Arkcielis

This could have been a decent YA novel. It had premise: witches, male narrator, mysterious girl, and fated love, all of this set in the south. Interesting premise, awful execution.

The story is set in Gatlin, South Carolina. I must admit I was expecting a little bit of southern glamour a la Midnight in the garden of good and evil. But this town, I never did get a feel for it...it was just bland. Could have been Forks (especially with all that rain) with a few characters still stuck in the Civil War era.

Ethan, the protagonist and narrator, was unbelievable as a human being let alone a teenage boy. Now, I realize that writing the opposite gender is difficult but Ethan is just a mess of inconsistent behavior. He's got no personality and no redeeming traits. He's not brave (stuff just happens to him), he's not kind. He's just as shallow and judgmental as all the other Gatlin residents but somehow thinks he's better than the rest of them. It could have worked if he was written to be an anti-hero or if he changed during the course of the book. He wasn't and he didn't. He yearns for something more (seriously, I could believe a fifty year old woman saying this after a series of unfulfilling relationships...not a high schooler). He gets pissed off when his depressed father tries to commit suicide...seriously. Again, it could have worked if the authors had dug a little deep into his character.

The rest of the cast was just as bland. There's was the evil blonde, tanned, slutty cheerleader. For once, I'd like to see a pale brunette cheerleader. Amma could have been interesting - the whole voodoo aspect - but her constant word spelling just got annoying. Let's not forget the whole “I know something you don't but you're not ready to hear it yet...” That is a stupid plot device. It's a lazy plot device. There are many ways of letting the reader know something is up without straight out telling. Lena was as petty and bland as the rest.

Maybe it's just me but I like my protagonists to triumph by being better and not by stooping as low as the villains. Macon gets the town to back off by spilling all their dirty secrets, the librarian consistently shows off the uneducated masses by throwing random quotes out (apparently the authors must have stumbled upon brainyquotes.com). A character that uses her intellect only to humiliate other characters is not likeable. And I won't even get into the Winter Formal scene which was a total rip-off of Carrie (a weak one at that) and where our main characters flee after humiliating the cheerleaders and feeling pretty damn good about leaving a crowd about to be fried to death. No. Just no. I know I was supposed to cheer for these protagonists...but I just couldn't. They were just awful petty people.

As for the romance...I'm still looking for it. I like romance. I like cheesy and fluffy. That's why I read these books and that's why I hate insta-love. I want to watch the characters fall in love. I want to experience it with them. I want them to meet, to talk, to interact, to gets into situations where they have to work to together. I want them to slowly realize that they're falling in-love. Even if it's destined love or what not, I still want a believable love story. I don't know why Ethan loves Lena and visa versa...really I don't. I'm told they're in love on page 5.

The magic system is a convoluted mess. For most of the book, there are just witches...and then without warning comes the INFO-DUMP of DOOM. Several pages of sirens, catalysts, naturals, illusionists, shifters, sybils, and palimpsest...yea...palimpsest. Oh and Kelting!

“What's Kelting?...the way we're able to communicate with each other no matter where we are.” P273.

like, felt like, seemed like, kinda like, looked like, probably like

“I didn't know what I was feeling, but whatever it was, Lena was feeling the opposite.” p.244

“Charlotte was one thing no self-respecting cheerleader should ever be, a little chunky.” p.54

At the very least, I can say that I finished reading it, which is more than I can say for Throne of Glass. Unfortunately, it's one of those books that I'll forget in a week. Big yawn. There isn't an ounce of originality to be found here. Nothing new, nothing that hasn't been done a million time.

Protagonist: You know her. It's that girl that singlehandedly takes care of her family of deadbeats. She's got both the absentee parent and the dead mom trope going for her. She is, apparently, the only one who cares about surviving. She is an artist. She is the one who talks back to her captors/authority figures and never suffers the consequences (This is what being a badass is all about in YA novels). She is sarcasm reborn but only because she's never known true love (* much sadness). She's the special snowflake that's got all the boys in the yard thinking she's farting rainbows. Yeah, you know her. Setting: Ye olde medieval England *with fairies. These people eat the same things we do, dress the same, drink tea and wine, hunt the same wildlife (deer and wolves). The flowers are the same. The fairies are the same that you've seen in every supernatural fantasy out there (puca, nagas....). Utterly generic worldbuidling.

Plot: beauty and the beast retelling without the conflict of the original beauty and the beast. The beast is gorgeous and kind. Feyre's not a prisoner of the castle, she can actually leave. Her family is well taken care off (not dying, or struggling, or frantically looking for her). There is absolutely NO meaningful conflict in this story until they get to Under the Mountain (you know it's a bad place because of the capitalization!). Even at the end, every “plot twist” is as straight as an arrow. What you do get until then, however, is a hefty dose of fake angst. It goes like this:

Feyre: I need to leave!
Tamlin: Why?
F: I need to care for my family. I made a promise.
T: They're living in luxury as we speak. You're keeping your word right now by staying.
F: I need to leave!
T: Why?
F: Because! Reasons!
(repeat ad nauseam)

And the ever popular:
Tamlin or Lucien: Feyre, don't go there, you'll die!
Feyre: But!
Goes anywaysBloodshed ensues
Tamlin: I told you not to go there!
(repeat ad nauseam)

Romance: as bland as the love interest. Tamlin is your typical romantic lead, all snarls, strong jaw, and gleaming eyes. I totally forgot his hair color because it doesn't matter. He's the typical one dimensional, only defined by his hawtness, male lead designed to appeal to a very broad audience. Also, he's white. Wouldn't want to shock anyone with an interracial romance (and no, fae vs human doesn't count). You'd think he'd have a few more issues considering what he had to do to find the curse breaker. But no, not our super bland Tamlin. Can't make him too dark, too flawed. The sex scenes are awkward and don't add anything.

Antagonist: She's a woman so obviously she's a sex addict and wants to get into the love interest's pantaloons. Because that's what female villains are all about.

Writing: I don't know...how to describe the words on the page – word on the page - writing...writing? Writing!
Ellipses and hyphens FTW!

On the plus side, reading this book won't kill too many brain cells. It's just a massive bore. But if you're looking for any plot twists, world building, anything at all that is new, look elsewhere.

Honestly, this book is much better than its predecessor. There is an actual sorta-plot here.

The world is more imaginative than in the first book, mostly because of the appearance of new locales. The characters travel around the world quite a bit so it feels a little bit more fleshed out. Nothing extraordinary but even a small amount is better than nothing.

Feyre is more pro-active in this book. She goes from being broken to wanting to change, to matter, to take part in the world's events. She's no longer just a doll on the sidelines.

The romance was much better. Rhysand is more developed than Tamlin as a character and thus more interesting. The love story was slower. You actually get to see Rhys and Feyre working together which is a nice change from the average YA novel.

The cast has more players and they are somewhat interesting despite being clichés.

Still, the book isn't without flaws.

- There is a particularly painful section of the book that involves our lead characters sitting at a table in a restaurant talking about their childhood. It is a succession of massive infodumps. Each character takes a turn explaining their entire back-story, the customs of their upbringing..blah blah blah. It's so painful, unnecessary, and amateurish that I skipped the whole thing.
I mean, when was the last time you sat with your friends and each had hour long monologues about growing up, why your family had pizza every Saturday morning, why you never saw your great aunt Jasmine after her split with Roger, why you always wanted a cat but never could get one? What's that? Never? That's right, real people don't do this. They share snippets of info over time, in appropriate context.

- There is nothing subtle in this writing. Everything is slammed into your face with a big meaty sledgehammer. Every twist is played straight. Again, not much thinking outside of the box in terms of events or plot.

- There is one chapter written in Rhysand's POV. I am not sure why it exists. The switch is so jarring. Everything revealed in that section could have been told to the audience by Feyre in her following chapter.

- The matebond/true love aspect. For me, this trope has always been a total romance kill. I thought the Rhysand/Feyre romance was good until this trope reared its ugly head. I know why it's so popular. Why wouldn't everyone love the idea that you are meant to be together forever, that your partner is never ever going to stop loving you or leave you or cheat on you. But it's so cheap precisely because it removes all the dangers of love, all the choices. After all, if you are fated to be with this person, then you have nothing to lose emotionally by loving them. One hundred percent risk free.

Real true love is beautiful, not because it's ordained by the fates/scrolls/rainbows/wise tiny unicorns, but because it's two people deciding each and every day that their partner is worth their love and that they themselves are worth love in return despite the fear of rejection, of heartbreak. Every day they decide to make that same commitment over again regardless of what life throws at them. The risks are what make love /being loved so amazing.

Also, this trope is a complete copout in terms of developing moral dilemmas. Cauldron forbid our Feyre has to actually struggle to make a decision, to be morally gray (should she dump Tamlin that has been so good to her family and herself when she needed it, he loves her, can she really break his heart even though she loves someone else?) Well, never fear. Her real true mate is Rhysand so it's totally ok. No more guilt! Let's casually sweep that Tamlin under the rug.

So very lazy and cheap.

- Author, please don't confuse sexual tension with romance. It's not the same. And the sex scenes? So awkward even the mountains trembled.

- As for the switching love interest, aside for the Wayfarer Redemption/Enchanter flashbacks I kept having shudders, it didn't bother me much. Tamlin was such a bland bore in book 1 that writing a new love interest was a gift from the author.

- And what's with pairing everyone up? Rhys/Feyre, Lucien/Elain, Cassian/Nesta, Azriel/Mor...not everyone needs a truemate bond.

Overall, better than book 1. Will probably pick up book 3 as long as it's not back to fake angst and stuck in Tamlin's mansion for the whole book.