Take a photo of a barcode or cover
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
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
**An copy of this book was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review**
How? HOW does this have such high ratings and favorable reviews? 'Cos this was so bad, you guys. Oh, I should have DNFed. There's an hour of my life I won't be getting back.
It started out, not promising perhaps, but not totally terrible, in a generic fantasy story marginally better written than if written by an average 12 year old sort-of way. And it continued in this vein for the next 350 pages or so, with the addition of about a bajillion hackneyed cliches, an honest to goodness Pixie Hollow (with accompanying names eg. Penelope Plumpleberry), and a terribad romance. Let's look at the story, noting some of the cliches, shall we??
(Okay, not all of this will be totally 100% chronological. I'm only human. And I was speed reading.)
Aurora is also incredibly stupid. She's on the run from people who want to kill her, but instead of trying to get to someone who can help her, she begs to stay in Pixie Hollow (or whatever it was called) to sightsee the fairy market. Which gets raided by the Shadow Guard and she gets captured. Aurora also decides NOT to tell on one of the girls at the boarding school who let the Shadow Guard in, and is basically a big fat traitor, because.....that would be...tattling??? Oh gosh, there were so many instances of her stupidity, but here's another goodie. Aurora is told that bringing Snow back to life would be "dark magic" aka VERY VERY HELLA BAD DON'T DO IT and she fricking does it, because she neeeeeds Snow back. Well, guess what, Aurora? I hope you're happy that you using dark magic opened a hell portal.
Anyways, up till the last 60 pages or so, it was pretty darn bad, but it would have probably gotten two stars, because it was basically just a poorly written generic fantasy amalgamation of tropes and tween dreams when you'd daydream in your backyard about secretly being magical royalty. It wasn't something I would ever recommend, but as a wee girl with very few standards I might have even enjoyed it. Until Aurora and Rafe's gag-o-matic tripe of a "romance" was two-sided, and the plot went completely haywire.
Also worth mentioning is that this reads VERY middle grade, from plot to characters to the writing style, but then some bits felt more like they belonged in a YA? I think maybe this is one of those weird little books that was meant and marketed as YA but comes off as extremely childish and MG.
Thank goodness it's finally over.
How? HOW does this have such high ratings and favorable reviews? 'Cos this was so bad, you guys. Oh, I should have DNFed. There's an hour of my life I won't be getting back.
It started out, not promising perhaps, but not totally terrible, in a generic fantasy story marginally better written than if written by an average 12 year old sort-of way. And it continued in this vein for the next 350 pages or so, with the addition of about a bajillion hackneyed cliches, an honest to goodness Pixie Hollow (with accompanying names eg. Penelope Plumpleberry), and a terribad romance. Let's look at the story, noting some of the cliches, shall we??
(Okay, not all of this will be totally 100% chronological. I'm only human. And I was speed reading.)
Spoiler
Aurora, an orphan, lives with her horrid adoptive aunt and uncle and cousin. Her uncle sells her to some baddie, who takes Aurora to a magical land, where Aurora discovers she is not only royalty but has inherited both of her parent's powers; she is both a mage AND an immortal fey, the combination of which is practically unheard of. She is also literally the most powerful fey-mage since the bestest and most awesomeest fey-mage whose names escapes me but basically he was super important and powerful. Her aunt wants her dead so she can take over the throne with absolutely no competition from the true heir. (But the "true heir" was in an entirely different fricking WORLD before the aunt brought her to Avalonia.) She falls into Insta!love (she actually refers to him as the love of her life, and her soul mate *gag*) with the Black Wolf, a dashing tall dark and handsome dude who runs around the kingdom doing who knows what but he's got this big huge reputation and he is actually the crown prince in disguise (I didn't see that coming AT ALL) and a total smarmy ass-hat. Aurora can talk with Pegasi, and she has one named Snow, and every scene with those two was dripping in awful saccharine pretty princess Pegasus power hour writing. Aurora is sent to a magical boarding school to learn how to control her powers, and where she encounters an Avalonian version of Draco Malfoy named Damien Blackwater, if memory serves, who blathers on about his pure "bloodline", is a general twat, and whose family is secretly in cohoots with Morgana. (At which point, I was jabbing at the Ipad screen at the rate of probably 20 pages a minute, just scanning the pages, because I was pretty confident there was nothing worth reading past that.) Aurora moons over Rafe, and they make out a bit but it never seems like it comes from any place of actual affection and it's written TERRIBLY. (This, and what was going on plot wise, had started to induce groaning and facepalming.) And then I think we are learning more about this special book of Abraxis that Morgana wants so she can control Dragoth (who is a demon?? I forget) but there are four keys you need to open the book, and she only has one. And then Aurora is an idiot (see below) and opens a portal (to hell?????) and lets Lilith (...like....that Lilith???) into Avalonia, and I don't know, Lilith is gonna use Morgana as a host body, because her wraith form will dissipate or she's weak in wraith form, or something like that. And that's mostly the end.Aurora is also incredibly stupid. She's on the run from people who want to kill her, but instead of trying to get to someone who can help her, she begs to stay in Pixie Hollow (or whatever it was called) to sightsee the fairy market. Which gets raided by the Shadow Guard and she gets captured. Aurora also decides NOT to tell on one of the girls at the boarding school who let the Shadow Guard in, and is basically a big fat traitor, because.....that would be...tattling??? Oh gosh, there were so many instances of her stupidity, but here's another goodie. Aurora is told that bringing Snow back to life would be "dark magic" aka VERY VERY HELLA BAD DON'T DO IT and she fricking does it, because she neeeeeds Snow back. Well, guess what, Aurora? I hope you're happy that you using dark magic opened a hell portal.
Anyways, up till the last 60 pages or so, it was pretty darn bad, but it would have probably gotten two stars, because it was basically just a poorly written generic fantasy amalgamation of tropes and tween dreams when you'd daydream in your backyard about secretly being magical royalty. It wasn't something I would ever recommend, but as a wee girl with very few standards I might have even enjoyed it. Until Aurora and Rafe's gag-o-matic tripe of a "romance" was two-sided, and the plot went completely haywire.
Also worth mentioning is that this reads VERY middle grade, from plot to characters to the writing style, but then some bits felt more like they belonged in a YA? I think maybe this is one of those weird little books that was meant and marketed as YA but comes off as extremely childish and MG.
Thank goodness it's finally over.
Aurora has a hard life.She was adopted, when she was a baby. After her adoptive parents died, her uncle take her in. They are often mean to her and school is not much easies eather.
One day uncle takes her out of school, to go on trip. In the middle of the night she is kidnaped thrugh magical portal into another world.
With the help of fae, and Black Wolf (like a Robin Hood of Avalonia) she is saved, only to discover she accually belong in this worlds. She has a uncle, that will help her discover who she is and her powers.
She has to train, to develop her powers, so she can take what is rightfully hers. She is enrolled in magical school, where she trains to control her magic.
I love the world of the story, it's that kind of world, I would love to live in. The book is full of action and fast paced. But... I wasn't biggest fan of Aurora, I just couldn't connect with her or root for her. And at times I felt like I missed a part of the story, there were quite big jump from here to there.
One day uncle takes her out of school, to go on trip. In the middle of the night she is kidnaped thrugh magical portal into another world.
With the help of fae, and Black Wolf (like a Robin Hood of Avalonia) she is saved, only to discover she accually belong in this worlds. She has a uncle, that will help her discover who she is and her powers.
She has to train, to develop her powers, so she can take what is rightfully hers. She is enrolled in magical school, where she trains to control her magic.
I love the world of the story, it's that kind of world, I would love to live in. The book is full of action and fast paced. But... I wasn't biggest fan of Aurora, I just couldn't connect with her or root for her. And at times I felt like I missed a part of the story, there were quite big jump from here to there.
Well…what to say about this one
I really love this book and of-course the series so so much….it’s insane. Got to know about the author through newspaper and read it in kindle.
The story really hooks the reader that I was not able to put this down….it was a great read, full of magic, fantasy, romance, friendship, enemies……it’s really a ride you would love to hop on
I really love this book and of-course the series so so much….it’s insane. Got to know about the author through newspaper and read it in kindle.
The story really hooks the reader that I was not able to put this down….it was a great read, full of magic, fantasy, romance, friendship, enemies……it’s really a ride you would love to hop on
A world full of knights, princes, fae (fairies), and mages (warlocks) is where this fantasy story are born. From the lands of Illiador, ruled under the iron fist of Morgana, to the lands taken care of by the Duke Gabriel Silverthrone. Where children born from faes and mages can possibly control magic. Those mages are sent to school, to learn how to control their magic from the Academy of Magic at Evolon, or to their rival school in Nerenor. Some children born from a fae and a mage can control the powers of both and become a fae-mage. They are very powerful, with only six existing in history. People fear them as two of the six turned towards dark magic, and almost destroyed their world.
