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remembermenever 's review for:
City of Villains
by Estelle Laure
This is one of those books that you pick up on a whim. In this case, I needed to add one more item to an online cart so that I could get delivery. Otherwise, I don't think I'd even know of this novel's existence. And honestly, it would unfortunately be no great loss.
When I read the summary, I was under the impression that this book would be firmly in YA. Unfortunately, I felt like I was reading a Middle Grade novel that was "aged up" during editing. And it shows. There are multiple times where I felt that the main character, Mary Elizabeth, seemed to be written unevenly. But more importantly, this was definitely a case of "Tell, Not Show."
I realized very quickly into reading this that I was not enjoying myself. All of the characters felt very one note. James was supposed to be Mary's true love, and we are told that they never keep secrets from one another. And yet, he immediately is keeping secrets from her. Ursula is Mary's best friend, and yet she just seems to disappear from scenes that she's still in. And don't get me started on Mally. (Mally F. Saint becomes Maleficent. Yeah, you're not that clever, author.) In fact, all the "Legacy" characters feel really flat.
I was more interested in the Mad Hatter case, but we get a info dump on it at the beginning of the novel... and then basically nothing. If it wasn't meant to be important in this novel, it shouldn't have been given the attention it was given. Also, the entire ending just felt convenient.
I just wasn't impressed with the story that this novel was trying to tell. I didn't get the Gotham vibes. It didn't click with me at all. It wasn't the worst thing I've ever read, which is honestly the only thing that gave this novel a second star.
Maybe Middle Grade readers will enjoy this more than me. Here's hoping, anyway.
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When I read the summary, I was under the impression that this book would be firmly in YA. Unfortunately, I felt like I was reading a Middle Grade novel that was "aged up" during editing. And it shows. There are multiple times where I felt that the main character, Mary Elizabeth, seemed to be written unevenly. But more importantly, this was definitely a case of "Tell, Not Show."
I realized very quickly into reading this that I was not enjoying myself. All of the characters felt very one note. James was supposed to be Mary's true love, and we are told that they never keep secrets from one another. And yet, he immediately is keeping secrets from her. Ursula is Mary's best friend, and yet she just seems to disappear from scenes that she's still in. And don't get me started on Mally. (Mally F. Saint becomes Maleficent. Yeah, you're not that clever, author.) In fact, all the "Legacy" characters feel really flat.
I was more interested in the Mad Hatter case, but we get a info dump on it at the beginning of the novel... and then basically nothing. If it wasn't meant to be important in this novel, it shouldn't have been given the attention it was given. Also, the entire ending just felt convenient.
I just wasn't impressed with the story that this novel was trying to tell. I didn't get the Gotham vibes. It didn't click with me at all. It wasn't the worst thing I've ever read, which is honestly the only thing that gave this novel a second star.
Maybe Middle Grade readers will enjoy this more than me. Here's hoping, anyway.
Blog | Instagram | Twitter | Twitch