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3.91 AVERAGE
3.91 AVERAGE
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
fast-paced
4.75/5
Such a fun read! The world is unique and well explained and the storyline was interesting. I would have loved a bit more character development from each mc but considering there are six of them, I understand why. I really liked the twists and turns and while I do enjoy certain characters more than others, I think it was a really good read overall.
Such a fun read! The world is unique and well explained and the storyline was interesting. I would have loved a bit more character development from each mc but considering there are six of them, I understand why. I really liked the twists and turns and while I do enjoy certain characters more than others, I think it was a really good read overall.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
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
I was lucky enough to secure the arc for this book (one I’ve had on my TBR since November 2024)!!
Wow, this book was amazing!!
Olivier and Emilio are my two favourite characters. They are so beautiful!!
Also everyone’s last pov’s ended so perfectly and I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way!
This book had me gasping, crying, and kicking my feet! 5/5 stars!!!!
Wow, this book was amazing!!
Olivier and Emilio are my two favourite characters. They are so beautiful!!
Also everyone’s last pov’s ended so perfectly and I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way!
This book had me gasping, crying, and kicking my feet! 5/5 stars!!!!
Solid 4.5. I saw some things, but a lot of this story had me gasping. I'm left with so many questions and eager for book two.
Got better towards the end, but the villain arc and conflict set up felt sloppy. Pacing was weird.
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
mysterious
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
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
As a concept, this book had potential. It's got the classic YA fantasy elements - a magical school, a competition, a little romance and a dark, dangerous enemy - with a twist that I was particularly intrigued by...namely that the characters are already in the afterlife.
Alas, with SIX different POVs, a plot that kind of went in 12 different directions and felt unfocused a lot of the time, a magic system that felt unmoored and without any rules, and relationships that went from rivals to lovers in the blink of an eye with little to no development or explanation... Eh. It was difficult to care much about this story as a whole.
Let's start with the characters.
Something weird happened in this book that I haven't experienced before - these characters all have pre-established relationships, some of them spanning back a LONG time, that we don't know about and aren't given insight into. The reader's obviously missed the formation of these relationships, which personally left me feeling like I was coming into a story that was already in progress. I felt like I was trying to play catch up - but I never quite got there. Why should I care about these characters and their mutual likes and dislikes of one another when I wasn't there to see what causes these people to be the way they are?
More than that, we learn virtually NOTHING about any of them along the way. To the point that they sometimes sounded the same and were indistinguishable from one another. Now, I had the audiobook as well as the Book of the Month hardback copy. And it's a full cast of narrators. From the accents the narrators put on alone, I can tell you that one of the FMCs is potentially black. One of the MMCs is British, one is of Spanish/Mexican/Latin descent (the accent is very light), and one is French because he speaks with a vaguely French accent (his name is Olivier, too, so there's that). But if I'd just been reading the book? There'd be NO way to tell any of this. And the writing and dialogue doesn't change so they all end up sounding just alike.
We're treated to very brief, randomly placed descriptions of only SOME of these characters, to boot.
- I know that August is tall with broad shoulders and black curly hair.
- I know that Olivier has blond hair. Also that he likes Emilio.
- I know that Wren has red hair and green eyes. We know that she and her sister died together, and that her sister was driving drunk.
- No idea what Irene looks like. We do know she had a tumultuous relationship with her mother in life that gave her massive trust issues.
- I thiiiink I remember someone commenting on Masika's black hair, but I don't know anything else about her. Except we learn at some point that when she was alive she potentially lived in or near British Columbia, Canada. We also know that at some point in the afterlife, Masika had a girlfriend who chose to "join the dark side" or whatever and left the school.
- No idea what Emilio looks like, only that he's in love with Olivier and that he joined the school only a year ago.
That's it. That's all I can tell you about these people. After reading a 500+ page book. I feel like I ought to know waaaaaaaaay more than that.
I also have a feeling we were supposed to believe that the 6 POV characters gained a sense of found family with one another over the course of these trials - but for SO MUCH of the book, they're broken up into smaller clusters. And that's when they're not branching out completely on their own. The 2 romantically inclined couples didn't really feel like their love was earned (although Emilio and Olivier were close to tugging on the heartstrings. There's at least some semblance of longing between them). And I don't trust the 6 characters as a unit by the end of the story.
There's also a myriad of side characters that crop up and then disappear without really serving any purpose in the story. The book's blurb says 6 people are chosen to compete, but it's really 12 - we just don't give a shit about half the contestants because they're expendable.
And speaking of the blurb, we're tantalized with the whole "every character has a secret" line - but we never get to learn these secrets.
There's also one POV character who's kind of speaking to a ghost? guy? For some reason? The Mateo plotline also didn't make a ton of sense.
