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jamieleepilk's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Dark, angsty and death magic filled YA story.
I'll start with the good points... the premise for this book is brilliant. The representation in the story is incredible, a pansexual lead, lesbian love interest and a character that is non-binary & asexual, the main central "love story" is also polyamorous which is brilliant and never something I thought I would see in a YA novel. It's effortlessly queer. The magic and world building is slow to begin with, you are kind of thrown in at the deep end without much information and it builds over time. I am and always will be a sucker for court intrigue so that was great.
Now for the slightly less great points... the plot is a little bit all over the place and it ended up falling flat for me. It had so much potential but just felt certain plot points were purely for shock value rather than to actual move the story along is any way. A lot of the "romance" in this book is largely instalove or rather instapassion in this books case which some times makes me disconnect from a story.
I can admire what she was trying to do with this story and the ambition behind it but I think this just wasn't the book for me and by the looks of the other reviews I'm very much in the minority here.
I'll start with the good points... the premise for this book is brilliant. The representation in the story is incredible, a pansexual lead, lesbian love interest and a character that is non-binary & asexual, the main central "love story" is also polyamorous which is brilliant and never something I thought I would see in a YA novel. It's effortlessly queer. The magic and world building is slow to begin with, you are kind of thrown in at the deep end without much information and it builds over time. I am and always will be a sucker for court intrigue so that was great.
Now for the slightly less great points... the plot is a little bit all over the place and it ended up falling flat for me. It had so much potential but just felt certain plot points were purely for shock value rather than to actual move the story along is any way. A lot of the "romance" in this book is largely instalove or rather instapassion in this books case which some times makes me disconnect from a story.
I can admire what she was trying to do with this story and the ambition behind it but I think this just wasn't the book for me and by the looks of the other reviews I'm very much in the minority here.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Blood, Confinement, Death of parent, Gore, Grief, Sexual content, and Violence
wrenxavier's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
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? N/A
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Blood, Body horror, Cannibalism, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Gore, Grief, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexism, and Violence
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Infidelity, Rape, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Sexual violence
Minor: Kidnapping and Suicide
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