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A review by lucybbookstuff
Oathbound by Tracy Deonn
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Oof. 😠It pains me to give this book a 3.5 when I gave the first two 4.5. It's possible I'm even being a bit generous.
This review is going to be mostly complaints, so I want to preface it by saying:
I love this series! I like the characters, I'm generally on board with the over-arching story, I think the magic is very cool and smart, and the social commentary is very necessary and well-done (especially for young readers). I still recommend it, and I'm very much looking forward to the conclusion.
This book, however... was a bit of a dud for me.
The first 30% or so I really enjoyed. I was hooked back in right away (despite reading book 2 a year ago). I am a huge fan of multi-POV, so that was very exciting, and I was really liking how it was being used. The plot started slowing down a bit after that, but I was still going with the flow.
And then... it started to get boring. Nothing was progressing on page, the multi-POV went out the window (at a time when it could have been used so well!!), the characters were stuck in the same place and having the same discussions ad nauseum, AND a lot of real estate was being used on a romance that honestly does absolutely nothing for me. (This series has a fun love triangle but only my least favorite side of it was featured in this book. 😩 This love interest is just too golden and perfect, and thus SO boring, and it sounds harsh, but I don't think I'd bat an eye if he died. ðŸ˜)
I was already finding all of that boring and pointless after just a few chapters, and THEN it was announced that they'd be stuck in that same location for THREE WHOLE DAYS!!! And for what??? It was so unnecessary and completely stopped any momentum the book previously had.
Unfortunately, once they got out of there, it remained painfully boring. I think a majority of the reason for me was the emphasis being on this romance that I just don't care about at all. But also, the abandonment of multi-POV and the general sidelining of some characters who I reeeaaaally wanted to see more of. Plus a few plot points and devices that were definitely underbaked.I think the memory loss device was not used to its full potential and felt mostly pointless. And the missing girls, who were meant to be this huge motivator for Bree, felt like a complete afterthought. The combination of all of that just made this a slog.
The ending was interesting. Like literally the last 4 chapters. I'm very intrigued for the finale. But I honestly don't think this series needed to be extended into 4 books. Even if it would have made the last book 800 pages or something, I would have preferred that to these hundreds of unnecessary pages. This was the longest book of the series yet, but it honestly could have been a novella. Or like, 400 pages AT MOST.
So yeah. A dud in the midst of a great series. I have full faith that the conclusion will be awesome.
Also, let it be known...I am Team Sel all the way and I'm still holding out hope for the endgame... But I would NOT say no to the throuple. 👀 If Tracy and the publisher can be brave and make it happen. I just don't think they will.
This review is going to be mostly complaints, so I want to preface it by saying:
I love this series! I like the characters, I'm generally on board with the over-arching story, I think the magic is very cool and smart, and the social commentary is very necessary and well-done (especially for young readers). I still recommend it, and I'm very much looking forward to the conclusion.
This book, however... was a bit of a dud for me.
The first 30% or so I really enjoyed. I was hooked back in right away (despite reading book 2 a year ago). I am a huge fan of multi-POV, so that was very exciting, and I was really liking how it was being used. The plot started slowing down a bit after that, but I was still going with the flow.
And then... it started to get boring. Nothing was progressing on page, the multi-POV went out the window (at a time when it could have been used so well!!), the characters were stuck in the same place and having the same discussions ad nauseum, AND a lot of real estate was being used on a romance that honestly does absolutely nothing for me. (This series has a fun love triangle but only my least favorite side of it was featured in this book. 😩 This love interest is just too golden and perfect, and thus SO boring, and it sounds harsh, but I don't think I'd bat an eye if he died. ðŸ˜)
I was already finding all of that boring and pointless after just a few chapters, and THEN it was announced that they'd be stuck in that same location for THREE WHOLE DAYS!!! And for what??? It was so unnecessary and completely stopped any momentum the book previously had.
Unfortunately, once they got out of there, it remained painfully boring. I think a majority of the reason for me was the emphasis being on this romance that I just don't care about at all. But also, the abandonment of multi-POV and the general sidelining of some characters who I reeeaaaally wanted to see more of. Plus a few plot points and devices that were definitely underbaked.
The ending was interesting. Like literally the last 4 chapters. I'm very intrigued for the finale. But I honestly don't think this series needed to be extended into 4 books. Even if it would have made the last book 800 pages or something, I would have preferred that to these hundreds of unnecessary pages. This was the longest book of the series yet, but it honestly could have been a novella. Or like, 400 pages AT MOST.
So yeah. A dud in the midst of a great series. I have full faith that the conclusion will be awesome.
Also, let it be known...