Honestly I would've DNF'ed earlier if I wasn't buddy reading.
This is a pretty generic YA fantasy. I was really bored.Buddy read with Dinali!
DNF @ 48%.
Honestly I would've DNF'ed earlier if I wasn't buddy reading.
This is a pretty generic YA fantasy. I was really bored. The mecha drakes were cool, but nothing else really stood out to me. Also, the Priory of the Orange Tree comp is really weird. There's a woman in charge, there's dragons, and that's about it. Stylistically and tone-wise, it's not even close.
I'd probably recommend this for someone who's new to YA fantasy and wants to dip their toes in it....more
I would've given up earlier if I didn't pick up a buddy reader along the way. (Hi Dustin!)
I'm tagging this under "generic uninspired fantasyDNF @ 73%.
I would've given up earlier if I didn't pick up a buddy reader along the way. (Hi Dustin!)
I'm tagging this under "generic uninspired fantasy books." I couldn't relate to the characters. I didn't care for the worldbuilding. Literally nothing stood out to me. It felt like every other high stakes teen fantasy featuring a FMC with a tragic past.
The monster attack scenes were cool, but that was about it.
Oh, and my buddy reader said the payoff was weak, but the naga dragon was cool.
Thank you to Sourcebooks Fire and NetGalley for this arc....more
Oh lord, I should've DNF this. Why didn't I DNF this...
With that being said, this was... Not good. I wasn't a fan of the writing style (it was very yoOh lord, I should've DNF this. Why didn't I DNF this...
With that being said, this was... Not good. I wasn't a fan of the writing style (it was very young YA/middle grade), or the story, or the characters.
I did like the Korean-inspired fantasy vibes though, so I'll give it that. That's not something you see often. And the fact that the author straight up used Korean terms without any handholding or explaining what they meant? Absolutely perfect. *chef's kiss* 10/10. And the ending with one of the antagonists gave me major East/Southeast Asian ghost vibes (yay nostalgia!), it was hard to hate on how silly the Big Bad's powers were.
But other than that... I didn't vibe with this at all. The storyline was so simplistic to the point where I didn't really need to do any thinking to figure out the twists. Not that there were really any twists.
**SPOILER AHEAD*** (view spoiler)[ Well, there was a major twist at the ending with a Big Bad, but it felt so unrealistic... Kimoon saw Mirae break out of supposedly unbreakable chains and he turned to her side. Like, it was that easy for a Big Bad to turn good? I thought he hated magic. I was so confused then and I'm still confused now. (hide spoiler)] **END SPOILER***
Anyway, my other huge issue with this novel is that every problem Mirae and co. encountered was easily solved with a deus ex machina. They're supposed to be in a lot of danger (kidnapped brother being mind-controlled, evil Netherking caged under a creepy magical lake mentally and magically torturing Mirae's mother, the queen of Seolla, Mirae and co. sneaking around in a kingdom that shunned magic when Mirae is literally oozing with magic, etc.) but the vibes were so lighthearted that I felt no danger. Which is a huge issue because every situation that Mirae was in was supposedly a "might start a war between two nations" level of high stakes.
I didn't feel any suspense either. I wasn't on the edge of my seat waiting to see how Mirae and co. would react. After the first few incidents where Mirae pretty much came out either unscathed, or just lightly scathed but with all the answers to her problems solved somehow (did I already mention deus ex machina? gotta emphasize it again lol), I gave up on any life-changing or life ending dramatic moments.
A couple of choice quotes to emphasize my point:
When Mirae and co. snuck into a border town and her side character besties just randomly showed up:
"Mirae was desperate to know how her friends had managed to find her--and how they had guessed where she was going, no less..."
Because deus ex machina.
At the end (Mirae's parents were in a comatose-like state):
"Mirae wasn't sure how, or why, her mother had miraculously recovered, nor did she ask."
Yup, you guessed it. Deus ex machina.
