Scan barcode
sjen_sik's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
One of the best books I've read in a while. Has a good mix of lighthearted comments, to tense moments, to surprising revelations. I loveed it.
sinamile's review against another edition
4.0
Audiobook ARC Review: Received for free via NetGalley for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
CW/TW: bullying, blood, thievery, foster care system, parental death, mention of fire, kidnapping, grave robbing, vomiting, gore, ableist slurs, anxiety, PTSD, drowning, poisoning, injections, arachnophobia, mention of separation/divorce, mention of suicide, lying about abandonment, accidental murder, incorrect use of powwow, child death, body disposal, mention of drug use, alcohol, violence, dark magick, mutilation, injury, coma
I am confusion.
I really enjoyed this book, the narrating is really very good and makes it even more interesting. The writing is good and it's engaging and it's not hard to get though because it's simple and easy to understand.
I like how much time was spent building the lore and magick of the town, how the world building is put together to create a world that one can imagine. We aren't choked with information about the history and magick, there's no info dumping, it's done in such a way that it builds around the story itself, that it fits with the scene, is important with the setup of the scene. The magick of the leaves is understandable and is done in such a way that, like Slate, we end up understanding its workings and its importance as the story progresses.
I love the characters. They are funny when they need to be and serious when that's what is needed. Everyone playz their role and they do it well, they all have part and they stick with it. They are well written characters, loveable and relatable and realistic. I think the only character that bothers me is Cadence's father, who's story leaves me lacking closure.
I like that although Slate and Cadence have a bit of an instalove connection, they don't just fall into each others arms and have it all be fine and dandy, they are realistic about everything, question their emotions, acknowledging that they don't know each other well enough for anything more than lust. Their relationship is built up, they get to know each other, get to learn each other and how they handle stressful situations. They don't just fall in love because of looks, but because they've learned each other, seen the ugly side of each other and know each other from their shared experiences.
The thing I like the least about this book is the ending. I feel like an entire chapter is missing. I listened to the last few chapters a number of times and I still can't figure out how the ending happened, how it all concluded the way it did, with an epilogue there too! I feel like we needed at least one (1) or two (2) more chapters just to pull everything together, hash it all out, because there are still questions that I didn't get answers to.
I don't know how a second book would go after all this, because it seems most things came together, but I don't understand the ending. There are too many holes in the end for it to be truly satisfying. A second book would seem out of place, what with things mostly having come together, but maybe there'll be a new trial and the team will have to come together and once more fight the good fight, you know. I can imagine it being about the concewuences of everything that's happen. So yeah, maybe a second book would be a good thing as it'd give us more time and space to disect the first book as well as build more on the world with the aftermath of everything.
Yeah, actually, I would like a second book to answer my questions as well as to show us what's happened after the messiness of the book.
CW/TW: bullying, blood, thievery, foster care system, parental death, mention of fire, kidnapping, grave robbing, vomiting, gore, ableist slurs, anxiety, PTSD, drowning, poisoning, injections, arachnophobia, mention of separation/divorce, mention of suicide, lying about abandonment, accidental murder, incorrect use of powwow, child death, body disposal, mention of drug use, alcohol, violence, dark magick, mutilation, injury, coma
I am confusion.
I really enjoyed this book, the narrating is really very good and makes it even more interesting. The writing is good and it's engaging and it's not hard to get though because it's simple and easy to understand.
I like how much time was spent building the lore and magick of the town, how the world building is put together to create a world that one can imagine. We aren't choked with information about the history and magick, there's no info dumping, it's done in such a way that it builds around the story itself, that it fits with the scene, is important with the setup of the scene. The magick of the leaves is understandable and is done in such a way that, like Slate, we end up understanding its workings and its importance as the story progresses.
I love the characters. They are funny when they need to be and serious when that's what is needed. Everyone playz their role and they do it well, they all have part and they stick with it. They are well written characters, loveable and relatable and realistic. I think the only character that bothers me is Cadence's father, who's story leaves me lacking closure.
