt I should give the novel a go.
While I won't say I regret the time I spent reading, I will most heartily say I feel I am not the demographic meant for this story. Many of the tropes and plot devices are ones I will roll my eyes at, and I could not get on board with the relationship between Matthew and Diana. Their romance made little sense to me, especially at the end where I considered putting down the book for good (at approx the 80% mark). I trudged through, and became even less enamored by the characters and plot.
Some of the tropes I groaned at (my own wording):
Reading Minds
Time Travel
Super Special Main Character
Insta-Love
Domineering Male Lead
WTF How Many Magical Systems Are There In Here
For those who are interested in my brutally honest opinion mixed with a condescending tone:
In a nicer way: this book hit a few of my personal hot buttons in regards to values and what a family means.
There were plenty of interesting parts, and the author has a great grasp on history and does a wonderful job at sprinkling references and technical terms within, while at the same time not confusing the reader. Ultimately, however, this is most definitely not a book for me.
I love vampires, and given that there is a television series being developed based off this trilogy, I felt I should give the novel a go.
While I won't say I regret the time I spent reading, I will most heartily say I feel I am not the demographic meant for this story. Many of the tropes and plot devices are ones I will roll my eyes at, and I could not get on board with the relationship between Matthew and Diana. Their romance made little sense to me, especially at the end where I considered putting down the book for good (at approx the 80% mark). I trudged through, and became even less enamored by the characters and plot.
Some of the tropes I groaned at (my own wording):
Reading Minds
Time Travel
Super Special Main Character
Insta-Love
Domineering Male Lead
WTF How Many Magical Systems Are There In Here
For those who are interested in my brutally honest opinion mixed with a condescending tone:
Spoiler
This book was written for the middle class white woman with traditional and 'modern' conservative values who believe crystals have healing properties and a family isn't a family without children.In a nicer way: this book hit a few of my personal hot buttons in regards to values and what a family means.
There were plenty of interesting parts, and the author has a great grasp on history and does a wonderful job at sprinkling references and technical terms within, while at the same time not confusing the reader. Ultimately, however, this is most definitely not a book for me.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Sort of a slow start but so, so exciting by the end!
adventurous
emotional
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:
Complicated
adventurous
dark
emotional
slow-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:
Complicated