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kittykels 's review for:

Helfyre by Mariel Pomeroy
2.5
dark tense
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: No

I have a lot of mixed feelings. 

What I liked:
  • Somewhat unique spin on fantasy world-building (I might be being generous)
  • The vibes sort of? I love angels and demons, and I always love the take that angels are corrupt and demons are more honest about their depravity while also operating with some sense of boundaries/morality. Something like that
  • Some of the tension between Aheia and Arioch (again, probably being generous)

What I didn't like: 
  • The writing trying to be pretty but being way overdone to the point of being confusing or just... bad
  • Repetitive words and phrases. Do not drink every time Aheia clenches her teeth, you'll die. My jaw also hurts from how often this was mentioned 
  • I kind of appreciated the anxiety rep, but it was also suffocating. And like, never explained or elaborated upon. What in the world is Aheia so worked up about? If it's just an anxiety disorder in general, that's a weird thing to give a character who is essentially angel royalty. If it was because of how she was treated in her past, I think the anxiety was simply overstated. She was literally crying all the time, even if there didn't seem to be a reason. I mean, I can relate, but that's not really interesting content for a book. (I am diagnosed with two types of depression and two types of anxiety so I feel comfortable critiquing this part of the book)
  • Aheia talked a lot in the beginning about feeling so cold all the time and trying to seek warmth (sleeping around and pain, I guess?) but this was also never explained. Was the author just being weirdly and unmeaningfully descriptive? 
  • The different POVs, especially from barely fleshed out secondary characters, was unnecessary
  • A lot of people complain about all the A names being confusing. I didn't have a problem with this, I read a lot and can typically keep up. But I do feel like the world-building wasn't done in the best way. A lot of lore dumping between action and dialog. 

Part of me is excited (strong word) to read the 2nd book and see what happens, but part of me has a feeling that a lot of what I didn't like will be worse in the 2nd book. Or there will just be new things to dislike. I'm not sure and I'm hesitant to continue. 

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