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4.27 AVERAGE
4.27 AVERAGE
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
mysterious
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:
N/A
As a non native English speaker this was TOUGH. Could not understand what was going on half the time?? At first I thought the writing style was just a bit unusual and I would get used to it after a while but I never did??? I sometimes had to reread the same sentence a couple of time and even then wasn’t sure what the author meant? Maybe I’m just not as fluent as I thought but I’ve read 19th century literature that’s more comprehensible than this.
But beyond just the writing, I thought the whole plot and atmosphere were very abstract, trying to be intricate et engaging but failing completely at having any substance. And I did like the magic system, I thought it was very promising, but it was (again) hard to understand how it was actually materialised? Also strange to introduce a fictional universe by putting your characters in a place that’s completely different from their usual lives, like I could not picture what a normal day would look like to these characters?
And just plot wise I was not a fan of the mystery intrigue, and through the plot twist at the end was just to have us go ‘look a plot twist’.Like again maybe I’m just too stupid for this book but why was the Lyctor girl at the end killing them all?? And why did she want to kill the emperor?? Doesn’t make any sense + her motivations are unclear = dumb.
Speaking of the end the last fight sequence went on foreeeeever I thought I was going to give up just ten pages from the end.
But anyway the fact I have so much to say about this proves that it is an interesting read, DEFINITELY NOT FOR ME but worth a try and full of interesting ideas in terms of magic system and (maybe?) world building. Also the characters were cool there was just TOO MANY of them.
But beyond just the writing, I thought the whole plot and atmosphere were very abstract, trying to be intricate et engaging but failing completely at having any substance. And I did like the magic system, I thought it was very promising, but it was (again) hard to understand how it was actually materialised? Also strange to introduce a fictional universe by putting your characters in a place that’s completely different from their usual lives, like I could not picture what a normal day would look like to these characters?
And just plot wise I was not a fan of the mystery intrigue, and through the plot twist at the end was just to have us go ‘look a plot twist’.
Speaking of the end the last fight sequence went on foreeeeever I thought I was going to give up just ten pages from the end.
But anyway the fact I have so much to say about this proves that it is an interesting read, DEFINITELY NOT FOR ME but worth a try and full of interesting ideas in terms of magic system and (maybe?) world building. Also the characters were cool there was just TOO MANY of them.
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
sad
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:
Complicated
I wish it was longer
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Blood
Moderate: Bullying, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Suicide, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
Minor: Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Infertility, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Grief, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, Classism
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
lighthearted
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:
Complicated
Just too complicated—I needed to make a chart bc I listened to the audiobook. An excellent reader. Good humor and snark and I liked nearly every character but had no idea what they were going on about for much of the book. The final 2+ hours are the epic —yawn— battle that goes on and on and on. I had to force myself to finish. This book has great ideas but tries to be too clever and fails to keep you engaged.
dark
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
The girlies were right I fear! This was so good and idk why people said it was confusing because it made sense to me I fear. Gideon was a phenomenal main character!
adventurous
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Exciting plot and mystery, but the entire first part felt a bit too slow, and some of the character development felt forced and difficult to believe. Narrator is delightfully snarky.
adventurous
funny
mysterious
tense
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Violence, Blood
Moderate: Body horror, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death of parent
Minor: Child death, Genocide
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated