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ravenstears 's review for:
Exquisite Ruin
by AdriAnne May
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I had been quite worried about this book based on it's overall reviews but I was pleasantly surprised and really enjoyed it.
I thought it was an interesting take on the labyrinth myth and I appreciated the fact that though it's clearly drawing directly on Greek myths and folklore, that there were changes so you didn't feel like you were just reading yet another retelling. Even the things as small as name changes helped with this.
I loved the fact this was such a limited tale as well, both in regards to the number of characters and the confined location. It's rare an author can have so few characters and pull it of but I felt like this book managed it well. I enjoyed the chance to get to know the characters so intimately and the small reveals being drip fed through flash backs were intriguing.
The atmosphere of the maze was eerie and quite well built upon and the differences of each layer in style and type of danger meant the repetition of the general idea of making it through the labyrinth didn't feel draining or annoying, at least to me.
The twist was unexpected and enjoyable and I thought it gave a nice depth to the story and another interesting layer to the relationship between the FMC and the MMC.
Interested to see what the sequel for this will be.
I thought it was an interesting take on the labyrinth myth and I appreciated the fact that though it's clearly drawing directly on Greek myths and folklore, that there were changes so you didn't feel like you were just reading yet another retelling. Even the things as small as name changes helped with this.
I loved the fact this was such a limited tale as well, both in regards to the number of characters and the confined location. It's rare an author can have so few characters and pull it of but I felt like this book managed it well. I enjoyed the chance to get to know the characters so intimately and the small reveals being drip fed through flash backs were intriguing.
The atmosphere of the maze was eerie and quite well built upon and the differences of each layer in style and type of danger meant the repetition of the general idea of making it through the labyrinth didn't feel draining or annoying, at least to me.
The twist was unexpected and enjoyable and I thought it gave a nice depth to the story and another interesting layer to the relationship between the FMC and the MMC.
Interested to see what the sequel for this will be.