Tea
Added to listOwnedwith 13 books.
If you're looking for dystopian, it's not in the room with us. It's going to be more accurate to approach this book as a romantasy that has a dystopian visual filter on it.
Otherwise, the things I liked about this book was few and far between. However, I really did enjoy reading the second half of the book, despite feeling like the first half was a bit of a drag at times.
There definitely were moments where the plot felt very vague, I couldn't understand why attraction was such a large factor throughout the book (this could just be me, not having enough life experience), some chapters it felt like were thrown in to simply beef up the page count and kinda allude to something else in the story or the characters. I am more of a person where even a good side character will help keep me reading and I fell in love with multiple characters throughout this book. I also loved the idea of sharing several reports/assignment grades throughout the book! It was really fun to see a bit more about the other characters and what they might've thought and could behave like.
The hard choices made honestly, were impossible to make especially in the situation that the mc was in. However, with every choice made, it becomes more clear that the mc prioritizes their conscience being as clear as possible, over the desires and wants of the other person. Then expects the person to forgive them within a couple months, since what happened was significantly better than what should've happened. The mc also is incredibly lucky that main romantic lead, happens to be who they are because if they weren't this book would be fundamentally different on so many different levels but also the plot (or what little there typically is there) would have to be different, since so many things that happened in this book only happened because the romantic lead is who they were.
Some of the twists throughout the book had me shook, others felt very cliche, some were easily predictable. Plus, plenty of people haunt the narrative. The main character at the beginning and end of the book they do feel a bit unrecognizable in some aspects in both a good and bad way, they're in a constant state of tug-of-war and they find comfort or solace in specific people. Almost a constant war inside them to do what they must to survive, but it also requires them to go against some of their most fundamental beliefs about themselves.
If you're looking for dystopian, it's not in the room with us. It's going to be more accurate to approach this book as a romantasy that has a dystopian visual filter on it.
Otherwise, the things I liked about this book was few and far between. However, I really did enjoy reading the second half of the book, despite feeling like the first half was a bit of a drag at times.
There definitely were moments where the plot felt very vague, I couldn't understand why attraction was such a large factor throughout the book (this could just be me, not having enough life experience), some chapters it felt like were thrown in to simply beef up the page count and kinda allude to something else in the story or the characters. I am more of a person where even a good side character will help keep me reading and I fell in love with multiple characters throughout this book. I also loved the idea of sharing several reports/assignment grades throughout the book! It was really fun to see a bit more about the other characters and what they might've thought and could behave like.
The hard choices made honestly, were impossible to make especially in the situation that the mc was in. However, with every choice made, it becomes more clear that the mc prioritizes their conscience being as clear as possible, over the desires and wants of the other person. Then expects the person to forgive them within a couple months, since what happened was significantly better than what should've happened. The mc also is incredibly lucky that main romantic lead, happens to be who they are because if they weren't this book would be fundamentally different on so many different levels but also the plot (or what little there typically is there) would have to be different, since so many things that happened in this book only happened because the romantic lead is who they were.
Some of the twists throughout the book had me shook, others felt very cliche, some were easily predictable. Plus, plenty of people haunt the narrative. The main character at the beginning and end of the book they do feel a bit unrecognizable in some aspects in both a good and bad way, they're in a constant state of tug-of-war and they find comfort or solace in specific people. Almost a constant war inside them to do what they must to survive, but it also requires them to go against some of their most fundamental beliefs about themselves.
I read this book multiple years too late (not that I would've been able to read it earlier, it didn't exist but still).
I'm really torn about this book. For me right now, it honestly was a meh read. I couldn't easily follow the narrative tone (it felt like it switched character pov multiple times within a chapter), I didn't vibe with how it was written, and I really couldn't get invested into the story no matter how hard I tried. The first third of the book felt like it dragged, and the only part that was really interesting ended quickly and felt rather rushed through. Which was probably the point since it was a high-stakes situation (or as high-stakes as this book gets) and it would be best to get in and get out. It was an exploration, a fantasy slice-of-life, a dive into the world that would've enveloped my younger self and appeal to everything that they wanted out of a story. I think for me right now, this book ended up hovering around 3 to 3.5 stars. (I rated the book 4 stars to meet in the middle with my kid self, I might bump it up to 4.5 stars though.)
