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odessamessa's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
- loved the non bianry heir, made me feel seen as a they/them
- also loved the development of the main love interests but bc it was so quick, i’m nervy about the next four books lmao
- excited to read the next book fs
- also loved the development of the main love interests but bc it was so quick, i’m nervy about the next four books lmao
- excited to read the next book fs
blackcatkai's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
CW: death, war, violence, some body horror, blood, sexual content, abuse, grief, alcohol use, classism, torture
MY HEART 😭 I had a wonderful time with this one. a SLIGHTLY slower burn, found families, action, romance, steaminess. a wonderful start to a series! a couple parts maybe moved a smidge too slowly for me, but overall I very much enjoyed myself and I cried a couple times. Definitely continuing the series!
MY HEART 😭 I had a wonderful time with this one. a SLIGHTLY slower burn, found families, action, romance, steaminess. a wonderful start to a series! a couple parts maybe moved a smidge too slowly for me, but overall I very much enjoyed myself and I cried a couple times. Definitely continuing the series!
kristinambarbee's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
anastasiaeleni's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
erincaroline's review against another edition
2.0
Edited to say: Listen. Main point is, if you've read Sarah J Maas's TOG and ACOTAR series, you've already read this book. A majority of elements and even characters are copy-pasted from them and mashed together without the time/length for the developments to have impact like the originals. It's a fun read, but it's copycat central. I expand on this down in my original review below
This book could definitely have benefited from a better editor. A lot of repetition only a page or so after the first instance of something being stated. Some punctuation and tiny formatting issues that make someone like me twitch, but that seems to be more and more common lately, especially for smaller publishers.
But the main thing is it might have received a higher rating if it weren't for the fact that it directly copies multiple elements and plot points from ACOTAR and TOG. Not just general Fae things but very specific things from those series' versions of Fae worlds and important plot points and characters. Although a surprise or two were not-so-subtly hinted at consistently enough that, even if you haven't read either of those, you could probably infer what was going on if you're a big YA fantasy reader in general.
Do I kinda want more like ACOTAR and TOG (that are NOT Crescent City for many reasons) and how they made me feel when I first read them? Yes, if how much I adored them originally before I got deeper into the online book community is any indication. But the extent to which this felt like an abridged copy mashup was a bit disappointing. I'm not saying it was that entirely. It had its own flavor, etc. There are just too many direct comparisons to too many elements without as much of the time to develop their depth in a single book, although hopefully that will change for at least some of them as the series continues.
TLDR: ridiculously strong SJM copycat vibes are the sin I take issue with. So if you don't favor reading what can be whittled down to a shorter mashed up version of ACOTAR and TOG, you should probably give this one a pass?
But again. Don't get me wrong. It's a fun book. And there were a few things that I didn't completely predict. I enjoyed it, and I may pick up the next one, which follows some different characters and some more familiar ones in the same world. So hopefully it'll be more original?
Spoilery critique underneath :
.
.
.
.
.
I really don't appreciate the gay mates being the ones where one died. If you know anything about lgbtq+ media, tragedy was the only thing gay couples were ever allowed for the longest time. So when they're the only one that happens that way, I get a little peeved. Not that I think it was purposefully or maliciously done. And not that I generally like books where that happens to any couple because I'm hardcore HEAs only.
This book could definitely have benefited from a better editor. A lot of repetition only a page or so after the first instance of something being stated. Some punctuation and tiny formatting issues that make someone like me twitch, but that seems to be more and more common lately, especially for smaller publishers.
But the main thing is it might have received a higher rating if it weren't for the fact that it directly copies multiple elements and plot points from ACOTAR and TOG. Not just general Fae things but very specific things from those series' versions of Fae worlds and important plot points and characters. Although a surprise or two were not-so-subtly hinted at consistently enough that, even if you haven't read either of those, you could probably infer what was going on if you're a big YA fantasy reader in general.
Do I kinda want more like ACOTAR and TOG (that are NOT Crescent City for many reasons) and how they made me feel when I first read them? Yes, if how much I adored them originally before I got deeper into the online book community is any indication. But the extent to which this felt like an abridged copy mashup was a bit disappointing. I'm not saying it was that entirely. It had its own flavor, etc. There are just too many direct comparisons to too many elements without as much of the time to develop their depth in a single book, although hopefully that will change for at least some of them as the series continues.
TLDR: ridiculously strong SJM copycat vibes are the sin I take issue with. So if you don't favor reading what can be whittled down to a shorter mashed up version of ACOTAR and TOG, you should probably give this one a pass?
But again. Don't get me wrong. It's a fun book. And there were a few things that I didn't completely predict. I enjoyed it, and I may pick up the next one, which follows some different characters and some more familiar ones in the same world. So hopefully it'll be more original?
Spoilery critique underneath :
.
.
.
.
.
I really don't appreciate the gay mates being the ones where one died. If you know anything about lgbtq+ media, tragedy was the only thing gay couples were ever allowed for the longest time. So when they're the only one that happens that way, I get a little peeved. Not that I think it was purposefully or maliciously done. And not that I generally like books where that happens to any couple because I'm hardcore HEAs only.
flowerroyalnat's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
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? Yes
4.0
kateriv's review against another edition
I think this would be a really great read for someone looking for something quick, or maybe high schoolers? I just found the writing to be really easy, and not in a great way (for me personally). It kind of reminded me of wattpad writing or something. Then again I didn’t really give this book its fair chance
simplysalcedo's review
3.0
Not a horrible book, but it just wasn't for me. I found it hard to stay engaged with it. I'm not a huge fan of one person POV. I also think the main characters fell for each other sooner than I like. I'm more of a slow burn type of person lol. It was also a little too predictable. I did love the aspect of fae and witches together. I think I have just read a few too many fantasy books that I kept comparing this one to the others. All in all, I give it 3 stars.