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A review by nijarpk
The Shadow Bride by Shelby Mahurin
3.0
//e: I'm not changing anything but my friend said all the positive parts of this review sound like copium. she's wrong, but. pondering this.
——
3.25/5
and it was miiiiiiiiiiiiiiiid ｡ﾟ(ﾟ´Д｀ﾟ)ﾟ｡
nothing egregious or anything, I still had an alright time with it and when some standout scenes worked they REALLY worked (chapter 18, anyone?), plus Célie remains in my top 3 literary protagonists of all time, but the whole thing just felt … messy? in the story, in the relationships, in the atmosphere even …
plotwise it was OKAY, it was FINE, I liked the theme of family, but it felt disjointed and a bit confusing at times (though the latter could also be on me lol). I liked the villain in theory, but he didn't really have enough of a presence to truly feel threatening, and most of the moments that really stuck with me were either undone or didn't amount to much in the end. the sense of urgency wasn't really hitting until the final part, and really, the whole thing left me mildly entertained for most of it. compare that to TSV, which I was so invested in I never wanted it to end, also because the character interactions were so much more engaging than in this one. I suspect a big part of it is that the sense of mystique the first book had isn't really there anymore, since we know this world so much better now. and hey, maybe the atmosphere would have held up more if there hadn't been so many scenes dedicated to Célie & Michal being horny and getting interrupted by one thing or another!
speaking of which: the part that lost me the most is definitely the romance. I ADORED Célie & Michal's dynamic in TSV, their connection felt earned and based on their unique circumstances coming together and completing each other, but in this one they were mostly just lusting and angsting over each other with little substance. occasionally they do still have their moments, but mostly it's fine. they're FINE. I feel nothing. this extended to Michal's character as a whole, which was all over the place and actively made me like him less when I have gone on record before calling him one of the best love interests in recent years. now he just feels sort of generic to me (and I know this isn't unique to him, but I am so tired of the jealous possessive guy shtick). honestly, Célie was kinda all over the place too, but because she is my beautiful daughter who can do no wrong I forgive her. (a grace which I do not extend to the men of the literary world. the men have to work for it. my girlies are always right, unless when they're being dumb over a guy, which is the guy's fault. obviously.)
these feelings hurt me more because part 1 of the book went HARD. Célie's emotional turmoil at being a vampire was extremely well done, the writing & character voices remain as beautiful as ever (and do throughout, thank goodness), and godDAMN I love the Serpent & Dove cast and seeing them all together like that. the Vibes(TM) were so dense too, everything felt oppressive and fully realised … until all of this just sort of … fizzled out. if the whole thing had felt like part 1—or book 1 for that matter!—I would have eaten it UP. but alas, it did not.
anyway, other things I did like: when everything went to shit in part 4, anything to do with Célie's relationship with her mother, Mathilde, Odessa's girlboss moment, the chess playing peacock, Célie & Death lowkey had a WEIRD amount of chemistry there at the start (don't listen to me), the final battle was pretty cool.
would the rating be higher if this wasn't the sequel to one of my favourite books ever written? probably! unfortunately such are the circumstances of its creation, so my disappointment factors in majorly. by all accounts, this isn't a horrible book. it's not even a bad book. it's just kind of alright. on par with most of Serpent & Dove, except without the group dynamic that was the whole reason I love that series so dearly.
I swear my expectations weren't that high (if anything I was worried it would fall completely flat, if my pre-release comment didn't already show that), but who knows, maybe I subconsciously still expected too much? maybe it's me, not the book. in the end, it doesn't make much of a difference though.
idk. I'm sad.
——
THE SHADOW BRIDE!!!!!!!
I am unreasonably paranoid that I won't love this one as much as I did TSV even though I don't really know why I wouldn't, but that may just be down to TSV being very very very hard to beat. god I love that book. please read it. please read it I am begging you
anxiety brain aside, I have complete faith in Shelby Mahurin. also the cover is gorgeous (whenever GR updates it lol). and now we wait.
