Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

This Wicked Fate by Kalynn Bayron

77 reviews

thegezzell's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

 CW Death, Grief, Death of a Parent.

If This Poison Heart is a well written magical mystery ending in a major cliffhanger This Wicked Fate is a bunch of loose ends tied up in a pretty but ultimately forgettable bow.

Lets talk about what I did like. Bayron's characters and world are rich. Her use of mythology stellar. She portrays grief in a real and tangible way and allows her characters to deal with it. 

So what makes this sequel so tangibly flat? After leaving us on a massive cliff hanger TWF starts out with a quick dip into the mystery/adventure fantasy we know and love. And then it stalls out. Briseis waits for three weeks, and half of the book, for passports and flight plans to come into place. And while there is one memorable scene in the mix the rest of the waiting time is largely wasted. Why Bayron chose to stick her characters in limbo I don't personally know, but if she intended for the reader to be as frustrated as Briseis she accomplished that task.

It truly is a shame. This Poison Heart had a dab of pacing issues as well, but it was held up by mystery, intrigue, and character development. I feel like its worth the read if only for the interesting mythology application and decent third act, but even so its a hard sell. 

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rae42's review against another edition

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adventurous inspiring fast-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? It's complicated

3.5

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stachmou77's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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bookaddictellagershon's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful 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

4.0

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beccajreads's review

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful mysterious sad fast-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? No

5.0

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thatenbyisisreads's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional hopeful sad tense 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? No

4.0

That scene with the sirens had me gripping the edge of my seat. Overall, this fantasy series was an emotional rollercoaster full of tears, laughs, mysteries, adventures, and the perfect representation of LGBTQIA+. Highly recommend this fantasy series!
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emmieclassix's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious sad 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? It's complicated

5.0

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amyejones's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious sad tense 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? No

4.0

A wonderful duology spun with magic and Greek myth. Tied up beautifully. Important themes include: generational trauma, grief and family.
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thiasgomez's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense 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

4.5

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scrubsandbooks's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious tense 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

4.0

This was a wonderful wrap-up to a series that brought about a refreshing new look at Greek Mythology. I love Briseis with all my heart, I love the new characters introduced in this one, including Circe and Persephone (not the originals!), and the resolution was just chef's kiss. I didn't care so much for the romance in this one as much as I did with Briseis's journey to get her mother back from the underworld (her grief was so palpable I shed several tears through this book and then at one point just had to call my own mom to talk to her), but that's probably because the romance budded a lot more in the first book, IMO, and while some of the attention was on in that in the first book, it wasn't that centralized in this one. But that's fine because I love reading about other kinds of love, like familial as in this one.
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