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3.6 AVERAGE
3.6 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
relaxing
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Honestly a damn near perfect YA. I’m giving it a 4.75/5 because it wasn’t anything necessarily new to me. But it was very well written and interesting despite predictable characters. I really enjoyed how this book did specifically not pit characters against each other for plot. Often I find that annoying where they make someone turn “evil” when they already have another villain for plot despite it not being in that characters nature. This book didn’t do that! Yay! Despite having opportunities it maintained strong friendships/romance and didn’t cause unnecessary miscommunication /drama that took up extra time & it didn’t add a distracting element to the plot. We allowed us to better develop the plot.
Oh!!! And a huge part sorry. This is enemies to lovers & I actually think they did a fantastic job of that! They were quite literally enemies hard core. I feel like it wasn’t a let down per se later on but the book kinda went soft afterward and lost its edge. Before it was intense and I really thought they were going to be killing people off. But once the plot really started I feel like it gave more comfort/ quest / follow the story but it’ll work out vibes. Which it’s YA so it felt appropriate.
Only gripes are 1) the cover & the plot summary are misleading. It makes it seem like it’s dual pov but it’s actually 3 people pov. It was kindaaa out of place and idk if it was necessary to have Sabine’s pov. It definitely made it easier to show and not tell updates for the plot outside of the 2 MC’s. And I really liked Sabines growth & her POVs the most! I’m hoping in the sequel we get more of her (I think we do)
2) at times I did find myself kinda glazing over and finding that it didn’t really matter because it was the same fight scene just playing out kind of long. I went back and re listened but it wasn’t that important bc it was high key predictable
With that being said I greatly enjoyed this book & think it is a perfect YA fantasy !!! Emphasis on actually YA appropriate and an interesting plot with theoretically high stakes but w predictability factor you don’t have to stress lol. And it didn’t have any of the annoying drama for no reason and we get to see lovely healthy bonds of friendship.
Oh!!! And a huge part sorry. This is enemies to lovers & I actually think they did a fantastic job of that! They were quite literally enemies hard core. I feel like it wasn’t a let down per se later on but the book kinda went soft afterward and lost its edge. Before it was intense and I really thought they were going to be killing people off. But once the plot really started I feel like it gave more comfort/ quest / follow the story but it’ll work out vibes. Which it’s YA so it felt appropriate.
Only gripes are 1) the cover & the plot summary are misleading. It makes it seem like it’s dual pov but it’s actually 3 people pov. It was kindaaa out of place and idk if it was necessary to have Sabine’s pov. It definitely made it easier to show and not tell updates for the plot outside of the 2 MC’s. And I really liked Sabines growth & her POVs the most! I’m hoping in the sequel we get more of her (I think we do)
2) at times I did find myself kinda glazing over and finding that it didn’t really matter because it was the same fight scene just playing out kind of long. I went back and re listened but it wasn’t that important bc it was high key predictable
With that being said I greatly enjoyed this book & think it is a perfect YA fantasy !!! Emphasis on actually YA appropriate and an interesting plot with theoretically high stakes but w predictability factor you don’t have to stress lol. And it didn’t have any of the annoying drama for no reason and we get to see lovely healthy bonds of friendship.
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
Poor writing. The enemies to lovers plot was so unrealistic and rough. This book is SO cliche.
Pretty much all you can ask for in a YA fantasy-paranormal romance. Friends, enemies, family, unique magic (not suitable for those who can't bear the concept of animal harm) and mythology (a little holey perhaps, but original none the less) , and of course, forbidden romance.
The plot chugs along at a good pace, the narrative split between Ailesse and Sabine, two BFF Bone Criers (aka magicy women to ferry the dead to the afterlife), and their unknown "enemy" Bastian who wants revenge for his father's death at the hands of a Bone Crier. There's plenty of action, twists and trope-tastic dynamics between the characters. The romance is pretty slow build enemies to lovers, all topped off with a dash of fated to be togetherness. Side characters Jules and Marcel add extra banter, thankfully forgoing the worst of the jealous love rival behaviour. The psuedo French setting with odd words here and there seemed a little strange, especially coupled with the modernisms (someone being "on point") but it works in the way the story needs it to.
If the genre is your jam, you'll probably have a great time enjoying your favorite tropes. Just watch for that cliffhanger ending!
The plot chugs along at a good pace, the narrative split between Ailesse and Sabine, two BFF Bone Criers (aka magicy women to ferry the dead to the afterlife), and their unknown "enemy" Bastian who wants revenge for his father's death at the hands of a Bone Crier. There's plenty of action, twists and trope-tastic dynamics between the characters. The romance is pretty slow build enemies to lovers, all topped off with a dash of fated to be togetherness. Side characters Jules and Marcel add extra banter, thankfully forgoing the worst of the jealous love rival behaviour. The psuedo French setting with odd words here and there seemed a little strange, especially coupled with the modernisms (someone being "on point") but it works in the way the story needs it to.
If the genre is your jam, you'll probably have a great time enjoying your favorite tropes. Just watch for that cliffhanger ending!
1/5
Ugh...i did not finish this. The premise of the plot sounded enterprising, but the execution...well, was not that great.
Now, I'm all for children doing adult things (killing and such) in fantasy novels, but this was very amateurish. I want to put that down to the market audience of the book, it is classified as teen fiction. However, some of the best fantasy teen fiction has some grit to it (think Cassandra Clare).That's where this novel fell short.
The enemies-to-lovers wasn't even angsty...it felt very bland. Also, the side characters' placement in the central plot just felt awkward.
Booktok put me on this one and I am personally disappointed that it didn't live up to the hype.
Ugh...i did not finish this. The premise of the plot sounded enterprising, but the execution...well, was not that great.
Now, I'm all for children doing adult things (killing and such) in fantasy novels, but this was very amateurish. I want to put that down to the market audience of the book, it is classified as teen fiction. However, some of the best fantasy teen fiction has some grit to it (think Cassandra Clare).That's where this novel fell short.
The enemies-to-lovers wasn't even angsty...it felt very bland. Also, the side characters' placement in the central plot just felt awkward.
Booktok put me on this one and I am personally disappointed that it didn't live up to the hype.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
3.75 stars- good, and I'll read the second but underwhelming compared to the hype from two years ago.
I really enjoyed this book! The premise was super unique and I loved most of the characters!
Except for Jules. Fuck Jules. She is so annoying I rolled my eyes everytime she showed up in a scene.
I would give this book 5 stars if it weren't for Jules
Except for Jules. Fuck Jules. She is so annoying I rolled my eyes everytime she showed up in a scene.
I would give this book 5 stars if it weren't for Jules