Reviews

The Electric Heir by Victoria Lee

not_a_username's review against another edition

sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

megatronix's review against another edition

5.0

brb screaming

debchan's review against another edition

3.0

i think the main problem with this book was the messy plot. the characters were wonderful, but it's not just characters that make a book. besides that, this book was wonderful and its message will connect deeply with readers. i personally liked it, though there are many opinions about this book. more thoughts below.

Spoiler

i was dying to read it after the fever king, and it didn't disappoint, character-wise. victoria lee really placed her heart and soul into the electric heir and it shone through beautifully. for one, noam and dara were both abused by lehrer, and, although they fought to acknowledge their abuse, they were able to overcome it and come out on the other side. this tale of hope is so inspiring. their relationships with ames, bethany, and taye were so wholesome: i love them so much. the plot might have been lost to the characters, as it wasn't airtight and felt repetitive and anticlimatic, but that wasn't the point of the book. the point of the book was survival and it was magnificently breathtaking. i'm glad dara and noam survived, and at first i wasn't too happy about them ending up together because they fought all the time and didn't seem healthy for each other, but i'm so glad that lee decided to make them resolve their issues - dara apologized to noam for being selfish and rude (although explainable, not justifiable). another interesting point was dara loosing his magic; it was fascinating to step into his head - yay, dara's point of view was refreshing! - and learn the struggles he faced not knowing what other's were thinking or who was behind him. i don't know why the character of calix leher is so complex because nothing is more wonderfully frustrating to a reader than a complex character. was his torture so psychologically damaging to him that it made him cruel and a pervert or is it something deeper? what was his true relationship with his brother? none of this justifies his actions, but maybe a step deeper into his head will make us understand the true shadows of what makes up calix leher, especially since he is one of the villains you love to hate and yet still don't entirely understand his motivations. maybe he really is sick and disgusting, or maybe not: he's a character that enfolds too many layers, each darker and more twisted as you peel them back, but it might be worth it. anyway, this was a shining star in the sea of books nowadays, and it was inspiring to hear victoria lee's voice shimmer through the book as she told not only noam and dara's story, but also weaving in her personal story of survival.

edit: i was very nice with this review. looking back, i think noam and dara were quite annoying but no matter.

ligaliga's review against another edition

5.0

This was heartbreaking but like in a good way. It felt raw and wonderful and burning and beautiful.

It also had one of the most satisfying meet-again scenes ever.

I miss Noam and Dara already.

bookishcat's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful 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

4.5

lalala_hehe's review

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? Yes

4.5

jordb1213's review against another edition

5.0

Victoria Lee said I will twist a knife into your heart for 460 pages straight and you will love it.

bamboobones's review

dark emotional sad fast-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

5.0

Boy these queer kids are traumatized. Every content warning you can think of applies. This one is especially difficult if you have past experiences with manipulation and grooming. This book fits so much despair, grief, and pain in it, yet provides hope for healing from intense childhood trauma. I cried at the author's note at the end- if you're a survivor, Victoria Lee wrote this for you. 

jasmine63099's review against another edition

Terrible

I never hated an MC like I did in this series. I had to skim a lot of this because of how ridiculous and disgusting it was

olivee's review against another edition

adventurous dark 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

5.0

It's hard to pick just one favorite thing about this book. I loved the characters fiercely and the world is so interesting and fun to read about. The political aspect could at times either feel drawn out or not detailed enough - for most of the book it felt like we were going over the same details in regards to the plot aspect, but I also somehow appreciate this because it meant we could actually focus on the characters and their journeys. It was definetly a hard read topic wise and I would recommend everyone read the trigger warnings, but the book handles the topics well and has a good conclusion. Sad to see these characters go! I will definetly be rereading this many years in the future to experience it all again <3