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korry_tza's Reviews (405)
I have never been more convinced that the main characters are simply not for each other.
Romance is one of my preferred genres and I can say that no story so far has convinced me so clearly that Aiden is simply not the man for Claire.
But I digress.
The beginning was very promising. A broken heart, a high school love, a second chance, all the elements of the love equation were there. I was quite happy with the dialogue, which is the major part of how the book was written. My first complaint was the length of the chapters. They were just too short. I personally don't like long chapters but this was equally distracting to read. The POV (each a separate chapter) would change so often within the same scene. A 300+ page book has almost 100 chapters? But ok, that is something I could accept for the sake of a good story. Then came up another problem, the plot was a bit rushed but, we just started, everything is ok and I still like the writing style, let's continue. And then everything started to go downhill. Plot holes, weak world-building, side characters were cardboard, and then at the end, like a cherry on the top, the miscommunication trope which was one of the worst I've read. Like I said at the beginning, I just don't think these people are meant for each other, period.
But, what I have to emphasize, is that regardless of everything, the writing style especially the dialog, was really great. Easy to read, fast, organic.
I just think that this book could have had a much better story if it had gone through just one more edit.
I received this book as a dARC via NetGalley and this is my honest opinion.
Romance is one of my preferred genres and I can say that no story so far has convinced me so clearly that Aiden is simply not the man for Claire.
Spoiler
Miscommunication trope alert! Although one of the most hated tropes, it can be very well written and take the story in a whole new perspective, in this one it was a rock, a very heavy rock, that dragged them to the bottom.But I digress.
The beginning was very promising. A broken heart, a high school love, a second chance, all the elements of the love equation were there. I was quite happy with the dialogue, which is the major part of how the book was written. My first complaint was the length of the chapters. They were just too short. I personally don't like long chapters but this was equally distracting to read. The POV (each a separate chapter) would change so often within the same scene. A 300+ page book has almost 100 chapters? But ok, that is something I could accept for the sake of a good story. Then came up another problem, the plot was a bit rushed but, we just started, everything is ok and I still like the writing style, let's continue. And then everything started to go downhill. Plot holes, weak world-building, side characters were cardboard, and then at the end, like a cherry on the top, the miscommunication trope which was one of the worst I've read. Like I said at the beginning, I just don't think these people are meant for each other, period.
But, what I have to emphasize, is that regardless of everything, the writing style especially the dialog, was really great. Easy to read, fast, organic.
I just think that this book could have had a much better story if it had gone through just one more edit.
I received this book as a dARC via NetGalley and this is my honest opinion.
A wonderful debut novella.
A novella is a format that is, in my honest opinion, one of the hardest formats to write. It can easily be interpreted as something that lacks world-building, emotions, or character development and this one does quite the opposite.
The story grips you from the beginning and the course of its development is so easily transcribed through the experience of the young Kaub that there is no need to ask questions which answers your need to understand the storyline, but only the questions of what happens next. You will get invested in a world of learning what is permanent, what is real, and if the ending is just that - an ending, or just a start of something new with a new perception of things. A concept of change that is often something that we are afraid of and something that is a natural order of things.
Overall, I see an author with a promising future as a storyteller of worlds that will widen your horizons.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
A novella is a format that is, in my honest opinion, one of the hardest formats to write. It can easily be interpreted as something that lacks world-building, emotions, or character development and this one does quite the opposite.
The story grips you from the beginning and the course of its development is so easily transcribed through the experience of the young Kaub that there is no need to ask questions which answers your need to understand the storyline, but only the questions of what happens next. You will get invested in a world of learning what is permanent, what is real, and if the ending is just that - an ending, or just a start of something new with a new perception of things. A concept of change that is often something that we are afraid of and something that is a natural order of things.
Overall, I see an author with a promising future as a storyteller of worlds that will widen your horizons.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
This was a quick read for a nice, cozy afternoon.
Love finds a way even when you don't expect it.
Isabella is a strongminded woman who knows her value but when her life path crosses with the grumpy Mr.Willson she soon finds out how easily her walls are brought down by a new neighbor, whose heart she stole.
