surrah's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.0
The world felt extremely shallow, the characters felt like generic versions of other fantasty romance novel characters, and the main love interest was gross. The decisions made by characters didn't always make sense. The plot was choppy and it felt like nothing happened for a majority of the book...other than the main love interest being a creep. Look, I'm all for the desperate love that a lot of characters have in other books, but this was not that. I kept going in the hopes it would get better but unfortunately it did not.
Like other reviews are saying, if you are at all sensitive to SA, abuse, etc. you should not read this.
Like other reviews are saying, if you are at all sensitive to SA, abuse, etc. you should not read this.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Cursing, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Grief and Death
rtrotzko's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
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
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Pedophilia, Sexual content, and Violence
tessjuliarose19's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gaslighting, Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, Blood, Child abuse, Death of parent, Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, and Sexual content
elstark007's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Toxic relationship
Minor: Cursing
beanieberta's review against another edition
2.0
I see what kind of man the author was going for, it just didnt work out. He is always, always smirking, and he doesnt take the fmc seriously. Theres blurry consent (forget how often its insisted he wouldnt do anything she wouldnt like, theres so much coercion) and its a no go for me. The way he handles her gave me the ick. the plot is very, very predictable - which i actually wouldnt mind if the vibes otherwise were great, but for me, sadly they werent.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Physical abuse, Sexual assault, and Sexual content
ninxkr's review against another edition
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
0.25
I have never before in my life wished I was the type of person to be able to DNF a book.
This book was a 0.25 ⭐️ for me solely based on the potential it had with the concept of the Veil. Below are the reasons why this book failed to hit the mark for me
The characters
Both the FMC AND MMC are infuriating in their own way.
The MMC is a manipulative gaslighter who loves to coerce the FMC into sexual interactions with dubious consent whenever she as much as has a single thought. The fact that this is the MMC our FMC is made to fall for with her backstory of SA and grooming is baffling.
The FMC is set up to be a wild, intelligent woman longing for nothing but freedom after being groomed all her life. Yet, her actions paint her as an easily manipulated airhead. There was times when I had to put down the book due to the frustration caused by her level of dumbness. Somehow at the same time she knew things she had no business of knowing (not that it helped her figure out anything).
The side characters were written in a way that made you not care for them and noneq of the deaths impacted me (or the FMC, based on the writing).
The pet name
Some pet names in fantasy novels are bad and there's pet names that I would pay to get erased from my memory. Little One falls in the latter category. The use of this pet name feels more predatory and belittling than endearing, especially when used by the MMC when bossing the FMC around or, worse, in a sexual context.
The writing
This was very much a book where things were told to the reader and we were meant to just accept it. No prior hinting at things, showing internal struggles or doubts. When you are told randomly that the FMC is grieving her dead brother without ever having seen any signs of this in her behaviour or thought it simply does not have the impact it is intended to have. Same goes for being told the FMC has doubts about the MMC since his encounter with the cave beast 3 chapters before the end when this doubt had not been mentioned in her internal monologue at all since said encounter.
The dialogue is tediously bad. In a 420 page book there was maybe about 5 pages worth of actually meaningful dialogue. It becomes tedious to read when every conversation between the MCs ends in the MMC either making explicit sexual remarks or straight up coercing her into sex.
Overall the events, thoughts and dialogues seem disconnected from one moment to the next.
The pacing
The book starts off pretty strong with the worldbuilding and the fall of the Veil but quickly turns into 300 pages of the MCs wandering about the woods without much happening at all. They literally just walk around. The pace picks up a little bit when they meet the Resistance but once they go out on the mission to find the Marked towards the end of the book things feel incredibly rushed and there is no space left to explore what is really happening. Which brings me to ....
The plot twist at the end
The twist at the end had potential to be good if it wasn't all but spelled out about halfway through the book already. From the moment we met the MMC it was clear to me this was the fae mate the FMC had been running from. There is foreshadowing and there is spoiling the twist long before it's meant to be revealed.
I am usually a person who feels the need to finish a series once I have started it but after reading the first book I feel absolutely no rush to purchase the next book (if ever).
This book was a 0.25 ⭐️ for me solely based on the potential it had with the concept of the Veil. Below are the reasons why this book failed to hit the mark for me
Spoiler
The characters
Both the FMC AND MMC are infuriating in their own way.
The MMC is a manipulative gaslighter who loves to coerce the FMC into sexual interactions with dubious consent whenever she as much as has a single thought. The fact that this is the MMC our FMC is made to fall for with her backstory of SA and grooming is baffling.
The FMC is set up to be a wild, intelligent woman longing for nothing but freedom after being groomed all her life. Yet, her actions paint her as an easily manipulated airhead. There was times when I had to put down the book due to the frustration caused by her level of dumbness. Somehow at the same time she knew things she had no business of knowing (not that it helped her figure out anything).
The side characters were written in a way that made you not care for them and noneq of the deaths impacted me (or the FMC, based on the writing).
The pet name
Some pet names in fantasy novels are bad and there's pet names that I would pay to get erased from my memory. Little One falls in the latter category. The use of this pet name feels more predatory and belittling than endearing, especially when used by the MMC when bossing the FMC around or, worse, in a sexual context.
The writing
This was very much a book where things were told to the reader and we were meant to just accept it. No prior hinting at things, showing internal struggles or doubts. When you are told randomly that the FMC is grieving her dead brother without ever having seen any signs of this in her behaviour or thought it simply does not have the impact it is intended to have. Same goes for being told the FMC has doubts about the MMC since his encounter with the cave beast 3 chapters before the end when this doubt had not been mentioned in her internal monologue at all since said encounter.
The dialogue is tediously bad. In a 420 page book there was maybe about 5 pages worth of actually meaningful dialogue. It becomes tedious to read when every conversation between the MCs ends in the MMC either making explicit sexual remarks or straight up coercing her into sex.
Overall the events, thoughts and dialogues seem disconnected from one moment to the next.
The pacing
The book starts off pretty strong with the worldbuilding and the fall of the Veil but quickly turns into 300 pages of the MCs wandering about the woods without much happening at all. They literally just walk around. The pace picks up a little bit when they meet the Resistance but once they go out on the mission to find the Marked towards the end of the book things feel incredibly rushed and there is no space left to explore what is really happening. Which brings me to ....
The plot twist at the end
The twist at the end had potential to be good if it wasn't all but spelled out about halfway through the book already. From the moment we met the MMC it was clear to me this was the fae mate the FMC had been running from. There is foreshadowing and there is spoiling the twist long before it's meant to be revealed.
Spoiler
I am usually a person who feels the need to finish a series once I have started it but after reading the first book I feel absolutely no rush to purchase the next book (if ever).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Violence, Stalking, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Murder, Misogyny, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Sexual violence
virgoabb's review against another edition
dark
fast-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
always love a hot mmc w a gf that’s mean to him 🤭
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Gore, and Sexual content
Minor: Sexual assault
shan_lou's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
slow-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
1.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Death, Death of parent, Gore, Suicide, Toxic friendship, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Violence, Misogyny, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt
nixter's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Sexual content, and Sexual violence
lousnewchapter's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Adult/minor relationship, Emotional abuse, Grief, Gore, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Toxic relationship, Misogyny, Murder, Sexism, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual content, and Death of parent