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zombecrustacean's Reviews (189)
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐🐊🐊🐊
While I had guessed the plot twist towards the beginning of the book, I still managed to be in suspense with every turn of the page. This book portrayed a gnawing anxiety and the unraveling of a mystery so incredibly well. Also impressive was the likeability of the narrator. I often find myself struggling with period pieces, but the author did an excellent job of making the characters engaging and relatable with their humor, mannerisms, and realistic reactions to the otherness penetrating their lives.
I loved learning about Easton's village and the culture of the people there. The descriptions of war felt honest and accurate without being brutal for the sake of being brutal. One of the best and cleanest mysteries I have read where we actually get a resolution at the end of the book.
While I have no love for how Hollywood or streaming services often butcher written works for media adaptations, I certainly would love to see this on screen. The descriptions led to such easy mental imagery that any director should have a perfect rubric to follow.
While I had guessed the plot twist towards the beginning of the book, I still managed to be in suspense with every turn of the page. This book portrayed a gnawing anxiety and the unraveling of a mystery so incredibly well. Also impressive was the likeability of the narrator. I often find myself struggling with period pieces, but the author did an excellent job of making the characters engaging and relatable with their humor, mannerisms, and realistic reactions to the otherness penetrating their lives.
I loved learning about Easton's village and the culture of the people there. The descriptions of war felt honest and accurate without being brutal for the sake of being brutal. One of the best and cleanest mysteries I have read where we actually get a resolution at the end of the book.
While I have no love for how Hollywood or streaming services often butcher written works for media adaptations, I certainly would love to see this on screen. The descriptions led to such easy mental imagery that any director should have a perfect rubric to follow.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐🐊🐊🐊
I need to preface this by saying that I don't normally find myself attracted to period-piece books. That being said, the way that this book weaves historical London with ancient times through storytelling, artifacts, and quite literally vibes was really intriguing. I loved learning about the tragic history of this world and the sacrifices that were made.
An easy-to-understand magical system that enhances the efforts of the book and the lore of the world rather than being a background thought. The stewards and lions and janissaries were all so rich with character. The characters themselves were so compelling and I love a book with multiple POV's.
I loved the ending of the book and the unraveling of history and memories that are along the journey. I always feel so deeply when everything in a fictional world starts going to shit and this book really makes the situation feels dire.
My first of only two negative comments would be that now and again the author reuses phrases or descriptions in a way that kind of feels like when a TV show has the same flashback in an episode twice. It doesn't happen often but when it does, it feels like a hiccup in otherwise very good writing. My second comment: Could have been gayer. I say that as someone who loves a tantalizing slow-burn romance with the acknowledgment that this book isn't a romance novel, it's an adventure with background motivation and lives at stake.
I need to preface this by saying that I don't normally find myself attracted to period-piece books. That being said, the way that this book weaves historical London with ancient times through storytelling, artifacts, and quite literally vibes was really intriguing. I loved learning about the tragic history of this world and the sacrifices that were made.
An easy-to-understand magical system that enhances the efforts of the book and the lore of the world rather than being a background thought. The stewards and lions and janissaries were all so rich with character. The characters themselves were so compelling and I love a book with multiple POV's.
I loved the ending of the book and the unraveling of history and memories that are along the journey. I always feel so deeply when everything in a fictional world starts going to shit and this book really makes the situation feels dire.
My first of only two negative comments would be that now and again the author reuses phrases or descriptions in a way that kind of feels like when a TV show has the same flashback in an episode twice. It doesn't happen often but when it does, it feels like a hiccup in otherwise very good writing. My second comment: Could have been gayer. I say that as someone who loves a tantalizing slow-burn romance with the acknowledgment that this book isn't a romance novel, it's an adventure with background motivation and lives at stake.
⭐⭐⭐🐊🐊
I was really excited about this book when I first read its description. Bisexual & BIPOC representation in the world of ballet with a demon that gives you supernatural abilities? Yes, please. That BOOK TITLE? YESSS.
