The design and UX isn't done, Rob and Abbie, okkurrrr! 😌
penofpossibilities's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This was... a ride. It honestly feels like this book has physically entered my dna and changed my entire brain structure, so if this review seems a bit chaotic it's all thanks to my dear friend who forced me to read this book that has slowly taken away all my braincells. buckle up for the weirdest review ever, since i have absolutely no clue myself where this is going and there is going to be alot of question marks and key smashes because that is what this book made me feel - ok lets go? im not ready hahahahah
I struggled with rating this bad b*tch; based purely on enjoyment this would be a 4/5 but objectively speaking , it's trAsH (as im sure you know if you've read this). This is the kind of story that i love to hate-read; just letting go of sanity and going along for whatever the flipflop the plot has in store for you and OH MY HOLY WHAT? THE F WAS THAT HAAHAHAH??? *confused laughter*
Let's start with the characters shall we. I actually rated all of them seperatly (on a scale of 10) : Lilly, our protagonist, has her moments. She shares a single braincell with Mr Ambrose but more often the braincell resides with her. She should get drunk more, and really tune into her homocidal tendencies. She really couldn't hold up on her own though, so I'm giving her a solid 6 for being someone to yell at.
Mr Ambrose really put me on a rollercoaster- hating him and liking him and laughing at him for being pathetic alternated in a rapid pace. Overall, he is very much like Lilly, but worse (HAHA) because he is a misogynistic piece of crap acting opressed for not being allowed more colonies with slaves to work for him and he is literally a rich white dude ? ew, but he gets 4 points for entertaining me.
Lillys sister Ella is the worst, she constantly upsets the man she is supposedly in love with and is basically super mean? i dont like it, but she is also entertaining so 5/10.
Edmund is a real g, he get's a 10 of course. Love how he is a decent person (yes the bar is low) and apologises for his mistakes.
Karim is a literal slave (no don't argue with me) and i don't like how he is written :D (*sarcastic thumbs up*) but it's hardly his fault. All though he is a fictional character so nothing is or isn't his fault. All I'm trying to say is that this author wrote some racist stereotypes and we don't let that slide so he get's a 3 also because he is sexist and i don't really like his vibes.
moving on we got Lord uhhh whatever mister evil guy with the difficult name,, i am too lazy to look it up so we will refer to him as mr evil. he get's a 1 for being an uninspired cliche villain without any depth and he is bOring.
Captain tiger waistcoat only appeared for one chapter but i liked him so 8/10 to perk up this overall rating!
I also rated Lillys friends together. I liked evy (evi? idk but the shy one) even though she has like 3 lines in the entire book but yeah whenever she opened her mouth straight facts came out and i want her to serve the tea more often because she seems to have actual braincells. The other two friends are very dramatic but supportive, i approve, the friends get a 7 ( not rated higher bcs they're underdeveloped and barely make an appearance).
As for the plot.... *manical laughter* oh boy.... the pacing was rEALLY off. It started of very boring and slow, and had moments like these occasionally througouth the story. Alot of stuff could have been cut out to make for a better 'flow' (for lack of a better word- pls i have nothing left in my brain ok) but then some of the chapters were fast-paced action packed scenes piled on top of each other. Honestly I'm not complaining about the latter because it was very enjoyable.
As for consistent plot or arc? there is none to speak of, let alone the fact that none of what happened makes any sense? plotholes much smndfmsjfdk but it's okay because we got DRUNK SCENE. drunk scene was my favourite thing about this entire experience and it is extra fun to read when it's past midnight i highly recommend lmaooÂ
hmmmm *looks at notes* ah yes the romance! Both Lilly and Ambrose gave me strOng lgbt+ vibes ngl... but they were also homophobic :') so at this point im like yk what you deserve each other or just bang or whatever because the TENSION was there even though i don't fully accept it since i think lilly should be queer... i mean, the POWER she could hold if she was aro ?? honestly it is still possible bcs she could be sexually but not romantically attracted to mr ambrose but knowing what we know of this series that is never gonna happen (sed). anyway it's clear that they aren't a healthy toxic free pair but i would be lying if i said i wasn't into it (I AM LOOKING DIRECTLY AT IT MSFKJDSMF) so uhhhhh yeah i am not exactly complaining but then i really am so it's complicated ok....
LAST BUT NOT LEAST i would like to mention that this book is very racist and has alot of problematic stereotypes in it. This can't be excused by the fact that it's HisTOriCaL FiCtioN >:(
if you for some unphantomable reason are thinking of picking this book up after this dumpster fire of a review you just read with your very own eyeballs i- i just think you should be aware of this and check out the trigger warnings!
overall??? am i gonna pick up the second book??? uhhhhH YES i am (*nervously glances away*)Â
i am addicted and you should all pray for my soul. I don't know why im doing this to myself, but i definitly am and im STOKED. how dare this book end on a cliffhanger that makes me have an emotion towards the characters??? i am infuriated but also props to this author for having the courage to write whatever this was. it was a TIME . my life has been forever altered. PEACE OUT IM GONNA START BOOK 2 NOW msdkjsdmf
I struggled with rating this bad b*tch; based purely on enjoyment this would be a 4/5 but objectively speaking , it's trAsH (as im sure you know if you've read this). This is the kind of story that i love to hate-read; just letting go of sanity and going along for whatever the flipflop the plot has in store for you and OH MY HOLY WHAT? THE F WAS THAT HAAHAHAH??? *confused laughter*
Let's start with the characters shall we. I actually rated all of them seperatly (on a scale of 10) : Lilly, our protagonist, has her moments. She shares a single braincell with Mr Ambrose but more often the braincell resides with her. She should get drunk more, and really tune into her homocidal tendencies. She really couldn't hold up on her own though, so I'm giving her a solid 6 for being someone to yell at.
