A review by elerireads
Once & Future by A.R. Capetta, Cory McCarthy

adventurous lighthearted fast-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

1.5

This wasn't brilliant tbh. Not sure how much of it was because I'm not really the intended audience. It was quite fun, plot-heavy and easy to read, and this was enough to keep me gripped but only just. There was no depth of characterisation at all so I didn't feel invested in the characters' lives. Lam, Kay and Val all just got lumped into a "side characters with 3-letter names" box in my head and I'm honestly not really sure which was which. The perspective kept shifting between Ari and Merlin but there was no difference in narrative voice so I barely noticed - might as well have just had an omniscient narrator. The ending with a weird quest into the past to find a chalice was just jarring, unsatisfying and irritating. If you want people to read a sequel, write a book that's good enough to leave them wanting more; inventing a rubbish cliffhanger at the end is just cheap.