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cayenne503's Reviews (227)
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I was leaning towards a three star rating for the majority of the book. It’s repetitive, the same cycle of scenes playing out over and over, theoretically with increasing stakes each time. When the final battle started winding up I thought we were finally getting somewhere interesting….but no. Almost everything after “no he won’t” knocks my rating down an entire star. I lost count of the number of *dramatic reveals* that were crammed into that battle scene. And then when the battle finally ended and there was an opportunity to end the story on a dramatic gut wrenching twist- Rhys was dead, and the power of the high lords couldn’t bring him back like they did to Feyre. Except…then they did. Immediately. Also Amren came back. Also despite the build up and foreshadowing no one from Team Good Guy died, or apparently even got significantly wounded. We are supposed to believe that Cassian and/or Azriel are terribly injured…except we’ve already seen that happen to both of them at least twice and know they will bounce back to normal in a few pages. AND THEN IT KEPT GOING. I would have been less annoyed with a literal “and they all lived happily ever after” instead of the endless descriptions of the crew laughing and drinking and giving each other significant looks. I don’t think I’ve been so utterly annoyed by the ending of a book since the epilogue in Deathly Hallows, and at least THAT was the end of the entire series. There’s still another whole book and novella after this one!
I really like the prose of the book and thought the story was an interesting combination of romance and murder mystery. I hated a lot of the dialogue though. The characters don’t speak like real people, especially how often they say one another’s names out loud.
I also didn’t care for the constant interjections of the main character thinking of/quoting some poem or another. The “revelation” about the poet at the end of the book did not change my opinion. It seemed this aspect was included only to make the main character seem soft, quiet, and intelligent and we get enough of that from the rest of her actions.
The epilogue felt rushed and almost unnecessary. It was essentially a long winded “and they all lived happily ever after”. The final twist revealed within the last few pages was not a surprise so it felt like it could have been worked in some other way
I also didn’t care for the constant interjections of the main character thinking of/quoting some poem or another. The “revelation” about the poet at the end of the book did not change my opinion. It seemed this aspect was included only to make the main character seem soft, quiet, and intelligent and we get enough of that from the rest of her actions.
The epilogue felt rushed and almost unnecessary. It was essentially a long winded “and they all lived happily ever after”. The final twist revealed within the last few pages was not a surprise so it felt like it could have been worked in some other way
Quite a good haunted house story. The author really excels at descriptive narrative and it felt like watching a movie. I thought the plot was kind of predictable but enjoyable nonetheless
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
It’s weird and creepy and absolutely vivid. If you had told me Stephen King wrote this book at the pinnacle of his career I would absolutely believe you. The ending is abrupt but done well and left me really REALLY wanting more. I’d absolutely love a sequel with more of the story in Lalaland.
If only the first 75% of the book was as good as the final 25%. Instead it felt like just killing time until the story got good. At least it ended on an interesting note; I might continue the series.
mysterious
tense
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Ok for the first part of this book I was feeling a little meh, didn’t really understand what the hype was about. But then when I flipped the page and started Part 2 (which is about 60% of the way through the book) I was suddenly hooked and couldn’t put it down. Finished the rest in one sitting.
I like the premise of this story but I’m disappointed with the execution. The main character is a complete Mary Sue with no character development. The setting is so generic with practically no description or world building. The magic system is unique and that’s the part I liked the most. The main conflict throughout the first 90% of the book can be boiled down to various supporting characters doing everything they can to protect the frail but beautiful and somehow unimaginably powerful Mary Sue character from various dangers that spring up and then are defeated easily. And the romance is just cringe.