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3.89 AVERAGE
3.89 AVERAGE
DNF because six POVs felt like overkill and because the sheer volume of nonsensical metaphors made the writing feel juvenile
I don’t typically read YA but when looking for something me and my sister would have fun with I saw this one come up for BoTM. The pretty sprayed edges may or may not have sold this for me as a gift for my sister. The book overall was a good time once you look past the writing definitely feeling geared towards a younger group. It did have a lot of tropes I have read before so in that sense it felt less original, but it also had the purgatory setting which was unique. I did not know at the time this was a series so the ending was a cliffhanger. Good luck to future me remembering anything for book two. 😅
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Minor: Sexual content
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
adventurous
dark
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
This was a decent dark academia story. I've never been super into the genre, but I decided to give this a try. it was pretty good. There was a lot going on in it, but I enjoyed it. I'll probably continue in the series.
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Interesting idea, cool world, but just… lacking.
The biggest issue - there’s too many damn POVs. I don’t mind books with multiple POVs and I’ve read ones that pulled off 6 successfully. This did not. It seriously hurt the overall world building and relationships among characters. I could not bring myself to give AF about any of them.
Why are they doing any of this? We don’t know. Why are they still in low level classes, even students who’ve been there for hundreds of years?! We don’t know! There were just so many plot holes that the truly cool potential & story - didn’t happen. The twists 🙄 easily guessable. There wasn’t anything that truly shocked me.
Don’t get me wrong, it was entertaining enough - I obviously finished it. Even though I solidly debated DNF’ing around the 60-65% mark. It’s just not something I think I’ll come back to or continue.
The biggest issue - there’s too many damn POVs. I don’t mind books with multiple POVs and I’ve read ones that pulled off 6 successfully. This did not. It seriously hurt the overall world building and relationships among characters. I could not bring myself to give AF about any of them.
Why are they doing any of this? We don’t know. Why are they still in low level classes, even students who’ve been there for hundreds of years?! We don’t know! There were just so many plot holes that the truly cool potential & story - didn’t happen. The twists 🙄 easily guessable. There wasn’t anything that truly shocked me.
Don’t get me wrong, it was entertaining enough - I obviously finished it. Even though I solidly debated DNF’ing around the 60-65% mark. It’s just not something I think I’ll come back to or continue.
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
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
A passable start to a YA fantasy series. I was intrigued by the premise, but the writing was a bit thin. Six POVs was too many; it weakened characterization and relationships, and also made it obvious who the redshirts were. (Also, a few of the voices felt SO similar to each other, particularly in dialogue.) The quick pace and romantic tension kept me reading—but I do wish much more time was spent on each character individually outside of their 1 central relationship, and that the world building felt more original.