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3.43 AVERAGE
3.43 AVERAGE
Okay. Imagine a little old lady's house that's just a mess of teacups, floral prints, overgrown garden, old books, dusty chandeliers and those little fake birds everywhere. Got it? Great, now imagine a bunch of goth teenagers hanging out there and you have this book. (Make sure they all have flowers in their hair. Literally EVERYONE in this book wears flowers in their hair.)
The best thing about this book is the atmosphere. It feels very dark-fairy-tale and magical. There are some sections where I was genuinely creeped out, too. But it also feels very, very confusing.
There are a ton of characters, and I found it difficult to care about them. It was hard to keep everyone straight and it was hard to know who was talking all the time-- everyone sounds the same, conversations make no sense, and Harbour tends to skip dialogue tags. And no one tells each other anything. I had no idea what was going on for about half of the book. It almost seemed to me like the atmosphere was a success at the loss of chemistry among the characters. There was no reason for anyone to like anyone, except that everyone is ridiculously gorgeous.
There were some brilliant ideas in here-- a dead man whose heart has been cut out, who only bleeds because a girl's love has made his heart regrow, and a town terrorized by evil fae for generations. I picked it up because it's a retelling of Tam Lin-- a story that just downright intrigues me. But it didn't feel like a Tam Lin retelling until the ending, which was actually pretty great, but by then it was too late for me. Some might love it simply because of the atmosphere, but for me there were too many musical references and random spewing of poetry and cryptic conversations and not enough chemistry and characterization.
The best thing about this book is the atmosphere. It feels very dark-fairy-tale and magical. There are some sections where I was genuinely creeped out, too. But it also feels very, very confusing.
There are a ton of characters, and I found it difficult to care about them. It was hard to keep everyone straight and it was hard to know who was talking all the time-- everyone sounds the same, conversations make no sense, and Harbour tends to skip dialogue tags. And no one tells each other anything. I had no idea what was going on for about half of the book. It almost seemed to me like the atmosphere was a success at the loss of chemistry among the characters. There was no reason for anyone to like anyone, except that everyone is ridiculously gorgeous.
There were some brilliant ideas in here-- a dead man whose heart has been cut out, who only bleeds because a girl's love has made his heart regrow, and a town terrorized by evil fae for generations. I picked it up because it's a retelling of Tam Lin-- a story that just downright intrigues me. But it didn't feel like a Tam Lin retelling until the ending, which was actually pretty great, but by then it was too late for me. Some might love it simply because of the atmosphere, but for me there were too many musical references and random spewing of poetry and cryptic conversations and not enough chemistry and characterization.
Didnt finish this, couldnt get past the fact that if this author has ever been to college, it was a college that
is high school like? Why not just put them in high school?!
Mean girls? Meeting with the dean? Thats not how that works, even at a small college, which is where I went.
is high school like? Why not just put them in high school?!
Mean girls? Meeting with the dean? Thats not how that works, even at a small college, which is where I went.
As it's been a trend for me lately, I'm stuck between a 3 and 4 stars on this one.
I loved the free style of writing and poetic descriptions of the settings and characters that Harbour created. She created a very magical setting that made the Fae here harken back to the dark creatures that Yeats has written about of Scotland and Ireland lore, respectively and I loved that.
While the book was told in a modern world, the Fae characters still feel old and some not only dress the part but speak in riddles much to the irritation of Finn, the main character who has fallen in love with Jack, one of the jacks of lore and has her world turned upside down and sideways in order to save him without understanding what she's gotten herself into.
And here is where I struggled with the rating because as much as loved the writing and the magic it evoked, the romance didn't work for me and considering that Jack was only interested in her because he was commanded to be so by the Fae Queen as Finn's felt more as a bewitchment from the start for the same purpose, a Queen's enjoyment so it left me not believing either where as Finn's love for her family and friends seemed natural that it didn't leave any doubt.
I'm interested to see if Harbour wrote a book about any of the other characters here so I might be on the lookout because again, I did enjoy her writing style just not the romance.
I loved the free style of writing and poetic descriptions of the settings and characters that Harbour created. She created a very magical setting that made the Fae here harken back to the dark creatures that Yeats has written about of Scotland and Ireland lore, respectively and I loved that.
While the book was told in a modern world, the Fae characters still feel old and some not only dress the part but speak in riddles much to the irritation of Finn, the main character who has fallen in love with Jack, one of the jacks of lore and has her world turned upside down and sideways in order to save him without understanding what she's gotten herself into.
And here is where I struggled with the rating because as much as loved the writing and the magic it evoked, the romance didn't work for me and considering that Jack was only interested in her because he was commanded to be so by the Fae Queen as Finn's felt more as a bewitchment from the start for the same purpose, a Queen's enjoyment so it left me not believing either where as Finn's love for her family and friends seemed natural that it didn't leave any doubt.
