Lyndsey

This book was a fun quick read. A solid 3/5 on my own scale below.
I liked how the story was told from different perspectives - however the introduction of a third perspective over half way through was a bit jarring.
I liked how the world is run by dragons and not humans it was a fun take.
I struggled with how quickly Kaida who did not know she had magic was able to wield and control it when, by all accounts, it takes years to learn.
I look forward to reading the next book in the series.


Rating scale:

1 ⭐️ Didn't like it all.
2 ⭐️ Wasn't worth the read, was boring, or problematic to me.
3 ⭐️ Fair or good read. Fun but nothing profound. May have interesting characters, themes, or plot items. May have flaws but I can overlook them.
4 ⭐️ Good or great read.
5 ⭐️ Perfect or as near to as possible.

To be fair, if I could give this a half star, my rating would be 1.5.

For a lot of the book nothing really happens - just a sequence of moving about. Books about being on the run don't do anything for me - but I realise that is personal preference.

It was just problematic for me.
- Kaida's father just appears - no questions asked, no work on getting to know each other, asking questions about her mother.
- Queen Lita. I just didn't get what that was all about (maybe we will find out).
- No further exploration of ancient magic.
- Some cringe interaction between characters.


1 ⭐️ Didn't like it all.
2 ⭐️ Wasn't worth the read, was boring or problematic to me.
3 ⭐️ Fair or good read. Fun but nothing profound. May have interesting characters, themes or plot items. May have flaws but I can overlook them.
4 ⭐️ Good or great read.
5 ⭐️ Perfect or as near to as possible.

Series of short stories. Some were better than others.

I know the book is about The Rapture but I found the religious aspects just too much.

Read this because someone at work suggested it.
First half I didn't like at all.
Second half was better.
I liked the concept of death as a person.
The main character was so naive and soporific.

Ridiculous. Enough said.

Although I thought this book was poorly written I did find it entertaining. I went along with the time and space jumping and the witchcraft. But Aliens! The last chapter turned the corner to ridiculous.

What happened?
Where was the plot?
Where were the characters? Where did they go?
This great prophecy that never really came to pass.
There were whole chapters of repetition that were unnecessary.
There were scenes and chapters that I was just embarrassed to read.
Even the language and descriptors made it feel as though the world build (as simple as it was) wasn't there anymore.
I found it very 1 to 2 dimensional.
I wasn't expecting complex world building or multi layered plot lines but I accepted it for what it was.
However this last part wast just sad.

If there is a word to describe prose, or even a person who writes prose, that contains numerous esoteric and unusual words that most people would never have heard of - well I am sure the author will know it.

The language used in this book almost made it unreadable.

Also the subject matter is pretty grotesque.

I saw some really positive and good reviews for this book but all I can say is that it wasn't for me.

It was a good job it was short.

Super cute cosy fantasy.
I liked it a lot.

Thought it was a quirky, quick read. Not sure what happened with that ending though. Bizarre.

What the heck did I read?
I really need to stop getting book recs from social media.
I would have given this book zero stars if it were possible. It is terrible.
0/10 do not recommend.
Really need to learn how to DNF a book.

I liked this book - and - then it got weird.
I did find some aspects problematic.
I found the comment that Aurelia made to Selene about Harlow at the end of the book distasteful and no way for parents to be speaking about their daughter.
I also found the epilogue and how they referred to her awful as well.
A book so richly written ruined by coarseness right at the end.
I also found how the other characters treated he quite worrying. Clearly she was traumatised but hey let's set her up ‘for the season', truss her up for market, and pair her off to save the family shop.
She was treated poorly by her family and clearly her parents weren't all that interested in trying to help her. They would rather comment on her clothes.

That being said. I liked Harlow. She wasn't perfect. She had self esteem and self worth issues and she was trying to work on herself and through it. She made mistakes that had consequences. She came back after some time away and tried.

I disliked this.
Guessed the twist about a third of the way in.
The story was predictable.

The plot was either women being overly focused on their career, their kid, their family or their partner. It wasn't nuanced at all. Made the characters one dimensional and not very interesting.

I also didn't like how the author kept chucking in fancy words. Don't get me wrong I like a word that I haven't seen before and enjoy looking it up and learning something new. However in this book it felt like she was forcing them in to elevate a book that really didn't need it.

Intriguing premise, well written, and as I listened to this as an audiobook it was well performed.

Ultimately, I think this wasn't for me. There were a couple of chapters I liked, a couple I really didn't, and some that felt disjointed from the rest.



1 ⭐️ Didn't like it all.
2 ⭐️ Wasn't worth the read, was boring or problematic to me.
3 ⭐️ Fair or good read. Fun but nothing profound. May have interesting characters, themes or plot items. May have flaws but I can overlook them.
4 ⭐️ Good or great read.
5 ⭐️ Perfect or as near to as possible.

Actual rating 2.5 stars.
I liked and disliked this book in equal measure - hence the rating.

