Chantelle

I feel like this had so much potential but there were just too many missed opportunities for building tension, developing the relationships, and world-building.

Friendships seemed unnatural and/or shallow, with lots of things happening 'behind the scenes'; the University was described in all it's dilapidated glory but somehow the author manages to avoid mentioning the emotional aspect of Ophelia sharing a location her parents spent so much of their time, and ultimately met their end; and the sub-plots of stalker, Mafia, and scholarship aren't fleshed out enough to feel the stakes are real.

There was also a jarring tendency to time skip, and to kind of flit over connecting bits of dialogue and action, so that things didn't flow smoothly. Also key plot points are glossed over or neglected entirely, like how the stalker always knew where she was, and how his obsession with her mother spiralled into murderous hate, how their relationship formed and ended, why her room-mate's brother never entered the book again, what was on the tape...I could go on.

So what did I like? Some of the interactions were humorous, and the odd moment felt gritty and real. In the second half of the book, Alex was a real winner, and Ophelia had her merits. I just wished there wasn't the abrupt 'shift' in their relationship around the mid-point. The secondary characters were intriguing, though they existed more as props.

Mostly, the scene at the tarn was gripping.

Do you ever wish you could get your hands on a raw manuscript? That's this book.

It's the vulnerability, and the realistic character flaws, and the eccentric secondary characters, and the healthy conflict resolution, and the strong narrative voice/style, and the humour for me! So, basically all of it, okay! I also think I need an Alex in my life, as he just made my cheeks hurt from smiling, and that would be a lovely way to exist perpetually.

Also, I liked the ending and don't feel like a sequel fits the genre expectations (Romances have a HEA, so why would I read a sequel that would naturally have very low stakes after book one ended with a HEA?) so, despite how much I loved this I will not be reading the second in this series, and the reviews of #2 support me in this.

Delightfully bat-shit crazy, as all holiday romances should be when they have fantasy elements (and straight-up contemporary romances should be syrupy sweet...I don't make the rules, just enforce them.)

Like other reviews are saying, this has heavy themes, but I wasn't mad about it. I'm not a huge reader of cosy Christmas romances, so I didn't go in with preconceptions. The drama was intriguing, and the dynamics were fun.

Saying that, though, I was disappointed in how quickly the romance, points of conflict, and other relationships were dealt with (or not). The writing was wonderful, but it felt like we were rushed through what was very heavy subject matter that needed more care and subtlety. It could have benefited from more in-depth exploration of the characters feelings and responses and allowing more interplay for the romantic relationship (and others, especially that with the ‘villain', but even with the stepson and FMC's parents) to develop authentically. It could also have benefited from being marketed differently seeing as it obviously didn't fit the brief for a lot of people and needed more length than a holiday romance.

I really enjoyed the set-up and characterisation in the beginning half of this book, but the final half fell flat for me in a few ways:

1) Bitter is complex and interesting, and I enjoyed her unique voice and skill. The suggestions of her past and the trauma that led to her crippling anxiety definitely felt like it should have been fleshed out more. The references to the ‘lost times' were never fully explored, and her anxiety was in such stark contrast to her ballsy attitude that it felt flat with nothing to back it.
2) the relationships that developed/changed into something new in the course of the story just felt super shallow. The back and forwards with Eddie was frustrating, and the relationship didn't really seem to serve a purpose other than to have Bitter bring out the Angel. The romantic storyline was too underdeveloped, there was such promise with the first date etc but then they were in love almost instantly, but also had some huge arguments that just got brushed over and we ended knowing they were going to be together forever.
3) secondary characters were so intriguing and yet they never really served a purpose besides constantly reassuring and backing Bitter, to the extent that it felt like she was babied by everyone. The only one who showed censure about how things fell out was her boyfriend, and they never discussed it or resolved it, he just backed her anyway.
4) the plot felt so disjointed in the last half. Like we were just barrelling between loosely connected scenes with no forethought or planning: racing to the town square with NO plan other than some vague idea to get Bitter there? Racing back to their sanctuary of all places, with the mayor after having just been complicit in a billionaire's kidnap and public execution, and the mayor's too. There was also a sense of redundancy seeing as Bitter summoned this creature, then immediately backed down, and eventually sent it away again. The fact the classist/racist problems were apparently solved by this boggles the mind. And the Assata claiming the murder as their doing, and somehow still coming to a deal with the govt?!? Umm...I just, can't.