I loved the writing. You could feel the historical period in which the story was set and the dialog was organic and fluent.
However, I did have a few moments that pulled me out of the flow of enjoying the story while reading it.
The concept of a novella usually meets the criteria of an event in a short time period and in a specific location. While this story is confined to a certain location, what the author did was prolong the story with a few time jumps, which, I agree, worked for the story for the goal she was trying to achieve. What was bothering me were the steamy moments that felt a bit abrupt and out of place. It would be nice if we could see a bit more of a transition and logic for the moment to happen and not feel struck by it out of the blue.
Overall, I did enjoy reading Isabella's and Sillas's story and the world of Stanton's legacy, and I would recommend reading it.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Love finds a way even when you don't expect it.
Isabella is a strongminded woman who knows her value but when her life path crosses with the grumpy Mr.Willson she soon finds out how easily her walls are brought down by a new neighbor, whose heart she stole.
I loved the writing. You could feel the historical period in which the story was set and the dialog was organic and fluent.
However, I did have a few moments that pulled me out of the flow of enjoying the story while reading it.
The concept of a novella usually meets the criteria of an event in a short time period and in a specific location. While this story is confined to a certain location, what the author did was prolong the story with a few time jumps, which, I agree, worked for the story for the goal she was trying to achieve. What was bothering me were the steamy moments that felt a bit abrupt and out of place. It would be nice if we could see a bit more of a transition and logic for the moment to happen and not feel struck by it out of the blue.
Overall, I did enjoy reading Isabella's and Sillas's story and the world of Stanton's legacy, and I would recommend reading it.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
This book started great and with such an original idea. Starting from the FMC to the connection of the French historical architecture with the angles and birds (yeah! :)) I loved it!
The chapters are short (really short) and it was reading fast! The setting was there, the atmosphere, the enemy in sight, arranged marriage, the conspiracy. I loved the start.
The best part was the physical appearance of the FMC... she was bald! The symbolism that the hairstyle held was amazing, the taking away of someone's power and the the journey of gaining it back was something exciting to read.
Reaching the second third, the story starts to get rushed and the characters lack a deeper introduction to the reader. It lost the connection to the cause and the enemy part was bearly there, holding by the thread. Because I loved the start of the story and the idea that it was holding I kept on reading but by the middle of the book, the story got a bit slower regarding the world-building that i loved so much. In some parts, it was overexplained for the things that shouldn't be explained at all, and on the other hand, the world-building was lacking some information. The story turned solely on the few main characters while the world-building was slowly starting to be lost in the story. This is where I put down the book and it took me some time to get back to it.
Compared to the first part of the book, the second one was reading much, much slower.
The writing was ok, but the overexplaining bits could be edited out. We don't need to hear explanations of the characters for everything they do. That is what creates their personalities and a thin layer of mystery is always welcomed.
Overall I enjoyed a new perspective of the winged people and the connection to the real world, which makes this story somewhat relatable. I really wish the best for this author and hope to see more of new fresh ideas in the Romantasy realm.
Thank you Nerdfam and E.V. Sauvage for an eARC in exchange for my honest opinion!
The chapters are short (really short) and it was reading fast! The setting was there, the atmosphere, the enemy in sight, arranged marriage, the conspiracy. I loved the start.
The best part was the physical appearance of the FMC... she was bald! The symbolism that the hairstyle held was amazing, the taking away of someone's power and the the journey of gaining it back was something exciting to read.
Reaching the second third, the story starts to get rushed and the characters lack a deeper introduction to the reader. It lost the connection to the cause and the enemy part was bearly there, holding by the thread. Because I loved the start of the story and the idea that it was holding I kept on reading but by the middle of the book, the story got a bit slower regarding the world-building that i loved so much. In some parts, it was overexplained for the things that shouldn't be explained at all, and on the other hand, the world-building was lacking some information. The story turned solely on the few main characters while the world-building was slowly starting to be lost in the story. This is where I put down the book and it took me some time to get back to it.
Compared to the first part of the book, the second one was reading much, much slower.
