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3.95 AVERAGE
3.95 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
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:
Complicated
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
slow-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
Fun, though very predictable, and sometimes it really plods along.
This one skewed a bit more towards romance than cozy fantasy for my taste (I wanted more details about the magical creatures, more worldbuilding than just “it’s basically exactly like the present-day real-world but with magical creatures and countries have different names”). It had romance novel beats as far as how the plot progressed and it had romance novel characters; just a note for romance readers, the spice level is zero.
But main character Aila and her best friend were endearing. The rivals-to-lovers seemed a little contrived, but that’s not entirely unexpected. I also liked the themes of conservation and preventing species extinction but again would have wanted more worldbuilding-level details about the specific creatures, their habitats, and the various uses for their magical components.
All that to say, it wasn’t my cup of tea, but there may be other people who will really enjoy it.
{Thank you Hachette Audio for the ALC in exchange for my honest review}
But main character Aila and her best friend were endearing. The rivals-to-lovers seemed a little contrived, but that’s not entirely unexpected. I also liked the themes of conservation and preventing species extinction but again would have wanted more worldbuilding-level details about the specific creatures, their habitats, and the various uses for their magical components.
All that to say, it wasn’t my cup of tea, but there may be other people who will really enjoy it.
{Thank you Hachette Audio for the ALC in exchange for my honest review}
adventurous
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-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:
Yes
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
slow-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
funny
hopeful
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
I LOVED this one SO MUCH. if you have the barest interest in queer lit and mythical creatures this is a must-read. It also portrays anxiety SO well, and it straightbaits which I love 😘
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
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
lighthearted
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This. Book. Dragged. The third act was sloppy, predictable and paced horribly. It could’ve happened a lot faster and really I would’ve assumed Connor was just a hey look!! Look! She’s bisexual. Look at the color I’ve added to my book! A bisexual Mc who doesn’t say it and can’t realize a woman is a lesbian???? Obviously a woman who gets attention from men and doesn’t like them is just… a frigid bitch??? God aila acts so high schooler. Except for the predictable, sloppy “twist” that made the whole ordeal feel like it was a sloppy mess where the author went oh no. I need tension anywhere. Connor could be a jerk and unintertedd in the work instead. Or he could not be in the book and make it the same book. He adds nothing.
The romance is horrific, too, the pacing was awful. Connor was placed for stupid barely there plot reasons, and to make matters worse, it reads like YA. YA with a little swearing and a poacher plot to earn a pg13 rating. Half the action comes out of basically nowhere and feels like it was put in by someone who decided the book can’t be that adult (and we have to have alternative “oh my god”s, like 6 of them, because it’s ~fantasy~ so we can’t say god or anything, that’s not fantasy enough, it made me cringe Every. Single. Time.)
The romance is horrific, too, the pacing was awful. Connor was placed for stupid barely there plot reasons, and to make matters worse, it reads like YA. YA with a little swearing and a poacher plot to earn a pg13 rating. Half the action comes out of basically nowhere and feels like it was put in by someone who decided the book can’t be that adult (and we have to have alternative “oh my god”s, like 6 of them, because it’s ~fantasy~ so we can’t say god or anything, that’s not fantasy enough, it made me cringe Every. Single. Time.)
emotional
funny
lighthearted
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