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3.52 AVERAGE
3.52 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I liked seeing a different perspective within the Faerie world pre-cruel prince. But the story felt rushed and incomplete. Idk just didn't sit amazingly.
For reasons that I think are perfectly reasonable, this is not Holly Black's greatest work, and I knew that going in, but I just really wasn't ready to leave behind the world I had fallen in love with in "The Folk of the Air" series and so I took a chance anyways.
This definitely sheds a beautiful light on what YA from the early 2000s was like and it really gives off an air of trying too hard to be something it's not. The fae world is always cooler than the human world and I suppose that Black did a really clean job of juxtaposing those worlds in this series.
I don't love the very obvious age gap between a minor and a clearly grown adult fae. That hasn't aged well in my opinion.
But I do love how weird and creepy and not pretty it all is. Holly Black is so good at writing beautiful and creepy together in the perfect way.
Perhaps I'll keep going, perhaps I won't. Perhaps I'll just read The Cruel Prince over again.
This definitely sheds a beautiful light on what YA from the early 2000s was like and it really gives off an air of trying too hard to be something it's not. The fae world is always cooler than the human world and I suppose that Black did a really clean job of juxtaposing those worlds in this series.
I don't love the very obvious age gap between a minor and a clearly grown adult fae. That hasn't aged well in my opinion.
But I do love how weird and creepy and not pretty it all is. Holly Black is so good at writing beautiful and creepy together in the perfect way.
Perhaps I'll keep going, perhaps I won't. Perhaps I'll just read The Cruel Prince over again.
originally posted on goodreads in 2009
I read this when I was 11 and loved it. Why? Because the love interest (man) was domineering, took control, and was amusing. But that was all a load of bullshit misogyny conditioned into my adolescent mind to make me believe that you can change an abusive asshole, that you're supposed to find violence against women funny, romantic, and/or hot. It's not.
There is one scene that I remember clear as day: The main character refused to do as the guy demanded and walked away saying "kiss my ass." He takes it literally, yanks her back by her jeans thereby hurting her, throws her on the ground to inflict further pain, rips her jeans off in front of everyone in the diner and humiliating her, and plants his disgusting lips on her ass. This is only their first meeting together, mind you. I thought it was amusing as a kid but hindsight is 20/20. That is how we teach kids that being an abusive guy is okay. IT'S NOT OKAY!!!!! And writers need to stop writing this kind of bullshit and romanticizing it.
I understand Holly Black is a huge fan and friend of an author with a history of trolling and bullying (Cassandra Clare). They also collaborate often. All of the drama caused by Clare and Holly backing her so adamantly—look, I know it was years ago and I know she's ride-or-die for her friend. Clare didn't deserve to get harassed as badly as she did, especially for "plagiarizing" her own fanfic, but I have yet to see so much as a half-assed apology from Clare for going after teenagers as an adult and doing shit like telling kids their parents should have aborted them. Again, I know it was a long time ago, but watching that shitshow unfold like it did left a sour taste in my mouth that I won't soon forget.
I read this when I was 11 and loved it. Why? Because the love interest (man) was domineering, took control, and was amusing. But that was all a load of bullshit misogyny conditioned into my adolescent mind to make me believe that you can change an abusive asshole, that you're supposed to find violence against women funny, romantic, and/or hot. It's not.
There is one scene that I remember clear as day: The main character refused to do as the guy demanded and walked away saying "kiss my ass." He takes it literally, yanks her back by her jeans thereby hurting her, throws her on the ground to inflict further pain, rips her jeans off in front of everyone in the diner and humiliating her, and plants his disgusting lips on her ass. This is only their first meeting together, mind you. I thought it was amusing as a kid but hindsight is 20/20. That is how we teach kids that being an abusive guy is okay. IT'S NOT OKAY!!!!! And writers need to stop writing this kind of bullshit and romanticizing it.
I understand Holly Black is a huge fan and friend of an author with a history of trolling and bullying (Cassandra Clare). They also collaborate often. All of the drama caused by Clare and Holly backing her so adamantly—look, I know it was years ago and I know she's ride-or-die for her friend. Clare didn't deserve to get harassed as badly as she did, especially for "plagiarizing" her own fanfic, but I have yet to see so much as a half-assed apology from Clare for going after teenagers as an adult and doing shit like telling kids their parents should have aborted them. Again, I know it was a long time ago, but watching that shitshow unfold like it did left a sour taste in my mouth that I won't soon forget.
adventurous
dark
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
adventurous
dark
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
So stupid. The characters were so unrealistic, stereotypical, and extremely boring. There was instances that were extremely unnecessary for the plot to continue and just muddled things up even more. Plus, the main character has an unrealistic life, and trust people she should be wary of. Personally, I will never read Holly Black again. This book completely ruined my opinion of her. If this is what her other books are like, then take them off of the shelves!!! I will never read this book ever again, and I do not recommend it to anyone else.
The way this story feels and the way this story weaves… felt more like a tale told for younger me. It felt as if I was reading this for her and kept thinking how I would have loved this. This book helped me travel through time, something I didn’t expect it would.
Definitely not as good as the cruel prince or darkest side of the forest, but older so i get it. Kaye is a fun fmc to read and so is roibon. not a big fan of the 16 year old/ageless fae combo.