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mineden10's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
hopeful
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
mugglestrggle's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
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
3.0
bhrtng's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
3.5
3.5 stars? Maybe?
Summary: A fear-eating monster woman and a grim reaper shadow daddy go on a quest to un-curse themselves and kill god.
I can't tell how I feel about this. I don't generally read standalone fantasies. It just seems hard to flesh out a whole new world and adequately develop characters and a plot in just ~300 pages. That being said this was...fine? I guess? It wasn't bad, but it didn't feel magnificent either. The characters were a little flat and the conflicts resolved a little too easily (there just /happened/ to be a banshee in the vampire lair? and banshees just so /happen/ to be able to 'sense' each other?) but again, with only ~300 pages of course things have to move along a little quickly. The romance was cute, if a little fast and tropey. It seemed like the author really valued a moving turn of phrase and she executed those whenever she could. Stuff like, "She was a monster, but she was made of moonlight and shadows, and I knew she would be my undoing" all the time. That's not an exact quote but it could be. There was a good twist at the end that I didn't expect. I dunno. I can't say I recommend it but I also can't say I'd tell people to avoid it at all costs?
Summary: A fear-eating monster woman and a grim reaper shadow daddy go on a quest to un-curse themselves and kill god.
I can't tell how I feel about this. I don't generally read standalone fantasies. It just seems hard to flesh out a whole new world and adequately develop characters and a plot in just ~300 pages. That being said this was...fine? I guess? It wasn't bad, but it didn't feel magnificent either. The characters were a little flat and the conflicts resolved a little too easily (there just /happened/ to be a banshee in the vampire lair? and banshees just so /happen/ to be able to 'sense' each other?) but again, with only ~300 pages of course things have to move along a little quickly. The romance was cute, if a little fast and tropey. It seemed like the author really valued a moving turn of phrase and she executed those whenever she could. Stuff like, "She was a monster, but she was made of moonlight and shadows, and I knew she would be my undoing" all the time. That's not an exact quote but it could be. There was a good twist at the end that I didn't expect. I dunno. I can't say I recommend it but I also can't say I'd tell people to avoid it at all costs?
isabellelily's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
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? It's complicated
4.5
kygeo's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
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? Yes
5.0
renate_rog's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
It’s an enjoyable book and there’s not necessarily anything wrong with it, but it wasn’t really anything special to me. It didn’t quite impress me like how I wanted it to.
Storyline is good and easy to follow as well. There’s a good build up towards the end of the book and the ending definitely didn’t feel rushed, which was good to me.
I love how it was about a chosen family because everyone needs a family in one way or another and sometimes it’s by choice. It can be quite relatable if you don’t quite get along with your own family, even though this isn’t the case for me. However, I do see my friends as a chosen family as well, in which I can relate to the book a bit.
The character development is good but nothing quite new to me. It being about lost family and finding yourself is something I have read multiple times before.
Overall, a 3.5 stars for me, because it was good but nothing special and sometimes more of the same compared to other books.
Storyline is good and easy to follow as well. There’s a good build up towards the end of the book and the ending definitely didn’t feel rushed, which was good to me.
I love how it was about a chosen family because everyone needs a family in one way or another and sometimes it’s by choice. It can be quite relatable if you don’t quite get along with your own family, even though this isn’t the case for me. However, I do see my friends as a chosen family as well, in which I can relate to the book a bit.
The character development is good but nothing quite new to me. It being about lost family and finding yourself is something I have read multiple times before.
Overall, a 3.5 stars for me, because it was good but nothing special and sometimes more of the same compared to other books.
maddynell635's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
slow-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
3.0
debster1982's review against another edition
2.0
Had high hopes, but it wasn’t what I hoped it would be. Didn’t feel connected to the characters at all
foxybooktalk's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
kistireads's review against another edition
4.0
Thank you so much to Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group and Netgalley for a copy of this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
The cover for this book immediately pulled me, and the synopsis even more so. Greek mythology weaved within worlds of gods and monsters.
