A review by artsymusings
All That Glows by Ryan Graudin
2.0
The one thing that comes to mind after reading All That Glows is that while it isn't bad, it isn't good either. There are many things that could have been improvised to make it all a little more of an engaging read but, alas, All That Glows fell short.
On the one hand, Emrys is very skilled at making use of her magic despite being young in terms of Fae age. On the other hand, she feels a connection to Richard only because he senses her presence, which later turns out to be because Emrys desired it. Having lived through centuries of history, you'd think that Emrys would have an amazing personality and a badass attitude. You'd be wrong. The one thing that I found interesting was her gripes about mortality and death.
There are many things that are not consistent with the plot and the most striking of all, is the pairing of Emrys with Richard. The core of All That Glows is the love story which is, sadly, weak at best. I couldn't grasp how Emrys, being an elegant Fae and hundreds of years old, connects with a supposedly 'notorious, partying bad boy.'
From what I gathered, Richard isn't notorious at all nor he is a bad boy because getting drunk every other night isn't the definition of being bad. On the contrary, it makes him ordinary. There is no reason given whatsoever for his being the way he is. It takes the biggest shock of his life to turn him into the opposite of irresponsible and in just a span of a few weeks. I wasn't sold at all.
All That Glows is overwrought with metaphors that either results in very unpleasant imagery or don't make much sense. The book picks up its pace, especially towards the end of the book, when the action takes the front seat and Emrys manages to shine for a bit. In all, the execution of an amazing premise is lost in the lackluster romance and an unrestrained use of metaphors.
On the one hand, Emrys is very skilled at making use of her magic despite being young in terms of Fae age. On the other hand, she feels a connection to Richard only because he senses her presence, which later turns out to be because Emrys desired it. Having lived through centuries of history, you'd think that Emrys would have an amazing personality and a badass attitude. You'd be wrong. The one thing that I found interesting was her gripes about mortality and death.
There are many things that are not consistent with the plot and the most striking of all, is the pairing of Emrys with Richard. The core of All That Glows is the love story which is, sadly, weak at best. I couldn't grasp how Emrys, being an elegant Fae and hundreds of years old, connects with a supposedly 'notorious, partying bad boy.'
From what I gathered, Richard isn't notorious at all nor he is a bad boy because getting drunk every other night isn't the definition of being bad. On the contrary, it makes him ordinary. There is no reason given whatsoever for his being the way he is. It takes the biggest shock of his life to turn him into the opposite of irresponsible and in just a span of a few weeks. I wasn't sold at all.
All That Glows is overwrought with metaphors that either results in very unpleasant imagery or don't make much sense. The book picks up its pace, especially towards the end of the book, when the action takes the front seat and Emrys manages to shine for a bit. In all, the execution of an amazing premise is lost in the lackluster romance and an unrestrained use of metaphors.