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3.9 AVERAGE
3.9 AVERAGE
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
I feel like I missed the part when the enemies became lovers
Overhyped as hell.
If you want to read an easy fantasy with a unique magic system and simple romance, look no further. It's a fine place to start. But there's a reason this book took me so long to read.
Mahurin seems to have invented a new type of insta-love that I'll be calling insta-relationship. Allow me to elaborate. This is an enemies to lovers book, which is all anyone is ever able to say about it. But if you're writing a novel that isn't a standalone, i.e. creating a larger plot that will take longer to resolve, and you have the enemies to lovers take place in not just the first book but the first half, you're doing it wrong. I wanted a slow burn, and instead got narration about how they're starting to be attracted to each other within days of meeting and getting married. But it goes beyond that. Ansel and Lou instantly become friends, despite her using him and then revealing her secret to him, and I refuse to believe he would realistically be saying she's a good person in the next scene. I would've liked if the author explored the fallout of Lou's revealing herself on him--he's young and unsure, and I wanted to see him confront these new contradictions to his worldview. That goes for Reid too.
Speaking of Reid, let's talk about him. I don't like him at all. Put a sword on an especially chivalric tree and you'll get his personality. Every time I saw people hyped about this book, they talked about how dreamy he is and blah blah blah. After finishing, I just want to scream, "He's a SQUAAAAAAAAAAAARE!" I think his pathological need to be the manly man and protect Lou is supposed to be romantic, but I find it makes him very one-dimensional. He teeters on the brink of sliding into toxic masculinity territory, and I will never find that sexy. And that's all there is to his personality!
Lou is a fine protagonist, but she's not very unique. We're supposed to fall in love with her wildness the way Reid does, but she feels to me like every Wattpad novel protagonist. The author selected two basic character traits for her--feisty but kind--and didn't add anything else. I'm sorry, but singing tavern songs isn't a personality trait. I feel like Coco had more personality than anyone else, and she has almost no screen time. (Page time?)
The plot is very straightforward and features almost no twists. When the author attempts a twist or a reveal, it's either extremely predictable or completely unnecessary, or both! The protagonist-learns-of-their-controversial-parentage cliche is tired as hell and I wish this book didn't depend entirely on that to keep the plot moving.
Considering it took me a month and a half just to read the last third of the book, and that I was rolling my eyes every other page, I don't think I want to subject myself to the sequel. But if it's better than the first one, I'll consider it.
If you want to read an easy fantasy with a unique magic system and simple romance, look no further. It's a fine place to start. But there's a reason this book took me so long to read.
Mahurin seems to have invented a new type of insta-love that I'll be calling insta-relationship. Allow me to elaborate. This is an enemies to lovers book, which is all anyone is ever able to say about it. But if you're writing a novel that isn't a standalone, i.e. creating a larger plot that will take longer to resolve, and you have the enemies to lovers take place in not just the first book but the first half, you're doing it wrong. I wanted a slow burn, and instead got narration about how they're starting to be attracted to each other within days of meeting and getting married. But it goes beyond that. Ansel and Lou instantly become friends, despite her using him and then revealing her secret to him, and I refuse to believe he would realistically be saying she's a good person in the next scene. I would've liked if the author explored the fallout of Lou's revealing herself on him--he's young and unsure, and I wanted to see him confront these new contradictions to his worldview. That goes for Reid too.
Speaking of Reid, let's talk about him. I don't like him at all. Put a sword on an especially chivalric tree and you'll get his personality. Every time I saw people hyped about this book, they talked about how dreamy he is and blah blah blah. After finishing, I just want to scream, "He's a SQUAAAAAAAAAAAARE!" I think his pathological need to be the manly man and protect Lou is supposed to be romantic, but I find it makes him very one-dimensional. He teeters on the brink of sliding into toxic masculinity territory, and I will never find that sexy. And that's all there is to his personality!
Lou is a fine protagonist, but she's not very unique. We're supposed to fall in love with her wildness the way Reid does, but she feels to me like every Wattpad novel protagonist. The author selected two basic character traits for her--feisty but kind--and didn't add anything else. I'm sorry, but singing tavern songs isn't a personality trait. I feel like Coco had more personality than anyone else, and she has almost no screen time. (Page time?)
The plot is very straightforward and features almost no twists. When the author attempts a twist or a reveal, it's either extremely predictable or completely unnecessary, or both! The protagonist-learns-of-their-controversial-parentage cliche is tired as hell and I wish this book didn't depend entirely on that to keep the plot moving.
Considering it took me a month and a half just to read the last third of the book, and that I was rolling my eyes every other page, I don't think I want to subject myself to the sequel. But if it's better than the first one, I'll consider it.
I really adored this book the first time around, and while wouldn’t say I enjoyed it AS much on the second read, I would still absolutely recommend it to anyone who loves an enemies to lovers troupe. Overall, I’m glad I did reread it ahead of the sequel release because I had completely forgotten what happened in the end!
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
This book drew me in immediately! This might be the best book I’ve read all year!
adventurous
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
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes