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3.85 AVERAGE
3.85 AVERAGE
dark
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Considering I knew nothing going in (and the fact that my expectations were low as this was a book club pick) DAMN was it a fun time. Very easy to read and left in just the perfect spot for #2
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-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
Oei dit was het niet. Plot holes, een zeur van een hoofdpersonage, zij-personages met rare onverstaanbare motivaties en een soepje van een wereld. Zonde!!!
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-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:
Yes
Interesting but surprisingly pro-cop so I'm reluctantly going to read the next book. Mostly for Bobby and Sue.
I predicted that Bobby killed the dad so I can't say the book isn't predictable I'm just surprised Annie hadn't lived. With the way she was basically not a character with how little development she got I thought she would live but something would go wrong and that would be the sequel bait not Sue missing presumed dead (lol predicted that one too).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Forced institutionalization
Moderate: Murder
Minor: Animal death, Violence
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I enjoyed this book, mostly, with come caveats, though I don't plan to continue the series. I liked Adam and the worldbuilding. I like an underpowered protagonist dealing with big issues in their own, unique way. I liked how the author wove in the character's backstory to make him who he was. Overall I liked the plot and story, the characters and the world.
[Spoilers ahead.]
I didn't realllly like the romance. I struggled with Vic, a lot. I don't really like insta-love, which is sort of what happens when the life connection is forged between Adam and Vic. Adam points out, rightfully, that he can't tell if their attraction is real or because of the magic. I liked that. I felt like that could have been explored more. The issue was Vic was just... too perfect. Vic has something traumatic happen to him, he nearly dies, and then finds out there's this whole world of magic, etc. And he's just... fine with it. He's totally chill that there's magic, that he's a Reaper, that he's bi, he has no issues when he's taken into the spirit world and meets Death. He's uber confident in every scene, even when facing down dragons and crazy spirits. Nothing phases him. And he's just 100% sure what he feels for Adam is his feelings and not the magic. He never questions himself. And Vic has, pretty much, a perfect family in opposition to Adam's. They love him. He's not afraid of being rejected by them. He never has to question his place or his relationships, and doesn't have the baggage Adam carries. He's not afraid of showing affection for Adam in public. He's completely confident in himself through all this crazy crap happening around him. Suddenly have a strange guy in your head? Okay, cool. Suddenly find out you work for Death now? Sure, sounds fine. Gotta go hang with some immortals? Just another day. He doesn't struggle with anything the entire book.
He reminds me of the love interest in A Strange and Stubborn Endurance, in that it felt like he was written to be a perfect fit for what the MC needed to get over his own stuff. He can't have his own inner conflict because then he couldn't be there for the MC. It's the same thing as with ASSE. The MC is a walking trauma factory, is essentially a stranger to the love interest, but there's literally nothing that will make the LE turn away from the MC or even give them a moment of pause with standing by them. There is no narrative drama there. The attraction connection didn't sit well with me at first and I only got more uncomfortable with it as the book went on. I was hoping the narrative would do something different and interesting with it, but it was just treated as straightforward. So while Vic is a sweet person I never got invested in him as a character and never felt like he had any room to grow because he's already pretty much perfect and settled into himself. Personally I would have preferred the connection to ease, as the story was sort of hinting at in the middle, and for Adam and Vic to end up as friends.
Full disclosure, I was hoping Adam would end back up with Silver. I found Silver to be a far more interesting character. He had his own inner conflicts, fallout from past mistakes, and potential for character growth. He is messy. Adam points out his cowardice, while never really seeming willing to grasp the underlying circumstances behind it. He points out how Vic is willing to show his affection for him in public, but seems to forget that Vic is doing so in a place where he feels completely safe and has no fear of rejection or retaliation, or expectations of station or tradition. It felt somewhat unfair to Silver, while I can understand Adam's point of view from his past hurt. To me, there is a difference in holding hands in front of your supportive mom's house in your friendly neighborhood and not standing up to your magical nuke of a dad who can imprison you for a 1000 years if you piss him off. Not to discount Vic but he's sort of playing on easy mode.
Romance aside, I was hoping for more from Silver. Even if he never ended back up with Adam I felt like his character had so much more potential for interesting growth. I felt like he and Adam were both trapped, in a lot of ways, by the societies they grew up in and both had to hide aspects of themselves and deny their feelings. Adam could never show affection for a man where he came from and Silver is forbidden from loving a mortal. Adam's life has been shaped by where he came from and he has to learn to grow past that. Silver is the same, just coming from a different direction. They're complicated foils for each other, sides of the same coin. And, to me, that would have made a far more interesting storyline and character dynamic than Adam meeting (and being spiritually bound to) the perfect guy, who has the perfect family, who has zero hang-ups about anything.
