Vilandra
I loved this book! It's Shadowhunters meets X-Men. The chemistry/antagonism between the characters is so well done, and each character is its own. So often supporting characters are forgotten when doing the development, but that is definitely not the case here. I honestly could not put the book down - the story just pulls you further and further in. 5 stars!
This is a book that can appeal to readers of all ages - especially to anyone who has ever given up on love. The well-crafted characters and the book's imagery remind us of being almost-adults, navigating the minefield of friendships and dating. Instead of more of the same old, with this tale we get a story with a moral, a lesson we learn with the characters. The supernatural aspect of the story is subtly woven in to it, rather than hitting us over the head with it or using it as a crutch. I really enjoyed this book, and the memories and emotions it conjured.
The main downfall of this book is the shoehorning in of modern partisan political viewpoints where they don't fit into the surrounding text. I don't know if the original draft was re-edited to take advantage of the modern fashion to attack all things having to do with the founders, but it doesn't feel like it fits with the “on-topic” parts of the book. The author also has a tendency to overquote other historians, which could be cleaned up. This book has a lot of potential - with re-editing it could be a 4 or 5 star book.
I enjoyed the storyline of this book - the idea of it is very appealing. I found that the characters lacked depth, however - caricatures of suffragette and author rather than real personality. I also thought the interpersonal relationships seemed a bit “midlife crisis male fantasy” rather than feeling authentic.
The idea of this book is good, and it's clear the author has extensive knowledge of the area it's set in. But the writing of the male-female relationships takes you out of the story, with the female characters caricatures at best. The story would have been much better without the teenage-boy view of how couples interact.
