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3.87 AVERAGE
3.87 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
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:
Yes
3.5**
For the most part, the writing was pretty good. The romances were pretty mediocre, but I was definitely surprised that that aspect wasn't as prominent as I expected. I think there was a love triangle? I wavered between liking and disliking the four protagonists, and ultimately didn't care all too much for any of them. I think the characters could be fleshed out a bit more beyond their relationships to their families. Who are they as people? Instead of just their thoughts towards the tournament. Not much villainy, which I think is a sentiment mirrored in a lot of other reviews. Also grinning evilly is not villainy and I would have liked to see a lot more strategizing, cunningness. Deaths were pretty predictable (all the pov characters have plot armor). I know it was for the drama, but it got really tedious with all the characters flip flopping sides at the end there. Also, ending fell flat and felt extremely abrupt. Finally, I appreciate the world building and enjoyed the modern aspects of the story, like the paparazzi, hate mail, that felt fresh. World building gave me this gothic, dark academia vibe which I am always a sucker for.
For the most part, the writing was pretty good. The romances were pretty mediocre, but I was definitely surprised that that aspect wasn't as prominent as I expected. I think there was a love triangle? I wavered between liking and disliking the four protagonists, and ultimately didn't care all too much for any of them. I think the characters could be fleshed out a bit more beyond their relationships to their families. Who are they as people? Instead of just their thoughts towards the tournament. Not much villainy, which I think is a sentiment mirrored in a lot of other reviews. Also grinning evilly is not villainy and I would have liked to see a lot more strategizing, cunningness. Deaths were pretty predictable (all the pov characters have plot armor). I know it was for the drama, but it got really tedious with all the characters flip flopping sides at the end there. Also, ending fell flat and felt extremely abrupt. Finally, I appreciate the world building and enjoyed the modern aspects of the story, like the paparazzi, hate mail, that felt fresh. World building gave me this gothic, dark academia vibe which I am always a sucker for.
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Idk if that was bad or if it was just YA but i didn't like it. the authors' writing style with all those short sentences, cringe dialogue, and 5th grader descriptions every time a new character appeared was just a mess to me. this is like the most rip off hunger game of all the rip off hunger games. This entire book was so corny it made me realize that I've been spoiled by good books like the characters and situation here could not be more fake and 2d. I didnt like any of the characters or their relationships. Alistairs monster stuff was so stupid. The world building is also really mid and uninteresting. If this wasn't one of the only things I had downloaded for my flight I would have dropped it a long time ago. Honestly a waste of time unless you like reading about cringe YA characters with weird names and nicknames in a world that sounds like it was written from a dream. Here's some favorite quotes, but maybe they aren't that bad to you (minor spoilers kinda): “Despite his charm and freckled nose, Hendry was still a Lowe. He had a little villain in him. ” “The chairs were filled with Grieves and Paynes—mostly Paynes. There was a pun to be made there, but no one would have been amused. ” “Isobel, your aunts and uncles probably didn’t even know how to spell your name until last year.” “Alistair leaned closer to Isobel. “Let the show begin,” he whispered, sending chills up her neck. ”
Anyways that was definitely an attempt at a book! At least I burned almost 6 hours in my 10 hour flight idk wish I chose to download a better book
Anyways that was definitely an attempt at a book! At least I burned almost 6 hours in my 10 hour flight idk wish I chose to download a better book
adventurous
dark
inspiring
tense
fast-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:
Yes
love this book! the characters have a lot of depth and the magic system is so interesting! can't wait to read the sequel
most of my opinions on this book come down to personal preferences rather than actual flaws i found in the story, so i feel that's important to keep in mind if you're going to take my review with anything more than a grain of salt.
there are aspects of this story that i really enjoyed. the setting was really intriguing, although it was kind of hard to figure out what time period this was set in between the older architecture and the modern materials and tools, but it's an interesting setting regardless. i also found the magic system really interesting, especially through the way that powerful forms of magic are guarded by the highest on the social ladder (love me a capitalism allegory). tournament-type arcs and stories also tend to interest me a lot, and this one was pretty interesting, even if it was slow at times.
for me, the characters were the ones who really dragged the story down. i finished this book about a month ago, and i can really only remember four characters: alistair, isobel, gavin, and the magician that gavin worked with. isobel was interesting, gavin was okay, the magician he worked with was my favourite, and alistair was absolutely insufferable. i don't like his type of character: dark, brooding, thinks he's hot shit because he's kind of sarcastic and can do magic. i also didn't really care for alistair's and isobel's interactions, i found them pretty tiring.
all in all, this is a pretty good book with an interesting magic system and story that's being held back by a character that i would pay money to beat up. 3.5 stars.
there are aspects of this story that i really enjoyed. the setting was really intriguing, although it was kind of hard to figure out what time period this was set in between the older architecture and the modern materials and tools, but it's an interesting setting regardless. i also found the magic system really interesting, especially through the way that powerful forms of magic are guarded by the highest on the social ladder (love me a capitalism allegory). tournament-type arcs and stories also tend to interest me a lot, and this one was pretty interesting, even if it was slow at times.
for me, the characters were the ones who really dragged the story down. i finished this book about a month ago, and i can really only remember four characters: alistair, isobel, gavin, and the magician that gavin worked with. isobel was interesting, gavin was okay, the magician he worked with was my favourite, and alistair was absolutely insufferable. i don't like his type of character: dark, brooding, thinks he's hot shit because he's kind of sarcastic and can do magic. i also didn't really care for alistair's and isobel's interactions, i found them pretty tiring.
all in all, this is a pretty good book with an interesting magic system and story that's being held back by a character that i would pay money to beat up. 3.5 stars.
Super postacie, mega ciekawy system magiczny i wbrew pozorom mało przewidywalna fabuła - wiele rzeczy naprawdę mnie zaskoczyło
Merged review:
Super postacie, mega ciekawy system magiczny i wbrew pozorom mało przewidywalna fabuła - wiele rzeczy naprawdę mnie zaskoczyło
Merged review:
Super postacie, mega ciekawy system magiczny i wbrew pozorom mało przewidywalna fabuła - wiele rzeczy naprawdę mnie zaskoczyło
Not enough depth for me- all felt slightly superficial but as expected.