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4.0 AVERAGE
4.0 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
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
challenging
dark
emotional
medium-paced
I kept seeing this on TBR's and in booktok recommendations, and had high hopes for this book and series. It was advertised as a dark paranormal romance with a reverse harem and enemies to lovers trope. Technically, yes it checks those boxes but did not really deliver on them.
The paranormal aspect was highly inferred, the world building and magic system were both weak and vaguely described. The world itself does not require too much imagination, as it is set in our contemporary one; references to cars like Rolls Royce and more specifically a Dodge Challenger Hellcat, iPhones, and physically set within the current United States. However, there is not a lot of effort into distinguishing the unique aspects of the "Gifted" community. The descriptions of gifts and bond relationships is vague throughout the book, honestly I kept reading thinking that the explanations would come or we would be exposed to more telling details. It would have been a good opportunity for the author to use the academic setting, like in the Gifted 101 course, to flesh out more of this magic system for the readers.
As far as romance goes, this book is really relying heavy on brief recognitions of pining from one point of view. I would not even describe it as steamy or rife with sexual tension between the MFC and her various bonds. There is ONE sexual conduct scene in the book, and it was of the nefarious dubious consent variety. Dark romances are expected to be riddled with trigger warning worthy content, but this was not well executed. The explanation and aftermath was frustrating and disappointing. The FMC dismisses the fact that it was a form of sexual violation, and tries to justify his actions. Also, another missed opporutnity for the author to capitalize on this event to further develop the protective and possessive nature of the bond between the FMC and the other MMCs. The execution of enemies to lovers trope is also missing the mark. It is more like denial of attraction and temporary anger at rejection.
This could have be written with a lot less internalized misogyny. The FMC constantly refers to other women around her negatively through monikers like bitch and cunt. Granted, there is also a lot of petty mean girl behavior written into the background characters. A lot of the female animosity and jealousy though derives from sexual envy between the girls and the MMCs. It subtly derives the only value of the FMC coming from her being the interest of the men, as opposed to they could have been jealous of her based on her own merits. Also, just really disappointed that this FMC tried to explain her bad attitude on "probably about to start her period".
Yes, it was a fast paced plot, and a lot of readers comment that they read it in one sitting or could not put it down.... probably because it was not substantially written. A lot of the content was repetitive and lacking descriptive depth. There were also a significnat amount of typos and grammatical errors. The writing was very evident of being a self-published piece, and the writing caliber was poor. The author would have greatly benefitted from having a developmental editor, or even at the least a line editor. Hopefully, the following books in the series are better as the writer gained more experience and resources with professional publication.
The paranormal aspect was highly inferred, the world building and magic system were both weak and vaguely described. The world itself does not require too much imagination, as it is set in our contemporary one; references to cars like Rolls Royce and more specifically a Dodge Challenger Hellcat, iPhones, and physically set within the current United States. However, there is not a lot of effort into distinguishing the unique aspects of the "Gifted" community. The descriptions of gifts and bond relationships is vague throughout the book, honestly I kept reading thinking that the explanations would come or we would be exposed to more telling details. It would have been a good opportunity for the author to use the academic setting, like in the Gifted 101 course, to flesh out more of this magic system for the readers.
As far as romance goes, this book is really relying heavy on brief recognitions of pining from one point of view. I would not even describe it as steamy or rife with sexual tension between the MFC and her various bonds. There is ONE sexual conduct scene in the book, and it was of the nefarious dubious consent variety. Dark romances are expected to be riddled with trigger warning worthy content, but this was not well executed. The explanation and aftermath was frustrating and disappointing. The FMC dismisses the fact that it was a form of sexual violation, and tries to justify his actions. Also, another missed opporutnity for the author to capitalize on this event to further develop the protective and possessive nature of the bond between the FMC and the other MMCs. The execution of enemies to lovers trope is also missing the mark. It is more like denial of attraction and temporary anger at rejection.
This could have be written with a lot less internalized misogyny. The FMC constantly refers to other women around her negatively through monikers like bitch and cunt. Granted, there is also a lot of petty mean girl behavior written into the background characters. A lot of the female animosity and jealousy though derives from sexual envy between the girls and the MMCs. It subtly derives the only value of the FMC coming from her being the interest of the men, as opposed to they could have been jealous of her based on her own merits. Also, just really disappointed that this FMC tried to explain her bad attitude on "probably about to start her period".
Yes, it was a fast paced plot, and a lot of readers comment that they read it in one sitting or could not put it down.... probably because it was not substantially written. A lot of the content was repetitive and lacking descriptive depth. There were also a significnat amount of typos and grammatical errors. The writing was very evident of being a self-published piece, and the writing caliber was poor. The author would have greatly benefitted from having a developmental editor, or even at the least a line editor. Hopefully, the following books in the series are better as the writer gained more experience and resources with professional publication.
This was definitely written by a 15 year old. Nothing happens. She whines a lot and the use of the word “freaking” in every sentence is enough to bring anyone to insanity. Worst book I’ve ever read. DNF
adventurous
funny
tense
fast-paced
I don't have the mental fortitude or energetic bandwidth to relay just why I am so baffled by this book's popularity.
It inspired me to make a shelf for that exact flavour of reading experience, though.
Not reading the rest of this. Nope.
It inspired me to make a shelf for that exact flavour of reading experience, though.
Not reading the rest of this. Nope.
Love the idea of this book/ series. World building is lacking and the plot is very slow moving, but the concept of these bonds and bonded is so fun!
dark
emotional
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I can already tell that this series is gonna be a favorite. Ollie is fantastic and so real. I'm not sure which of her bonds I like best, but Nox is a jerk, though. As in, I kind of hope he'll be the last one she'll bond with. He deserves to be last.