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manaledi's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
slow-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? No
3.75
While the names were Arthurian, the book overall wasn't particularly. Also definitely darker than I'd expected. A slow read for me as it's been a busy week. It felt good but not for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Violence
Moderate: Blood, Gore, Abandonment, Fire/Fire injury, Child death, Classism, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, and Physical abuse
kirstenf's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Blood, Death, Death of parent, Violence, Grief, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Vomit
lenarthoe's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
The end was extremely confusing
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, and Vomit
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, and Child abuse
lackyducks's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
This book feels like an enigma to me. The writing isn't bad. The world it's set in is creative and interesting. However, I just failed to connect to the characters and the story.
It is almost a third of the book before you reach the true main plotline. A lot of things feel simply like they're just unnecessary. Why introduce not being able to see magic as such a big part of Tamsin's character if it's simply going to be fixed in a couple of pages? This whole plot point could have used so much more weight, instead it's relegated to the occasional mention and only a few lines of dialogue in reaction by the other characters. The Hand of Glory felt like the author was really trying to make us know it's supposed to be important, but it doesn't feel that way when it kept getting forgotten by the author - not the character. The entire plot with Septimus also just felt superfluous.
As I got into the last third of the book, I started to connect with it more. But it was such a slog to get to that point I almost didn't make it. The story has everything going for me that I'm usually interested in - it just failed to connect.
If you're somebody who enjoys shows like Riverdale, then you'll likely enjoy this. It just wasn't for me.
Also the cliffhanger definitely wasn't for me. I like my books to actually be completed stories.
It is almost a third of the book before you reach the true main plotline. A lot of things feel simply like they're just unnecessary. Why introduce not being able to see magic as such a big part of Tamsin's character if it's simply going to be fixed in a couple of pages? This whole plot point could have used so much more weight, instead it's relegated to the occasional mention and only a few lines of dialogue in reaction by the other characters. The Hand of Glory felt like the author was really trying to make us know it's supposed to be important, but it doesn't feel that way when it kept getting forgotten by the author - not the character. The entire plot with Septimus also just felt superfluous.
As I got into the last third of the book, I started to connect with it more. But it was such a slog to get to that point I almost didn't make it. The story has everything going for me that I'm usually interested in - it just failed to connect.
If you're somebody who enjoys shows like Riverdale, then you'll likely enjoy this. It just wasn't for me.
Also the cliffhanger definitely wasn't for me. I like my books to actually be completed stories.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Medical content, Domestic abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Child abuse, Death of parent, Gore, Grief, Mental illness, and Murder
Moderate: Physical abuse
oscarewilde's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.25
When it takes 300 pages for me to become even vaguely interested in the plot or characters it’s really not a good sign.
Unsure where to begin with this review, as I found so many aspects of this book enormously frustrating. Spoiler alert for the whole thing, as I’m just talking about the issues I had with the characters/plot/writing:
Unsure where to begin with this review, as I found so many aspects of this book enormously frustrating. Spoiler alert for the whole thing, as I’m just talking about the issues I had with the characters/plot/writing:
- My god the lack of explanation for the magic system and the world building! The librarian, as an example, was so confusing, and it took until around the fourth mention until we find out it’s a mechanical person and not a human/ghost/monster/animal. Author needs to keep in mind that we cannot see what’s going on inside her head, we need subtitles 😭 Still have no clue on the differences between sorceresses, cunningfolk, and druids, or how the magical system (if there is one) actually works.
- Tamsin is not a good protagonist, she has a wealth of abandonment issues that are touched on but never fully addressed, and they also don’t seem to impact her actions in any meaningful way. How does she feel about Nash? Who knows! Her opinion on him seems to change with the wind. She’s also unbearably stubborn and cynical, which is fair enough in doses, but when she lashes out unnecessarily and without cause at the other characters constantly, it becomes very grating. She’s not pleasant (and not even unpleasant in a deliciously villainous way) she’s just annoying and mean.
- Neve was an infinitely more interesting character than Tamsin, yet we still knew nothing about her besides the fact she’s kind and quirky.
