dbguide2's Reviews (863)

It's giving... Absolutely nothing 

I had read another book by Adam Sass so I did really want to read this. This was another one where I pushed myself to carry on reading. This was in First Person pov and I didn’t like it. The main character was very annoying – since it’s in first person, it’s more difficult to ignore. It was also quite predictable and I could see what was going to happen before well before the half-way mark. 

Everything... Is just bad 

Technically, I guess this is a 3.5 but I enjoyed it quite well so I bumped it up to 4 because it was cute. The characters did annoy me at times but they’re also kids so I let it slide quite a bit.

I went back and forth on whether I liked Jolina or not. Sometimes I would and then she would say or think something slightly annoying and then I wouldn’t like her again. But also she’s a child! Who’s recently moved to a new place so that almost gives her right to be annoying (in my eyes). In the end I did like her so that was good. I liked Claudine more but also I’m a sucker for the mean girl turns into a friend trope. It’s one of my favourites and I don’t mind seeing it repeatedly because I’ll enjoy it every time. I liked that both of them were cat and dog people and that was cute to see.

I did like how the book let both of them be messy and that didn’t bother me. Books should have kids be messy characters more often. It won’t make them annoying, they’re kids and a lot of people want messy characters nowadays. I really like messy characters and I think kids being messy make even more sense because, well, they’re kids! Their personalities are still developing, they’re still developing, and we shouldn’t force adult expectations about their personalities just because we’re adults (or insert your age here).

I liked the plot! It started out quickly and then wrapped up quickly as well. It’s under 300 pages so of course so the plot has to advance fast. It was a sweet one as it shows the start of a friendship that doesn’t start out the way you’d necessarily want it to. But friends can come in any ways and quite often from unlikely places.

I liked the low fantasy aspect of the book – I kept reading the synopsis before I picked it up because I didn’t know if it contained actual magic or like suggestive magic? But then I read and saw that it was magic – but also had that bit of suggestive magic. Or rather, your intentions and emotions influence your magic/the way you cast the spells. Which is something I like!

The other characters were sweet. I liked how close Jolina and Claudine were with their families and also might be friends with the other’s in the future. 

This was definitely longer than Queen of Roses – both in its pacing and the pages (nearly 300 pages longer haha) so this took a bit longer to read than the first book. But once I properly got into the book I really liked it and can’t wait to carry on with the other books. I like that it picks up immediately after the end of the first book. It allows us to easily remember what all happening in the previous book while introducing new plot points to the reader early on. I much prefer it when a sequel is set almost immediately after the previous book.

The character progression was great to see! As I’ve said multiple times (and will continue to) I love banter so so much and it only improves in here. Their relationship changes a lot and I liked it. They’re pushed to spend even more time together and I liked how that developed their personalities and relationship.

Morgan and Draven are both strong characters and I really love that he doesn’t push her down or act like he’s stronger than her. He loves that she’s strong. I really like it when the male main character, typically seen as “macho” and “the most powerful”, is fine and likes it when the female main character is stronger than the male.

We’re treated to a lot of Morgan’s background – finding out where Morgan’s from, what her power looks like. I do prefer characters who have to fully learn their magic, and don’t have those “instinctual magic” scenes. But I don’t mind it if the character, like in here, doesn’t really know they have magic – then I’m more okay with instinctual magic. We did get quite a good amount of that in here, so I’m happy but I can’t wait until she really digs deep into her power.

Her powers fit in a lot with the plot and I was happy to see that one didn’t overshadow the other one. That could always easily happen. I like it when the character really digs deep into their magic (especially when it’s tied to their emotions, like Morgan’s is).

The plot was a bit confusing here and there, I’ll admit, but I’m happy to see where the next book will take us! I’m ’bout halfway through the third book and it’s good! I think this will be a completed quartet this year I definitely recommend this series.

I know this is very short – under 200 pages. But so many short books manage to be around that length and it works. This wasn’t the case here. Most of the time it felt like the story was meant to be a full story. Like it was leading up to be a full horror story – 300 or more pages. Nearer to the end it seemed to remember it was actually meant to be a short book and moved the timeline up. That meant the ending’s pace didn’t match up with the rest of the book’s and that made for an unhappy reader. I’ve begun to realise I don’t like mismatched pacing in books.

I don’t really have much to say about the main character. She wasn’t really memorable? I liked that she was autistic (the author is too) but other than that I don’t really remember much of her. None of this book really stood out at all to me. I think I liked a bit of the mystery but obviously, not enough I would remember more.