Aurora Darlington was adopted… twice. Her birth parents abandon her when she was a baby, only leaving her a necklace with a gold disc on it. That is where her adoptive parents found her and took her home. They loved her like she was her own daughter, taking family vacations, visiting their parents, and celebrating birthdays. Aurora never knew how good she had it until the faithful day her adoptive parents died in a car crash. Two years later Aurora spends her days avoiding her horrid adoptive sister Cornelia, doing the bidding of their mother, and wonder why their father, Christopher adoptive her anyway. It wasn’t until a hurried family vacation that Aurora knew why. Lord Oblek who came from a portal summoned by Christopher was there to take her back to “her land”. Terrified Lord Oblek let it slipped that her name was Aurora Firedrake, the true heir of the lands of Illiador, lands that his master Morgana ruled after she supposedly killed Aurora along with her parents. Thrown into a world of adventure Aurora makes friends, enemies, a lover, and finds a family, in a quest to find out who she truly is.
As Farah Oomerbhoy first ever book this drips with fantasy. Everything magical that you have ever read, herd, or saw is in this book. At times it’s quite cheesy and a little too much, as every second you expect a flying dragon to appear with her prince on the back and proposing his undying love for her (which never does happen). Where the plot was good, it seemed that Farah Oomerbhoy went character happy as there are so many names to remember, that have little value to the story itself. As the first book in the trilogy backstory has a lot to do with getting into the mindset of the story, and know why said character does what. In theory should have made it easier as Aurora was learning it the same time you were. It wasn’t as the author skidded past those parts saying the professor explained to Aurora about the kingdoms, but didn’t tell you what he said. Overall, it was an alright book, defiantly one if you love fantasy and romance and all those in between.
Aurora Darlington was adopted… twice. Her birth parents abandon her when she was a baby, only leaving her a necklace with a gold disc on it. That is where her adoptive parents found her and took her home. They loved her like she was her own daughter, taking family vacations, visiting their parents, and celebrating birthdays. Aurora never knew how good she had it until the faithful day her adoptive parents died in a car crash. Two years later Aurora spends her days avoiding her horrid adoptive sister Cornelia, doing the bidding of their mother, and wonder why their father, Christopher adoptive her anyway. It wasn’t until a hurried family vacation that Aurora knew why. Lord Oblek who came from a portal summoned by Christopher was there to take her back to “her land”. Terrified Lord Oblek let it slipped that her name was Aurora Firedrake, the true heir of the lands of Illiador, lands that his master Morgana ruled after she supposedly killed Aurora along with her parents. Thrown into a world of adventure Aurora makes friends, enemies, a lover, and finds a family, in a quest to find out who she truly is.
As Farah Oomerbhoy first ever book this drips with fantasy. Everything magical that you have ever read, herd, or saw is in this book. At times it’s quite cheesy and a little too much, as every second you expect a flying dragon to appear with her prince on the back and proposing his undying love for her (which never does happen). Where the plot was good, it seemed that Farah Oomerbhoy went character happy as there are so many names to remember, that have little value to the story itself. As the first book in the trilogy backstory has a lot to do with getting into the mindset of the story, and know why said character does what. In theory should have made it easier as Aurora was learning it the same time you were. It wasn’t as the author skidded past those parts saying the professor explained to Aurora about the kingdoms, but didn’t tell you what he said. Overall, it was an alright book, defiantly one if you love fantasy and romance and all those in between.
In the end I did really enjoy this book but it took more than half the book to get to that place. It was a bit slow in the beginning with a lot of background information and world building. I considered multiple times just putting it down and not finishing it, but I am so beyond glad that I did finish! The ending picked up and I was hooked!! Aurora goes from a kind of whiny child to transitioning into a beautiful woman. I cannot wait until book 2 gets here!!
"The Last of the Firedrakes"
Farah Oomerbhoy
4,7✨
OMG, isto foi bem MELHOR do aquilo que eu esperava. Aliás eu não esperava nada, eu nem sequer tinha lido a Sinopse quando decidi ler este livro... Apaixonei-me pela capa e quando comecei a ler a descrição bastou dizer que era perfeito para os fãs de Throne of Glass para eu ir ler logo.
