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cheyenne_renee's review against another edition
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0
jessicasbooktalk's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
I like where this story is going, book one is quite short but it laid the foundation for the story line and answered some basic questions I had. I’m excited to see Jade and Mal fall in love. I wasn’t sure what to expect at first especially since he’s had 3 other wives for only one night, but I’m glad Jade makes it through. She’s fierce. I’m also wondering a few certain things that I can’t say without spoilers. So I’ll say it’s a quick read and I’m excited to see what happens in book two.
Tropes:
Enemies to lovers
Age gap
Fae/human
Forced marriage
Close proximity
Touch her and die
Spice: Zero
Tropes:
Enemies to lovers
Age gap
Fae/human
Forced marriage
Close proximity
Touch her and die
Spice: Zero
p4intthestars's review against another edition
1.0
I hate not finishing books. I really do. So I tried. I really, REALLY tried.
Alas, I could not force myself to finish this one. The writing is very juvenile and broken. The conversations are stiff and don’t flow, an ancient Fae speaks like a 16 year old. There’s just a lot going on, and almost none of it works.
Alas, I could not force myself to finish this one. The writing is very juvenile and broken. The conversations are stiff and don’t flow, an ancient Fae speaks like a 16 year old. There’s just a lot going on, and almost none of it works.
sam_b_lol's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
a1liya2ali3's review against another edition
3.0
3.0 it was amazing. I loved most of it. The only thing I didn't like was the damsel in distress, and also, the writing was a bit annoying sometimes. But wow, I love the amazing amount of tropes it had.
chaos_code's review against another edition
This reads like a wattpad fanfic. I think this author jumped on the bandwagon when ACOTAR started getting really famous and wanted to write her own story.
The setting is a bit ambiguous - it's an unknown fantasy world with humans and fae, but it doesn't seem like there is technology or takes place during modern times. If that's the case, why is the main character using slang? The FMC said "is that a diss?" The tone of the novel is really strange and inconsistent. She's in faelands in the presence of fae royalty and would say "diss" instead of "insult." Or instead of saying "this is a difficult situation," someone would say "this is shitty." Another example is "care to share with the group" or "badass." Oh and what is up with the way the way the Jade calls the other woman "girl" or "skinny." There's some sort of underlying tone or message there.
Half of the characters are shallow and have no depth to them - the jealous brothers, the jealous ex-lover, the manipulative king.
Also, the FMC seems to much of a parody of a strong, independent woman who won't back down and be a useless obedient human. She's so different and special and defiant. She repeatedly calls herself dumb and worthless human in a sarcastic way like she's proving a point. The MMC also seems a parody of the dark haired brooding, misunderstood love interest. Malachi is so temperamental and edgy. He's so powerful, yet why does he need to yell to assert his authority? The way he speaks to people is immature and petty. I feel like I'm reading a high school drama.
Their romance is all about fighting and tension; they press each other's buttons. I don't mind these tropes as long as the execution is done well and the writing is not immature. It's repetitive and nothing made sense.
The setting is a bit ambiguous - it's an unknown fantasy world with humans and fae, but it doesn't seem like there is technology or takes place during modern times. If that's the case, why is the main character using slang? The FMC said "is that a diss?" The tone of the novel is really strange and inconsistent. She's in faelands in the presence of fae royalty and would say "diss" instead of "insult." Or instead of saying "this is a difficult situation," someone would say "this is shitty." Another example is "care to share with the group" or "badass." Oh and what is up with the way the way the Jade calls the other woman "girl" or "skinny." There's some sort of underlying tone or message there.
Half of the characters are shallow and have no depth to them - the jealous brothers, the jealous ex-lover, the manipulative king.
Also, the FMC seems to much of a parody of a strong, independent woman who won't back down and be a useless obedient human. She's so different and special and defiant. She repeatedly calls herself dumb and worthless human in a sarcastic way like she's proving a point. The MMC also seems a parody of the dark haired brooding, misunderstood love interest. Malachi is so temperamental and edgy. He's so powerful, yet why does he need to yell to assert his authority? The way he speaks to people is immature and petty. I feel like I'm reading a high school drama.
