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3.68 AVERAGE
3.68 AVERAGE
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
3.5
Okay the plot was thiiiiiin and our characters incredibly cruel (I thought some likably horrible imo). BUT I had to know what everyone was going to do next and read most of this in a day. I thought the magic system was cool but too complicated to really try to figure out so I was just going with the flow. If I continue the series it’ll be for Nico and I’m not sorry
Okay the plot was thiiiiiin and our characters incredibly cruel (I thought some likably horrible imo). BUT I had to know what everyone was going to do next and read most of this in a day. I thought the magic system was cool but too complicated to really try to figure out so I was just going with the flow. If I continue the series it’ll be for Nico and I’m not sorry
There’s a second, right? Please tell me there’s a second. Oh good, there is.
This was hard to finish. About halfway through I realized all of the characters had finished developing and remained less than interesting. For some reason the author tried to make all of the characters pretentious, aloof, and "too cool for school" which got old very fast.
I think I went into this book with too-high expectations. The premise was totally up my alley, and I really wanted to love it and get invested. But while there were parts of this book that I found really enjoyable, especially the beginning with the introduction of all the characters, and the POV at the end, unfortunately, a lot of it was on and off for me.
I can really see why so many people love this book. It’s got that dark academia quality, the magic system is cool, and the different dynamics within the ragtag team are interesting. But for some reason, it was hard for me to really get into it. I think it was partly the writing style—I feel like it was sometimes trying to sound smarter than it was, and it resulted in a lot of quotable-out-of-context but stilted-in-context dialogue. It was less noticeable once I switched to audiobook, but it did still take me out of the story sometimes. Also, the plot was paced a bit weirdly. It felt like a lot of things were happening but nothing really progressed or went anywhere until the end. Or maybe I’d feel different if I’d read the book faster? Hard to say.
I also found it a bit hard to connect with all the characters. I’m all for unlikeable MCs, but I found it a bit hard to root for all of them. I felt like I was grasping at straws trying to find parts of them I could sympathize with and get invested in. The characterization of the six MCs was a bit of a mixed bag—Nico and Libby especially were very distinct, and Reina’s mysteriousness made her very interesting. Tristan and Callum were kinda similar tbh—I never really tried to tell them apart in my head—and I do wish we’d seen more sides of Parisa.
Overall, I’m glad I read this book! I’m not sure if I’ll keep going with this series, but I did enjoy getting to know this world and these characters.
I can really see why so many people love this book. It’s got that dark academia quality, the magic system is cool, and the different dynamics within the ragtag team are interesting. But for some reason, it was hard for me to really get into it. I think it was partly the writing style—I feel like it was sometimes trying to sound smarter than it was, and it resulted in a lot of quotable-out-of-context but stilted-in-context dialogue. It was less noticeable once I switched to audiobook, but it did still take me out of the story sometimes. Also, the plot was paced a bit weirdly. It felt like a lot of things were happening but nothing really progressed or went anywhere until the end. Or maybe I’d feel different if I’d read the book faster? Hard to say.
I also found it a bit hard to connect with all the characters. I’m all for unlikeable MCs, but I found it a bit hard to root for all of them. I felt like I was grasping at straws trying to find parts of them I could sympathize with and get invested in. The characterization of the six MCs was a bit of a mixed bag—Nico and Libby especially were very distinct, and Reina’s mysteriousness made her very interesting. Tristan and Callum were kinda similar tbh—I never really tried to tell them apart in my head—and I do wish we’d seen more sides of Parisa.
Overall, I’m glad I read this book! I’m not sure if I’ll keep going with this series, but I did enjoy getting to know this world and these characters.
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
c'était.. bizarre?? une expérience??
j'ai jamais lu une histoire de fantastique aussi mystérieuse dans le sens on comprend pas grand chose pendant + de la moitié mais ça te fait pas reposer le livre, au contraire ! et même quand on en apprend un peu +, on reste vachement vachement dans le flou et ça fait vraiment partie du charme du livre.
ensuite, l'écriture?? assez simple mais l'effet est zinzin. chaque point de vue est différent mais genre vraiment on sent les personnalités opposées des personnages et on ne sait pas direct tout sur eux et leurs réactions pour autant. ils sont tous si affreux comme êtres humains, mais en vrai pas totalement, et ils ont leurs raisons, mais en même temps pas vraiment... ça fait vachement questionner la moralité et la conception du bien/mal mais tellement tellement d'autres sujets bien vaporeux bien philosophie classique bien coolax comment c'est fait en vrai. et à la fin t'as quand même envie de savoir ce qui va leur arriver aux pelos, à tous.
et puis damn l'histoire totalement wtf bien DARK academia et les liens wtf entre Les personnages et toutes les histoires secondaires au plot qui sont hyper prenantes aussi et en fait tout est lié et AAAAAAAA c'était trop chouette !! et puis les piques bien placées contre le capitalisme, contre la surconsommation, etc, j'espère ce sera + développé !
ah et bonus point pcq c'est un vrai livre de new adult aka ma nouvelle passion, que les personnages soient dans leurs 20/30aines c'est pas commun et très cool.
j'espère que la suite est à la hauteur
j'ai jamais lu une histoire de fantastique aussi mystérieuse dans le sens on comprend pas grand chose pendant + de la moitié mais ça te fait pas reposer le livre, au contraire ! et même quand on en apprend un peu +, on reste vachement vachement dans le flou et ça fait vraiment partie du charme du livre.
ensuite, l'écriture?? assez simple mais l'effet est zinzin. chaque point de vue est différent mais genre vraiment on sent les personnalités opposées des personnages et on ne sait pas direct tout sur eux et leurs réactions pour autant. ils sont tous si affreux comme êtres humains, mais en vrai pas totalement, et ils ont leurs raisons, mais en même temps pas vraiment... ça fait vachement questionner la moralité et la conception du bien/mal mais tellement tellement d'autres sujets bien vaporeux bien philosophie classique bien coolax comment c'est fait en vrai. et à la fin t'as quand même envie de savoir ce qui va leur arriver aux pelos, à tous.
et puis damn l'histoire totalement wtf bien DARK academia et les liens wtf entre Les personnages et toutes les histoires secondaires au plot qui sont hyper prenantes aussi et en fait tout est lié et AAAAAAAA c'était trop chouette !! et puis les piques bien placées contre le capitalisme, contre la surconsommation, etc, j'espère ce sera + développé !
ah et bonus point pcq c'est un vrai livre de new adult aka ma nouvelle passion, que les personnages soient dans leurs 20/30aines c'est pas commun et très cool.
j'espère que la suite est à la hauteur
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Suicide, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Incest, Grief
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
challenging
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No