claremontdiaz's review
4.0
#1 Darkling ★★★★☆
#2 Undertow ★★★★☆
#3 ???
Free copy kindly provided by the author.
This is yet another book that I sat on and then continued to sit on in my inevitable procrastinating of writing an actual review and came to the realization that I liked it more than my initial rating in the process. I rated this three stars at first and was like, “Yeah, that’s about right.” but then Sage read it. And then I went back and skimmed it for funsies (that is a lie, I did it because I have a horrible memory and the attention span of a toddler on a sugar high and that’s on the good days) and then I did that thing I always do, so really. It’s about a 3.5, probably even a solid 4 if I give it more thought.
And I’m not going to lie to you: I did not expect to enjoy this book as much as I did. I mean, I knew going into it that I was going to be moderately interested considering it was like a full whammy of my favorite things. It has witches, it has LGBT+ rep, and it has an aesthetic that appeals to my whole existence because I’ve spent an unreasonable amount of time in my life wishing I lived in small cape towns on the east coast like Port Lewis. So gay witches in a rainy coastal town that makes me feel like I need to wear all black and light a candle that smells like dead leaves and dried herbs and old books? Watch me trip over myself trying to get my greedy demon hands on that. But like... at the same time, I think I just naturally assume the worst so the only way to go is up when I read a book that doesn’t have any reviews from people I trust.
But it really was not fair of me to project that onto this book.
In a tl;dr kind of way (since this is a short story/novella and I don’t want to spoil things): Ryder is a fire witch, but also comes from a long line of necromancers on his father’s side. Ryder is in a circle with other fellow witches that do not trust necromancers like most witches because their magic is ‘unnatural’ so they are entirely unaware of who/what Ryder fully is. Ryder also has a best friend named Liam that he would like to be More Than Just His Best Friend that he’s tethered to after a reading. And Ryder’s magic is kind of unhinging itself and there’s really only one option to fix it.
I swear, it’s more appealing than I made it sound. I’m just about 99% sure that I’ll ruin something if I write an actual detailed summary because I’ve learned that it’s very easy to do that when it’s about a novella. Don’t hold me responsible.
Most of my love for the book hinged on the characters. Ryder is a really great narrator and character. He’s passionate and (this is a pun, sue me for $0.99 over it) fiery with a fierce loyalty for the ones he loves. At his best, he’s amusing in his impatience and annoyance with his own feelings, and at his worst, he’s painfully relatable in his insecurities and brashness. Bonus content: he’s a trans main character! I love him! His dynamics with the other characters around him develops him and even them in a way that I don’t see in short stories all that often. He has an extremely intense relationship with Liam from the get-go, that’s a given, but he also has the typical sibling interactions with Jordan and an endearing dynamic with his family. You know, the ones that everyone else deems evil and unnatural because of their magic and they’re over here planning Thanksgiving dinner. (That did not actually happen, I was just making a point.)
And as well as having a trans and gay main characters, there’s a side f/f relationship, a side m/m relationship, and a non-binary character in which there is an actual and casual addressing of pronouns that I ascended for. I love me a good cast of diverse characters, hell yeah.
In all honesty, this book isn’t a romance. It has it, sure, but it’s not really about Ryder and Liam’s relationship more than it’s simply about Ryder learning to accept both who and what he is, and letting other people either accept or reject that, too, so he’s not constantly living in hiding. Ryder’s whole existence with most of the characters are built on a couple of not-full-truths because it’s not that Ryder ever lied to Liam or to his circle; he just never told them the full truth and there’s a reason behind that. Most of the book deals with Ryder coping and coming to terms with his insecurities and his fears about the other half of his magic and also himself on a whole while finding his place with people he legitimately loves and cares for.
I do wish this had been longer but I’m not even sure if that comes from a legitimate desire to read more content or if it’s really ‘criticism’. Because yes, it being a novella did leave some vague blanks especially in back stories and character building as can be expected, but it was entertaining enough itself for me to think I just wish it had been longer so there had been more content to enjoy.
Will I get the sequel because I didn’t read this in time to request it on NetGalley because I procrastinate even fun things like reading a good (and SHORT) book like an absolute dumbass? Yes. Thank you for asking.
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Content warnings for: explicit sex scenes (in which I skimmed with the face of a prune), blood magic/bloodletting (it was for a good cause!), animal death (resurrected, if that soothes your soul because it definitely helped mine), and death of a main character (but there was enough mana for that resurrection, too, because we’re over this bury your gays shit).
pimm's review
1.0
came along because people told me there was a trans character and it was a good read and then realised that all 'witch' themed books tend to read very similarly and is not my jam at all lmao. skim read.
tempestas's review
4.0
Although a small book, I enjoyed it! Sometimes the events happened a bit too fast and where too confusing (for me) but in the end I ended up grasping fully the plot.
minthee's review
4.0
That was pretty enjoyable. Short but well done.
Ryder has a lot of secrets that he keeps from his friends and circle. After a tarot reading, the secrets slowly start to come out. I liked the story, it had necromancers, familiars and a romance that was pretty good and felt nice.
This was also my first book with a transgender character!
I will be reading the next one cause I liked Liam a lot.
Ryder has a lot of secrets that he keeps from his friends and circle. After a tarot reading, the secrets slowly start to come out. I liked the story, it had necromancers, familiars and a romance that was pretty good and felt nice.
This was also my first book with a transgender character!
I will be reading the next one cause I liked Liam a lot.
lbcecil's review
3.0
Oh I really enjoyed this! So creepy and atmospheric, and super romantic too
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Book 8 for #UnsolvedAThon for the prompt "The Historic Disappearance of Louis Le Prince: Read a book with less than 500 ratings on Goodreads"
____________________________________
Book 8 for #UnsolvedAThon for the prompt "The Historic Disappearance of Louis Le Prince: Read a book with less than 500 ratings on Goodreads"
princejem's review
as a trans man the writing was very triggering to me at the time. I was then stalked and harassed by the writer and their fans for saying what I felt, at the time, needed a warning because it wasn't a pleasant read for me and I worried it wouldn't be for others.
because of that experience and literally being bullied to remove my review on goodreads (and not to mention the more recent racist actions of the author) I've no interest in consuming any more of their work.
because of that experience and literally being bullied to remove my review on goodreads (and not to mention the more recent racist actions of the author) I've no interest in consuming any more of their work.
alisonalisonalison's review
4.0
3.5 stars. This was cool and I really liked it. It's an intense novella and it really hooked me and I found it really gripping, even though the plot is pretty simple. It's a pretty dark story and there's lots of blood and necromancy, so do check the cautions if you're unsure. The whole atmosphere of this story is spooky and dark and the setting is great. This book is all about Ryder sorting out his magic and I connected with him as a character straight away. There's lots of queer characters here and people of colour, which is excellent. I love books about people with magic and I really enjoyed the writing and the characters. I'm looking forward to more from this author and I'm keen for the next book!
a_h_haga's review
2.0
I'm not sure how I went about picking this book up, but I did. I knew it had LGBT+ elements, and it was about witches, but that's about it.
There is a lot of LGBT+ rep here. The MC is a transman, and he's gay. His sister is a lesbian/bi, there's a genderqueer there, and some of his closest friends are gay - honestly, I wish I had that many gay people around me. I'm bi and not shy about it, but I have 2 friends that are gay. There might be more, but they're hiding it for some reason. So yeah.
When I started reading it, I wanted a witchy read, something with a lot of focus on the craft. Darkling has that, but not in the way I wanted at the time. But that shouldn't be enough for me to dislike a book.
My problem, I'm sorry to say, was everything else.
While the MC is just 21 years old, I was expecting some more maturity from this story. Instead, I got a falling in love/lust story about two teenage boys, it felt like, with a lot of the anxiaty and feelings I don't like in YA books. I just don't care about it, and it ruins a book, I think.
Not to mention, I see a lot of love-drama in the future books with Vassa. I don't know why, but just the way the author introduced the character.
In this case, the sex also ruined the book. I don't mind erotica, but I mind it when it suddenly shows up in a book when not advertised.
And the writing was wordy and a little sloppy, missing enough words that it got annoying and not just something I could easily overlook.
I'm really sorry to say that this book wasn't for me at all. I'm sure a lot of people love it for the right reasons - as the ratings should suggest - but it was not my cup of tea at all.
There is a lot of LGBT+ rep here. The MC is a transman, and he's gay. His sister is a lesbian/bi, there's a genderqueer there, and some of his closest friends are gay - honestly, I wish I had that many gay people around me. I'm bi and not shy about it, but I have 2 friends that are gay. There might be more, but they're hiding it for some reason. So yeah.
When I started reading it, I wanted a witchy read, something with a lot of focus on the craft. Darkling has that, but not in the way I wanted at the time. But that shouldn't be enough for me to dislike a book.