Mr Ambrose really put me on a rollercoaster- hating him and liking him and laughing at him for being pathetic alternated in a rapid pace. Overall, he is very much like Lilly, but worse (HAHA) because he is a misogynistic piece of crap acting opressed for not being allowed more colonies with slaves to work for him and he is literally a rich white dude ? ew, but he gets 4 points for entertaining me.
Lillys sister Ella is the worst, she constantly upsets the man she is supposedly in love with and is basically super mean? i dont like it, but she is also entertaining so 5/10.
Edmund is a real g, he get's a 10 of course. Love how he is a decent person (yes the bar is low) and apologises for his mistakes.
Karim is a literal slave (no don't argue with me) and i don't like how he is written :D (*sarcastic thumbs up*) but it's hardly his fault. All though he is a fictional character so nothing is or isn't his fault. All I'm trying to say is that this author wrote some racist stereotypes and we don't let that slide so he get's a 3 also because he is sexist and i don't really like his vibes.
moving on we got Lord uhhh whatever mister evil guy with the difficult name,, i am too lazy to look it up so we will refer to him as mr evil. he get's a 1 for being an uninspired cliche villain without any depth and he is bOring.
Captain tiger waistcoat only appeared for one chapter but i liked him so 8/10 to perk up this overall rating!
I also rated Lillys friends together. I liked evy (evi? idk but the shy one) even though she has like 3 lines in the entire book but yeah whenever she opened her mouth straight facts came out and i want her to serve the tea more often because she seems to have actual braincells. The other two friends are very dramatic but supportive, i approve, the friends get a 7 ( not rated higher bcs they're underdeveloped and barely make an appearance).
As for the plot.... *manical laughter* oh boy.... the pacing was rEALLY off. It started of very boring and slow, and had moments like these occasionally througouth the story. Alot of stuff could have been cut out to make for a better 'flow' (for lack of a better word- pls i have nothing left in my brain ok) but then some of the chapters were fast-paced action packed scenes piled on top of each other. Honestly I'm not complaining about the latter because it was very enjoyable.
As for consistent plot or arc? there is none to speak of, let alone the fact that none of what happened makes any sense? plotholes much smndfmsjfdk but it's okay because we got DRUNK SCENE. drunk scene was my favourite thing about this entire experience and it is extra fun to read when it's past midnight i highly recommend lmaooÂ
hmmmm *looks at notes* ah yes the romance! Both Lilly and Ambrose gave me strOng lgbt+ vibes ngl... but they were also homophobic :') so at this point im like yk what you deserve each other or just bang or whatever because the TENSION was there even though i don't fully accept it since i think lilly should be queer... i mean, the POWER she could hold if she was aro ?? honestly it is still possible bcs she could be sexually but not romantically attracted to mr ambrose but knowing what we know of this series that is never gonna happen (sed). anyway it's clear that they aren't a healthy toxic free pair but i would be lying if i said i wasn't into it (I AM LOOKING DIRECTLY AT IT MSFKJDSMF) so uhhhhh yeah i am not exactly complaining but then i really am so it's complicated ok....
LAST BUT NOT LEAST i would like to mention that this book is very racist and has alot of problematic stereotypes in it. This can't be excused by the fact that it's HisTOriCaL FiCtioN >:(
if you for some unphantomable reason are thinking of picking this book up after this dumpster fire of a review you just read with your very own eyeballs i- i just think you should be aware of this and check out the trigger warnings!
overall??? am i gonna pick up the second book??? uhhhhH YES i am (*nervously glances away*)Â
i am addicted and you should all pray for my soul. I don't know why im doing this to myself, but i definitly am and im STOKED. how dare this book end on a cliffhanger that makes me have an emotion towards the characters??? i am infuriated but also props to this author for having the courage to write whatever this was. it was a TIME . my life has been forever altered. PEACE OUT IM GONNA START BOOK 2 NOW msdkjsdmf
Content Warnings
Graphic: Xenophobia, Sexism, Racism, Racial slurs, and Misogyny
Moderate: Ableism, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Cursing, Homophobia, and Fatphobia
Minor: Acephobia/Arophobia, Addiction, Blood, Confinement, Death, Forced institutionalization, Genocide, Gun violence, Torture, Trafficking, Transphobia, Slavery, and Murder
abuse of power, purposful misgendering, ableist slurs, bigotry
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