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3.9 AVERAGE
3.9 AVERAGE
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
The premise was interesting and I was looking forward to reading/learning a bit more about the folklore but was left feeling disappointed. I wanted more from the story, and while I understand the reasons why it ended as it did, I felt like once you took the romance ending out (which honestly I wasn't entirely convinced why they even liked each other) there wasn't actually much story left. Just a girl deciding to move into the next stage of life and adventure, which is fine and all but the main story wasn't impactful enough for it to be left that open-ended and unsatisfying. The climax of her and her cousins "race" on the black road was also a let down to what I felt they could have built up the conflict between the brothers to be. It was a pleasant read though, was quick to get through, the writing wasn't bad just simple and more straightforward.
adventurous
inspiring
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
dark
informative
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Was an entertaining read! Nothing new in terms of the story, but I did appreciate the weaving of Mayan culture into it. It's interesting reading this one after re-reading The Beautiful Ones, they're pretty similar in structure/writing. As opposed to Silver Nitrate (which came out some years after these two) and seeing how she has changed as a writer. Appreciate her work and looking to reading more of it!
Beautiful but I absolutely hated the ending. I don’t care if it’s impractical, I need them to be together.
I really wanted to like this book, and I liked learning about a mythology I wasn't familiar with, but god I was so uninvested in it. The storyline and the writing were very simplistic (I can forgive the language as I know it's not her first.) Besides the very YA protagonist and the rather odd choice of her shallow and selfish cousin as a secondary narrator, everyone was very distant and aloof. I couldn't persuade myself to care about any of the characters or what happened to them.
adventurous
emotional
funny
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:
Complicated
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
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:
No
adventurous
dark
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
I'm going to preface this by saying I think I've read too many of her books recently.
One thing I couldn't ignore is how all her female protagonists are very similar. They are all naive people who want more out of life. Another staple of her work is lush language about fated but impossible love. I was very aware of the similarities between her works and this did temper my experience even though I did enjoy it.
I really enjoyed the journey aspect to the story - it reminded me of Percy Jackson, but focusing on Mexican mythology (something we all know far too little about).
The ending was great and such a lovely way to end the narrative.
One thing I couldn't ignore is how all her female protagonists are very similar. They are all naive people who want more out of life. Another staple of her work is lush language about fated but impossible love. I was very aware of the similarities between her works and this did temper my experience even though I did enjoy it.
I really enjoyed the journey aspect to the story - it reminded me of Percy Jackson, but focusing on Mexican mythology (something we all know far too little about).
The ending was great and such a lovely way to end the narrative.