Thank you to Netgalley and HarperCollins UK for an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Rating:2/5 YA fantasy just doesn't seem to work Thank you to Netgalley and HarperCollins UK for an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Rating:2/5 YA fantasy just doesn't seem to work for me anymore. The Crimson Moth/Heartless Hunter is a house of cards that relies solely on the same old overused tropes. As a seasoned fantasy reader, nothing in this book was surprising.
First of all, the characters have no personality. Nothing made them stand out. This book just spoon-feeds everything to the reader instead of letting them experience it for themselves. Gideon Sharpe is the blandest love interest ever. He is tall and handsome and brooding and has a dark past. There. That's his entire personality(basically like any other romantasy mmc, but even worse, if that's imaginable. There was no chemistry between the two mcs, which is why the 'love' between them did not seem believable. I just couldn't care about them. There were....certain things about the 'romance' that made me feel uncomfortable. This book should be classified as NA. There were also some events and plot twists that didn't make any sense. The climax was the only redeeming quality of the book, but then the ending employed one of the most overused cliffhanger, that is the two mcs getting separated by betrayal.
So....yeah. I did not have a good time with this. If you enjoy tropes like enemies to lovers, hidden identity, witches and witch hunters, you'll probably enjoy this. I was disappointed and will not be reading the sequel....more
Rating:2/5 Well, sliver nitrate is the very definition of underwhelming. It takes the most amazing concept and butchers it by executing it in the most Rating:2/5 Well, sliver nitrate is the very definition of underwhelming. It takes the most amazing concept and butchers it by executing it in the most excruciatingly dull way possible. I'm fascinated by all things occult, rituals and mysticism, and after having enjoyed Moreno-Garcia's Mexican Gothic, I had high expectations from this and it let down on almost every front.
The book follows the exact opposite of 'show don't tell'. We're told so much about Tristan and Montserrat's friendship, but it doesn't really feel believable. The discussions on the occult were the only thing that interested me. That was truly fascinating. Unfortunately, there was a lot of infodumping regarding film history, which didn't really add value to the book. The characters were extremely unlikable and I couldn't root for them. I waited for soooo long for anything remotely exciting to happen, but nothing did. I'd hesitate to call this horror...it's not even remotely spooky or thrilling. Tristan starts to see his ex girlfriend's ghost and Montserrat is followed by an evil entity....and there are some devilish dogs. There. That's it. That's the 'horror'. If you like books with a VERY light element of horror, you might like it. Though it did pick up pace after the 60-65% mark, it lacked the creep factor. And what the hell was that ending?! This is one of the worst romantic relationships I've read. Montserrat and Tristan were carbon cutouts and extremely unlikable.
So....yeah. I wouldn't really recommend this book. BUT, Moreno-Garcia's next novel, The Seventh Veil of Salome sounds very promising and I'll definitely be checking that out. ...more
Thank you to netgalley and HarperCollins UK for an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review. Rating:2/5 What i expected to be an epic fantasyThank you to netgalley and HarperCollins UK for an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review. Rating:2/5 What i expected to be an epic fantasy turned out to be a mediocre romantasy with little depth. This just didn't work for me, unfortunately. Fans of ACOTAR and other romantasy books will certainly enjoy this.
Right from page 1, Faebound plunges the reader into the fray of battle and moves at a very fast pace. The book jumped from one scene to another so fast that it was difficult to feel the stakes. The characters felt like cardboard cutouts and were very immature. 28 year old Lettle was more immature than some of the YA protagonists I've read. The prophecies in this world are a little too straightforward, and everything felt awfully predictable. It was very easy to work out most of the plot twists, and while that's not necessarily a bad thing, the way they were revealed was quite underwhelming. The worldbuilding was creative but not explored enough. It really annoyed me to see the characters constantly being horny, even in life threatening situations. The diverse representation was quite excellent, I'll give it that. Pila was the only character I liked... she's a great animal companion! Unfortunately, besides the romance, the story is too...dull. There's not much substance to the story. It starts fast paced and ends in a rushed way, but the middle is uneventful.
I really, really wanted to like this and believe it has potential, so I'll be checking out the next book. I'm just not a fan of romantasy, especially when the book is so hyperfocused on the romance that everything else fades into the background.If you're an epic fantasy reader and, like me, need higher stakes and detailed worldbuilding, this probably won't work for you. However, I'd recommend this to romantasy fans and expect it to find an audience among them upon release....more
Rating:2/5 Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review. Ummm......yeah. This was even worse thanRating:2/5 Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review. Ummm......yeah. This was even worse than ODW. I lie in the minority here, but this duology is wayyyy too hyped. It should've been a longer standalone, because this book just feels too weak. Elm was my favourite character in the first book (didn't care about Elspeth and Ravyn at all, that's why I wasn't really bothered that Elspeth hardly shows up in this book), but in this book, he felt so..... useless. I hated the entire plotline of Elm trying to find Ione's lost maiden card and their romance, because it didn't add any value to the story. The nightmare was the only character l liked in this one. I enjoyed learning about the Shepherd King's past a just family, but the worldbuilding wasn't cohesive at all. I'd expected the author to flesh out the world which was just vibes and nothing else in the first book, but it is still underexplained. The Ravyn plotline was also boring af. The acquisition of the Twin Alders proved to be too easy and low stakes. Another thing that irked me was the fact that the author HAS TO CONSTANTLY REMIND US OF THE NIGHTMARE'S OILY VOICE. Just...why?? I liked the last 10%, though. The ending was quite good and Elspeth and the Shepherd King's final farewell did stir the slightest hint of emotion in me. I'm astounded by the high rating this has gotten. Overall, I wasn't a huge fan of this duology and will most probably forget about it within a few days....more
Rating: 2/5 Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review. You know that feeling of eating a too-sRating: 2/5 Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review. You know that feeling of eating a too-sweet dessert! The first few bites feel heavenly, the next few- not so much. After a while, you start feeling nauseous. Reading this book felt like that. I liked the beginning and the ending, but the middle was such a slog to get through.
First of all, I had ZERO attachment to the characters. None of them (except felivox the dragon) had any personality and didn't feel fully fleshed out. While I liked Iz and War's healthy, communicative relationship, I never felt like rooting for them. Many chapters start with huge info dumping. The writing style is humorous and witty in some parts but purple prosey in others. Don't get me wrong, I love a poetic, lyrical writing style in books, but this just felt like the author was trying to use every single word from English vocabulary. Honestly, purple prose doesn't suit a high fantasy book.
The mystery was definitely the weakest aspect of the book. I never felt curious to know what happens next and just didn't care. I liked the way it was resolved, though. While the world building and magic system were cool, I didn't really find myself fully immersed into it(probably because of the writing style). Overall, this was a very unremarkable read for me and I'll mostly likely forget about the plot in a few days. I'm not really excited for the sequel and most probably won't be reading it....more
Rating:2/5 If I had not been aware of the source material for this book, I'd have enjoyed it a LOT more. Alas, here we are The tale of Cupid and Psyche Rating:2/5 If I had not been aware of the source material for this book, I'd have enjoyed it a LOT more. Alas, here we are The tale of Cupid and Psyche is from the Roman novel 'Metamorphoses' by Apuleius. It's more of a fairytale than a myth. However, the author has taken so many liberties with the story, keeping only a few major plot points the same, that the tale has become completely unrecognisable. This book had me screaming 'wtf was the author thinking?!' the entire time because of the extremely questionable decisions she has made. It feels like a very, very loose reimangining than a retelling.
In the orginal, Cupid/Eros is Aphrodite's biological son, but here the author takes his origin story from Hesiod's Theogony, where Eros is one of the primordial deities born of chaos. In this story, Eros is forced to become Aphrodite's son by Zeus' will.
Psyche has been so completely warped that she feels like an entirely different character. The author portrays her as a warrior woman(trained under Atalanta herself) , when she was the complete opposite. Further, Psyche is apparently the granddaughter of Perseus, and the story takes place during the Trojan war, just because the author wanted it. Instead of Psyche's jealous sisters, we have Iphigenia.
It felt as if the author has made it her mission to incorporate every single character from Greek mythology. We have most of the major gods, references to Jason and the Argonauts and Bellerophon, we have Medusa and all of the important figures from the Iliad. The author has made several random changes to these myths as well. There's a completely unnecessary scene where Psyche competes in a footrace with Achilles. Did it serve any purpose? No!
It makes no sense that Psyche trained under Atalanta. In the orginal myth, Atalanta and her husband were transformed into lions by Zeus since they made love in his temple, but here it's Aphrodite's temple instead, and Aphrodite kills Atlanta's husband but keeps her alive. Again, it makes no sense.
Finally, we have the incredible reference that Hekate lives in a house with chicken feet. Sounds familiar, doesn't it? (Looking at you, Baba Yaga)
So.....yeah. Psyche and Eros is definitely one of the worst retellings I've read. The author provides no clear explanation to these changes, and does everything just because she felt like it....more
Rating:2/5 Uhh....wtf was this??!! I just didn't like it. Maybe I'm one of those people who didn't understand what the author was trying to convey, butRating:2/5 Uhh....wtf was this??!! I just didn't like it. Maybe I'm one of those people who didn't understand what the author was trying to convey, but I really don't care. This was just boring af. It had so much potential, though. If the endings to all three of the stories had been resolved a little better, it could've been a solid 4 star read for me. I loved the concept behind the stories, and the visceral, disgusting and horrifying quality they had, which the unlikable characters's veeeeryyyy questionable actions at the centre of it all. The book has that certain magic Japanese literature has, making descriptions of the most mundane of things in a lyrical way. Relatively speaking, Dormitory was my favourite of the three stories(I was super into the suspense but no explanation was offered). I just couldn't bring myself to care for any of the stories, but it was a quick read that satisfied my short book craving!...more
A huge thanks to Netgalley and Sourcebooks fire for an e-arc in exchange of an honest review. 2./5 The premise of this book was really good. I liked theA huge thanks to Netgalley and Sourcebooks fire for an e-arc in exchange of an honest review. 2./5 The premise of this book was really good. I liked the unique interview style format which made it easier for me to finish this book in 2-3 sittings. However, I didn't really like any of the characters (especially Maylee) and didn't connect with or care for any of them. Nolan's obsession with Bigfoot was EXTREMELY ANNOYING and I found myself rolling my eyes whenever he said something related to that. Most of all, the conclusion was very underwhelming and just.........dumb, when this book had so much potential. I personally didn't really like this book, but would recommend it for those who like a fast-paced YA mystery that you can finish in one day....more
AG (on semi-hiatus until May 25th)
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Books:
2-star
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