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4.33 AVERAGE
4.33 AVERAGE
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
The light hearted fantasy with a side kick of romance are a wonderful pairing in this novel!
inspiring
lighthearted
relaxing
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
This book and The Spellshop are on opposite ends of the spectrum, and to be brutally honest, I almost don't want to believe they were written by the same author.
First, this was absolutely /not/ low stakes like The Spellshop was, and it didn't hold the same charm as I couldn't relate with Terlu as much - she created Caz out of loneliness, while Kiela /enjoyed being alone/ - introvert things, I guess. I would've been okay with just this, but... unfortunately, it doesn't get better.
Second, there was no witty, fun banter between the characters, which I'd loved between Kiela and Caz. The side characters just appeared a bit too randomly for my liking (and started spouting sudden backstories nobody cared about) that it felt more like filler material, hence I couldn't get attached to them.
Third, there was no chemistry between the FL and ML so the romance felt terribly forced and rushed. Was it just me who thought Yarrow was being pathetic, getting Terlu to talk to his family for him? I mean, /come on/, them starting to act like they knew best how to act for the other was a clear recipe for disaster, but plot armor, I guess.
Lastly, Terlu feels closer to a typical annoyingly insecure cozy fantasy FL and tbh if she'd said "she can feel herself blush" or allude to blushing one more time, I'd have shot myself. Halfway into the book and I was DONE with all the blushing. We get it, she blushes a lot, her entire personality is blushing, insecurity, and Yarrow. Jesus.
I quite had to slog through this. Did anyone notice, when she says the heat of the false sun was sucking the moisture out of her, that she was baked as a honey cake? But she also described it earlier as really moist? I'm so annoyed with this book that I'm actually nitpicking, haha.
Overall, this book tried to be too many things at once - and haphazardly. It was overly long and convoluted in a way you can't enjoy, which was a great disappointment to me.
First, this was absolutely /not/ low stakes like The Spellshop was, and it didn't hold the same charm as I couldn't relate with Terlu as much - she created Caz out of loneliness, while Kiela /enjoyed being alone/ - introvert things, I guess. I would've been okay with just this, but... unfortunately, it doesn't get better.
Second, there was no witty, fun banter between the characters, which I'd loved between Kiela and Caz. The side characters just appeared a bit too randomly for my liking (and started spouting sudden backstories nobody cared about) that it felt more like filler material, hence I couldn't get attached to them.
Third, there was no chemistry between the FL and ML so the romance felt terribly forced and rushed. Was it just me who thought Yarrow was being pathetic, getting Terlu to talk to his family for him? I mean, /come on/, them starting to act like they knew best how to act for the other was a clear recipe for disaster, but plot armor, I guess.
Lastly, Terlu feels closer to a typical annoyingly insecure cozy fantasy FL and tbh if she'd said "she can feel herself blush" or allude to blushing one more time, I'd have shot myself. Halfway into the book and I was DONE with all the blushing. We get it, she blushes a lot, her entire personality is blushing, insecurity, and Yarrow. Jesus.
I quite had to slog through this. Did anyone notice, when she says the heat of the false sun was sucking the moisture out of her, that she was baked as a honey cake? But she also described it earlier as really moist? I'm so annoyed with this book that I'm actually nitpicking, haha.
Overall, this book tried to be too many things at once - and haphazardly. It was overly long and convoluted in a way you can't enjoy, which was a great disappointment to me.
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
hopeful
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
emotional
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-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
adventurous
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
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
my actual rating is between 3.75 and 4, if there was like a 3.95 or something, that is what i would do. it wasn't as good as other books i rate 4 stars, but less is also too low so i decided to round up because it was a fun read!
i LOVE TALKING non-humans, animals or plants? adore it and this book had many talking plants with their ownpronouns!!! so cute
i called thelocation for the spell just before they did, of course it was in the cave. i did like how they figured out the cause, an incomplete spell that he didn't get to undo before he died is pretty smart. and it meant she didn't have to pull something wild out of her imagination to fix it
i liked the quirks of the characters -she being good with languages and he loving to bake/cook?! the dream
i think the reason why it wasn't a proper 4 was that the conflictbetween him and his family was resolved very quickly and tbh, i don't think he needed to apologise... they left him and they should know how he communicates (which is non-existent) so of course he wouldn't reply to the letters.
i liked how this book was linked to the first one and i hopeshe gets reunited with caz in the next book!
i LOVE TALKING non-humans, animals or plants? adore it and this book had many talking plants with their own
i called the
i liked the quirks of the characters -
i think the reason why it wasn't a proper 4 was that the conflict
i liked how this book was linked to the first one and i hope
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment
Minor: Death, Fire/Fire injury
slow-paced