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everybody's review against another edition
2.0
This was so close to good but unfortunately, it just isn't.
The MCs attraction to the love interest is wholly unbelievable and has no basis whatsoever beyond him being hot. That's it. That wouldn't be so bad if it wasn't one of the core conflicts of the entire story even beyond this first book.
It makes this entire aspect of the book ring hollow.
Usually, in these kinds of romances, there is no justification whatsoever for the strong male love interest to actually be into the unremarkable MC. In this one, it's the exact opposite. The only thing I can say about the guy is that he is just pathetic. I think the author aimed for a strong female lead but didn't realize how she weakened the characters around her in the process to make her appear stronger.
Luckily the MC has no problem lusting after any and all hot man-flesh that crosses her path despite being clearly hung up on the bad-for-her love interest. This is something I personally disliked a lot but that is more preference than an outright objective flaw I guess. It makes the MC appear inconsistent and flighty because it contradicts her obvious obsession with the love interest.
One thing I should maybe mention is that you could technically categorize it as a love triangle in a way but one of the guys so does this still count? It seems very clear to me that one of them is the "real" love interest though.
One thing this book got right was the actual dark faery part. It's horrific and depressing but it almost goes too far because there is literally nothing redeeming there. The faeries are presented in such a bad light that I wouldn't have any objection against literal faery genocide which weakens quite a few plot points that seem to aim for at least partial redemption for some of them.
I want to now mention that the number of unlikely coincidences that help the story along is enormous. Many of the events that are critical to steering the plot don't have a good justification if any at all.
At least all the plot steering pressure is taken off the MC this way so she doesn't have to be stupid beyond the strange romance without any chemistry at all.
The author couldn't resist the typical meta-writing where the MC points out what kind of stupid or unrealistic decisions a typical clichée MC in a book might have made if placed in the same circumstances. She does this often enough to come across as digs at other books which she really can't afford considering the staggering number of inconsistencies in this book.
I really like where the story started to go towards the end especially but I am not sure if I can get over the many shortcomings and I don't expect it (judging from my experience) to get any better in later volumes.
The MCs attraction to the love interest is wholly unbelievable and has no basis whatsoever beyond him being hot. That's it. That wouldn't be so bad if it wasn't one of the core conflicts of the entire story even beyond this first book.
It makes this entire aspect of the book ring hollow.
Usually, in these kinds of romances, there is no justification whatsoever for the strong male love interest to actually be into the unremarkable MC. In this one, it's the exact opposite. The only thing I can say about the guy is that he is just pathetic. I think the author aimed for a strong female lead but didn't realize how she weakened the characters around her in the process to make her appear stronger.
Luckily the MC has no problem lusting after any and all hot man-flesh that crosses her path despite being clearly hung up on the bad-for-her love interest. This is something I personally disliked a lot but that is more preference than an outright objective flaw I guess. It makes the MC appear inconsistent and flighty because it contradicts her obvious obsession with the love interest.
One thing I should maybe mention is that you could technically categorize it as a love triangle in a way but one of the guys
Spoiler
is kind of not even real and lives only in the MCs dreamsOne thing this book got right was the actual dark faery part. It's horrific and depressing but it almost goes too far because there is literally nothing redeeming there. The faeries are presented in such a bad light that I wouldn't have any objection against literal faery genocide which weakens quite a few plot points that seem to aim for at least partial redemption for some of them.
I want to now mention that the number of unlikely coincidences that help the story along is enormous. Many of the events that are critical to steering the plot don't have a good justification if any at all.
At least all the plot steering pressure is taken off the MC this way so she doesn't have to be stupid beyond the strange romance without any chemistry at all.
The author couldn't resist the typical meta-writing where the MC points out what kind of stupid or unrealistic decisions a typical clichée MC in a book might have made if placed in the same circumstances. She does this often enough to come across as digs at other books which she really can't afford considering the staggering number of inconsistencies in this book.
I really like where the story started to go towards the end especially but I am not sure if I can get over the many shortcomings and I don't expect it (judging from my experience) to get any better in later volumes.
manjala's review against another edition
3.0
While this was quite a bit tropey and predictable at first, I surprisingly actually ended up enjoying this quite a bit in the end!
The characters were fun, and even though I didn't expect to, I ended up liking them. At first glance I was afraid that our narrating character would be the annoying "YA girl main character" trope, but that actually ended up not really being the case for me. Fortuna felt like a whole, human character once we got to know her better. Her powers were really interesting, and her bond with her brother felt realistic.
The trials were also really fun to read about, and I liked the writing style. It was super easy to read; this is one of those books where you can just turn off your brain and enjoy the ride, with some nice lines in between.
Normally I'm not the one to read urban fantasy, but in this case it was a balanced combination of contemporary and fantasy elements in my opinion.
One flaw I can see bothering people (and it did feel a little weird to me as well) is that this book feels more like a first half of a whole, rather than a start-to-finish story. I started the audiobook for book 2 right away, and that confirmed this thought for me; it left off in a bit of a weird spot.
The characters were fun, and even though I didn't expect to, I ended up liking them. At first glance I was afraid that our narrating character would be the annoying "YA girl main character" trope, but that actually ended up not really being the case for me. Fortuna felt like a whole, human character once we got to know her better. Her powers were really interesting, and her bond with her brother felt realistic.
The trials were also really fun to read about, and I liked the writing style. It was super easy to read; this is one of those books where you can just turn off your brain and enjoy the ride, with some nice lines in between.
Normally I'm not the one to read urban fantasy, but in this case it was a balanced combination of contemporary and fantasy elements in my opinion.
One flaw I can see bothering people (and it did feel a little weird to me as well) is that this book feels more like a first half of a whole, rather than a start-to-finish story. I started the audiobook for book 2 right away, and that confirmed this thought for me; it left off in a bit of a weird spot.
charloreadsbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
slow_sloth's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- 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? Yes
2.0
kimsbookmoon's review against another edition
Not connecting with the main character at all.
maiplereads's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
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? No
4.0
fortuna is one of the most determined & powerful FMCs i have ever read about, she is magnificent and absolutely relentless and i adore her
absolutely obsessed with laurie & collith too... that tiktok sound "capital B.. BOAF" comes to mind 🤭
itching to find out whether or not oliver is actually real or if he truly is just in her head... also itching to find out what the fuck is going on with damon
also that ENDING?! miss frosty pants viessa is alive??? and why did she try & kill my bae collith when they were lovers???? i hope to god he's not actually evil or something or i will be devastated
absolutely obsessed with laurie & collith too... that tiktok sound "capital B.. BOAF" comes to mind 🤭
also that ENDING?! miss frosty pants viessa is alive??? and why did she try & kill my bae collith when they were lovers???? i hope to god he's not actually evil or something or i will be devastated
cunningempress's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.5
freja_ts's review against another edition
imma be real with you, i gave up after five chapters - within the first chapter i was like "that's... racist?" three times and then i learned its a fae dark romance. is not for me
kiri_and_baki's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 ⭐️
The cliffhanger at the end left me GAGGED. So even though I thought halfway through I would NOT read book two - I see now that I HAVE to - because I have SO many questions I need answered
The cliffhanger at the end left me GAGGED. So even though I thought halfway through I would NOT read book two - I see now that I HAVE to - because I have SO many questions I need answered