In my reading, I have determined one major flaw, the book wasn't long enough. If the book was longer, it could achieve some of the items on my would-have-liked-better-if list, which include: more queerness and more time spent with each character. I would have loved a series of scenes further setting up this toxic relationship/friendship between Laur and Coralie. I wanted more Jennifer's Body vibes from their relationship. I also wanted more time with Joséphine, Ciro, Andor, and Keturah. I feel like I barely had enough time to get attached to them which made the overall plot less impactful.
It gets only a 2 on the gator rating of queerness because yeah, Laur is bisexual, but other than mentioning her ex-girlfriend and some emotional lesbian subtext between the childhood friends, we're left with a lot of heterosexual longing. The way that Laur describes women should have been just as decadent as how she described men, I wanted to feel that equal attraction to multiple genders. And for a book that really engages with the ramifications of race and socioeconomic upbringing in the world of ballet, it barely mentions what anyone thinks of queerness. Of course, I wish the world were a place that allowed you to be queer without a second thought, but having it described so casually in this setting just made it feel like her bisexuality was disregarded.
There were some banging quotes and writing in this that I want to share:
“TO THOSE WHO FIND FREEDOM IN BECOMING A MONSTER WHEN DENIED THE SPACE TO BE HUMAN”
“Even Chaos has rules. To receive, we must be willing to take. To win, you must be willing to fight. To drink in life itself, you must be willing to bleed. And there will be blood.”
“As his gaze brushed my lips, I pictured him consecrating my blood to hungry roots in his garden. The moss in Elysium could make a home of my bones and I’d welcome it wholly just to feel permanent and part of something. The darkest part in me hungered for that brand of ruin.”
“What if I told you I wanted to be my most monstrous self all the time? What if I wanted to be a god? Would you pray to me?”
And then my favorite: "Twelve years of feeding this dream, cutting down anyone else who
stood in my path, only to have the one girl I spared turn around and bite me. And she had the audacity to be mediocre."
I was really excited about this book when I first read its description. Bisexual & BIPOC representation in the world of ballet with a demon that gives you supernatural abilities? Yes, please. That BOOK TITLE? YESSS.
In my reading, I have determined one major flaw, the book wasn't long enough. If the book was longer, it could achieve some of the items on my would-have-liked-better-if list, which include: more queerness and more time spent with each character. I would have loved a series of scenes further setting up this toxic relationship/friendship between Laur and Coralie. I wanted more Jennifer's Body vibes from their relationship. I also wanted more time with Joséphine, Ciro, Andor, and Keturah. I feel like I barely had enough time to get attached to them which made the overall plot less impactful.
It gets only a 2 on the gator rating of queerness because yeah, Laur is bisexual, but other than mentioning her ex-girlfriend and some emotional lesbian subtext between the childhood friends, we're left with a lot of heterosexual longing. The way that Laur describes women should have been just as decadent as how she described men, I wanted to feel that equal attraction to multiple genders. And for a book that really engages with the ramifications of race and socioeconomic upbringing in the world of ballet, it barely mentions what anyone thinks of queerness. Of course, I wish the world were a place that allowed you to be queer without a second thought, but having it described so casually in this setting just made it feel like her bisexuality was disregarded.
There were some banging quotes and writing in this that I want to share:
“TO THOSE WHO FIND FREEDOM IN BECOMING A MONSTER WHEN DENIED THE SPACE TO BE HUMAN”
“Even Chaos has rules. To receive, we must be willing to take. To win, you must be willing to fight. To drink in life itself, you must be willing to bleed. And there will be blood.”
“As his gaze brushed my lips, I pictured him consecrating my blood to hungry roots in his garden. The moss in Elysium could make a home of my bones and I’d welcome it wholly just to feel permanent and part of something. The darkest part in me hungered for that brand of ruin.”
“What if I told you I wanted to be my most monstrous self all the time? What if I wanted to be a god? Would you pray to me?”
And then my favorite: "Twelve years of feeding this dream, cutting down anyone else who
stood in my path, only to have the one girl I spared turn around and bite me. And she had the audacity to be mediocre."
