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3.48 AVERAGE
3.48 AVERAGE
I really enjoyed parts of this, but the pacing was so inconsistent, slow to start (which is fine), then rushed, then slow once more, just to end rushed again.
Elise’s final decision in the book felt so out of left field, and like it was just there to create tension between her and Layla since they had literally JUST made up and now were at odds again.
Other than the pacing, I really did enjoy it and it was an engaging story.
Elise’s final decision in the book felt so out of left field, and like it was just there to create tension between her and Layla since they had literally JUST made up and now were at odds again.
Other than the pacing, I really did enjoy it and it was an engaging story.
as a lover of vampire stories and a person who binged netflix's first kill way to many times, I was so excited for this release. I mean sapphic black vampires? yeah this is the best thing ever and i was not disappointed at all.
it was so interesting to explore the complex relationship between josie and elise. they're two completely different people who are kinda stuck together and, for the first time in years, forced to confront their feelings for each other (romantic and otherwise). elise comes from money and is their pride, anger, confusion, pain, and of course their desire. the fact that one is a vampire and the other is the heir to a vampire weapon manufacturing family, makes their feelings all the more convoluted.
the mystery is also intriguing. we have this character who turned into a vampire against her will and believes that reaperhood ruined her life and in a way its true. vampires have so many rules and regulations on them and one wrong move could kill them ... again. the origin of vampires is also especially violent and traumatizing as well so vampires wanting a cure is reasonable. trying to figure out if and how this vampire cure is linked to the violent death of humans was fascinating.
i really appreciated how unique the vampire mythology was in this story. it is so intrinsically tied to black american history from its origin to the treatment of vampires in harlem. using this supernatural creature as a way to explore colonialism, anti blackness, human experimentation, and sexism was just so creative and added a whole new layer to vampire lore.
it was so interesting to explore the complex relationship between josie and elise. they're two completely different people who are kinda stuck together and, for the first time in years, forced to confront their feelings for each other (romantic and otherwise). elise comes from money and is their pride, anger, confusion, pain, and of course their desire. the fact that one is a vampire and the other is the heir to a vampire weapon manufacturing family, makes their feelings all the more convoluted.
the mystery is also intriguing. we have this character who turned into a vampire against her will and believes that reaperhood ruined her life and in a way its true. vampires have so many rules and regulations on them and one wrong move could kill them ... again. the origin of vampires is also especially violent and traumatizing as well so vampires wanting a cure is reasonable. trying to figure out if and how this vampire cure is linked to the violent death of humans was fascinating.
i really appreciated how unique the vampire mythology was in this story. it is so intrinsically tied to black american history from its origin to the treatment of vampires in harlem. using this supernatural creature as a way to explore colonialism, anti blackness, human experimentation, and sexism was just so creative and added a whole new layer to vampire lore.
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
3☆
I might be the only one, but I think there are a few (important, in my opinion) aspects that make the main plot hard to believe.
First of all, why didn't they kill Layla at the first chance when they captured her? It doesn't make sense to put your prime suspect to investigate her own case. A case that, mind you, has no leads pointing at anyone other than her. And seeing how the Saints (or any human for that matter) see Reaper's lives as nothing, killing her would be the logical move.
Secondly, putting Elise in charge of that investigation is very illogical. We all know Mr. Saint doesn’t care for his daughter, but he cares about appearances. So why would he give this supposedly important investigation to his completely untrained daughter with no detective skills or experience? To make things worse, she’s working with no one other than the reaper who’s tried to kill her —twice—, and under no supervision even. Layla could’ve killed her at her first chance and fled the country. With her connections, I’m sure she could’ve pulled it off.
There were a few other things that bothered me, but after the first half of the book, I decided to ignore all inconsistencies, plot holes, or in general, things that didn’t make sense to me.
That aside, I enjoyed the pace of the book. It kept me interested the whole time. The writing was more than decent, considering this is a debut novel. I saw some reviews from people who got the ARC who said it was full of errors and writing mistakes. I don’t know if they made major changes to the writing, but aside from some corny or forced dialogs I didn’t think it was that bad.
