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Writing is bad, main character is a pick me girl, and I didn't know it was why choose ðŸ˜ðŸ¤š
Content Warnings
Moderate: Physical abuse, Rape, Torture, Forced institutionalization
adventurous
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Is this objectively a good book? No. Did I read it in one day? Yes. If this is the book that you are looking to read and you know what it's going to be like going into it, I think you'll enjoy it as long as you're not expecting anything truly amazing - it's got quite a high rating on both Storygraph and Goodreads so clearly people really like it. It's got fantastic pacing which made it so easy to read and really hard to put down. I already know I'm going to binge the next five books (as long as it keeps me entertained), so don't take my kind of low rating as a sign you shouldn't read it.
But it is certainly not the best writing that I've ever come across. The writing really isn't great.. at all. Like the narrator says "freaking" on pretty much every page and it's frustrating how basic her thoughts are sometimes and how convoluted her POV is because the author doesn't want the reader to find out some things right away, but it makes her narration so annoying because she skirts around information so often. It just leaves the story feeling very flat.
The world building just, doesn't exist. And that's ok if you're not into world building but I love world building in my fantasy books. This series kind of feels more dystopian than fantasy because it is set in an urban setting on a college campus in a regular city with an "east" and "west" coast. Learning about "Bonds" and "Gifts" was honestly really confusing though and the narrator (our main mc) really didn't talk that much about it - and when she was, she just repeated the same information over and over again which got very annoying after a while (i.e. "if only they knew how much I could do," "I can't bond with them and I can't ever tell them why," "people are ranked by their gifts) - except the reader doesn't even learn the answers to basically ANY of these questions. Like we are quite literally hanging on to these questions for the whole book and you would expect the point of the first book in the series to answer these basic questions and set up a more complex plot, but instead it leaves it to the second book after a big reveal (that is definitely predictable) in like the last 50 or so pages.
If you don't like slow burn, these books are NOT for you because **SPOILER ALERT** nothing happened :) Which I was like fine with..because the development wasn't there in the relationships for anything to happen realistically but her conversations with some of these characters are pretty annoying because the relationships between the characters remain relatively stagnant throughout the book. Like we don't even find out some of the gifts of her bonded until the end! She doesn't even ask while she's spending time with these people? And even after we're told, I'm still confused about how their gifts work and the limits to their abilities.
So..the moral of this review is, don't go into this book expecting very much writing wise or plot wise, but if you're looking for a good time and a quick read, go ahead!
But it is certainly not the best writing that I've ever come across. The writing really isn't great.. at all. Like the narrator says "freaking" on pretty much every page and it's frustrating how basic her thoughts are sometimes and how convoluted her POV is because the author doesn't want the reader to find out some things right away, but it makes her narration so annoying because she skirts around information so often. It just leaves the story feeling very flat.
The world building just, doesn't exist. And that's ok if you're not into world building but I love world building in my fantasy books. This series kind of feels more dystopian than fantasy because it is set in an urban setting on a college campus in a regular city with an "east" and "west" coast. Learning about "Bonds" and "Gifts" was honestly really confusing though and the narrator (our main mc) really didn't talk that much about it - and when she was, she just repeated the same information over and over again which got very annoying after a while (i.e. "if only they knew how much I could do," "I can't bond with them and I can't ever tell them why," "people are ranked by their gifts) - except the reader doesn't even learn the answers to basically ANY of these questions. Like we are quite literally hanging on to these questions for the whole book and you would expect the point of the first book in the series to answer these basic questions and set up a more complex plot, but instead it leaves it to the second book after a big reveal (that is definitely predictable) in like the last 50 or so pages.
If you don't like slow burn, these books are NOT for you because **SPOILER ALERT** nothing happened :) Which I was like fine with..because the development wasn't there in the relationships for anything to happen realistically but her conversations with some of these characters are pretty annoying because the relationships between the characters remain relatively stagnant throughout the book. Like we don't even find out some of the gifts of her bonded until the end! She doesn't even ask while she's spending time with these people? And even after we're told, I'm still confused about how their gifts work and the limits to their abilities.
So..the moral of this review is, don't go into this book expecting very much writing wise or plot wise, but if you're looking for a good time and a quick read, go ahead!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Death of parent
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
OK I need to preface this review by saying the world building is severely lacking, the plot is not very flushed out, and I feel like there’s a lot of holes missing, and the main character can become quite annoying.But nonetheless, I was so addicted, And I couldn’t put it down
The best way I can describe my enjoyment of this book is, it’s like watching reality TV. There’s a lot of components that are skipped or brushed by. The reader is left with a lot of questions and it’s not very deep regarding plot and character development. But is it entertaining? Absolutely.
The best way I can describe my enjoyment of this book is, it’s like watching reality TV. There’s a lot of components that are skipped or brushed by. The reader is left with a lot of questions and it’s not very deep regarding plot and character development. But is it entertaining? Absolutely.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment
Moderate: Violence
dark
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Violence, Trafficking, Car accident, Death of parent, Gaslighting
WTF?
Sexual arousal is not consent? WTF?
Girls hate girls? WTF?
Must be lesbian because she doesn‘t consent to sex? WTF?
Sexual arousal is not consent? WTF?
Girls hate girls? WTF?
Must be lesbian because she doesn‘t consent to sex? WTF?
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Sexual assault
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Infidelity, Rape, Torture, Violence, Kidnapping, Abortion, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Sexual harassment
dark
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
.5/🌶
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Rape, Death of parent
dark
emotional
funny
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Rape, Sexual assault, Violence, Death of parent
Moderate: Abandonment
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I think this is what they call a bully romance, almost DNF'd because they really are *mean* but the story has potential, I'd like a little more world building as I feel it's gone straight to fiesty teen drama without all the cool fantasy elements
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Toxic friendship, War