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reading_ani's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Violence, Animal cruelty, and Death
Moderate: Blood, Body horror, Murder, and Grief
iz_kap1225's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Graphic: Pregnancy, Child death, Gore, War, Murder, Death, Animal death, Death of parent, and Violence
beckyyreadss's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This book is told from Serilda’s point of view. She was cursed by the god of lies and has developed a talent for storytelling. Serilda and Gild cannot break the curses that tether their spirits to Adalheid’s haunted castle. There they remain trapped for eternity. On the night of the Endless Moon, the Erlking means to capture one of the seven gods and so be reunited with his lovers, Perchta, who has been banished to the underworld. But it soon becomes clear that the Erlking’s hunger for vengeance won’t be satisfied with a single wish, and his true intentions have the power to alter the mortal realm forever. Serilda and Gild have no choice but to thwart his plans, all the while solving the mystery of Gild’s forgotten name and freeing all the ghosts kept in servitude to the dark ones. As the evil forces gather, it seems only their love is strong enough to sustain them. This book is a young adult fantasy.
This series has been difficult. The world building wasn’t there and there wasn’t much character building expect that Serilda is a storyteller and she’s trying to save her boyfriend and she’s pregnant and protecting kids. I think I also struggled with this book as I didn’t understand all the God analogy of it. Serilda was a damsel in distress that was trying to save herself but just couldn’t and then rejected help and is still wanting to save herself but won’t leave Gild. Erikling’s got some back story in this, but I would have loved to have fallen for villain in this book rather than the MCs. Gild’s sister sort of saved this book and I would have loved for her to be the hero and then had to be getting the sunlight. I hated how it ended and I don’t think Serilda deserved the happy ending for being a mischievous liar.
Graphic: Death, Child death, and Violence
Moderate: Confinement, Blood, and Pregnancy
Minor: Death of parent
trulyhopelessromantic's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Graphic: Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Child death, Death of parent, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Murder, War, Blood, Pregnancy, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Grief, Death, Gore, and Violence
indieandajean's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Marissa Meyer continues to have the perfect stranglehold on romance tropes that make my heart race. Someone give this woman a medal, seriously.
The pacing of this one was a bit too fast at times and a touch too slow at others and the new conflicts at every turn didn't offer much breathing room for Serilda and Gild's relationship which is my favorite element of the duology. I wish this book had some more moments of them talking and just being together to ease the conflict a bit.
Overall the HEA feels earned and the story was great, but this is the weaker book in the duology in my opinion.
Moderate: Blood, Death, Violence, and Child death
Minor: Dysphoria, Infertility, and Pregnancy
maidmarianlib's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Moderate: Kidnapping, Animal cruelty, Violence, and Animal death
rbircumshaw's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Graphic: Child death and Violence
nrogers_1030's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Violence, Animal cruelty, Grief, Pregnancy, Animal death, Death, Murder, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, and Child death
Moderate: Torture and Confinement
Minor: Infertility
mznomer's review against another edition
- Diverse cast of characters? No
Graphic: Violence and Gore
erebus53's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This fairytale retelling is quite different to Meyer's more futuristic Lunar Chronicles, as it keeps its roots firmly in the pseudomedieval past. It does have twists though. It's not set in OUR past. It is a distinct world with different (but similar) gods and monsters. I found myself well at home with griffons and basilisks (though I did go wandering to figure out whether it's a basilisk or a cockatrice, and found that in most literature the two names are interchangeable).
Having a character who is blessed/cursed to be a storyteller, prone to lying or withholding the truth, was agonising for me to read (as a compulsive blurt) but it was consistent and true to the character. It was good to run into some of the bit-characters that were in the first book too.
Having been grossly disappointed by the Stars Above short story collection and it's frustratingly boring weddings and heteronormative drivel, it was really refreshing for me to see how Meyer challenged that in this book. For starters the gods in her pantheon transcend gender. Each of them is referred to as They, rather than He or Her, and why not; these are powerful beings who can change their form at will. The other thing that made me smile was that two of the weddings in the story were gay marriages (not an eyelid batted nor an eyebrow raised thank goodness!). Having a huge celebration and joyous whimsy directly after a huge boss battle felt like a load off from the drear and tense parts of the story, and I enjoyed it despite myself. (Bring it in Marissa, all is forgiven).
Graphic: Violence, Animal death, Confinement, Death of parent, Gore, Animal cruelty, Death, Blood, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, and Torture