Achei o livro completamente incrível. Adorei os personagens, apesar de às vezes me irritar com certas ações da protagonista... Porém até compreendo o porquê de ela agir assim, provavelmente faria o mesmo que ela e talvez por essa razão me irritava facilmente. Identifiquei-me bastante com a Aurora, consigo-me ver nela, na maneira como pensa e age...
Aliás, só neste livro notou-se um grande desenvolvimento nela, o que eu gostei muito. No início ela parecia ser apenas uma rapariga de 16 anos, sem qualquer indício de grande poder mas quando ela descobre a verdade sobre si mesma e o mundo a que pertence... a ação só explode.
Eu acho que até escuso dizer que tenho mais três crushs literários ahha. Ainda assim, dos três o Rafe é o que tem mais o meu coração.
Este era sem dúvida um livro que eu estava a precisar de ler, sendo no mesmo estilo de Throne of Glass. Além do mais, isto tem tudo o que mais gosto, é de fantasia (com faes e mages), tem romance (I want you but I am betrothed to other, sorry), tem mistério e revelações (uma delas deixou-me tipo: WTF, SIM OMG! oh não, assim vai dar asneira...)
Sinceramente, só não vou dar as 5✨ porque houve alguns fios soltos que eu gostava que fossem um pouco mais desenvolvidos e não apenas "abandonados".
Para além disso, não vejo mais nada que possa ter gostado menos, ao longo da leitura. Aliás, eu estava completamente presa à história, à escrita, às personagens, a literalmente tudo.
Se gostam deste tipo de fantasia, LEIAM ESTA TRILOGIA. Estou totalmente apaixonada e ansiosa para ler o segundo livro!!
Farah Oomerbhoy
4,7✨
OMG, isto foi bem MELHOR do aquilo que eu esperava. Aliás eu não esperava nada, eu nem sequer tinha lido a Sinopse quando decidi ler este livro... Apaixonei-me pela capa e quando comecei a ler a descrição bastou dizer que era perfeito para os fãs de Throne of Glass para eu ir ler logo.
Achei o livro completamente incrível. Adorei os personagens, apesar de às vezes me irritar com certas ações da protagonista... Porém até compreendo o porquê de ela agir assim, provavelmente faria o mesmo que ela e talvez por essa razão me irritava facilmente. Identifiquei-me bastante com a Aurora, consigo-me ver nela, na maneira como pensa e age...
Aliás, só neste livro notou-se um grande desenvolvimento nela, o que eu gostei muito. No início ela parecia ser apenas uma rapariga de 16 anos, sem qualquer indício de grande poder mas quando ela descobre a verdade sobre si mesma e o mundo a que pertence... a ação só explode.
Eu acho que até escuso dizer que tenho mais três crushs literários ahha. Ainda assim, dos três o Rafe é o que tem mais o meu coração.
Este era sem dúvida um livro que eu estava a precisar de ler, sendo no mesmo estilo de Throne of Glass. Além do mais, isto tem tudo o que mais gosto, é de fantasia (com faes e mages), tem romance (I want you but I am betrothed to other, sorry), tem mistério e revelações (uma delas deixou-me tipo: WTF, SIM OMG! oh não, assim vai dar asneira...)
Sinceramente, só não vou dar as 5✨ porque houve alguns fios soltos que eu gostava que fossem um pouco mais desenvolvidos e não apenas "abandonados".
Para além disso, não vejo mais nada que possa ter gostado menos, ao longo da leitura. Aliás, eu estava completamente presa à história, à escrita, às personagens, a literalmente tudo.
Se gostam deste tipo de fantasia, LEIAM ESTA TRILOGIA. Estou totalmente apaixonada e ansiosa para ler o segundo livro!!
One moment you're a plain ordinary girl, struggling to find your place with your deceased adoptive parents family, you're being bullied at home and at school, and no matter what you just can't seem to fit it. The next you have been whisked off against your will through a magical tapestry into a whole new world. A world of magic, Fae, Pegasus, and more. You're being hunted by an evil queen and saved by a handsome outlaw. You discover that your birth parents were killed and that you are so much more than you ever knew and the fate of many rests within your hands.
I really enjoyed the world building in this book. Farah Oomerbhoy creates a beautiful landscape (even the parts that aren't so beautiful) in rich detail allowing the reader to almost feel and taste the world around them. One of my favorite world building passages comes near the beginning of the story when Aurora is brought by Kalen (who I just loved) into his home town of Pixie Bush...
