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thewoollygeek's review against another edition
2.0
I wanted to enjoy this based on the description it sounded so good, but for me it just didn’t do it. I couldn’t connect with the characters, found them unlikeable and didn’t really care what happened to them. It’s confusing at times and I think the characters were confused generally. Sadly not for me couldn’t hold my interest.
Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion
Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion
esotericelixir's review against another edition
1.0
Oh man. This book me a long time to get through because I’d read a few pages and then just get tired of it and put it to the side, but I felt the call in me tonight to just power through it and see how much I could get done in one sitting. Turns out, it didn’t actually take too long to read and I’m not entirely certain that’s a good thing.
There are many TW’s in this book, which have been mentioned before in other reviews so instead of repeating them I implore you to check out this review which has everything I could think of saying: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2643400217
The premise of the book sounded super interesting. Who doesn’t want to read about ancient magic, elves, royal political schemes. Unfortunately it just wasn’t delivered and didn’t live up to the imaginary hype I had in my brain when I requested this book on netgalley.
The characters just seemed so one dimensional that I couldn’t connect with them and we kept switching between them in a manner that wasn’t conducive to having a strong narrative from any POV. The mannerisms of the characters also seemed off, there’s just something icky and off putting, to me, about a YA using the term “daddy” to refer to a father. There was also the fact of ... incest. Yeah. I understand this is a fantasy novel, but I truly can’t be on board with incest being a main LI. It’s not even like they had the characters not know they were related (which while still ew, is less ew than what happened), the two characters grew up together and still were happy to knock boots and ... yeah.
Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
There are many TW’s in this book, which have been mentioned before in other reviews so instead of repeating them I implore you to check out this review which has everything I could think of saying: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2643400217
The premise of the book sounded super interesting. Who doesn’t want to read about ancient magic, elves, royal political schemes. Unfortunately it just wasn’t delivered and didn’t live up to the imaginary hype I had in my brain when I requested this book on netgalley.
The characters just seemed so one dimensional that I couldn’t connect with them and we kept switching between them in a manner that wasn’t conducive to having a strong narrative from any POV. The mannerisms of the characters also seemed off, there’s just something icky and off putting, to me, about a YA using the term “daddy” to refer to a father. There was also the fact of ... incest. Yeah. I understand this is a fantasy novel, but I truly can’t be on board with incest being a main LI. It’s not even like they had the characters not know they were related (which while still ew, is less ew than what happened), the two characters grew up together and still were happy to knock boots and ... yeah.
Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
ishinnatelleth's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
2.0
mckinney_shannon's review against another edition
1.0
I was given an advanced readers copy of "Castle of Lies" by NetGalley for an open an honest review of the book.
With that being said, I really wanted to like this book. The synopsis sounded fantastic, and right up my alley - unfortunately the book didn't deliver for me.
The book is being marketed as YA (Young Adult) Fiction, and I was honestly SHOCKED by topics brought up. From the beginning of the book there is an overtone of severe alcoholism, and it continues throughout. Other topics that I personally think were quite strong, and descriptive for YA fiction include: detailed sexual encounters, incest, inter-species love, violence, talk of rape, and the list goes on and on. Those are some very heavy themes in my opinion for YA Fiction.
On top of the heavy subject matter I found the characters highly impersonal, and unlikable. By the end of it I really couldn't care less about what happened to them. At times things happening in the book were confusing, and not clearly communicated.
The plot was slow, and it barely kept my attention. It took me quite some time to finish this book. To be honest I only finished the book, because I was given an ARC otherwise I probably wouldn't have finished it. It was also (besides the heavy themes) a very typical YA, Fantasy, Romance, and the ending was quite predictable.
The publish date is set for May 7, 2019 as of now if you're interested in the strong subject matter I spoke of. Or, if you just want to see if I am being harsh you could always check it out for yourself. I however wouldn't recommend it, and I definitely wouldn't recommend it for the targeted age group starting at 13 and going up.
Thanks NetGalley for the ARC
With that being said, I really wanted to like this book. The synopsis sounded fantastic, and right up my alley - unfortunately the book didn't deliver for me.
The book is being marketed as YA (Young Adult) Fiction, and I was honestly SHOCKED by topics brought up. From the beginning of the book there is an overtone of severe alcoholism, and it continues throughout. Other topics that I personally think were quite strong, and descriptive for YA fiction include: detailed sexual encounters, incest, inter-species love, violence, talk of rape, and the list goes on and on. Those are some very heavy themes in my opinion for YA Fiction.
