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coffeestarsbooks's review against another edition
The writing style really didn't work for me. I found it really hard to understand anything that was happening and it felt incredibly slow, despite being a pretty short book for an adult fantasy novel.
intrepidheroine's review against another edition
This just wasn't working for me for some reason. I got distracted and then didn't feel like picking it back up.
cactusbby's review against another edition
3.25
I liked the overall story, but the writing was dry and it was hard to get through.
levesc17's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
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
4.5
Can’t wait to reread this! There is an extremely slow burn romance simmering but mostly it’s a magic adventure. A lot of scene stealing side characters too!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Misogyny, Grief, Death of parent, and Colonisation
Minor: Vomit
dragongirl271's review against another edition
Good writing. Good plot. Just not the greatest writing style for my brain when listening to an audiobook. Would love to give the physical book a shot.
dakotahgummauthor's review against another edition
4.0
The first half dragged quite a bit. I find it difficult to leave something half-finished, though, so I pushed through, and the second half was quite enjoyable. It felt written similarly to a 19th century English novel - a la Austen or Bronte - occasionally hard to get into, but containing numerous gems couched in the obscure language.
celiapowell's review against another edition
4.0
Wonderful, funny, sweet, charming - I loved this and I really wish it wasn't a debut novel so that I could go and read lots of other things by Zen Cho.
samira2205's review against another edition
adventurous
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
4.25
lchma's review against another edition
3.0
This book had so much potential and I loved elements of it, but it basically tried to cover too many topics through the eyes of a character I simply found too dull to connect with. The secondary (but clearly the more important) character was at least vibrant and satisfyingly driven so made it readable, and the second half definitely picked up the pace.
Also I found the Regency lexical setting awkward and lacked the realistic flow of authors such as Georgette Heyer (of course) or even Amanda Quick.
This all said, I am intrigued with the story and look forward to seeing more of this author - with such a range of interests and fascinating plotting I have high hopes that with the next book the pacing, language and characterisation will engage me much more.
Also I found the Regency lexical setting awkward and lacked the realistic flow of authors such as Georgette Heyer (of course) or even Amanda Quick.
This all said, I am intrigued with the story and look forward to seeing more of this author - with such a range of interests and fascinating plotting I have high hopes that with the next book the pacing, language and characterisation will engage me much more.
rubiamediocre's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
2.5