Take a photo of a barcode or cover
laurenjadereads 's review for:
The Veiled Kingdom
by Holly Renee
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
I have seen so many great reviews for this book but honestly, for me, it just wasn't it.
There is little-to-no world-building, the characters are very flat (the only time I felt there was a hint of originality with Dacre and Nyra was at the end of the book) and the 'romance' felt extremely rushed and forced.
I have so many questions about the story! Why is there a rebellion? Why was there a raid on the palace? How long has the rebellion been going on? Why does Dacre care so deeply about the rebellion? The fact they're fae was only dropped into conversation a couple of times? The author probably knows all the answers to these questions but perhaps just hasn't got them down in the book. I felt like I was reading the middle of a story, without knowing the start (a prologue would have been useful).
This entire book happens over the span of about a week - that, to me, doesn't constitute an enemies-to-lovers romance. It felt very insta-lust as opposed to building up any form of relationship between the characters. Which is fine if that's what it was marketed as, but it's not. I didn't even find the spice particularly great, so really, I wasn't sold on the romance element at all.
I think there's definitely a good concept hidden in here somewhere but it could do with a lot more context for the plot and more time spent on making the characters feel unique and 3-dimensional.
There is little-to-no world-building, the characters are very flat (the only time I felt there was a hint of originality with Dacre and Nyra was at the end of the book) and the 'romance' felt extremely rushed and forced.
I have so many questions about the story! Why is there a rebellion? Why was there a raid on the palace? How long has the rebellion been going on? Why does Dacre care so deeply about the rebellion? The fact they're fae was only dropped into conversation a couple of times? The author probably knows all the answers to these questions but perhaps just hasn't got them down in the book. I felt like I was reading the middle of a story, without knowing the start (a prologue would have been useful).
This entire book happens over the span of about a week - that, to me, doesn't constitute an enemies-to-lovers romance. It felt very insta-lust as opposed to building up any form of relationship between the characters. Which is fine if that's what it was marketed as, but it's not. I didn't even find the spice particularly great, so really, I wasn't sold on the romance element at all.
I think there's definitely a good concept hidden in here somewhere but it could do with a lot more context for the plot and more time spent on making the characters feel unique and 3-dimensional.