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4.05 AVERAGE
4.05 AVERAGE
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I really wanted this to work for me. V.E. Schwab is an author I really want to love. I can tell she is writing books for me. The characters here just feel dated and a little empty and I am such a character driven reader!
I didn’t have this problem in the previous Schwab books I’ve read. Despite any complaints, I was always invested the main character. I guess that is kinda true here. I liked Kell the most. Lila, however… major disappointment. The most not-like-other-girls girl to ever not be like other girls. 🙄 This trope is so dated now, writers loose points for me when they employ it. It’s not a flex to not get along with other women. (I suspect/hope Schwab has outgrown this as a writer considering her most recent book, Bury Our Bones. )
I didn’t have this problem in the previous Schwab books I’ve read. Despite any complaints, I was always invested the main character. I guess that is kinda true here. I liked Kell the most. Lila, however… major disappointment. The most not-like-other-girls girl to ever not be like other girls. 🙄 This trope is so dated now, writers loose points for me when they employ it. It’s not a flex to not get along with other women. (I suspect/hope Schwab has outgrown this as a writer considering her most recent book, Bury Our Bones. )
adventurous
dark
funny
informative
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
funny
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Reread August 2023
Still obsessed!!!
First read 2018
I have found a new favorite!
THIS WAS AMAZING HOLY FUCKING COW IM OBSESSED WITH THIS! Can I just give it like a million stars?
I flew through this. I never wanted to put it down. I just can’t with how much I’m in love with this. The characters. The world. The Magic. Kell’s awesome coat. I can continue on forever!
This is my first V. E. Schwab book and I now want to read everything she writes! I’m ready to just binge read the rest of this trilogy.
I can’t get over the world that she created. It is just too amazing and I’m obsessed. There’s points where I was just like WHAT? How could you do that to my beloved characters! But you just want to see how they get out of it all. It’s such a crazy world of different London’s!
“There’s Dull London, Kell London, Creepy London, and Dead London”
I can’t wait to read book two. I need to see what happens next with Lila trying to find herself and what new shenanigans they all get themselves into!
Still obsessed!!!
First read 2018
I have found a new favorite!
THIS WAS AMAZING HOLY FUCKING COW IM OBSESSED WITH THIS! Can I just give it like a million stars?
I flew through this. I never wanted to put it down. I just can’t with how much I’m in love with this. The characters. The world. The Magic. Kell’s awesome coat. I can continue on forever!
This is my first V. E. Schwab book and I now want to read everything she writes! I’m ready to just binge read the rest of this trilogy.
I can’t get over the world that she created. It is just too amazing and I’m obsessed. There’s points where I was just like WHAT? How could you do that to my beloved characters! But you just want to see how they get out of it all. It’s such a crazy world of different London’s!
“There’s Dull London, Kell London, Creepy London, and Dead London”
I can’t wait to read book two. I need to see what happens next with Lila trying to find herself and what new shenanigans they all get themselves into!
Pretty good, definitely 4 stars, for some reason can't bring myself to say 5 but also don't have a good reason why not.
4.6 stars
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This was truly darker magic than I’m used to. The evil trying to win stressed me out sometimes. However it was interesting to read, and I can’t wait to read the next one, as well as more of VE Schwab’s books.
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Spoilerzzzzzzz aheaaaad
Idk if I should give this 4 or 5 stars!!
The story is so original and cool but at the same time something minor about the story is bothering me, but I can't figure out what it is. I think maybe, like someone else said, I was a bit surprised at how simple the whole plot was for the amount of pages it had... it didn't really build up to a trilogy? Can't say I was bored though.
And I'm not sure what I think about the characters yet. They feel a little cliché sometimes but they were still likeable and I can't say that I dislike tough female characters. So yeah, I'm confused. I guess still feel a little distant from them, especially Kell (Rhy was so cute though).
I feel stupid when I criticize great stories because there is no way I could do any better than this.
I'm happy that Kell and Lila didn't fall in love super fast, it feels more natural when it's not instantaneous like in 90% of other books like this (but I suspect there might be a love triangle, ugh please no. Also Lila and her eye = Eye see you Antari). They were still independent and badass (YEEES pirate ladies) in the end and Kell didn't ditch his whole family to go off with a random girl he's known for three days. The bromance was sweet.
So yeah, overall, great story!!!
Loved the parallel worlds, the creepy black fever, the invented languages, and the magic coat of course! I'm excited to read the rest.
Now, what to rate this... 4.5, I guess. Might change later on, I need to think this over, hahaha.
Idk if I should give this 4 or 5 stars!!
The story is so original and cool but at the same time something minor about the story is bothering me, but I can't figure out what it is. I think maybe, like someone else said, I was a bit surprised at how simple the whole plot was for the amount of pages it had... it didn't really build up to a trilogy? Can't say I was bored though.
And I'm not sure what I think about the characters yet. They feel a little cliché sometimes but they were still likeable and I can't say that I dislike tough female characters. So yeah, I'm confused. I guess still feel a little distant from them, especially Kell (Rhy was so cute though).
I feel stupid when I criticize great stories because there is no way I could do any better than this.
I'm happy that Kell and Lila didn't fall in love super fast, it feels more natural when it's not instantaneous like in 90% of other books like this (but I suspect there might be a love triangle, ugh please no. Also Lila and her eye = Eye see you Antari). They were still independent and badass (YEEES pirate ladies) in the end and Kell didn't ditch his whole family to go off with a random girl he's known for three days. The bromance was sweet.
So yeah, overall, great story!!!
Loved the parallel worlds, the creepy black fever, the invented languages, and the magic coat of course! I'm excited to read the rest.
Now, what to rate this... 4.5, I guess. Might change later on, I need to think this over, hahaha.