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This book took a very long time for me to get through and I had to force myself through most of it. That alone makes me sad because I really wanted to enjoy this book more than I did with it being a historical and interracial romance from a period *other* than the Civil War. But for me the execution missed the mark. A lot of this had to do with the trope of misunderstanding being dragged out way longer than it should have been on both parts.
The hero was an emo man-boy for roughly the first quarter/two-thirds of the book, not believing the heroine and what she said his family did even while being very aware that they were racist as all get out. In truth, he was completely unlikeable for most of the book and it was only his efforts at the end that edged this book to the three stars. The heroine wasn’t all that great herself since she didn’t seem to have much of a backbone at all until almost the very end of the book. Again, eventually she did at the same time Ewan become somewhat marginally likeable, but that was towards the end of the book before either didn’t make me groan and/or roll my eyes every other page.
It’s not that I’m not a fan of the misunderstanding trope because when done well it is enjoyable. It just dragged on too long in this book and the cycle got tedious very quickly. It also took the story entirely too long to find its footing and direct path. Some of the phrasing used also seemed out of period or misplaced for the situation so that was a bit jarring. Overall, this book just dragged, and the hero and the heroine required more patience than necessary from each other and the reader to be thought of as endearing.
The hero was an emo man-boy for roughly the first quarter/two-thirds of the book, not believing the heroine and what she said his family did even while being very aware that they were racist as all get out. In truth, he was completely unlikeable for most of the book and it was only his efforts at the end that edged this book to the three stars. The heroine wasn’t all that great herself since she didn’t seem to have much of a backbone at all until almost the very end of the book. Again, eventually she did at the same time Ewan become somewhat marginally likeable, but that was towards the end of the book before either didn’t make me groan and/or roll my eyes every other page.
It’s not that I’m not a fan of the misunderstanding trope because when done well it is enjoyable. It just dragged on too long in this book and the cycle got tedious very quickly. It also took the story entirely too long to find its footing and direct path. Some of the phrasing used also seemed out of period or misplaced for the situation so that was a bit jarring. Overall, this book just dragged, and the hero and the heroine required more patience than necessary from each other and the reader to be thought of as endearing.
Honestly, I’m not usually one for fantasy stories. “Urban fantasy” is about as far as I will go with Harry Dresden series. This book was an interesting one since it’s not exactly full fantasy nor is it urban fantasy. Apart from being ‘New Adult’ I’m not sure what I would classify it as. In a way, it turns the “Chosen One” trope on its head and does it with a unique flair and voice and is a promising venture into what may be a new genre altogether, which is kind of exciting in and of itself.
I did enjoy this book, but I will warn that it takes a while for it to really take off. I think this is more for the author wanting to establish not just the world(s) the story takes place in but the characters as well. So, while I was genuinely excited to read this book, it took a bit to get fully immersed in the story. And then there was a period where I couldn’t put it down (roughly about halfway through) and ended up finishing it in the span of one day.
Even though I did manage to finish it in one sitting, towards the end though, the opposite of what happened at the beginning occurred, with the action being akin to a snowball rolling down a hill and so many twists and turns happening that it can be hard to keep up. And then that action just stops with things go back to being mundane until the end. Things seem to happen so rapidly that it was tough for me to connect it in my brain as I was reading. I didn’t feel like I was lost though, if that makes sense. It just felt like there was a drastic 180 towards the end in the pacing and scenery of the novel. Which, of course, is a cliffhanger because it’s intended to be a series.
There are a lot of characters in this story, and no one is unimportant or a one-off character. I’m not sure if that is intended since it is a bit ambitious, but I suppose only time will tell as the rest of the series rolls out. It is also important to note that a lot of these characters are introduced as ambiguous meaning you don’t know if Zri (and by extension the reader) can really trust them.
While there were a few grammatical errors and formatting issues, these are things that can easily be cleaned up and updated. There were also a couple of spots where it seems like names got confused, mainly with the two who are really the ‘main’ ones (to say more would be spoiler-y). A piece of advice I would have for the next one is to have a cast of characters at the beginning. May seem a bit old fashioned but it can help to keep track of who’s who in a story where a lot of the names are similar or start with the same letter. Plus, since there is a large amount of them so that would probably be appreciated in keeping the characters straight, so they don’t feel like they need to re-read the first story when the second one comes out. All in all, a truly enjoyable read and would recommend.
I did enjoy this book, but I will warn that it takes a while for it to really take off. I think this is more for the author wanting to establish not just the world(s) the story takes place in but the characters as well. So, while I was genuinely excited to read this book, it took a bit to get fully immersed in the story. And then there was a period where I couldn’t put it down (roughly about halfway through) and ended up finishing it in the span of one day.
Even though I did manage to finish it in one sitting, towards the end though, the opposite of what happened at the beginning occurred, with the action being akin to a snowball rolling down a hill and so many twists and turns happening that it can be hard to keep up. And then that action just stops with things go back to being mundane until the end. Things seem to happen so rapidly that it was tough for me to connect it in my brain as I was reading. I didn’t feel like I was lost though, if that makes sense. It just felt like there was a drastic 180 towards the end in the pacing and scenery of the novel. Which, of course, is a cliffhanger because it’s intended to be a series.
There are a lot of characters in this story, and no one is unimportant or a one-off character. I’m not sure if that is intended since it is a bit ambitious, but I suppose only time will tell as the rest of the series rolls out. It is also important to note that a lot of these characters are introduced as ambiguous meaning you don’t know if Zri (and by extension the reader) can really trust them.
While there were a few grammatical errors and formatting issues, these are things that can easily be cleaned up and updated. There were also a couple of spots where it seems like names got confused, mainly with the two who are really the ‘main’ ones (to say more would be spoiler-y). A piece of advice I would have for the next one is to have a cast of characters at the beginning. May seem a bit old fashioned but it can help to keep track of who’s who in a story where a lot of the names are similar or start with the same letter. Plus, since there is a large amount of them so that would probably be appreciated in keeping the characters straight, so they don’t feel like they need to re-read the first story when the second one comes out. All in all, a truly enjoyable read and would recommend.
