beknoel's review
3.0
Ruby Dixon is such a talented author, but something about this book fell a little flat for me. The pacing was a big part of it. The first 3/4 of the book was very slow. I actually am a fan of slow paced books and wouldn't have had a problem with that if it continued throughout the entire book. It didn't though. When we're nearing the end, SO much happens plot-wise.
The 3rd sister being alive plot-twist WAS a good twist and did make sense... but she was only in like 2 scenes before she died! There's just not enough payoff there. ALSO... Nemeth was forgiven so quickly for his betrayal. It was all just squeezed in at the end.
I really liked the first half of this book so much. The slow pace, slow burn enemies to lovers was great and well done! I just wish the second half felt more cohesive. Still, I'm happy I read it.
I really liked the first half of this book so much. The slow pace, slow burn enemies to lovers was great and well done! I just wish the second half felt more cohesive. Still, I'm happy I read it.
alejandra_guerrero's review
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
I liked it, but I missed the dual-POV that's usua in Ruby Dixon's books. The ending felt a bit rushed. I read this on the Yonder app, and I hated the experience.
bellal2107's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
sfdogmom's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Racism
lemon_teeth's review
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
saeruh's review
adventurous
mysterious
tense
2.5
A stand-alone set in a completely new universe than any of Dixon’s other works, found on a specific reading app, Yonder. I love Ruby and I genuinely think she is an amazing writer - but she really dropped the ball with this one imo.
I’ll start off with what I enjoyed first off. Sexually confident fmc/shy and bookish mmc is such a fun dynamic. I actually quite liked how shallow Candra could be, it felt relatable and made her interesting. While the world-building did take a bit to present itself fully, it was complex and felt very game-of-thrones-inspired. The close proximity of the tower setting added a level of drama and sexual tension. The smut was good, although there was a bit much of it even for my taste and im mainly a smut romance reader lol.
Now I’ll go on to what I did not like. As mentioned, a little bit too sex as I felt like there would be plot and then suddenly a sex scene to remind the readers that this is a romance novel! Some of the dialogue was cringey. The beginning chapters were boring and 95% of the plot happens in the last five-ish chapters which was quite annoying. Some triggering things like rape, slavery, infant death, homophobia, and medical trauma not rly mentioned any before it all started. Chapters were so short that the plot in them could never truly develop.Nemeth’s betrayal was forgiven much too easily and by the end of the book, I didn’t rly trust him anymore oops - maybe don’t lock your pregnant wife inside like a prisoner, just a thought?
Simply put, I think a MAJOR problem of this read was the platform it’s exclusively available on to read digitally. The app itself is free and you get a daily pass to read one (1) chapter of any story for free. Without this pass, each chapter requires 29 app coins to read and are often only a few pages long. With 72 chapters in total and no coins given to you, you either have the option to wait over TWO MONTHS to read a short chapter daily (the daily pass also do not accrue so if you miss a day of reading, you do not two daily passes, absolutely terrible if you have a normal life and are busy) or you can PAY real MONEY to buy coins to unlock the chapter. I personally ended up spending $6 to read as much as I could and I’m so mad at myself for that - the money doesn’t support ruby and only goes toward the app. I just hate spending a long time reading something that normally could take me a few hours of reading to finish. This microtransaction model of the app made me feel really gross and I know it def wasn’t just me.
If you’re a ruby fan like me, I would wait for this to come to KU (the uncertainty of that just worries me a bit lol) or get an audiobook trial to try out the audio.
I’ll start off with what I enjoyed first off. Sexually confident fmc/shy and bookish mmc is such a fun dynamic. I actually quite liked how shallow Candra could be, it felt relatable and made her interesting. While the world-building did take a bit to present itself fully, it was complex and felt very game-of-thrones-inspired. The close proximity of the tower setting added a level of drama and sexual tension. The smut was good, although there was a bit much of it even for my taste and im mainly a smut romance reader lol.
Now I’ll go on to what I did not like. As mentioned, a little bit too sex as I felt like there would be plot and then suddenly a sex scene to remind the readers that this is a romance novel! Some of the dialogue was cringey. The beginning chapters were boring and 95% of the plot happens in the last five-ish chapters which was quite annoying. Some triggering things like rape, slavery, infant death, homophobia, and medical trauma not rly mentioned any before it all started. Chapters were so short that the plot in them could never truly develop.
Simply put, I think a MAJOR problem of this read was the platform it’s exclusively available on to read digitally. The app itself is free and you get a daily pass to read one (1) chapter of any story for free. Without this pass, each chapter requires 29 app coins to read and are often only a few pages long. With 72 chapters in total and no coins given to you, you either have the option to wait over TWO MONTHS to read a short chapter daily (the daily pass also do not accrue so if you miss a day of reading, you do not two daily passes, absolutely terrible if you have a normal life and are busy) or you can PAY real MONEY to buy coins to unlock the chapter. I personally ended up spending $6 to read as much as I could and I’m so mad at myself for that - the money doesn’t support ruby and only goes toward the app. I just hate spending a long time reading something that normally could take me a few hours of reading to finish. This microtransaction model of the app made me feel really gross and I know it def wasn’t just me.
If you’re a ruby fan like me, I would wait for this to come to KU (the uncertainty of that just worries me a bit lol) or get an audiobook trial to try out the audio.
brennaa's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Slavery, Child death, Confinement, Pregnancy, Chronic illness, Murder, Pandemic/Epidemic, Sexual content, Violence, War, and Death
Moderate: Rape, Animal death, Body shaming, Classism, Fatphobia, Infertility, and Ableism
shksprsis's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
More...