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A review by alejandra_guerrero
The Phantom by Gena Showalter
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.75
I couldn’t get into this. The first third of the book Blythe can only think of how much she hates him, and I was feeling it. That, I could relate to. But at around 28% of the story, it’s like she flips a switch and now all she can think of are his abs. From one page to the next, literally, she can’t stop thinking how sexy this guy is, a guy a page before she was hating so badly she was plotting his death. All the sadness she feels because her consort is dead is completely gone. I hated this woman from that point forward. She seemed like a different person. And she started to compare Roux with her dead consort constantly. That was annoying.
We’re told a lot of things I never saw, mostly because all the days they spent alone inside a room, in forced proximity, are not shown on the page. We’re just told all the things she saw during those days, but don’t get to see it. What I saw of this guy was that he was blander than freaking flour. What did these females see in him? I mean, the guy has only to blink for Blythe to get all hot and bothered (literally). The rest of the girls I understand, they had centuries without a guy, but Blythe? And with her husband’s murderer? (I just can’t get past that, especially when he didn't grovel, nor did much to earn her forgiveness). The reason Laban was her consort in the first place doesn’t matter, because it was stupid, and to be honest felt like a retcon on the subject of consorts.
The women in this prison planet were assholes, objectifying Roux constantly. The way they treated him felt very abusive, Blythe included. And the “sexy” banter felt cringey at best. Very objectifying, and not even funny. And of course he was the best in bed, in spite of not only being a virgin, but having zero sexual experience whatsoever, not even with kissing. The guy had been asexual for millennia, but flips a switch and now he’s the best lay ever. I really don’t like that trope. The virgin hero, sure, but please have him fumble a little, at least! If he asks his woman for guidance at every turn, even better. (If you want a really nice take on this, I recommend Package Makes Perfect, by Lauren Connoly).
Harpies in general are hilarious, the few LOL moments were thanks to them. It’s just the harphantoms I can’t stomach, it seems.
We’re told a lot of things I never saw, mostly because all the days they spent alone inside a room, in forced proximity, are not shown on the page. We’re just told all the things she saw during those days, but don’t get to see it. What I saw of this guy was that he was blander than freaking flour. What did these females see in him? I mean, the guy has only to blink for Blythe to get all hot and bothered (literally). The rest of the girls I understand, they had centuries without a guy, but Blythe? And with her husband’s murderer? (I just can’t get past that, especially when he didn't grovel, nor did much to earn her forgiveness). The reason Laban was her consort in the first place doesn’t matter, because it was stupid, and to be honest felt like a retcon on the subject of consorts.
The women in this prison planet were assholes, objectifying Roux constantly. The way they treated him felt very abusive, Blythe included. And the “sexy” banter felt cringey at best. Very objectifying, and not even funny. And of course he was the best in bed, in spite of not only being a virgin, but having zero sexual experience whatsoever, not even with kissing. The guy had been asexual for millennia, but flips a switch and now he’s the best lay ever. I really don’t like that trope. The virgin hero, sure, but please have him fumble a little, at least! If he asks his woman for guidance at every turn, even better. (If you want a really nice take on this, I recommend Package Makes Perfect, by Lauren Connoly).
Harpies in general are hilarious, the few LOL moments were thanks to them. It’s just the harphantoms I can’t stomach, it seems.