This book throws everything at the wall � climate change, capitalism, sexism, you name it � but ultimately, nothing sticks. It’s a case of too many idThis book throws everything at the wall � climate change, capitalism, sexism, you name it � but ultimately, nothing sticks. It’s a case of too many ideas, too little depth. I think the author had too much to say, but had trouble trying to balance all of that with the desire to keep the audience’s attention. The sheer volume of significant issues crammed into a relatively short book (less than 400 pages!) meant that none of them were given the space they needed to breathe and truly resonate.
The romance absolutely sucked. There was just no reason for these characters to have fallen for each other as hard as they did. They’ve known each other for two weeks, and have tried to kill each other multiple times. How could the romance have worked anyway if neither character was compelling as an individual? I remember close to nothing about both of them because their characters felt so inconsistent. Melinoë was supposed to be a trained killer but couldn’t handle a teenage boy who was only trained to hunt animals. Inesa’s characterization stopped being shaped by her background once she met Melinoë.
The only interesting character was Luka, Inesa’s brother. I hate the way in which his character disappeared to give the two MCs their alone time, and his character was seriously downplayed. He could have been such an interesting player in the story given his skills and relationship with Inesa, but his character was absolutely wasted.
There was no way this book was going to end in a way that would have satisfied me, given how things went down. At around 80% in, I was doubting that this was a standalone. Unfortunately, it is, and the ending sucked. It made sense given the overall vibe of the book, but it was deeply unsettling.
Overall, this book really needed more time to just� marinate. The author needed to completely understand the story she wanted to convey, to find a focus point that made sense. This book felt like a waste. It had so much potential.
*I wrote this review as I was reading Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, so it was crazy to see the difference of quality and nuance between this book and a book from the series this was inspired by.
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100%: Yup, ending sucked.
90%: There is absolutely NO WAY this book will end in a way that will satisfy me.
60%: Every few pages I catch myself thinking, man, I wish I was reading The Hunger Games instead bc this book lowkey sucks.
30%: *gulps* So far, not a fan. I think this is Reid’s first dystopian, so I’m hoping this is just a rough start and that it’ll get better. ...more
This book was SHOCKINGLY messy and boring. 2 stars because I didn't necessarily want to chuck my book out the window and I've read worse. Are the sequThis book was SHOCKINGLY messy and boring. 2 stars because I didn't necessarily want to chuck my book out the window and I've read worse. Are the sequels worth reading? Please advise.
� None of the characters were interesting (and there were A LOT of characters) except for maybe Cook � World-building was lazy � So many things happened but none of them seemed relevant to the story until the last act � There were two love triangles--TWO! � Used rape as a plot device!! � Men belong in jail AKA misogyny is also used as a plot device
Also, can someone explain that scene where (view spoiler)[Elias and Helene were on the edge of a cliff and roped to each other (hide spoiler)] bc I didn't get the logistics of how that went down.
₊� ‿︵‿︵‿︵୨୧ · · � · · ୨୧‿︵‿︵‿︵ ˚�
50%: I fear I'm no longer part of this book's target audience. ...more
I was betting my soul on this book. Unfortunately, there really isn’t anything positive I can say about it. The two-starFiled under: porn-without-plot
I was betting my soul on this book. Unfortunately, there really isn’t anything positive I can say about it. The two-star rating? Those are pity stars....more
2.5. This entire book gave off the same vibes as that one scene in Aladdin where Jasmine pretended to seduce Jafar, and it made me feel the same way I2.5. This entire book gave off the same vibes as that one scene in Aladdin where Jasmine pretended to seduce Jafar, and it made me feel the same way I feel whenever I watch that scene—oddly hypnotized, but also kind of uncomfortable.
� The story�
I would argue that this book's true intention was to be a romance above all else. It's a fantasy-romance and not a romantic fantasy.
That being said, if you're going to read this for action and plot... look away. The plot didn’t really pick up until around 70% in. We don't really get scenes with the FMC (Rune) saving witches, or the MMC (Gideon) hunting witches. A lot of this book was just scheming and playing cat-and-mouse. None of the twists were particularly shocking, either.
The world-building? Practically non-existent. The idea behind the magic system was interesting, but not thoroughly explored. I know nothing about the setting as well.
The romance, though, I thought was actually done pretty well. I enjoyed the push-and-pull between the two MCs, and I found the tension between them to be quite sexy. I liked the blurred lines between the MCs thinking that they were both just playing each other, and the MCs genuinely getting into the flirting. Was it deep and was it love? No. It was attraction. It was a fun time if I think about it like this.
In my mind, I blocked out the love triangle thing. See my little rant section below bc I explained my thoughts on the third member of the love triangle there.
� The characters�
The main characters were extremely flat and dry. Again, the book clearly focused too much on the romance between them that it didn't have time to develop them as individuals. We got bits and pieces of Gideon's history with witches, and even less hints at Rune's upbringing. I can't even describe their personalities outside of the generic brooding bro (Gideon) and righteously naive (Rune).
I wish I could tell you about the side characters, but I've forgotten them all already.
� The writing and the atmosphere�
The writing was very simplistic, and while that made it very easy to read and very easy to get into the right vibes, this book won't win any points for brilliant writing. It borderlined on choppy sometimes.
� Now let me rant about this one thing� (minor spoilers for this section!)
This book was vile for its use of Alex as a plot device. This character had no point in the book other than to be used as a catalyst for actions that the MCs had to do. He had no real personality aside from being "the nice one". I was genuinely pissed at how his character played into the ending. ...more
Really a 2.5, but rounded up because I'm in denial.
Quick summary of my thoughts right after reading: + The way characters talked about themselves was iReally a 2.5, but rounded up because I'm in denial.
Quick summary of my thoughts right after reading: + The way characters talked about themselves was incredibly realistic. I ran into so many quotes that made me think, Yup, that pretty much sums up how I feel about myself. + I loved the way the author incorporated magic into this. Being able to sew emotions into clothes? *chef's kiss* - The characters constantly went into incredibly repeitive monologues about self-worth and I was just so over it after the second instance. - I know the author likes to focus on character development more than the plot, but there was just a lot of build up for the politics that didn't really see any solid resolution. - I didn't feel as much pain and yearning here as I did with Saft's other books.
Plot makes no sense + Jacks is boring + there's no actual romance... 2 stars because I wasn't totally mad at it while reading. Now I'm off to ruin anoPlot makes no sense + Jacks is boring + there's no actual romance... 2 stars because I wasn't totally mad at it while reading. Now I'm off to ruin another couple of days of my life by reading the sequels because I want to understand what the fuck is going on. ...more
aimee (aimeecanread)
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