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authorannafaundez's review against another edition
dark
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
I was correct! The Kalona arc drags, and it's obvious in this book. Burned is slow. It should've ended at the halfway mark of the book with the rest being the setup for the next arc. And there were too many POVs.
The only aspect of Burned that kept my attention consistently was Stevie Rae's side story. No spoilers for that though.
But Zoey? Her arc was not great. Nothing really happened. There was a looming consequence (her death) and no price to avoid it. The authors had a chance to make Zoey's place in Burned really make an impact, but instead they chose to let her flounder and then magically find herself when she got angry. Boring.
On another note, the rude language makes a comeback in this book. Not a fan; I really thought the characters were growing out of that, and seeing it again makes their growth feel less meaningful.
The only aspect of Burned that kept my attention consistently was Stevie Rae's side story. No spoilers for that though.
But Zoey? Her arc was not great. Nothing really happened. There was a looming consequence (her death) and no price to avoid it. The authors had a chance to make Zoey's place in Burned really make an impact, but instead they chose to let her flounder and then magically find herself when she got angry. Boring.
On another note, the rude language makes a comeback in this book. Not a fan; I really thought the characters were growing out of that, and seeing it again makes their growth feel less meaningful.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood and Body horror
Moderate: Violence, Death, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Rape, Bullying, and Sexual content
nick13's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Maybe I'm going absolutely crazy but I think this one is the best one so far. Writing was a little better, plot was actually existent, and the multiple perspectives gave the story a lot more breathing room that this series desperately needed. Overall, I can say this book was very meh as books go, but for the series it was astounding.
also, the part in the tunnels where one of the bad guys pulls a fuckin gun out and starts shooting was hilarious! And then the twist where Dallas becomes evil was one of the stupidest things I've ever witnessed in a story!! Even with that tho, still a solid 3 stars...probably should be 2 ngl but 3 bc it was a funny time reading it.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood, Gun violence, Cursing, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Sexual harassment
jonsnowsmanbun's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood
rachaelarsenault's review
slow-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
0.25
This book actually had an identifiable central plot, at least compared to prior installments in the series. That doesn't mean the plot is well executed, of course. For one thing, the vast majority of this book is talked.
Dialogue is a really important part of a story, but it has its limits. And when I have to read characters telling each other about Zoey's shattered soul seven times, it gets really old, really fast. The endless talking in this book rarely actually accomplishes anything, and when it does accomplish something it takes way too long to get there. It makes the book drag.
Moreover, because the story consists mostly of dialogue, a lot of the way characters come upon solutions or new information is really contrived or just plain stupid. Aphrodite discovers a convenient new use for her affinity that's never even been hinted at previously, Darius and Thanatos happen to know about an ancient religion and the one remaining group of vampyres that follows it, Stark is conveniently related to the only family allowed to enter the isolated island where this group resides, etc., etc. This isn't good story telling. It's writing yourself into a corner, pulling a solution out of nowhere, and then never going back to change things so that solution actually makes sense.
One of the few refreshing aspects of this book is that Zoey is barely in it, though that just makes the fact that only her chapters are written in first person even weirder. Also, Stevie Rae very quickly steps into Zoey's shoes, so that relief is short lived. Stevie Rae takes on all of Zoey's worst traits as a protagonist: She ignores problems until they're either solved for her or become completely unavoidable, she gets tangled in a completely unnecessary love triangle and focuses more on that than the actual plot, and starts throwing around her unofficial title as High Priestess to force people into doing what she wants. I'd say she's at least not prone to Zoey's intensely judgemental and mocking tone of narration, but even that crops up here and there - which is ridiculous, because Stevie Rae is the nice one who would criticize her friends for being too mean.
I briefly mentioned the love triangle, but I need to reiterate how completely pointless it is. First of all, it's clear from the very beginning that readers are supposed to care about Dallas and Stevie Rae's relationship. But we've seen them have a real conversation - what? - twice, maybe. We know they have a thing, but by her own admission it's not serious. So when the first chapter from Stevie Rae's perspective spends all this time and energy on her relationship with Dallas and how he's upset that she's keeping secrets and she feels bad for hurting him and pushing him away, it doesn't really make sense. Since when do they have a serious relationship where they're expected to confide in each other about everything? And this keeps happening throughout the book. But the more it happens, the less I care because it's so obvious that the relationship is going to fall apart anyway. It's about as devastating as breaking up with someone you dated for a week.
Worse, there's literally no benefit to the plot from this relationship. Yes, Dallas finds out about Stevie Rae and Rephaim. Yes, he turns to Darkness and it's dramatic and violent and Stevie Rae has to worry more than ever about her secret getting out to the others. But guess what? There was absolutely no reason for that to come from a romantic relationship! Dallas doesn't have to be jealous - it barely makes sense for him to be jealous. It would have worked just as well if Dallas was Stevie Rae's closest friend among the red fledglings and he was hurt and betrayed by what she was hiding from him, not least because the Raven Mockers are their sworn enemy and he could easily take her relationship with Rephaim as a sign that she is allying herself with the enemy. The romantic angle serves no purpose, especially since her scenes with Rephaim barely acknowledge her confusion or guilt about loving him instead of Dallas. Also, loving a Raven Mocker should be a complicated enough romance subplot on its own without turning it into a love triangle.