Mirae experienced zero character development. She was the same selfish "it's my way or the highway" type of future queen both in the beginning and the end. She never bothered to listen to Captain Jia's very sound advice. Instead, she threw her weight around as the High Horomancer/~Chosen One~ to get things done her way. And other than Captain Jia, none of her close circle (Hongbin and Siwon) bothered to question her at all. Talk about being surrounded by yes-men.
The ending was strangely convoluted for a story that was so straightforward. There were character motivation and allegiance reveals with a side character and the antagonists, but the build-up was so minimal that it didn't throw me off or upset me. It just left me feeling confused and wondering how things ended so easily when the story finally started to get interesting.
Also, I had no idea what the point of the future time travel/switches were supposed to be. Apparently it meant a lot to Mirae by the end of the book, but each switch just left me scratching my head and wishing there was a crumb of context.
One more really nitpicky criticism, but I didn't really like how the novel started off. There were inside jokes between the MC, Mirae, and her close circle, and I felt like that awkward third wheel in a group of friends where everyone knows each other, but I only know one person.
Lastly, the side characters were just there to fill the side character quota and the magic system was bare minimum. Mirae was the Chosen One, so the magic system didn't really matter or mean much to her. She could practically do anything to solve her way out of everything.
Thank you to HarperTeen and NetGalley for this arc....more
I'm honestly not sure why the publisher listed this book as "epic fantasy" when it's clearly just YA fantasy. Because of that, I 2.5 stars rounded up.
I'm honestly not sure why the publisher listed this book as "epic fantasy" when it's clearly just YA fantasy. Because of that, I expected so much more. I'm glad at least Goodreads was correct (for once) when it came to labeling this book as YA fantasy.
Anyway.
Forged by Blood is your typical YA fantasy with all its tropes and plot points. The characters are older teens/young adults. The worldbuilding and magic weren't fully developed. The FMC was very impulsive and extremely short-sighted. Nothing screamed "epic fantasy."
Honestly, it read like a rough draft instead of a final draft. It felt like the author threw in a bunch of YA tropes hoping that it would make a story. There were so many deus ex machina solutions to every single problem, so nothing really felt high stakes.
The only thing that stood out to me was the Nigerian folklore and mythology. That was done really well. You could feel yourself immersed in a Nigerian-inspired fantasy world, especially during the sequence in the spirit world with the spirit beings.
But everything else was so lackluster. The worldbuilding made no sense. You could tell that the author wanted to touch on colonization, but it felt wishy-washy. The Eingardians/colonizers were the bad guys, but yet the FMC was super cool with teaming up with their prince? (I haven't even touched on her decisions at the end of the book.)
The politics were weirdly convoluted in an attempt to make it more adult/epic fantasy. I had to wait until 85% through (when the bad guy explained everything) for me to understand wtf was going on. (Turns out it was partly family drama that included a not! Luke Skywalker reveal. Wtf lol)
The magic system was also underdeveloped. I had the sense that certain people had certain magic skills, like healing, teleportation, clairvoyance, etc. But the FMC had elemental powers AND healing? I was so confused, but there was no other choice but to roll along with it.
Another HUGE issue I had were the deus ex machina solutions to every single problem. Our heroes would be in trouble but ofc, they'd be saved somehow.
***SPOILERS AHEAD***
(view spoiler)[ Around the midpoint, when the FMC and other Oluso are about to be burned at the stake, her adopted family just shows up to save them? What? How? They're not even in the same part of the country/territory.
I had so many issues with the ending... What was the author even trying to say?? The FMC didn't believe in Ekwensi and the Oluso's cause, so she stayed with the prince and the Eingardians in order to find a diplomatic solution? Even though the Eingardians wouldn't recognize her as queen and the FMC didn't fully trust the prince, but since they were ~fated mates, it was totally okay? So we're cool with colonizer romances these days?