I like that although Slate and Cadence have a bit of an instalove connection, they don't just fall into each others arms and have it all be fine and dandy, they are realistic about everything, question their emotions, acknowledging that they don't know each other well enough for anything more than lust. Their relationship is built up, they get to know each other, get to learn each other and how they handle stressful situations. They don't just fall in love because of looks, but because they've learned each other, seen the ugly side of each other and know each other from their shared experiences.
The thing I like the least about this book is the ending. I feel like an entire chapter is missing. I listened to the last few chapters a number of times and I still can't figure out how the ending happened, how it all concluded the way it did, with an epilogue there too! I feel like we needed at least one (1) or two (2) more chapters just to pull everything together, hash it all out, because there are still questions that I didn't get answers to.
I don't know how a second book would go after all this, because it seems most things came together, but I don't understand the ending. There are too many holes in the end for it to be truly satisfying. A second book would seem out of place, what with things mostly having come together, but maybe there'll be a new trial and the team will have to come together and once more fight the good fight, you know. I can imagine it being about the concewuences of everything that's happen. So yeah, maybe a second book would be a good thing as it'd give us more time and space to disect the first book as well as build more on the world with the aftermath of everything.
Yeah, actually, I would like a second book to answer my questions as well as to show us what's happened after the messiness of the book.
aqua_lilium's review against another edition
5.0
Edit:
2nd time listening to this book and I find it quite comforting. There is nothing to add really, still love the book and honestly it is one of the books that I think of once in a while. Now since ei have the second book I can dive into it.
Thank you Netgalley for the eArc of this book.
Omg you guys, this book was so amazing. I loved both of the main characters and the plot was amazing. The love story was slow and sweet, the way I like it. There were a lot of cursing which I also loved, since I curse a lot too lol. I totally recommend this book, it was a such a fun read, although I received it in audiobook version but still it was soooo good. Not to mention the back story of the characters were neatly presented, they were not overwhelming the current story. And the plot in general it was not intense perhaps but more then enough to keep the reader/listener interested.
2nd time listening to this book and I find it quite comforting. There is nothing to add really, still love the book and honestly it is one of the books that I think of once in a while. Now since ei have the second book I can dive into it.
Thank you Netgalley for the eArc of this book.
Omg you guys, this book was so amazing. I loved both of the main characters and the plot was amazing. The love story was slow and sweet, the way I like it. There were a lot of cursing which I also loved, since I curse a lot too lol. I totally recommend this book, it was a such a fun read, although I received it in audiobook version but still it was soooo good. Not to mention the back story of the characters were neatly presented, they were not overwhelming the current story. And the plot in general it was not intense perhaps but more then enough to keep the reader/listener interested.
storyme56's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
It was a good read. But a bit too dark for my taste
blurrypetals's review against another edition
3.0
A copy of the audiobook was provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
This wasn't bad! I think it's actually cut out from a similar cloth as Jackaby and Stalking Jack the Ripper but without the mystery or the fact that it's set in Victorian England. I don't know why, but I kept being drawn to the sort of feeling I had while I was reading those books, despite this book's modern setting.
It also reminded me of another book I read fairly recently, All the Stars and Teeth, in that despite enjoying the general setting, plot, and characters, I still felt like there was something missing by the end and that I'm not sure if I would read the second book.
This also seemed to drag on a bit, having a few pacing issues and a pretty severe lack of urgency, despite the fact that Slate was due to die at a set time.
I also had a really hard time with some of the narration choices, particularly with the inconsistent and decidedly Not French way they pronounced some things, particularly in Slate's narrator's case, since he had a tendency to swear in French or use French swears and his narrator is the most Not French person. The two narrators also couldn't seem to agree on how to pronounce the word quatrefoil, neither of them being the actual French pronunciation of it, with Slate's narrator pronouncing it, "kwa-truh-foil" and Cadence's narrator pronouncing it, "kat-er-foil," so that was a little annoying.
That all said, this was a fun enough experience and I'm glad I got the chance to review it! Even if I'm not sure if I would enjoy reading the second book, I still may end up checking it out sometime, especially since this one was complements of the publisher, I wouldn't mind chucking a little money toward the second one!
This wasn't bad! I think it's actually cut out from a similar cloth as Jackaby and Stalking Jack the Ripper but without the mystery or the fact that it's set in Victorian England. I don't know why, but I kept being drawn to the sort of feeling I had while I was reading those books, despite this book's modern setting.
It also reminded me of another book I read fairly recently, All the Stars and Teeth, in that despite enjoying the general setting, plot, and characters, I still felt like there was something missing by the end and that I'm not sure if I would read the second book.
This also seemed to drag on a bit, having a few pacing issues and a pretty severe lack of urgency, despite the fact that Slate was due to die at a set time.
I also had a really hard time with some of the narration choices, particularly with the inconsistent and decidedly Not French way they pronounced some things, particularly in Slate's narrator's case, since he had a tendency to swear in French or use French swears and his narrator is the most Not French person. The two narrators also couldn't seem to agree on how to pronounce the word quatrefoil, neither of them being the actual French pronunciation of it, with Slate's narrator pronouncing it, "kwa-truh-foil" and Cadence's narrator pronouncing it, "kat-er-foil," so that was a little annoying.
That all said, this was a fun enough experience and I'm glad I got the chance to review it! Even if I'm not sure if I would enjoy reading the second book, I still may end up checking it out sometime, especially since this one was complements of the publisher, I wouldn't mind chucking a little money toward the second one!
tahliad_reads's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
medium-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
4.0
cala_p's review against another edition
3.0
ARC received from the punisher via Netgalley. Voluntarily reviewing and all opinions are objective and my own.
I was excited to get into this. I sounded like a witchy version of the type of fantasy romance that fans of The Mortal Instruments would enjoy. And, I still agree with this statement, but this is unfortunately only getting 3 stars.
I struggled to get through the first half of the book. It took a full third before I wasn’t bored, and then started to pick up the pace. By the midway point, I’ll admit I was very interested and intrigued, but I didn’t enjoy not enjoying a book for half of it.
I loved Slate’s character. I love how he’s set up to be basically a thieving bad guy, but there’s actually quite a lot of depth in him. I especially enjoy how he is when he is with Cadence. They’re such a cute couple.
Besides Cadence and Slate, this book carried with it a strong interesting cast. I’ll admit by the end I’m still not sure I know everyone, just simply due to not connecting well with them for half the read, but all in all, there’s a handful that do all contribute to the series.
Do I want to continue this series? I kinda do. I feel now that the book 1 stuff is over with, and progress has been made in the plot and with Cadence and Slate’s romance, I feel like each book here on out will have a better pacing. I’ll keep my eye out and would be interested in reading the sequel.
I was excited to get into this. I sounded like a witchy version of the type of fantasy romance that fans of The Mortal Instruments would enjoy. And, I still agree with this statement, but this is unfortunately only getting 3 stars.
I struggled to get through the first half of the book. It took a full third before I wasn’t bored, and then started to pick up the pace. By the midway point, I’ll admit I was very interested and intrigued, but I didn’t enjoy not enjoying a book for half of it.
I loved Slate’s character. I love how he’s set up to be basically a thieving bad guy, but there’s actually quite a lot of depth in him. I especially enjoy how he is when he is with Cadence. They’re such a cute couple.
Besides Cadence and Slate, this book carried with it a strong interesting cast. I’ll admit by the end I’m still not sure I know everyone, just simply due to not connecting well with them for half the read, but all in all, there’s a handful that do all contribute to the series.
Do I want to continue this series? I kinda do. I feel now that the book 1 stuff is over with, and progress has been made in the plot and with Cadence and Slate’s romance, I feel like each book here on out will have a better pacing. I’ll keep my eye out and would be interested in reading the sequel.
soccer8s's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-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? No
3.75
I enjoyed this book. One of the main characters shares her name with my daughter... first time I've had that in s book so it caught me off guard. I can't wait to read the next book in the series.
marieintheraw's review against another edition
2.0
I picked this up from the "listen now" section on Netgalley because it sounded interesting. Unfortunately I was not a fan of the romance nor the plot of this one.
I received an ecopy of this book via Netgalley; however, my opinions are my own.
I received an ecopy of this book via Netgalley; however, my opinions are my own.
janeeein123's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
2.5