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theghostly's review
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? It's complicated
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Self harm
Moderate: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Physical abuse, and Child death
the_books_music_life's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
(So, I do have a question but it is spoilerly and at the very end, so if someone could answer that would be great.)
I LOVE the brief bsexual rep we got with Rowan. I feel like I don’t see bisexual rep in the books I read. Maybe I’m just reading the wrong books, who knows; but I was very happy to see it.
The love the setting, the atmosphere was stunning and the way it was described I could imagine it so easily. The characters are another thing I like, although, I did have my issues with somethings. I love Rowan and Leta’s relationship, It did develop a little fast but that’s to be expected in a duology. The slight slow-burn of it was enjoyable to read. Rowan as a character is something I really loved, he’s complex and allows/lets the world and people see him the way they want to, but when we get to learn more about Rowan and his past you ca understand why he is the way he is. I also love the sibling dynamic between Arien and Leta, it was so sweet and you can tell how much they mean to each other.
I feel iffy on the price Leta had to pay, it felt like too much and not enough at the same time. Maybe that was just me.
Now I do have slight issues with pacing, it felt both rushed and too slow. Leta fell into many of the cliches with older YA of always having to do it yourself and alone. I felt like certain scenes were trying to be more dramatic than they actually were and it threw me off a few times. But the last chapter was so dramatic it had me rolling my eyes a few times; don’t get me wrong I love drama, but when it’s done right. Some of the word choices the author used were a little bit cringe worthy with how dramatic they were.
But, overall I did really enjoy this book, the writing was good, I enjoyed the characters, the different types of relationships etc.
Was it explained why Leta would see, summon, and go to the World Below? Did I miss that explanation? Could someone explain it to me?
I LOVE the brief bsexual rep we got with Rowan. I feel like I don’t see bisexual rep in the books I read. Maybe I’m just reading the wrong books, who knows; but I was very happy to see it.
The love the setting, the atmosphere was stunning and the way it was described I could imagine it so easily. The characters are another thing I like, although, I did have my issues with somethings. I love Rowan and Leta’s relationship, It did develop a little fast but that’s to be expected in a duology. The slight slow-burn of it was enjoyable to read. Rowan as a character is something I really loved, he’s complex and allows/lets the world and people see him the way they want to, but when we get to learn more about Rowan and his past you ca understand why he is the way he is. I also love the sibling dynamic between Arien and Leta, it was so sweet and you can tell how much they mean to each other.
I feel iffy on the price Leta had to pay, it felt like too much and not enough at the same time. Maybe that was just me.
Now I do have slight issues with pacing, it felt both rushed and too slow. Leta fell into many of the cliches with older YA of always having to do it yourself and alone. I felt like certain scenes were trying to be more dramatic than they actually were and it threw me off a few times. But the last chapter was so dramatic it had me rolling my eyes a few times; don’t get me wrong I love drama, but when it’s done right. Some of the word choices the author used were a little bit cringe worthy with how dramatic they were.
But, overall I did really enjoy this book, the writing was good, I enjoyed the characters, the different types of relationships etc.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood
Moderate: Child death, Death of parent, and Body horror
Minor: Suicide attempt
tranvnguyen's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Self harm, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Death of parent
trippalli's review
dark
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
First positively the author has a beautiful way of describing rooms, places, clothes, details with adjectives and so the world building is effective and stunning. Unfortunately that's about where it ends. The last survivor/resurrected of the drown family is constantly cutting themselves to do blood magic. The premise is they are trying to undo the corruption on the land caused by the tragedies and causing the tragedies This corruption had killed all the plants and blackened the water of the lake.
The other characters introduced who are trying to help with their magic are failing and also start self cutting to pull power which seems both dark, repeatative and unhelpful. The narrator makes a deal with the dark underlord and gives up her family... The love triangle between the undrowned traffic love survivor and the dark underlord both seem like abusive relationships full of gaslighting, darn deals and unfortunately violent power dynamics.. Giving up positive things in their lives to try to save this cursed land.
It all became redundant, dark and pointless. There's really no plot, the relationships aren't founded in love but more power dynamics, pity, and tragedy. I skimmed through entire book speed reading after the first half trying to see if it would evolve and a plot would evolve. Nothing evolved.
Sadly I can't recommend this, as despite the promising descriptive language and world building, the characters relationships are very triggering for me as an abuse survivor, and the self cutting is horrific, knowing people who suffered with cutting in real life this is not ok to weave into a young adult book as a source of magic. It's not cutting is just tragic self harm.
The other characters introduced who are trying to help with their magic are failing and also start self cutting to pull power which seems both dark, repeatative and unhelpful. The narrator makes a deal with the dark underlord and gives up her family... The love triangle between the undrowned traffic love survivor and the dark underlord both seem like abusive relationships full of gaslighting, darn deals and unfortunately violent power dynamics.. Giving up positive things in their lives to try to save this cursed land.
It all became redundant, dark and pointless. There's really no plot, the relationships aren't founded in love but more power dynamics, pity, and tragedy. I skimmed through entire book speed reading after the first half trying to see if it would evolve and a plot would evolve. Nothing evolved.
