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A review by elmolibrary
Shadows of the Lost by Maxym M. Martineau
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
1.5
I’m trying, you know I am. Because I re-read this book when I reached 15%-ish but I regret it because I still Mb>do not understand it all. Maybe this book is for you but it is not for me. — 1.5 ⭐️
I mean, the characters still seem odd. Not only the MCs but also the other supporting characters. To be honest, I have no clue whose is the real MCs because too many POVs makes us the reader confused. I know the MCs are probably them (Kost and Gaige) but what’s the point add 2-3 more POVs? Maybe for giving us a different perspective BUT in that certain POVs, it only shows the romance between that character to another. Not even related to the storyline. Also, the characters are needed to be improved more from one storyline to another in writing, for example, Gaige says he did not have those feelings but in the middle of the storyline, he was pushing Kost even further until on the same pages but then he says that he always loved him and care for him and blablabla. What’s the foundation of that? Then, there are some pop-ups characters that out of nowhere because it might make the story foundation interesting, but do we get answers from it? NOPE. There are also not certain characters that has specific development rather than Gaige. All of them are just rather vanilla.
The Storyline is also pretty confusing and I guess no solid ground in what is it about. Perhaps this book was intended to have no plot or sort but somehow I get the plot. The questions about the storyline are:
¹ Is the aim focusing on Gaige finding his power?
² Is the aim looking for the Lost?
³ Does the storyline only occur for Kost-Gaige and The Lost?
⁴ What is the aim of the storyline? - what is the base and the foundation of these?
Because I just don’t get it, as I mentioned earlier that I even re-read this book when I reached 15%-ish and I want to understand more. When I re-read that, I am more confused. I get a grasp of how the magic work in this realm, who is who, and what is these creatures had to do with those, and so on. However, I’m still unsure what the aim of the storyline but if it's focusing on Gaige, then make it to do so not go around in circles! Also, the choice of words for the world-building is hella confusing. It was a poor choice of words. The world-building in this book is not that good either for my liking. So, I just don’t get it at all. The Map helps but when it is connected to the storyline, it is just a pile of rubbish.
I would probably appreciate this book more if they put some moral of the stories in a pile of these ridiculous traits. However, there are not many morals of the story that can be taken from this book as well. Even the romance is not that good, it’s annoying in complete nonsense. I was expecting this book to be one of cute-surprisingly-inspiring-M-M-worth-to-read-Fantasy. But oh boy why am I disappointed?
➊ Make yourself your own anchor
➋ Psychological response on your behavior towards other define your past
➌ Siblings jealousy - common sense
➍ Heroism traits - the most useless person in the room would likely to be the hero of all
Nevertheless, those traits have nothing to do with The Beast. Because the beasts are enormous! I love them. I appreciate the author putting this Bestiary inside the book, how cool is that? (maybe that's the only reason why I give this book more stars).
Next, there is this magical realism in this book which I am totally against it. Mainly because they did not have a certain or specific focus. Such as:
¹ The realm between the living and the dead
² The exact price for raising up the dead
³ The consequences to pull up strings between the dead and the living
Those almost like; it doesn’t matter whether you are living or you are just dead, isn’t it? Even though in the plot was mentioned that when someone was raised, they probably in completely different from who they are while they were still living but not to the point of “amazingly written”.
The ending of this book was a cliffhanger I believe the author intends to write another book. I do hopefully beg for the next book: Dear Maxym, if you really going to write the next book, please do has more solid ground than this. However, even though the cliffhanger might make some readers intends to read the next book, I personally might need to regain my calm composure and lower my expectation before reading the next book. I do know if I would read her other works because this one is a disappointment enough for me.
The only things that I like in this book are: Bestiary, The Quiz, and The People’s explanation at the end of the book.
Thank you for Netgally giving me the privilege of reading this book before the publication date
I mean, the characters still seem odd. Not only the MCs but also the other supporting characters. To be honest, I have no clue whose is the real MCs because too many POVs makes us the reader confused. I know the MCs are probably them (Kost and Gaige) but what’s the point add 2-3 more POVs? Maybe for giving us a different perspective BUT in that certain POVs, it only shows the romance between that character to another. Not even related to the storyline. Also, the characters are needed to be improved more from one storyline to another in writing, for example, Gaige says he did not have those feelings but in the middle of the storyline, he was pushing Kost even further until on the same pages but then he says that he always loved him and care for him and blablabla. What’s the foundation of that? Then, there are some pop-ups characters that out of nowhere because it might make the story foundation interesting, but do we get answers from it? NOPE. There are also not certain characters that has specific development rather than Gaige. All of them are just rather vanilla.
The Storyline is also pretty confusing and I guess no solid ground in what is it about. Perhaps this book was intended to have no plot or sort but somehow I get the plot. The questions about the storyline are:
¹ Is the aim focusing on Gaige finding his power?
² Is the aim looking for the Lost?
³ Does the storyline only occur for Kost-Gaige and The Lost?
⁴ What is the aim of the storyline? - what is the base and the foundation of these?
Because I just don’t get it, as I mentioned earlier that I even re-read this book when I reached 15%-ish and I want to understand more. When I re-read that, I am more confused. I get a grasp of how the magic work in this realm, who is who, and what is these creatures had to do with those, and so on. However, I’m still unsure what the aim of the storyline but if it's focusing on Gaige, then make it to do so not go around in circles! Also, the choice of words for the world-building is hella confusing. It was a poor choice of words. The world-building in this book is not that good either for my liking. So, I just don’t get it at all. The Map helps but when it is connected to the storyline, it is just a pile of rubbish.
I would probably appreciate this book more if they put some moral of the stories in a pile of these ridiculous traits. However, there are not many morals of the story that can be taken from this book as well. Even the romance is not that good, it’s annoying in complete nonsense. I was expecting this book to be one of cute-surprisingly-inspiring-M-M-worth-to-read-Fantasy. But oh boy why am I disappointed?
➊ Make yourself your own anchor
➋ Psychological response on your behavior towards other define your past
➌ Siblings jealousy - common sense
➍ Heroism traits - the most useless person in the room would likely to be the hero of all
Nevertheless, those traits have nothing to do with The Beast. Because the beasts are enormous! I love them. I appreciate the author putting this Bestiary inside the book, how cool is that? (maybe that's the only reason why I give this book more stars).
Next, there is this magical realism in this book which I am totally against it. Mainly because they did not have a certain or specific focus. Such as:
¹ The realm between the living and the dead
² The exact price for raising up the dead
³ The consequences to pull up strings between the dead and the living
Those almost like; it doesn’t matter whether you are living or you are just dead, isn’t it? Even though in the plot was mentioned that when someone was raised, they probably in completely different from who they are while they were still living but not to the point of “amazingly written”.
The ending of this book was a cliffhanger I believe the author intends to write another book. I do hopefully beg for the next book: Dear Maxym, if you really going to write the next book, please do has more solid ground than this. However, even though the cliffhanger might make some readers intends to read the next book, I personally might need to regain my calm composure and lower my expectation before reading the next book. I do know if I would read her other works because this one is a disappointment enough for me.
The only things that I like in this book are: Bestiary, The Quiz, and The People’s explanation at the end of the book.
Thank you for Netgally giving me the privilege of reading this book before the publication date