literatureaesthetic's Reviews (540)

3.5 ☆

this was such a fun time!! it was quick-paced, action-packed, full of plot twists that i didn't see coming. i actually grew to reallly like the characters. it wasn't anything unique/original, and it probably won't have a long-lasting impact. but it was fun and i'm glad i read it.

i will say, there were a few cringey/overly dramatic scenes, and i do wish there were a lot more scientific explanations (it's perfect for people who are just getting into sci-fi!!), as well as one or two plot holes that were slightly jarring for me

i think i am gonna continue with the rest of the trilogy because i'm interested in seeing where these characters go, but i don't see the books being any more than 3 (maybe 3.5) ☆

kettle, marry me tbh

literally never gonna recover from this

read for uni || my fav part of this is when the dude was like, "porn is sexist, but it gives men a safe space and a sense of belonging, and that is far more important"

yeah..... no.


EDIT : all the overemotional men who genuinely triggered by this review.... stay mad lmao

surprisingly, i loved this book?? i always overlooked Will, he was the character that I found to be the least interesting. so i thought this book would be a chore to get through. i'm SO GLAD that wasn't the case.

Will was stunning. new favourite Horseman. how did i go from not caring at alll about this character, to quite literally simping over him?? idk.
he was sweet and caring and he was so infatuated with Emory... wow.

Emory i cared for slightly less, i sympathise with her character for sure, but she's not my fav protagonist in this series. PD managed to craft such complex and flawed characters, even though you kinda hate them at times, you still can't help but care for them.

ugh im obsessed.

i will say, i enjoyed majority of the book, but the denouement..... wow it felt like a cringey episode of Riverdale. i love PD's writing, but the last conflict of their romances are always my least favourite part of the story. they attempt to create an intense and dramatic action scene, and it always feels so cringey, it's truly painful to read. like it literally gives me the ick, and it is the only reason I didn't give this a full 5 stars.

I really hope PD writes more in this world, because it absolutely has potential

Overall for this series:

• Will & Damon are my fav horsemen
• Winter & Banks are my fav heroines
• Winter & Damon are my fav couple
• My fav book?? I would've said Nightfall, but there were parts within the last quarter that literally gave me second hand embarrassment, it was that cringey, so i guess it's now tied between Kill Switch and Nightfall?

i am suuper sad that this series is over though, which is surprising because I didn't think I cared that much for this world and these characters

dnf - page 146

Where do i even begin? I really wanted to love this. It has all the elements that I usually would adore in fantasy. Unfortunately, there was a lot that wasn't working for me.

Firstly, this book needs major editing. There were so many spelling mistakes, and awkwardly phrased sentences. Usually, I overlook things like that. But it was so frequent in this story, that it really did disrupt the flow.

The characters felt very archetypal and bland. No one stood out to me, which is bizarre because these are characters that should be extremely intriguing - we have an assassin, an empress, a warrior captain. I just wanted much more developed characters, they felt very two-dimensional. Almost like I was following a bunch of side characters that I couldn't care less about.

If you're someone who enjoys military fantasy novels, you might really enjoy this. i, unfortunately, find military fantasy books to be quite boring

Finally, some slightly problematic elements??

I've seen reviews where people have criticised the Asian represention in this book. Presenting Asians as barbaric savages, for example. The author is a white woman, I wonder if there was a Asian beta reader for this book?? Because there definitely should've been.
Unfortunately, that isn't all. I dnf'd right after the rape scene, which was just handled pretty badly, imo.

Not for me, unfortunately. So disappointed.

4.25 ☆

This is the second piece of work that I've read by Zora Neale Hurston, the first being her autobiography, Dust Tracks on a Road. I have to say, I liked this one slightly more.

The writing style in this novel, was absolutely stunning- so beautiful and lyrical. I also really really adored Janie. She was incredible. She's had a very tough life. A life that was at first defined by her grandma, and then her toxic husbands. And i feel like more than anything, this was a story of her coming into her own and finally regaining that control, indpendence and security.

I'm not sure if I'd go as far to as to say this was a feminist novel, but there was definitely commentary on the injustice and struggles faced by black women, and women of colour.

I just really loved it, and i hope Zora Neale Hurston has more work that I can get my hands on, because this was stunning.

I kinda wanted more from this? I feel like it started off well, but by the end I just was not interested. There was a lot of telling and not showing, especially when it came to character development. And the relationship really went from 0 to 100 within the span of a page, their relationship and feelings for each other switched SO FAST i got whiplash istg

I love it when men in books are really grumpy and serious, but I'm not sure.... with Alex, it just felt very overdone? He was trying so hard to be dark and mean and a *BaD GuY*, and i just wasn't buying into it. so cringey. Also, when i tell you this guy simply did NOT have a personality..... like grumpy male characters ≠ no personality, like it's not the same thing and this is actually one of my irrational pet peeves in books.

The sex scenes were hilarious to me, I'm sorry but what in the Breaking Dawn Part 1 Edward Cullen shit is this. Stroke so powerful, he was rearranging furniture

UGH THIS WAS STUNNING

Short, quick, steamy.... literally everything i was hoping it would be. i neeed a book following Natalie and Luca asap