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3.61 AVERAGE
3.61 AVERAGE
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
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:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Sexual harassment
Minor: Rape
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
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:
Complicated
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
The world building was great and easy to follow. I loved Morticia, and Archimedes. The side characters had a lot of depth to them with interesting backstories, not a single one of them was a throw away character. The dark academia vibe was great as well. I enjoyed learning about the different magic types. The ending was a good happy ending without the need of an accidental pregnancy. Which I was worried about how Calla was acting towards the end.
What I was frustrated with Rylan though as a character. He was very much “touch her and you die” but then he started to give whiplash with his thoughts and actions. When he accused her of something- a very important plot point- everyone in the room was defending her, but not him. He was angry to the point where he would just throw her under the bus and didn’t even consider things rationally. Then he justified it by saying he feels guilty for thinking it (because that’s how things are justified right?) But he expects Calla to trust him because he has never “shown her a reason to distrust him,” but neither has she and he immediately jumps the gun on her supposed “betrayal.” Then, he never tells her about his misgivings and when she asked for space after a big reveal SHE apologised and he omitted the truth about what he had said. It got glossed over by him and all the other characters too, after that I am not sure Calla is truly in the best place for herself. I will give him credit though he knew how to punish those who had physically hurt Calla. The author got creative with how Rylan punished those who wronged Calla and that was a good read.
I had to DNF this at 53% on Chapter 30. This book should have been a page turner that was devoured in hours based on the description. The plot had such strong potential, gargoyles, witched, magic, and magic school it was just way too slowly paced for me. Also the spice in this book up to this point is maybe a 1-2. It's like they wanted to write it but wouldn't fully commit to it or was trying to keep it PG/PG-13 I'm not sure. It just reel in after the hook.
slow-paced