dlrosebyh's Reviews (773)

Stella aspires to be a space engineer. Stella is forced to bring her aspirations down to reality after her mother commits suicide and her brother flees to Red Sun, the neighboring hippie commune, to care for her sister, Jill. 

 

Galliard has only known life within Red Sun. They tolerate his Tourette's syndrome there. But when he is denied Red Sun's resident artist position, which he assumed he was destined for, he begins to fantasize about a life outside the compound's walls. 

 

Something is in the air in Stella and Galliard's little village on the day they meet. Literally. Then weeks of pink lightning, bloodred rain, and strange storms begin, and a mysterious countdown clock rises over the town hall. With the clock ticking down to some big unknown end, they'll each have to make a decision. 

 

When you read the premise, you generally expect something strange to happen or the book to be chaotic, but this book was anything but that. It follows Stella's personal storyline, and as an older sibling, I found her point of view to be quite relatable and interesting—but also very boring. 

 

Stella and Galliard are both well-developed characters, however the author failed to capture my attention. I felt like skimming through the book, wondering when things would take up and when would the novel improve. Unfortunately, the book got repetitious, making the entire work flat. 

Eleanor and Fin were inseparable best friends. They are certain that this will always be the case. They do, however, promise to keep their lives entwined. And, of course, if they're both 35 and single, they'll marry. Eleanor and Fin haven't spoken in over a decade. They reside on different continents, yet they are separated by more than an ocean. Things has changed since their last meeting. Hence, when a newly single Fin emerges, they will be unable to honor their commitment. 

 

The problem with contemporary romance novels is that they all have promising premises but terrible executions. I mean, if you're writing a romance novel, you have to make sure the characters have chemistry, not simply check the boxes of popular tropes. If you want to write about friends turning into lovers, give me the yearning, or they should simply stay friends. 

 

I can't believe I just finished a 400-paged romance novel in which my aloe vera and I had more chemistry than the main characters. To begin with, the characters barely spoke to one another. They certainly talked a lot, but did they ever attempt to understand one other? Listen, I'm not sure if it was because of the second lead syndrome, but Ben was by far the better option. Fin and Eleanor clearly had chemistry when they were younger. Those were the only portions I liked. When it got to the present, they had absolutely no chemistry. Eleanor, leading someone on is not cool, by the way. 

Lazlo and Sarai are not the same people they were before the disaster. They both struggle to understand their new identities as ghosts and gods, respectively, as dark-minded Minya holds them captive in order to get revenge on Weep.

While Sarai is more powerless than ever, Lazlo must make the impossible decision of whether to save the woman he loves or everyone else. The muse of nightmares, Sarai, has yet to fully realize her potential since sometimes, only the most desperate need can teach us our own depths.

I suppose I liked everything about this sequel, with the exception of the fact that the primary plot didn't really get going until the 30% point. It wasn't as intense as the previous book in the series, but it was still quite enjoyable. I adored the character depth, and the cliffhanger really caught my attention. I truly believed that this was the final installment in the series.

If the cheating trope isn't one of your least favorite tropes, this novel is for you. Listen, I'm a sucker for good angst. I enjoy yearning, but not when someone is in a relationship. Not clear enough? Let me explain what happened in this book (contains spoilers). 

 

 

I don't think I need to say anything further except that this book did a wonderful job of putting my moral compass to the test. 

Instead of the other way around, the dream picks the dreamer, and Lazlo Strange, a war orphan and young librarian, has always worried that his dream made a poor decision. He's been obsessed with the fabled lost city of Weep since he was just five years old, but it would take someone more daring than him to go across the globe in quest of it. Then, in the shape of a hero known as the Godslayer and a group of legendary warriors, an incredible opportunity arises, and he must grasp it or forfeit his dream for all time.

As with any fantasy book, you have to be patient as the world building takes up 37273928393% of the book. Being bored with the world building at first—which is a big thing for me—left me a little hesitant of this book, but after I grasped it, I was fully immersed.

In a fantasy story, you would typically have to follow a number of characters, such as the sarcastic, arrogant side character, their love interest, and their toxic ex. The toxic ex is wanted by the duke, but the criminal is plotting to kill the duke, and so on. But I really like how the characters in this book were limited to a minimum. As the author also spent a lot of time developing their characters, it made me value them as characters more.

I kind of lost some of the fun because I guessed how it would end, but there is a cliffhanger. I can't wait to read the sequel because the first book was fantastic in and of itself. I'll undoubtedly become more engrossed in the world-building and fall in love with the characters even more than I already do.