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sarah42783's review
4.0
❣ A Marital Buddy Read (MBR™) with my delicious bloodshed-loving wife Maria ❣
» And the moral of this reread is: I just survived this Love Quadrangle of Doom-embellished NA tale for the second bloody shrimping time. Sigh. Pippa DaCosta, you truly have thoroughly ruined me forever. I do not like you very much and stuff. But you might want to write a third instalment in this series, just in case. I wouldn't read it, obviously, but some people would. Not me, though. Oh, no absolutely not.
Also: spiders. Cutest pets ever.
[Original review]
▧ An announcement from Goodreads Support ▧
Dear Goodreads users,
Please stop harassing our team with your suspicions that this former nefarious breeder of murderous crustaceans' account has been hacked. Yes, said user gave 5 stars to a Freaking PNR Novel. Yes, said user gave 5 stars to TWO Freaking Epic Fantasy Novels in a row. And yes, said user just gave 4 stars to a Freaking NA Novel about the Silly Fae. We, at Goodreads Support, once again certify that this ACCOUNT HAS NOT BEEN HACKED. So get off our backs. Thank you. PS: yes, the fact that this account has not been hacked does mean the end of the world is near. Sorry.
▧ End of announcement from Goodreads Support ▧
You have got to be kidding me. Goodreads Support interrupting one of myfascinating reviews once again?! Damn. I must have done some seriously wicked crap in a past life to deserve this. Dear lovely Goodreads Support people: don't you think this whole "I'm loving books I should be hating with a vengeance" ordeal is traumatizing enough for me? You have to chase me to the dark recesses of my reviews to rehash it, too? Have you no heart, people?!
Yeah, that's what I thought. Oh well, nothing to be done about it so let's get on with the traumatizing ordeal in question, shall we?
So. Pippa DaCosta. I've already said the woman would be the death of me one day. And she is proving it one bloody book at a time. I would NEVER have read a New Adult *shudders* story, had she not written it. Not even under the most horrifyingly painful, terrifyingly agonizing, viciously cruel torture. Me? Read NA? I'd rather die, thank you very much. But Pippa wrote it. And so I read it. And so I liked it. And so life will never be the same.
✎ Reason #1 why I should have hated this book: N. Freaking. A.
I am allergic to PNR. I am allergic to YA. But NA? NA I hate with all my might. Because STOOPID. Because ridiculous. Because OTT. Because trying too hard to be deep and meaningful and ADULT, and ending up being clichéd, trivial, laughable, and pathetically juvenile instead. Because taking itself way too seriously. AND because I'm too old for this shit *gleefully waves at NA-loving trolls*
✎ Reason #2 why I should have hated this book: the Silly Fae
Sorry, don't have much to say here. I've always thought fairies –oops, excuse me, I meant to say Fae, not fairies. Yeah, "Fae" is a much cooler word. Besides, fairies are so desperately ordinary and frightfully unremarkable. Nothing in common with the ever-awesome, awe-inspiring Fae ☢ sarcasm alert ☢ But I digress. Short story even shorter: I don't like the Fae. They rarely ever add anything to a story. I don't find them scary. I don't find them interesting. I just find them boring as hell *yawns*
✎ Reason #3 why I should have hated this book: instaluuurrrrvvve
Need I say more? Didn't think so.
✎ Reason #4 why I should have hated this book: the Love Triangle of Death
You know what's worse than a Love Triangle of Death (LTD™). A Love Quadrangle of Death (LQD™). Yes, there is such a thing. Right here. In this story. Add some "we love each other but can't be together because spoilers" stuff and you get the Love Quadrangle of Death, Doom, Destruction, and Immediate Extinction of All Life on Earth (LQDDDIEALE™).
►► Time for simple maths:
Reason #1 + reason #2 + reason #3 + reason #4 = I couldn't put this book down.
Makes perfect sense, right? Right. Well that's Pippa DaCosta Magic (PDCM™) for you. I'm pretty sure the woman is a witch with evil, supernatural powers. I see no other possible explanation. Okay, so Pippa might just be a teensy little bit talented. Yes, that might be another explanation. And it is true that this book doesn't fulfil the STOOPID-RIDICULOUS-OTT NA requirements *faints* And it is true that the heroine might only be nineteen but she's not a completely immature, superficial airhead *chokes* And it is true that there arefairies Fae here but they are uncharacteristically non stupid and actually pretty cool *gasps* And it is true that there is a devious instalurrrrve attack but it didn't awaken the homicidal maniac in me *hyperventilates* And it is true there is a LQDDDIEALE™ but it didn't bother me the slightest *stops breathing altogether*
I originally wanted to give this book 3.5 stars. And then I thought, "to hell with your reputation, Sarah! Be bold! Be fearless! Rate it 4 stars!" And since I'm wise and stuff, I listened to my little self. Because, Pippa DaCosta managed the impossible and made me enjoy a NA story about the Silly Fae. I don't care what youclueless dear people think, the woman deserves a 4-star rating. Damn right she does.