If it was my younger self reading this story, it would've easily been a 5 star or pretty dang close to it. It had the magic, it had the immersion, the humor, the characters practically leapt out of the page and felt like you could touch them, talk to them, learn more about them past what made it onto the page. I'm sure if I read this story a couple years ago, I would've been jealous of the cast. I would've loved to live in the magical kingdom and I probably would've thrived in it. It felt like home, a place that I could've had the chance to visit but I never got to. I loved how much of their lives was altered due to a child daring to dream, and dream, and dream. A child wanting a family, and a place of belonging, and a home, and a place of safety so strongly that it's changed everything for the cast. A glimmer of home that was inherently gifted but also carved out of love, home, yearning.
I would've loved this book several years ago, so it feels really bittersweet. I right now am unable to fully appreciate this story because it doesn't appeal to my tastes. But reading it felt like I was getting a treat that I thought I couldn't get because my parent's would've told me no, realized I'm an adult and got it anyways. It was healing, it was indulgent, it was doing that wild thing that I've always secretly wanted to do but never did until I realized I could and gave myself permission to do so.
My kid self loves this book and I worry that I don't indulge them enough in my life. It was nice getting a taste of home, of my childhood, of magic, and everything my life used to consist of. I think this book will hold a spot in my heart because of that. It made me feel like a child again and I miss being a child whose imagination was a blanket of comfort.
I read this book multiple years too late (not that I would've been able to read it earlier, it didn't exist but still).
I'm really torn about this book. For me right now, it honestly was a meh read. I couldn't easily follow the narrative tone (it felt like it switched character pov multiple times within a chapter), I didn't vibe with how it was written, and I really couldn't get invested into the story no matter how hard I tried. The first third of the book felt like it dragged, and the only part that was really interesting ended quickly and felt rather rushed through. Which was probably the point since it was a high-stakes situation (or as high-stakes as this book gets) and it would be best to get in and get out. It was an exploration, a fantasy slice-of-life, a dive into the world that would've enveloped my younger self and appeal to everything that they wanted out of a story. I think for me right now, this book ended up hovering around 3 to 3.5 stars. (I rated the book 4 stars to meet in the middle with my kid self, I might bump it up to 4.5 stars though.)
If it was my younger self reading this story, it would've easily been a 5 star or pretty dang close to it. It had the magic, it had the immersion, the humor, the characters practically leapt out of the page and felt like you could touch them, talk to them, learn more about them past what made it onto the page. I'm sure if I read this story a couple years ago, I would've been jealous of the cast. I would've loved to live in the magical kingdom and I probably would've thrived in it. It felt like home, a place that I could've had the chance to visit but I never got to. I loved how much of their lives was altered due to a child daring to dream, and dream, and dream. A child wanting a family, and a place of belonging, and a home, and a place of safety so strongly that it's changed everything for the cast. A glimmer of home that was inherently gifted but also carved out of love, home, yearning.
I would've loved this book several years ago, so it feels really bittersweet. I right now am unable to fully appreciate this story because it doesn't appeal to my tastes. But reading it felt like I was getting a treat that I thought I couldn't get because my parent's would've told me no, realized I'm an adult and got it anyways. It was healing, it was indulgent, it was doing that wild thing that I've always secretly wanted to do but never did until I realized I could and gave myself permission to do so.
My kid self loves this book and I worry that I don't indulge them enough in my life. It was nice getting a taste of home, of my childhood, of magic, and everything my life used to consist of. I think this book will hold a spot in my heart because of that. It made me feel like a child again and I miss being a child whose imagination was a blanket of comfort.