First half of the book was 2 stars. At times it felt like a job to continue with the story. So slow, so much information being put at there, how can anyone remember it all.

Second half of the book was better - it just took so long to get there.

The POV changes were a bit jarring - one page it was one character and the next someone else. I really don't mind changes in POV at all but mid chapter like that and sometimes multiple times within a chapter.

The Hunt/Bryce romance left me feeling... embarrassed. They were so horny all the time and found myself disengaged with their relationship because of it. The scene on the ship almost made me stop reading. Does the relationship lack depth??? Nuance???

Felt a bit embarrassed for Bryce - she really didn't know her best friend at all.

Don't get me started on the 500 year old male with the teenage/early 20s trope.

Ruhn - glad to have more story for him. I did guess who Day was but glad that we got to find out more about him.

Did the book feel too male dominated? Where are the other female characters? Felt like it was Bryce surrounded by men (who are fawning over her. Creepy).

Also , if ‘Mates' are so rare - why are there some many of them?

Not really interested in the mer - for me that was the most boring parts of it.

I do not know how I feel about the ending and the crossover.

I do know that the next book I read is not going to be so long. 450-500 page (or less) for at least the next couple (lol).

Terrible.
Would not recommend.

Urgh. This is quite possibly the worst book i've read in a long time. Firstly it's not a story about witches or magic it is a witch-vampire romance and a pedestrian one at that. It's the usual over bearing and controlling vampire with a passive witch. The real shame is the missed potential to tell a really good story. But instead it got lost in describing the romance and the unnecessary historical detail. I struggled for three weeks to get through it and it wasn't enjoyable. The only highlights were the witches house which has a character of its own and Tabitha the cat. They were enough to earn one star. But unfortunately neither are good enough for me to recommend anyone to read this.

I “read” this as an audiobook and thought the narration was very good.

I did enjoy - mostly but it is long. At 640 pages I have read longer books. But this felt long.

The book is told moving back and forth from the past to the present. I did enjoy the past storyline much more.

The present storyline did ever get to fruition for me. It seemed to be focused on celebrity and unnecessary backstory for those characters which ultimately never really cumulated to anything. The story in relation to filming the movie didn't get off the ground for me. So I wasn't sure what its purpose was. Perhaps I have missed something.

Gothic but not horror is, in my opinion, the better way to describe it. It's spooky in places but not scary.

For all its 600+ pages I was left wanting more of the past story and ‘the French connection' if you will permit me to use that term. Maybe that was the author's intention.

I did enjoy a lot of the book but not it all.

So 3/5 for me.

Scale:

1 = bad
2 = okay
3 = good
4 = great
5 = excellent

(Ratings 3 to 5 can be given even if the book is not perfect but there was an enhancing factor such as readability, enjoyment, or a certain spark).

I thought the book started well and I really liked the concept. But I thought it got a bit ‘same-y' after a while and I guessed how it was going to end pretty early on. I do get the author's message though and I know that it comes from a sincere place from his personal experience.

This book is weird.
It is missing something - which I refer to as ‘charm' but I am not sure that is quite right.

I haven't yet decided on a rating.

I liked the idea of the book. It's well written and I really like Misaki's arc. I also liked the magic systems. How the author wove the different languages in with the primary language of English was excellent. It could have been jarring but it wasn't and worked well.

That being said I did find the book hard going and I think that it was just simply not a book for me. Which is okay.

3 or 3.5 can't decide.
The story wasn't what I thought it would be from reading the description - it was more YA when I was expecting something more more dark.
What was jarring was the main character was supposed to be the worlds best assassin and yet she behave like a bratty school girl.
NGL sign me up for the next one. Apparently they get better.

Update 17/01/2023: Just read Crown if Midnight. So this is definitely 3 stars.

1 ⭐️ Didn't like it all.
2 ⭐️ Wasn't worth the read, was boring or problematic to me.
3 ⭐️ Fair or good read. Fun but nothing profound. May have interesting characters, themes or plot items. May have flaws but I can overlook them.
4 ⭐️ Good or great read.
5 ⭐️ Perfect or as near to as possible.

I would have given this 3.5 stars if half stars were allowed.

Chaol is a character who I believe was given the short end of the stick in previous books. Used by Celeana and Aelin as a punching bag and to be blamed for a multitude of things that they both had also done.

I liked this book. Though I thought there were parts of the ending that were too cheesy and cringey. It was an interesting study in PTSD and the anguish of the many forms of grief. How a person can take what happens to them and lose themselves in it. What it takes to be able to face that and try to heal.

It's a shame he Chaol had to find new friends to help him. Because the ones he was supposed to have weren't there for him at all.

I was also glad of a reprieve from all the Aelin and Aelin/Rowan nonsense which has grown significantly irritating in my view.

Can definitely see the influences of Game of Thrones and particularly The Lord of the Rings.