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starfleckedsoul's review against another edition
5.0
The story revolves around Lou, a girl who has been running from her past —her identity— for two years, sweeping into the world of thieves and courtesans at East End to escape her. During one of her troubled days, she stumbles upon Reid Diggory—a Chasseur, witch hunter. Little did they know that that one meeting would knot their fates together—in cords of gold, pits of fire, and drips of blood.
I might be exaggerating with that little synopsis, but hey, it speaks a lot about my opinions about the book. I definitely had high expectations upon diving into this book, although I was skeptical when I first heard of it. Also, the cover is just drastically gorgeous, isn’t it? I’m a sucker for that black and gold.
Anyway, now that I’ve gotten that out of the way, I can now talk about why and how this book climbed its way up my favorites.
First of all, the voices. I especially love the point of views of this book, it’s so refreshing to read a first person POV from a male, especially since he has a giant conflict with Lou. Lou… I fell in love with her on the first 5 pages. She has a very distinct voice, it reverberates through my head so much that I can now say that I’ve been brought out of my reading slump. Shelby Mahurin wrote the characters so well, Lou especially. Also, I usually fall in love more with guys who have bad reputations you know, but Shelby did her job well in making me swoon with Reid. Other than that, I also love the fact that we have a group at the very end of the book, it makes it more thrilling to worry about more than two characters. I just hope neither of them dies (edit, after reading B&H: someone died)
Second, the story telling. The buildup is so good, it definitely keeps you hooked all throughout. There’s gore, romance, angst, family drama, magic—what more can you ask for??? It’s one of the best concoction. And it’s sort of set in a French setting, I’m not sure, but that’s the vibe I get.
Lastly…the themes. I love how we’re fighting for feminism here. I love how there’s no fine line between good or bad, but instead a morally grey area. I love how we get to see from almost every aspects.
So of course, I love everything. I can’t seem to find anything I’d complain about. But yes, that’s my very subjective review. Bottom line is, YOU SHOULD READ IT.
I might be exaggerating with that little synopsis, but hey, it speaks a lot about my opinions about the book. I definitely had high expectations upon diving into this book, although I was skeptical when I first heard of it. Also, the cover is just drastically gorgeous, isn’t it? I’m a sucker for that black and gold.
Anyway, now that I’ve gotten that out of the way, I can now talk about why and how this book climbed its way up my favorites.
First of all, the voices. I especially love the point of views of this book, it’s so refreshing to read a first person POV from a male, especially since he has a giant conflict with Lou. Lou… I fell in love with her on the first 5 pages. She has a very distinct voice, it reverberates through my head so much that I can now say that I’ve been brought out of my reading slump. Shelby Mahurin wrote the characters so well, Lou especially. Also, I usually fall in love more with guys who have bad reputations you know, but Shelby did her job well in making me swoon with Reid. Other than that, I also love the fact that we have a group at the very end of the book, it makes it more thrilling to worry about more than two characters. I just hope neither of them dies (edit, after reading B&H: someone died)
Second, the story telling. The buildup is so good, it definitely keeps you hooked all throughout. There’s gore, romance, angst, family drama, magic—what more can you ask for??? It’s one of the best concoction. And it’s sort of set in a French setting, I’m not sure, but that’s the vibe I get.
Lastly…the themes. I love how we’re fighting for feminism here. I love how there’s no fine line between good or bad, but instead a morally grey area. I love how we get to see from almost every aspects.
So of course, I love everything. I can’t seem to find anything I’d complain about. But yes, that’s my very subjective review. Bottom line is, YOU SHOULD READ IT.
magikspells's review against another edition
2.0
I really had no grand plans or expectations about this book. Honestly, it was available, and in the right format, so I borrow it. I also don't think I've read anything else by this author before, but overall this is some pretty standard fantasy ya.
The whole story is about a girl named Lou who is a witch in hiding who ends up forced into marriage to a witch hunter, Reid. I wish I could get behind the story more, but it felt like scenes happening on a stage. There were events that happened in a few places, but the rest of the world didn't seem to exist. It was pretty flat and overall confusing. The time period makes it seem like it's a fantasy world set in the past, but then there were really weird modern phrases thrown in there.
I can forgive a lack luster setting when there are pretty fun and intriguing characters, but unfortunately, they're all pretty forgettable. Coco and Ansel were easily the most dynamic and interesting characters, but overall really under utilized.
By the time the next book comes out, I'm probably not going to remember a lot of this one, so I'm not sure if I'll be reading it.
The whole story is about a girl named Lou who is a witch in hiding who ends up forced into marriage to a witch hunter, Reid. I wish I could get behind the story more, but it felt like scenes happening on a stage. There were events that happened in a few places, but the rest of the world didn't seem to exist. It was pretty flat and overall confusing. The time period makes it seem like it's a fantasy world set in the past, but then there were really weird modern phrases thrown in there.
I can forgive a lack luster setting when there are pretty fun and intriguing characters, but unfortunately, they're all pretty forgettable. Coco and Ansel were easily the most dynamic and interesting characters, but overall really under utilized.