✎ Book 2: City of Shadows ★★★★★
» And the moral of this reread is: I just survived this Love Quadrangle of Doom-embellished NA tale for the second bloody shrimping time. Sigh. Pippa DaCosta, you truly have thoroughly ruined me forever. I do not like you very much and stuff. But you might want to write a third instalment in this series, just in case. I wouldn't read it, obviously, but some people would. Not me, though. Oh, no absolutely not.
Also: spiders. Cutest pets ever.
[Original review]
▧ An announcement from Goodreads Support ▧
Dear Goodreads users,
Please stop harassing our team with your suspicions that this former nefarious breeder of murderous crustaceans' account has been hacked. Yes, said user gave 5 stars to a Freaking PNR Novel. Yes, said user gave 5 stars to TWO Freaking Epic Fantasy Novels in a row. And yes, said user just gave 4 stars to a Freaking NA Novel about the Silly Fae. We, at Goodreads Support, once again certify that this ACCOUNT HAS NOT BEEN HACKED. So get off our backs. Thank you. PS: yes, the fact that this account has not been hacked does mean the end of the world is near. Sorry.
▧ End of announcement from Goodreads Support ▧
You have got to be kidding me. Goodreads Support interrupting one of my
Yeah, that's what I thought. Oh well, nothing to be done about it so let's get on with the traumatizing ordeal in question, shall we?
So. Pippa DaCosta. I've already said the woman would be the death of me one day. And she is proving it one bloody book at a time. I would NEVER have read a New Adult *shudders* story, had she not written it. Not even under the most horrifyingly painful, terrifyingly agonizing, viciously cruel torture. Me? Read NA? I'd rather die, thank you very much. But Pippa wrote it. And so I read it. And so I liked it. And so life will never be the same.
✎ Reason #1 why I should have hated this book: N. Freaking. A.
I am allergic to PNR. I am allergic to YA. But NA? NA I hate with all my might. Because STOOPID. Because ridiculous. Because OTT. Because trying too hard to be deep and meaningful and ADULT, and ending up being clichéd, trivial, laughable, and pathetically juvenile instead. Because taking itself way too seriously. AND because I'm too old for this shit *gleefully waves at NA-loving trolls*
✎ Reason #2 why I should have hated this book: the Silly Fae
Sorry, don't have much to say here. I've always thought fairies –oops, excuse me, I meant to say Fae, not fairies. Yeah, "Fae" is a much cooler word. Besides, fairies are so desperately ordinary and frightfully unremarkable. Nothing in common with the ever-awesome, awe-inspiring Fae ☢ sarcasm alert ☢ But I digress. Short story even shorter: I don't like the Fae. They rarely ever add anything to a story. I don't find them scary. I don't find them interesting. I just find them boring as hell *yawns*
✎ Reason #3 why I should have hated this book: instaluuurrrrvvve
Need I say more? Didn't think so.
✎ Reason #4 why I should have hated this book: the Love Triangle of Death
You know what's worse than a Love Triangle of Death (LTD™). A Love Quadrangle of Death (LQD™). Yes, there is such a thing. Right here. In this story. Add some "we love each other but can't be together because spoilers" stuff and you get the Love Quadrangle of Death, Doom, Destruction, and Immediate Extinction of All Life on Earth (LQDDDIEALE™).
►► Time for simple maths:
Reason #1 + reason #2 + reason #3 + reason #4 = I couldn't put this book down.
Makes perfect sense, right? Right. Well that's Pippa DaCosta Magic (PDCM™) for you. I'm pretty sure the woman is a witch with evil, supernatural powers. I see no other possible explanation. Okay, so Pippa might just be a teensy little bit talented. Yes, that might be another explanation. And it is true that this book doesn't fulfil the STOOPID-RIDICULOUS-OTT NA requirements *faints* And it is true that the heroine might only be nineteen but she's not a completely immature, superficial airhead *chokes* And it is true that there are
I originally wanted to give this book 3.5 stars. And then I thought, "to hell with your reputation, Sarah! Be bold! Be fearless! Rate it 4 stars!" And since I'm wise and stuff, I listened to my little self. Because, Pippa DaCosta managed the impossible and made me enjoy a NA story about the Silly Fae. I don't care what you
✎ Book 2: City of Shadows ★★★★★
caramisha's review
4.0
I love this genre (urban fantasy) - and it's an interesting take on fae. I unfortunately read the synopsis for the second book before picking this one up and that summary pretty neatly spoils a LOT of this one. I definitely still enjoyed it!