The writing was ok, but the overexplaining bits could be edited out. We don't need to hear explanations of the characters for everything they do. That is what creates their personalities and a thin layer of mystery is always welcomed.
Overall I enjoyed a new perspective of the winged people and the connection to the real world, which makes this story somewhat relatable. I really wish the best for this author and hope to see more of new fresh ideas in the Romantasy realm.
Thank you Nerdfam and E.V. Sauvage for an eARC in exchange for my honest opinion!
How am I supposed to wait for the next book?
Amazing!
Since you are here, I presume you have read the previous books. I will not spare you from the possible spoilers. Be warned.
We already know where Barrett and Thalia's story ends and how much hurt that causes, yet this book explains so much of their journey towards each other in a perfect emotional way, with an ending that will shatter you into a million pieces.
It is such an amazing opportunity to see the growth of an author and get to see how her writing gets stronger with each book.
The world-building is perfectly set up and explained with intricate details throughout the struggles of Barrett, Thalia, Lucia, Micah… This is a perfect world expansion of the main story. I also loved how we got to see a bigger picture of the main characters of Of Shadow and Moonlight, but not in a single moment did it hurt the main characters of this story. This is a road you can easily slide off, but the author balanced it perfectly. The only thing that was a bit confusing was the fast time jumps at the beginning, but, very quickly, you get to see why they are important, and they add up so much to the story.
The characters were multilayered, you could see their internal struggle, their need to love and be loved, and there is a thin line between when the emotions take over and the reason is left behind.
Everyone's persona was well defined, and it mostly shows through the banter between the characters, which brought even more pain for the end that we knew was coming but still hit pretty hard.
Thank you Luna for giving me an eARC for this book. This review is my honest opinion.
Amazing!
Since you are here, I presume you have read the previous books. I will not spare you from the possible spoilers. Be warned.
We already know where Barrett and Thalia's story ends and how much hurt that causes, yet this book explains so much of their journey towards each other in a perfect emotional way, with an ending that will shatter you into a million pieces.
It is such an amazing opportunity to see the growth of an author and get to see how her writing gets stronger with each book.
The world-building is perfectly set up and explained with intricate details throughout the struggles of Barrett, Thalia, Lucia, Micah… This is a perfect world expansion of the main story. I also loved how we got to see a bigger picture of the main characters of Of Shadow and Moonlight, but not in a single moment did it hurt the main characters of this story. This is a road you can easily slide off, but the author balanced it perfectly. The only thing that was a bit confusing was the fast time jumps at the beginning, but, very quickly, you get to see why they are important, and they add up so much to the story.
The characters were multilayered, you could see their internal struggle, their need to love and be loved, and there is a thin line between when the emotions take over and the reason is left behind.
Everyone's persona was well defined, and it mostly shows through the banter between the characters, which brought even more pain for the end that we knew was coming but still hit pretty hard.
Thank you Luna for giving me an eARC for this book. This review is my honest opinion.
What I liked about the story was the adventure side of it, the sense of freedom that the main characters had.
But unfortunately, there were a few things that I didn't like.
The problem with this story is that instead of focusing on the moment, the author tried to pack the emotional development through some memories recollection and some fast emergency drama.
There were also quite a few convenient moments.
The story ending was just not working for me, it was too quick and not focused on just the moment or the day. The story was so overexplained in such a short format for the sake of understanding the emotion but I believe it did quite the opposite. It was rushed and at some parts of the dialogue it felt like an unfinished thought.
It was a 2.5 stars read, rounded to 3 stars.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
But unfortunately, there were a few things that I didn't like.
The problem with this story is that instead of focusing on the moment, the author tried to pack the emotional development through some memories recollection and some fast emergency drama.
There were also quite a few convenient moments.
The story ending was just not working for me, it was too quick and not focused on just the moment or the day. The story was so overexplained in such a short format for the sake of understanding the emotion but I believe it did quite the opposite. It was rushed and at some parts of the dialogue it felt like an unfinished thought.
It was a 2.5 stars read, rounded to 3 stars.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
