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3.61 AVERAGE
3.61 AVERAGE
Stunner.
Saft really did an excellent job with this one - I tore through it. It's atmospheric, well-paced, full of beautiful bits of folklore woven throughout. This folklore manages to create an immersive world without lingering on unimportant details, and each smaller story contributes to the overarching plot. Each character is unique and compelling and tragic in their own way - nobody is clearly a "good" or "bad" guy, which I LOVE. Lorelei is not "likeable". She's grumpy, she's standoffish. She's wonderful. Truly didn't know what was going to happen with the murder mystery, and tension was high the entire time. Lorelei and Sylvia are a great example of academic rivals/haters to idiots who are also in love. They're wonderful.
Highly recommend especially as fall comes up - it's not a "cozy" book, but it matches the autumnal dark academia vibes in ways that other books wish they could.
Thanks to NetGalley for the arc!
Saft really did an excellent job with this one - I tore through it. It's atmospheric, well-paced, full of beautiful bits of folklore woven throughout. This folklore manages to create an immersive world without lingering on unimportant details, and each smaller story contributes to the overarching plot. Each character is unique and compelling and tragic in their own way - nobody is clearly a "good" or "bad" guy, which I LOVE. Lorelei is not "likeable". She's grumpy, she's standoffish. She's wonderful. Truly didn't know what was going to happen with the murder mystery, and tension was high the entire time. Lorelei and Sylvia are a great example of academic rivals/haters to idiots who are also in love. They're wonderful.
Highly recommend especially as fall comes up - it's not a "cozy" book, but it matches the autumnal dark academia vibes in ways that other books wish they could.
Thanks to NetGalley for the arc!
I wanted to love this so badly. But unfortunately I think the plot just wasn’t something that interested me. Which is odd because it has everything I usually love! Yearning, rivals to lovers, murder, fantasy creatures, magic, sapphic love, adventure - ALL THE GOODIES!!
With that said I LOVED Lorelei and Sylvia❤️ they truly kept me going and I’m so glad I finished the book. The last 25% of the book was easily 5 stars but the rest was of it was closer to 3 for me.
With that said I LOVED Lorelei and Sylvia❤️ they truly kept me going and I’m so glad I finished the book. The last 25% of the book was easily 5 stars but the rest was of it was closer to 3 for me.
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
mysterious
medium-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
the last 100 pages were beautiful and everything I wanted for the two of them. I enjoyed this book but it was a litter slower for me to get into 3.5/5
dark
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:
Yes
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
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:
No
first thoughts:
- i really enjoyed the setting, fantasy settings based on european history will always win with me
- i liked that lorelei was an outsider to the other five, i liked that she couldn’t trust anyone with good reason rather than her suddenly not trusting people for what is essentially very little reason
- unrelated to the actual book but the cover is beautiful
- i liked the magic, how it is linked to water as both a source and conduit
- i really enjoyed the setting, fantasy settings based on european history will always win with me
- i liked that lorelei was an outsider to the other five, i liked that she couldn’t trust anyone with good reason rather than her suddenly not trusting people for what is essentially very little reason
- unrelated to the actual book but the cover is beautiful
- i liked the magic, how it is linked to water as both a source and conduit