The editing in the book was atrocious, which is par for the course by this point, but we also had new problems with the timeline. Stevie Rae and the red fledglings are in Tulsa while everyone else is in Venice and, eventually, Scotland. But little to no attention is paid to time zones, no one mentions long distance calling (even though Stevie Rae should have serious difficulties with this on a burner phone until she goes and specifically buys international long distance minutes), and Stevie Rae's timeline should actually be a full day ahead of the Venice/Scotland timeline. She wakes up a day after she was burning on the roof, and she had called Zoey before she passed out and before Zoey had met with the High Council. When she and Aphrodite first talk on the phone, it's moments after Zoey shattered and was brought back to the High Council, but that doesn't make sense because Stevie Rae should still be unconscious.
There's so many other little things to rant about in this book. The continued butchering of AAVE. The new butchering of Scottish accents (inexplicably, Sgiach has no accent indicated whatsoever) and bastardization of Gaelic. Kalona summoning a spear to fight with even though he was explicitly described as using swords when he was Nyx' Warrior, and then not even using the spear properly in combat.Nyx respecting free will but forcing Kalona to fulfill Zoey's wishes at the end. Poetry being repeated ad nauseum like usual. Honestly, I'd be here all day if I tried to talk about all of it.
Dialogue is a really important part of a story, but it has its limits. And when I have to read characters telling each other about Zoey's shattered soul seven times, it gets really old, really fast. The endless talking in this book rarely actually accomplishes anything, and when it does accomplish something it takes way too long to get there. It makes the book drag.
Moreover, because the story consists mostly of dialogue, a lot of the way characters come upon solutions or new information is really contrived or just plain stupid. Aphrodite discovers a convenient new use for her affinity that's never even been hinted at previously, Darius and Thanatos happen to know about an ancient religion and the one remaining group of vampyres that follows it, Stark is conveniently related to the only family allowed to enter the isolated island where this group resides, etc., etc. This isn't good story telling. It's writing yourself into a corner, pulling a solution out of nowhere, and then never going back to change things so that solution actually makes sense.
One of the few refreshing aspects of this book is that Zoey is barely in it, though that just makes the fact that only her chapters are written in first person even weirder. Also, Stevie Rae very quickly steps into Zoey's shoes, so that relief is short lived. Stevie Rae takes on all of Zoey's worst traits as a protagonist: She ignores problems until they're either solved for her or become completely unavoidable, she gets tangled in a completely unnecessary love triangle and focuses more on that than the actual plot, and starts throwing around her unofficial title as High Priestess to force people into doing what she wants. I'd say she's at least not prone to Zoey's intensely judgemental and mocking tone of narration, but even that crops up here and there - which is ridiculous, because Stevie Rae is the nice one who would criticize her friends for being too mean.
I briefly mentioned the love triangle, but I need to reiterate how completely pointless it is. First of all, it's clear from the very beginning that readers are supposed to care about Dallas and Stevie Rae's relationship. But we've seen them have a real conversation - what? - twice, maybe. We know they have a thing, but by her own admission it's not serious. So when the first chapter from Stevie Rae's perspective spends all this time and energy on her relationship with Dallas and how he's upset that she's keeping secrets and she feels bad for hurting him and pushing him away, it doesn't really make sense. Since when do they have a serious relationship where they're expected to confide in each other about everything? And this keeps happening throughout the book. But the more it happens, the less I care because it's so obvious that the relationship is going to fall apart anyway. It's about as devastating as breaking up with someone you dated for a week.
Worse, there's literally no benefit to the plot from this relationship. Yes, Dallas finds out about Stevie Rae and Rephaim. Yes, he turns to Darkness and it's dramatic and violent and Stevie Rae has to worry more than ever about her secret getting out to the others. But guess what? There was absolutely no reason for that to come from a romantic relationship! Dallas doesn't have to be jealous - it barely makes sense for him to be jealous. It would have worked just as well if Dallas was Stevie Rae's closest friend among the red fledglings and he was hurt and betrayed by what she was hiding from him, not least because the Raven Mockers are their sworn enemy and he could easily take her relationship with Rephaim as a sign that she is allying herself with the enemy. The romantic angle serves no purpose, especially since her scenes with Rephaim barely acknowledge her confusion or guilt about loving him instead of Dallas. Also, loving a Raven Mocker should be a complicated enough romance subplot on its own without turning it into a love triangle.
The editing in the book was atrocious, which is par for the course by this point, but we also had new problems with the timeline. Stevie Rae and the red fledglings are in Tulsa while everyone else is in Venice and, eventually, Scotland. But little to no attention is paid to time zones, no one mentions long distance calling (even though Stevie Rae should have serious difficulties with this on a burner phone until she goes and specifically buys international long distance minutes), and Stevie Rae's timeline should actually be a full day ahead of the Venice/Scotland timeline. She wakes up a day after she was burning on the roof, and she had called Zoey before she passed out and before Zoey had met with the High Council. When she and Aphrodite first talk on the phone, it's moments after Zoey shattered and was brought back to the High Council, but that doesn't make sense because Stevie Rae should still be unconscious.
There's so many other little things to rant about in this book. The continued butchering of AAVE. The new butchering of Scottish accents (inexplicably, Sgiach has no accent indicated whatsoever) and bastardization of Gaelic. Kalona summoning a spear to fight with even though he was explicitly described as using swords when he was Nyx' Warrior, and then not even using the spear properly in combat.Nyx respecting free will but forcing Kalona to fulfill Zoey's wishes at the end. Poetry being repeated ad nauseum like usual. Honestly, I'd be here all day if I tried to talk about all of it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood and Body horror
Moderate: Gun violence
Minor: Ableism
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