Sadly I can't recommend this, as despite the promising descriptive language and world building, the characters relationships are very triggering for me as an abuse survivor, and the self cutting is horrific, knowing people who suffered with cutting in real life this is not ok to weave into a young adult book as a source of magic. It's not cutting is just tragic self harm.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Toxic friendship, Violence, Self harm, Child death, Gaslighting, Death, Toxic relationship, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, and Blood
elwan_enchanted's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Blood, Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Self harm, Death of parent, Gore, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Death of parent, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Violence, Vomit, and Suicide
kdez's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, and Body horror
Moderate: Sexual content, Child death, Death of parent, Death, and Gore
r_a_bell's review
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
This book read like a 2012 self-insert watt pad fanfic, especially in the beginning. There’s a lot of build-up with no delivery and it seems like instead of letting the story speak for itself, the author instead just tells you how you should feel about the story.
At the beginning, the main character refer to the (initial) antagonist as “the monster” constantly. After hearing a single rumor about him, being told that he’s called a monster and having like 2 interactions with him. It’s like it was just easier to have the main character keep calling him a monster instead of actually illustrating it and leading you to that conclusion yourself. The entire book just felt like it was trying to hard to be dark and scary, without actually delivering.
My biggest complaint, though, is the descriptions throughout do not line up. When I read, I have a movie that plays in my head of what’s going on in the book. And the way actions were described, it completely took me out of the story almost constantly! For example, if it describes two characters in the same room, at first it will describe them as being on opposite side of the room, and then 2 seconds later it’ll be saying that character A grabbed Character B’s hand. When did they cross the room?? Did I miss something or do they just have super long arms??
My final note:there’s supposed to be a love triangle in this?? The third person in the supposed love triangle is only actually in a scene maybe 3 times. And the way it’s described it felt my creepy and weird than anything. Reading it, I kept thinking to myself “does the author mean for it to sound like the main character is kind of into him??” Nothing about it seemed intentional.
At the beginning, the main character refer to the (initial) antagonist as “the monster” constantly. After hearing a single rumor about him, being told that he’s called a monster and having like 2 interactions with him. It’s like it was just easier to have the main character keep calling him a monster instead of actually illustrating it and leading you to that conclusion yourself. The entire book just felt like it was trying to hard to be dark and scary, without actually delivering.
My biggest complaint, though, is the descriptions throughout do not line up. When I read, I have a movie that plays in my head of what’s going on in the book. And the way actions were described, it completely took me out of the story almost constantly! For example, if it describes two characters in the same room, at first it will describe them as being on opposite side of the room, and then 2 seconds later it’ll be saying that character A grabbed Character B’s hand. When did they cross the room?? Did I miss something or do they just have super long arms??
My final note:
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Vomit, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Self harm, Suicide attempt, Blood, Death, Gore, and Suicide
Moderate: Child death, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Physical abuse, Sexual content, and Abandonment
laceyc1's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood
Minor: Child death, Death, Death of parent, and Grief
crystalisreading's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
The description, cover, and title combination for Lakesedge caught my attention right away, and I was glad to be granted an advanced copy. The story itself pulled me in right away, with intriguing world building and a strong older sister fighting to keep her younger brother safe in an abusive environment. The magic/ religious system in the story is interesting and cohesive, and the world as described seemed welcoming and pleasant. Well, mostly. At first. Then the magic really started. And the romance. And the drama. And the impulsive and often self-destructive decisions.
Violetta is extremely self-sacrificing when it comes to protecting her loved ones, and not good at caring for herself at all. The more you get to understand the trauma she has been through, the more her behavior makes sense, but it still gets a little tiresome after awhile. I felt like this was very YA, with maximum angst, both familial and romantic. There’s also some sort of love triangle, and the story ends on a cliffhanger. I keep forgetting that “lush” as a book descriptor means all the purple prose describing everything, and while this book wasn’t terrible, I got a little tired of hearing about how everything tastes like ash or burned sugar or poison or whatever, and how there were strings tied from / tightening her heart, etc. And this is very much my own preference, but some of the things these characters, especially Leta, went through, and the losses they endured, just felt like too much. I could see how the writing is gothic fantasy bordering on horror.
I did love the LGBTQ+ rep, as multiple supporting characters had same sex preferences or were bi/pan, and Leta appeared to be demisexual. And while this is wholly a fantasy setting, and Violetta and her brother are fair skinned and red headed, there’s also a fair amount of supporting characters who are described as having darker skin, curly hair, etc. Also, women have a lot of agency in this story, and while most of the people with leadership roles in the story (lords, village leaders, etc) were male, several of the female characters filled important professional roles and all the women were treated with respect. (The characters definitely existed on a gender binary, and there was no non-binary representation that I can remember.
Overall this was an enjoyable, if sometimes slightly redundant and slow read. I finished it in a few days around the autumn holidays. While I’m not sure I’ll bother reading the sequel, I nevertheless appreciate #NetGalley and Macmillan granting me a free electronic advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Sexual content and Death
Minor: Death of parent and Child death
rebthack's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Blood, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, and Self harm
Moderate: Blood, Child death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, and Kidnapping