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herbybib's Reviews (329)
3.5 stars!
This was a very fun romance book and a nice change of pace from others I’ve read. It had all the fluffiness (and occasional cringe) that you’d expect, with a really lovely touch of coziness, whimsy, and intrigue.
Like many romance novels, it requires some suspension of disbelief that was initially challenging for me, but once I sunk in to the experience I had a good, comforting time and that’s honestly all I could ask for!
This was a very fun romance book and a nice change of pace from others I’ve read. It had all the fluffiness (and occasional cringe) that you’d expect, with a really lovely touch of coziness, whimsy, and intrigue.
Like many romance novels, it requires some suspension of disbelief that was initially challenging for me, but once I sunk in to the experience I had a good, comforting time and that’s honestly all I could ask for!
3.25 stars.
This is a slow-burn queer fantasy romance with a lot to love and a little that left me wanting. The political dilemmas are intriguing, the characters delightful, the tension delicious, the anxiety rep well-done and genuine, as was the queer rep. That being said, the pacing was a little too slow and certain aspects went relatively unexplored or conveniently resolved in a way that felt incongruous to the central plot of the story.
As much as I respect and appreciate a standalone fantasy, I really do think that most of my problems with this could have been fixed had the story been broken up into a duology.
This is, all things considered, a good problem for a book to have. I wouldn’t have sacrificed any of the character dynamics and relationships developed for the sake of the plot being more thoroughly investigated, I just think it would’ve been more satisfying to have separated this into two distinct stories with their own central focuses.
The first book could been dedicated more to exploration of the magic system and political machinations, settling some of the conflict, sexual tension, and the external forces vexing the Mahistis.
The full conclusion could then take its time in second story, following how Kadou and Evemer deal with their personal dilemma as well as how Zahiya handles not only their situation but that of Siranos and Silvia. We could see Tadek and Eozena heal and process the events of the first novel.
In that way, readers would also have more time with the characters and world that I found genuinely wonderful, and maybe had a bit more spicy scenes too.
This is a slow-burn queer fantasy romance with a lot to love and a little that left me wanting. The political dilemmas are intriguing, the characters delightful, the tension delicious, the anxiety rep well-done and genuine, as was the queer rep. That being said, the pacing was a little too slow and certain aspects went relatively unexplored or conveniently resolved in a way that felt incongruous to the central plot of the story.
As much as I respect and appreciate a standalone fantasy, I really do think that most of my problems with this could have been fixed had the story been broken up into a duology.
This is, all things considered, a good problem for a book to have. I wouldn’t have sacrificed any of the character dynamics and relationships developed for the sake of the plot being more thoroughly investigated, I just think it would’ve been more satisfying to have separated this into two distinct stories with their own central focuses.
The first book could been dedicated more to exploration of the magic system and political machinations, settling some of the conflict, sexual tension, and the external forces vexing the Mahistis.
The full conclusion could then take its time in second story, following how Kadou and Evemer deal with their personal dilemma as well as how Zahiya handles not only their situation but that of Siranos and Silvia. We could see Tadek and Eozena heal and process the events of the first novel.
In that way, readers would also have more time with the characters and world that I found genuinely wonderful, and maybe had a bit more spicy scenes too.
what a feat of translation.
though I’ve only seen people speak about the overt queerness of this narrative, it also resonated with me as an allegory for disability. for such a short work of fiction, it packed a serious punch, and did so in a way that was somehow humorous, absurd, experimental and delightfully gory. it is unsettling yet intimate, and leaves the reader with much to consider. i’ll definitely be thinking about this one for a while.
though I’ve only seen people speak about the overt queerness of this narrative, it also resonated with me as an allegory for disability. for such a short work of fiction, it packed a serious punch, and did so in a way that was somehow humorous, absurd, experimental and delightfully gory. it is unsettling yet intimate, and leaves the reader with much to consider. i’ll definitely be thinking about this one for a while.
3.5!
I really enjoyed this, I just wish it had been a little longer. It feels like there was a lot here that went unexplored and I wanted more!
I really enjoyed this, I just wish it had been a little longer. It feels like there was a lot here that went unexplored and I wanted more!
An even three stars.
Honestly, I thought this would be a lot more fun than it ended up being. I love an unhinged main character as much as the next person, but this one read more sad and desperate to me. (Ironic, because the MC Alex is always talking about how she needs to take care not to come across that way.)
There wasn’t anything really wrong with this work, and maybe the author’s intention was to expose the unhinged MC for what lies beneath, I just wish it would have been a little more exciting in its execution and less, well, lackluster. The first half of this story was totally captivating, but it fell flat through the second half.
Honestly, I thought this would be a lot more fun than it ended up being. I love an unhinged main character as much as the next person, but this one read more sad and desperate to me. (Ironic, because the MC Alex is always talking about how she needs to take care not to come across that way.)
There wasn’t anything really wrong with this work, and maybe the author’s intention was to expose the unhinged MC for what lies beneath, I just wish it would have been a little more exciting in its execution and less, well, lackluster. The first half of this story was totally captivating, but it fell flat through the second half.