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ezwolf's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
A YA fantasy that uses Celtic mythology and legends, the title and the description drew me in and I was very excited to read this, but unfortunately it fell flat for me.
This mostly comes down to it not really picking up story-wise until about half way through and my dislike of both Neve and Ronan, our narrators. I found both of them to be fairly annoying and incredibly pessimistic for most of the book and it wasn't fun to read. Neve also falls prey to the "princess who wants to fight not be a lady, her older sister is the perfect court lady and she feels she cannot live up to the expectations" and Ronan is the dark, broody love interest that's unfit for a princess as a thief and (ex) Druid. Their relationship just seemed to just happen by nature of it being a YA book adhering to certain tropes, more than it felt like they had grown past being enemies and into romantic interests.
Overall it just lands in the middle of the road, it wasn't bad but it wasn't anything I'd reread or recommend to anyone unless they were specifically looking for a YA Celtic fantasy book. It definitely had the elements to be an intriguing read, but it didn't succeed for me.
Thank you to NetGalley and Zando Projects for making this available in exchange for an honest review!
This mostly comes down to it not really picking up story-wise until about half way through and my dislike of both Neve and Ronan, our narrators. I found both of them to be fairly annoying and incredibly pessimistic for most of the book and it wasn't fun to read. Neve also falls prey to the "princess who wants to fight not be a lady, her older sister is the perfect court lady and she feels she cannot live up to the expectations" and Ronan is the dark, broody love interest that's unfit for a princess as a thief and (ex) Druid. Their relationship just seemed to just happen by nature of it being a YA book adhering to certain tropes, more than it felt like they had grown past being enemies and into romantic interests.
Overall it just lands in the middle of the road, it wasn't bad but it wasn't anything I'd reread or recommend to anyone unless they were specifically looking for a YA Celtic fantasy book. It definitely had the elements to be an intriguing read, but it didn't succeed for me.
Thank you to NetGalley and Zando Projects for making this available in exchange for an honest review!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Murder, and Violence
Moderate: Blood, Death of parent, and Grief
Minor: Colonisation and Infidelity
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