chaptersofmads's reviews
830 reviews

"Lord, what fools these mortals be!"

There are so many words that could describe this book (tedious, intolerable, enamored by its own perceived cleverness, etc.) but none fit quite as well as bad. This book was bad.

I'm going to return to my old review style for a moment, list several of the reasons I disliked this book, and then go on my merry way.

- The Main Couple
The main couple's age difference is 19 and 24-25. (I feel I should mention that the older of the two never has her age officially confirmed, with some people thinking she's 20, but her love interest makes a comment ((to her)) about her being mid-twenties and it is not refuted.) That isn't illegal, I get it. However, it's still uncomfortable and only gets made worse by it being consistently repeated that the older of the two is far more advanced and mature due to life experience, even going so far as to call the younger love interest "child". (Not to mention all of the times that she asks her why she must be such a girl or when the older of the two speaks of wishing to have sex with her just so she (the younger love interest) thinks about her when her future husband is taking advantage of her.) This is a problem that is not resolved simply because the younger love interest begins to demand things.

Their entire relationship was not only extremely toxic but so boring. They had absolutely no chemistry, even without all of the aspects that would have made their relationship problematic. I think part of this is due to the fact that they felt more like shadows of a character rather than actually living beings. Neither of them have any personality (aside from cursed, innocent, and horny and also cursed, mysterious, asshole, and also horny). They had the same conversation no less than fifty times.

I kept finding myself secretly hoping the antagonist would win just so the book could be over.

- The Narrator
I hated the narration style. It's clear the author wanted to capture the nearly omnipresent yet gossipy spirit of Lady Whistledown in Bridgerton with a magical twist but failed to account for the ramifications of this. For one, the narrator is incredibly annoying. But on a more objective level, we view every event in the book through the eyes of Robin which not only makes the reader feel incredibly detached from all events taking place but also makes us feel like we're stalking the characters. Despite the fact Robin claims to only watch their faces during sex (which is still weird), we're still a third party observing them.

- The Writing
The writing style tried so hard to be flowery and clever that it forgot to be enjoyable. I realize this is kind of second part of the previous point but it still deserves mention. I know that the author was attempting a very specific kind of writing style, but it unfortunately fell flat for me. Instead of feeling enchanted and whimsical, it just felt excruciating.

- The Pacing
The mystery (if one can even call it that) is solved at the 50% mark. Halfway. Through. The. Book. That means that for the next fifty percent, a dozen things happen for the sake of extending the book and creating conflict. I understand that the plot of the curse had been building, but it almost felt like the book had been split in two - rather than creating a cohesive narrative.


I could keep going. I feel like some of this review is too harsh and I do usually try to stay more neutral in my reviews, but it's been awhile since I was this uncomfortable about a book. Sapphic relationships deserve better than cardboard characters who think vulgarity is the only way to show maturity.

I know nothing of the author, but I can't imagine they meant for the relationships to read this way, but unfortunately that doesn't change the fact they do.

Overall, I went into this book expecting to love it and I'm absolutely bummed that I didn't. I don't know how a book with fae, witches, gods, two curses, and regency lesbians managed to be this boring, but it succeeded... which I suppose is a triumph in and of itself.

While I wouldn't recommend this book, I had only heard positive things before reading it so it clearly has a lot of people that love it and I'm glad. I wish I had loved it. 

“You’ll do what the rest of us do,” he finally says. “And just make it work today.”

I am - and I cannot stress this enough - an absolute mess right now.

For someone that is extremely picky when it comes to romance books, I wasn't expecting to love this as much as I did and I damn sure wasn't expecting to cry. three. separate. times. This was so heartfelt and warm and lovely and cheesy and funny and hopeful and I just? cannot quite put into words how much I loved this book. You know when you watch the kind of movie or read the kind of book that makes you want to live and see the world in a different way? This is that kind of book.

Was it a perfect book? Maybe not. But was it easily my favorite romance book I've ever read? Did it make me believe in love again? Yes. Yes it did.

Also, brief thank you to Darling Desi because hearing how much she loved it is the reason I picked up the book in the first place and I'm so glad I did (if that wasn't already clear.)

