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3.63 AVERAGE
3.63 AVERAGE
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
a great and solid YA fantasy.
it had heavy six of crows vibes, which i enjoyed because it's one of my favorite series, but i can totally see how the similarities could annoy people
i really loved the characters, and i'm excited to see where this serie goes !
it had heavy six of crows vibes, which i enjoyed because it's one of my favorite series, but i can totally see how the similarities could annoy people
i really loved the characters, and i'm excited to see where this serie goes !
adventurous
emotional
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:
Complicated
⭐️: 4.75/5
Format: 🎧 + 📖
Oooooh I did not expect to love this but love this I did. This is a book whose rating may increase the more I think about it after reading, because I loved so many parts of it, and I am still thinking about it a few days later.
Arthie is a criminal, technically, but ethically, she feels more like Robin Hood to me. She runs the best tearoom in White Roaring, and at night, it flips to an illegal bloodhouse that serves vampires. The plot kicks off with someone threatening her dual bar, and she has to ally with an unlikely group of outcasts to pull off a heist on the Vampire version of the best country club in town. The plot weaves political unrest with in-group deception and attractions and secrets, all within a steampunk-feeling world that mirrors the British colonization of India.
I loved the the way Faizal scattered in hints that had me feeling like I totally understood where the twists were going, and sometimes I'd be just right enough to be confident, but then the twist would take a hard left I never saw coming. So there are some things that you get glimpses of, and others you don't, and it worked for me. The foreshadowing was done exactly to my taste, and I think an eventual re-read of this will be even better for it. And the characters felt rounded and full. We get multiple POVS, all from a third-party limited perspective to tie things together, and you understand motivation and history without the narrator ever giving too much away.
The writing style does have quirks that lean hard into the steampunk/prohibition vibe of the setting, and while it did take me a bit to settle into it (read: I had my audiobook going too fast), I think it really added to the worldbuilding to use language that truly fit where and how the book takes place. The only thing I thought could be tweaked was the pacing in like, one part of the book, but other than that, fantastic.
Favorite Quote:
Format: 🎧 + 📖
Oooooh I did not expect to love this but love this I did. This is a book whose rating may increase the more I think about it after reading, because I loved so many parts of it, and I am still thinking about it a few days later.
Arthie is a criminal, technically, but ethically, she feels more like Robin Hood to me. She runs the best tearoom in White Roaring, and at night, it flips to an illegal bloodhouse that serves vampires. The plot kicks off with someone threatening her dual bar, and she has to ally with an unlikely group of outcasts to pull off a heist on the Vampire version of the best country club in town. The plot weaves political unrest with in-group deception and attractions and secrets, all within a steampunk-feeling world that mirrors the British colonization of India.
I loved the the way Faizal scattered in hints that had me feeling like I totally understood where the twists were going, and sometimes I'd be just right enough to be confident, but then the twist would take a hard left I never saw coming. So there are some things that you get glimpses of, and others you don't, and it worked for me. The foreshadowing was done exactly to my taste, and I think an eventual re-read of this will be even better for it. And the characters felt rounded and full. We get multiple POVS, all from a third-party limited perspective to tie things together, and you understand motivation and history without the narrator ever giving too much away.
The writing style does have quirks that lean hard into the steampunk/prohibition vibe of the setting, and while it did take me a bit to settle into it (read: I had my audiobook going too fast), I think it really added to the worldbuilding to use language that truly fit where and how the book takes place. The only thing I thought could be tweaked was the pacing in like, one part of the book, but other than that, fantastic.
Favorite Quote:
The heist was tonight. There was a chance he might die. But there was also the utmost certainty that he would do so in style.
adventurous
funny
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:
Yes
slow-paced
A great concept with amazing vibes! As many others said, it's very reminiscent of Six of Crows. I love the setting and the characters but I feel like we didn't get to know them in much depth.
The story does a lot of telling and not showing and I felt like a lot of information was spoon-fed/given to us too quickly which took a lot of the wonder out.
The middle was a bit slow but the ending started to pick up a bit with some interesting stuff but overall the book leaves a lot to be desired.
I'm intrigued enough to read the sequel as I have a lot of questions/loose threads that I want to see resolved but I'm not super confident that the sequel will fix them.
The story does a lot of telling and not showing and I felt like a lot of information was spoon-fed/given to us too quickly which took a lot of the wonder out.
The middle was a bit slow but the ending started to pick up a bit with some interesting stuff but overall the book leaves a lot to be desired.
I'm intrigued enough to read the sequel as I have a lot of questions/loose threads that I want to see resolved but I'm not super confident that the sequel will fix them.
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I’m so conflicteddddd about this. It has so much potential but it fell short and I don’t actually know why. For sure there is just too much going on and it detracts from the story as a whole. I think it really needed to be a longer book with more depth.
As much as I adored Arthie and Jin (it’s giving Kaz Brekker and Jesper lite roulette), I have no idea who these characters are, not really, but I sure know how much they hate colonialism lmao. And I am 100% the girlie that loves anti-colonialism but it was like being whacked on the head by it, left, right and centre in this book. And then after that, there was apparently no more space left for character building.
Plus, what was the point of the heist? It was a little confusing actually, and I also didn’t get the sense that it was necessary considering Arthie knew Penn soooo intimately (enough for the ending to hurt her)? I don’t understand why the big reveal needed to be kept a secret anyway, considering the company she keeps. Also, Flick. Not an interesting character to hitch a ride with at all.
But the prose and the sheer determination has this at a solid 3 for me. I don’t…know…if I want to read the sequel
As much as I adored Arthie and Jin (it’s giving Kaz Brekker and Jesper lite roulette), I have no idea who these characters are, not really, but I sure know how much they hate colonialism lmao. And I am 100% the girlie that loves anti-colonialism but it was like being whacked on the head by it, left, right and centre in this book. And then after that, there was apparently no more space left for character building.
Plus, what was the point of the heist? It was a little confusing actually, and I also didn’t get the sense that it was necessary considering Arthie knew Penn soooo intimately (enough for the ending to hurt her)? I don’t understand why the big reveal needed to be kept a secret anyway, considering the company she keeps. Also, Flick. Not an interesting character to hitch a ride with at all.
But the prose and the sheer determination has this at a solid 3 for me. I don’t…know…if I want to read the sequel