Take a photo of a barcode or cover
fayesmovinglibrary's Reviews (717)
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
An absolutely devastating, gut-wrenching, & traumatizing trans story.
Be warned, it is absolutely riddled with very uncomfortable incest.
TW: *Graphic and on page depictions* Incest, Rape, SA, non-consensual sexual encounters, violent homophobia/transphobia, violent hateful depictions of extreme hateful religion, death, mourning a loved one
*not on page, but mentioned* transphobic lynching
Be warned, it is absolutely riddled with very uncomfortable incest.
TW: *Graphic and on page depictions* Incest, Rape, SA, non-consensual sexual encounters, violent homophobia/transphobia, violent hateful depictions of extreme hateful religion, death, mourning a loved one
*not on page, but mentioned* transphobic lynching
Content Warnings
Graphic: Deadnaming, Death, Hate crime, Homophobia, Incest, Infidelity, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Transphobia, Violence, Grief, Religious bigotry, Sexual harassment, Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail
Dnf 30% in, I fear I’m really not vibing with this.
On paper the premise sounds so epic, but it just feels grossly written by a man and also very confusing to follow along with
On paper the premise sounds so epic, but it just feels grossly written by a man and also very confusing to follow along with
dark
informative
reflective
fast-paced
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
The premise of this was sooooo fucking good. The whole concept reminded me a tad of like ghostbusters almost mixed with the zombies from The Last of Us however with no dystopian/sci fi/post apocalyptic vibes and pretty great dark fantasy aesthetics instead.
The commentary about white hatred/racism and monstrosity was so good in this & in general this whole concept went really hard.
My only beef with this book is that for a smaller novella it really tried to pack a lot of lore that felt almost excessive and might have been stronger if this book was longer? & in the same vein at times it felt almost rambly and repetitive & for such a little book it did take me out of it at times
The commentary about white hatred/racism and monstrosity was so good in this & in general this whole concept went really hard.
My only beef with this book is that for a smaller novella it really tried to pack a lot of lore that felt almost excessive and might have been stronger if this book was longer? & in the same vein at times it felt almost rambly and repetitive & for such a little book it did take me out of it at times
dark
tense
medium-paced
⭐️⭐️⭐️.75; the first half of this book was solid 5⭐️ vibes for me, but the second half did drop my rating a decent bit.
Positives:
- I absolutely adored this world and concept. The lore all felt heavily Arthurian x Dragon Age x The Last Unicorn and I was so impressed by the dark fantasy-core writing in a YA novel
- heaaaaaaaaaaavily Invested in the Will & James dynamic and that’s kind of the core thing that makes me want to read book 2
- I really love Violet as well
Negatives:
- the second half of this book kind of fell apart for me in a lot of ways. The worldbuilding became really clunky and rushed and discombobulating, and a lot of the character dynamics also felt quite random, forced, confusing, and hard to follow.
- at times this book remind me heaaaaavily of Cassandra Clares Shadowhunters books (specifically The Infernal Devices/The Last Hours) & it made me side eye a little.
*SPOILERS GOING FORWARD*
I think i definitely will read the next one & will possibly like it even more than the first? (Time will tell). Unrelated side note, I kind of hated knowing the main trope of this series, that trope being that this series is a villain origin story, because it made the book feel suuuuuuper predictable. The plot twists I think could have been a lot more shocking and raw for me if I had gone into this book not knowing that detail.
Positives:
- I absolutely adored this world and concept. The lore all felt heavily Arthurian x Dragon Age x The Last Unicorn and I was so impressed by the dark fantasy-core writing in a YA novel
- heaaaaaaaaaaavily Invested in the Will & James dynamic and that’s kind of the core thing that makes me want to read book 2
- I really love Violet as well
Negatives:
- the second half of this book kind of fell apart for me in a lot of ways. The worldbuilding became really clunky and rushed and discombobulating, and a lot of the character dynamics also felt quite random, forced, confusing, and hard to follow.
- at times this book remind me heaaaaavily of Cassandra Clares Shadowhunters books (specifically The Infernal Devices/The Last Hours) & it made me side eye a little.
*SPOILERS GOING FORWARD*
I think i definitely will read the next one & will possibly like it even more than the first? (Time will tell). Unrelated side note, I kind of hated knowing the main trope of this series, that trope being that this series is a villain origin story, because it made the book feel suuuuuuper predictable. The plot twists I think could have been a lot more shocking and raw for me if I had gone into this book not knowing that detail.
dark
emotional
funny
sad
medium-paced
This was the first ever Shakespeare I ever read back in grade in grade 10 & I loved it so much back in the day.
