Reviews tagging 'Murder'

A Winter's Promise by Christelle Dabos

37 reviews

itsreirei's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? N/A
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I am soooo conflicted. I cannot in good conscience give this book a better rating...I REALLY wanted to like it but uhh...my brain was melting while reading it. 

This is an extremely slow start to the series, lots of information yet there's somehow even more things left unsaid and unclear. The characters are all two-faced and full of secrets, refuse to communicate - which wouldn't necessarily be a problem but it was just a lot, since it's not what I expected at all. 

This is a very heavy book to read (tbh, could've been a good 100+ pages shorter), NOT a fun ride, one has to put time and brain power into consuming it. 

I'll have to wait with continuing the sequels but also I am admittedly very intrigued to know what the fuck is happening because BOY was there a lot in here...

PS.: I ain't joking with the CWs, I might even have left out some, bruh

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stephaniemcuervo's review

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adventurous mysterious tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0


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scribewarden's review against another edition

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

3.5


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kindredkayjay's review

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

4.5

Warning for spoilers.

I've seen the reviews of people disliking this book because of the way Ophelia is hardly treated like a person the entire time, and I understand it. Believe me, I was infuriated for Ophelia 95% of the time, but also? I'm hoping that she'll get herself to a place where she's proven herself and overcomes what she's faced with in the sequels. The tension between nearly all of the characters and the mystery and learning about the different magic systems with Ophelia was so interesting that I couldn't stop reading. I love a genuinely good hearted character, but what I love even more is a character so terrible that you want nothing more than to see their downfall. It's even more interesting when it's a small handful of decent (questionably decent anyway) characters entering a space full of the most vile people. If you don't enjoy being infuriated for the main character the entire time and hating just about everyone else, this book probably isnt for you. But if you do? Absolutely read it. I really liked it, and I'm reading the sequel soon.

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amazelan's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0


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skudiklier's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated

3.0

Honestly, I just couldn't get into this one. I might have even DNF'd it if it hadn't been an audiobook. It was interesting enough on some levels, and I cared about what happened to Ophelia, but in some ways it just felt like a bunch of sad/frustrating/confusing things happening over and over. Like every once in a while the situation would change but it never got better, and I just didn't feel very engaged on most levels. It's well-written I think but it's just not for me. 

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bialves's review

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5


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royalraspberry's review against another edition

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mysterious
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

This is a really interesting one because I think it's really outside the wheelhouse of what I normally read - I picked it up for a reading challenge because someone had it listed under "book about your favorite season, winter" and that gets a hard disagree from me, but I did put it under "book with a misleading title". 

The writing in this book was absolutely lovely. That said it is 50% world building and 50% political intrigue.  And the world building was absolutely spectacular, I really enjoyed all of it. Dabos has created an incredibly interesting world filled with interesting characters (none of whom are trustworthy, but that's part of the fun). But there was just so *little* plot in the book that I really, really struggled. 

If you're into fantasy books heavy on character development and world building, this is absolutely the right book for you. It's well written and the narrator for the audio book is completely enchanting to listen to, she brings the rich, beautiful world into a new depth. 

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serena_hien's review against another edition

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challenging hopeful mysterious slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • 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

3.5


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japanasi's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

what started as a “mc is not like other girls” quickly became a page turner (look at me, reading 530 pages in two days!); court intrigues and a fascinating magic system, teenage me would have devoured this book !

there’s little romance but I’m assuming it may follow in the sequels; it’s not exactly enemies to lovers but more like “mutual dislike” or indifference to lovers, probably, it’s a slow burn in any case (and we’re talking slow here)

in some parts it didn’t feel like YA novel while in others it certainly did (yay I’m being vague on purpose) 

I very much enjoyed this book, I can’t wait to read the sequel(s)!

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