jennalabollita's profile picture

jennalabollita 's review for:

Exquisite Ruin by AdriAnne May
3.5
challenging dark tense slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Thank you to NetGalley for the chance to read this ARC!! 

Overall this was a unique and detailed story! Daesre, a demigod turned daemon, and Sadare, a mortal witch, find themselves in a precarious situation involving a maze. As the story progresses, we learn much more about them both and how intertwined they are. 

Personally, I felt as though there wasn't a lot of depth in the story or the characters. The story felt a bit forced and unorganized, and just didn't *grab* me. I did read it all - it's a good story, but the dialogue bounces back and forth between being more modern versus an older style.

<SPOILER>
I also wasn't a huge fan of Sadare's connection to the aether being related to pain. Self-inflicted injuries are hard to read, especially for those who have a history of self-harm. This was a pretty poignant part of the book, and while I understand the context within the story, the descriptions did pull me out of the story quite a bit.

Expand filter menu Content Warnings