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3.25 AVERAGE
3.25 AVERAGE
I never thought I would DNF a Scarlett St. Clair book, but here we are
this book really solidified that i just don't care about the world or characters of this series and nothing really happened until the last chapter in order to set up the next book.
isolde's character development in this book really feels like playing a game and picking all the dialogue options that make you sound like an shitty person. she lashes out for no reason and is so quick to jump on the vaguest of plans or ideas or just simply relies on adrian to fix all her problems. like girl please let someone explain what's going on before doing all that??? she also switched between cold and calculating and being feeling bad for standing by and doing nothing even when her own thoughts and actions lead to the thing she is feeling bad about? i'd get if she followed in adrian's footsteps but one minute she cares and the next she doesn't. also stop flip flopping between whether you like your husband or not - it was tedious to read in the first book and certainly not any more enjoyable in this one. there is no reason for me to be reading almost each chapter and for them to be arguing with each other - this relationship is toxic and also the amount of times isolde slaps or tries to slap adrian is shocking.
i get the attempt to expand on adrian's character but honestly i don't think there's enough set up/world-building/pages to get into it. he still feels a little one dimensional even with chapters in his pov. plus i'm sure it's meant to be endearing but he has got to stop reading isolde's mind. that feels like a huge invasion of her privacy. he is also always doing too much, and i can't believe he's successfully ruled a kingdom for 200 years with his behaviour. also why is he invading the rest of the kingdoms?? does anyone know??
my biggest gripe with the first and second book is that there are interesting concepts that are not fully expanded upon because of the constraints of how short the books are. two goddesses that represent life and death? that's cool. it's a shame that it's used as a flimsy reason for things being the way they are. witches being burned and one resurrecting to become the main character? that's a pretty cool twist but it's unfortunate that isolde is isolde and doesn't really seem to want to fully reclaim her previous life as herself, instead only using it at a means to become more powerful or tackle some impeding problem that needs her magic. it's just a shame that these ideas are never fully formed, and instead are applied willy-nilly to further the plot or give some background info to further confuse you. both the first and second book try to connect things that are not properly explained. it gives me whiplash when someone realises something pages and pages after a small plot point that feels very minor or disconnected from the larger plot.
isolde's character development in this book really feels like playing a game and picking all the dialogue options that make you sound like an shitty person. she lashes out for no reason and is so quick to jump on the vaguest of plans or ideas or just simply relies on adrian to fix all her problems. like girl please let someone explain what's going on before doing all that??? she also switched between cold and calculating and being feeling bad for standing by and doing nothing even when her own thoughts and actions lead to the thing she is feeling bad about? i'd get if she followed in adrian's footsteps but one minute she cares and the next she doesn't. also stop flip flopping between whether you like your husband or not - it was tedious to read in the first book and certainly not any more enjoyable in this one. there is no reason for me to be reading almost each chapter and for them to be arguing with each other - this relationship is toxic and also the amount of times isolde slaps or tries to slap adrian is shocking.
i get the attempt to expand on adrian's character but honestly i don't think there's enough set up/world-building/pages to get into it. he still feels a little one dimensional even with chapters in his pov. plus i'm sure it's meant to be endearing but he has got to stop reading isolde's mind. that feels like a huge invasion of her privacy. he is also always doing too much, and i can't believe he's successfully ruled a kingdom for 200 years with his behaviour. also why is he invading the rest of the kingdoms?? does anyone know??
my biggest gripe with the first and second book is that there are interesting concepts that are not fully expanded upon because of the constraints of how short the books are. two goddesses that represent life and death? that's cool. it's a shame that it's used as a flimsy reason for things being the way they are. witches being burned and one resurrecting to become the main character? that's a pretty cool twist but it's unfortunate that isolde is isolde and doesn't really seem to want to fully reclaim her previous life as herself, instead only using it at a means to become more powerful or tackle some impeding problem that needs her magic. it's just a shame that these ideas are never fully formed, and instead are applied willy-nilly to further the plot or give some background info to further confuse you. both the first and second book try to connect things that are not properly explained. it gives me whiplash when someone realises something pages and pages after a small plot point that feels very minor or disconnected from the larger plot.
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:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
dark
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
dark
emotional
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I am disappointed with this one. I flew through book one - it was predictable and repetitive but still a lot of fun. Queen of Myth and Monsters is just a mess. Adrian became so annoying I started rolling my eyes every time he did something shitty (again). Isolde just fought with him all the time, but no matter if they were fighting or making up they always ended up in bed (or against the wall or just on the ground 🙄). And every time Isolde got hurt or upset executions followed. I honestly started wondering if the MCs have really anything in common except their shared past. Killian did 180 on character development, only it wasn't really a development, he just stopped being a jealous ass and instantly turned into a loyal general/Isolde's BFF. Some parts of the book were actually interesting, like Sorin's and Daroc's relationship but that got messy in the end too. There was some plot but I kept forgetting about it and it seems the author did too until the last part of the book when everything unraveled and still was poorly explained. In the end I didn't care about any of it.