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chloelj27's review
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
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Death, and Blood
Moderate: Grief, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Sexual assault, Torture, Child death, Emotional abuse, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Pregnancy
aisleyreads's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I LOVED WISHTRESS. The relationships were so complex. There was no "right answer" for anything. Evey tiny choice had enormous consequences and the characters were frequently forced to level with them. I loved how the author upped the stakes with every plot beat and threw multiple twists in. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is looking for an germanic fantasy that has complex character relationships and magic that has far reaching consequences.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Gaslighting, Death of parent, Toxic relationship, Violence, War, Grief, Addiction, Fire/Fire injury, and Emotional abuse
lastblossom's review
adventurous
challenging
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
Thanks to NetGalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
tl;dr
A very traditional good vs. evil tale with distinct and interesting characters. Plot is a little contrived in places.
About
Myrthe's tears can grant wishes, a power that has served others more than her for most of her life. When an attempt to use it for herself goes terribly wrong, she finds herself cursed to die the next time she cries. But with the king suddenly dead and a struggle for power on the horizon, everyone wants one of Myrthe's wishes - even if it costs her life.
What I Liked
A well-paced book about the responsibility and consequences of power. The writing is clean and easy to read, with each of the character voices and POVs distinct. Despite a magic system rooted pretty clearly in good vs. evil, the characters themselves were allowed a little more moral complexity, with heroes making mistakes, and several antagonists having sympathetic motives. Character development is slow, but steady, and I was impressed by how much the two leads grew over the course of the book. The ending will probably be pretty divisive, but I appreciated how open it was, and I think it was a better place to finish than pretend that the day is saved and everything is good now.
What Wasn't For Me
The plot came together in a lot of very convenient ways that take a bit of suspension to really accept. Anouk's story in particular felt like it had to be reworked to fit everyone else's storylines. It also hits my personal peeve of people keeping vague secrets so the plot can be more dramatic and go longer.
tl;dr
A very traditional good vs. evil tale with distinct and interesting characters. Plot is a little contrived in places.
About
Myrthe's tears can grant wishes, a power that has served others more than her for most of her life. When an attempt to use it for herself goes terribly wrong, she finds herself cursed to die the next time she cries. But with the king suddenly dead and a struggle for power on the horizon, everyone wants one of Myrthe's wishes - even if it costs her life.
What I Liked
A well-paced book about the responsibility and consequences of power. The writing is clean and easy to read, with each of the character voices and POVs distinct. Despite a magic system rooted pretty clearly in good vs. evil, the characters themselves were allowed a little more moral complexity, with heroes making mistakes, and several antagonists having sympathetic motives. Character development is slow, but steady, and I was impressed by how much the two leads grew over the course of the book. The ending will probably be pretty divisive, but I appreciated how open it was, and I think it was a better place to finish than pretend that the day is saved and everything is good now.
What Wasn't For Me
The plot came together in a lot of very convenient ways that take a bit of suspension to really accept. Anouk's story in particular felt like it had to be reworked to fit everyone else's storylines. It also hits my personal peeve of people keeping vague secrets so the plot can be more dramatic and go longer.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, Toxic relationship, Death, Fire/Fire injury, and Torture
Minor: Grief, Trafficking, and Rape
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