Reviews tagging 'Xenophobia'

Half Sick of Shadows by Laura Sebastian

1 review

readwithde's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective 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? It's complicated

4.25

I'm still trying to decide how I feel about this book, but maybe that's a good thing. 

Let me start with the good parts, the loyalty and camaraderie and love between the main characters, the difficult choices and grey areas of life, the weight of power and responsibility for the future, the interwoven fates of Gwen, Elaine, and Morgana... it was so rich with detail and life and possibly. 

As for the not-so-great parts, Elaine became a bit annoying to me.
She is constantly aware that knowing the future can have adverse effects, but she often finds herself steering the group into the wrong paths, the choices leading to a dark and painful ending. While I appreciate how she removed herself from the cycle, she still caused collateral damage, primarily to Lancelot.


I also felt like I needed 2 extra chapters, just to detangle what may have changed, if anything.
I would have loved to get a glimpse of how Arthur and Lancelot survived Camelot without the girls being there to counsel, heal, aid, and generally keep them safe and functioning.


Overall, I love this version of the story, and I love the focus on how the women of Camelot could not be themselves, how Gwen, Morgana, and Elaine spent their entire lives being trained to sacrifice themselves for Arthur's sake.
How they slowly eroded over time, and would have become even worse versions of themselves if not for choosing their own lives over Arthur's.

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