carolinetew 's review for:

Middlegame by Seanan McGuire

3.0

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Started off loving this book…and couldn’t be done soon enough by the end. A bummer because so many people I know have it 5 stars but I honestly don’t think I vibe with this author’s style as I didn’t love the Wayward Children series, which is beloved. This author’s MO is overly flowery prose that makes no sense (for example, “he had a smile like a country funeral,” which sounds poetic but literally what does that mean). Besides not meshing well with the faux-literary writing, I also can’t stand the kind of large scale fantasy that refuses to have actual rules. Either be speculative and vague or epic and clear. I had no idea what the rules or objective was for the bad guy. The overall myth of this world was not explained in any real way but was mentioned over and over like we could possibly understand. Also, it was repetitive!! Honestly feels like the author had a great idea, great vibes, great characters, and absolutely no clue how to execute it all into a cohesive story. I’m so disappointed by this one!