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amelianotthepilot's review against another edition
fast-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
5.0
i loved this silly little book
its a unique little YA fantasy full of classic tropes and i ate it up
its for the disney girlies, the once upon a time girlies, the vampire girlies, the peasant/royal girlies
I love how it plays around the idea of fantasy kingdoms and has all the classic Disney fantasy vibes of baroque fancy colorful buildings and towns with friendly bakers and neighbors and evil step family with orphaned naive heroic girls who think they'll be saved. I loved how the MC is that classic damsel in distress believing in wishing on stars and true love and I can't wait for her to be slowly crushed by the realization that there is no prince coming to save her lol
It was also super fast-paced which was fun and also very solidly in the area of "YA" its clean romance with fun little silly kisses and romance.
I thought it was perfectly tropey with interesting world-building. Classic tropes include: peasant/royal, hurt/comfort, enemies-to-lovers, forced proximity, miscommunication, etc
The world-building was a mix of classic fairytale fantasy kingdoms with pretty ball gowns and princely looks with some magic sprinkled in. I liked the Fates aspect which essentially functions as Gods but have tarot cards vibe base.
not gonna lie when I say I picked these up for the beautiful (UK) covers but stayed for the dumb tropes
that had me kicking my feet and giggling all the way through 10/10
its a unique little YA fantasy full of classic tropes and i ate it up
its for the disney girlies, the once upon a time girlies, the vampire girlies, the peasant/royal girlies
I love how it plays around the idea of fantasy kingdoms and has all the classic Disney fantasy vibes of baroque fancy colorful buildings and towns with friendly bakers and neighbors and evil step family with orphaned naive heroic girls who think they'll be saved. I loved how the MC is that classic damsel in distress believing in wishing on stars and true love and I can't wait for her to be slowly crushed by the realization that there is no prince coming to save her lol
It was also super fast-paced which was fun and also very solidly in the area of "YA" its clean romance with fun little silly kisses and romance.
I thought it was perfectly tropey with interesting world-building. Classic tropes include: peasant/royal, hurt/comfort, enemies-to-lovers, forced proximity, miscommunication, etc
The world-building was a mix of classic fairytale fantasy kingdoms with pretty ball gowns and princely looks with some magic sprinkled in. I liked the Fates aspect which essentially functions as Gods but have tarot cards vibe base.
not gonna lie when I say I picked these up for the beautiful (UK) covers but stayed for the dumb tropes
that had me kicking my feet and giggling all the way through 10/10
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Body shaming, Toxic relationship, and Toxic friendship
alaskachan's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Death of parent
justinekorson's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
If you read my reviews and/or saw how I rated the Caraval series this will come as a surprise to see this book so high but, as with the Caraval series, I have some issues I want to address.
1. Is Evangeline really just that naive? I mean this in the nicest way possible.... Evangeline is stupid. Her constant back and forth with herself OVER EVERYTHING was tiresome. "Apollo isn't cursed. He actually loves me I swear!" "Jacks cursed Apollo to love me. This isn't real" "But it could be real! I believe it could be real!" WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT!!! If she hadn't been so trusting of Jacks literally none of this would've happened. You can't ask the Fates for things without consequences and she couldn't sus out literally any of the lies that Jack was telling her DESPITE EVERYONE, EVEN JACKS HIMSELF, saying she shouldn't trust him.
2. I still can't get over what Jacks did to Tella in Finale... he was wonderful in Legendary but in Finale he was written so badly that I fell out of love with him. I almost didn't want to read this series because of it. How could I root for a character who had FORCED SOMEONE with magic to love them by MANIPULATING AND REMOVING THEIR FREE WILL. He didn't do anything nearly as bad as that in this novel (he felt like the same character I fell in love with in Legendary) but I kept thinking back to those horrible disgusting feelings I had as I read what he did in Finale.
3. Again... Stephanie doesn't seem to want to kill off characters. (or in the case of Finale, killing of people at random for no reason). This is like the third (fourth? it's hard to keep track) time that someone's "died" only for her to say "SIKE!" and suddenly they're not dead. It's honestly annoying at this point.
4. .... Vampires.... seriously? This was a problem I also had in the Caraval series where lore was sometimes introduced so carelessly, like an afterthought and I'm somehow meant to believe it's been true this whole time? Evangeline was CONSTANTLY going on about stories from the North at the beginning, dragons and mermaids, etc. But she'd NEVER heard of vampires being real in this story she never even mentioned hearing a story about them from her mother! But Jacks made it sound like EVERY HUMAN has a fascination with vampires and knows about them. If that was true why did it surprise Evangeline so much??
