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nicolepillhofer's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
fast-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? Yes
3.0
konvineo's review against another edition
1.0
DNF at 34%
This is my third DNF of August, what is happening? This sucks so much. Then again, I'm not forcing my way through books I don't ejoy.
Anyway, this book. I'm pretty sure it was part of my haul from the witchy Stuff Your Kindle Day. If I remember correct I kind scrolled past the listing for the book quite a few times, before deciding to try it out because why not? The blurb seemed kind of interesting, like something I might like if it's written right. This was just not it. The writing is okay, as far as I can tell, but it's not really flowing for me. The flow of the story is also janky in my opinion. It didn't feel like it was really moving along, and I was waiting for anything.
There's this elusion to allusion to all these secrets, and lies that's pervading the witch village, but the protagonist just briefly acknowledge that it's a thing, and then pushes it away. If she's such a squeaky wheel in the village and stubborn as hell, why isn't she demanding answers from her mother, the village elder?
There are so many things I that don't work for me. The characters around Kitarni feel flat. The worldbuilding makes no sense, and I wanted explanations/reasonings for so many things. Even if those explanations turns out not to be true or rooted in screwed up, dark "logic", fx why does the witches live by themselves without any men? Why can't they and the táltos (or whatever they're called) live together? What is the given reason, other than "it's just not done"?
Anyway, not for me, and I'm saving my sanity by putting this away.
This is my third DNF of August, what is happening? This sucks so much. Then again, I'm not forcing my way through books I don't ejoy.
Anyway, this book. I'm pretty sure it was part of my haul from the witchy Stuff Your Kindle Day. If I remember correct I kind scrolled past the listing for the book quite a few times, before deciding to try it out because why not? The blurb seemed kind of interesting, like something I might like if it's written right. This was just not it. The writing is okay, as far as I can tell, but it's not really flowing for me. The flow of the story is also janky in my opinion. It didn't feel like it was really moving along, and I was waiting for anything.
There's this elusion to allusion to all these secrets, and lies that's pervading the witch village, but the protagonist just briefly acknowledge that it's a thing, and then pushes it away. If she's such a squeaky wheel in the village and stubborn as hell, why isn't she demanding answers from her mother, the village elder?
There are so many things I that don't work for me. The characters around Kitarni feel flat. The worldbuilding makes no sense, and I wanted explanations/reasonings for so many things. Even if those explanations turns out not to be true or rooted in screwed up, dark "logic", fx why does the witches live by themselves without any men? Why can't they and the táltos (or whatever they're called) live together? What is the given reason, other than "it's just not done"?
Anyway, not for me, and I'm saving my sanity by putting this away.
sialovesbooks's review against another edition
1.0
Dnf @ p. 267
I have several issues with this book. THE BIGGEST ONE : this is an adventure fantasy book for heaven sake, and im STOPPING at 60% with no remorse or second thoughts. I SHOULD be on the edge of my seat trying to figure out whats gonna happen to the characters. I SHOULD be trying to understand the different world and cultures and falling in love with it. But instead, im skimming pages to see when itll get finally interesting. But more specifically :
1. The writing is nice but bland. Pretty but shallow. Some sentences remind me of lines from other fantasies ive loved. Nothing about it is unique it just keeps reminding me of other fantasy books.
If uve never read fantasy, i could see liking this.
2. The fmc. Shes ok, strong, nice… like every other fmc in the world. Nothing makes her unique, or fun except she has funky powers. I hate it when authors make bland ass characters but give them unique abilities to try to hide how regular the actual character is. Who is SHE? why should i like HER of all people? Or why should i hate her?
Everything about her is predictable which just bores me.
Not to mention that she only has personality around the MMC, and then she acts like a brat.
3. Its enemies to lovers, which i adore. However. Its mixed with weird insta lust which i HATE. I want them to genuinely hate each other and be wary of each other. Which tbh they were at first but then it became very obvious just by their second interaction, that they are attracted to one and other. The enemies just lasted a couple chapter, after that it was just her being bratty about everything.
To best explain, she gave me the energy of that friend who keeps saying this random guy is annoying her on social media and then when you suggest she block him, she says ohhhh nooo thats too much or too mean.
