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adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
So, I feel weird about this book. I loved it up until the 40% mark (as in, 4 stars was the minimum rating). But then it lost itself for me up until the final level.
My main issue was all the smut. It felt like the author knew the beginning and ending really well, but the middle of how to get there/how to get the characters to find the answers, was a problem. So instead of workshopping that, the book was just filled with smut scenes instead. I picked this up almost exclusively for the Caravel-esque plot, so 40% of it being replaced with smut is a disappointment to say the least.
Not to mention, it really bothered me that a lot of the smut happens after a very traumatising event. Sure, maybe this is how some people deal with trauma but, wow, does it happen way too often in romantasy books like this one. There is absolutely no way you can convince me that any person would deal withnearly killing themselves through self harm by fucking. Also, what kind of author writes that? That is such a dark topic that needs to be handled with tact and care, and instead it's followed up with smut?? Ridiculous.
I don't have too much to say about the OCD representation. I don't suffer from it so I can't speak on how well it's represented. I can however guess that it won't just go away because of a man. So, there's that...
I am also upset that I didn't guess the final plot twist.I should've known that Blackwell is the Prince of Devils because:
My main issue was all the smut. It felt like the author knew the beginning and ending really well, but the middle of how to get there/how to get the characters to find the answers, was a problem. So instead of workshopping that, the book was just filled with smut scenes instead. I picked this up almost exclusively for the Caravel-esque plot, so 40% of it being replaced with smut is a disappointment to say the least.
Not to mention, it really bothered me that a lot of the smut happens after a very traumatising event. Sure, maybe this is how some people deal with trauma but, wow, does it happen way too often in romantasy books like this one. There is absolutely no way you can convince me that any person would deal with
I don't have too much to say about the OCD representation. I don't suffer from it so I can't speak on how well it's represented. I can however guess that it won't just go away because of a man. So, there's that...
I am also upset that I didn't guess the final plot twist.
From the very beginning I thought it was weird that the love interest is a Phantom when it could be a devil (like this novel screams it would go for the devil). Blackwell is a weird first name. Because it's a last name. I clocked it!
Overall, aside from my let downs (as mentioned above), I did actually enjoy this book. I liked the plot being close to Caraval (because I love Caraval), the spooky vibes were fun, and the writing is very digestible.
Will I reading the sequel? Possibly, but we'll have to see when the mood strikes for that.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Mental illness, Sexual content, Vomit, Death of parent, Murder, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Misogyny, Grief
Minor: Self harm, Suicide attempt
snakes, spiders