I loved the idea of the school and the protests and even the intrigue of Bitter's skill in creating little creatures, but it all felt forced to fit some end goal (which obviously it was, being a prequel) I think it could have been better handled if the plot stayed small, just Bitter confronting her fears and learning to trust others, while finding a way to express her dissatisfaction with the status-quo rather than keeping it bottled up...as the introduction of the Angels was were it fell apart for me.

I really enjoyed the second half of this book, so I'm glad i persevered, though it was hit and miss for a while there. The setup was a bit weak for me, i think how she came to be in his employment given the style of book could have been a bit funnier, like an employment ad and an interview, and really all the humour was mild and came a bit slowly in the first 50%. I also think their first few months of working together would have been much more interesting, and feel like the time was skipped purely to add the element of romance. Pretty much all the adventures could have happened earlier, and would have let us see the relationship/affection develop in a more natural way.
The world building was patchy, but once I accustomed myself to the juxtaposition of modern and fairytale, it was okay. The twist was great, though the character development wasn't fully realised to make it flawless. Overall a bit of fun though for a debut novel.

A bit too copy-and-paste from the first in the series, the fluff always playing out the same and in a way that doesn't always further the story.
Love MacLean's characters in their uniqueness, but find that too often the women are left to apologise for mutual misunderstandings between themselves and their love interest, or expected to have faith in the men/trust them, when the men have done nothing to earn it (or in the instance of this novel, blatantly kept all of himself secret).
Plot points felt a bit forced, but the setting and the idea of Minerva House, as well as the bonds between the women was lovely to read.

I enjoyed this book, and overall I got very ‘Howl's Moving Castle' vibes from the story and main characters' interactions. The world building was light on, but not in a way where you were left floundering.

The writing was beautifully descriptive, and I love that we saw beneath the ‘Fair' faces of the Fair folk.

Would have loved more about the ending/romance as it leaves you kind of stumped as to how their relationship will progress, and overall this was obviously a romance, so some clarity there would be expected. Like...he's immortal, so? How?

Story is driven by the romance really too, so what they say is propelling them on their journey isn't as solid as you would maybe like for a journey based fantasy. It's all just an excuse to keep them together. So yeah, head into this with low plot expectations. It's a beautifully painted (see what I did there?) little snapshot, of two people meeting and falling for each other.

I did finish this, and I have thought about it over the last few days and dropped my rating.

The female lead is a bit two-dimensional, and feels forced when acting out of character (the ‘bad-ass' side is what feels out of character here...and please, straddling the guy in the first page to lick his blood...OTT and obvious for a ‘sexy bad girl'). She has been abused and manipulated and forced to be a cold-blooded killer for centuries and yet she is hip and funny and empathetic? Yet also, all anyone sees in her is a killer? (Other than the vamps) it's just not believable.

Male lead is more consistent, and love the PTSD and mental health rep, but sadly the two if them just ‘bond' in the middle of their journey and their animosity flips instantly? It felt abrupt and awkward. And they go about it awkwardly from there too, acting like teens at every miscommunication.

And he forces her to wear his dress, Implying hers is too skanky, when we have been told the celestials on his planet wore sheer clothes?! Heavy-handed and gross, not sexy.