"The rays of the midday sun shone on the forest floor, creating dappled specks of gold that danced about our feet as we walked. I was completely entranced. It was as if I had entered yet another world. This was not the bleak crowded stone castle of Lord Oblek. This was a fairy village, a magical place in the forest. IT was more fantastic than I could ever have imagined it might be. Tiny wooden cottages with thatched roofs covered in vines, and half hidden by foliage, nestled at regular intervals in the very heart of the woods, and small flower-lined paths connected the cottages. It looked like a picture out of a storybook." - Aurora
Farah continually had me as entranced as Aurora as she laid this new world out for me.
Aurora is an interesting character, naive yet incredibly brave. She frequently laments the situations she finds herself in but I love how she doesn't let them drag her down. She finds ways to overcome her challenges, they may not always work out the way she plans or desires, but she doesn't give up or become this weak character that has to be taken care of.
"I had to stop running. I had to turn and face my life head on." - Aurora
It's lovely to watch Aurora begin to come into her own in this story. Yes, she is constantly on the run, but what 16 year old thrown into a world they could only imagine, learning to control a powerful gift, accepting who and what she is, falling a little (maybe a lot) in love, and just trying to stay alive while being hunted by an evil queen wouldn't stay on the run. Yes, she does some things that make you want to roll your eyes and shake her silly, but remember she is a 16 year old girl, thrown into a whole new world (you're singing the song now aren't you? Sorry.), and learning exactly who she is. She is also a girl who has never had any control (power) over her life, but suddenly she has all this ability and no idea how to handle it. I look forward to watching her grow because really she has no where to go but up. We have to remember as well that this is just the first book in the series, we can't have Aurora stand her ground too soon and loose the story. Luckily for us there are so many little plot lines going on beside the major storyline that I think we could stay in this world with Aurora for a long time to come.
I loved Rafe, of course I did. I mean come on. He's a rake, he's an outlaw, he's handsome, he's a rescuer of those in need, he's mysterious, and full of secrets. Like many characters in books you will at times want to give him a good shake, but I have faith that things will work out with him...They have too, he is simply too good of a character for them not to. I am also really hoping that in book two we will get more development of his character, there is just so much there in terms of Rafe and I want to know it all. I think you will likely figure out some of his big secrets before they are revealed but that is often the case with books so I wasn't too bothered with it.
I am really hopeful we will get more of all the characters in this story. Some seemed to slide into the background and the book went on and I can say that I missed them, but we have more books to come so who knows what will happen. Sufficed to say I am really looking forward to the second book in this series!
I think that this book is a fantastic read for any YA fan, particularly those who enjoyed Harry Potter or The Chronicles of Narnia...as I read along I would reflect back to these stories so I know it will be a hit for fans of those series. It is a fairly quick and easy read (things can get a bit confusing when it comes to all the different kingdoms, but thankfully there is a map, yeah maps!) that you will find your self totally immersed in, not coming back into your own world until you are finished and anxious for book two.
~ HAPPY READING ~
http://www.readsallthebooks.com
I really enjoyed the world building in this book. Farah Oomerbhoy creates a beautiful landscape (even the parts that aren't so beautiful) in rich detail allowing the reader to almost feel and taste the world around them. One of my favorite world building passages comes near the beginning of the story when Aurora is brought by Kalen (who I just loved) into his home town of Pixie Bush...
"The rays of the midday sun shone on the forest floor, creating dappled specks of gold that danced about our feet as we walked. I was completely entranced. It was as if I had entered yet another world. This was not the bleak crowded stone castle of Lord Oblek. This was a fairy village, a magical place in the forest. IT was more fantastic than I could ever have imagined it might be. Tiny wooden cottages with thatched roofs covered in vines, and half hidden by foliage, nestled at regular intervals in the very heart of the woods, and small flower-lined paths connected the cottages. It looked like a picture out of a storybook." - Aurora
Farah continually had me as entranced as Aurora as she laid this new world out for me.
Aurora is an interesting character, naive yet incredibly brave. She frequently laments the situations she finds herself in but I love how she doesn't let them drag her down. She finds ways to overcome her challenges, they may not always work out the way she plans or desires, but she doesn't give up or become this weak character that has to be taken care of.