Also, the final battle made absolute ZERO sense. The FMC is fighting the king, who's a trained soldier, and she's not supposed to use her magic in order to make it an even match. But how tf does she even know how to use a sword? This was never hinted at or alluded to at all.
So she breaks her iron bracelets in order to use her magic to defeat the king, which didn't make sense because at first, she didn't want to "cheat" using her magic, but now she realizes that it's totally fine to use her magic because she's about to die?
Also her dead(?) father's spirit appears out of nowhere during the death match to give her a weapon? And I'm not sure she even used that weapon? What was the point of that scene???
I don't understand all of the 5-star reviews. Honestly, the main plotline wasn't that bad. It was just bogged down by the bOh, thank god this is over.
I don't understand all of the 5-star reviews. Honestly, the main plotline wasn't that bad. It was just bogged down by the boring romance, filler subplots, and things that weren't really explained well.
The MC, Violet, is ~not like other girls~ with her silver hair, bookish nerd self (among military brats), who ends up with not one, but TWO, dragons. And one of them is the biggest and baddest, while the other one can stop time.
Bruh.
Violet has chronic pain, which really hinders her during the Threshing. This is one of the more better written character traits, imo. But I can't personally speak for it.
The romance was... cringe af. It was one of the cringiest insta-love stories I've read. The love interest, Xaden, is your typical broody bad boy, who's a couple years older, and a straight male with a tortured soul and even more tortured past. There's the whole subordinate/leader trope if you're into that kind of thing.
Honestly, there wasn't really any emotional chemistry between the two, other than their dragons were mates and kept bonking each other all of the time. Which then made the MC and her broody love interest h0rny for each other. So how is that really love? Violet tells him that she loves him after having sex a few times. Which is even more cringe because they barely know each other.
Oh, and his nickname for her is "Violence" and every time he said that (which was literally every other line in the third act), I couldn't help but to wince internally. So sexy.
Also, when they have sex, lightning strikes randomly and it destroys their bedroom walls, window, etc. I was zoned out of the sex scenes to the point where I thought it'd be funny af if Violet's lightning struck some random person outside.
And when Violet walked the parapet just for Xaden to notice her... Goddamn, stop. No man is worth risking your life, girl.
The dragon school part was just passable, I guess. I just didn't understand the point of the parapet. Or everyone killing each other. If they're trying to defend their borders and kill all these evil creatures, then wouldn't they want every hand on deck? Instead, these kids are just killing each other to get dragons.
Which leads me to the magic system. So, people need to bond to dragons to get a magic power/skill? And then, of course, Violet, being ~not like other girls~, gets a cool lightning power and she gets mad emo about it because her power is used to kill people. But you're supposed to be defending your country's borders against incursions by other people or creatures or whatever, so isn't that the whole point? I can't.
Before I get even more disappointed at one of my most anticipated reads this year, there's one last thing that really bothered me.
Why was the dialogue so 2023 with modern day slang? It seriously took me out of the story. I think this is supposed to be New Adult, but it read very YA to the point where the MC and everyone else sounded like they were in high school. Take out the dragons and this is your typical bad boy romance.
At least the narrators were pretty good. Rebecca Soler went all out on the action in the third act. I can definitely appreciate her skills.
Thank you to Recorded Books and NetGalley for this arc....more
I've never been more excited to see the words "Book Completed" on my Kindle.
This was a strange novel to2.5 stars rounded up (bc math unfortunately).
I've never been more excited to see the words "Book Completed" on my Kindle.
This was a strange novel to rate. The first half was a 2 star. It felt like the author was trying really hard to write to market (and trend). The second half was at least a 3 star because the story finally turned into the dark fantasy that I knew Claire Legrand was very capable of writing. Overall, it felt like two different novels slapped together. I'm honestly not sure what to make of it.
I'll start with what I liked. While I can't personally speak for the chronic pain rep, I felt that it was very well done. Gemma lives in a world steeped in magic, and she suffers from physical pain whenever she's near magic, which is most of the time. The descriptions of her chronic pain were so well written that I could really sympathize with her.
