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a_wren_that_reads's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Death, Gore, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Toxic relationship, Blood, Grief, and Murder
Moderate: Bullying, Self harm, Sexual content, and Religious bigotry
Minor: Body horror, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Racism, Torture, Vomit, Stalking, Car accident, and Cultural appropriation
winnyreads's review against another edition
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
0.25
I try really hard to finish everything I start, especially series but I really don’t think I can finish this series. From book one it was hard not to notice how outdated a lot of things were, from language to behavior. The constant slut shaming, homophobia, racism, and ableism is disgusting. I cannot go further than this book for the sake of both my mental health and brain cells.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Ableism, Homophobia, Racism, and Toxic relationship
Don’t waste your timerachaelarsenault's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
0.5
Another book with great potential that is completely squandered.
I didn't mention this in my review of the first book, but part of the pacing problems stem from the authors throwing in plot point after plot point and never addressing any of them. One such plot point was that fledglings who had Rejected the Change would show up again with bright red eyes. Two such characters appeared very briefly in "Marked", but received little to no serious attention. Even in this book, when they become a central plot point, they are mostly ignored until over halfway through the story.
This book has a lot of great, interesting elements. But the execution is atrocious. It seems like these authors can't pace a story to save their lives. So much of the book is spent focusing on boy drama (including an incredibly illegal student-teacher romance) and Zoey's very boring plans to restructure the Dark Daughters, rather than focusing on the teens that go missing and turn up dead or the apparent zombies that are wandering campus. Even when the authors throw in a subplot about calling in a fake bomb threat they manage to make it dragged out and boring.
Another issue I failed to touch on in the first book is how the authors handle Zoey's Cherokee heritage. It seems to mostly exist to make her more exotic and magical, which is incredibly offensive. Also, Cherokee ritualism is inexplicably mixed in with Wiccan circle casting - which was already nonsensical considering they worship the Greek goddess Nyx. But the decision to bastardize any seemingly mystical culture in this series' shoddy excuse for world-building is only made worse when Zoey decides to use eucalyptus in a ritual, citing it as an ancient herb used by her people for centuries. Even though eucalyptus is from Australia. The first book was already dipping into pan-Indianism, but now the story has managed to dive into transcontinental pan-Indianism. It's amazing, honestly.
The narrative also suffers from poor writing decisions that kill tension or spoil the story. For example, very important information regarding the death of a character and the zombie fledglings is revealed in chapter twenty-five, shortly after the character's death, when it should have been kept a secret until the end of chapter twenty-eight - and yet it's still presented as a surprise in chapter twenty-eight. Moreover, the character's imminent death is heavily foreshadowed from the end of chapter eighteen until the middle of chapter twenty-two, but all the characters ignore and dismiss it because it would be inconvenient to the narrative if they were worrying about this character. It showcases the poor pacing of the series and the strange tendency of the authors to prioritize frivolities over the actual plot.
All the same issues that existed in the first book persist in this one. The only reason I gave it more than a zero-star rating is because it mostly had a coherent plot, even if it was dragged out and frequently ignored.
I didn't mention this in my review of the first book, but part of the pacing problems stem from the authors throwing in plot point after plot point and never addressing any of them. One such plot point was that fledglings who had Rejected the Change would show up again with bright red eyes. Two such characters appeared very briefly in "Marked", but received little to no serious attention. Even in this book, when they become a central plot point, they are mostly ignored until over halfway through the story.
This book has a lot of great, interesting elements. But the execution is atrocious. It seems like these authors can't pace a story to save their lives. So much of the book is spent focusing on boy drama (including an incredibly illegal student-teacher romance) and Zoey's very boring plans to restructure the Dark Daughters, rather than focusing on the teens that go missing and turn up dead or the apparent zombies that are wandering campus. Even when the authors throw in a subplot about calling in a fake bomb threat they manage to make it dragged out and boring.
Another issue I failed to touch on in the first book is how the authors handle Zoey's Cherokee heritage. It seems to mostly exist to make her more exotic and magical, which is incredibly offensive. Also, Cherokee ritualism is inexplicably mixed in with Wiccan circle casting - which was already nonsensical considering they worship the Greek goddess Nyx. But the decision to bastardize any seemingly mystical culture in this series' shoddy excuse for world-building is only made worse when Zoey decides to use eucalyptus in a ritual, citing it as an ancient herb used by her people for centuries. Even though eucalyptus is from Australia. The first book was already dipping into pan-Indianism, but now the story has managed to dive into transcontinental pan-Indianism. It's amazing, honestly.
The narrative also suffers from poor writing decisions that kill tension or spoil the story. For example, very important information regarding the death of a character and the zombie fledglings is revealed in chapter twenty-five, shortly after the character's death, when it should have been kept a secret until the end of chapter twenty-eight - and yet it's still presented as a surprise in chapter twenty-eight. Moreover, the character's imminent death is heavily foreshadowed from the end of chapter eighteen until the middle of chapter twenty-two, but all the characters ignore and dismiss it because it would be inconvenient to the narrative if they were worrying about this character. It showcases the poor pacing of the series and the strange tendency of the authors to prioritize frivolities over the actual plot.
All the same issues that existed in the first book persist in this one. The only reason I gave it more than a zero-star rating is because it mostly had a coherent plot, even if it was dragged out and frequently ignored.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Death, and Blood
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Homophobia, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Vomit, and Outing
Minor: Ableism, Forced institutionalization, and Islamophobia
Sex shaming