By the time the next book comes out, I'm probably not going to remember a lot of this one, so I'm not sure if I'll be reading it.
booksmelreads's review
3.0
3.5 stars!
i’ve heard a lot of mixed reviews on this book but i actually ended up liking it! the beginning was definitely very slow but once things started to happen, they REALLY started to happen. shit hit the fan fast. i think the beginning was so hard to get through because of all the damn misogyny. it pales in comparison to some of the books i’ve read (gild, i’m looking at you.) but it is still always frustrating.
i found myself really loving the relationship between reid and lou (despite how much i really thought i’d never warm up to it in the beginning) and i feel like they really brought out the best in each other. reid’s character development was some of the best because i really did not like him at the beginning, but by the end i really warmed up to him.
the plot was genuinely interesting once past the first third-ish of the book and i was really, really engaged. i loved the character development and the plot twists (although some of them i’d definitely already picked up on)
overall, this was a good book. i enjoyed it a lot and i’ll be diving straight into the second one!
i’ve heard a lot of mixed reviews on this book but i actually ended up liking it! the beginning was definitely very slow but once things started to happen, they REALLY started to happen. shit hit the fan fast. i think the beginning was so hard to get through because of all the damn misogyny. it pales in comparison to some of the books i’ve read (gild, i’m looking at you.) but it is still always frustrating.
i found myself really loving the relationship between reid and lou (despite how much i really thought i’d never warm up to it in the beginning) and i feel like they really brought out the best in each other. reid’s character development was some of the best because i really did not like him at the beginning, but by the end i really warmed up to him.
the plot was genuinely interesting once past the first third-ish of the book and i was really, really engaged. i loved the character development and the plot twists (although some of them i’d definitely already picked up on)
overall, this was a good book. i enjoyed it a lot and i’ll be diving straight into the second one!
ghoulsifer's review
4.0
I REALLY enjoyed this book, especially the first half of it. My reading tends to slow down once the characters give into the ✨sexual tension✨ but there was still enough to keep me powering through.
That said, there were several parts of the book I had to stop and reread more than one to try to decipher what was going on — that might just be a me thing, though.
That said, there were several parts of the book I had to stop and reread more than one to try to decipher what was going on — that might just be a me thing, though.
goodem9199's review
5.0
Ah. Mazing. Oh, I loved this one. I’m putting it up there with Bardugo and Schwab as one of my favorites. Lou is possibly one of the best fantasy characters I’ve read and I cannot wait to see what happens next!
eweaver11's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
inspiring
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
annettebooksofhopeanddreams's review against another edition
4.0
From the moment I heard about this book, I wanted to read it. It sounded like something for me, something I'd really enjoy. And yet, ever since I got the book, it stood on my shelves. I've been on the brink of picking it up quite a few times and then picked up another book instead. But today it was finally time to see if this book could live up to my high expectations.
And I can already answer that question: Yes, it did. This book was everything I liked in a book and I really enjoyed it from the very first page until the very last. And now I've closed it I realize that this book was only the beginning, only the build up. Which means that the best is still to come. So, I save the last star for that occasion.
The two perspectives worked really well for me. I really loved it that we got to know both Lou and Reid quite well because we were spending times in both their heads. It made it easier to understand them, to know where they are coming from, why the hatred for the other (although, lets discuss hatred) is rooted so deeply and why they are eventually overcoming it.
Combine that with a lovely world building and magic system and it automatically leads to a great plot. Although the world and magic system aren't quite original and are a lot of well known elements combined, it does feel real and firmly rooted. The rules are quite clear (even though they are challenged at times), the political positions are clear and the intrige is really believable because of all that.
Now we've seen all the important players on the chessboard and now the war that was brewing has really started, I can't wait to see what book two brings!
And I can already answer that question: Yes, it did. This book was everything I liked in a book and I really enjoyed it from the very first page until the very last. And now I've closed it I realize that this book was only the beginning, only the build up. Which means that the best is still to come. So, I save the last star for that occasion.
The two perspectives worked really well for me. I really loved it that we got to know both Lou and Reid quite well because we were spending times in both their heads. It made it easier to understand them, to know where they are coming from, why the hatred for the other (although, lets discuss hatred) is rooted so deeply and why they are eventually overcoming it.
Combine that with a lovely world building and magic system and it automatically leads to a great plot. Although the world and magic system aren't quite original and are a lot of well known elements combined, it does feel real and firmly rooted. The rules are quite clear (even though they are challenged at times), the political positions are clear and the intrige is really believable because of all that.
Now we've seen all the important players on the chessboard and now the war that was brewing has really started, I can't wait to see what book two brings!
brendalovesbooks's review
5.0
I loved this. It's not a book I had ever heard of, but it's supposed to be featured in this month's Bookish Box, so I picked it up. It was hard to put down, and I actually really liked the love story.
ni_albert's review against another edition
2.0
Unpopular opinion, I really didn't like this book. I know! I am sorry, I really wanted to enjoy it!
While I loved Reid and Lou and reading about their story - it's enemies-to-lovers with the forced marriage trope, what isn't to love?! I just wasn't sold on plot, the villains or the "plot twist". I found myself bored and skimming through many passages because it wasn't engaging for me and I often found myself thinking "who cares?". This story was drawn-out for my taste and the world building was unimaginative.
The writing was fine, but I loathed all of the forced French words and phrases - it drove me up the bloody wall. It was utterly pointless because it added nothing to the story and often made no sense. Example: "they were hunters, Chasseurs." Hein? *confused in bilingual* (Chasseurs = hunters in French).
I also couldn't stand the "Big Titty Liddy" anytime it was brought up, I internally cringed every single freaking time.
Overall, this wasn't for me.
While I loved Reid and Lou and reading about their story - it's enemies-to-lovers with the forced marriage trope, what isn't to love?! I just wasn't sold on plot, the villains or the "plot twist". I found myself bored and skimming through many passages because it wasn't engaging for me and I often found myself thinking "who cares?". This story was drawn-out for my taste and the world building was unimaginative.
The writing was fine, but I loathed all of the forced French words and phrases - it drove me up the bloody wall. It was utterly pointless because it added nothing to the story and often made no sense. Example: "they were hunters, Chasseurs." Hein? *confused in bilingual* (Chasseurs = hunters in French).
I also couldn't stand the "Big Titty Liddy" anytime it was brought up, I internally cringed every single freaking time.
Overall, this wasn't for me.