4. The pace. Heaven sake the books just went on and on about how alone and isolated and different she has for the first couple chapters. If i had the kindle instead of physical copy i wouldve dnf SO MUCH EARLIER. And i should have. We are on the precipice of war in this book and i felt NO TENSION. NO FEAR. NO RUSH OR LOOMING SENSE OF DOOM. It was told, it was not shown at all.
5. The romance dialogue. So cheesy, so lame, so corny. Please just kill me. If u cant write romance, THATS OK MAN, JUST SKIP IT AND WRITE A BOMB ADVENTURE BOOK. PEOPLE WILL STILL READ IT.
The romance is as bad as a useless and horrible kpop rap in a random girl group song.
Trope book tok and one line recommendations booktok would have a FIELD DAY with this one. And thats not a compliment.
I have several issues with this book. THE BIGGEST ONE : this is an adventure fantasy book for heaven sake, and im STOPPING at 60% with no remorse or second thoughts. I SHOULD be on the edge of my seat trying to figure out whats gonna happen to the characters. I SHOULD be trying to understand the different world and cultures and falling in love with it. But instead, im skimming pages to see when itll get finally interesting. But more specifically :
1. The writing is nice but bland. Pretty but shallow. Some sentences remind me of lines from other fantasies ive loved. Nothing about it is unique it just keeps reminding me of other fantasy books.
If uve never read fantasy, i could see liking this.
2. The fmc. Shes ok, strong, nice… like every other fmc in the world. Nothing makes her unique, or fun except she has funky powers. I hate it when authors make bland ass characters but give them unique abilities to try to hide how regular the actual character is. Who is SHE? why should i like HER of all people? Or why should i hate her?
Everything about her is predictable which just bores me.
Not to mention that she only has personality around the MMC, and then she acts like a brat.
3. Its enemies to lovers, which i adore. However. Its mixed with weird insta lust which i HATE. I want them to genuinely hate each other and be wary of each other. Which tbh they were at first but then it became very obvious just by their second interaction, that they are attracted to one and other. The enemies just lasted a couple chapter, after that it was just her being bratty about everything.
To best explain, she gave me the energy of that friend who keeps saying this random guy is annoying her on social media and then when you suggest she block him, she says ohhhh nooo thats too much or too mean.
4. The pace. Heaven sake the books just went on and on about how alone and isolated and different she has for the first couple chapters. If i had the kindle instead of physical copy i wouldve dnf SO MUCH EARLIER. And i should have. We are on the precipice of war in this book and i felt NO TENSION. NO FEAR. NO RUSH OR LOOMING SENSE OF DOOM. It was told, it was not shown at all.
5. The romance dialogue. So cheesy, so lame, so corny. Please just kill me. If u cant write romance, THATS OK MAN, JUST SKIP IT AND WRITE A BOMB ADVENTURE BOOK. PEOPLE WILL STILL READ IT.
The romance is as bad as a useless and horrible kpop rap in a random girl group song.
Trope book tok and one line recommendations booktok would have a FIELD DAY with this one. And thats not a compliment.
uraveragemuggle's review against another edition
3.0
I’m not going to lie, I almost DNF this book but I’m so glad I didn’t set it down.
I listened to it while at work and I think that was an injustice to myself and the book.
The ending 100% a twist I did not see coming and made me so intrigued to continue onto the next book!
I listened to it while at work and I think that was an injustice to myself and the book.
The ending 100% a twist I did not see coming and made me so intrigued to continue onto the next book!
emmas_readingnook's review against another edition
4.0
This was my first dip into fantasy and I really enjoyed the story. Chloe did a fantastic job of drawing me into her world of witches & power. Her character descriptions really helped and I could visualise them and the scenes very clearly. I would have liked a little more background on other characters particularly her mum and Dante but the story doesn’t end just yet so plenty of time for that. My favourite tho is death! Such an intriguing character and I want to learn more about him. Overall a really enjoyable read which I read in one day. Will be getting to the next book very soon!
aprilreads_andwanders's review against another edition
5.0
I haven’t actually read this book. I saw it on Pinterest and looked it up here and saw that I already had it marked “to read”…so I was like “sweet!” But then I accidentally hit the the star rating and gave it 1 star and apparently once you hit a star you can’t unhit the star. So I don’t want to give a book 1 star that I haven’t read so I figure I’ll err on the side of awesomeness for now until I read it.
Goodreads: we need to be able to undo the star rating. It was an accident!
Goodreads: we need to be able to undo the star rating. It was an accident!
julesbarthe10's review against another edition
3.75
A witch who has always been shunned by her village for her powers and her strong will is in an arranged marriage with the wolf tribe so as to gain their allegiance in an upcoming battle. Kitarni also just so happens to be the link needed to bring back and evil sorceress queen. The wolf clan must defeat the rebels causing havoc and try to prevent this resurrection. But there are far more secrets than Kitarni could have ever anticipated.
caffeinatedandreading's review against another edition
5.0
The Cursed and the Broken
“Being different is not a sin, nor does it make you lesser than others.”
I was lucky enough to receive and ARC of this incredible book in exchange for an honest review.
I’m still at a lost for words!! I’m fine, everything is fine.
Chloe’s writing and the characters immediately draw you in. Kitarni with her fiery spirit and Dante with a “jawline that could cut glass and an arse that wore the heck out of those pants”. SWOON. Their banter is everything! “You’re stuck with me Freckles”. Dante welcome to the book boyfriends club.
The love Kitarni has for her mother and sister is so beautiful. It's a stark contrast to the darkness that is the Cultists plaguing the Kingdom of Hungary. As you’re reading you really do feel connected and invested in the characters, more than once was I foolishly smiling. And more then once did I wish I could punch some of the characters in the face.
And we can’t forget Death and Fate. A lover scorned makes for a marvellous enemy.
The beautiful world building and influence of Hungarian folklore is so mesmerising. And all the sweet pastries, I relate all too well with Kitarni's stress baking. I wish I could escape to Mistvellen to eat oodles of bejgli with Kitarni in the lavender fields.
This book has everything;
-Witches and dark magic
-Folklore
-Enemies to lovers
-Arranged marriage trope
-One bed trope
-Strong female protagonist
-First person POV
-SPICE
And of course the book had to end with me having heart palpitations. Everything was great, everyone was happy. Then BOOM. I have never preordered a book so fast after reading an ARC, I’m dying to read the sequel and TCATB isn’t even out yet. The magic and folklore, the sass and chemistry, and oh my gosh the betrayal. Obsessed.
Chloe you've out done yourself. I can’t wait to read what happens next!
“Being different is not a sin, nor does it make you lesser than others.”
I was lucky enough to receive and ARC of this incredible book in exchange for an honest review.
I’m still at a lost for words!! I’m fine, everything is fine.
Chloe’s writing and the characters immediately draw you in. Kitarni with her fiery spirit and Dante with a “jawline that could cut glass and an arse that wore the heck out of those pants”. SWOON. Their banter is everything! “You’re stuck with me Freckles”. Dante welcome to the book boyfriends club.
The love Kitarni has for her mother and sister is so beautiful. It's a stark contrast to the darkness that is the Cultists plaguing the Kingdom of Hungary. As you’re reading you really do feel connected and invested in the characters, more than once was I foolishly smiling. And more then once did I wish I could punch some of the characters in the face.
And we can’t forget Death and Fate. A lover scorned makes for a marvellous enemy.
The beautiful world building and influence of Hungarian folklore is so mesmerising. And all the sweet pastries, I relate all too well with Kitarni's stress baking. I wish I could escape to Mistvellen to eat oodles of bejgli with Kitarni in the lavender fields.
This book has everything;
-Witches and dark magic
-Folklore
-Enemies to lovers
-Arranged marriage trope
-One bed trope
-Strong female protagonist
-First person POV
-SPICE
And of course the book had to end with me having heart palpitations. Everything was great, everyone was happy. Then BOOM. I have never preordered a book so fast after reading an ARC, I’m dying to read the sequel and TCATB isn’t even out yet. The magic and folklore, the sass and chemistry, and oh my gosh the betrayal. Obsessed.
Chloe you've out done yourself. I can’t wait to read what happens next!