Reviews tagging 'Religious bigotry'

What Lies Beyond the Veil by Harper L. Woods

14 reviews

c45p1n's review

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

k i’m making a list
  • this book is literaly acotar’s doppelgänger (derogatory) (in regards to the characters)
  • very predictable
  • ends on a cliff hanger (is part of a trilogy)
  • tropes: fae & faeries, fated mates/soulmates, gods, betrayal, one bed trope (sorta? more of a cling-to-each-other-for-body-heat type of one bed), death is a trope., magic, strangers to lovers, (idk how to describe it but) surviving together, i hate everyone but you (male mc), grumpy x grumpier, again (bc there is so much) character death, um yeah. can’t think of anything else, OH “who did this to you” trope ON BOTH SIDES, yeah that’s abt it
  • OH: it felt like a video game in the sense that you had to complete a goal and talk to someone and then just be in stasis for the rest of the story, like just the middle 150 pages were nothingness but the FMC & MMC flirting and traveling with nothing actually happening in that chuck of time. 
  • same with the beginning sorta. it was just 1) the veil shattered, 2) XXX & FMC ran away, 3) 50 pages later they meet the MMC, 4) battle against the enemies, 5) the middle where literally nothing plot-heavy happens til chapter 28 
  • pretty smutty tbh, not amount-wise but kink-wise
  • i’m honestly kinda stumped on what to rate this but i think i’m gonna split it up then find the average and do it from there but you can just use these rates for generality
  • plot: 4/10; characters: 7.5/10; smut: 7/10; monologue: 5/10, dialogue: 7/10; world-building: 8/10; fae history explanation: 8/10 (there was a glossary), character likeability: 8/10
  • using my 200 dollar calculator, the mean is ≈ 7 so that’s like a 3.25 in my mind
  • literally everyone died except the main character and love interest💀
  • idk why but kinda reminded me of the hunger games
  • read TWs before reading the book fs !!!!!!
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kingrosereads's review

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adventurous dark funny medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.25

Look. Was it good? Not really. Will I be reading the sequel? Absolutely. This is the kind of trash reading I really enjoy. If you like ACOTAR or FBAA, this definitely has borrowed themes and characters and plots from them, but very loosely developed. I do like the concept of the Veil and human mates. Caelum is an acquired taste for sure but I enjoy the bantering between him and Estrella. Not a fan of the “little one” nickname. “My star” is fine and very endearing but “little one” is so cringe. “Little” anything is barf. I didn’t like how he became super possessive towards the end especially since Estrella has always been at the mercy of other men and not having any choice in life. This book feels more like the base of a story that you go back and actually develop upon. It’s basically the skeleton of a good story. 
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sammiesshelf's review

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adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

I ate this book up. The tension between the characters was so good, and the plot kept me turning pages. I hope the second book reveals what the heck was going on with some of the weird vibes and things said by Estrella's family (for example:
Brann being super against Caelum and always saying "There are some things you don't know" but then not telling her???
) 
The spice in this had me blushing hard. It was very hot. I know I already said this, but the TENSION was so well written and added to the book. I loved the morally grey love interest but beware: if you are not okay with morally grey and sometimes intense male leads, this is not the book for you. Towards the end, he became a bit intense and off-putting, and I hope that is explained in the sequel.
I definitely predicted the main plot twist early on, but the way it was revealed still shook me to my core, and the build-up was still very worth it. I loved this book and definitely recommend for lovers of high fae fantasy romance.
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deesquared's review

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adventurous dark funny mysterious fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

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