Reviews

First fantasy book I’ve read in decades and it did not disappoint. Ended rather quickly for my liking but know there’s more to come in the sequel which is already on its way

earthtosarita's review against another edition

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funny hopeful lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

catpanda1's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

sleepy_stardust's review against another edition

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adventurous dark medium-paced

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

2.5

This book started out great. O'Donoghue's prose is magnetic, and it pulled me into reading around 160 pages in one sitting without boredom setting in. She includes a diverse cast of characters with different races, religions, gender identities, and sexualities.

But oh my god, does Maeve Chambers ruin it.

At first, a romance subplot began with one of the side characters, Roe. It's eased into, and I found myself enjoying their relationship. Then, out of nowhere, they share a passionate kiss. No build-up, nothing, nada. From then on, I found it difficult to empathize with the main character's love problems; it's difficult to be surprised that a relationship isn't going well when the couple doesn't know one another.

Maeve's also pretty unlikeable in general. In the beginning, she seemed realistically imperfect. Were her flaws difficult to tolerate? Yes. Could I understand where she was coming from? Also, yes. However, as the novel progresses, her perspective becomes increasingly infuriating. She invalidates her partner's insecurities about their unstable relationship (which started after his sister went missing, mind you, and partly because of Maeve). She's overly capricious and causes mini-conflicts in the novel that are entirely superfluous and unworthy of the reader's attention.

Besides Maeve's characterization problems, the novel's ending is incredibly cliché. It reads like the end of a pilot episode of a crime-fighting show, where the main characters have finally realized that they're meant to take on the mysteries of the world together. It's horrendously underwhelming; O'Donoghue would have been better off starting the second book and adding exposition throughout to explain the characters' backstories.

Roe and Fiona were enough to save this book from being a total drag for me, though.

2.5☆ / 5☆

Content Warnings

twinkspo's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.75

Content Warnings

audrey9024's review against another edition

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3.0

buku kritis identitas. writing style kayak middle grade tapi konfliknya terlalu berat kayak YA. the characters weren't very likeable and i get it, that's the point. but it was still pretty annoying.

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