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3.29 AVERAGE
3.29 AVERAGE
decent story
I really thought this was a decent book but it didn’t really suck me in. I would try another book by the authors. I gave it three stars.
I really thought this was a decent book but it didn’t really suck me in. I would try another book by the authors. I gave it three stars.
3.25⭐️
This was a bit of a let down for me. Rissa had so much potential as a character but I think the story was too short to really allow for enough believable character growth for me to get behind her. The same goes for the romance. There was so much going on in the world (and a lot of it was great world building) but there wasn’t enough chemistry to truly get me behind this couple. I liked the writing style of author and the ideas she comes up with and hopefully they’ll provide for better execution in a longer format. I will say, I really liked the side characters and they felt a lot more unique and developed compared to the main couple. The Bone Queen is my favorite and Khal is pretty close behind. Lastly, the ending seemed like it was supposed to be so much bigger and more impactful than it was for the way the author described it. It just seemed a little underwhelming for me even though there were moments that could make me consider reading more from this series.
This was a bit of a let down for me. Rissa had so much potential as a character but I think the story was too short to really allow for enough believable character growth for me to get behind her. The same goes for the romance. There was so much going on in the world (and a lot of it was great world building) but there wasn’t enough chemistry to truly get me behind this couple. I liked the writing style of author and the ideas she comes up with and hopefully they’ll provide for better execution in a longer format. I will say, I really liked the side characters and they felt a lot more unique and developed compared to the main couple. The Bone Queen is my favorite and Khal is pretty close behind. Lastly, the ending seemed like it was supposed to be so much bigger and more impactful than it was for the way the author described it. It just seemed a little underwhelming for me even though there were moments that could make me consider reading more from this series.
I think I had a problem with the narrator, and that made the story telling fall flat. She was near deadpan, that didn't match the beautiful cover and what i think would have been a terrific story with some inflection.
I'm sad, the blurb was awesome, the cover art was awesome and other books from the author were awesome... so what went wrong here? It had all the elements but just felt very rushed. I'm a sad panda :(
Worldbuilding:
The world is amazing and has great potential to create many more beautiful stories.
I did, however, experience a bit of an information dump and didn't really get a feel for what it meant living in this world or being part of this or that court.
Character development:
The characters were awesome! Rissa, Ryedekar, Khal and all the others were absolutely great... I just didn't connect to them... at all :(
It was when I was about 1/3 into the book that I started wondering what was wrong. I read about the characters, I got some info here and there but I missed the feeling, the empathy I normally feel towards characters I read about.
Pacing and flow:
A lot is going on and while there is a good balance between all the action and conversations, it felt very rushed. I missed a good flow throughout the story, well, not that's not true, it was there, but as things were happening so fast after each other, you just didn't get the time to come to terms with what just came to pass. I often compare this part with an ocean on a normal day, the waves (some bigger than others) hitting the beach (or rocks) and retreating. This felt like the ocean during a hurricane.
The book:
The book itself was well written with no (noticeable) errors. There is sex described (if that is important to you).
The book is 226 pages long, spread over 36 chapters, told from Rissa's and Rydekar's point of view.
Final thoughts:
I voluntarily read an advanced reader copy of this book and all I can say is the book showed great potential. I mean, it really had everything it needed but felt very rushed. I would have loved for the book to slow down and let certain events/feelings marinate a bit before moving on. It was going too fast for me to build up a connection with the characters and this actually made me super sad, because you can just feel what could have been :(
Worldbuilding:
The world is amazing and has great potential to create many more beautiful stories.
I did, however, experience a bit of an information dump and didn't really get a feel for what it meant living in this world or being part of this or that court.
Character development:
The characters were awesome! Rissa, Ryedekar, Khal and all the others were absolutely great... I just didn't connect to them... at all :(
It was when I was about 1/3 into the book that I started wondering what was wrong. I read about the characters, I got some info here and there but I missed the feeling, the empathy I normally feel towards characters I read about.
Pacing and flow:
A lot is going on and while there is a good balance between all the action and conversations, it felt very rushed. I missed a good flow throughout the story, well, not that's not true, it was there, but as things were happening so fast after each other, you just didn't get the time to come to terms with what just came to pass. I often compare this part with an ocean on a normal day, the waves (some bigger than others) hitting the beach (or rocks) and retreating. This felt like the ocean during a hurricane.
The book:
The book itself was well written with no (noticeable) errors. There is sex described (if that is important to you).
The book is 226 pages long, spread over 36 chapters, told from Rissa's and Rydekar's point of view.
