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springpetunia's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-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
4.75
The typical college experience of joining a secret society that kills demons
hackenbrook's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
tencutepuppies's review against another edition
4.0
(4) To be honest I don’t even know how to sum up my thoughts on this book. I guess I’ll just group the things I liked and disliked together.
Liked:
-the fact that Bree was not a passive bystander in her own story, as some modern fantasy stories tend to have the MC helpless as they learn about their whole new world
-the emphasis on Black generational trauma, especially in a college institution in the South with a deep history of racism
-Selwyn Kane. that’s it.
-the way Nick wasn’t the boring nice love interest that we were supposed to root against—he had personality and there was some chemistry between him and Bree that I didn’t expect
Disliked:
-the pacing. I found it to be erratic, as it was fast in some places and inexplicably dragged on in others
-this kind of ties into the one above but I felt that there wasn’t enough side plot?? like it was mostly all about the central plot with the demons and the Round Table, and some of it felt repetitive by the end. I would have liked seeing more of rootcraft, and Bree’s relationships with her dad and best friend too. in that vein, I felt like she was never described to be actually doing school despite having classes that supposedly took so much work
-maybe I’m just stupid but the magic system was so hard to follow and there were so many words thrown at us at once
Don’t let my negative thoughts sway you to not read. The actual writing style of this book was great, and I don’t think many of my critiques are widely shared (minus the last one). I can definitely see why people were obsessed with it, I’m just a little disappointed I wasn’t one of them yet. Maybe by the second book I will be :)
Liked:
-the fact that Bree was not a passive bystander in her own story, as some modern fantasy stories tend to have the MC helpless as they learn about their whole new world
-the emphasis on Black generational trauma, especially in a college institution in the South with a deep history of racism
-Selwyn Kane. that’s it.
-the way Nick wasn’t the boring nice love interest that we were supposed to root against—he had personality and there was some chemistry between him and Bree that I didn’t expect
Disliked:
-the pacing. I found it to be erratic, as it was fast in some places and inexplicably dragged on in others
-this kind of ties into the one above but I felt that there wasn’t enough side plot?? like it was mostly all about the central plot with the demons and the Round Table, and some of it felt repetitive by the end. I would have liked seeing more of rootcraft, and Bree’s relationships with her dad and best friend too. in that vein, I felt like she was never described to be actually doing school despite having classes that supposedly took so much work
-maybe I’m just stupid but the magic system was so hard to follow and there were so many words thrown at us at once
Don’t let my negative thoughts sway you to not read. The actual writing style of this book was great, and I don’t think many of my critiques are widely shared (minus the last one). I can definitely see why people were obsessed with it, I’m just a little disappointed I wasn’t one of them yet. Maybe by the second book I will be :)
paper_treasuresandtomes's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
smileypers0n's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Death of parent, Racism, and Violence
Moderate: Blood, Death, Kidnapping, Cursing, Car accident, Colonisation, Grief, Hate crime, and Slavery
isawaphoenix's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
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
5.0
I quite literally could not put this book down. It’s an incredible combination of lived experiences, mythology and culture, and to an extent, fraternity dynamics. Masterful writing and storytelling.
aross14's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
liloopie's review against another edition
dark
emotional
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
4.5
I'm not sure if this is the author's first book or not but it's a solid read. I really liked a few things about this book: black author writing fantasy, interracial dating, strong but a bit annoying female protagonist. I listened to this book more than using my Kindle. I'm noting this because having it in a book or kindle format would have lead me to pay attention to lineage lines needed to follow the plot (my bad). I also like the pacing of this book - medium-fast one. It only took me a few days to read. I'm not going to add any spoilers, but encourage everyone who says they like fantasy to read this and judge for themselves. I would also encourage if your hyper-critical of BIPOC writers to judge as you would caucasian counterparts. This is a YA fantasy so as someone older of course there is the youth element and all the immaturity that comes with it, but I also think, the main characters are where they should be for their age. Feel free to comment, it will be interesting to see what you think and who you think.
janneke0601's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0