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A review by honeyrabbit
A Flame in the Night by Morgan Dante
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
0.5
All the 4 and 5 star reviews genuinely made me doubt that we were reading the same book. This had so many issues, it made me genuinely annoyed that it's being sold at bookstores. I saw a few negative reviews comparing this to fanfiction, and I can see why. I must, however, point out that there's a LOT of better fanfiction than this.
My biggest issue - issue number one if you will - is the fact that this book feels unedited. It feels like it didn't go through an editor. It reads like a first draft that requires a lot of work and guidance. There are paragraphs that consist of one long, wordy sentence. Wrongfully placed colons and semicolons, as well as a full-on chapter titled "Claire" that is told from Léon's perspective. The language is pretentious and too flowery - to the point where it, at times, becomes hard to read (especially for the first two or so chapters). The amount of adjectives used became tiredsome, and some of the more "difficult" words were at times used wrong. Due to all these issues I cannot, in good conscious, give this book anything higher than one star. I feel like future readers need to know what they're getting into, and to know that this isn't on par with the publishing standard.
My secondary issue is... well, the story itself. Without any major spoilers, let's just say that the first 88% of the book (I checked) takes place in 72 hours. The pacing is non-existent and horrible. The plot of this book can be summed up in two sentences, and any real action (aka plot) really only happens in the last 15 pages of the book. The blurp attempted to sell me a queer gothic vampire love story, but all I got was two sex scenes with unnatural dialogues in-between. There is no character growth or depth, and the overarching majority of the story is told in such a one-note state that even the most outragous and interesting parts feel mediocre at best. There's no ups and downs, no peaks or plot-twists. This reads like a story someone wrote over the holidays about their three original characters. The dark, but interesting, backstory is told to us in passing, so the big climax to the revenge plot isn't satisfying in the least. It's this big reclaimation of Claire's worth and self, but we as a reader haven't had the time or need to actually care for either Claire as a person, her trauma or her journey. Because somehow, someway, it's not relevant enough to the "story" for us to actually live through it with her.
This felt like the biggest bait ever, and I am just so glad I didn't spend €20 on a physical copy of the book. No wonder the majority of the 5-star reviews got an ARC gifted o them.
In a fashion similar to the spirit of the book, I'm gonna publish my ramblings without editing them or even reading them through at all.
My biggest issue - issue number one if you will - is the fact that this book feels unedited. It feels like it didn't go through an editor. It reads like a first draft that requires a lot of work and guidance. There are paragraphs that consist of one long, wordy sentence. Wrongfully placed colons and semicolons, as well as a full-on chapter titled "Claire" that is told from Léon's perspective. The language is pretentious and too flowery - to the point where it, at times, becomes hard to read (especially for the first two or so chapters). The amount of adjectives used became tiredsome, and some of the more "difficult" words were at times used wrong. Due to all these issues I cannot, in good conscious, give this book anything higher than one star. I feel like future readers need to know what they're getting into, and to know that this isn't on par with the publishing standard.
My secondary issue is... well, the story itself. Without any major spoilers, let's just say that the first 88% of the book (I checked) takes place in 72 hours. The pacing is non-existent and horrible. The plot of this book can be summed up in two sentences, and any real action (aka plot) really only happens in the last 15 pages of the book. The blurp attempted to sell me a queer gothic vampire love story, but all I got was two sex scenes with unnatural dialogues in-between. There is no character growth or depth, and the overarching majority of the story is told in such a one-note state that even the most outragous and interesting parts feel mediocre at best. There's no ups and downs, no peaks or plot-twists. This reads like a story someone wrote over the holidays about their three original characters. The dark, but interesting, backstory is told to us in passing, so the big climax to the revenge plot isn't satisfying in the least. It's this big reclaimation of Claire's worth and self, but we as a reader haven't had the time or need to actually care for either Claire as a person, her trauma or her journey. Because somehow, someway, it's not relevant enough to the "story" for us to actually live through it with her.
This felt like the biggest bait ever, and I am just so glad I didn't spend €20 on a physical copy of the book. No wonder the majority of the 5-star reviews got an ARC gifted o them.
In a fashion similar to the spirit of the book, I'm gonna publish my ramblings without editing them or even reading them through at all.