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A review by exteenawreads
The Wren in the Holly Library by K.A. Linde
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
"Now let me spin a tale for you—of monsters and magic and little thieves"
This was a fine romantasy, and I liked it enough to read it until the end. Some of the themes were fun, but it ended up trying to do too many things instead of just doing one or two things well. Urban fantasy dystopia, a laundry list of paranormal creatures coexisting with humans, a random splash of Celtic mythology/gods, training to learn magical powers, a mysterious library that feels like it was supposed to be more important given its in the name but is never fully explained, a heist, several clans of creatures competing for territory, a secret underground lair led by a monster fascist, magical weapons of lore, some weird blood magic (?), etc etc. if half of these concepts were cut ane the focus was more strongly on a few, I think the book would have been much better. Shocking, a Red Tower book that desperately needed more editing! It's too bad.
Also - the romance was not really built up well. It happens sort of suddenly and is a bit hard to believe. And the main spice happens at like 50% in - which was way too soon in my opinion. It felt a bit forced.
This was a fine romantasy, and I liked it enough to read it until the end. Some of the themes were fun, but it ended up trying to do too many things instead of just doing one or two things well. Urban fantasy dystopia, a laundry list of paranormal creatures coexisting with humans, a random splash of Celtic mythology/gods, training to learn magical powers, a mysterious library that feels like it was supposed to be more important given its in the name but is never fully explained, a heist, several clans of creatures competing for territory, a secret underground lair led by a monster fascist, magical weapons of lore, some weird blood magic (?), etc etc. if half of these concepts were cut ane the focus was more strongly on a few, I think the book would have been much better. Shocking, a Red Tower book that desperately needed more editing! It's too bad.
Also - the romance was not really built up well. It happens sort of suddenly and is a bit hard to believe. And the main spice happens at like 50% in - which was way too soon in my opinion. It felt a bit forced.