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3.35 AVERAGE
3.35 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood
Moderate: Child death, Death, Violence
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
I’m a bit iffy on this read, on the one hand I truly liked the world set up in the story, I liked a lot of the characters and the writing is lush and wonderful to read. On the other hand though the way the story jumps from one point of view to another is jarring, especially in the audiobook version I was listening to that put few gaps between point of view shifts. I also felt throughout it like my favorite parts of the story, the different worlds and Violet’s search for her mother especially, weren’t really the focus of the story and weren’t given much time. In the end I’d give the story 3 stars, the parts that worked for me really worked for me but the rest was a bit of a difficult read.
It was okay. The writing is good and the premise is intriguing. The execution falls a bit flat. The characters had potential but never quite fully realized it. The worldbuilding had some cool stuff but never really gelled. The plot was interesting but became unfocused especially in the second half. I felt there were a lot of loose threads and plot points that were just forgotten about. The pacing was pretty good and kept things moving along well, except for a few chapters around the 80% mark where the characters just kind of milled around waiting for the climax. A lot of that should have been edited out. The romance was unobjectionable, but also wasn't very interesting, just kind of there. I'll count that as a win since annoying romances are the worst. I'll take an uninteresting one over an obnoxious one any day, and in this book it stayed mostly in the background and could be largely ignored.
It's a little frustrating because all the elements are there, they just aren't pulled together in a satisfying way. But I think this author has potential and I would read another book by her.
It's a little frustrating because all the elements are there, they just aren't pulled together in a satisfying way. But I think this author has potential and I would read another book by her.
dark
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
challenging
emotional
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:
Complicated
Thankyou to Netgalley and Hodder & Stoughton, Hodderscape for a free e-arc in exchange of an honest review.
This is definitely for those who are fans of The Starless Sea. The writing is beautiful and the story sucks you in.
I struggled to connect to the characters fully however due to being written in third person- but this can be forgiven for the quick paced story.
The romance (not a huge part of the story) was a little lack lustre and could have been skipped all together for a friendship- again probably because of the lack of feeling and emotion i got from the characters due to the writing style.
All together i did enjoy it and would recommend.
3.5 stars
This is definitely for those who are fans of The Starless Sea. The writing is beautiful and the story sucks you in.
I struggled to connect to the characters fully however due to being written in third person- but this can be forgiven for the quick paced story.
The romance (not a huge part of the story) was a little lack lustre and could have been skipped all together for a friendship- again probably because of the lack of feeling and emotion i got from the characters due to the writing style.
All together i did enjoy it and would recommend.
3.5 stars
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The pace of the book felt very slow to start, but picked up around 100 pages into it. The book is full of small details, and has a gritty magical feel to it. It embraces the modern day, but pulls in fairytales, angels, demons, and tarot cards. It sometimes gives the feel of a dark labyrinth and did leave me wondering how we were going to get out, but the ending tied up the majority of my questions. There are some queer side characters, and one of the main characters is bisexual, but the majority of the book focuses on male-female paired relationships. This is the kind of book I’d like more in the fall or winter months, as it’s a very inquisitive book, leading you more by questions than by answers.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction, Child abuse, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Trafficking, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment
Minor: Gore, Physical abuse, Self harm