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scriptrix's review against another edition
4.0
I've been loving this series! Odette has pulled out some wonderfully creative spins on old fairytales. The books are enjoyable reads, and I'm rating based off my level of fun while reading this, even though I do have some issues (see below).
That said, I felt like I connected to the characters in this one less than the first 2 books in the series. I love the idea to make the Little Mermaid character a thief (hoard of treasures and a finders keepers mentality - it tracks) but Maisie's untrustworthy behavior kinda annoyed me in parts. Also, the Bachelor plot was a fun idea, but in execution it felt out of place. I felt like it actually impeded the characters from getting to know each other well.
Finally, my ex-religious trauma brain did NOT enjoy the fact that the whole thing was a PR plot to get people to come to an actively anti-Fae church. The ending, in which the MMC just accepted that he was now forced to be the face of the church forever and "they're less radical now so it's fine" mildly infuriated me. It was like the fantasy equivalent of a bi girl dating a boy from a historically homophobic church that grudgingly pretends to be fine with her identity, and he does absolutely no work to deconstruct, and she just accepts that. Yikes.
Still planning to read on in the series, but very much hoping to avoid any more weird bigoted church redemption arcs 😬
That said, I felt like I connected to the characters in this one less than the first 2 books in the series. I love the idea to make the Little Mermaid character a thief (hoard of treasures and a finders keepers mentality - it tracks) but Maisie's untrustworthy behavior kinda annoyed me in parts. Also, the Bachelor plot was a fun idea, but in execution it felt out of place. I felt like it actually impeded the characters from getting to know each other well.
Finally, my ex-religious trauma brain did NOT enjoy the fact that the whole thing was a PR plot to get people to come to an actively anti-Fae church. The ending, in which the MMC just accepted that he was now forced to be the face of the church forever and "they're less radical now so it's fine" mildly infuriated me. It was like the fantasy equivalent of a bi girl dating a boy from a historically homophobic church that grudgingly pretends to be fine with her identity, and he does absolutely no work to deconstruct, and she just accepts that. Yikes.
Still planning to read on in the series, but very much hoping to avoid any more weird bigoted church redemption arcs 😬
Content Warnings
Moderate: Religious bigotry
a_familiar_place's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Confinement, Cursing, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
braiths_book_thoughts's review
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
I find it hard to believe that the person who wrote the first two books is the same person who wrote this book.
The previous books I loved, they were compelling and the twist to the retelling was amazing.
The kiss of the selkie, however?
None of these things.
It was extremely predictable. I guessed not only the twist of the retelling within a few chapters but also how it would end. It's hard to enjoy a book for the first time when you know exactly what will happen.
The characters? Completely two dimensional. They were boring, they had no personality and ultimately were dislikable or downright frustrating.
Maisie is a sheltered character, that in itself isn't irritating, when done correctly a sheltered character can be endearing. This was not true for Maisie. She had my eyes rolling more often than I could turn the page, she was a terrible character with zero personality and quite frankly I was happy when it was over.
The love interest. Oft. Brother Dorian was so bland eating the pages of the book would have been more enticing. We had zero insight to his character which made him very limiting but maybe that was a blessing as from what we did see of him, I can't image his thoughts would have been anything I would want to suffer through.
The chemistry between Maisie and Dorian? Well. I didn't find it in this book. Maybe Tessonja forgot to put it in because these two had nothing going for them. They went from hating each other to loving each other in a blink of an eye, Maisie claims that getting to know Dorian changes how she see's him, but this all happens before the reveal dark secrets conversation even occurs. She claims to know him so deeply but they barely do anything but argue until the end.
Maisie's mother is narcissistic and toxic. She gaslights Maisie throughout the book and there is forced forgiveness at end. This book also has a church setting so the religious overtones are very heavy.
The only reason this book got two stars was because of Podaxis. He was a treasure and the star of this book and Maisie did not deserve him as a friend.
The previous books I loved, they were compelling and the twist to the retelling was amazing.
The kiss of the selkie, however?
None of these things.
It was extremely predictable. I guessed not only the twist of the retelling within a few chapters but also how it would end. It's hard to enjoy a book for the first time when you know exactly what will happen.
The characters? Completely two dimensional. They were boring, they had no personality and ultimately were dislikable or downright frustrating.
Maisie is a sheltered character, that in itself isn't irritating, when done correctly a sheltered character can be endearing. This was not true for Maisie. She had my eyes rolling more often than I could turn the page, she was a terrible character with zero personality and quite frankly I was happy when it was over.
The love interest. Oft. Brother Dorian was so bland eating the pages of the book would have been more enticing. We had zero insight to his character which made him very limiting but maybe that was a blessing as from what we did see of him, I can't image his thoughts would have been anything I would want to suffer through.
The chemistry between Maisie and Dorian? Well. I didn't find it in this book. Maybe Tessonja forgot to put it in because these two had nothing going for them. They went from hating each other to loving each other in a blink of an eye, Maisie claims that getting to know Dorian changes how she see's him, but this all happens before the reveal dark secrets conversation even occurs. She claims to know him so deeply but they barely do anything but argue until the end.
Maisie's mother is narcissistic and toxic. She gaslights Maisie throughout the book and there is forced forgiveness at end. This book also has a church setting so the religious overtones are very heavy.
The only reason this book got two stars was because of Podaxis. He was a treasure and the star of this book and Maisie did not deserve him as a friend.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Grief, Religious bigotry, Murder, and Gaslighting