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4.06 AVERAGE
4.06 AVERAGE
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Unfortunately a let down after reading The Will of The Many by the same author. It suffers from trying to cram too much into one novel. It simultaneously rushes through things and tries to tackle several novels' worth of plot points at the same time. Important scenes happen off page, only to be summarized by one of the main characters after the fact so we, the readers, can get the gist. A lot of tell, don't show. Some interesting ideas and I'm hopeful that book 2 and 3 improves, but so far I'm not impressed, sadly.
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
slow-paced
I have mixed feelings about this book. The story itself was good, with some interesting twists and turns, but the writing felt a bit underwhelming.
The style, content, and character complexity felt like the mid side of YA writing. The characters themselves came across as a bit flat.
There were also a lot of places and people to keep track of, which made things confusing—especially without a map or clear contextual cues. I listened to the audiobook version, so that might have contributed to the confusion. Still, I usually don’t have trouble following characters and organizations but this time I felt like I needed a glossary.
Also one trope that really grinds my gears kept popping up- the classic “There’s no time to explain!” Yes, there absolutely is time to explain-literally every single time there was time to explain!!! Ugh! Just thinking about it irks me.
Overall, the plot was solid and story interesting, but the execution was uneven. The characters needed more depth, and the writing could have been more immersive.
The style, content, and character complexity felt like the mid side of YA writing. The characters themselves came across as a bit flat.
There were also a lot of places and people to keep track of, which made things confusing—especially without a map or clear contextual cues. I listened to the audiobook version, so that might have contributed to the confusion. Still, I usually don’t have trouble following characters and organizations but this time I felt like I needed a glossary.
Also one trope that really grinds my gears kept popping up- the classic “There’s no time to explain!” Yes, there absolutely is time to explain-literally every single time there was time to explain!!! Ugh! Just thinking about it irks me.
Overall, the plot was solid and story interesting, but the execution was uneven. The characters needed more depth, and the writing could have been more immersive.
adventurous
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
liked the guessing games of wtf was going on w davian, very silly very whimsy. heard second and third are better so hopefully those don’t have sections that feel like it’s stuffing lore and minor important details down your throat. will say, as this is my second time reading islington, the romance subplots don’t make sense w pairings and it’s apparent it’s written by a man <3
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
You can absolutely tell that this is a debut, especially during the action sequences, but this was overall a fun and engaging read.