An Vo
I really tried. The prose drives me insane. My guy just really needs to use more words. Omitting random words does not make your sentences more poetic, I assure you. I had to unfortunately dnf at 60%, I can't do this to myself anymore.
I admire the author for being able to write and self-publish a book at such a young age (16, super impressive); however, the writing is... not good. The prose is simple, and not in a good way. I hope the author continues to write and improve her craft though.
Very cozy, maybe a bit too cozy for my taste. Would love to pick it up again later, maybe.
BranSan yapped way too much in the first 20% of this book. Lots of people love this book though, love that for them.
Right, maybe historical/fantasy horror is not for me 🤷🏻♀️
Look, I can appreciate a good isekai as much as the next person. I can deal with quirky storytelling and character narration, but I draw the line as the main FMC describing these book characters to me upon meeting them (because she knew them so well from the book). It is a very boring way of character introduction. Maggie is also kind of a cardboard cut-out main character (up until 15%), with very few distinct personalities. I just think this book is not for me.
You know what, I'm proud of myself for dnf-ing this book. What I have read so far was truly infuriating. How is Anima a “matriarchal” society when women have zero say in if they wanna be married or not, their jobs are reduced to mere hobbies, and they are essentially all housewives? Make it make sense. I also don't think I can handle another not-like-the-other-girls main character, I'm too old for this. And if I have to endure another description of how tall this guy is, I'm gonna flip.
I think I need to be in a different mood for this book simply because of how slow it is. I see great potential in it though, might pick it up later at some point.
This is probably one of the worst books I have ever read, unfortunately, which is extremely disappointing as I was expecting so much from all the Tolkien-esque blurb.
The pace is extremely slow. For a plot with a time crunch event, there is zero sense of emergency. The lore and world building was quite interesting, though it was ruined by very clunky expositions. The writing style is frankly exhausting with a combination of purple prose, cringe worthy one liners, and endless repetition.
The characters are also not very well thought out. Leilani does nothing other than self-pity. She goes on this quest because she wants to save her mother, whose relationship was extremely underdevelope. Astrophel is a racist man who changed 180 after a very unbelievable reveal. All the other side characters are one dimensional and lack complexity in general.
I gave up at almost 60% because I simply cannot do this to myself anymore.
That's it. I give up. Cozy fantasy is not for me. This book has been incredibly boring, even the magic dog couldn't save it. (I love you though Shadow)
Also, what is that torture scene?? The language used towards the changeling child is dangerously closed to the kind that were (and are still) used towards disabled children. Get that away from me.
I am actually sad that I don't like this book because I really like the author, been following her for quite some time. Unfortunately, almost everything about the book is not for me: the main character, the writing style, the love interest...