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3.9 AVERAGE
3.9 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
sad
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:
Complicated
adventurous
slow-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:
No
adventurous
challenging
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
adventurous
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
lighthearted
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
This book, along with These Hollow Vows (which I enjoyed partially more only for the romantic tension, which I'm always a sucker for) just felt like the most basic Fae, love triangle (square?) romantasy book you can get. Usually, I try to give books categorized as Young Adult some leeway, but the "spicy scenes" in this knock it out of the Young Adult category, for me. This book just felt like a compilation of all Booktok books, in particular Throne of Glass (Mab, really?). I cannot list all of the issues I have with this, because I don't want to spend so much time on it. Overall, it's a poorly written version of so many other books with a weak storyline, basic characters, a stupid main character who everyone else thinks is a genius, mid-storytelling, typical magical traits (mind reading, for example), way too cliché of tropes (all three princes/kings appear to be around her age and are all super handsome and all fall/flirt with her??), etc etc. I tried, really tried, to get through this book, but her background reveal was the final straw. This is now just another reminder about how popular books are not all what they're hyped up to be. I'm sorry, I want to be nice, but unfortunately, with the hype this book is getting, I feel like there are too many issues with it that need to be pointed out.
First off, thank you to Clarion Books and NetGalley for this e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.
This was one of my most highly anticipated reads of this year because man, that cliffhanger in These Hollow Vows had me heated! So it makes sense that I was eager to immerse myself back into the world of Faerie and learn of the fates of these beloved characters. Ryan does an incredible job at world building and she can write a hell of a plot. When it comes to plot, this book gets 5 stars. When it comes to characterization, I give it 3. Abriella got on my nerves and still agitated me in the sequel. After everything this girl has been through, she's just as whiny and insufferable as before. Arguably her biggest change is that she is able to overcome her prejudice of the Fae and becomes less selfish throughout- that's it.
***MAJOR SPOILERS BELOW!!!***
Sebastian also doesn't get as much hate as he deserves. The dude literally tricked Brie, then KILLED HER for her crown, and gave her an immortal life that she never even wanted. And then after all that, he keeps thinking that she belongs to him and continues to assert himself regardless of his previous actions. He's toxic AF and his sacrifice at the end doesn't diminish the heinous acts that he committed throughout the story.
And then there's Arya's death. This felt like season 8 of Game of Thrones. We spent all this time building up to the final battle in the conflict between our main characters and this villain just for it to be over with in mere seconds. Even the battle between Brie, Sebastian, and his traitorous right hand man didn't last for more than a couple pages. I would have preferred a third book rather than a rushed ending.
Finally, I am left with one question: how is Sebastian able to rule the Seelie court without the crown and power? Through lies? Mordeous tried to rule the Unseelie without the crown and the court suffered for it, so will the same happen to the Seelie court since Brie can't actually be on the throne for it to thrive?
Altogether, Ryan gets an A+ for plotted twists and turns, but the character development and the ending of the story fell flat for me.
This was one of my most highly anticipated reads of this year because man, that cliffhanger in These Hollow Vows had me heated! So it makes sense that I was eager to immerse myself back into the world of Faerie and learn of the fates of these beloved characters. Ryan does an incredible job at world building and she can write a hell of a plot. When it comes to plot, this book gets 5 stars. When it comes to characterization, I give it 3. Abriella got on my nerves and still agitated me in the sequel. After everything this girl has been through, she's just as whiny and insufferable as before. Arguably her biggest change is that she is able to overcome her prejudice of the Fae and becomes less selfish throughout- that's it.
***MAJOR SPOILERS BELOW!!!***
Sebastian also doesn't get as much hate as he deserves. The dude literally tricked Brie, then KILLED HER for her crown, and gave her an immortal life that she never even wanted. And then after all that, he keeps thinking that she belongs to him and continues to assert himself regardless of his previous actions. He's toxic AF and his sacrifice at the end doesn't diminish the heinous acts that he committed throughout the story.
And then there's Arya's death. This felt like season 8 of Game of Thrones. We spent all this time building up to the final battle in the conflict between our main characters and this villain just for it to be over with in mere seconds. Even the battle between Brie, Sebastian, and his traitorous right hand man didn't last for more than a couple pages. I would have preferred a third book rather than a rushed ending.
Finally, I am left with one question: how is Sebastian able to rule the Seelie court without the crown and power? Through lies? Mordeous tried to rule the Unseelie without the crown and the court suffered for it, so will the same happen to the Seelie court since Brie can't actually be on the throne for it to thrive?
Altogether, Ryan gets an A+ for plotted twists and turns, but the character development and the ending of the story fell flat for me.
adventurous
challenging
dark
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No