Reviews

Eldritch Sparks by Whitney Hill

wildfaeriecaps's review

5.0

I'm trying to figure out how to review this without just screaming "IT'S SO FREAKING GOOD!" over and over again. I mean. It'd be true, but maybe not so compelling. So much happened in this book. I love how Arden is growing and learning and finding her place. Maria is becoming a truly favorite character. I love her sass and her loyalty to what she wants. I won't speak of the spoilers but the ending made me *so happy* that I literally choked up.

If you like urban fantasy, you can't go wrong with this series.

birb13's review

adventurous tense medium-paced

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

3.0

cassandrat's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.75

I enjoyed reading the second book in the series as much as the first book. Arden is a fairly relatable character, in that she has blow ups and emotional break downs while dealing with a lot of bad actors and just only to make the best of her situation.

The station is a little too much though. The fact that everything hinges so much on her is kind of unbelievable. Also, everyone is attracted to her and it gets old. Well, enough people that it gets old.

It got dark in this with the main antagonist being pretty evil.

Nevertheless, as soon as it hit the main breaking point where it was about to get super ugly in the lich's lair, we had a tidy battle and things became ok.

I am sure there will be aftermath in book three due to the trauma.

As before, I still don't like Roman as a boyfriend.

The author or Arden tries to make excuses for Roman's choices at the end, but the man treats Arden like an object. I don't like their sex scenes, and I am glad he voted himself off the show. Troy appears to be the new match, and Troy is just more adult. Although, we can hold out for an elemental or no romance.

What Arden really needs is a friend. I hope she gets some support. A therapist is in order.

I like fantasy politics, but had a difficult time following the goings on in this book. Sometimes the clues or rules feel plot convenient rather than a smooth progression.

For example, Doc being a necromancer seemed suggested as a possibility off-hand and then suddenly just decided. Looking at overall politcs: Callista wants to control the reveal of the supernatural for some reason. The supernatural want to control their own reveal for some reason. Callista for some reason tried to get some cocky modernist vampires to upset the vampires and used werewolves to help. I think this was just to keep the supernaturals from allying for power reasons. I think it is all vague power reasons. Who doesn't love power here? I have no idea what is up with the gods and what they are hunting. Also, Duke was super pissed that Arden/Troy killed Grimm, but Grimm wasn't really giving people a choice. What did he expect to happen? Will he forgive Arden? I would like to think so. All these people are really high maintenance. I feel for Arden. 

I kind of skim the politicking and posturing parts that happen all at once.

Excited to find out what happens next.

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Content Warnings

one or two sex scenes

anotherhalima's review

it took so long to get answers, and i was tired by the end. however, i think the world and story, in general, are really good. also love how Arden is a literal mess which i think is realistic for the situation bec it is all new to her. her relationship with roman was one of my favourite depictions of werewolf love bec he was so sweet and kinda, different from the usual super alpha werewolves we are used to. i didn't like what happened with them, though.

i won't be cont with the series. even though i enjoyed both books, they take such a long time to get to the point, so I'm exhausted by the end of it. who knows, might pick it up in the future when not fatigued.

thetomatowriter's review against another edition

4.0

3.75 rounded up. I didn't enjoy this one as much as I enjoyed the last book, but I'm still looking forward to the rest of the series. The worldbuilding became even more expansive and rich. It felt like the overarching plot was at kind of a lull, mostly arguing over what they were going to do, but with a lot of hints that things are going to kick off next book. The tension is HEAVY, and even in small references, the author blends supernatural tensions with real world racial tensions with care and precision.

I think I mostly just felt so frustrated for Arden, which you're supposed to feel, that I was a little exhausted. She worked so hard to carve out some agency and independence for herself in book one and it feels like she's in an even worse situation in some ways in book two. She puts a lot of herself on the line for her friends, but there's not a lot of instances of her friends EVER being there for her. I would have liked to see some instances of her bonding with those friends or them being there for her, but most of the time, it seemed like she was going through everything she went through alone. I also found myself VERY frustrated with her love interest through much of the book.

But again, I think a lot of that frustration was intended and it does make me hope that in the future she'll find her people -- as well as carving out some space for herself.

danzibooks's review against another edition

4.0

I really enjoyed learning more about the Otherside, and seeing Arden both develop her powers and become a major power player.

The dialogue is one of my favourite things about this series. It is sharp and sarcastic and funny. It is also... fumbling? In a good way! People don't always know the right thing to say or how to say it. It is fun seeing the characters struggle for words and figure out how to interact with each other, especially since all the different species don't exactly play well together.

Looking forward to Book 3 - and hoping for more Maria!

alexiachantel's review against another edition

4.0

Another fun UF in the Shadows of Otherside series—and it was great getting deeper into Otherside!!

geenahnola's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense 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? Yes

4.0

djreads's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

tikimoof's review against another edition

3.0

3.5-ish. I was hopeful that the situation the first book ended in would mean the main character would be happier, but she was angrier than the first.

Not entirely without reason, but it was exhausting to be angry all the time alongside Arden!