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tired_cicada's review against another edition
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
The plot has potential, I’ll try out book two and see if there is any pay off. The plot twist in this was laughably obvious. Like it was actually painful y’all.
Furthermore why is EVERYONE so weird and possessive? about the fmc’s body, her knowledge, everything. Everybody wants to keep this girl in a cage!
Was this great? Nah. Was it entertaining enough? Yeah.
Had nice line writing, and had the possibility for some fun world building if it goes that direction.
Graphic: Death, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Child abuse, Sexual content, Blood, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, Classism, Adult/minor relationship, Death of parent, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Stalking, and Suicidal thoughts
ninxkr's review
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
0.25
This book was a 0.25 ⭐️ for me solely based on the potential it had with the concept of the Veil. Below are the reasons why this book failed to hit the mark for me
The characters
Both the FMC AND MMC are infuriating in their own way.
The MMC is a manipulative gaslighter who loves to coerce the FMC into sexual interactions with dubious consent whenever she as much as has a single thought. The fact that this is the MMC our FMC is made to fall for with her backstory of SA and grooming is baffling.
The FMC is set up to be a wild, intelligent woman longing for nothing but freedom after being groomed all her life. Yet, her actions paint her as an easily manipulated airhead. There was times when I had to put down the book due to the frustration caused by her level of dumbness. Somehow at the same time she knew things she had no business of knowing (not that it helped her figure out anything).
The side characters were written in a way that made you not care for them and noneq of the deaths impacted me (or the FMC, based on the writing).
The pet name
Some pet names in fantasy novels are bad and there's pet names that I would pay to get erased from my memory. Little One falls in the latter category. The use of this pet name feels more predatory and belittling than endearing, especially when used by the MMC when bossing the FMC around or, worse, in a sexual context.
The writing
This was very much a book where things were told to the reader and we were meant to just accept it. No prior hinting at things, showing internal struggles or doubts. When you are told randomly that the FMC is grieving her dead brother without ever having seen any signs of this in her behaviour or thought it simply does not have the impact it is intended to have. Same goes for being told the FMC has doubts about the MMC since his encounter with the cave beast 3 chapters before the end when this doubt had not been mentioned in her internal monologue at all since said encounter.
The dialogue is tediously bad. In a 420 page book there was maybe about 5 pages worth of actually meaningful dialogue. It becomes tedious to read when every conversation between the MCs ends in the MMC either making explicit sexual remarks or straight up coercing her into sex.
Overall the events, thoughts and dialogues seem disconnected from one moment to the next.
The pacing
The book starts off pretty strong with the worldbuilding and the fall of the Veil but quickly turns into 300 pages of the MCs wandering about the woods without much happening at all. They literally just walk around. The pace picks up a little bit when they meet the Resistance but once they go out on the mission to find the Marked towards the end of the book things feel incredibly rushed and there is no space left to explore what is really happening. Which brings me to ....
The plot twist at the end
The twist at the end had potential to be good if it wasn't all but spelled out about halfway through the book already. From the moment we met the MMC it was clear to me this was the fae mate the FMC had been running from. There is foreshadowing and there is spoiling the twist long before it's meant to be revealed.
I am usually a person who feels the need to finish a series once I have started it but after reading the first book I feel absolutely no rush to purchase the next book (if ever).
Graphic: Sexual assault, Violence, Stalking, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Murder, Misogyny, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Sexual violence
shan_lou's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.0
Graphic: Rape, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Death, Death of parent, Gore, Suicide, Toxic friendship, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Violence, Misogyny, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt
kingrosereads's review
- 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
Graphic: Misogyny and Sexism
Moderate: Suicide attempt, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Gaslighting, Death of parent, Death, Violence, Sexual content, Religious bigotry, Kidnapping, Gore, Blood, and Physical abuse
Minor: Pedophilia and Stalking
kristakp's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Murder, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, Stalking, Suicide attempt, and Violence
Moderate: Cursing, Death, Gore, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Death of parent, Pedophilia, and Xenophobia