Then there's Louise - who probably should have had her own POV, but who's presence confused me for a large part of the story. Her plotline didn't at all feel congruent or associated with the whole competition plotline going on with our POV characters.
Now, let's talk a bit about the world building.
The world doesn't make a ton of sense to me. You mean to tell me these teenagers are dead, and are somehow still...in high school? Forever?
It's implied that these people arrived at different times - sometimes HUNDREDS of years apart. And they're still all taking the exact same classes with the exact same exams.
So if someone's been at this school for 100 years, and they're sitting beside someone who has been in this afterlife school for just 10 years...how does that make any sense? Shouldn't the 100 year dead guy be WAY more advanced?
And let's talk a minute about the way these trials are designed, shall we? These things come along ONCE every DECADE. And during that time ONE student is selected to go through them and get the chance to choose whether they "graduate" and come to work for the school or essentially fade away into nonexistence. And all the while, the longer you're at this place, the more you lose your memories and your humanity - until one day, you're completely gone and you're just booted out of the school to wander aimlessly forever.
And only 1 person gets the chance to escape this HORRIFIC fate every 10 years. Sure. Sounds logical.
We're not told explicitly how many students are at this school, but the assumption is at least a few hundred. And it's stated that they get a new student every few decades. But in the book, they get a new student much sooner than that (which is out of the ordinary).
Am I the only one failing at math here?
The circumstances for even getting into the academy feels poorly thought out. It involves a teenager who had a near death experience earlier in their life (not the thing that caused them to die, but something else that happened earlier) - you mean to tell me in a world where 8.12 BILLION people exist, that there's only a couple hundred qualified for that academy? That that place only gets ONE new student at a time, every few DECADES?
https://i.imgur.com/Kpyj8Fz.gif
Now the magic system.
The magic was very confusing, and felt arbitrary. There's different school houses based on the kinds of magic a person can perform, supposedly, but then we see the characters doing all sorts of magic anyway? They teleport, they read minds and manipulate compulsions, they have different elemental magics... And we never really determine what gives the characters their specific powers to start with.
The twist.
Sort of underwhelming - but only because I didn't really connect with any of the characters. If I'd cared about what happened to them, I think the surprise would have been a bit more
impactful than it was. The last 20% of this book is SO dramatic, but unfortunately, the work wasn't done to make me care about the characters enough to make it worthwhile.
-
Now - all of that being what it is, I will say this:
1. The cover artwork and sprayed edges are <i>gorgeous</i>. It's one of the prettiest covers I've come across all year. I know aesthetics matter little in the grand scheme of things, but we eat with our eyes first, and mine were FEASTING.
2. This is Marie's debut novel. And aside from the issues I had with it - I can tell you that she's a promising writer. She has <i>ideas</i>. And the actual writing itself is pretty dang good. While I might not continue this series (I honestly haven't decided yet), I wouldn't be opposed to picking up works from her in the future.
Writing is hard, man. And your stuff isn't gonna be for everybody. Unfortunately in this case, this book really didn't do much for me. But I see the potential. Perhaps things will flesh themselves out in future books.
Alas, with SIX different POVs, a plot that kind of went in 12 different directions and felt unfocused a lot of the time, a magic system that felt unmoored and without any rules, and relationships that went from rivals to lovers in the blink of an eye with little to no development or explanation... Eh. It was difficult to care much about this story as a whole.
Let's start with the characters.
Something weird happened in this book that I haven't experienced before - these characters all have pre-established relationships, some of them spanning back a LONG time, that we don't know about and aren't given insight into. The reader's obviously missed the formation of these relationships, which personally left me feeling like I was coming into a story that was already in progress. I felt like I was trying to play catch up - but I never quite got there. Why should I care about these characters and their mutual likes and dislikes of one another when I wasn't there to see what causes these people to be the way they are?
More than that, we learn virtually NOTHING about any of them along the way. To the point that they sometimes sounded the same and were indistinguishable from one another. Now, I had the audiobook as well as the Book of the Month hardback copy. And it's a full cast of narrators. From the accents the narrators put on alone, I can tell you that one of the FMCs is potentially black. One of the MMCs is British, one is of Spanish/Mexican/Latin descent (the accent is very light), and one is French because he speaks with a vaguely French accent (his name is Olivier, too, so there's that). But if I'd just been reading the book? There'd be NO way to tell any of this. And the writing and dialogue doesn't change so they all end up sounding just alike.
We're treated to very brief, randomly placed descriptions of only SOME of these characters, to boot.
- I know that August is tall with broad shoulders and black curly hair.
- I know that Olivier has blond hair. Also that he likes Emilio.
- I know that Wren has red hair and green eyes. We know that she and her sister died together, and that her sister was driving drunk.
- No idea what Irene looks like. We do know she had a tumultuous relationship with her mother in life that gave her massive trust issues.
- I thiiiink I remember someone commenting on Masika's black hair, but I don't know anything else about her. Except we learn at some point that when she was alive she potentially lived in or near British Columbia, Canada. We also know that at some point in the afterlife, Masika had a girlfriend who chose to "join the dark side" or whatever and left the school.
- No idea what Emilio looks like, only that he's in love with Olivier and that he joined the school only a year ago.
That's it. That's all I can tell you about these people. After reading a 500+ page book. I feel like I ought to know waaaaaaaaay more than that.
I also have a feeling we were supposed to believe that the 6 POV characters gained a sense of found family with one another over the course of these trials - but for SO MUCH of the book, they're broken up into smaller clusters. And that's when they're not branching out completely on their own. The 2 romantically inclined couples didn't really feel like their love was earned (although Emilio and Olivier were close to tugging on the heartstrings. There's at least some semblance of longing between them). And I don't trust the 6 characters as a unit by the end of the story.
There's also a myriad of side characters that crop up and then disappear without really serving any purpose in the story. The book's blurb says 6 people are chosen to compete, but it's really 12 - we just don't give a shit about half the contestants because they're expendable.
And speaking of the blurb, we're tantalized with the whole "every character has a secret" line - but we never get to learn these secrets.
There's also one POV character who's kind of speaking to a ghost? guy? For some reason? The Mateo plotline also didn't make a ton of sense.
Then there's Louise - who probably should have had her own POV, but who's presence confused me for a large part of the story. Her plotline didn't at all feel congruent or associated with the whole competition plotline going on with our POV characters.
Now, let's talk a bit about the world building.
The world doesn't make a ton of sense to me. You mean to tell me these teenagers are dead, and are somehow still...in high school? Forever?
It's implied that these people arrived at different times - sometimes HUNDREDS of years apart. And they're still all taking the exact same classes with the exact same exams.
So if someone's been at this school for 100 years, and they're sitting beside someone who has been in this afterlife school for just 10 years...how does that make any sense? Shouldn't the 100 year dead guy be WAY more advanced?
And let's talk a minute about the way these trials are designed, shall we? These things come along ONCE every DECADE. And during that time ONE student is selected to go through them and get the chance to choose whether they "graduate" and come to work for the school or essentially fade away into nonexistence. And all the while, the longer you're at this place, the more you lose your memories and your humanity - until one day, you're completely gone and you're just booted out of the school to wander aimlessly forever.
And only 1 person gets the chance to escape this HORRIFIC fate every 10 years. Sure. Sounds logical.
We're not told explicitly how many students are at this school, but the assumption is at least a few hundred. And it's stated that they get a new student every few decades. But in the book, they get a new student much sooner than that (which is out of the ordinary).
Am I the only one failing at math here?
The circumstances for even getting into the academy feels poorly thought out. It involves a teenager who had a near death experience earlier in their life (not the thing that caused them to die, but something else that happened earlier) - you mean to tell me in a world where 8.12 BILLION people exist, that there's only a couple hundred qualified for that academy? That that place only gets ONE new student at a time, every few DECADES?
https://i.imgur.com/Kpyj8Fz.gif
Now the magic system.
The magic was very confusing, and felt arbitrary. There's different school houses based on the kinds of magic a person can perform, supposedly, but then we see the characters doing all sorts of magic anyway? They teleport, they read minds and manipulate compulsions, they have different elemental magics... And we never really determine what gives the characters their specific powers to start with.
The twist.
Sort of underwhelming - but only because I didn't really connect with any of the characters. If I'd cared about what happened to them, I think the surprise would have been a bit more
impactful than it was. The last 20% of this book is SO dramatic, but unfortunately, the work wasn't done to make me care about the characters enough to make it worthwhile.
-
Now - all of that being what it is, I will say this:
1. The cover artwork and sprayed edges are <i>gorgeous</i>. It's one of the prettiest covers I've come across all year. I know aesthetics matter little in the grand scheme of things, but we eat with our eyes first, and mine were FEASTING.
2. This is Marie's debut novel. And aside from the issues I had with it - I can tell you that she's a promising writer. She has <i>ideas</i>. And the actual writing itself is pretty dang good. While I might not continue this series (I honestly haven't decided yet), I wouldn't be opposed to picking up works from her in the future.
Writing is hard, man. And your stuff isn't gonna be for everybody. Unfortunately in this case, this book really didn't do much for me. But I see the potential. Perhaps things will flesh themselves out in future books.
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No