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chunky_punks_kindle 's review for:
The Coven
by Harper L. Woods
challenging
dark
tense
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Thanks to NetGalley & Random House for this e-ARC.
I honestly wasn't sure what to expect from this book after reading so many negative reviews on Goodreads, but now that I've read it myself I feel the amount of negativity is unjustified.
It's fast paced and there's not a huge amount of scene setting or build up before it jumps straight into the action. So it does feel a bit rushed at times. But, it's not badly written, I actually thought the world building was perfect for DA, expectedly dark, gothic & atmospheric.
I wasn't a big fan of Grays chapters, tbh I don't think they were wholly necessary, I feel like the whole book could have been from Willows POV without compromising the story, I just didn't feel like his chapters contributed to anything other than his obsession & lust for Willow. He didn't add much to the plot.
There were moments that made me feel uncomfortable, but in the way that horror/dark romance typically does. Again, these moments were well written and just enough to make your skin prickle. I really liked Willows character and her magic, the only thing that frustrated me was how quickly she switched her feelings towards Gray, and this continues throughout from hate to love to trust to hate and back, and so on.... it was just confusing and inconsistent, the same with Gray and his 'feelings' towards Willow, even though it is repeated throughout that he can't feel or love. This was conflicting.
The ending, although slightly predictable, was perfect and redeems the whole book for me. I'm not in any rush to read book 2, but I probably will pick it up in the future to see how it all plays out and how the story ends.
I wanted to finish this review by saying that in the negative reviews I've read, a lot of them focus on the Teacher/student relationship and how inappropriate it is, I would like to point out that A. Willow is 20, this is mentioned within the first few chapters, she is not underage and not a child, and B. The trigger warnings are right there at the start of the book, so this relationship is no surprise.
I honestly wasn't sure what to expect from this book after reading so many negative reviews on Goodreads, but now that I've read it myself I feel the amount of negativity is unjustified.
It's fast paced and there's not a huge amount of scene setting or build up before it jumps straight into the action. So it does feel a bit rushed at times. But, it's not badly written, I actually thought the world building was perfect for DA, expectedly dark, gothic & atmospheric.
I wasn't a big fan of Grays chapters, tbh I don't think they were wholly necessary, I feel like the whole book could have been from Willows POV without compromising the story, I just didn't feel like his chapters contributed to anything other than his obsession & lust for Willow. He didn't add much to the plot.
There were moments that made me feel uncomfortable, but in the way that horror/dark romance typically does. Again, these moments were well written and just enough to make your skin prickle. I really liked Willows character and her magic, the only thing that frustrated me was how quickly she switched her feelings towards Gray, and this continues throughout from hate to love to trust to hate and back, and so on.... it was just confusing and inconsistent, the same with Gray and his 'feelings' towards Willow, even though it is repeated throughout that he can't feel or love. This was conflicting.
The ending, although slightly predictable, was perfect and redeems the whole book for me. I'm not in any rush to read book 2, but I probably will pick it up in the future to see how it all plays out and how the story ends.
I wanted to finish this review by saying that in the negative reviews I've read, a lot of them focus on the Teacher/student relationship and how inappropriate it is, I would like to point out that A. Willow is 20, this is mentioned within the first few chapters, she is not underage and not a child, and B. The trigger warnings are right there at the start of the book, so this relationship is no surprise.