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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
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
grace_b_3's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body shaming
Minor: Sexual assault and Death of parent
dlsmk's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
Stephanie girl. I'm on the hospital and without the sequel, leaving me on a cliffhanger is rude af.
But listen, I had a good ass time. I laughed, I was shocked, I was swooning and I'm freaking obsessed. What a way to start the reading year.
But listen, I had a good ass time. I laughed, I was shocked, I was swooning and I'm freaking obsessed. What a way to start the reading year.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Murder, Blood, Body shaming, Death of parent, and Grief
abicaro17's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Evangaline and Jacks present a promising start to a trilogy. With twists and turns in the most unexpected of places, this fairytale of fairytales presents the question of who to trust and when? The best part of the story so far seems to be that Evangeline is immune to Jacks charms literally and can hold her own in a sticky situation. The part that prevents this from being 5 stars however is the fact that shes so desperate to be loved that shes vulnerable to manipulation and is easily won over by pretty much any man who gives her affection. This was annoying in the beginning with Luc and continued throughout the remainder of the book. Hopefully she is less susceptible to this in the following two books.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic friendship, Death, Blood, Body shaming, Child abuse, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Grief, and Murder
maresuju's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Gaslighting, Grief, Murder, and Emotional abuse
Minor: Bullying and Body shaming
moanareads's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
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? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Murder, Bullying, Body shaming, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, and Torture
saurahsaurus's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
I liked it, and the the main character is overall fine, but I find the her naïveté and idealization of romance/“happily ever after“ to be really irksome. I can deal with an unreliable narrator, but she can be pretty silly…and it’s not endearing. Otherwise, I like her and Jacks’ dynamic and plan to read the next book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood
Moderate: Grief, Murder, Toxic relationship, Death, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Infidelity
Minor: Confinement, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Alcohol, and Body shaming
clairew97's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Blood, Body shaming, Bullying, Death of parent, Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic relationship, and Toxic friendship
gracieanna21's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
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
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, and Murder
Minor: Body shaming and Death of parent
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