My problem, I'm sorry to say, was everything else.
While the MC is just 21 years old, I was expecting some more maturity from this story. Instead, I got a falling in love/lust story about two teenage boys, it felt like, with a lot of the anxiaty and feelings I don't like in YA books. I just don't care about it, and it ruins a book, I think.
Not to mention, I see a lot of love-drama in the future books with Vassa. I don't know why, but just the way the author introduced the character.
In this case, the sex also ruined the book. I don't mind erotica, but I mind it when it suddenly shows up in a book when not advertised.
And the writing was wordy and a little sloppy, missing enough words that it got annoying and not just something I could easily overlook.
I'm really sorry to say that this book wasn't for me at all. I'm sure a lot of people love it for the right reasons - as the ratings should suggest - but it was not my cup of tea at all.
ddanahs's review
2.0
It feels awful to give this book only two stars but that's just how it is compared to my 3-star books. Now, don't yell at me, there were a few things I really liked about this book. One of which is, of course, the representation.
I liked that it wasn't a big deal for Liam (even if it was maybe a bit optimistic and in a way, I would welcome a longer conversation between the two on that topic but at the same time, I am completely okay with what the book gave us). I liked some parts of the magic system and Ryder being a combination of two powerful covens (even though it was a bit cliche).
The reason I gave this book only a two is mostly the plotting. The writing wasn't anything amazing but that's what I can usually redeem by the plot and the characters. Wow, now that I think about it, I don't even know how the writing was...the plotting was so off I paid attention to that more than the actual word structures. The plot...wasn't really anything that interesting to me. The characters were okay but I really didn't enjoy how Ryden and Liam got together - it seemed so fast, just blink and they're in love. Even for was such a short novel, that should've been handled a bit better because I didn't even get to feel any chemistry between the characters, so them getting together didn't do anything to me. Would be better if they were already an established couple and the book would just explore how they relationship would hold through the revelation of Ryders identity (meaning his powers).
I don't want to shit on this book, I really don't. And there is no 'but...' because I believe the author had great intentions and there is nothing inherently wrong with how the characters behave, there's no toxicity, nothing that would make me go 'oh god, I think I hate this book'. I don't hate it by any means. I simply believe it could've been executed a bit better and liking a book simply because its representation is not something I do. Sometimes it's a big part it but there are always tons of other aspects.
I believe that if I was younger, I'd enjoy it more. Now, I guess I just became very picky about writing and worldbuilding, and character portrayals (inevitable if you spend so much time with your nose buried in epic fantasy...)
I liked that it wasn't a big deal for Liam (even if it was maybe a bit optimistic and in a way, I would welcome a longer conversation between the two on that topic but at the same time, I am completely okay with what the book gave us). I liked some parts of the magic system and Ryder being a combination of two powerful covens (even though it was a bit cliche).
The reason I gave this book only a two is mostly the plotting. The writing wasn't anything amazing but that's what I can usually redeem by the plot and the characters. Wow, now that I think about it, I don't even know how the writing was...the plotting was so off I paid attention to that more than the actual word structures. The plot...wasn't really anything that interesting to me. The characters were okay but I really didn't enjoy how Ryden and Liam got together - it seemed so fast, just blink and they're in love. Even for was such a short novel, that should've been handled a bit better because I didn't even get to feel any chemistry between the characters, so them getting together didn't do anything to me. Would be better if they were already an established couple and the book would just explore how they relationship would hold through the revelation of Ryders identity (meaning his powers).
I don't want to shit on this book, I really don't. And there is no 'but...' because I believe the author had great intentions and there is nothing inherently wrong with how the characters behave, there's no toxicity, nothing that would make me go 'oh god, I think I hate this book'. I don't hate it by any means. I simply believe it could've been executed a bit better and liking a book simply because its representation is not something I do. Sometimes it's a big part it but there are always tons of other aspects.
I believe that if I was younger, I'd enjoy it more. Now, I guess I just became very picky about writing and worldbuilding, and character portrayals (inevitable if you spend so much time with your nose buried in epic fantasy...)
foreverburningred's review
1.0
I enjoyed this story for the most part. It was interesting and I liked the witch topic. The writing was good and it moved at a nice pace. The only thing I didn't like was that the male/male relationship really took me by surprise. I'm all for love, but this just wasn't my cup of tea. I wish there would have been some kind of warning about it, or that it were labeled differently. Maybe I just overlooked it on accident. Overall it was a good story.