Final thoughts:
I voluntarily read an advanced reader copy of this book and all I can say is the book showed great potential. I mean, it really had everything it needed but felt very rushed. I would have loved for the book to slow down and let certain events/feelings marinate a bit before moving on. It was going too fast for me to build up a connection with the characters and this actually made me super sad, because you can just feel what could have been :(
This what I get for not writing a review for a few weeks--all I remember is, despite interesting world-building, there was pretty good sexual tension that completely stalled, and then the author, by 98 percent of the book in, must've realized "oh, right, time to fire off that sexual tension gun I set up on the table in the first quarter of the book." Finally the main characters had a sex scene, but by that point I was like, "whatever." And then the most rushed of epilogues where, again, "meh." This is a standalone but there's a second book planned? I'll pass for now.
There are so many fae-romance-fantasy books out there, and yet I read most every one of them and enjoy them too! Loved the banter and characters in "The Cursed Crown" as well as the world-building and development on Sage's part. Though I've seen the likes of this kind of plot, Sage adds something new to it and enhances a genre I absolutely adore reading. A little too fast paced near the end which felt "off", but nothing that massively tarnished an otherwise superb book!
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
fast-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
This is an enemy-to-lovers fae romance. This story is a standalone but I think it would have made a great duology or series to give us more time building the characters and world because everything other than the romance felt rushed and left me wanting more. This is a good read for those looking for a quick standalone fae romance. Also I love the gorgeous cover.
adventurous
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
An adventurous story about Seelie and Unseelie. I received a gorgeous edition of this book in my Arcane Society book box so I don't know if I would have found it otherwise. It was a pleasantly short fantasy story with a dash of spiciness and romance.
Rissa is happy to live in her forest but one day, Rydekar comes along and disrupts her peace. She is the last living heir to the Seelie throne. No one was ever born less suited to ruling than Rissa, the thorn of the seelie realm—a half-fae so wild she’s spent the better part of a hundred years in the woods. But Rydekar, the Unseelie King, needs her alliance to fight the immortal threats at their borders.
This book contained a few twists which were fun but it was a little bit cheesy. I did enjoy the pacing and writing of the book a lot.
Tropes: Seelie/Unseelie, fantasy, magic, age-gap, quest
Rissa is happy to live in her forest but one day, Rydekar comes along and disrupts her peace. She is the last living heir to the Seelie throne. No one was ever born less suited to ruling than Rissa, the thorn of the seelie realm—a half-fae so wild she’s spent the better part of a hundred years in the woods. But Rydekar, the Unseelie King, needs her alliance to fight the immortal threats at their borders.
This book contained a few twists which were fun but it was a little bit cheesy. I did enjoy the pacing and writing of the book a lot.
Tropes: Seelie/Unseelie, fantasy, magic, age-gap, quest
*The cursed crown by Alexi Blake*
2/5 ⭐
0/5 🌶️
**Tropes**
- enemies to lovers
- fated mates
- independent fmc
📖 **My Thoughts**
sigh…I received this book in a book box and this book is too beautiful to have been written so terribly. This book is about 200ish pages and it should’ve been a full fledged novel. This is a plot that is absolutely stuffed to the brim with plot points falling out and being left to rot. The relationship between our main characters is so flat and under developed that im honestly surprised that this book was chosen to be in a rather expensive book box. Our main and side characters were developed in such a shallow way that we are unable to actually form some sort of attachment to them. The ending was quite rushed that I was genuinely confused on what everything meant because it just didn’t make sense at all. Some books aren’t meant to be novellas, it simply just doesn’t work for every concept.
⚠️ **Triggers**
um…honestly I’m not sure if there are any
🏳️🌈**Representation**
Kind of? I mean the author briefly threw in a MLM relationship but it’s so flat that I couldn’t tell if they were sleeping together or what was going on.
🌶️ **Spice**
None
📝 **Special Notes**
I hope I can sell this book.
**Link to Book**
The Cursed Crown https://a.co/d/48agKGC
2/5 ⭐
0/5 🌶️
**Tropes**
- enemies to lovers
- fated mates
- independent fmc
📖 **My Thoughts**
sigh…I received this book in a book box and this book is too beautiful to have been written so terribly. This book is about 200ish pages and it should’ve been a full fledged novel. This is a plot that is absolutely stuffed to the brim with plot points falling out and being left to rot. The relationship between our main characters is so flat and under developed that im honestly surprised that this book was chosen to be in a rather expensive book box. Our main and side characters were developed in such a shallow way that we are unable to actually form some sort of attachment to them. The ending was quite rushed that I was genuinely confused on what everything meant because it just didn’t make sense at all. Some books aren’t meant to be novellas, it simply just doesn’t work for every concept.
⚠️ **Triggers**
um…honestly I’m not sure if there are any
🏳️🌈**Representation**
Kind of? I mean the author briefly threw in a MLM relationship but it’s so flat that I couldn’t tell if they were sleeping together or what was going on.
🌶️ **Spice**
None
📝 **Special Notes**
I hope I can sell this book.
**Link to Book**
The Cursed Crown https://a.co/d/48agKGC