A review by lifeofchrstnlvly
Heavenly Bodies by Imani Erriu

slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.0

A woman can be both, you know. Soft and fierce. She does not have to choose.

"Heavenly Bodies" is one of my book club's picks for the month. While I was intrigued (in my opinion it started off strong), I do have a couple of problems with this book.

At first, the plot of Ariete capturing Elara to be his prisoner so she won't fall in love with him and cause his death made sense, but it became tiresome after several chapters.
The motive eventually seemed ridiculous. I also did not find myself caring about the characters because they felt bland to me. Around 50% of the way through, I began to feel bored and considered DNFing this book numerous times (to be honest, I should have 😑).

Spelling "magic" as "magick" and "dragon" as "dragun" gave me the icks. If all magical/fantasy-themed words are spelled this way, I wouldn't mind because it's part of how their world works. Changing the spelling of less than five words, though? It's weird and a bit annoying.

The entire plot was mediocre. It follows the same formula as other fantasy romance novels, with tropes being thrown around left and right just to make the story “exciting”. I would have appreciated some noticeable tweaks to the usual tropes, but it was the same old, same old.

However, the author was good at creating a mood and describing things, which was one positive point about the book.

Although it was a quick read, I feel slightly annoyed that I spent time on it instead of other books. Will I read the rest of the series? Probably not, unless they are chosen for a book club pick again.
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