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3.48 AVERAGE
3.48 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
The concept behind this book intrigued me so much, which is why I picked it up, and it honestly delivered what it promised in terms of the themes and overall atmosphere. I enjoyed the mysterious element of the story, which left me in the dark for the most part then resolving them at the end. However, I didn't quite appreciate the writing because the plot progressed so slowly, but the scenes kept jumping from one to another in such a quick manner. I also took a point off because the book ended on such an unsatisfying note, clearly building up for a second book. But overall, it was quite an interesting experience reading through this.
“While being a reaper moved her further from being considered human, being Black already set her back several steps.”
I picked this book up on a whim after seeing it on Booktok, and let me say very glad I did. Elise, Layla are baddies through and through. I’m usually not a vampires fan but this had me by the collar tight !!
Ugh most of all I loved the incorporating of Black historical events in this story that don’t get talked about enough y’all; what a genius move!!
My one critique, as an enemies to lovers die hard fan, I would have liked to see more of the enemies side. Maybe in book 2?
ALSO, Elise, why the hell did you do that!!
I picked this book up on a whim after seeing it on Booktok, and let me say very glad I did. Elise, Layla are baddies through and through. I’m usually not a vampires fan but this had me by the collar tight !!
Ugh most of all I loved the incorporating of Black historical events in this story that don’t get talked about enough y’all; what a genius move!!
My one critique, as an enemies to lovers die hard fan, I would have liked to see more of the enemies side. Maybe in book 2?
ALSO, Elise, why the hell did you do that!!
*Thank you to the publisher via Netgalley for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review*
So, before I get into the meat of my review, I'd like to say that I think Hayley Dennings shows a lot of promise as an author. There were multiple moments throughout the book where the writing really shined. I feel like both the premise and the setting were very interesting, plus I liked the exploration of race, class, and privilege.
That being said, I had a really rough time with this one. It started out pretty promising, but ultimately this was a very uneven and frustrating reading experience. There were multiple reasons for this. This biggest, however, was within the chapters themselves. The story follows two POVs--Layla and Elise. This would be fine normally, but these POV switches happen within the same chapter. There are times when this can work. Usually that would be when the author wants to show a particular moment that happens in the same chapter from two different POVs. Unfortunately, that wasn't quite what happened in this book. The POV switches within each chapter often felt random and confusing. This had the unfortunate effect of affecting the pacing. Poignant moments between characters never really felt like they had a chance to make an impact. A moment with Elise would then switch to a moment with Layla that didn't really seem to have anything to do with Elise, then the POV would switch back to Elise and characters in that POV that had previously seemed like they'd been in a good mood suddenly switched to angry and hostile. It was jarring. It made it seem like I'd missed out on a good chunk of what happened in the interim by switching to Layla's POV.
The bulk of this could've been avoided by making each chapter contained to a single POV, rather than hopping around. It would've made the story feel slightly more cohesive, too, though I still think this book would suffer a little from pacing issues--especially towards the end.
I also think that some of the world-building needed to be delivered through a different means rather than info-dumping in conversations between characters. It would've made the world feel more exploratory and given the reader a little trust from the author to piece things together themselves.
Again, I do think there's potential here, but it's not really enough to get me interested in continuing on with the story. Unfortunately, I never really got fully invested in the world or the characters. However, I do think if you're interested, it's worth picking up to get a different view on vampires or if you enjoy queer friends-to-enemies-to-lovers romance.
So, before I get into the meat of my review, I'd like to say that I think Hayley Dennings shows a lot of promise as an author. There were multiple moments throughout the book where the writing really shined. I feel like both the premise and the setting were very interesting, plus I liked the exploration of race, class, and privilege.
That being said, I had a really rough time with this one. It started out pretty promising, but ultimately this was a very uneven and frustrating reading experience. There were multiple reasons for this. This biggest, however, was within the chapters themselves. The story follows two POVs--Layla and Elise. This would be fine normally, but these POV switches happen within the same chapter. There are times when this can work. Usually that would be when the author wants to show a particular moment that happens in the same chapter from two different POVs. Unfortunately, that wasn't quite what happened in this book. The POV switches within each chapter often felt random and confusing. This had the unfortunate effect of affecting the pacing. Poignant moments between characters never really felt like they had a chance to make an impact. A moment with Elise would then switch to a moment with Layla that didn't really seem to have anything to do with Elise, then the POV would switch back to Elise and characters in that POV that had previously seemed like they'd been in a good mood suddenly switched to angry and hostile. It was jarring. It made it seem like I'd missed out on a good chunk of what happened in the interim by switching to Layla's POV.
The bulk of this could've been avoided by making each chapter contained to a single POV, rather than hopping around. It would've made the story feel slightly more cohesive, too, though I still think this book would suffer a little from pacing issues--especially towards the end.
I also think that some of the world-building needed to be delivered through a different means rather than info-dumping in conversations between characters. It would've made the world feel more exploratory and given the reader a little trust from the author to piece things together themselves.
Again, I do think there's potential here, but it's not really enough to get me interested in continuing on with the story. Unfortunately, I never really got fully invested in the world or the characters. However, I do think if you're interested, it's worth picking up to get a different view on vampires or if you enjoy queer friends-to-enemies-to-lovers romance.
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Very very very average. Probably wouldn’t recommend the audiobook as the change in POV is not very clear.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
I think this book has a lot going on and a lot to achieve. While it did that in the technical sense, it left me feeling really confused about how to feel. There was the relationship and a corrupt science experiment with an investigation and romance on top. It felt very very chaotic and confusing but still a very compelling story so will be reading the next one
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I have mixed feelings about this book. The style of writing was not for me. It felt like the author didn’t trust the reader and over explained. There was not enough world building and I felt lost.
The conclusion felt super rushed and left a lot of loose ends. The characters did not feel fully realized, nor were their relationships to each other.
I do think the plot had potential, just needed more editing and detail.
The conclusion felt super rushed and left a lot of loose ends. The characters did not feel fully realized, nor were their relationships to each other.
I do think the plot had potential, just needed more editing and detail.
Honestly thinking I might re-read this one when the next book comes out because I feel like I should have liked it more than I did. It was a fine read, it did some cool stuff but when I was reading it I struggled to care as much as I knew I should.
I will say that there were a lot of big violent moments that started to loose their impact pretty quickly because they happened so often and just felt like the norm and not this big deal moment that they were supposed to be.
I am super excited to read more from this author because I do see the potential and did like a lot of what she was doing even though it didn't fully hit. Great ideas, great concept. just needs a little more work maybe?
I will say that there were a lot of big violent moments that started to loose their impact pretty quickly because they happened so often and just felt like the norm and not this big deal moment that they were supposed to be.
I am super excited to read more from this author because I do see the potential and did like a lot of what she was doing even though it didn't fully hit. Great ideas, great concept. just needs a little more work maybe?