carolynnjeann's review against another edition
3.0
Was absolutely enamored by the summary of this book, excited to read but dismayed by the negative comments I read online. Nevertheless I decided to give the book a shot. There were a few things I liked, and many more things I did not like.
Starting with my pro list; I loved the setting and plot of this story. Time era fiction is literally my weakness. Renée Ahdieh uses beautiful descriptions to paint vivid pictures in the readers mind. The plot was also very interesting and unlike anything I’ve ever read before so I could never expect what was coming, thus why I finished the book so quickly.
However, here begins my cons list. I did not like the way the chapters switched POVs so quickly, as I got confused often and couldn’t paint a picture of the mystery killer in my mind.
Second, while I liked Ahdieh’s use of description to paint pictures, sometimes it became too much. It felt like I was in Celine’s head for pages upon pages. I graduated with a minor in creative writing and one thing my professors always taught was to show, not tell. I couldn’t help but think of that over and over again as I read.
Third, with the amount of time spent in Celine’s head, you would think I would have a better understanding of her character. I wish I could have seen more depth in her character, more than just a strong independent woman. She’s experienced a lot of suffering, I want to feel that through the pages.
Fourth, Bastien fell a little flat to me. I am an absolute sucker for an enemies to lovers novel, but their chemistry came on too quickly for me. They were flirtatious by their second (technically third) meeting and it just felt really wishy washy to me.
Lastly, either I read the ending way too fast or it felt confusing. I had to google a few different summaries and read the ending again to somewhat grasp what happened. I feel as though there are still a lot of unanswered questions. I know there are two more books that will probably answer some of those questions, but some of the things I am unsure about should have been answered at the end of this book.
TLDR, while this book isn’t a home run slam dunk in terms of depth, it is still a fun read. I definitely recommend giving it a chance! Never let a book’s reviews make up your mind for you, I’m glad I didn’t. While I genuinely wish I could have peer reviewed this many times before it was published, that doesn’t mean I didn’t enjoy reading it!
Starting with my pro list; I loved the setting and plot of this story. Time era fiction is literally my weakness. Renée Ahdieh uses beautiful descriptions to paint vivid pictures in the readers mind. The plot was also very interesting and unlike anything I’ve ever read before so I could never expect what was coming, thus why I finished the book so quickly.
However, here begins my cons list. I did not like the way the chapters switched POVs so quickly, as I got confused often and couldn’t paint a picture of the mystery killer in my mind.
Second, while I liked Ahdieh’s use of description to paint pictures, sometimes it became too much. It felt like I was in Celine’s head for pages upon pages. I graduated with a minor in creative writing and one thing my professors always taught was to show, not tell. I couldn’t help but think of that over and over again as I read.
Third, with the amount of time spent in Celine’s head, you would think I would have a better understanding of her character. I wish I could have seen more depth in her character, more than just a strong independent woman. She’s experienced a lot of suffering, I want to feel that through the pages.
Fourth, Bastien fell a little flat to me. I am an absolute sucker for an enemies to lovers novel, but their chemistry came on too quickly for me. They were flirtatious by their second (technically third) meeting and it just felt really wishy washy to me.
Lastly, either I read the ending way too fast or it felt confusing. I had to google a few different summaries and read the ending again to somewhat grasp what happened. I feel as though there are still a lot of unanswered questions. I know there are two more books that will probably answer some of those questions, but some of the things I am unsure about should have been answered at the end of this book.
TLDR, while this book isn’t a home run slam dunk in terms of depth, it is still a fun read. I definitely recommend giving it a chance! Never let a book’s reviews make up your mind for you, I’m glad I didn’t. While I genuinely wish I could have peer reviewed this many times before it was published, that doesn’t mean I didn’t enjoy reading it!
skwiecien's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
snwsandy's review against another edition
3.0
It's the 1800's and there are vampires in New Orleans...wait a minute. I think I've heard this before in another book or Tween TV show. Maybe a bit more Great Gatsby meets Ann Rice. It is beautifully described, but over done. The story drags on with the intent about describing every minute detail to the point I was skimming pages to get to the plot. I do like it and it has some good twists, but it was too overdone and in some points too theatrical/scripted (someone trying to get movie credits?).
tsunaxa's review against another edition
3.0
It was alright. But even at the end of the book I still barely had any idea about what the Fallen or Brotherhood was, and I felt like I was purposefully left in the dark waaaay too much. That being said, I enjoyed the writing and all the characters, the atmosphere and tone of New Orleans and Shakespeare. I was just hoping for more honestly.
absurtiddy's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
lispylibrarian's review against another edition
3.0
Meh. A knockoff Anne Rice wannabe vampire novel with a frustrating love interest.
wickedwitchofky's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I wanted to like this much more than I did. Very slow start and I feel like there was more description than action, so to speak. I will continue the series to finish it but not sure how I feel about it right now.
kerrisbooks13's review against another edition
3.0
3.75 stars! YA fantasy bringing back vampires and werewolves and I am here for it!! Pretty trope heavy (bad boy on the side of the vamps and good police detective on the side of the wolves) but still good. I felt like this first book was a lot of set up for the rest of the series but I’m willing to roll with it
My biggest two issues were 1) the setting wasn’t utilized enough. I love the vibe of French Quarter New Orleans and it didn’t jump off the page like I wanted it to. And 2) it was a little slow in getting to the whole ‘vampire’ realization. As readers we basically knew it from page 1 but it took until the final conflict for Celine to get there? I don’t think so
My biggest two issues were 1) the setting wasn’t utilized enough. I love the vibe of French Quarter New Orleans and it didn’t jump off the page like I wanted it to. And 2) it was a little slow in getting to the whole ‘vampire’ realization. As readers we basically knew it from page 1 but it took until the final conflict for Celine to get there? I don’t think so