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A review by kirmelmacchiato
Wisteria by Adalyn Grace
2.0
This book is what happens when a book that should have been a standalone (Belladonna) is sold into a series.
The author clearly has the imagination and I would guess the writing chops too- to give us a hauntingly beautiful story like she hints at here. But instead we get a slapped together plot, and an incredibly messy, rushed ending.
The prose is often beautiful and evocative- the way she sets many of the scenes as they explore is quite magical. However nothing seemed to be moving the story forward and it felt like a little holiday novella. There was no real urgency or drama. Fate and Blythe mostly seem concerned about… faking out her concerned father? Why is never explained- he is viewed as crazy in town now and has no power to DO anything even if the reality was shown to him? But whatever, Papa must NOT find out.
60% into the book it becomes clear that Stephanie Garber and Adalyn Grace are friends. We get a new character, and it’s insinuated that there’s several more. We get some tangled threads of a backstory and some melodrama worthy of a daytime soap opera. Everything is named after a poison and nothing is explained any further than the shallowest surface level.
If you can suspend your desire to think at all- MAYBE it would seem climactic but unfortunately I found myself unable to.
My primary thought reading this book was- she should have stopped at Belladonna
The author clearly has the imagination and I would guess the writing chops too- to give us a hauntingly beautiful story like she hints at here. But instead we get a slapped together plot, and an incredibly messy, rushed ending.
The prose is often beautiful and evocative- the way she sets many of the scenes as they explore is quite magical. However nothing seemed to be moving the story forward and it felt like a little holiday novella. There was no real urgency or drama. Fate and Blythe mostly seem concerned about… faking out her concerned father? Why is never explained- he is viewed as crazy in town now and has no power to DO anything even if the reality was shown to him? But whatever, Papa must NOT find out.
60% into the book it becomes clear that Stephanie Garber and Adalyn Grace are friends. We get a new character, and it’s insinuated that there’s several more. We get some tangled threads of a backstory and some melodrama worthy of a daytime soap opera. Everything is named after a poison and nothing is explained any further than the shallowest surface level.
If you can suspend your desire to think at all- MAYBE it would seem climactic but unfortunately I found myself unable to.
My primary thought reading this book was- she should have stopped at Belladonna