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A review by flowerwineandbooks
Tripping Arcadia by Kit Mayquist
3.0
First of all. My name (amber) is in this book 9 times and never once used to describe someone's eyes (like literally every fantasy novel written) and I just appreciate that so much.
The medieval history + botany + medicine was a unique twist and I really loved that premise!
The writing for the first half of the book was beautiful and lyrical and flowery and fit the atmosphere so well!
But by the second half, that wasn't the case. I was left a bit confused by the reveals toward the end and even unable to picture what was happening. It felt like reading the story but some key sentences were just removed.
I love the characters. Jonathan and Audrey being the highlights for me. Ant the antagonistic characters were so wonderfully easy to despise. Jonathan's bookshop moment was my favorite scene in this book by far, it was so wholesome and lovely to see him peel back those layers and truly be happy for a moment! Martin crushing this moment was almost too much to bear.
However, I wish the connections between characters felt more fleshed out. Where did the friendly maid/cook go to support Lena? Did Lena's Aunt really mean that much to her, she was barely there? Why were Anna and Rumi in the book at all? Audrey and Lena had no chemistry and wasn't there a ginger man who loved Jonathan, where did he go?
The medieval history + botany + medicine was a unique twist and I really loved that premise!
The writing for the first half of the book was beautiful and lyrical and flowery and fit the atmosphere so well!
But by the second half, that wasn't the case. I was left a bit confused by the reveals toward the end and even unable to picture what was happening. It felt like reading the story but some key sentences were just removed.
I love the characters. Jonathan and Audrey being the highlights for me. Ant the antagonistic characters were so wonderfully easy to despise. Jonathan's bookshop moment was my favorite scene in this book by far, it was so wholesome and lovely to see him peel back those layers and truly be happy for a moment! Martin crushing this moment was almost too much to bear.
However, I wish the connections between characters felt more fleshed out. Where did the friendly maid/cook go to support Lena? Did Lena's Aunt really mean that much to her, she was barely there? Why were Anna and Rumi in the book at all? Audrey and Lena had no chemistry and wasn't there a ginger man who loved Jonathan, where did he go?