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3.8 AVERAGE
3.8 AVERAGE
I'M FINALLY FREE!!!! WORST EXPERIENCE OF MY LIFE!!!
Honestly though this book had no right to be this big and this wordy. So much of this book could have been edited out or condensed it sometimes felt like it would drag out scenes for the sake of page count or whatever anne rice was trying to do. this could have been like 500 pages and would have still told the story just as well.
I do like some of her ideas, and there were some really great ones in this book, as they are usually very batshit crazy and somewhat inventive, but GOD this book lost me with the length and the tangents it went on that led nowhere important for the most part.
I know some people did not like the mayfair witch history lesson for like 300+ pages, but I actually found those bits to at least hold my attention for the most part unlike......everything else.
I have some scattered thoughts that I don't feel like elaborating too much on so im bullet pointing them.
-the sex scenes were a bit disturbing and rape like (even referred to by both parties and like no thanks). big age gap between rowan and michael that was like...ew.
-incest everywhere you looked. literally you couldn't avoid it.
-the history of the previous mayfair witches was interesting but went on too long and at one point it was like OKAY THATS ENOUGH. lets get to the actual plot of the story (whatever that was)
-rowan was not very interesting and I think she suffered from being a secondary/tertiary character with almost no development in a story that should have treated her better.
-michael came across as creepy for the most part in scenes with rowan and i mostly disliked him.
-lasher was just...there. and didn't do much until the bitter end.
- i DID find lasher's end game with michael and rowan to be super weird, but like....creative?? interesting?? but ultimately very rushed at the end in a book where there were SO many pages and yet......the resolution of lasher's big plan happened in like 30 pages. definitely could have retracted like 200 pages of nonsense for that. yes there was build up to it, but still. not enough.
-literal word vomit and went on for much too long as mentioned. i got exhausted reading it sometimes because the plot moved so fucking slow and then in a second it was speeding through plots that definitely needed more explanation. the pacing was something to be desired.
-potential creepy atmosphere was ruined by cringey dialogue
-the michael + talamasca scenes were drawn out for much too long and michael didn't add anything to it other than extending the page length.....again.
-again...mostly boring for like.......600 pages
overall, it was fine. i wouldn't read it again and probably could have just read a synopsis and would have been fine. I'm hesitant to say I will continue with the mayfair witches series...perhaps i will look into them if i feel like i want to make myself suffer again.
but probably not to be honest.
Honestly though this book had no right to be this big and this wordy. So much of this book could have been edited out or condensed it sometimes felt like it would drag out scenes for the sake of page count or whatever anne rice was trying to do. this could have been like 500 pages and would have still told the story just as well.
I do like some of her ideas, and there were some really great ones in this book, as they are usually very batshit crazy and somewhat inventive, but GOD this book lost me with the length and the tangents it went on that led nowhere important for the most part.
I know some people did not like the mayfair witch history lesson for like 300+ pages, but I actually found those bits to at least hold my attention for the most part unlike......everything else.
I have some scattered thoughts that I don't feel like elaborating too much on so im bullet pointing them.
-the sex scenes were a bit disturbing and rape like (even referred to by both parties and like no thanks). big age gap between rowan and michael that was like...ew.
-incest everywhere you looked. literally you couldn't avoid it.
-the history of the previous mayfair witches was interesting but went on too long and at one point it was like OKAY THATS ENOUGH. lets get to the actual plot of the story (whatever that was)
-rowan was not very interesting and I think she suffered from being a secondary/tertiary character with almost no development in a story that should have treated her better.
-michael came across as creepy for the most part in scenes with rowan and i mostly disliked him.
-lasher was just...there. and didn't do much until the bitter end.
- i DID find lasher's end game with michael and rowan to be super weird, but like....creative?? interesting?? but ultimately very rushed at the end in a book where there were SO many pages and yet......the resolution of lasher's big plan happened in like 30 pages. definitely could have retracted like 200 pages of nonsense for that. yes there was build up to it, but still. not enough.
-literal word vomit and went on for much too long as mentioned. i got exhausted reading it sometimes because the plot moved so fucking slow and then in a second it was speeding through plots that definitely needed more explanation. the pacing was something to be desired.
-potential creepy atmosphere was ruined by cringey dialogue
-the michael + talamasca scenes were drawn out for much too long and michael didn't add anything to it other than extending the page length.....again.
-again...mostly boring for like.......600 pages
overall, it was fine. i wouldn't read it again and probably could have just read a synopsis and would have been fine. I'm hesitant to say I will continue with the mayfair witches series...perhaps i will look into them if i feel like i want to make myself suffer again.
but probably not to be honest.
Definitely not Anne Rice's best! I can't believe I hot through this tome. The first third was bearable, the second third was tedious and unnecessary, and I had to force myself to finish the book. I could have gone without all the pedophilia and incest!
This was everything I needed! The writing was phenomenal and the history pieces made this hard to put down.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This was different.
Just as a small tiny disclaimer this book is basically the poster child for incest. Friends, really please note that there’s just so much incest. And only like 25% of the characters will react to incest in a way that seems normal. Everyone else is just like sure. Took me like 8x longer to read to cope with this as a major part of the story.
ANYWAYS. Such a beautiful scene is set to create a modern ghost story with centuries of lore, while building a menacing aura up with each chapter. At times Anne Rice might even trick you into thinking you are reading a romance. True to horror, she sows distrust in every character, until finally everything you think you know and can trust goes out the window. I actually feel nauseous at the idea of finishing this series and certainly won’t be diving headfirst in like with a YA series (some romantasy overlap aside, this is practically any genre except YA) but I also think I probably have to because book one leaves so much up to interpretation and major developments yet to come.
Just as a small tiny disclaimer this book is basically the poster child for incest. Friends, really please note that there’s just so much incest. And only like 25% of the characters will react to incest in a way that seems normal. Everyone else is just like sure. Took me like 8x longer to read to cope with this as a major part of the story.
ANYWAYS. Such a beautiful scene is set to create a modern ghost story with centuries of lore, while building a menacing aura up with each chapter. At times Anne Rice might even trick you into thinking you are reading a romance. True to horror, she sows distrust in every character, until finally everything you think you know and can trust goes out the window. I actually feel nauseous at the idea of finishing this series and certainly won’t be diving headfirst in like with a YA series (some romantasy overlap aside, this is practically any genre except YA) but I also think I probably have to because book one leaves so much up to interpretation and major developments yet to come.
dark
hopeful
informative
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
A brilliant start to a series; so exquisitely written.
4 stars until the stupid ending.
This is the 90s Les Mis and instead of descriptions of sewers, it's an incestuous witch family.
This is the 90s Les Mis and instead of descriptions of sewers, it's an incestuous witch family.
Listening to the book and I’m 2 hours in but still have no idea what the plot is… a lot of time is spent on character background and not sure if it is necessary. Might finish later but definitely have other books I’d rather read.
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes