Rae
Larkin is so interesting as a main character, if he had stat points his charisma would be in the negatives. He's determined to the point of stubbornness and is somewhat monotonous when speaking - but he's also deeply empathetic, he cares about people especially when they're hurting. Doyle is everything I want in an actual, real life partner - grounded, charming and reliable (being tall and having an attractive voice doesn't hurt either). In the audiobook, whenever Doyle calls Larkin "Evie" I swoon.
I went into this not knowing Larkin was married (I don't like cheating plotlines because I hate feeling guilty for rooting for the main characters) but I pushed through and surprisingly enjoyed it, especially when accompanied by the audiobook.
100% agree with the fact that Larkin and Noah no longer fit together - they had problems waaay before Doyle came into the picture, he was just the catalyst. The "cheating" (more emotional than physical) wasn't necessarily at the forefront of the plot, it was more like it highlighted the underlying issues Larkin needed to confront - facts about himself, his perceptions and his relationship that he'd either buried or overlooked. I do feel for both Larkin and Noah; I honestly don't think Noah is coming from a place of true malice but I can see how, in his eyes, Larkin's attitude towards him had pushed him to react the way he does.
I had to remind myself that this all took place over 2-3 days, the pacing made it feel like weeks had passed. The crime-solving was interesting as well, I enjoyed reading about the other characters and how they fit into the story. Each only had a few pages dedicated to them but they felt real- flawed and so very human (human enough that I wanted to reach in and sock some characters in the jaw).
It was a good time and I finished it all in a day - I'm looking forward to picking up the next one.
3.5 ★ ★ ★ ☆ while i do like penny i think the real highlight is emery, since we actually got his perspective i think i connected with him a lot more than with darius.my quip is that they got touchy pretty quickly - it was kinda abrupt actually - i get it depicts how compatible they are to be dual-mages but it was just fast for me.
2.5 ★ ★ ☆ it peaked in the beginning and then just rolled downhill from there - the characters and the world itself were full of inconsistenciessometimes matt's naivete and hubris is fitting for a young teen (13-16 y/o), but then he suddenly has the prowess and insight of a grown man with years of experience. the relationships felt kind of performative too, i understand the want to show strong bonds between the characters, but their speech and interactions seemed unnatural.there's also the lack of an end goal. i thought it was gonna be about growing stronger to confront the noble family that neglected his home world but that gets rectified without him having to take any action. events just happen for the sake of things showing the progression of time, none of it builds into an overarching story.the most engaging part was the first quarter of the book, when he was building his strength, but then he has everything spoon-fed to him later through pseudo-nepotism.
