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3.51 AVERAGE
3.51 AVERAGE
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
full disclosure: i picked up an arc of this a few comic cons back.
3.5/5
this was really good! it reminded me a bit of the wicked + the divine while still being uniquely its own idea, and a pretty flipping cool one at that. my favorite aspect was definitely that the effigies were treated as mega pop stars, beyonces and taylor swifts, with that level of fandom and antis built around them. that's not something you often see in the superhero genre but oh my god, does that make sO MUCH sense. there were more than a few parts that i wish weren't so rushed through, where the book really seemed to be just racing to get to the end, but - honestly - the uniqueness of the idea constantly made up for anything that seemed wham-bamish or super duper obvious.
def a neat read, and one that really lets people who have never done a thing before not magically know how to do the thing. maia sucked, a lot. but as a person who has had no training and not even tried out her magical power because she was afraid of it? it only made sense for her to suck, a lot. (and it also make sense for her to be afraid of it, i did not begrudge her that at all.) i also especially loved that, her being such a fangirl of the effigies, she had this whole idea of how she would be if she were ever chosen; she gets chosen, and instead is like: oh no, oops, fuck this. because yES. and her relationship with lake, how she went from a judge-y anti of this 'character,' then meeting her as a person and realizing: oh, right, these girls are essentially chosen to die and judging them for how they behave in the face of that is a super duper crappy thing to do. it was very cool to see her go from fangirl to 'star' and how she reconciled those two identities. also, randomly, i really liked that there was so much focus on the collateral damage? both structural and.... people dying. because people would die in huge monster attacks, it's a thing. and it is a thing, when usually it's just a headline in the background, something to show you the stakes but not really emotionally attach you to them. here, yOU'RE ATTACHED.
3.5/5
this was really good! it reminded me a bit of the wicked + the divine while still being uniquely its own idea, and a pretty flipping cool one at that. my favorite aspect was definitely that the effigies were treated as mega pop stars, beyonces and taylor swifts, with that level of fandom and antis built around them. that's not something you often see in the superhero genre but oh my god, does that make sO MUCH sense. there were more than a few parts that i wish weren't so rushed through, where the book really seemed to be just racing to get to the end, but - honestly - the uniqueness of the idea constantly made up for anything that seemed wham-bamish or super duper obvious.
def a neat read, and one that really lets people who have never done a thing before not magically know how to do the thing. maia sucked, a lot. but as a person who has had no training and not even tried out her magical power because she was afraid of it? it only made sense for her to suck, a lot. (and it also make sense for her to be afraid of it, i did not begrudge her that at all.) i also especially loved that, her being such a fangirl of the effigies, she had this whole idea of how she would be if she were ever chosen; she gets chosen, and instead is like: oh no, oops, fuck this. because yES. and her relationship with lake, how she went from a judge-y anti of this 'character,' then meeting her as a person and realizing: oh, right, these girls are essentially chosen to die and judging them for how they behave in the face of that is a super duper crappy thing to do. it was very cool to see her go from fangirl to 'star' and how she reconciled those two identities. also, randomly, i really liked that there was so much focus on the collateral damage? both structural and.... people dying. because people would die in huge monster attacks, it's a thing. and it is a thing, when usually it's just a headline in the background, something to show you the stakes but not really emotionally attach you to them. here, yOU'RE ATTACHED.
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
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:
Yes
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Sarah Raughley is one of my top authors ever, she is amazing at world building and creating characters. its been a while since ive read this book but the plot is so enticing and the power systems of the effigies are fascinating. I love the personalities of the other effigies and how their powers reflect their personalities in some ways. I definitely need to finish the trilogy.
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I loved this book, it gave me ATLA vibes, but with so many unique twists. Honestly I was very shocked to find out what happened to Natalya. Other than that, I loved how unique the characters were, so different and yet the same. They all lost something, but besides that and their shared powers, they were different.
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
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
adventurous
reflective
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I wanted to like this. I bought myself a copy, which is rare for me, but I can't get to a libraryany time soon.
But. It doesn't make sense. The effigies are revered, fanatically followed, but Maia doesn't know where they are. The Sect scout out where the Effigies appear, but aren't tracked by the rabid fandom and also appear to be vaguely useless. The phantoms are horrifying, but also used as circus acts, and controlled by Nick. The people are all so... Shallow. I didn't care about any of them, except possibly the traumatised Lake whose reactions at least seemed believable.
I'm not the target audience. I gave up when I could see the love interest blossoming because I couldn't care about them before a romance started, and I know that romantic plots would make it worse for me, because I am not a fan.
Honestly, people seem to love this, and I'm sure the author worked hard on building the world. Not for me though.
But. It doesn't make sense. The effigies are revered, fanatically followed, but Maia doesn't know where they are. The Sect scout out where the Effigies appear, but aren't tracked by the rabid fandom and also appear to be vaguely useless. The phantoms are horrifying, but also used as circus acts, and controlled by Nick. The people are all so... Shallow. I didn't care about any of them, except possibly the traumatised Lake whose reactions at least seemed believable.
I'm not the target audience. I gave up when I could see the love interest blossoming because I couldn't care about them before a romance started, and I know that romantic plots would make it worse for me, because I am not a fan.
Honestly, people seem to love this, and I'm sure the author worked hard on building the world. Not for me though.