Reviews

A Story Spun in Scarlet by R. Dugan

thebookcryptid's review

Slow pacing and lack of connection to the characters.

cj_lovesbooks's review against another edition

4.25

Taking a broad look at this book, I had a good time. There were some things that bugged me but nothing that took away from the overall effect of reading it.
I loved the idea behind the book very unique and enjoyed both the world and magic system. It took me about 15% of the book to really get into it but after that, I was invested. 
The age of the characters was hard to pin down for me because they often acted younger than they were - which I do feel is a common problem in YA books with adult characters. But I still liked our two main characters and found Audra to be if not always likable, a relatable character. And I was totally in love with her and Jaik’s dynamic. 
I liked that the plot was a traveling quest so the plot was always literally and figuratively moving along. The book was long but then described months of traveling in a few paragraphs. It was a weird dynamic cause they book didn’t need to be longer but then I felt like we missed time where we could have been seeing relationships develop.

I am picky with how the memory loss trip is used but I actually really enjoyed it. I think it was really cool trying to figure it out as it unraveled. Though I would have liked more foreshadowing to all the characters that were introduced at the end. It felt weird to meet new characters at 85% because at that point, I didn’t really care to get invested in them.

 
The more I think about the ending, the more I like it.

I thought it was gripping and emotionally fraught. I liked that it wasn’t completely a happy ending but still ended in a hopeful note.

yuliya1147's review against another edition

adventurous hopeful reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

First off, this book was much too long, and unnecessarily so. It was extremely repetitive and so it felt like I was just reading the same chapters over and over again. The prose was lovely, and the plot interesting, but I didn't really feel anything for any of the characters. There was supposed to be this sweeping romance but it just felt milquetoast. It also contained a lot of my pet peeves, such as introducing a bunch of characters after the halfway point by name only for none of them to really matter. It just felt like the author found a bunch of names they liked and decided to stick them in. And there's the use of a nickname I really hated. And the ending, while charming, simply dragged on for far too long. The entire epilogue could have been a couple pages.

Thanks to NetGalley and Wave Walker Press for the advanced copy in exchange for a review. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

katharineisobelbailey's review

2.5

The concept of this book is incredible and I think the story is really strong but I think the book suffers from favouring world-building and descriptions of setting over developing strong and engaging relationships between characters. One of the main plot points of this book relies on the chemistry between the two leads but I think the author rushed the development of their relationship and the implied tension building between them wasn't earned. The book is over 500 pages long which should have been enough time to get me to root for their relationship but I think the author spent so much time on world-building that this was lost.

The author's prose was beautiful but at times became too cliche for me, personally.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book.

nic_readsbooks's review

emotional funny mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

3.0

I wanted to be blown away by this book; the plot sounded so unique and interesting that it had all the makings of a book I would love but it just fell a bit short for me. Don't get me wrong, I liked it, I had a good time reading it but I didn't love it in quite the way I was expecting.

Let's start with the positives - this story is unique, I absolutely love the idea of storytelling as a magic form and the idea of the endings going missing was just a brilliant one. It's whimsical and interesting and I thought a great basis for the book.

The world building is good, the magic system is interesting, I liked the characters. There is an appropriate level of romance for this book albeit it is definitely on the YA end of romance but that's fine. 

The characters are well developed and I enjoyed reading about them.

The challenge I found overall, which made me like rather than love the book, was the writing style. This is a big book (possibly too big for a YA) so it's a bit daunting to take on and then the writing is dense and very descriptive which I found difficult. I would find that I lost my focus part way through paragraphs because so much was being described that I almost switched off a bit. The writing is beautiful and I so wish it was for me but I just found it too much. I don't think the book needed to be as long as it was and that kind of took away from the story for me.

I sound like a bit of a negative Nelly on this one which is not my intention at all; like I say it is beautifully whimsical, unique and great characters. I know plenty of readers will absolutely love the writing style and wonder what on earth I'm going on about. Overall for me, this was a good read but a bit of a long and intense one.

Thanks to @Netgalley for the chance to read an ARC of this book

melodyharmon's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Let me tell you a story....

This book revolves around storycrafters and their stories create the magic system in this world.  What happens when the end to the stories never get finished? This book takes you on a journey to figure out how and why the stories lost their endings.

This book is wordy but beautifully written!  It is lyrical and flows wonderfully.  There's a lot of plot to keep you entertained.  It does slow down 3/4 of the way through, but it's worth it to stick it out!  

There is a lovely romance throughout the book.  There is a lot of kissing, but that's about it.  There is a bit other things that are alluded to, but never really mentioned.  

This book WRECKED me!

I recieved an e-ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.  I want to thank R. Dugan, NetGalley, and Wave Walker Press for allowing me to review this book.  

popcornn's review

adventurous emotional hopeful slow-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

4.5

kerryiscurrentlyreading's review

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Wow. This was an incredible story. I mean what a hook for readers...come read a story about stories that cant end. Descriptive, full of lyrical flourishes and a tale thats woven expertly through solid world building.
The story of Audra and Jaik is my new Roman Empire. 

Up until the last 10 Chapters or so, this book was a solid 4 stars for me. Those last chapters though. What a ride! Brilliant. To say I SOBBED my way through the end of this book, would be an understatement. And it has been a very long time since a new author has made me cry at all. 

The last 10 Chapters of this book for me almost broke the book, but in the end made it. I did really feel like the "lifelong" forgotten friends were really hard to believe. There just wasn't enough setup, Naomi was the only believeable character with history. Understanding that Audra is supposed to have forgotten all these people, I still think the Author could have made more of an effort to introduce Reikyo etc earlier especially with the supposed prior antagonistic relationship. The whole reveal of lost memories itself felt rushed and unsatisfying. Galan as well didnt feel like a fully realised villan. I did love the remorseful Sha angle though and there being no ultimate villian. And that Goodbye and Epilogue....breathtaking. Just absolutely stunning. And that is why those last 10 Chapters conflicted me so much. So much felt flat and rushed, it pushed the book down to a 3 star and then there was this earth shattering, heart rending farewell that was just incredible. And that, is what brought it back to a five

ashkat2631's review against another edition

4.25

A story about the magic of storytelling. Audra is a storycrafter who is on the move. For a reason no one knows, storycrafters have lost the ability to finish a story. Until one night meets Jaik and finishes her first story. The story follows them along their way to finding answers to questions they each have. 

This is a high fantasy book so be warned. I feel like it won’t be for everyone. This is for people who love world building and lyrical writing. It is a longer book and for people who don’t like those things it will drag.

It’s a beautiful story though. I loved the uniqueness. The magic system revolving around storytelling is so poetic and I really love it. I also loved ‘Luck’ being a whole thing in this book. The writing was good. Long winded but good. You feel everything. You feel like you’re there in the world and you feel all the emotions.

There’s lots of twists and turns that take the book in a different direction. There’s no spice but the love story is still amazing. I loved Audra and Jaik. They make you want to root for them despite their flaws. As the story goes, you learn they have lost memories and how intertwined everything is. 

(Also for just a little side note, I really loved the way Jaik helped Audra ground herself. Asking her to list 5 things you see, 4 things you feel, 3 things you hear, 2 things you smell, 1 things you taste. So good!) 

And the ending was beautiful. I thought it was perfect. 

Overall this is good fit for high fantasy fans who are looking for a unique story. 

🖤
Close your eyes. Let me tell you a story.
🖤

readwithsuzie's review

I just couldn't get into this.