World building is super patchy. I feel like half the time places were getting called different names?? Maybe just me unable to keep track, but yeah, felt like I never knew where they were talking about. Also no understanding of how the different planes work...he just popped her back to his home planet, and we don't get told how? Also the back story is dealt out super stingily, and in a way that isn't intriguing, more frustrating, especially given the length. Still have no idea what she actually went through getting turned, or what really kicked off the Gods war, or how that actually changed her planet.

Ending wasn't a twist.

The main characters are just too intractable and there is like zero growth, which makes it very hard to root for anyone. The only way the female lead, Aisling, changes is she becomes super all-powerful, and keeps talking about how fear excites her and everyone annoys her...but she never does anything about it except glare.

There is so much set up for the romance and yet when it finally happens (after many other more appropriate and sensual times) it's so weird and lacklustre. Just falls flat for me.

I'm also writing this maybe a week after I finished it, and I have already forgotten so much...so yeah, a bit forgettable overall.

Ohhhhh, but I remember this: ‘deign' is used sooooo much and used incorrectly every time: ‘he said not a word, deigning to answer her.' With the other typos and odd language choices, I wonder if they didn't have a good editor, or if English maybe isn't the author's first language?

Felt very rushed and though it tied up some loose ends it also left me feeling cheated. I wanted more from the defeat of the emperor. I wanted more of the children and the world after, and their relationships and the magic failing.
I wanted more for Aric. The fact he gets his time after their rebirth and he still has to share her is bull, in my opinion. Evie and Aric's relationship promised so much in Knight, but it never delivered...it felt lacklustre in all the following books, like he was getting a shade of her, or maybe a shade of Kole. As a character with his backstory, he just deserved better. Jack got decades, and they got to raise their kids together. Evie even gives her attention to Jack's reincarnate before Aric.
I wanted to see Aric get his son's journals. Devastated.

DNF

2nd time re-read and dropped the rating as I really slogged through it. First thing that jars is the fact Nahri and Muntadhir are married, when she signed an agreement only to marry him when she reached the age of majority in CoB. No explanation how/why that suddenly became their wedding or why it quickly followed. Some other things are glossed over too, with the time gap used as a convenient way to skip explaining, but this book is so long it feels like some time could have been given over to back story. A lot of the relationship angst between all the characters ends up feeling petty and repeated, and then magically gets solved. Just felt like it all could have been shorter and punchier, especially the politics. More use of the new awesome side characters would have been good too, like the ex-slaves (also, have they been freed? There was never enough detail as to how this happened, what freeing the enslaved djinn was like) And Ali's friends. They felt like filler, but had such promise.

3.5. The prose is so lovely, like ‘let me breathe in these words like air, please' kind of lovely. Narrative voice is strong, characters are amazing but underutilised, setting is fabulous but would have been more fun if we learnt more about it sooner, and the premise is fun but doesn't really result in anything mind-blowing. The other niggles for me were the slow beginning and that I still had some confusion at the end about the timeline: creation of the beasts vs the deaths of the Gravely bros? If the beasts didn't come first, what killed them? Might need a re-read to clarify if I missed something there.

Could have been 500 pages shorter, in my opinion. Loved the thorough description of the anxiety/agoraphobia and how this was intrinsic to the story, not just something mentioned and then glossed over as can be common with mental illness rep. Enjoyed the alternate timeline, too, and the (in a way) much more realistic view of how a ‘war' against Voldemort might play out. But after a while, it all just dragged as things were described over and over again in very similar detail, mostly in the ‘present timeline' where it was all set in mostly one setting. I understand a lot of it was to ensure the ‘romance' didn't curdle, but honestly, that was always going to hit a sour note, regardless of how much they ‘made up'. Fun being in that universe again, in a darker, more mature way. Definitely reminiscent of Handmaids tale.

Enjoyed as a complete story, got through it pretty quickly, but as we got to the third act a few things started bothering me.

I loved the magic system and the world seemed so interesting from the little that was imparted. Would have loved a bit more setting description initially to really SEE the modified infrastructure and flooding, as that was really confusing the way it was described.