On top of the heavy subject matter I found the characters highly impersonal, and unlikable. By the end of it I really couldn't care less about what happened to them. At times things happening in the book were confusing, and not clearly communicated.
The plot was slow, and it barely kept my attention. It took me quite some time to finish this book. To be honest I only finished the book, because I was given an ARC otherwise I probably wouldn't have finished it. It was also (besides the heavy themes) a very typical YA, Fantasy, Romance, and the ending was quite predictable.
The publish date is set for May 7, 2019 as of now if you're interested in the strong subject matter I spoke of. Or, if you just want to see if I am being harsh you could always check it out for yourself. I however wouldn't recommend it, and I definitely wouldn't recommend it for the targeted age group starting at 13 and going up.
Thanks NetGalley for the ARC
megsreads32's review against another edition
3.0
I have no idea how to feel about the relationships in this book but I enjoyed the overall book.
bi characters, poly relationship, poor portrayal of demisexual character, Stockholm syndrome, non-binary character. Trigger warnings: child abuse, talk of rape.
bi characters, poly relationship, poor portrayal of demisexual character, Stockholm syndrome, non-binary character. Trigger warnings: child abuse, talk of rape.
prophetofthepage's review against another edition
3.0
"eARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*
It's not great. Granted, it's not terrible. It's even somewhat amusing. But also it's not great.
The characters seem to change every chapter. One minute Thalia is a manipulative schemer and Percy is sneaky gossip monger, and the next they grow sentimental or helpful even though previous characterization would point otherwise. And with so many POVs, especially in first person, it is strange that it keeps shifting the motivations for each character. I wish the book would have just been told from Thalia's point of view.
It's not great. Granted, it's not terrible. It's even somewhat amusing. But also it's not great.
The characters seem to change every chapter. One minute Thalia is a manipulative schemer and Percy is sneaky gossip monger, and the next they grow sentimental or helpful even though previous characterization would point otherwise. And with so many POVs, especially in first person, it is strange that it keeps shifting the motivations for each character. I wish the book would have just been told from Thalia's point of view.
hurricanecait7's review
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
1.5
bookfan1414's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
4.75
mathildur's review against another edition
3.0
[Arc provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.]
"You made me consider the meaning of days, when my life was a blur of years"
I am, in all honesty, surprised at how much I grew to like this book. In the beginning I struggled to connect with the characters, some of them felt very flat and fell into some stereotypes. But after a while, I got sucked into the plot and the scheming and the relations between the characters. In the end I didn't want to put it down, and now that I have finished it I wish I could read the next book! I am super intrigued by the magic in the book and by where the different characters will end up after the ending of book 1. I feel like most of the main characters turned out being very different from what I first thought in the beginning of the book, which I found to be very fun since it seemed I learned more and more about who they were as opposed to who they pretended to be.
When it comes to some of the things that pulls the rating down for me, plot and characters are the main reasons. The plot is a little hard to stay on board with, as it sometimes is a little all over the place, with a lot of characters doing a lot of different things for a lot of different reasons... at the same time. Character-wise I struggled with how some of them fell a little flat. Some were, at least early on, more or less without personality. In my opinion, this got better as the book went on, but it was a big struggle in the beginning.
Overall I liked this book, it was fun! And I'd love to read the continuation of the series, if and when it comes out.
"You made me consider the meaning of days, when my life was a blur of years"
I am, in all honesty, surprised at how much I grew to like this book. In the beginning I struggled to connect with the characters, some of them felt very flat and fell into some stereotypes. But after a while, I got sucked into the plot and the scheming and the relations between the characters. In the end I didn't want to put it down, and now that I have finished it I wish I could read the next book! I am super intrigued by the magic in the book and by where the different characters will end up after the ending of book 1. I feel like most of the main characters turned out being very different from what I first thought in the beginning of the book, which I found to be very fun since it seemed I learned more and more about who they were as opposed to who they pretended to be.
When it comes to some of the things that pulls the rating down for me, plot and characters are the main reasons. The plot is a little hard to stay on board with, as it sometimes is a little all over the place, with a lot of characters doing a lot of different things for a lot of different reasons... at the same time. Character-wise I struggled with how some of them fell a little flat. Some were, at least early on, more or less without personality. In my opinion, this got better as the book went on, but it was a big struggle in the beginning.
Overall I liked this book, it was fun! And I'd love to read the continuation of the series, if and when it comes out.