Their romance is all about fighting and tension; they press each other's buttons. I don't mind these tropes as long as the execution is done well and the writing is not immature. It's repetitive and nothing made sense.
cverdeja's review against another edition
1.0
I hate to give this author a low rating because I tip my hat to her for doing the thing she loves and putting it out into the world. That’s amazing.
There’s potential here but a lot of room for growth. This reads like writing that is in need of honing and a good editor, but in time could be good.
Some big issues for me was the character development/ staying true to character.
*SPOILERS*
As the reader, I had no idea who to trust and I know that’s the idea for a lot of these characters but even the characters I should clearly trust as the reader, like Adeline, I didn’t trust. There’s just some holes in the writing of their character that made me question their reliability even when the author said they were for sure trustworthy. For example, after a very serious attack and when Mal’s father is very angry and calls Mal away, Adeline swears she won’t leave the room with Jade and it’s a very serious and life threatening situation, but as soon as Mal leaves Adeline sneaks them out to spy and does it in this silly and kind of high handed way… Jade ends up getting seriously hurt and she does that multiple times. It made me feel like she was purposefully putting the MC in danger and I didn’t know if I should trust her because the only explanation given for her behavior was that she was naïve.
There were many lines of dialogue in which I felt the writing wasn’t true to the character and it took me out of the story. When Mal says things like “it was so messed up” it made me question his age, his origins, the time period of this story and the relationship this story had to the real world. It didn’t feel like a phrase his character would use even if he was familiar with it. Language like that made it hard to distinguish the age difference between even characters like Mal and his mother.
Lastly the “slow burn” didn’t feel like a slow burn. There were enough moments to build up to a true connection between these two for me. It seemed like Mal’s growing feelings made sense but Jades really didn’t for me and when they finally share a physical moment the communication from Jade didn’t feel true to character.
In the end I felt like maybe there was just a lot of hype for this on Booktok and I love that there is so much support for new authors happening right now, I just think this author needs more time and practice. I would give her writing another chance because I think with practice these issues could improve and she would have a fun book on her hands. Again I tip my hat to her for putting her writing into the world.
There’s potential here but a lot of room for growth. This reads like writing that is in need of honing and a good editor, but in time could be good.
Some big issues for me was the character development/ staying true to character.
*SPOILERS*
As the reader, I had no idea who to trust and I know that’s the idea for a lot of these characters but even the characters I should clearly trust as the reader, like Adeline, I didn’t trust. There’s just some holes in the writing of their character that made me question their reliability even when the author said they were for sure trustworthy. For example, after a very serious attack and when Mal’s father is very angry and calls Mal away, Adeline swears she won’t leave the room with Jade and it’s a very serious and life threatening situation, but as soon as Mal leaves Adeline sneaks them out to spy and does it in this silly and kind of high handed way… Jade ends up getting seriously hurt and she does that multiple times. It made me feel like she was purposefully putting the MC in danger and I didn’t know if I should trust her because the only explanation given for her behavior was that she was naïve.
There were many lines of dialogue in which I felt the writing wasn’t true to the character and it took me out of the story. When Mal says things like “it was so messed up” it made me question his age, his origins, the time period of this story and the relationship this story had to the real world. It didn’t feel like a phrase his character would use even if he was familiar with it. Language like that made it hard to distinguish the age difference between even characters like Mal and his mother.
Lastly the “slow burn” didn’t feel like a slow burn. There were enough moments to build up to a true connection between these two for me. It seemed like Mal’s growing feelings made sense but Jades really didn’t for me and when they finally share a physical moment the communication from Jade didn’t feel true to character.
In the end I felt like maybe there was just a lot of hype for this on Booktok and I love that there is so much support for new authors happening right now, I just think this author needs more time and practice. I would give her writing another chance because I think with practice these issues could improve and she would have a fun book on her hands. Again I tip my hat to her for putting her writing into the world.
loveheart1294's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0