A review by jessdarling
A Court Bright and Broken by Amy Patrick

medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

Thank you NetGalley, Oxford South Press and the author for this ARC in exchange for my honest review and opinion.

This book is a Cinderella retelling with Fae, witches and a kingdom ruled by a horrible leader. I really enjoyed the first half of the book. Unfortunately the second half is what lead to my lower rating. There was a lot of buildup in the beginning. The characters met in a fun way, the world was built in detail, I liked their back and forth banter.

But then the pace changed and it wasn't a smooth transition. After the first few chapters and setting up the plot, everything became a little wonky and too rushed. While I started liking the MMC, I was disgusted by his personality in the latter half of the book. He became flat, one dimensional and seemed to lack all common sense and personality, removing anything I liked about him in the beginning.

The ending of the book was action packed with a lot of fun elements leading into what will be the second book, but because of how much I ended up disliking the characters in the second half of the book, I won't be continuing with the series.