I'm interested to see if Harbour wrote a book about any of the other characters here so I might be on the lookout because again, I did enjoy her writing style just not the romance.
This was just...not good. The concept has some promise (evil fairy cabal lurking in a weird town) but it's poorly written, oddly plotted, and feels like it's trying way too hard to be cool--another reviewer described it as "trying harder to be goth than a 13 year old at Hot Topic," which is dead-on. Comes straight out of the Twilight school of girl with emo past moves to small town, meets mysterious boy, falls in love despite repeated warnings not to, drama with boy's family ensues. The pacing is off (the entire book takes place in...two, three months? During which time the two main characters meet, fall in love, and apparently become willing to die for each other), the plot meanders around (lots of seemingly-pointless parties which mostly serve as setpieces for descriptions of clothing), none of the characters are especially likeable or memorable, and the writing is overwrought (the word "tawny" is used to describe a character three times in five pages). It's full of distracting tics--the entire town is full of things named HallowHeart, LeafStruck, BrambleBerry, SatyrNight, you get the picture--and character types and situations pulled from other books, movies, and pop culture. One of the sidekicks is a redhead whose mother knits gifts for him and his friends, for god's sake. Basically, it's a first novel and it reads like one. It appears to be the first in a series so hopefully a ruthless editor will come down on it between now and the next book and whip things into shape. Admittedly, I read an advance copy borrowed from a bookseller friend, so maybe there will be some additional polishing before this one is published, but quite honestly it's going to take a lot more than polish to make this readable. Would not recommend.
Took me sooo long the read that book, almost two months! And not because it was not intersting, but because I read it in English and the vocabulary was so dense and the writing so sophisticated.
This book is a hidden treasure, I had no idea when I started it that I would be so fond of it. A fairy tale in the 21st century, but that makes you feel out of time.
The scenary was depicted so well, I could see myself in Fair Hallow, among all the characters, in their houses or lost in the woods.
It was a dark tale too, with danger waiting around the corner, with evils of all kind waiting for on thing: to lure you to your death.
And a love tale above all.
This book is a hidden treasure, I had no idea when I started it that I would be so fond of it. A fairy tale in the 21st century, but that makes you feel out of time.
The scenary was depicted so well, I could see myself in Fair Hallow, among all the characters, in their houses or lost in the woods.
It was a dark tale too, with danger waiting around the corner, with evils of all kind waiting for on thing: to lure you to your death.
And a love tale above all.
2.5** rounded up
Middle school miranda who thought she was all goth and angsty and Twilight was the bees knees would have loved this.
As twenty-something miranda, I appreciated the pretty writing, but can’t get past the insta-love and the fact that by the end of the book I still felt no emotion towards any of the characters.
Middle school miranda who thought she was all goth and angsty and Twilight was the bees knees would have loved this.
As twenty-something miranda, I appreciated the pretty writing, but can’t get past the insta-love and the fact that by the end of the book I still felt no emotion towards any of the characters.
Took me sooo long the read that book, almost two months! And not because it was not intersting, but because I read it in English and the vocabulary was so dense and the writing so sophisticated.
This book is a hidden treasure, I had no idea when I started it that I would be so fond of it. A fairy tale in the 21st century, but that makes you feel out of time.
The scenary was depicted so well, I could see myself in Fair Hallow, among all the characters, in their houses or lost in the woods.
It was a dark tale too, with danger waiting around the corner, with evils of all kind waiting for on thing: to lure you to your death.
And a love tale above all.
This book is a hidden treasure, I had no idea when I started it that I would be so fond of it. A fairy tale in the 21st century, but that makes you feel out of time.
The scenary was depicted so well, I could see myself in Fair Hallow, among all the characters, in their houses or lost in the woods.
It was a dark tale too, with danger waiting around the corner, with evils of all kind waiting for on thing: to lure you to your death.
And a love tale above all.
I wasn't planning on reading through the night in a marathon evening session to finish this book. But I did. And I wasn't disappointed.
I found myself in a beautiful modern fairytale with some lovely dark twists along the way. I admit the transitions need a bit of work and the world-building (or should I say college-building?) was unrealistic but for all that I found myself enjoying this book immensely. It is clear that this is a debut story but Ms. Harbour knows her craft and her audience and I was sucked in and swept away as the night wore on until the very last page. Well done! I am very much looking forward to the second book. As for now? I think I need a nap!
I found myself in a beautiful modern fairytale with some lovely dark twists along the way. I admit the transitions need a bit of work and the world-building (or should I say college-building?) was unrealistic but for all that I found myself enjoying this book immensely. It is clear that this is a debut story but Ms. Harbour knows her craft and her audience and I was sucked in and swept away as the night wore on until the very last page. Well done! I am very much looking forward to the second book. As for now? I think I need a nap!