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elsam13 's review for:
House of the Beast
by Michelle Wong
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I absolutely enjoyed this book. At first, yes it was a bit slow for me but once it kickstarted with the 8 year time jump, I was really into it. I think reading about Alma and her journey as a eleven year old was definitely necessary, even if for me it felt slow, because later in the book you understand why she seeks revenge. At the same time time, she tries really hard to stay true to herself and not lose her humanity by letting Aster decide who lives or who dies.
I was very intrigued by this strange relationship between Alma, a bastard daughter, and Aster, a god with a lot of power. You could tell he was definitely enamored with Alma. But Alma is smart enough to not cave to his affections since he is a god. I really liked this friendship even if it turns into a very dark truth in the end.
As for the setting of this story, to me it was one hundred percent unique. How four divine being give their divine powers to a specific family and from there choose the most worthy ones. The history based on the umbral gate, the treasonous queen and the religion this world is based on was very engaging and entertaining. I was very glad our time in the umbral gate wasn’t long, it was the perfect length so we can see everything else leading to that. Now that plot twist and that ending, I loved it. Equal parts surprised and sad as it’s definitely tragic. You definitely had me like Aster even if he is bad. Overall amazing ending
I was very intrigued by this strange relationship between Alma, a bastard daughter, and Aster, a god with a lot of power. You could tell he was definitely enamored with Alma. But Alma is smart enough to not cave to his affections since he is a god. I really liked this friendship even if it turns into a very dark truth in the end.
As for the setting of this story, to me it was one hundred percent unique. How four divine being give their divine powers to a specific family and from there choose the most worthy ones. The history based on the umbral gate, the treasonous queen and the religion this world is based on was very engaging and entertaining. I was very glad our time in the umbral gate wasn’t long, it was the perfect length so we can see everything else leading to that. Now that plot twist and that ending, I loved it. Equal parts surprised and sad as it’s definitely tragic. You definitely had me like Aster even if he is bad. Overall amazing ending