starryjoy's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
jcrovo's review against another edition
5.0
I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. The character development was rather good. I cannot wait to read the second novel - kick some a** Lina!
novelheartbeat's review against another edition
DNF @ 51%
I have tried twice now to finish this book, and at this point it's time for me to let go. I wanted so badly to get into this (Asian fantasy!!), but sadly, it fell short. The concept was pretty cool, but I found the execution to be lacking. It felt very generic and a bit on the juvenile side. The writing and characters were very bland, and I didn't care about anything that was going on. I found the bargain with the Pied Piper and Shin Lina to be rather...silly? She kept trying to kill him and he was all oh you're so adorable, hehee. Like what?? It's also an enemies-to-lovers romance, which is usually my jam, but I found the romance to be lacking any chemistry whatsoever. Which made the romance boring. Which made the whole story boring, because it's basically a romance disguised as a badass Asian fantasy.
It also didn't help that I felt very apathetic about Shin Lina. It's a classic case of tell, not show...we are told CONSTANTLY that Lina is the Reaper, she's a badass, an assassin and a thief, blah blah blah. But I made it halfway through the book I had yet to see any of that. She's childish, constantly getting caught, or in need of rescuing. For all the bragging about how adept she was, she was pretty useless.
I have tried twice now to finish this book, and at this point it's time for me to let go. I wanted so badly to get into this (Asian fantasy!!), but sadly, it fell short. The concept was pretty cool, but I found the execution to be lacking. It felt very generic and a bit on the juvenile side. The writing and characters were very bland, and I didn't care about anything that was going on. I found the bargain with the Pied Piper and Shin Lina to be rather...silly? She kept trying to kill him and he was all oh you're so adorable, hehee. Like what?? It's also an enemies-to-lovers romance, which is usually my jam, but I found the romance to be lacking any chemistry whatsoever. Which made the romance boring. Which made the whole story boring, because it's basically a romance disguised as a badass Asian fantasy.
It also didn't help that I felt very apathetic about Shin Lina. It's a classic case of tell, not show...we are told CONSTANTLY that Lina is the Reaper, she's a badass, an assassin and a thief, blah blah blah. But I made it halfway through the book I had yet to see any of that. She's childish, constantly getting caught, or in need of rescuing. For all the bragging about how adept she was, she was pretty useless.
library_with_mo's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
prominent_v's review
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0