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leona_j's review against another edition
2.0
Honestly, it started out fine. A lawyer who’s a witch hiding her powers. Ok. But then, it really goes downhill. The characters are so flat. Her family is apparently super “hard and strict” but when one person betrays them severely there is no real consequence. The “romance” fell flat and the spice felt so forced. The only good thing about it was the northern accent of the narrator
littlelunarreads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
snarkymotherreader's review against another edition
2.0
The premise of The Twisted Mark is phenomenal. Magic practitioners vie for control, and a young woman named Sadie gets caught in the middle when her brother angers Gabriel, the son of her family's rival. As punishment, a lien is placed on Sadie, one Gabriel can collect at any time. She runs away to London to escape him, but is called back due to a family emergency.
I think if this wasn't marketed as a fantasy romance, I would have been able to see the story through. But I went in having picked a romance, and with that come certain expectations...like the heroine not jumping on every stiff Johnson she finds. The "morally grey" hero has a similar problem keeping it in his pants.
It's not that this is a Why Choose or Reverse Harem story. These two just jump from partner to partner, kind of negating the purpose of a romance.
If that's not something that bothers you, I encourage you to give this book a chance. The plot is intriguing and opens up a fun new world to explore. It just wasn't for me.
Thank you, NetGalley and Sophie Williamson, for the opportunity to read this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
I think if this wasn't marketed as a fantasy romance, I would have been able to see the story through. But I went in having picked a romance, and with that come certain expectations...like the heroine not jumping on every stiff Johnson she finds. The "morally grey" hero has a similar problem keeping it in his pants.
It's not that this is a Why Choose or Reverse Harem story. These two just jump from partner to partner, kind of negating the purpose of a romance.
If that's not something that bothers you, I encourage you to give this book a chance. The plot is intriguing and opens up a fun new world to explore. It just wasn't for me.
Thank you, NetGalley and Sophie Williamson, for the opportunity to read this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
eedeeyuh's review against another edition
2.0
I want to first thank both NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC of this book I received!
This review is coming a little late because quite honestly I just didn’t know how to articulate my feelings on this book.the idea of this book and what I thought it was going to be like had so much potential it is a new exciting premise to me and I think the aspects of the book that reflect that initial idea were great. I wish I could’ve seen more of that. The actual book however felt both slow and fast and in both ways the plot suffered. I was not sure why anything that was happening was happening and why no one seemed to be using logic and reason. I love and understand that sometimes YA needs to be a bit more simple and straightforward but I’m sorry nothing made actual sense. It was more heavily Y than it was A if that makes sense. The plot felt randomly generated and then the story was just kind of slapped in around it. The writing was forgettable you can decide if that’s good or not because I genuinely can’t remember what I thought of it.
Beyond the plot the relationship both did not make sense and was annoying. Like I’m sorry Gabe and Sadie together were just so uninteresting and nonsensical. Beyond that they could not figure the romance out to save their lives I will admit I deeply dislike Why Choose and if that’s what this was I wouldn’t fault them for my own personal taste but I don’t even think(how can I be sure idk) that’s what this was supposed to be. The other characters were so flat I don’t feel they’re even worth mentioning in this portion of the review.
Overall the story had potential and I didn’t dislike all parts of it however it lacked so much depth and backstory that I couldn’t really enjoy it reading it felt more like a chore.
This review is coming a little late because quite honestly I just didn’t know how to articulate my feelings on this book.the idea of this book and what I thought it was going to be like had so much potential it is a new exciting premise to me and I think the aspects of the book that reflect that initial idea were great. I wish I could’ve seen more of that. The actual book however felt both slow and fast and in both ways the plot suffered. I was not sure why anything that was happening was happening and why no one seemed to be using logic and reason. I love and understand that sometimes YA needs to be a bit more simple and straightforward but I’m sorry nothing made actual sense. It was more heavily Y than it was A if that makes sense. The plot felt randomly generated and then the story was just kind of slapped in around it. The writing was forgettable you can decide if that’s good or not because I genuinely can’t remember what I thought of it.
Beyond the plot the relationship both did not make sense and was annoying. Like I’m sorry Gabe and Sadie together were just so uninteresting and nonsensical. Beyond that they could not figure the romance out to save their lives I will admit I deeply dislike Why Choose and if that’s what this was I wouldn’t fault them for my own personal taste but I don’t even think(how can I be sure idk) that’s what this was supposed to be. The other characters were so flat I don’t feel they’re even worth mentioning in this portion of the review.