If you're like me and picky about romance books, I sincerely do recommend this. 

Deeply appreciated the author's vulnerability and discussion of her journey as an intersex woman, as well as introductory information about intersex experience as a whole.

Aside from that, this does read a bit choppy as if we are reading a collection of the author's experiences rather than a cohesive memoir. Other reviewers have noted that this kind of sounds like the author's resume, and I can't disagree (though I will add, it also felt like reading a bunch of Instagram captions and piecing together a life through the pictures of vacations and shaking hands with influential people). Much of the book is us following the author as she lists all of the things she has done and the people they have met - sometimes creating a question in the reader of why this was included.

All in all, though, I'm glad I read this and I would still recommend it, especially to anyone whose prior knowledge of intersex had only been taught through a sensationalized lens. 

“You’ve always been clever. Be clever now.”

An absolutely delightful read. It drags a bit in parts and feels rushed in others, but never so much that I didn't enjoy the story. I was also pleasantly surprised by how happy I was to see Jude and Cardan. Despite having felt pretty neutral on The Folk of the Air trilogy, this book made me want to revisit it, which I suppose was probably the point considering what Holly Black will most likely be working on next.

Also? The end fight scene? Was so cinematic and beautiful and Hozier (To Be Alone, specifically) started playing in the playlist I was listening to while I was reading it so 10/10 recommend.

I'm aware this a pretty short review but I really did have such a fun time with this and I do recommend the duology, even if the original trilogy wasn't your favorite. 

“Magic reflects what’s in our hearts.”

Flowerheart has such a lovely concept and aesthetic, though I hesitate to call it cozy/wholesome due to the body horror and substance abuse that make up the entirety of the plot. Still, due to the flower magic and tea parties, this still makes a perfect springtime read so long as you do not go into the book expecting a riveting plot or any kind of actual tension. Despite the dark subject matter and the race against the clock, this reads more like a slice-of-life cottagecore with dark elements, rather than a compelling fantasy novel.

That isn't my reason for rating it three stars, however, because I went into the book expecting that. My rating (while still positive) is slightly lower due to how immensely unlikable I found all of the characters and my inability to feel connected to the world/plot as a side effect of this. I understand this is YA and therefore the characters are young, but every decision made by every single character seemed like the worst possible choice.

I also made the mistake of visualizing the love interest as a young Severus Snape which does not make for a pleasant reading experience for me lol.

Still enjoyed this though! It was sweet and I appreciated the casual rep as well as Clara's magic presenting in flowers, I just wish I could've liked it more.

Good information interspersed with harmful rhetoric (i.e. fatphobia, "red bodies", "yellow bodies", etc.) as well as being a bit of a technical mess. So many parts of this book were both redundant and contradictory, somehow. Not to mention the odd advice, such as in your fight against your internalized white supremacy to (given you are not satisfied with your birth name) name yourself after a Black historical figure and the example given is Rosa Parks. 

While I see the good within this book, it wasn't for me. 

“Hope, he had learned, arrived swiftly, seeking to bloom in the darkest of places and in the most harrowing of times.”

An incredibly satisfying, heartfelt conclusion to this duology.

I enjoyed this so much more than book one and I'm not even sure why. Perhaps I was just in the right place for it or maybe it really was an improvement (don't get me wrong, book one was good too!) but this was so good. With We Hunt the Flame I remember loving the writing style and the worldbuilding but struggling with the characters, something that didn't happen this time. The writing style and worldbuilding remained impeccable, but I grew to care for the characters as well - even Nasir, which was a surprise after how much he annoyed me in book one.

There were a few moments I felt confused about the plot but I'm always willing to admit that might be because I missed the key details that would have made those aspects make sense. Either way, they were usually resolved quickly and I was back to understanding everything that was going on.

Overall, this is such a solid YA duology that deserves all of the attention and love it receives. 

“One doesn’t need magic if one knows enough stories.”

After intending to pick up this book for over a year now, I finally read it and I'm... conflicted.