1. Is Evangeline really just that naive? I mean this in the nicest way possible.... Evangeline is stupid. Her constant back and forth with herself OVER EVERYTHING was tiresome. "Apollo isn't cursed. He actually loves me I swear!" "Jacks cursed Apollo to love me. This isn't real" "But it could be real! I believe it could be real!" WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT!!! If she hadn't been so trusting of Jacks literally none of this would've happened. You can't ask the Fates for things without consequences and she couldn't sus out literally any of the lies that Jack was telling her DESPITE EVERYONE, EVEN JACKS HIMSELF, saying she shouldn't trust him.
2. I still can't get over what Jacks did to Tella in Finale... he was wonderful in Legendary but in Finale he was written so badly that I fell out of love with him. I almost didn't want to read this series because of it. How could I root for a character who had FORCED SOMEONE with magic to love them by MANIPULATING AND REMOVING THEIR FREE WILL. He didn't do anything nearly as bad as that in this novel (he felt like the same character I fell in love with in Legendary) but I kept thinking back to those horrible disgusting feelings I had as I read what he did in Finale.
3. Again... Stephanie doesn't seem to want to kill off characters. (or in the case of Finale, killing of people at random for no reason). This is like the third (fourth? it's hard to keep track) time that someone's "died" only for her to say "SIKE!" and suddenly they're not dead. It's honestly annoying at this point.
4. .... Vampires.... seriously? This was a problem I also had in the Caraval series where lore was sometimes introduced so carelessly, like an afterthought and I'm somehow meant to believe it's been true this whole time? Evangeline was CONSTANTLY going on about stories from the North at the beginning, dragons and mermaids, etc. But she'd NEVER heard of vampires being real in this story she never even mentioned hearing a story about them from her mother! But Jacks made it sound like EVERY HUMAN has a fascination with vampires and knows about them. If that was true why did it surprise Evangeline so much??
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Death, Blood, Body shaming, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail
emmieanna's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Objectively, this is not the best written book I have ever read, the world building is pretty basic and I do wish that certain aspects were more elaborate. This is definitely a plot over anything else kind of book (which are my faves I will say) but character development is a consequence of the plot, not what drives the plot.
However, I was HOOKED. I was making notes on my kindle like nobody’s business and was really rooting for the characters. I am so undecided with who my favourite is at this point, (LaLa is winning so far, then probably Apollo) and I will definitely be continuing the series.
However, I was HOOKED. I was making notes on my kindle like nobody’s business and was really rooting for the characters. I am so undecided with who my favourite is at this point, (LaLa is winning so far, then probably Apollo) and I will definitely be continuing the series.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gaslighting
Moderate: Death, Toxic friendship, Emotional abuse, and Death of parent
Minor: Blood and Murder
chiaraculpo's review
adventurous
inspiring
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
mi sono piaciuti tanto l'atmosfera magica e i personaggi. è stato molto leggero come libro ma comunque intrigante
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Death
Moderate: Blood
Minor: Death of parent
klsreads's review
adventurous
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Bullying, Classism, Confinement, Sexual assault, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Sexual harassment, Violence, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, and Toxic friendship
savvyrosereads's review
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Rating: 4.5/5 stars
Evangeline Fox makes a deal with the Prince of Hearts to stop the wedding of her first love, but all is not what it appears.
I am such a fan of this book! I absolutely LOVE Jacks (not sure what that says about me) and really enjoyed Evangeline as a leading lady. This continued to build upon the world-building from the CARAVAL trilogy but I enjoyed it more—I felt like a had a clearer handle on what was going on and how things worked. I also have theories about what’s coming next and I really hope I’m right.
Also, vampires? I’ll never complain about a book with vampires. Can’t wait to read book two!
CW: Violence/blood/death; mentions of death of parent
Evangeline Fox makes a deal with the Prince of Hearts to stop the wedding of her first love, but all is not what it appears.
I am such a fan of this book! I absolutely LOVE Jacks (not sure what that says about me) and really enjoyed Evangeline as a leading lady. This continued to build upon the world-building from the CARAVAL trilogy but I enjoyed it more—I felt like a had a clearer handle on what was going on and how things worked. I also have theories about what’s coming next and I really hope I’m right.
Also, vampires? I’ll never complain about a book with vampires. Can’t wait to read book two!
CW: Violence/blood/death; mentions of death of parent
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Death of parent, Murder, and Blood
booksandstardust's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, and Murder
Moderate: Blood, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, Death of parent, and Grief
Minor: Emotional abuse
aliceloyallaleon's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, Death, Grief, Murder, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship
susanatherly's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Torture, Murder, Blood, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship