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adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Death of parent
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Minor: Death, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This popular gothic fantasy has some killer cards to play, with a unique card-based magic system, a steamy enemies-to-lovers romance, and a fantastically sinister monster living inside our heroine’s head. While the YA/New Adult prose didn’t always work for me and the first half is very slow to start, the world-building and plot made up for it. That said, I think I’ll wait till October to read the sequel for all the spooky gothic vibes.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Mental illness, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Child death, Death of parent
adventurous
dark
mysterious
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
oh this was GOOD!!!! i feel like i could read about elspeth forever. the magic and mystery and romance in this was so perfectly written, and i was invested in every single one of these characters. the way everything in this is entangled and how the plot and subplots all weave together is masterful. i can’t wait to read book two
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Blood
Minor: Death of parent
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book was amazing. The story, the characters, the mysterious past. Keeping up with the Providence Cards was a bit challenging at times. Otherwise, this story was great. Raven, Elm, Ione, the Nightmare and Elspeth are all so interesting. I look forward to learning more about the Shepherd King and on how to save Blunder from the mist.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Violence, Death of parent
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
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:
Complicated
Sometimes I find that when I really like a book I don't have a lot to say review wise, this is exactly one of those cases. I finished this a couple of weeks ago and waited to do a review because I thought the words might come to me, but they never did. The writing was solid, I loved the characters, setting, magic system, everything. This is honesty all I want in a YA/New adult fantasy. For my Teen Wolf fans, this book reminds me of season 3 with the nogitsune, to try to give an idea of the vibes between the FMC and the "Nightmare", which was my all-time favorite season btw. This was def a vibe read for me and I loved it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Violence, Blood, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Death of parent, Abandonment
Minor: Sexual content, Vomit, Alcohol
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Terminal illness
Moderate: Confinement
Minor: Sexual content, Death of parent
adventurous
dark
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Blood, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Death
Minor: Sexual content, Death of parent
adventurous
dark
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
This was my second time attempting to read this book, and I'm glad I made it to the end. I tried it both on audiobook and as a standard book, and ended up going with the audiobook. I feel like the voice of the narrator doesn't really fit the story, but their reading is fine. (Although, I listened on 1.5 speed.) This book didn't work for me as well as I wanted, and I'm not sure why. I feel like things picked up a bit when we got more of the supporting cast. I like the spooky misty setting and the Nightmare. I thought the world building was pretty good. Overall I had a good time, just not a great time. I never got quite as invested as I wanted to be. I might read the sequel, and I would recommend this lightly. I would also recommend For the Wolf by Hannah Whitten as a book with a sort of similar vibe.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence, Blood, Vomit, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Death, Sexual content, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis
adventurous
dark
mysterious
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
We read this book for February's Prose and Paperbacks Book Club pick and I'm happy to say that I really enjoyed myself! This book definitely skewed more YA/new adult in its writing style but I didn't mind too much. I though the magic system was unique and compelling and I especially enjoyed the relationships between Elspeth and Ravyn and Elspeth and the Nightmare. Sometimes I feel like fetch-quest plotlines can get to be tedious and repetitive, but that wasn't the case here.
There were a couple aspects of the book that I thought weren't totally ironed out, mainly that some of our secondary characters (Ione, Elm, and the step-family in particular), felt a little one-dimensional. I'm hoping this will be explored more in the sequel, which I'm sure I'll pick up at some point for the completionist in me.
There were a couple aspects of the book that I thought weren't totally ironed out, mainly that some of our secondary characters (Ione, Elm, and the step-family in particular), felt a little one-dimensional. I'm hoping this will be explored more in the sequel, which I'm sure I'll pick up at some point for the completionist in me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Blood, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Death of parent