Overall the story had potential and I didn’t dislike all parts of it however it lacked so much depth and backstory that I couldn’t really enjoy it reading it felt more like a chore.
enchantingreads's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
This book is absolutely amazing!! Sadie is a girl who ran from home for her own protection, ended up returning home, and then falling in love with the enemy. There was sadness, heat, and passion in this book. I cannot wait for the next book to come out. I need to know what happened between Gabriel and Sadie.
booksta_adventure's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-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
4.5
𝙂𝙤𝙙 𝙝𝙚𝙡𝙥 𝙢𝙚. 𝙃𝙚’𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙨𝙩 𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙤𝙣 𝙄’𝙫𝙚 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙢𝙚𝙩 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙄 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙝𝙞𝙢 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙘𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙣 𝙄 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙞𝙢𝙖𝙜𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙙.
Sadie left her small, witchy town several years ago, and has been lying low in London, hiding herself and her magic after bargaining away her powers, and her body, to Gabriel, the son of the rival family in town.
That is until her brother is accused of murder, and her family wants her to come back to town and act as his lawyer.
I really enjoyed this audiobook. The narration was great, the story (with courtroom drama and witch town drama) was fun, and the tension between the two leads was high.
Twists and turns with morally grey characters everywhere you turn, it was an enjoyable ride, and I’m definitely looking forward to Book 2!
Thank you to Dreamscape Select, Storm Publishing and @netgalley for providing me an ALC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
What this book is giving:
✅ Modern Fantasy Romance
✅ Enemies to Lovers
✅ Witches
✅ Magic
✅ Rival Families
✅ Fated soulmates??
✅ Forbidden Love
✅ Courtroom Drama
Rating:
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️½ / 5
🌶️🌶️½ / 5
Look out for:
⚠️ OW/OM
⚠️ Cheating (MCs not cheating on each other)
eclectickatireads's review against another edition
1.0
Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!
1 star. I really didn’t like this book. Some aspects of it even made me angry!
Unfortunately, this reads like a really bad fanfiction. The characters were flat and didn’t talk or behave like actual people. The plot and the world-building made no sense and were full of contradictions. And the writing style itself also wasn’t great. It was mostly cringey and awkward.
This also didn’t feel like the blurb-promised Dark Fantasy Romance. It was mostly a courtroom mystery, with the families involved reading more like wannabe Mafia, than powerful witches or a coven. Meanwhile, the romance element felt manipulative and there was no chemistry between the characters.
I also noticed that the book was full of questionable, casual comments about people's appearance, coming from the “good guys”. This shouldn’t really be happening in a book published in 2023 and set in the present day, in my opinion. But they just kept happening! Non-magical filler characters were also sent off with love potions and told to have fun with their new girlfriends. So, clearly, the idea of consent doesn’t exist in this perfect, idyllic world either. There were many other head scratching and absolutely infuriating moments like this littered throughout the book.
1 star. I really didn’t like this book. Some aspects of it even made me angry!
Unfortunately, this reads like a really bad fanfiction. The characters were flat and didn’t talk or behave like actual people. The plot and the world-building made no sense and were full of contradictions. And the writing style itself also wasn’t great. It was mostly cringey and awkward.
This also didn’t feel like the blurb-promised Dark Fantasy Romance. It was mostly a courtroom mystery, with the families involved reading more like wannabe Mafia, than powerful witches or a coven. Meanwhile, the romance element felt manipulative and there was no chemistry between the characters.
I also noticed that the book was full of questionable, casual comments about people's appearance, coming from the “good guys”. This shouldn’t really be happening in a book published in 2023 and set in the present day, in my opinion. But they just kept happening! Non-magical filler characters were also sent off with love potions and told to have fun with their new girlfriends. So, clearly, the idea of consent doesn’t exist in this perfect, idyllic world either. There were many other head scratching and absolutely infuriating moments like this littered throughout the book.
smartin's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
tense
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? No
5.0
Enemies to lovers
Rival Families
Rival Families
Forbidden Lovers
Okay! Let's just go ahead and set up what is sure to be an amazing series! Witches, Magical Cities, Good Guys, Bad Guys, Romance, Heartbreak, Betrayal...it's all here! If any of these are your jam then get to this book immediately! I was completely enthralled through the entire book. There were two points that I actually gasped out loud in shock.
Sadie Sadler is a bad a$$ without a doubt. I love how strong and self aware she was through the book. She knows what she wants and she knows what she has to do and she doesn't allow herself to compromise.
Big thanks to NetGalley, Sophie Williamson and Dreamscape Select for the opportunity to listen to and review this audiobook. Polly Edsell did a FANTASTIC job narrating this one.
readwithanna's review against another edition
2.0
This ended up being more uninteresting than anything else.
The plot was uneventful.
The characters were confusing. We're told Gabriel is charismatic and, like, where? Is the charisma in the room with us right now? I could not understand what Sadie saw in him.
And with a plot this unimaginative, I need the character to pick up the slack but, for me, they don't.
The plot was uneventful.
The characters were confusing. We're told Gabriel is charismatic and, like, where? Is the charisma in the room with us right now? I could not understand what Sadie saw in him.
And with a plot this unimaginative, I need the character to pick up the slack but, for me, they don't.