——
3.25/5
and it was miiiiiiiiiiiiiiiid ｡ﾟ(ﾟ´Д｀ﾟ)ﾟ｡
nothing egregious or anything, I still had an alright time with it and when some standout scenes worked they REALLY worked (chapter 18, anyone?), plus Célie remains in my top 3 literary protagonists of all time, but the whole thing just felt … messy? in the story, in the relationships, in the atmosphere even …
plotwise it was OKAY, it was FINE, I liked the theme of family, but it felt disjointed and a bit confusing at times (though the latter could also be on me lol). I liked the villain in theory, but he didn't really have enough of a presence to truly feel threatening, and most of the moments that really stuck with me were either undone or didn't amount to much in the end. the sense of urgency wasn't really hitting until the final part, and really, the whole thing left me mildly entertained for most of it. compare that to TSV, which I was so invested in I never wanted it to end, also because the character interactions were so much more engaging than in this one. I suspect a big part of it is that the sense of mystique the first book had isn't really there anymore, since we know this world so much better now. and hey, maybe the atmosphere would have held up more if there hadn't been so many scenes dedicated to Célie & Michal being horny and getting interrupted by one thing or another!
speaking of which: the part that lost me the most is definitely the romance. I ADORED Célie & Michal's dynamic in TSV, their connection felt earned and based on their unique circumstances coming together and completing each other, but in this one they were mostly just lusting and angsting over each other with little substance. occasionally they do still have their moments, but mostly it's fine. they're FINE. I feel nothing. this extended to Michal's character as a whole, which was all over the place and actively made me like him less when I have gone on record before calling him one of the best love interests in recent years. now he just feels sort of generic to me (and I know this isn't unique to him, but I am so tired of the jealous possessive guy shtick). honestly, Célie was kinda all over the place too, but because she is my beautiful daughter who can do no wrong I forgive her. (a grace which I do not extend to the men of the literary world. the men have to work for it. my girlies are always right, unless when they're being dumb over a guy, which is the guy's fault. obviously.)
these feelings hurt me more because part 1 of the book went HARD. Célie's emotional turmoil at being a vampire was extremely well done, the writing & character voices remain as beautiful as ever (and do throughout, thank goodness), and godDAMN I love the Serpent & Dove cast and seeing them all together like that. the Vibes(TM) were so dense too, everything felt oppressive and fully realised … until all of this just sort of … fizzled out. if the whole thing had felt like part 1—or book 1 for that matter!—I would have eaten it UP. but alas, it did not.
anyway, other things I did like: when everything went to shit in part 4, anything to do with Célie's relationship with her mother, Mathilde, Odessa's girlboss moment, the chess playing peacock, Célie & Death lowkey had a WEIRD amount of chemistry there at the start (don't listen to me), the final battle was pretty cool.
would the rating be higher if this wasn't the sequel to one of my favourite books ever written? probably! unfortunately such are the circumstances of its creation, so my disappointment factors in majorly. by all accounts, this isn't a horrible book. it's not even a bad book. it's just kind of alright. on par with most of Serpent & Dove, except without the group dynamic that was the whole reason I love that series so dearly.
I swear my expectations weren't that high (if anything I was worried it would fall completely flat, if my pre-release comment didn't already show that), but who knows, maybe I subconsciously still expected too much? maybe it's me, not the book. in the end, it doesn't make much of a difference though.
idk. I'm sad.
——
THE SHADOW BRIDE!!!!!!!
I am unreasonably paranoid that I won't love this one as much as I did TSV even though I don't really know why I wouldn't, but that may just be down to TSV being very very very hard to beat. god I love that book. please read it. please read it I am begging you
anxiety brain aside, I have complete faith in Shelby Mahurin. also the cover is gorgeous (whenever GR updates it lol). and now we wait.