Reviews

Lightlark by Alex Aster

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madieven's review against another edition

4.0

4.75/5 stars
i went in blind with this book and had no clue what it was about!! this book was absolutely amazing though!! the ending had my jaw dropped! never did i see that coming!!

ellechill7's review against another edition

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medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

It’s an enemies to lovers trope with plot twists that can greatly alter the reader’s perspective

sinningsammy's review against another edition

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adventurous dark relaxing medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.5

I truly didn’t have much interest in this book. I listened to the audiobook because a cute girl recommended it to me and I wanted to give it a chance. It’s a good book for what it is however I don’t read much YA so it wasn’t really up my alley but it was enjoyable and I would recommend it to people who like YA and fantasy.

amanda_reading's review against another edition

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3.0

Is it the most unique story in the world? No. Is it the best writing I’ve ever encountered? Also no. But it had fun characters, a fun story, fun twists, & I had fun reading it. Excited to keep reading this series!

annettesbookbanter's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Ok so I know that this seems to be a book that divides a lot of people but for me personally I really enjoyed it so I am giving it 4.5 stars. I think people need to keep in mind that this was Alex's debut YA novel.

As far as a debut YA goes this is great! I was intrigued by the start. I love a good trial or morbid game based trope. While the world building wasn't super in depth it was enough for me to be able to understand the storyline and also picture scenes as they were taking place. I thought that the world Alex created was unique and the magic system and curses quite interesting. The story moves along at quite a fast pace and it is an easy read. While there were some things I did see coming there were others I certainly didn't.

In terms of characters, there wasn't a heap of character development but there was enough for me to enjoy the book and make sense of what was happening. I really liked the FMC and thought that the fact that she had been trained her entire life not to rely on powers - due to her having access to none - made her actions and interactions with the other rulers more believable. With the MMC there wasn't as much depth as I would have enjoyed in their character development but I think that is always harder to do when the story is written from a single POV, even if it was 3rd person. I thought the dynamics between the MMCs and the FMC felt authentic though and enjoyed them. There is romance, which I thought was done well but close to no spice.

I think if you enjoy YA fantasy, and have liked books like A Curse So Dark and Lonely, The Revenant Games, Three Dark Crowns or These Hollow Vows then you would enjoy this.

What you will find:
- Vast different magics centred around elemental
- Love triangle
- Curses, riddles, betrayals and lies
- Hidden identities
- Political intrigue and games
- Forgotten pasts