minty's review against another edition
4.0
This kind of story--a Tristan and Ysolde, a Romeo and Juliet, a lovers-across-races--isn't new, but the world that the author created for it is, and inventively so. I enjoyed the complexity of the world and its realness. It didn't feel like a stretch and the writing supported it perfectly.
The ending was so vague as to leave me desperate to read book 2. I wish there had been a bit more to this one, though.
The ending was so vague as to leave me desperate to read book 2. I wish there had been a bit more to this one, though.
silquesoleil's review against another edition
4.0
Writing: 5/5
All the pretty words. All of them. Really, this book has such a beautiful language, it's one of those that was fun to read , that takes you by the hand and leads you away. One can get lost in this kind of writing.
World building: 5/5
I really loved the concept of the wish shop, the magic system (that was novel and interesting) and the mythology of the two races, the Seraphim and the Chimaera. The fantasy aspects of the novel left me with the impression that the author took all the stuff I love and mixed it together in a new way. Very nice. (Also it all makes sense?)
Plot: 4/5
Er... I don't know. The plot is very linear and what is remarkable for a YA novel is that the heroine isn't just a device to fangirl about the love interest, that gets shoved here and there. Both Karou and later (or earlier?) Madrigal are allowed to do stuff, the plot evolves around their actions (and to an extent also around Akiva's but it's quite obvious that the focus is on the girls), they are not just mere observers (I'm judging you Cassandra Clare). They get to fight.
The foreshadowing is neatly interwoven, with a good eye and a quick mind one can anticipate certain revelations but it's not too obvious. Good.
The romantic subplot was... leaving me with mixed feelings. It felt a bit rushed, but the connection between Akiva and Karou made sense later and it was beautifully written. (Also at some point the word inevitable fell, can someone please confirm my assumption that Laini Taylor has read CLAMP mangas, because if there is one thing that can make me buy insta-love than it's saying: it was hitsuzen. So, it was kind of hinted that they are soul mates?) There was one trope that pissed me off because it's being used in every bad romance ever, the whole „oh, but why would she care how she looked“ phrase when the heroine is around the main love interest. I hate that. When the book shows off that she is already falling for him but apparently in denial. Either you flat out admit that the heroine wants to look good in his presence (for which there can be other reasons than him being a love interest, such as him being an ethereal beauty and she just feeling self-conscious about her looks around him. That is a legit feeling that is not necessarily tied to any romantic feelings and can let you mask that romance you are plotting.) Or she wants to look good because she wants to look good. Or, she doesn't give a crap how she looks in the guys presence, how's that for once?
Aside from that it was really well done.
Characters: 4/5
I wish we had seen more of Karou's family, especially Twiga and Yasri. Aside from that, the character's motivation and personality were understandable and personally, I found Karou very comprehensible. She is headstrong, smart enough to realize when she's wrong but sometimes too proud to admit that to anyone else than herself, she is a responsible teen and the relationship between her and her best friend is adorable. (Finally a YA heroine who has a female best friend, omg I never thought I would see this!) She sometimes does stupid stuff – like we all have done sooner or later. She has her doubts and sticks to decisions. No, really. Karou feels like a real human being.
Brimstone, as distant as he was as, was still acting very much like a father figure, protecting Karou (also by keeping secrets from her – they were no equals in that relationship as children and parents rarely are), expecting her to be better than others, and judging every wish she made. Really, he's the typical papa.
Akiva sometimes felt a little bit over the top and he didn't get me that much on an emotional level, also after reading the end it occurred to me that he's a bit of a dick in the last third of the book.
Pace: 4/5
The book was a smooth read, however the beginning was rather fast paced and then the last third of the book... its not like it dragged but there was less action and more lovey-dovey stuff and time skips back to reveal important information, and so the end of the story feels a bit random. I'm not talking about the plot, mind you (the book could not have ended any other way), I didn't get why the book cut off at that point, it was hard to connect again with Karou and so it didn't really feel like an ending. GOSH THIS DOESN'T MAKE SENSE unless you're read the book, then maybe you get what I'm trying to say. (I would have wanted to find out a little bit more about Karou's motivation in the end. I know, that doesn't really belong in this category safe for the fact that the end felt 'cut off.')
Social awareness: 4/5
So far the book is very heteronormative, but we don't know much about the society of seraphim and chimaera yet, maybe there will be a little bit more about that in book two. So all we can really focus on is feminism. And I think it's doing a fairly good job. It's becomes obvious in the book that Karou could leave Brimstone anytime she wanted and the reason why she did not was the fact that no matter how gruesome the job was, it never occurred to her to leave. Because Brimstone, Issa, Twiga and Yasri are her family.
Her actions are truly her own.
The only guy who tries to manipulate and pester her gets punished (in a rather harmless way).
There is no slut shaming, sex isn't demonized, women are allowed to have urges and what is really great is that this book actually admits that there is a difference between being in love and being horny. The problem with romantic subplots is often that it's either completely innocent or that we are told that the characters are in love while it's actually just their libido that is all over the place.
I had a problem with the one scene where Brimstone hurts Karou. He doesn't hit her, he grips her so hard that she gets bruises and I didn't like that at all (he should be aware of his strength, he really should even if he's angry with her) but at the very least his actions were not excused.
Final Rating: 4,3/5
All the pretty words. All of them. Really, this book has such a beautiful language, it's one of those that was fun to read , that takes you by the hand and leads you away. One can get lost in this kind of writing.
World building: 5/5
I really loved the concept of the wish shop, the magic system (that was novel and interesting) and the mythology of the two races, the Seraphim and the Chimaera. The fantasy aspects of the novel left me with the impression that the author took all the stuff I love and mixed it together in a new way. Very nice. (Also it all makes sense?)
Plot: 4/5
Er... I don't know. The plot is very linear and what is remarkable for a YA novel is that the heroine isn't just a device to fangirl about the love interest, that gets shoved here and there. Both Karou and later (or earlier?) Madrigal are allowed to do stuff, the plot evolves around their actions (and to an extent also around Akiva's but it's quite obvious that the focus is on the girls), they are not just mere observers (I'm judging you Cassandra Clare). They get to fight.
The foreshadowing is neatly interwoven, with a good eye and a quick mind one can anticipate certain revelations but it's not too obvious. Good.
The romantic subplot was... leaving me with mixed feelings. It felt a bit rushed, but the connection between Akiva and Karou made sense later and it was beautifully written. (Also at some point the word inevitable fell, can someone please confirm my assumption that Laini Taylor has read CLAMP mangas, because if there is one thing that can make me buy insta-love than it's saying: it was hitsuzen. So, it was kind of hinted that they are soul mates?) There was one trope that pissed me off because it's being used in every bad romance ever, the whole „oh, but why would she care how she looked“ phrase when the heroine is around the main love interest. I hate that. When the book shows off that she is already falling for him but apparently in denial. Either you flat out admit that the heroine wants to look good in his presence (for which there can be other reasons than him being a love interest, such as him being an ethereal beauty and she just feeling self-conscious about her looks around him. That is a legit feeling that is not necessarily tied to any romantic feelings and can let you mask that romance you are plotting.) Or she wants to look good because she wants to look good. Or, she doesn't give a crap how she looks in the guys presence, how's that for once?
Aside from that it was really well done.
Characters: 4/5
I wish we had seen more of Karou's family, especially Twiga and Yasri. Aside from that, the character's motivation and personality were understandable and personally, I found Karou very comprehensible. She is headstrong, smart enough to realize when she's wrong but sometimes too proud to admit that to anyone else than herself, she is a responsible teen and the relationship between her and her best friend is adorable. (Finally a YA heroine who has a female best friend, omg I never thought I would see this!) She sometimes does stupid stuff – like we all have done sooner or later. She has her doubts and sticks to decisions. No, really. Karou feels like a real human being.
Brimstone, as distant as he was as, was still acting very much like a father figure, protecting Karou (also by keeping secrets from her – they were no equals in that relationship as children and parents rarely are), expecting her to be better than others, and judging every wish she made. Really, he's the typical papa.
Akiva sometimes felt a little bit over the top and he didn't get me that much on an emotional level, also after reading the end it occurred to me that he's a bit of a dick in the last third of the book.
Pace: 4/5
The book was a smooth read, however the beginning was rather fast paced and then the last third of the book... its not like it dragged but there was less action and more lovey-dovey stuff and time skips back to reveal important information, and so the end of the story feels a bit random. I'm not talking about the plot, mind you (the book could not have ended any other way), I didn't get why the book cut off at that point, it was hard to connect again with Karou and so it didn't really feel like an ending. GOSH THIS DOESN'T MAKE SENSE unless you're read the book, then maybe you get what I'm trying to say. (I would have wanted to find out a little bit more about Karou's motivation in the end. I know, that doesn't really belong in this category safe for the fact that the end felt 'cut off.')
Social awareness: 4/5
So far the book is very heteronormative, but we don't know much about the society of seraphim and chimaera yet, maybe there will be a little bit more about that in book two. So all we can really focus on is feminism. And I think it's doing a fairly good job. It's becomes obvious in the book that Karou could leave Brimstone anytime she wanted and the reason why she did not was the fact that no matter how gruesome the job was, it never occurred to her to leave. Because Brimstone, Issa, Twiga and Yasri are her family.
Her actions are truly her own.
The only guy who tries to manipulate and pester her gets punished (in a rather harmless way).
There is no slut shaming, sex isn't demonized, women are allowed to have urges and what is really great is that this book actually admits that there is a difference between being in love and being horny. The problem with romantic subplots is often that it's either completely innocent or that we are told that the characters are in love while it's actually just their libido that is all over the place.
I had a problem with the one scene where Brimstone hurts Karou. He doesn't hit her, he grips her so hard that she gets bruises and I didn't like that at all (he should be aware of his strength, he really should even if he's angry with her) but at the very least his actions were not excused.
Final Rating: 4,3/5
lcasswrites's review against another edition
2.0
I found this book sadly disappointing. It started off so well - I LOVED the main character Karou; she is so spunky and cool and just all round fun to read. The world was super interesting too, set in Prague but with mysterious doors to other locations... I was totally hooked. And then about a third of the way through the 'insta-love' happened and from then on the book veered away from the interesting story that had been building and instead almost entirely shifted focus to (what I felt) was a totally unearned romance. This is a completely subjective thing of course and I know this book is very well-loved, it just did not work for me on any level once that change happened. I'm also not a fan of characters who feel 'empty' and that 'empty' space can only be filled by their romantic partner... not sure this is a great example to set for anyone. But again, that's just me as a reader. 2 stars on this read from me :-(
aelynreads's review against another edition
5.0
First Read, 2017
You NEED to read this book!! OH MY GOSH IT IS SO GOOD
Things I LOVED
1. Karou is amazing. She's cool and artsy and clever and interesting. I LOVE HER OKAY.
2. The mystery.. ooooh. This book is so dang mysterious! Who is Karou? Why doesn't she have a family? What is Brimstone doing with those teeth? Who is Akiva?
3. The relationships! GOSH, so many really well-written relationships. Obviously there's the main one, but there are friendships and companionship and family and it's just beautiful.
4. EVERYTHING. Honestly, this is one of the BEST books I've read all year (and it's November btw, so that's a lot of books) and you basically need to drop everything you're doing to read this!!
I AM DIVING STRAIGHT INTO THE NEXT ONE!
You NEED to read this book!! OH MY GOSH IT IS SO GOOD
Things I LOVED
1. Karou is amazing. She's cool and artsy and clever and interesting. I LOVE HER OKAY.
2. The mystery.. ooooh. This book is so dang mysterious! Who is Karou? Why doesn't she have a family? What is Brimstone doing with those teeth? Who is Akiva?
3. The relationships! GOSH, so many really well-written relationships. Obviously there's the main one
Spoiler
Karou and Akiva, dur. Like, I've tagged this as a spoiler, but let's be honest, even the blurb gives it away4. EVERYTHING. Honestly, this is one of the BEST books I've read all year (and it's November btw, so that's a lot of books) and you basically need to drop everything you're doing to read this!!
I AM DIVING STRAIGHT INTO THE NEXT ONE!
nephybooks's review against another edition
4.0
I enjoyed the first half of this book more than the second but it was still really interesting to see how the story unfolded.
raetracer's review against another edition
4.0
I really liked the characters and the world created in this story! There was lots of humor in it as well. It did drag a bit in the second half, but I am interested enough to want to read the next one to find out what happens.
anita_mv's review against another edition
5.0
¿Te has preguntado alguna vez si son los monstruos los que provocan la guerra, o si es la guerra la que provoca monstruos?
ana_mv's review against another edition
5.0
¿Te has preguntado alguna vez si son los monstruos los que provocan la guerra, o si es la guerra la que provoca monstruos?
impassionskin's review against another edition
Made it about a third of the way in and decided not to finish. It's just not enough to draw me in. Never been super into the fantasy genre in general.