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3.35 AVERAGE
3.35 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
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:
No
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Bumped to a 3.75 but unfortunately too many things underdeveloped to hit the spot. I liked the mystery and intrigue in the first half, the writing in places is lovely, the keys to unlock travel between different worlds/places in the world is interesting, as is the portrayal of the gods. However, after the first half I found it increasingly frustrating. I feel like there are numerous plot holes, an underdeveloped magic system and why completely time skip the majority of the year of traveling and exploring the political intrigue of the world of scholars? It artificially advanced/jumped the plot and made it seem like she suddenly had a load of knowledge and sleuthing skills out of literally nowhere despite living a very sheltered upbrining. The character building was a bit underdevloped, mostly in relation to the surrounding characters who could have been quite promising. I found the ending a bit predictable and convenient. Want to like this book more than I actually do! Reminds me of the Starless Sea in many ways, but SS had much better world building.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Violence, Blood, Abandonment
Moderate: Child death, Death, Injury/Injury detail
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-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
This book was shockingly surface-level? Violet was an avenue for the plot rather than an actual character, with the vast majority of her growth and struggles and development happening off page during time jumps. Aleksander at least had some depth to him, but he is technically the secondary character to Violet’s protagonist.
The descriptions and scenery were lovely and really lended the story a refined and flowery air. I understand why the book is comp’d to Addie LaRue (between the writing and also the lack of agency in the protagonist).
The biggest missed opportunities were: there’s no attempt made to explain how the reveurite works / what the Scholars do / why they’re so powerful, instead there are some corruptions hinted at but not explained or dismantled; and Violet and Aleksander’s entire relationship hinges on conversations and a connection that doesn’t actually take place on the page, instead skipped over as “they talk for hours every week for months” which is not remotely the same as selling your audience on their connection or chemistry.
And the only secondary/minor characters with any depth are… Penelope. And that’s it. Everyone else could honestly have just not been there and nothing would have been different.
I have high hopes for Summers’ future, but this debut was only okay.
{Thank you Redhook for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review}
The descriptions and scenery were lovely and really lended the story a refined and flowery air. I understand why the book is comp’d to Addie LaRue (between the writing and also the lack of agency in the protagonist).
The biggest missed opportunities were: there’s no attempt made to explain how the reveurite works / what the Scholars do / why they’re so powerful, instead there are some corruptions hinted at but not explained or dismantled; and Violet and Aleksander’s entire relationship hinges on conversations and a connection that doesn’t actually take place on the page, instead skipped over as “they talk for hours every week for months” which is not remotely the same as selling your audience on their connection or chemistry.
And the only secondary/minor characters with any depth are… Penelope. And that’s it. Everyone else could honestly have just not been there and nothing would have been different.
I have high hopes for Summers’ future, but this debut was only okay.
{Thank you Redhook for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review}
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
If you liked Divine Rivals, or Starling House, this has the same feel. Mortal against god, curse of an orphan. I really enjoyed it, however if you’re looking for romance or spice this is very tame. And no super happy ending either. And a huge unanswered question. But I still really enjoyed it!
I am so sad that this has to be a DNF at 65%, you can tell that I have really tried to give the book a fair chance but I just couldn’t bring myself to read any further than this. The book has an interesting premise with the promise of grand world building ,curses and mysterious portals to other worlds that opens with a key BUT it really fell flat in execution. I couldn’t really make sense of the world or the rules it abides by, the mix of magic realism just added more complexity. I kept getting frustrated because I couldn’t fully grasp the idea of the world and thus I was unable to focus on the plot which on the other hand felt quite dragged. I hadn’t felt any sense of intrigue with any of the characters either which is unfortunate, their chemistry and interactions felt super lackluster and the prose was unnecessarily dramatic/flowery. Sadly this isn’t a book for me
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes