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cady_sass's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
A bit of a slog but gets where it’s going. I was initially worried for another bout of second book syndrome because, based on where the first book left off, I was expecting us to get right into the thick of it. And honestly we do have that ailment but at least after the halfway point it turns around. We have 700+ pages here and a lot of that is laying the ground work that (I assume) is necessary for the series to continue but was rough for me as the reader. Ultimately things pick up and there are some pretty wild turns that I can’t begin to speculate on how they will pan out. I think/hope we set ourselves up for a really good time in the next few books!
soramun's review
2.0
Before I write this review I want to say that I totally appreciate the author for all the work and research she did for this book. I read the author's notes and as I read I could tell that she was definitely diligent in getting 1900s New York spot on.
Unfortunately, this sequel just didn't do it for me for multiple reasons. I fell in love with the first book because I was on a magical high at the time. I was reading multiple books about magical worlds and societies and I was craving more. The first book absolutely gave me everything I needed in that department so I couldn't wait to get my hands on this book. Things were left on a cliff hanger and I HAD to have answers.
I'm not someone who likes reading books about people on the run and that's pretty much how this story went. There are rare occasions when this kind of story stays interesting, but most of the time I get bored fairly easy. When people are on the run they are constantly hopping from one place to another, rarely stopping for a breather or to actually explore their surroundings. There's a flurry of different characters that they cross paths with that you never get to meet or see again. It makes me feel like it was pointless to even have those sections.
This books just wasn't wrapped up tightly enough. There were a lot of romantic stuff that I could have gone without and I love romance. It just felt like I was reading about 13 year old lovers instead of people in their twenties. There were a lot of other characters constantly getting character point of views and it made it so confusing to keep track. Especially when the characters were boring and not talking about anything that interested me.
I just wish it had continued with that circus magic it started with. It was so much more interesting...
Unfortunately, this sequel just didn't do it for me for multiple reasons. I fell in love with the first book because I was on a magical high at the time. I was reading multiple books about magical worlds and societies and I was craving more. The first book absolutely gave me everything I needed in that department so I couldn't wait to get my hands on this book. Things were left on a cliff hanger and I HAD to have answers.
I'm not someone who likes reading books about people on the run and that's pretty much how this story went. There are rare occasions when this kind of story stays interesting, but most of the time I get bored fairly easy. When people are on the run they are constantly hopping from one place to another, rarely stopping for a breather or to actually explore their surroundings. There's a flurry of different characters that they cross paths with that you never get to meet or see again. It makes me feel like it was pointless to even have those sections.
This books just wasn't wrapped up tightly enough. There were a lot of romantic stuff that I could have gone without and I love romance. It just felt like I was reading about 13 year old lovers instead of people in their twenties. There were a lot of other characters constantly getting character point of views and it made it so confusing to keep track. Especially when the characters were boring and not talking about anything that interested me.
I just wish it had continued with that circus magic it started with. It was so much more interesting...
ahhhlex's review
2.75
so much nothing happened??? this book felt like it was 1000 pages long. This definitely would've benefitted from some better editing.
rachelhwang03's review
3.0
It held promise. I really liked the first half, but then i realized that it just kept dragging on with no real plot. Then i finished the book. Nothing of import happened. Could have been reduced to 30% of what it is and perfectly fine.
yearlyreadings's review
hopeful
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
8lueminn0w's review against another edition
4.0
"True power was the ability to bend others to your will while they thought the bending was their own idea."
katob's review
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
amybraunauthor's review
4.0
This book was a behemoth, so I had no idea what to expect. It soon became clear that there would be lots of different characters, both new and old, and more storylines would come to light. That certainly happened and while it led to a lot of interesting elements and more action scenes, I think that some elements were too much. While it wasn't badly written, I don't think the rebellion element was needed. That said, the storyline definitely added to new elements of the world and truly tested the characters.
As for the characters themselves, I liked many of them, and found Viola's storyline to be the best. She's a very strong character and I would love to see how it goes, especially with her complicated family relationship and a potential love interest. I also found Julien to be a fun side character, and would love to know more about him. I also feel that Jinayu's storyline was a little too short.
As for Harte and Esta, I still enjoyed them and their complicated push-and-pull of their relationship, but I found myself getting frustrated with some of their choices. This was actually my biggest problem with the book: simple choices and a little more thought would have stopped so many horrible things from happening. I understand it was meant to move the story along, but I was face-palming more than once.
Still, it's not a bad book and I did have a lot of fun with the time travel element and watching everything completely unravel for the characters. It will be interesting to see how all these plot elements tie together.
As for the characters themselves, I liked many of them, and found Viola's storyline to be the best. She's a very strong character and I would love to see how it goes, especially with her complicated family relationship and a potential love interest. I also found Julien to be a fun side character, and would love to know more about him. I also feel that Jinayu's storyline was a little too short.
As for Harte and Esta, I still enjoyed them and their complicated push-and-pull of their relationship, but I found myself getting frustrated with some of their choices. This was actually my biggest problem with the book: simple choices and a little more thought would have stopped so many horrible things from happening. I understand it was meant to move the story along, but I was face-palming more than once.
Still, it's not a bad book and I did have a lot of fun with the time travel element and watching everything completely unravel for the characters. It will be interesting to see how all these plot elements tie together.
beffynicole's review against another edition
3.5
This series isn't terrible but I think I'm done with it. I think the writing is just not for me.
fishsticks26's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
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
4.75