Reviews

Scythe and Pen by A.C. Hobbs

Only show reviews with written explanations

morozko's review against another edition

4.5

4.5 stars. there aren't many things that makes me happier than finding an absolute treasure of an indie book where you can feel the passion from the author!!!

i really liked this book! i haven't read anything this immersive in a while. i can definitely see the resemblance to the diviners with a little bit of six of crows, but with an adult twist, as mentioned in another review that immediately made me pick up the book. it's a book about vampires and other mystical beings, set in 1924/1925, brimming with enigmatic mysteries. what more can i say?

so, what i liked the most about the book was its balance. the writing was great. the author has an amazing way of bringing everything to life within the pages, making me feel completely immersed in the story without being overly flowery. another aspect i loved was the characters. this book follows a large cast of characters, with constant shifts in povs, but that didn't bother me. i appreciated that each character had a distinctive personality, and the author didn't reveal everything right away. we learned things alongside the characters, as opposed to just being told about it. i also appreciated that there are still mysteries left to uncover about the characters; it leaves so much potential for exploration in the next books!

as for the plot, I found it very engaging! as a fan of political/investigative fantasy, it was interesting to read about the characters maneuvering and trying to solve the plot.

now, the romances!! keep in mind that it's a very tiny subplot, not at all as major as in a romantasy, but there's something about being fed crumbs that excites me much more than a full banquet. the slow burn was indeed slow burning!!!! i'm so excited for the next book i could literally explode.