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arys_library's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
I really really loved this book! A great introduction to this giant series. I’ve heard a lot of mixed reviews on it and I agree with a small part of all of them.
Someone said the first book is like a really long first chapter of a book. And while I agree, it’s a damn good first chapter. It’s an introduction to this fantasy world, but was so easy to understand, there was very little info dumping.
I absolutely loved how all of the characters were built and their development. Their personalities, even the bad annoying characters, were so prominent it made the book so lovable and entertaining. Certain times when a character would appear I would get so excited to read their parts, no matter how small. And for a book that is mainly an introduction have that much character impact shows how great the character building and storytelling is.
I will say I wish there was more internal turmoil between the two main characters Tori and Darcy. Their whole lives have been turned upside down and everything they’ve ever known is taken from them. And we don’t get to see much into their minds on how they are processing so much new information. It really lacked depth in that area. It was like after something incredibly strange happened, the girls thought about how weird and crazy this event was, and then just went along with it 2 minutes later.
I loved the double povs between the twin mcs. But it would sometimes be confusing. I got a good grasp around 3/4 of the way into the book but before that I was having trouble deciphering between the two. There were many times where I was questioning which girl lived where, who has which power, etc.
Also super random but the artwork on the beginning of each chapter was so beautiful but there were times where it wood cover up the words and I couldn’t understand what was happening. It didn’t happen every chapter but it happened enough for me to be annoyed by.
Overall I really enjoyed this book, I’m so excited for the rest of the series so I could see more of each of the characters!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse and Bullying
Moderate: Death, Fire/Fire injury, Blood, Death of parent, Alcohol, Car accident, Cursing, Sexual content, Animal death, Toxic relationship, and Violence
Minor: Child death, Murder, Infidelity, and Injury/Injury detail
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