This is just a timeless classic. It’s a tad silly and ridiculous reading it under an adult modern lense, (bc what do you mean Romeo was in his sad boy hours over another girl & then had two brief interactions with the daughter of his mortal enemy and was truly willing to risk it all) but it’s also a tragedy that has inspired much of modern literature and romance today & I will forever have a soft spot for R&J.
This is just a timeless classic. It’s a tad silly and ridiculous reading it under an adult modern lense, (bc what do you mean Romeo was in his sad boy hours over another girl & then had two brief interactions with the daughter of his mortal enemy and was truly willing to risk it all) but it’s also a tragedy that has inspired much of modern literature and romance today & I will forever have a soft spot for R&J.
adventurous
funny
fast-paced
Loveable characters:
Yes
I had so much fricken fun with this ahaha
- (incredibly loose) Wizard of Oz retelling
- absolutely ridiculous and campy and silly and out there, actually made me laugh out loud
- the smut was genuinely written really well & was also insane
My only gripe was in the last third some of the plot elements felt a little ramble-y and unnecessary to me, but idc I had fun
- (incredibly loose) Wizard of Oz retelling
- absolutely ridiculous and campy and silly and out there, actually made me laugh out loud
- the smut was genuinely written really well & was also insane
My only gripe was in the last third some of the plot elements felt a little ramble-y and unnecessary to me, but idc I had fun
Dnf 25% in…. I’m quite sad about this turn of events.
I’m hitting a point as I get older where I am getting really really picky with the whole age category of YA & am finding a lot of it very overly trope-y, predictable, or juvenile in ways I just can’t look past? I feel like I would have loved this if I had read it in 2020 which is the most disappointing part, but I just kind of hit a point where I can tell exactly where this story is going, & it feels like a story I’ve read time and time again & I wish that I loved it, but I’m gonna pass my copy on hopefully to someone who will enjoy it much more than me. I’m still excited for the adaption though & I hope I enjoy it!!!
I think a lot of people will love this story, & it’s not bad by any means, I think it’s just not for me.
I’m hitting a point as I get older where I am getting really really picky with the whole age category of YA & am finding a lot of it very overly trope-y, predictable, or juvenile in ways I just can’t look past? I feel like I would have loved this if I had read it in 2020 which is the most disappointing part, but I just kind of hit a point where I can tell exactly where this story is going, & it feels like a story I’ve read time and time again & I wish that I loved it, but I’m gonna pass my copy on hopefully to someone who will enjoy it much more than me. I’m still excited for the adaption though & I hope I enjoy it!!!
I think a lot of people will love this story, & it’s not bad by any means, I think it’s just not for me.
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
Another book with genre-breaking house metaphor & it’s so deeply sad and melancholic.
I was very invested the entire time with these toxic gays; this would have been a 5 star read if it wasn’t for some of the outdated & problematic moments that were a tad hard to overlook entirely
Another book with genre-breaking house metaphor & it’s so deeply sad and melancholic.
I was very invested the entire time with these toxic gays; this would have been a 5 star read if it wasn’t for some of the outdated & problematic moments that were a tad hard to overlook entirely
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
I absolutely adored every second of this book.
- the world-building was so lush and vivid, I truly felt like I was in pixie hollow. Getting to be back in the world again was magical.
- all of the desperate yearning between Clarion and Milori my dude…… I was kicking my feet and giggling and I also was in agony and cried!
- Petra and Artemis…. Sapphic fairies 🫡🫡🫡👩❤️💋👩👩❤️💋👩👩❤️💋👩
- Petra was so Entrapta from She-Ra coded…. & Artemis my sweet sweet knight angel lady
I loved this so much
- the world-building was so lush and vivid, I truly felt like I was in pixie hollow. Getting to be back in the world again was magical.
- all of the desperate yearning between Clarion and Milori my dude…… I was kicking my feet and giggling and I also was in agony and cried!
- Petra and Artemis…. Sapphic fairies 🫡🫡🫡👩❤️💋👩👩❤️💋👩👩❤️💋👩
- Petra was so Entrapta from She-Ra coded…. & Artemis my sweet sweet knight angel lady
I loved this so much
dark
fast-paced
Junji Ito I love your mind ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.75