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mikaela_basile's review against another edition
2.0
2.5/5 I was really hoping to enjoy this more ☹️ the characters felt so flat, and devoid of actual personality. Barely any character growth and the story liked to skip over the actual interesting parts of the book.
AND OF COURSE ONE THE MAIN CHARACTERS IS RELATED TO SOMEONE REALLY MAGICAL AND IMPORTANT.
YA book nepotism is real lol.
AND OF COURSE ONE THE MAIN CHARACTERS IS RELATED TO SOMEONE REALLY MAGICAL AND IMPORTANT.
YA book nepotism is real lol.
kiwij96's review against another edition
I got about 100 pages in and determined that I was bot the target audience (age-wise) for this book. The synopsis sounded excellent, but it just didn't progress in a way that kept me engaged.
a_chickletz's review against another edition
2.0
I was super excited to read this book. I was super excited to find a new author in YA/fiction.
After reading this book, I don't think I'll be continuing the story that she has crafted.
There are a lot of problems with this book, one of which is the love interest(s?).
Spoiler cutting:
When she accepts a letter written to her by a witch, Deen is like 'I'm going too because I need to be with you and we're together forever'. She is all, 'no, don't go', but then she flip-flops super fast and says 'lol, jk, I want you to go now'.
Our other love interest comes into play because he is the Prince of Darkness (the son of the super malevolent Sultan) and his dad has told him to find this magical artifact on an island devoted to magic... because they need to return magic to the lands? Yeah. Anyway, he and his general/friend (are they friends? they spend a lot of the book bitching at one another - annoyingly) go to the island too, but they are warned that the Hunter is on his way there to get the artifact as well. The Sultan has told his son to kill the Hunter and his general because everyone needs to die. ... SO, when the time comes to kill the Hunter, the son notices that the Sultan has hired someone else to kill the general. The son shoots the dude about to kill the general, and the general's 'shot' misfires and shoots Deen.
Throughout the rest of the 2/3 of the book the Hunter (he finds out shortly after it is a girl) and the son have to work together. Unlike most 'love to hate' relationships, there is some sort of ... defining moment? Or, I don't know, a reason BESIDES from someone killing their friend. But no, the girl is like, 'God, the son is super hot... oh wait, Deen'. The son is like 'Oh god, the girl is super hot... oh wait, I'm above her in status AND I'm a killer! Wah!'.
Honest to fucking god, this goes on... and on... and on... AND ON. These two just keep having these inner thoughts about one another and I'm just stunned because she just watched the general (AIDED BY THE SON) kill her friend? lover? soon to be husband? and within a span of less than a week, she already wants to fuck the sultan's son.
As for the world building, it's really confusing as fuck and I listened to an audio on B&N that the original draft for this story was Hunter Games + Lord of the Rings, but her editor said it was too convoluted and she had to trim a lot of it down. This was a bit of a warning sign to me after finishing because it made so much sense of why everything felt disjointed.
I honestly think there could have been an interesting story here, but not only is it confusing, the girl (who were are lead to believe is independent, takes no shit) spends almost an entire book wrapped up in what the feelings of some man (who she hardly knows) feels.
It hurts, but honestly, life goes on.
After reading this book, I don't think I'll be continuing the story that she has crafted.
There are a lot of problems with this book, one of which is the love interest(s?).
Spoiler cutting:
Spoiler
So, our main character is very independent woman and lives in a small town where she pretends to be a 'Hunter' (because being a 'Huntress' would get her killed and women can't do shit in this world). So, she has a friend that she has known since she was a little girl named Deen. Deen has feelings for her... she has, I don't know, friendship feelings? somewhat relationship feelings? She agrees to marry him eventually.When she accepts a letter written to her by a witch, Deen is like 'I'm going too because I need to be with you and we're together forever'. She is all, 'no, don't go', but then she flip-flops super fast and says 'lol, jk, I want you to go now'.
Our other love interest comes into play because he is the Prince of Darkness (the son of the super malevolent Sultan) and his dad has told him to find this magical artifact on an island devoted to magic... because they need to return magic to the lands? Yeah. Anyway, he and his general/friend (are they friends? they spend a lot of the book bitching at one another - annoyingly) go to the island too, but they are warned that the Hunter is on his way there to get the artifact as well. The Sultan has told his son to kill the Hunter and his general because everyone needs to die. ... SO, when the time comes to kill the Hunter, the son notices that the Sultan has hired someone else to kill the general. The son shoots the dude about to kill the general, and the general's 'shot' misfires and shoots Deen.
Throughout the rest of the 2/3 of the book the Hunter (he finds out shortly after it is a girl) and the son have to work together. Unlike most 'love to hate' relationships, there is some sort of ... defining moment? Or, I don't know, a reason BESIDES from someone killing their friend. But no, the girl is like, 'God, the son is super hot... oh wait, Deen'. The son is like 'Oh god, the girl is super hot... oh wait, I'm above her in status AND I'm a killer! Wah!'.
Honest to fucking god, this goes on... and on... and on... AND ON. These two just keep having these inner thoughts about one another and I'm just stunned because she just watched the general (AIDED BY THE SON) kill her friend? lover? soon to be husband? and within a span of less than a week, she already wants to fuck the sultan's son.
As for the world building, it's really confusing as fuck and I listened to an audio on B&N that the original draft for this story was Hunter Games + Lord of the Rings, but her editor said it was too convoluted and she had to trim a lot of it down. This was a bit of a warning sign to me after finishing because it made so much sense of why everything felt disjointed.
I honestly think there could have been an interesting story here, but not only is it confusing, the girl (who were are lead to believe is independent, takes no shit) spends almost an entire book wrapped up in what the feelings of some man (who she hardly knows) feels.
It hurts, but honestly, life goes on.
rihannajane's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.5
emarie_books's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
bookswithmeg_'s review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
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
4.25
marisa27's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
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? Yes
4.0
sasuuuke's review against another edition
5.0
participating in Helmet's Reading Challenge
4. a book you were going to read last year
talented, brilliant, incredible, amazing, showstopping,
spectacular, never the same, totally unique, completely not ever been done before.
4. a book you were going to read last year
talented, brilliant, incredible, amazing, showstopping,
spectacular, never the same, totally unique, completely not ever been done before.
alyshapowe11's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child abuse, Physical abuse, and War