natlonelyghost's Reviews (75)

Gave it the 3 chapters treatment and I really didn't got into the plot.

I think it might've been the constant reminder every 2 paragraphs that Nigel's father sucks as a person and deserves to be miserable. Like, ok I get it, let's move on pls. The cowboys couldn't keep me after how annoying this got after the fifth time.

I don't believe in hell but this must be what Satan gives people to read as torture.

It was like reading the life of a sidecharacter. And it was as interesting as that sound.

The writing wasn't bad, the worldbuilding is really interesting even, but God I was so bored all the way through. This is the first book in years I haven't highlighted or noted once, it's incredible even.

El's Pov is so infodump heavy you would read four long paragraphs in a row without a single action in it. Constantly. You leave with a great grasp of the world because of it, but it comes at a total expense of the actual plot being extremely sluggish. Everything that happen in this book feels like it would've taken 1/3 of the time for any other book in the same dangerous magic school genre to do.

Another reviewer said it would beneficiate being a multi pov, and I couldn't agree more. Specially with El's crushing sulking narration, it makes for such a dense experience that is not that fun to cut through. Having someone else's view would've balanced it out.

For such a exposition heavy book, it took me around 30% to find out El was a girl, somehow. And don't ask me how anyone in this book looks like, because beside hair and etinicities, I couldn't tell you at all.

Idk, just, not memorable, will not re-read anytime soon.