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A review by briannasbookshelf_
Havenfall by Sara Holland
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Cross-posted on Goodreads.
This book was an easy read. I think the best part about it was the descriptions of each of the worlds and their magic systems. I wanted to learn more about each world and what their citizens were capable of, and unfortunately that is not where this book goes.
My biggest issue in this book was the insane amount of characters that get introduced and dragged on through the story but we never really learn anything about them. Graylin, Willow, the Fiorden princess whose name I don't remember, etc. I feel like this book would have been much more satisfying if it was 200 pages longer and we got to learn more about the other characters rather than hear Maddie talk about the same story over and over. I understand that her brother dying was an important part of her character arc, but it got extremely repetitive to read over and over in a book this short. In my opinion the best character is Taya. She is the reason I would read a sequel. I would read an entire series about her life and her journey finding Terran.
Another thing I found unsatisfying was the amount of plot lines in this book. It feels like every single character had a plot twist at some point and it felt like whiplash every time one was revealed (and when you put that together with my previous point of there being way too many characters that feel like they should be more important than they're made to be it gets overwhelming very quickly). Once again something that may have benefitted from the book being 500 pages rather than 305. There are so many plot lines that didn't get wrapped up, or were so hastily figured out (the little girl in the basement wtf that was a super annoying way to 'fix' that one), that I have no idea what the sequel will possibly be about. </spolier>
While I definitely have issues with the length of this book, it was still fun to read. I would not recommend this book if you don't want to commit to reading the sequel when it eventually comes out because there are so many questions left unanswered (I'll say it one more time, why is this book so short?!).
This book was an easy read. I think the best part about it was the descriptions of each of the worlds and their magic systems. I wanted to learn more about each world and what their citizens were capable of, and unfortunately that is not where this book goes.
Another thing I found unsatisfying was the amount of plot lines in this book. It feels like every single character had a plot twist at some point and it felt like whiplash every time one was revealed (and when you put that together with my previous point of there being way too many characters that feel like they should be more important than they're made to be it gets overwhelming very quickly). Once again something that may have benefitted from the book being 500 pages rather than 305. There are so many plot lines that didn't get wrapped up, or were so hastily figured out (the little girl in the basement wtf that was a super annoying way to 'fix' that one), that I have no idea what the sequel will possibly be about. </spolier>
While I definitely have issues with the length of this book, it was still fun to read. I would not recommend this book if you don't want to commit to reading the sequel when it eventually comes out because there are so many questions left unanswered (I'll say it one more time, why is this book so short?!).
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence, Child death, and Confinement