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A review by andrxae_
The Bright and the Pale by Jessica Rubinkowski
4.0
When I first read the synopsis of this book, I became instantly interested on it. Would I have grabbed it as an instant read? Probably not, but since it came in my monthly book box I decided to give it a chance.
I was actually hyped for it, thought it was going to be a nice easy read and... oh boy was I wrong.
First hundred pages in, I nearly put this book down. Suddenly the nice, smooth path I thought I would glide through had become too rocky. Let me explain, the structure of the book was very clear: you basically got parts that acted as the climax and after the tension came the anticlimax; it altered between high and, immediately after, low stakes with a couple of character development chapters. Kind of like a rollercoaster. This seemed fitting for the book however, my problem was that those said scenes which were supposed to be the climax didn't quite reach that top level for me. This made me loose my interest.
Nevertheless, I kept going and it is here we enter the last 2/3 of the book. *sigh* How the tables turn... It got me hooked. Maybe it was because I was rather stressed before or whatever but the plot suddenly became much more intriguing, the tension scenes were spot on and I have to admit, I was legitimately scared during some of those scenes.
So yeah, definitely can confirm it gets much better as you get to the end and I'm grateful the end surprised me too :)
To finish off, I want to add I really liked the Pale God. I mean, this man intrigues me. Don't know why, nobody knows it. Also, Val I thought you annoying sometimes, mostly because you're angry half the time and make ridiculous choices but we do get to see this character growing and I'm hoping that in the next book you use that anger to your favour; just like she begins to do toward the finale of this one.
Overall, this debut novel is a good start to Rubinkowski's author journey, I will certainly read the sequel and recommend this book for a nice, cozy, short read during a winter storm.
I was actually hyped for it, thought it was going to be a nice easy read and... oh boy was I wrong.
First hundred pages in, I nearly put this book down. Suddenly the nice, smooth path I thought I would glide through had become too rocky. Let me explain, the structure of the book was very clear: you basically got parts that acted as the climax and after the tension came the anticlimax; it altered between high and, immediately after, low stakes with a couple of character development chapters. Kind of like a rollercoaster. This seemed fitting for the book however, my problem was that those said scenes which were supposed to be the climax didn't quite reach that top level for me. This made me loose my interest.
Nevertheless, I kept going and it is here we enter the last 2/3 of the book. *sigh* How the tables turn... It got me hooked. Maybe it was because I was rather stressed before or whatever but the plot suddenly became much more intriguing, the tension scenes were spot on and I have to admit, I was legitimately scared during some of those scenes.
So yeah, definitely can confirm it gets much better as you get to the end and I'm grateful the end surprised me too :)
To finish off, I want to add I really liked the Pale God. I mean, this man intrigues me. Don't know why, nobody knows it. Also, Val I thought you annoying sometimes, mostly because you're angry half the time and make ridiculous choices but we do get to see this character growing and I'm hoping that in the next book you use that anger to your favour; just like she begins to do toward the finale of this one.
Overall, this debut novel is a good start to Rubinkowski's author journey, I will certainly read the sequel and recommend this book for a nice, cozy, short read during a winter storm.