I think that's pretty much all I really liked about the novel tbh.
To start with my dislikes, this novel was unnecessarily long. It took me ~10 hours to read this. While I do love long, drawn out fantasy novels, this one felt like it needed several more passes through a developmental editor. It could've been pared down without hurting the storyline.
I also felt like it needed to be beta read by readers with a critical eye. It seriously felt like a first novel by a new author trying to break into the NA fantasy niche. I've read a couple of Claire Legrand's novels and I know that she's capable of something much better.
I hated the writing. It was *the* definition of purple prose. There are paragraphs upon paragraphs with detailed descriptions of clothes, down to the patterns, collar style, buttons, etc. Why was this necessary? Literally NONE of it was necessary.
There was also so much meaningless info dumping. Sometimes it was hard to sift through and tell which was important and which was frivolous info. It read like a teenager's first fanfic. Jfc.
A lot of the first 50% of the novel felt very long and drawn out. It seems that a lot of reviewers DNF in this section, which honestly, I don't blame them. The FMC wasn't relatable at all. Even with her chronic pain and panic attacks, it was still hard to sympathize with such a vapid and extremely vain character who loved talking about her appearance and how she was Lady Imogen Ashbourne, Queen of Frippery (the last 3 words are my moniker for her). It was exhausting.
The romance was both very insta love and extremely codependent, two things I absolutely despise. It was love at first sight, and Gemma was quite willing to give up family secrets to some guy she just met. It was honestly cringe. Then it turned out that he can use his powers to dull her chronic pain (and he's the only person who can do this). While she doesn't explicitly depend on him for pain relief, it sets up an unhealthy dependency.
There's one POC-coded side character, Illaria, who's supposedly Gemma's best friend. But all Gemma does is take advantage of her kindness. She doesn't listen to Illaria's warnings and was totally fine with Illaria cutting ties because she's so in love with Talan that she'd pick some guy she just met over her best friend.
Gemma is literally the worst kind of friend. Ugh.
The second half of the novel (and my review) contains spoilers.
***SPOILER ALERT***
(view spoiler)[ The huge reveal with Talan was extremely predictable. It opened up a huge plothole where I kept wondering if the Big Bad, Kilraith (lol @ the name), would spy on our ~heroes through Talan, which Talan mentioned was a thing, but Gemma and co. just dragged him along on their adventures and revealed everyone's secrets. It made no sense. Everyone just went along with Gemma's ideas without any critical thinking. And this counts for ALL of her ideas, not just fully trusting Talan because he's ~The One~.
So, the whole fae revelation came out of nowhere. I searched on my Kindle and there was only one mention of fae in the first half, and it was from a throwaway description of Gemma's friend, Gareth's, specialty in arcana and lore. There was literally no lead up at all. Suddenly, we find out that Gemma and her sisters might be fae. It came way too late in the game.
I won't lie, the fae thing felt like a cop out. Like the author remembered that fae and anything related to fae is the trendy thing nowadays, so why not add it in? (hide spoiler)]
***END SPOILER ALERT***
Other than that, I actually didn't mind the second half of the novel, which was a lot of dark fantasy with Gemma showing some actual character growth. If more elements of the second half were in the first half, then I might've actually liked the entire novel.
But it is what it is.
Thank you to Sourcebooks Casablanca and NetGalley for this arc....more
I really wanted to like this novel, but it's utterly forgettable. I finished it a few days ago and I can't really remember anything that stood out to I really wanted to like this novel, but it's utterly forgettable. I finished it a few days ago and I can't really remember anything that stood out to me other than the FMC's, Asuka's, biracial identity and how she struggled with it while growing up. I really liked that aspect of the story.
The tone of voice is very YA, even though it's listed as adult fiction. And if I look at it from the perspective of a YA novel, this actually wouldn't be that bad. But reviewing it as an adult novel makes it seem really juvenile.
