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thecandiegirl's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
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? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Confinement, Death, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Kidnapping, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Blood, Grief, and Abandonment
silentrequiem's review against another edition
dark
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.25
Would not consider this cozy. There are too many dark moments, high stakes for it to be cozy. It's cozy adjacent at times.
I enjoyed reading this book, but when I was done, I really am torn. I really did not like Cress, who was super controlling and arrogant. I didn't think Kate was very well defined as a character, and her storyline was all over the place. She started off a student and then suddenly just... stopped? And the resolution of everything was a giant deus ex machina that came out of left field and didn't really make sense with any of the groundwork laid down before.
That epilogue scene really pissed me off too. Maybe I've seen too many people who do the cake-smashing thing without the consent of the other party and it's always, ALWAYS a sign of one person lacking respect for the other. It's unnecessarily cruel and left a bad taste in my mouth, and amplified my misgivings about the book. Honestly, if it weren't for that scene, I probably would have ignored much of the rest of the issues.
I enjoyed reading this book, but when I was done, I really am torn. I really did not like Cress, who was super controlling and arrogant. I didn't think Kate was very well defined as a character, and her storyline was all over the place. She started off a student and then suddenly just... stopped? And the resolution of everything was a giant deus ex machina that came out of left field and didn't really make sense with any of the groundwork laid down before.
That epilogue scene really pissed me off too. Maybe I've seen too many people who do the cake-smashing thing without the consent of the other party and it's always, ALWAYS a sign of one person lacking respect for the other. It's unnecessarily cruel and left a bad taste in my mouth, and amplified my misgivings about the book. Honestly, if it weren't for that scene, I probably would have ignored much of the rest of the issues.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Emotional abuse, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Violence, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Confinement, Kidnapping, and Car accident
coffeestainsandinkspots's review against another edition
emotional
funny
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.25
Does this book have flaws? Absolutely. Did it have a choke hold on me anyway? Yes... yes it did.
I would not call this a cozy fantasy... maybe cozy adjacent. But there are too many high stakes moments to truly slot this in the "cozy" genre. It was a fun read for me though. The ending was satisfactory and I will happily pick up the sequel when it comes out.
I would not call this a cozy fantasy... maybe cozy adjacent. But there are too many high stakes moments to truly slot this in the "cozy" genre. It was a fun read for me though. The ending was satisfactory and I will happily pick up the sequel when it comes out.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Slavery, Violence, and Kidnapping
Minor: Sexual harassment
One of the minor characters makes an unwelcome move on the female main character. There's several fairy fights that get rather violent.bangiebangs's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
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? Yes
5.0
5*
This book... when I picked it up I thought this would be a sort of fae-human meet cute with a rom-com type story. I was wrong.
Kate accidentally kills a fae and a group of fae assassins come after her, led by a cold and cruel prince. They want her dead and try their best, but... things happen. Spells backfire. Fairy godmothers intervene.
This book was SUCH a roller coaster! The world-building is pretty straight-forward, but it's a richly populated world with a kind and wise grandmother, a fae world on the brink of war, and lots of coffee.
+ the humor! What happens when fae come to the human world and try to make sense of it, let alone live in it? Hilarious!
+ the emotions! I rarely cry when reading but there is one scene (iykyk) that just got me. A quiet, intense one. So well done, and so well-fitted into the story.The relationship between Cress and Thelma could be my favorite thing about this book.
+ the ending! Like... a smaller roller coaster. So good.
- Kate. How is an aspiring author bad at words? Like, she misuses so many of them, and it's an ongoing joke in the story. I find that unbelievable and a bit annoying.
-The subplot around the female assassins could have been fleshed out. Why did they leave the fairy realm, why are they hiding? What's the story with fairy knitting? This felt unfinished...
- the slavery. Yes, there is that, and I feel it's handled a bit nonchalantly? I get why it makes sense in the storyand omg when Cress thinks he's got Kate enslaved and orders her to die... , but still.. Also, what a power imbalance at the end - Cress enslaves Kate and first makes her walk away when she doesn't want to, and then plays tricks on her for fun, but she can only uses emotional pressure/ pouting to make him do things? Idk.
Overall, this book was a real surprise! I really, really enjoyed reading this, and thought it is well-written. Some story points could be more fleshed out (and some characters don't really need to be there, ahem, Grayson), but overall this is a whole package. Enemies-to-lovers, slow burn, no spice (because YA, but oh the tension!), hilarious fae hijinks, cruel - really cruel - fae.
It's so good it's going on my comfort reads list... recommended!
This book... when I picked it up I thought this would be a sort of fae-human meet cute with a rom-com type story. I was wrong.
Kate accidentally kills a fae and a group of fae assassins come after her, led by a cold and cruel prince. They want her dead and try their best, but... things happen. Spells backfire. Fairy godmothers intervene.
This book was SUCH a roller coaster! The world-building is pretty straight-forward, but it's a richly populated world with a kind and wise grandmother, a fae world on the brink of war, and lots of coffee.
+ the humor! What happens when fae come to the human world and try to make sense of it, let alone live in it? Hilarious!
+ the emotions! I rarely cry when reading but there is one scene (iykyk) that just got me. A quiet, intense one. So well done, and so well-fitted into the story.
+ the ending! Like... a smaller roller coaster. So good.
- Kate. How is an aspiring author bad at words? Like, she misuses so many of them, and it's an ongoing joke in the story. I find that unbelievable and a bit annoying.
-
- the slavery. Yes, there is that, and I feel it's handled a bit nonchalantly? I get why it makes sense in the story
Overall, this book was a real surprise! I really, really enjoyed reading this, and thought it is well-written. Some story points could be more fleshed out (and some characters don't really need to be there, ahem, Grayson), but overall this is a whole package. Enemies-to-lovers, slow burn, no spice (because YA, but oh the tension!), hilarious fae hijinks, cruel - really cruel - fae.
It's so good it's going on my comfort reads list... recommended!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Physical abuse, Slavery, Violence, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Torture and War
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