⭐ 4 stars overall ⭐
This is my first book by Alexandra Christo, and her writing style did not disappoint! I felt it was easy to read and nothing snagged me or stopped me within my reading. She was able to create a captivating atmosphere in whichever “world” we were in and the personalities of both of our MCs were very much their own. We had a dual POV in this book, and while I prefer one POV in most of the books I read, I found the dual POV to be really interesting here. Without it, I don’t think I would’ve enjoyed the story as much.
Throughout reading, I fell to enjoy both of our characters, whereas at first I was not really sure if I would like either one. The mystery of both of them, what happened in their pasts and where they come from and why - all of it unfolded. The character arcs and backgrounds are very intertwined with the plot and world building, so it’s impossible to talk about them without also diving into the plot and world building. Our story also has romance, an enemies to lovers trope & friends to lovers, which was an unexpected treat for me! Though it’s not a spicy novel, it’s still a lot of fun to read those interactions.
The plot essentially centered around this: the mystery and the revenge for the pasts of these two characters. I enjoyed the way it unfolded but especially towards the end of the story. The last 20-30% was when we really found out about their pasts and what really happened, and before that we would receive hints and riddles in the way other characters spoke. While the beginning pulled me in and the end really pulled me in, I felt the story did lag a bit in the middle and I wasn’t as captivated, but when we hit that 65%-70% mark in the story, I was pulled back in. I think these were the best parts, and I felt really rewarded when I read the ending and information started to unravel. The ending was also really action packed and dark. There were gory parts and violence in some of the last chapters of the story. Though we did get a lot of world building, especially as the mysteries were revealed, I do wish we would’ve seen more of the different realms and learned more about them as well. We do receive general explanations, but more would’ve satisfied my world building needs in fantasy stories such as these.
This is a standalone novel, but I would be happy to read another one in this world. I enjoyed this one and I enjoyed the range of emotions and traits we experienced with each characters. This is marketed as a YA but I think adults would also love to read this and would fit perfectly for targeted audience. There are some TWs to be aware of that are listed with the book.
Overall a really enjoyable book with an ending that I loved - I would re-read this one again!
The cover for this book immediately pulled me, and the synopsis even more so. Greek mythology weaved within worlds of gods and monsters.
⭐ 4 stars overall ⭐
This is my first book by Alexandra Christo, and her writing style did not disappoint! I felt it was easy to read and nothing snagged me or stopped me within my reading. She was able to create a captivating atmosphere in whichever “world” we were in and the personalities of both of our MCs were very much their own. We had a dual POV in this book, and while I prefer one POV in most of the books I read, I found the dual POV to be really interesting here. Without it, I don’t think I would’ve enjoyed the story as much.
Throughout reading, I fell to enjoy both of our characters, whereas at first I was not really sure if I would like either one. The mystery of both of them, what happened in their pasts and where they come from and why - all of it unfolded. The character arcs and backgrounds are very intertwined with the plot and world building, so it’s impossible to talk about them without also diving into the plot and world building. Our story also has romance, an enemies to lovers trope & friends to lovers, which was an unexpected treat for me! Though it’s not a spicy novel, it’s still a lot of fun to read those interactions.
The plot essentially centered around this: the mystery and the revenge for the pasts of these two characters. I enjoyed the way it unfolded but especially towards the end of the story. The last 20-30% was when we really found out about their pasts and what really happened, and before that we would receive hints and riddles in the way other characters spoke. While the beginning pulled me in and the end really pulled me in, I felt the story did lag a bit in the middle and I wasn’t as captivated, but when we hit that 65%-70% mark in the story, I was pulled back in. I think these were the best parts, and I felt really rewarded when I read the ending and information started to unravel. The ending was also really action packed and dark. There were gory parts and violence in some of the last chapters of the story. Though we did get a lot of world building, especially as the mysteries were revealed, I do wish we would’ve seen more of the different realms and learned more about them as well. We do receive general explanations, but more would’ve satisfied my world building needs in fantasy stories such as these.
This is a standalone novel, but I would be happy to read another one in this world. I enjoyed this one and I enjoyed the range of emotions and traits we experienced with each characters. This is marketed as a YA but I think adults would also love to read this and would fit perfectly for targeted audience. There are some TWs to be aware of that are listed with the book.
Overall a really enjoyable book with an ending that I loved - I would re-read this one again!