The sci-fi is very soft, which I'd be okay with, but it's to the point where it's really generic. Everyone could be on a road trip instead of an interstellar mission and it'd read the same. The sci-fi felt more like an afterthought.
I didn't vibe with the FMC or any of the other characters. They're in their 20s in a small ship that'll colonize Planet X (wut) and there are so many petty complaints and infighting, I felt like I was reading about a bunch of college kids living in a dorm. There are random people pregnant to prepare future generations for colonization and that just seems... Not well thought out. Wouldn't that hinder the mission itself??
The first part starts out very generic space sci-fi disaster scenario (an explosion on the ship!). That grabbed my attention, but as the story went on, everyone sort of acted like it wasn't that big of a deal. You'd think there'd be urgent and mistrustful vibes on the ship, but all the fights and arguments just seemed so petty.
Even before the midpoint, the story felt like it was dragging so much I mostly tuned out until the saboteur reveal. After finding out who caused the explosion, I realized I didn't care anymore.
Thank you to Flatiron Books and NetGalley for this arc....more
This turned out to be a pride read so at least that's one good thing that came out of this.
Anything dark fantasy is my thing, but sadly, this wasn't iThis turned out to be a pride read so at least that's one good thing that came out of this.
Anything dark fantasy is my thing, but sadly, this wasn't it. I try very hard not to give out 1-star ratings because I know how hard it is to write a book and get it published, so this is an exception for me.
I've read great YA dark fantasies/horrors, so it's not the fact that this is YA that bothered me. The story just wasn't good. It was very cliched and formulaic and read like a YA version of a bad M. Night Shyamalan movie. There's a scary town with a huge secret/curse, a grandma that might or might not be evil, and an actual evil monster.
I'm down for new twists to this tropey plotline, but there was nothing new in Starlings that we've never seen before. Unless you're new to the dark fantasy/horror genre (in any form of media), then you can skip this one. This is like a beginner's guide to the "creepy towns with a deadly secret" horror genre.
Before any big reveals, I did get a little tiny bit of Midsommar vibes: YA edition (and a bit of Silent Hill), but that quickly fell apart when I realized that it was turning out to be extremely formulaic, with an MC that was way too trusting of people, and an ending that seemed to be wrapped up way too neatly.
I hated the characters and their bare minimum characterization. All of the side characters were just stock characters (gay black guy who works at a flower shop? check. cute blonde who works at a diner with dreams of Hollywood? also check.). Kit felt like an outline of an MC. I get being young and naive (we've all been there), but she ends up trusting and falling in love with the first cute guy she meets in town. Even when she realizes that the guy is keeping secrets from her, she's still into him.
Same with Agatha, her grandmother that she barely knows. This woman kept the biggest bombshell of a secret from Kit, but yet at the end, Kit ended up trusting her. Sure, Kit's mother was missing for a majority of the book, and Kit was technically on her own, but it made no sense for Kit to let her guard down around someone who was totally cool with sacrificing her to the big bad monster. It made no sense.
Oh, and the ending? All this time, you mean to tell me that no one in Kit's family tried to break the curse? Every Starling woman was cool with sacrificing themselves and their daughters to a creepy rapey demon monster? Okay.
Also, Kit's second love interest. I'm all down for falling in love with ghosts, but that honestly came out of nowhere and I felt like it was there to show that yes, Kit is bi.
At least the writing was easy to read, so that's a plus.
Thank you to Delacorte Press and NetGalley for this arc....more
The trans and bigender representation was excellent in Venom & Vow, but everything else fell really flat for me.
I'll start with t2.5 stars rounded up.
The trans and bigender representation was excellent in Venom & Vow, but everything else fell really flat for me.
I'll start with the positives. I loved how the authors presented both MCs' LGBT journeys and growth. Over the course of the novel, we get to learn how Cade, who's trans, and Val, who's bigender, came to terms with themselves, how they presented themselves, and how they wanted others to view them. There's a lot of inner conflict that really lends weight to their experiences, which readers might really connect with.
