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barricade_boiz 's review for:
Forest of a Thousand Lanterns
by Julie C. Dao
I definitely have mixed feelings about this book. I'm just going to make a list of stuff I did like and stuff I did not.
PROS-
1. The writing flows well and conveys things in a beautiful manner while also painting vivid pictures (some could argue this causes the book to suffer when it comes to the amount of detail in the heart eating scenes, though I don't mind that kind of stuff so the writing was on point for me there).
2. The retelling of the Evil Queen from Snow White was interesting and it allowed for other elements of the plot around it to flourish and even be in the forefront which I thought was a breath of fresh air. It built the rest of the story up instead of being a rehashed version of a classic fairy tale.
3, The MC's struggle with morals and fate and her eventual spiral into darkness made for a unique climax and character arc. I personally prefer the heavily flawed and morally lost characters as they make for a more interesting read. I definitely think that was used well and elevated the book. The darker vibes, especially near the end added layers to the story that I thoroughly enjoyed.
4. The underlying theme of whether fate determines our choices for us or whether we have freedom to make our own choices and defy fate was masterfully woven into the threads of the the overarching story. I enjoyed that, especially seeing each character's subtle take on it.
5. The setting was fresh and original and allowed different elements of fantasy to shine through that aren't normally prevalent in YA novels.
6. The last few chapters were masterfully written and the last few paragraphs were beautiful and tied the book together.
CONS:
1. The first love interest was extremely bland (like my cooking) and the second did not pass the vibe check. A few of the secondary characters felt like they only had one major personality trait and did not have much nuance. They did not feel like real people.
2. The pacing of the plot was weird and dragged a bit until the "twist" (if you can call it that) near to the end. It was a lot of characters sitting around and talking about which I don't mind but there was also tension for action to happen so I was waiting for anything to happen and it never really did. The end, however, was well done and kept me on the edge of my seat, it just sucks that it took a while to get to that point.
3. While the MC was incredibly nuanced, she also became incredibly insufferable whenever she was around other women. All she could talk about was how she is so much more beautiful, or stronger, or graceful, or..... It just kept going on and on. And I get how it shows her flaws but still she never thought any differently not even for a second. Idk. It makes sense for her character and the arc but it gets old really quickly.
4. I think the way abuse was handled could have been done way better. That's all I have to say as I am not in the mood to rant today.
5. The worldbuilding was weak in terms of the geography. The mythology that we got was solid and I would love more of it. But all a few characters can talk about is relationships between nations and borders and rulers etc. and since I didn't know a lot about the geography, I more or less skimmed those sections cuz I had no idea what was going on. I think a simple map would have benefitted the reader greatly and would have made a few things make more sense.
This book has its high moments and it has its low moments. I think multiple areas of this book could have been improved upon but the areas that were done well were extremely enjoyable to read. I will read the next book with hopes that a lot of the good things are built upon and the things that aren't working aren't included. A solid 3.5 star out of 5.
PROS-
1. The writing flows well and conveys things in a beautiful manner while also painting vivid pictures (some could argue this causes the book to suffer when it comes to the amount of detail in the heart eating scenes, though I don't mind that kind of stuff so the writing was on point for me there).
2. The retelling of the Evil Queen from Snow White was interesting and it allowed for other elements of the plot around it to flourish and even be in the forefront which I thought was a breath of fresh air. It built the rest of the story up instead of being a rehashed version of a classic fairy tale.
3, The MC's struggle with morals and fate and her eventual spiral into darkness made for a unique climax and character arc. I personally prefer the heavily flawed and morally lost characters as they make for a more interesting read. I definitely think that was used well and elevated the book. The darker vibes, especially near the end added layers to the story that I thoroughly enjoyed.
4. The underlying theme of whether fate determines our choices for us or whether we have freedom to make our own choices and defy fate was masterfully woven into the threads of the the overarching story. I enjoyed that, especially seeing each character's subtle take on it.
5. The setting was fresh and original and allowed different elements of fantasy to shine through that aren't normally prevalent in YA novels.
6. The last few chapters were masterfully written and the last few paragraphs were beautiful and tied the book together.
CONS:
1. The first love interest was extremely bland (like my cooking) and the second did not pass the vibe check. A few of the secondary characters felt like they only had one major personality trait and did not have much nuance. They did not feel like real people.
2. The pacing of the plot was weird and dragged a bit until the "twist" (if you can call it that) near to the end. It was a lot of characters sitting around and talking about which I don't mind but there was also tension for action to happen so I was waiting for anything to happen and it never really did. The end, however, was well done and kept me on the edge of my seat, it just sucks that it took a while to get to that point.
3. While the MC was incredibly nuanced, she also became incredibly insufferable whenever she was around other women. All she could talk about was how she is so much more beautiful, or stronger, or graceful, or..... It just kept going on and on. And I get how it shows her flaws but still she never thought any differently not even for a second. Idk. It makes sense for her character and the arc but it gets old really quickly.
4. I think the way abuse was handled could have been done way better. That's all I have to say as I am not in the mood to rant today.
5. The worldbuilding was weak in terms of the geography. The mythology that we got was solid and I would love more of it. But all a few characters can talk about is relationships between nations and borders and rulers etc. and since I didn't know a lot about the geography, I more or less skimmed those sections cuz I had no idea what was going on. I think a simple map would have benefitted the reader greatly and would have made a few things make more sense.
This book has its high moments and it has its low moments. I think multiple areas of this book could have been improved upon but the areas that were done well were extremely enjoyable to read. I will read the next book with hopes that a lot of the good things are built upon and the things that aren't working aren't included. A solid 3.5 star out of 5.