I debated continuing, and so peeked at the reviews of the later books. It seems that a good portion of them are from Vic's perspective, so I'm not really sure I'll continue the series. I enjoyed my time with this book and thought it was engaging and interesting. I like Adam, Bobby, Argent, Silver, etc. But I don't really have that much interest in reading more about Vic. This is, again, the same problem I had with A Strange and Stubborn Endurance. Caethari was too perfect through the entire first book and I just wasn't interested in investing more time into someone who had no space to grow. I want messy characters who have to work on themselves and find ways past their issues and trauma amid all the crap going on around them. I'm sure I'd get more of that with Adam. I just feel like I'd get a more interesting and engaging story from that with Silver, than with Vic. I can picture elements of duty, tradition, family trauma, personal identity, and healing all mixed together in a plotline with those two.
I feel like the author had the option to choose the easy path or a more difficult path, and chose the easier path. The difficult one would have been a lot rockier and harder to pull off, but I feel a lot more satisfying narratively in the end.
[Spoilers ahead.]
I didn't realllly like the romance. I struggled with Vic, a lot. I don't really like insta-love, which is sort of what happens when the life connection is forged between Adam and Vic. Adam points out, rightfully, that he can't tell if their attraction is real or because of the magic. I liked that. I felt like that could have been explored more. The issue was Vic was just... too perfect. Vic has something traumatic happen to him, he nearly dies, and then finds out there's this whole world of magic, etc. And he's just... fine with it. He's totally chill that there's magic, that he's a Reaper, that he's bi, he has no issues when he's taken into the spirit world and meets Death. He's uber confident in every scene, even when facing down dragons and crazy spirits. Nothing phases him. And he's just 100% sure what he feels for Adam is his feelings and not the magic. He never questions himself. And Vic has, pretty much, a perfect family in opposition to Adam's. They love him. He's not afraid of being rejected by them. He never has to question his place or his relationships, and doesn't have the baggage Adam carries. He's not afraid of showing affection for Adam in public. He's completely confident in himself through all this crazy crap happening around him. Suddenly have a strange guy in your head? Okay, cool. Suddenly find out you work for Death now? Sure, sounds fine. Gotta go hang with some immortals? Just another day. He doesn't struggle with anything the entire book.
He reminds me of the love interest in A Strange and Stubborn Endurance, in that it felt like he was written to be a perfect fit for what the MC needed to get over his own stuff. He can't have his own inner conflict because then he couldn't be there for the MC. It's the same thing as with ASSE. The MC is a walking trauma factory, is essentially a stranger to the love interest, but there's literally nothing that will make the LE turn away from the MC or even give them a moment of pause with standing by them. There is no narrative drama there. The attraction connection didn't sit well with me at first and I only got more uncomfortable with it as the book went on. I was hoping the narrative would do something different and interesting with it, but it was just treated as straightforward. So while Vic is a sweet person I never got invested in him as a character and never felt like he had any room to grow because he's already pretty much perfect and settled into himself. Personally I would have preferred the connection to ease, as the story was sort of hinting at in the middle, and for Adam and Vic to end up as friends.
Full disclosure, I was hoping Adam would end back up with Silver. I found Silver to be a far more interesting character. He had his own inner conflicts, fallout from past mistakes, and potential for character growth. He is messy. Adam points out his cowardice, while never really seeming willing to grasp the underlying circumstances behind it. He points out how Vic is willing to show his affection for him in public, but seems to forget that Vic is doing so in a place where he feels completely safe and has no fear of rejection or retaliation, or expectations of station or tradition. It felt somewhat unfair to Silver, while I can understand Adam's point of view from his past hurt. To me, there is a difference in holding hands in front of your supportive mom's house in your friendly neighborhood and not standing up to your magical nuke of a dad who can imprison you for a 1000 years if you piss him off. Not to discount Vic but he's sort of playing on easy mode.
Romance aside, I was hoping for more from Silver. Even if he never ended back up with Adam I felt like his character had so much more potential for interesting growth. I felt like he and Adam were both trapped, in a lot of ways, by the societies they grew up in and both had to hide aspects of themselves and deny their feelings. Adam could never show affection for a man where he came from and Silver is forbidden from loving a mortal. Adam's life has been shaped by where he came from and he has to learn to grow past that. Silver is the same, just coming from a different direction. They're complicated foils for each other, sides of the same coin. And, to me, that would have made a far more interesting storyline and character dynamic than Adam meeting (and being spiritually bound to) the perfect guy, who has the perfect family, who has zero hang-ups about anything.
I debated continuing, and so peeked at the reviews of the later books. It seems that a good portion of them are from Vic's perspective, so I'm not really sure I'll continue the series. I enjoyed my time with this book and thought it was engaging and interesting. I like Adam, Bobby, Argent, Silver, etc. But I don't really have that much interest in reading more about Vic. This is, again, the same problem I had with A Strange and Stubborn Endurance. Caethari was too perfect through the entire first book and I just wasn't interested in investing more time into someone who had no space to grow. I want messy characters who have to work on themselves and find ways past their issues and trauma amid all the crap going on around them. I'm sure I'd get more of that with Adam. I just feel like I'd get a more interesting and engaging story from that with Silver, than with Vic. I can picture elements of duty, tradition, family trauma, personal identity, and healing all mixed together in a plotline with those two.
I feel like the author had the option to choose the easy path or a more difficult path, and chose the easier path. The difficult one would have been a lot rockier and harder to pull off, but I feel a lot more satisfying narratively in the end.