I also liked the contrast between the two characters. Cade knows that he's trans since he was young, but Val, who doesn't have role models (as opposed to Cade who grew up in a monastery with other trans men), is conflicted about their identities and the ramifications of presenting themself as either a man or woman or both.
I liked how after the midpoint, they both start helping each other in their journeys and it turned out to be such a positive thing. There was like literally no hate or judgement. It was so cool.
Also, the fact that both MCs deal with chronic pain but that they're both still seen as bad ass was super cool. The authors kept mentioning how they hurt and how they dealt with the pain, and it all felt very realistic. It made the MCs feel very real.
But other than that, both the story and writing just weren't good. I'm not sure how else to say it. There were many times where I felt as if the novel needed another pass or two with an editor. Val's chapters kept repeating certain phrases right after it was written and it was jarring and made me think I misread something.
Anything related to diplomacy was just glazed over. In the beginning, Cade (as his brother, Patrick the Adare prince) captures Val (as Gael) and brings them to the Elianan palace. The way that it's written makes it seem like the Adare prince could willy nilly cross the border of a country they're at war with and grant an audience with the ruler. And everyone's just cool with it.
Second, the passage of time made no sense at all. There's a scene where it sounds like Adare is preparing for the Elianan delegation to arrive (so they're decorating the palace and stuff), and then suddenly the delegation just arrives? I had to reread the passage to figure out that Cade only saw the decorations right before the Elianans arrived, and that his close circle were just arguing over some minor decorating detail. It wasn't some random time jump, but it sure as hell felt like it.
Another thing, so I assumed that the monastery where Cade grew up in is in some remote place in Adare. Maybe I misread a description, but color me surprised when Cade and Val show up to the monastery like right after leaving the Adare castle. Literally no time went by.
And then Val just disappears into the orchard to change after arriving on only one horse with Cade. This is after the monks see them and help Cade off the horse.
But after that, no one followed Val? I was so confused to the point that I couldn't suspend my disbelief anymore.
I saw some Goodreads reviews where people DNF early because the world building was so confusing. I didn't have a lot of issues, but I do agree with them to an extent. I feel like the would building could've been tighter. It honestly kind of felt all over the place, and I think I was fine with it only because I'm a seasoned fantasy reader.
So, the characterization of the secondary characters was also subpar. I won't lie, everyone else but the MCs, Bryna, and Patrick just blended together. They had no distinctive personalities and were just there most of the time. Shit, even the mini Big Bad was so obvious to the point where it was kind of cringe in a way.
Also, there's one thing that really bothered me for some reason. There's a scene where Cade (as Patrick) tells a town that everything's gonna be a-okay, but suddenly a sea monster shows up. Cade sees it as an omen and then the chapter just ends.
So did the townspeople not react or anything? They were totally cool with some random sea monster just showing up? I was waiting for some Cade vs. sea monster action where he saves the people, but then that plot point was only mentioned again once or twice in passing??
I'm so confused.
Also one last thing, I promise. So Cade and Bryna have to marry because they're both the eldest heirs. But Cade and Val are in love, and Bryna and Patrick are in love. So... Just marry for political reasons and be with the person you love on the side? Isn't this a thing with monarchs? And all four are cool with each other. Literally no one hates anyone, so what's the issue??
Okay, I lied about that being the last thing. The fight scenes were so confusing. I liked that the authors included the MCs' fighting styles with their canes, but the way that the fights were written made it sound so technical to the point where I wasn't sure who was actually doing what.
Lastly, wtf is that last minute tacked on lesbian romance between Ondina and Nessa? It just appeared out of nowhere. Lesbians deserve better.
I'll end on a good note. The Adare castle was really cool. It felt like its own secondary character with the way that it could magically change its construction, grow plants, create rivers, etc. It was so cool!
Thank you to Feiwel & Friends and NetGalley for this arc....more
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