A review by writervid
Blanca & Roja by Anna-Marie McLemore

3.0

Maybe McLemore's writing isn't for me. I am a fan of plot based novels with characters that drive them, and she does the inverse: character based novels that drive plot. It's one of the reasons I was so looking forward to this story; the idea of a structure that they had to oppose excited me, and I looked forward to the many ways they would, especially since I loved the characters and Blanca and Roja's sisterly relationship.

However, the pacing was off. The structure seemed to be thrown in as an afterthought, and the conflicts in the plot were from my least favorite villain: miscommunication. The romantic relationships seemed to be instalove. I couldn't get the build; they all seemed to go too quickly from being strangers with crushes to being in love. Maybe that wasn't the intention, but it seemed like such a short time to form such a deep connection without a lot of intense moments and conversations together, and it didn't feel particularly realistic to me.

I'm disappointed. Did I enjoy this read? Yes. Did I like the characters? Yes. Was it infuriating? Also yes.