Reviews tagging 'Murder'

A Winter's Promise by Christelle Dabos

37 reviews

clabbb's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0


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izgetsbetter's review against another edition

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adventurous dark 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? Yes

3.5

The world building and the plot really lured me in and kept me going throughout the book. I found I was more interested in how the world works and the political conversations than the main character, which is kinda sad. 

Not gonna lie, she’s the absolute worst! The author really tried to emphasize how “quirky” she was and how much she wasn’t “like other girls”. It’s pretty gross. And what’s worse is that she doesn’t really develop.... like at all. She was annoying from start to finish. In the end, I preferred the “antagonists” over her. 

Even though she annoys me to no end, I will most likely read the rest of the series. Wish me luck! 

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bookspaperink's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Loveable characters? Yes

5.0


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dalawis's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious medium-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

4.25


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mxrumphius's review against another edition

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slow-paced

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claudiamacpherson's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Ophelia has lived on Anima, an Ark populated almost entirely by her family, her whole life. When her family arranges her marriage with a mysterious man from the Pole, a distant Ark, she must move there, accompanied only by her godmother and armed with her Animist powers: "reading" objects' histories by touch and mirror travel. She soon learns that her life has become far more dangerous than she ever imagined, and she must decide who to trust in order to survive the brutal Ark.

3. 5 stars

I had high hopes for this book after seeing it on booktok, and while I enjoyed it, it didn't completely live up to those expectations. The world-building was a bit heavy-handed, but I really liked how the setting felt like a book version of a Studio Ghibli movie. It was a bit confusing trying to follow the details of the Arks, families, and magic system, but ultimately it created an interesting universe. The characters also weren't always likable, but Dabos did a good job (almost too good!) creating tension so that I never knew who to trust. Ophelia is not like most YA protagonists; not only is she mostly very quiet and thoughtful, but she barely used her powers throughout the book. I honestly didn't know that this book was originally written in French until about a third of the way through, when I looked it up because the writing style and word choice was often a bit odd. I'm not sure if that's due to the translator or if it's Dabos' writing style, but it definitely added to the tone of the book. 

Happy ending meter (no specific spoilers, just my judgement of how happy the ending is because I always wish someone would tell me that before I read books):
Kind of a cliffhanger, I guess? The end isn't really happy or sad, and I honestly still don't 100% know what to think about most of the characters, so we'll see.

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aunteaandbiscuits's review against another edition

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dark reflective slow-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

3.0

A slow set up that leads to a much more exciting sequel. 

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