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A review by burningupasun
Bad Luck Girl by Sarah Zettel
4.0
Setting/World Building: 4/5
Main Character: 4/5
Other Characters: 3/5
Plot: 3/5
Writing: 3/5
Triggering/Issues: 5/5 (None)
AVERAGED TOTAL: 3.6 out of 5, rounded to 4.
To be honest, this is really more of a 3.5 than a 4, and I am a bit tempted to give it 3 stars... mostly for apathy? The thing is that I didn't LOVE this book, but I definitely also didn't dislike it, let alone hate it. Overall it was a good finale for the trilogy, and it did wrap things up.
I think a lot of my issues came with the plot and writing and HOW it was wrapped up. Firstly, this book suffered from a case of the author trying to trick you into thinking someone was evil when you'd thought they were good... only of course the person had been good all along, and it was a narrative cheat the way they tried to convince you the person was evil. Less vaguely:There is a scene where Callie's father shows up, mutters something about sparing her mother, and puts a spell on her while saying in her mind: "I'm sorry it's come to this, daughter, I truly am." Then we are made to think that he has wiped her mind and is bringing her to the Unseelie country because he's been on the evil side all this time; a fact which is mitigated by Jack asking her literally a page prior if they were sure they could trust him. Of course, after the fact, we find out this was all part of her/their plan from the beginning, for him to wipe her mind so she could trick the other fairies. But it's just so frustrating, narratively, because it's just so obviously the writer purposefully twisting the way things happen to try and convince you to fall for it. If that was really the plan, it wouldn't have happened like that; the author contrived it to happen that way just to set it up so you (theoretically) doubted her father for a bit.
Anyway, beyond that I suppose it wasn't so bad? It just fell sort of anticlimactic for me, I'm not sure why. I thought it felt a bit jumbled, like there were a lot more parts that didn't come together well. The "spiritual" non-fairy beings like the old lady and Baya, for example, had no purpose. And I was never really satisfied by the 'mystery' of what the prophecy meant about her being able to walk three roads. Is the third the Halfers? I wish it had been made more clear. I also have absolutely NO idea how Jack saved her in the end, except he just somehow did, despite the fact that he's not a fairy and she's the only one with the ability to open and close gates, but okay.
This makes it sound like I really didn't like the book, which I did in other ways. I liked the slow-build romance and it's resolution, and I liked Callie's complex family vibes. I also liked that she was one of those people who was always getting in trouble but usually because she's so damned determined to do good, like her mother.
Overall not a bad read, but somewhat disappointing, mostly for writing/plot reasons.
Main Character: 4/5
Other Characters: 3/5
Plot: 3/5
Writing: 3/5
Triggering/Issues: 5/5 (None)
AVERAGED TOTAL: 3.6 out of 5, rounded to 4.
To be honest, this is really more of a 3.5 than a 4, and I am a bit tempted to give it 3 stars... mostly for apathy? The thing is that I didn't LOVE this book, but I definitely also didn't dislike it, let alone hate it. Overall it was a good finale for the trilogy, and it did wrap things up.
I think a lot of my issues came with the plot and writing and HOW it was wrapped up. Firstly, this book suffered from a case of the author trying to trick you into thinking someone was evil when you'd thought they were good... only of course the person had been good all along, and it was a narrative cheat the way they tried to convince you the person was evil. Less vaguely:
Anyway, beyond that I suppose it wasn't so bad? It just fell sort of anticlimactic for me, I'm not sure why. I thought it felt a bit jumbled, like there were a lot more parts that didn't come together well. The "spiritual" non-fairy beings like the old lady and Baya, for example, had no purpose. And I was never really satisfied by the 'mystery' of what the prophecy meant about her being able to walk three roads. Is the third the Halfers? I wish it had been made more clear. I also have absolutely NO idea how Jack saved her in the end, except he just somehow did, despite the fact that he's not a fairy and she's the only one with the ability to open and close gates, but okay.
This makes it sound like I really didn't like the book, which I did in other ways. I liked the slow-build romance and it's resolution, and I liked Callie's complex family vibes. I also liked that she was one of those people who was always getting in trouble but usually because she's so damned determined to do good, like her mother.
Overall not a bad read, but somewhat disappointing, mostly for writing/plot reasons.