The characters were all a little under-developed, though I like the traits Edei showed that weren't traditionally ‘masculine' and differed him from the standard MC ‘love interest', but the rest just felt off, as if they weren't cohesively planned out.

The mystery got a bit muddied in regards to the wraiths and their origins/how they came about/if they were powered. I understood eventually (i think?) but it took me right until the end, which made the resolution feel a little lacklustre for me.

I enjoyed the diversity of the secondary characters and how their ethnicity/sexuality/identity were not the only thing that defined them, as though they hadn't been written in purely for the rep. It came across very natural and just as part of a diverse worldbuilding.

I also liked how the MC was working through her shame from her childhood, and trying to resolve or move past the feelings of inadequacy. This was a great spin on the strong/capable female lead, the strength coming more from her ability to grow as an individual.

The romance? Let's not talk about it.

DNF - Could not get past the first scene where her kidnapper does the bad-guy-reveal-all, and thinks his weak plan is somehow going to work while also thinking no one will realise it was him that set her up, despite him having been seen taking her prisoner. Just can't anymore with this series.

I really wanted to like this as I find the author hilarious on insta, but sadly, I had to DNF at 80%
First, the people on the ledge are basically cattle, right? Why, oh why, are they not cared for more like cattle? It makes no sense to leave your ‘herd' exposed and underfed, and able to escape (with death) where you can't then harvest from them.
2nd, the relationship felt so forced and fast, and I was just not invested. The steamy scenes fell flat as it all just seemed awkward. Also, why did all of Dawsyns decisions involve impulsively running into danger?
The reveal about her heritage was good, but I feel like we could have had a much richer and LARGER cast. I just feel like we have only a handful of players and it's feels light on, making the world feel very small.
I love the secondary characters way more than the protagonists. The inn is such a fun scene, but really they don't serve much purpose.

Ah, so much I loved about this book! The world building was FLAWLESS and so intriguing, each reveal of a different aspect left me wanting a whole new book about that corner of the world alone. Her characters were unique and fun, and their interactions were enjoyable and emotional. The pace was quick and I gobbled up the book in a day. Despite how quickly it flowed, there weren't any gaping plot holes, they just knows how to write a great story without long, boring exposition. Amazing, will definitely be looking to read more of their work! kinda hoping she will decide to write a sequel about the market

Just love. The world is so fantastical but in such a delightful, I-want-to-go-there way that any logic goes out the window. The writing is so decadent and descriptive, and I found the timeline and character jumps to be on the right side of tangled and mysterious. The whole thing is just a masterpiece and I lapped it up.

DNF 60% - was intrigued initially and loved the style and description, but started to lose interest around the time it became clear the main characters had a romance kind of going on, with nothing to back it? Plus the marriage of convenience? Or whatever their union is supposed to be, just threw me out of the story on top of the weird relationship vibes I was already getting. The reason seems iffy too, and if it's a cover for her true feelings, it seems a bit of a dangerous time to be doing it. He's going to be the only person you can take into enemy territory...

Will maybe get back to it another time, as I did like the writing.

I loved this conclusion to the series. The characters finally felt like they were developing and growing as individuals, and the pace was brisk and kept me on the edge of my seat. I loved reading about the different kingoms and locales again, like book 1, her description of setting and culture is so rich, and there was enough happening that switching between characters wasn't as tedious as I found in book 2. The resolution to the story left me content, and all of the loose ends were nicely tied up. Ultimately really enjoyed this series overall, the complexity of the characters and the world was delicious and fresh.

I read this after Night Circus, and perhaps because of that, it took me a bit longer to settle into this. A few motifs were similar to NC, such as the paper birds and the rooms given over to whimsy and dreams rather than just books/stories, and so it was less magical than what I experienced with NC. It felt more familiar.
I'm still a bit confused by the honey sea and bees and the ending. Maybe requires a re-read.
Beautiful imagery and stellar characterisation, once again.

DNF 15%

DNF 30%