A review by icarusandthesun
The Golden Enclaves by Naomi Novik

adventurous dark funny mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

i am utterly disappointed.
such a shattering cliffhanger in book two, and for what?

this book has 400 pages and i kid you not, around 300 were horribly uninteresting. the whole first half of the book was useless rambling - boring, uninspiring and devastatingly dry. 

the twist and reveal and all that were fun and had potential, the delivery however was super unexciting and the wow-moment shadowed by the absolute nothingness the whole rest of the book was. great concept, such poor execution.

and don't even get me started on the ending. 
the ending was the most frustrating thing ever. like yeah, we all love a happy ending, but
just how did orion survive? and i'm not saying that out of spite or malice, i liked him as a character. i just think he seriously should've died, because that would've been the most realistic and sensible outcome.

also, watching all the conflict and problems get solved in a little godlike act 20 pages before the end made me want to claw my eyes out.

there were a couple of scenes and happenings that hooked me for a few pages, a chapter at best - for example
the little liaison thing with liesel which surprised me BIG TIME, in a good way,
but the rest was absolutely not it. 

i loved book one and two, and the author's catchy and quick writing style didn't disappoint in this one either, but the story - tragic.
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