- Tamsin caring about Cabell isn’t enough to make him interesting or the reader invested in what happens to him. This isn’t a kid, it’s a grown ass man, stop babying him when you’re the one with the clear emotional issues!
- Also, I had such a problem with trying to age these characters in my head as they were barely described before moving swiftly on with the plot. I’m still in the dark as to how old any of these characters were even after having read the entire book.
- The last 70 or so pages are such an enormous departure from the rest of the story,
the ensuing violence and death is so wildly unnecessary. The aforementioned violence would’ve been more impactful if I’d been able to identify the knights via more than just ‘doctor’, ‘cook’, or ‘gardener’, they weren’t fleshed out in the slightest so their primary occupations/hobbies had to be used as distinguishing features. Realistically, Cabell had to survive the massacre to provide motivation for Tamsin, otherwise what reason would she have to continue fighting? It seems beyond the realm of possibility that a group of characters having witnessed such traumatising events just hours prior would be able to go on to defeat the villain, but obviously they will 😐 The whole setup for saving the world from the apocalypse means the book finished on one of my most loathed fantasy tropes, ‘magic in the modern human world’ which was the final nail in the coffin of my not reading the sequel. Tamsin never using the sword (that only lit up with magic flames for her!!!) and instead letting Emrys use it whilst wielding an axe against monsters who were afraid of fire was bafflingly stupid on every occasion it occurred. It was obviously for a ‘reveal’ re the sword but was so mind bogglingly idiotic at the time it did not make the payoff worth it. You’re telling me a kitten could hide from the Children/Death King but a wily and intelligent small child couldn’t? Alright. Tbf if the kitten died I would’ve stopped reading instantly. The extra quarter star is for Emrys dipping at the end, it was so unexpected it actually made me laugh out loud. If we had literally the smallest glimpse into the motivations of the characters then maybe this decision would’ve felt more meaningful? - Calling this Arthurian was a real stretch. I was so excited to read it as it’s something I would’ve picked up had I not received it in a Fairyloot monthly box anyway. Ended up being very disappointed in it though, and almost DNF on multiple occasions throughout. Only finished as I was reading along with my friend who wanted to discuss the ending 🫡
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Violence, and Death
Minor: Animal death, Child death, Fire/Fire injury, War, Blood, Death, Death of parent, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail
paigeinabook's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Child death, Death of parent, Dysphoria, Murder, Religious bigotry, Cannibalism, Grief, Abandonment, Death, Gaslighting, Gore, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Confinement, Genocide, Medical content, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Outing, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, and Xenophobia
leedolee's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
This book actually ripped my heart out.
And I loved every second of it.
And I loved every second of it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Classism, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Murder, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Violence, Child abuse, Abandonment, Animal cruelty, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Cannibalism, Confinement, Gore, Medical content, Self harm, and War
bookishflower's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- 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? Yes
5.0
14/15+
Thank you BKMRK for sending me an arc!
Okay, I have no idea how to review this spoiler-free, but I will try my best!
I’ve had a complicated relationship with Alexandra Bracken’s writing in the past, where I’ve enjoyed the premise but something fell flat, but this lived up to my expectations and more.
The atmosphere and world building was beautiful, haunting and unique- especially impressive given the abundance of Arthurian inspired media. (I’m a BBC Merlin girl, I love it all).
Tamsin was wonderfully fascinating, flawed and determined. I’d actually love to see her explore a darker side of herself in the next book, it would make a really interesting dynamic with *redacted*. I’d also like to see more hollower heists…
Emrys is joining the lovable-bastards-with-secret-hearts-of-gold club. (Very catchy, I know).
The found family provided the relief necessary among the surprisingly dark world of Avalon. There were a lot of side characters that blurred together and got confusing after a while, but the story mostly focused on the main 8 (give or take) characters so this wasn’t too much of a concern.
The characterisation, plot, pacing, and world building were all amazing. Definitely recommend and after that ending I’ll be needed the sequel as soon as possible!
Thank you BKMRK for sending me an arc!