Now, for the disappointing part: the relationship between Layla and Elise. I wish the author had made a more unique dynamic instead of trying to imitate or resemble Caitlyn and Vi so their dynamic would feel more interesting and natural, but no. At one specific point, it felt like the author picked a piece of dialogue straight from Arcane.
Also, I hated Elise most of the book. She was crying all the damn time, I get people cry when they get confronted (I’m talking about myself, I’m people), but it was exhausting seeing her crumble at every minor inconvenience, even more when the writing and the other characters try to convince you that she’s such a strong character. Crying didn’t make her weak (that would be hypocritical considering i'm a crybaby) but breaking down every time something didn’t go her way and being pushed around by everyone didn’t match her supposed personality. That girl better grow a backbone on the second book.
As for Layla, she was fine, didn’t especially like her that much, but didn’t hate her that much either. Sterling? he can die and go to hell. The same goes for Mr. Saint.
Anyway for the most part it was an enjoyable read, it kept me entertained and I liked it for the most part. I deluded myself into thinking this book was auto conclusive, so imagine my surprise when there were only two chapters left and I realized there was no way the author could finish the book in those two chapters. But seeing as we are back at the starting point. I’m not sure if I’ll pick up the second book, but I’ll definitely keep an eye on whaterver this author brings next.
I might be the only one, but I think there are a few (important, in my opinion) aspects that make the main plot hard to believe.
First of all, why didn't they kill Layla at the first chance when they captured her? It doesn't make sense to put your prime suspect to investigate her own case. A case that, mind you, has no leads pointing at anyone other than her. And seeing how the Saints (or any human for that matter) see Reaper's lives as nothing, killing her would be the logical move.
Secondly, putting Elise in charge of that investigation is very illogical. We all know Mr. Saint doesn’t care for his daughter, but he cares about appearances. So why would he give this supposedly important investigation to his completely untrained daughter with no detective skills or experience? To make things worse, she’s working with no one other than the reaper who’s tried to kill her —twice—, and under no supervision even. Layla could’ve killed her at her first chance and fled the country. With her connections, I’m sure she could’ve pulled it off.
There were a few other things that bothered me, but after the first half of the book, I decided to ignore all inconsistencies, plot holes, or in general, things that didn’t make sense to me.
That aside, I enjoyed the pace of the book. It kept me interested the whole time. The writing was more than decent, considering this is a debut novel. I saw some reviews from people who got the ARC who said it was full of errors and writing mistakes. I don’t know if they made major changes to the writing, but aside from some corny or forced dialogs I didn’t think it was that bad.
Now, for the disappointing part: the relationship between Layla and Elise. I wish the author had made a more unique dynamic instead of trying to imitate or resemble Caitlyn and Vi so their dynamic would feel more interesting and natural, but no. At one specific point, it felt like the author picked a piece of dialogue straight from Arcane.
Also, I hated Elise most of the book. She was crying all the damn time, I get people cry when they get confronted (I’m talking about myself, I’m people), but it was exhausting seeing her crumble at every minor inconvenience, even more when the writing and the other characters try to convince you that she’s such a strong character. Crying didn’t make her weak (that would be hypocritical considering i'm a crybaby) but breaking down every time something didn’t go her way and being pushed around by everyone didn’t match her supposed personality. That girl better grow a backbone on the second book.
As for Layla, she was fine, didn’t especially like her that much, but didn’t hate her that much either. Sterling? he can die and go to hell. The same goes for Mr. Saint.
Anyway for the most part it was an enjoyable read, it kept me entertained and I liked it for the most part. I deluded myself into thinking this book was auto conclusive, so imagine my surprise when there were only two chapters left and I realized there was no way the author could finish the book in those two chapters. But seeing as we are back at the starting point. I’m not sure if I’ll pick up the second book, but I’ll definitely keep an eye on whaterver this author brings next.
adventurous
dark
emotional
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
informative
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
dark
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
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes