paperhieroglyphs 's review for:

The Archive of the Forgotten by A.J. Hackwith

DID NOT FINISH: 33%

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 This book is probably enjoyable for others, especially those who enjoyed the first one. The consequences of the first book are palpable -- things never go back to how they were before, and this is something that should be welcome in a sequel/a series. From the 1/3 that I read before I made the choice to DNF this book, it became clear to me that what I had liked most about the first book was the relationships between the characters as their story grows, rather than this (hopefully; seemingly from others' summaries and reviews) midway point where negative consequences of character action disrupt those relationships past a point I want to continue reading their story.

I am rating it three stars because it was not for me, because of my own reading likes and dislikes -- so those who have found my other ratings useful might find this useful as well.

Here is why I had to DNF this book (spoilers)

Probity's cruelty is more than I'm interested in reading. People don't need to be nice and perfect; indeed they should not be, interpersonal conflict and the negative impacts of the person clearly set up to be an antagonist are important. But the level of gaslighting masked as familial concern was just too much to deal with. I read other people's summaries and reviews of the book to see if it was something I could skip around, but it seems too integral to the plot to avoid.

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Content Warnings

Minor: Emotional abuse, Gaslighting