Okay, I have no idea how to review this spoiler-free, but I will try my best!
I’ve had a complicated relationship with Alexandra Bracken’s writing in the past, where I’ve enjoyed the premise but something fell flat, but this lived up to my expectations and more.
The atmosphere and world building was beautiful, haunting and unique- especially impressive given the abundance of Arthurian inspired media. (I’m a BBC Merlin girl, I love it all).
Tamsin was wonderfully fascinating, flawed and determined. I’d actually love to see her explore a darker side of herself in the next book, it would make a really interesting dynamic with *redacted*. I’d also like to see more hollower heists…
Emrys is joining the lovable-bastards-with-secret-hearts-of-gold club. (Very catchy, I know).
The found family provided the relief necessary among the surprisingly dark world of Avalon. There were a lot of side characters that blurred together and got confusing after a while, but the story mostly focused on the main 8 (give or take) characters so this wasn’t too much of a concern.
The characterisation, plot, pacing, and world building were all amazing. Definitely recommend and after that ending I’ll be needed the sequel as soon as possible!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Blood, Genocide, Abandonment, Grief, Body horror, Death, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Death of parent, Child death, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Alcohol and Alcoholism
uranaishi's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- 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? No
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Death, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Child abuse, Child death, Medical content, Abandonment, Blood, Classism, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, Violence, and War
Minor: Chronic illness, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Sexual content, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Confinement, Cursing, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, and Vomit
lastblossom's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
tl;dr
Loosely based on Arthurian legend and featuring an exceedingly pragmatic main character, this book takes a bit to get going, but doesn't let up once it does.
Thoughts
I stayed up way later than I expected finishing this (oops). The opening of this book was, for me, a bit slow. It took some time to get all the world building and the main plot moving, but just as I was getting used to the pace, it took off at a run and never stopped. And WOW! What a run. This tale is inspired by Arthurian legend, but it takes the pieces and creates its own story full of plot twists that kept me guessing the whole way through. Tamsin is a difficult main character. On the one hand, I appreciate not having an eternally hopeful ray of sunshine who always believes the best in people. Sometime a girl's gotta be pragmatic. But there were times when her jaded worldview got in her way, which I probably hate because it's a little too relatable. Thankfully some of the other characters balance out her (mostly) warranted cynicism, with Neve the energetic sorceress being a standout favorite. And speaking of other characters, there's the start of what might be an enemies to lovers romance, with a fade to black-style night spent together (how far they went is unclear). Emrys is as complicated as Tamsin, and I really like how their relationship has progressed so far, but his motives a very unclear, so now I must await book two for answers.
Thanks to NetGalley and Knopf Books for Young Readers for an advance copy. All thoughts here are my own.
Loosely based on Arthurian legend and featuring an exceedingly pragmatic main character, this book takes a bit to get going, but doesn't let up once it does.
Thoughts
I stayed up way later than I expected finishing this (oops). The opening of this book was, for me, a bit slow. It took some time to get all the world building and the main plot moving, but just as I was getting used to the pace, it took off at a run and never stopped. And WOW! What a run. This tale is inspired by Arthurian legend, but it takes the pieces and creates its own story full of plot twists that kept me guessing the whole way through. Tamsin is a difficult main character. On the one hand, I appreciate not having an eternally hopeful ray of sunshine who always believes the best in people. Sometime a girl's gotta be pragmatic. But there were times when her jaded worldview got in her way, which I probably hate because it's a little too relatable. Thankfully some of the other characters balance out her (mostly) warranted cynicism, with Neve the energetic sorceress being a standout favorite. And speaking of other characters, there's the start of what might be an enemies to lovers romance, with a fade to black-style night spent together (how far they went is unclear). Emrys is as complicated as Tamsin, and I really like how their relationship has progressed so far, but his motives a very unclear, so now I must await book two for answers.
Thanks to NetGalley and Knopf Books for Young Readers for an advance copy. All thoughts here are my own.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Death, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Murder, Classism, Blood, and Violence
Minor: Suicide
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