Glad I got sucked into the marketing & aesthetic of this one because it was so good. A mysterious horror lurks outside an elite boarding school where friends with a codependent relationship ended up spending more time fighting monsters than doing school work. It’s creepy, it’s queer, it’s moody. Lots of dark fairytale elements

A pick, but mostly for the last 30% of the book… easily could have been 100 pages shorter. 

The beginning was very slow & in almost excruciating detail (although Lila’s high seas antics helped a bit), & the book was more of a setup for book 3 than a completed story. BUT I liked the parts I liked enough to overlook that (I love a tournament plot line & a little romantic tension) 

“Sometimes it really does feel like a curse, the meaning I can attach to anything” 

 

I thought it would be a quick read, but it was told slowly & in excruciating detail. It’s good though: the female ADHD experience, the way her life circumstances (seemingly banal) made her a target, how she justifies the man’s actions to herself as well as others, & that feeling of not being able to “get over it.” 

Topical, but tragically will remain relevant

-Avikar is dealing with grief, feels responsible for the loss of his younger brother, now his sister is kidnapped. The chance to confront that guilt is SO surface level, it could have been complex. I want therapy here 

-Jeslyn (kidnapped sister) is so naive, hard to cheer for 

-NPC dialogue 

-Action scenes: fleeting/poorly described

Positives: GRRM displays his trademark genius with worldbuilding & lineages. Depth to consider the “author” perspectives through tel story. The action was immaculate. 

 

Negatives: I don’t think I had to read all of that. I missed the depth of the characters as they are told in a detached way. People would arrive, be a big deal for 1/2 a chapter & disappear into obscurity or die. Maybe their grandson would come kill someone later. Too many Aegons.

This was good! It started off a bit slow, tho I did like the author’s foreword about the serial killers in her area & that lurking fear over the community that shaped this story. But it got better & better. The disposition of the Girls felt very true to life. +the sinister behavior of men caught up in mob mentality +a sprinkling of female rage. So good

I think if I continue this series down the line I will read it with my eyeballs, I didn’t really care for this narrator. Just personal preference. 

 

I liked the multiple Londons, magic system & I even liked the characters …but for some reason the story never hooked me?

Oh my heart, a great finale to the trilogy! 

With the 3 MCs split up & facing their own grief & working toward their own goals there is SO MUCH going on. 1 side plot resolved too quickly for me…

if you give a Mouse a muffin you get to be Captain

but no major issues. Things are reiterated from different angles to be clear about the conspiracy, but the politicking isn’t overly simplified for the YA audience, showing most-but not all- people are trying to do the right thing but not without consequence

Bail at 30% 

I really liked this author’s Undead & Unwed series so I was excited to ready this but there’s too much going on. Were-bear detective/social workers trying to stop trafficking of were-kids. The FMC’s dialogue & internal narration was chaotic, & very bubbly for the surrounding plot. The love interests have made no moves towards eachother yet, & I don’t care if they do which doesn’t bode well for the rest of the book