A review by southernbibliomom
Of Mist and Shadow by Jenna Wolfhart

medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

So, this was … mediocre. The writing style is not good, however the story itself has potential. It is super similar to ACOTAR, but not nearly as good. Where ACOTAR had specific world building, interesting characters all across the board (even the villains), and a plot with purpose, this one is all over the place. Problem is that there is slightly too much going on and the FMC is entirely not likeable. I found myself hoping someone - anyone - would just kill her already and give us someone new. Tessa is how a 12 year old thinks an adult woman would act and behave. She runs ENTIRELY on emotion (and that emotion is usually anger) and makes decisions without any thought, never once thinking about the consequences. Consequences that are usually paid for by others. Tessa is being forced into marriage by Light Fae King Oberon because he catches her trying to steal his powerful gems. She is stealing the gems to help the resistance captain who she trusts implicitly even when her friend says there is really no reason for that much trust as they've never actually met, but Tessa trusts him so there. Oberon is a terrible tyrant trying to break her and keep her in line. She ends up escaping and fleeing into the mists which keep all the light fae from leaving their borders. There, she is taken by the Mist King. She hates him and thinks him a tyrant because Oberon has told all the people how awful he is and given them all the “history” of the war that leaves them secluded by mists. And then to the surprise of no one ***SPOLIER ALERT, I GUESS*** he turns out to be the captain. Was this part predictable, yes. Did that predictability upset me, no because I thought this is where she will actually listen to what he has to say. But no not really. Don’t even get me started on the absurdity of her believing a letter from someone she never trusted and going forth with a terrible plan with no thought (again) without even giving a chance to hear the other side even though he had literally just saved her life. There is a miscommunication trope and then there’s this. The good part is that I like the mist king and think he will be a good character and there are some interesting side characters. And there are enough questions about what is actually going on that I will probably give the next book a listen while I’m cleaning or something. But without some serious character growth for Tessa, I’m out.