thefox22's review
3.0
*eARC kindly provided by Bloomsbury Spark via NetGalley*
This one was another book I liked! BUT it was loads underwhelming, and I was almost pushing myself to finish it even though I didn’t totally want to. I am glad I finished, but I didn’t fall in love with this story like I wanted to. It was a bit predictable, but it was fast-paced and I like fae stories a lot. The romance could have been way more developed though, and so could have the characters. I never really connected with them, or felt that they were more than one-dimensional. The main character, Alina, was kind of clueless, but she was headstrong and dived into the danger (even when it could have killed her). The romance was so insta-lovey, but I looked over that because I liked the characters’ push and pull relationship. Banter is good. This was not my favorite fae story I’ve ever read, but I still enjoyed it.
This one was another book I liked! BUT it was loads underwhelming, and I was almost pushing myself to finish it even though I didn’t totally want to. I am glad I finished, but I didn’t fall in love with this story like I wanted to. It was a bit predictable, but it was fast-paced and I like fae stories a lot. The romance could have been way more developed though, and so could have the characters. I never really connected with them, or felt that they were more than one-dimensional. The main character, Alina, was kind of clueless, but she was headstrong and dived into the danger (even when it could have killed her). The romance was so insta-lovey, but I looked over that because I liked the characters’ push and pull relationship. Banter is good. This was not my favorite fae story I’ve ever read, but I still enjoyed it.
calissa's review
2.0
Disclaimer: I was provided with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
As many other NetGalley reviewers have noted, the ARC I received of City of Fae was clearly not a final copy and overall I felt it had a lot of work still ahead of it.
One of the biggest flaws for me was the lack of tension. Alina is a journalist who has just been fired. Her motivation in helping rock-star fae Reign is manipulative and selfish--she's out to score a big story that will get her back her job. While I appreciated the way this distinguished her somewhat from other love-struck, paranormal YA heroines, it didn't endear her at all. This motivation also didn't give us a sense of the stakes for Alina. We never see her at her former job and she has no life outside it. While there is a very good reason for this, it also means that for the first half of the novel she has nothing further to lose, nothing personal at stake, and nothing for the reader to care about.
Although I found Alina somewhat unlikeable, at least to begin with, I also found she was easily the most interesting character. While Reign never really manages to rise above the stereotypical tortured, romantic hero, Alina is blunt, forthright and doesn’t hesitate to call Reign on his bull. One of my favourite things about the novel was the banter between these two characters. Alina also takes decisive action, and really kicks some butt in the second half of the book.
Readers who adore love triangles are in for a treat. In fact, it is less a triangle than a conga line. Alina’s other love interest (not that she's really interested) provides a steady, sober contrast to Reign. I found the character had slightly more depth, though of course the relationship had no chemistry at all. The ending of the book left this relationship in a rather interesting place for the heavily implied sequel to explore.
However, on balance City of Fae didn’t draw me in enough for me to pursue the sequel, should one be forthcoming.
This review first appeared on Earl Grey Editing.
As many other NetGalley reviewers have noted, the ARC I received of City of Fae was clearly not a final copy and overall I felt it had a lot of work still ahead of it.
One of the biggest flaws for me was the lack of tension. Alina is a journalist who has just been fired. Her motivation in helping rock-star fae Reign is manipulative and selfish--she's out to score a big story that will get her back her job. While I appreciated the way this distinguished her somewhat from other love-struck, paranormal YA heroines, it didn't endear her at all. This motivation also didn't give us a sense of the stakes for Alina. We never see her at her former job and she has no life outside it. While there is a very good reason for this, it also means that for the first half of the novel she has nothing further to lose, nothing personal at stake, and nothing for the reader to care about.
Although I found Alina somewhat unlikeable, at least to begin with, I also found she was easily the most interesting character. While Reign never really manages to rise above the stereotypical tortured, romantic hero, Alina is blunt, forthright and doesn’t hesitate to call Reign on his bull. One of my favourite things about the novel was the banter between these two characters. Alina also takes decisive action, and really kicks some butt in the second half of the book.
Readers who adore love triangles are in for a treat. In fact, it is less a triangle than a conga line. Alina’s other love interest (not that she's really interested) provides a steady, sober contrast to Reign. I found the character had slightly more depth, though of course the relationship had no chemistry at all. The ending of the book left this relationship in a rather interesting place for the heavily implied sequel to explore.
However, on balance City of Fae didn’t draw me in enough for me to pursue the sequel, should one be forthcoming.
This review first appeared on Earl Grey Editing.
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