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merylmeetsworld 's review for:
The Nightblood Prince
by Molly X. Chang
adventurous
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
I picked this up because of the beautiful cover and the sprayed edges, plus it came at a reasonable price at my local bookstore. To me it was worth the risk, even if I barely researched the story, because it has elements that I typically like.
So I went ahead and read it, excited and ready to dive into this new world. Unfortunately, this turned out to be one of those books that looks pretty but did not live up to my expectations. I still kept reading it, even if I wasn't fully invested, hoping there will be a spark. There was no spark. 🥲
I didn't really enjoy it, mostly because of the bland writing. I feel like it would have worked better if the writing was deeper(?) or the storylines and characterization were more fleshed out — but this book was glaringly YA to me for some reason. The writing lacked prose and magic, so the words didn't fly off the page the way I thought it would, for something written in the fantasy/romantasy genre that involves magical elements of vampires and seeing the future. They felt half-baked too, but maybe that's because there's a Book 2?
I also found the quotes and proverbs to be unnecessary. It often took me out of my reading rhythm, not because the words are foreign, but because I keep imagining the characters saying it twice — because it's written twice after all, once in Chinese and another in English.
As a fellow Asian, I'm glad there's more and more Asian representation on the shelves these days. Just wish there was more depth to this one. I'm currently 50/50 if I'd tune in to the next book... though knowing me, I love a good book cover design haha so I might be swayed.
So I went ahead and read it, excited and ready to dive into this new world. Unfortunately, this turned out to be one of those books that looks pretty but did not live up to my expectations. I still kept reading it, even if I wasn't fully invested, hoping there will be a spark. There was no spark. 🥲
I didn't really enjoy it, mostly because of the bland writing. I feel like it would have worked better if the writing was deeper(?) or the storylines and characterization were more fleshed out — but this book was glaringly YA to me for some reason. The writing lacked prose and magic, so the words didn't fly off the page the way I thought it would, for something written in the fantasy/romantasy genre that involves magical elements of vampires and seeing the future. They felt half-baked too, but maybe that's because there's a Book 2?
I also found the quotes and proverbs to be unnecessary. It often took me out of my reading rhythm, not because the words are foreign, but because I keep imagining the characters saying it twice — because it's written twice after all, once in Chinese and another in English.
As a fellow Asian, I'm glad there's more and more Asian representation on the shelves these days. Just wish there was more depth to this one. I'm currently 50/50 if I'd tune in to the next book... though knowing me, I love a good book cover design haha so I might be swayed.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence, Blood, War, Injury/Injury detail