"I had to stop running. I had to turn and face my life head on." - Aurora
It's lovely to watch Aurora begin to come into her own in this story. Yes, she is constantly on the run, but what 16 year old thrown into a world they could only imagine, learning to control a powerful gift, accepting who and what she is, falling a little (maybe a lot) in love, and just trying to stay alive while being hunted by an evil queen wouldn't stay on the run. Yes, she does some things that make you want to roll your eyes and shake her silly, but remember she is a 16 year old girl, thrown into a whole new world (you're singing the song now aren't you? Sorry.), and learning exactly who she is. She is also a girl who has never had any control (power) over her life, but suddenly she has all this ability and no idea how to handle it. I look forward to watching her grow because really she has no where to go but up. We have to remember as well that this is just the first book in the series, we can't have Aurora stand her ground too soon and loose the story. Luckily for us there are so many little plot lines going on beside the major storyline that I think we could stay in this world with Aurora for a long time to come.
I loved Rafe, of course I did. I mean come on. He's a rake, he's an outlaw, he's handsome, he's a rescuer of those in need, he's mysterious, and full of secrets. Like many characters in books you will at times want to give him a good shake, but I have faith that things will work out with him...They have too, he is simply too good of a character for them not to. I am also really hoping that in book two we will get more development of his character, there is just so much there in terms of Rafe and I want to know it all. I think you will likely figure out some of his big secrets before they are revealed but that is often the case with books so I wasn't too bothered with it.
I am really hopeful we will get more of all the characters in this story. Some seemed to slide into the background and the book went on and I can say that I missed them, but we have more books to come so who knows what will happen. Sufficed to say I am really looking forward to the second book in this series!
I think that this book is a fantastic read for any YA fan, particularly those who enjoyed Harry Potter or The Chronicles of Narnia...as I read along I would reflect back to these stories so I know it will be a hit for fans of those series. It is a fairly quick and easy read (things can get a bit confusing when it comes to all the different kingdoms, but thankfully there is a map, yeah maps!) that you will find your self totally immersed in, not coming back into your own world until you are finished and anxious for book two.
~ HAPPY READING ~
http://www.readsallthebooks.com
why does EVERYONE have “eyes like ice chips!?!” seriously! i lost count of the number of times people’s eyes went all ice chippy…
"Don't judge a book by its cover," they said.
"But it's so pretty," I said, walking directly into the marketing trap that was this book...
It's freaking beautiful, that cover. The covers of the whole series, honestly. And when you have words like "firedrakes" and "dragons" in your titles, I'm a sucker. I fall in headlong.
But oh. my. gosh. I could not BELIEVE the quality of the writing. At my most charitable, I'd describe it as "very very young middle grade." If I were to be a little less polite, I'd call it "a thirteen-year-old's first attempt at a novel." I literally had to stop and google the publishing company to figure out how the heck this got published in the year of our lord twenty fifteen.
And then I saw "Wattpad" and things started to make sense.
Listen. No shade if you get your start in reading or writing or both on Wattpad. It's a great place to make connections as a young writer and grow your craft. But popularity with that community does not equal quality. This book just is not up to the standards of the publishing industry at large. The writing was so bare-bones and juvenile-sounding I literally could not keep reading it. I DNF'd at page 80-something.
I sincerely hope the author continues writing and improving her style. This book is very very first-book-y, but that just means she has huge space to grow and get better. I'm sure she'll be amazing someday. I just feel that this book was published before it had reached its full potential, and that's really a shame.
"But it's so pretty," I said, walking directly into the marketing trap that was this book...
It's freaking beautiful, that cover. The covers of the whole series, honestly. And when you have words like "firedrakes" and "dragons" in your titles, I'm a sucker. I fall in headlong.
But oh. my. gosh. I could not BELIEVE the quality of the writing. At my most charitable, I'd describe it as "very very young middle grade." If I were to be a little less polite, I'd call it "a thirteen-year-old's first attempt at a novel." I literally had to stop and google the publishing company to figure out how the heck this got published in the year of our lord twenty fifteen.
And then I saw "Wattpad" and things started to make sense.
Listen. No shade if you get your start in reading or writing or both on Wattpad. It's a great place to make connections as a young writer and grow your craft. But popularity with that community does not equal quality. This book just is not up to the standards of the publishing industry at large. The writing was so bare-bones and juvenile-sounding I literally could not keep reading it. I DNF'd at page 80-something.
I sincerely hope the author continues writing and improving her style. This book is very very first-book-y, but that just means she has huge space to grow and get better. I'm sure she'll be amazing someday. I just feel that this book was published before it had reached its full potential, and that's really a shame.