Reviews - Misrule | The StoryGraph

1.74k reviews for:

Misrule

Heather Walter

3.74 AVERAGE

clancydrools's review against another edition

5.0

another banger of a sexy fairytale, couldn't put it down

narzou7's review against another edition

4.0

4.25 ✨ so much to enjoy about the second installment of this duology: the complexity of Aurora and Alice’s relationship, all the characters of the Dark Court, and all the twists and turns of a great “hurt people hurt people” story ❤️ though not going to lie, I thought it was so dumb that Alice didn’t wake up Aurora earlier… you had 100 years to think about it and still didn’t put the well being of the person you supposedly love over their memories of you?

eprov's review against another edition

4.0

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective tense 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

aproperbookishbabe's review against another edition

4.5

emotional tense medium-paced

shortiegingerpants's review against another edition

4.0

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

mec6301's review against another edition

3.5

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

i thought this was much better than the first one. at its core seems to be the idea that for both ourselves and our sociopolitical worlds, we are limited most by our lack of ability to imagine a better future. without the belief that a better, more just, kinder world is possible, we will be trapped by prejudice and the lust for revenge in cycles of violence. i appreciated the accompanying exploration of people betraying each other’s trust but for a noble purpose (is there such thing as right and wrong in these scenarios? do the ends justify the means? how can we apply this lens to the history we have been taught?). the value placed on community for overcoming trauma was also very nice. i thought adding more vila and shifters, as well as introducing the demons, goblins, and imps made for a much fuller and more interesting world.

my biggest issue with this book is the romance between alyce and aurora. yes, alyce was still infuriating to me with her complete self-absorption and complete lack of self-awareness, but much of this can be explained away by her being a ya fantasy protagonist on a journey which explores the above themes. but so much of the book hinges on the idea that there is this fierce, curse-defying, centuries-lasting love between aurora and alyce that underpins the many, MANY arguments, contrasting worldviews, and betrayals between the pair. i love a bit of toxic yuri, but they did not have a strong enough foundation for me to believe their relationship could outlast all their differences.

overall, i was much more interested in the plot and characters of this book than the first in the duology, although i still felt like i was kind of pushing myself through it until the last 30% of the book. i will be staying away from fantasy and DEFINITELY from ya for the foreseeable future.