A review by jenniiireads
Nightbane by Alex Aster

hopeful fast-paced

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

2.5

Wow, this was a pretty shit book. 

I already knew I wasn’t going to like it when I realised it was a Grim love story book, considering I’m heavily an Oro girl. At least with Oro’s romance, it came from a place of him not wanting to fall in love because of his role as king and fear of losing his powers. It didn’t feel rushed and genuinely nice to see. Also, this book is written like a kids book, yet with the scenes of violence or sexual themes, it just feels weird and honestly funny. Either the author needs to figure out how to write more seriously or stay away from more adult fantasy.

With Grim, it felt so rushed and yet there were no scenes that showed the build up to romance. It was like out of nowhere, they wanted to fuck, and then that meant they were deeply in love. It was so badly written that I literally don’t care at all about their love for each other, and that ending of her heart loving two people was SO BAD. I am immensely angry I wasted my time reading it. 

As for the story itself, it was unbelievably forgettable. All the side characters, especially new ones, were sooooo undeveloped that half the time I didn’t know who they were when they appeared. They were not likeable, did not stand out at all and served little to no purpose. And there were so many new characters - and now yet again even more for the new book in Nightshade. 

Honestly the only saving grace was Oro scenes. The memory parts were interesting outside of the shitty romance, but I thought they would be a little more impactful given he felt the need to remove them from her. Overall this book was underwhelming, forgettable and the lowest form of romantasy you can get. Will I be reading the next one? Probably not, but never say never :)