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3.63 AVERAGE
3.63 AVERAGE
I struggled with this. I wanted so badly to like it, but I just could not get into it. I was unable to connect with any of the characters and I had a very hard time following the plot because my mind kept drifting.
This was ok. The world building around the magic would make this a 4 star book but the gaps in the transitions took me out of the story. Even right after Tea brings her brother back to life, suddenly, we are somewhere else with a mentor. The story felt disconnected at times. Also, the revenge-ish plot at the end made no sense. Overall, this is missing some details to the plot.
Maybe 3.5 stars, solid YA story if sometimes a bit silly.
Hmmm, I'm not sure how I feel about this book. It was odd and I'm not sure I always could keep the story line straight. That in part be due to the fact that I listened to it. There was an interesting cliff hanger at the end, but I'm not invested enough to continue on.
adventurous
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
The structure of this was interesting, though the storytelling like manner made it inherently slow. It describes the present and several years previous. I did not expect this book to take place in essentially an entertainers' house with basically the whole book consisting of training. It felt like a prequel, but the ending was a bit sinister and now I want to know what will happen next.
“Let’s go, Kalen,” brought me an unnecessary amount
of joy.
of joy.
Amazing. This book was amazing. It was dark and ominous, beautifully written. I love Tea, i love the character building, i love the story, i love the twists and turns, i love the set up. This is a must read. I’d recommend it to anyone.
adventurous
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
I'm still not sure how I feel about this book. I was pretty convinced that I wasn't going to bother reading the rest of the series, but by the end I'm not so sure. I was at equal times confused and intrigued by this.
4 out of 5 stars.
Before I picked this up I saw many people's complaints that it was slow. It is slow in the beginning but I do not feel that slowness is as much as an impediment as others do. Rin Chupeco does build the world and does it gracefully, and there are some spattered mentions and attributions to the main plot. I think the book's biggest problem was the info dumping, which attributed mostly to the slowness rather than the world building. This books has two perspectives: one where Tea is younger (13-15) and one where she is older (17), and to be honest that older perspective was the most enjoyable aspect of the book.
That being said, when the story picks up it does get good and mysterious. The world and magic system that Chupeco created was different from other YA high fantasies. I also enjoyed Tea as a protagonist, she was somewhat more skeptical than most other YA heroines and the hints that she enjoyed the power and destructive aspect of the Dark and daevas really piqued me. These hints were more interesting when compared to the other perspective where Tea is older and more in-tuned with her magic and vengeance.
But the real cherry on top was the ending. I shall not spoil it but when I discovered whose grave that was my jaw literally dropped, thought I was also slightly satisfied.
Before I picked this up I saw many people's complaints that it was slow. It is slow in the beginning but I do not feel that slowness is as much as an impediment as others do. Rin Chupeco does build the world and does it gracefully, and there are some spattered mentions and attributions to the main plot. I think the book's biggest problem was the info dumping, which attributed mostly to the slowness rather than the world building. This books has two perspectives: one where Tea is younger (13-15) and one where she is older (17), and to be honest that older perspective was the most enjoyable aspect of the book.
That being said, when the story picks up it does get good and mysterious. The world and magic system that Chupeco created was different from other YA high fantasies. I also enjoyed Tea as a protagonist, she was somewhat more skeptical than most other YA heroines and the hints that she enjoyed the power and destructive aspect of the Dark and daevas really piqued me. These hints were more interesting when compared to the other perspective where Tea is older and more in-tuned with her magic and vengeance.
But the real cherry on top was the ending. I shall not spoil it but when I discovered whose grave that was my jaw literally dropped, thought I was also slightly satisfied.