It was charming and cozy and all of the lovely things everyone said it was; but it was also jarringly dark at times, slightly disjointed in both tone and plot, and extremely ableist

(even if the ableism hadn't been a factor it still would have been the unrepentant and physical abuse of the changeling child, whom we establish ((multiple times)) that he has the mentality of a child that simply misses his home - sadistic fae or not)

I don't mind when books are dark, particularly when dealing with faeries. If anything, I appreciate that the faeries weren't sanitized for the sake of not touching on dark topics. It was simply the way they were handled that I wasn't fond of.

Again with the conflicted feelings, I loved the banter between Wendell and Emily - but I didn't care for the development of their romance(?). Some part of me wishes they could have just remained acerbic yet secretly caring friends. If they were meant to be romantic, we could have... built up to it differently than what actually happened.

If you're one of the few people left that hasn't read this yet, I would recommend it if you're a fan of A Natural History of Dragons and The Spiderwick Chronicles but not if you're easily bored by slow-paced, meandering plots. (Something I tend to love!)

Overall, I can completely see why this book is as beloved as it is; it truly is a delightful, almost cinematic read. Despite my criticisms, I also really enjoyed it and I'm hopeful that book 2 will be even better as well as improving upon the problematic aspects. 

“Mind your mettle, Tessa”

In the wise words of Paramore, "How did we get here?"

Truthfully, the only reason this is getting a full three stars is because I genuinely loved following Harristan. Everything else was either super underwhelming or just poorly executed. From loving Defy the Night, I was originally expecting this to be a new favorite series. After struggling with book 2, I had hoped that was just a middle book slump and book 3 would redeem the series.

It - unfortunately - did not.

There is a difference between writing for young adults and the story reading younger and writing for older people (under the guise of YA) and the story reading incredibly immature. I am aware the characters were still young adults, but this read so NA without increasing the quality of the humor or the solutions to the problems. For such a long book, things were strangely rushed and awkwardly timed. The relationships felt stilted and immature, utilizing the characters telling us they cared deeply for the other person rather than making us care ourselves.

By the time the guard Rocco had beef with a 5 year old named Elmo, I wanted to put the book away. This might be some people's sense of humor, but it was not mine and felt strangely out of place after reading about someone being brutally tortured.

On top of that, Tessa and Corrick were absolutely ridiculous - but Tessa was surprisingly worse. It has been a while since I have found a FMC that annoying, especially when I previously hadn't minded her character. She was spoiled (more than usual), childish, and praised for everything she did with little to no consequences ever truly making an appearance.

Again, Harristan was a delight. His chapters saved this book for me, even when I was finding the solutions presented in his POV to be Disney direct-to-video-sequel quality at best.

Also... for the love of all things bookish, if you have multiple audiobook narrators, make sure they receive the same instructions. They should not be pronouncing character names differently or giving them different accents to the point it becomes cartoonish. (What was Corrick's Quint voice? That was a jumpscare)

Overall, while I can't pretend I wasn't disappointed in this book, it could have been much worse. For a 550 page novel, it read fairly quickly and by the end, I felt like the characters were where they were meant to be - even if the road there was laughable. I cannot say I will ever revisit this series, but somehow I will still carry fond memories of it.

If you struggled with book 2, I would recommend - perhaps - skipping this one. 

"And of course the world ended. But it went on too."

One of the easiest five stars I have ever given.

I shouldn't have been surprised by the love I have for this, after how much I love The Bear and the Nightingale (I will carry on with the series eventually, I swear) but I guess I wasn't expecting to love this story this much. My feelings are beyond words. I'm in awe of the journey I went on with this book, so many lines and little details that I know I will not stop thinking about for a long time to come.

Unflinching in its depiction of war, creating a seamless bind between historical fiction and fantasy, as well as flawlessly weaving in the theme of the Biblical apocalypse, all while following characters that are so realistically human - there is literally nothing this book could have done better. Katherine Arden's writing style is so poetic yet simplistic, never feeling as though she is trying too hard - instead, overwhelming me with the power of every word she writes.

This book was incredible. I cannot praise it enough, but that won't prevent me from trying.