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A review by ashlle1
Woven in Darkness by Lucy Holden
2.0
Thank you to NetGalley for access to the book in exchange for an honest review.
Bottom line: good premise obscured by an over-abundance of detailed lore.
I was immediately drawn to the book by the absolutely lovely cover, the comparison to ACOTAR, and the blurb promising enemies-to-lovers court intrigue with a unique magic system. While the characters of Zaria (captive Chosen One) and Harken (king of a hidden court) had some snappy dialogue and interesting interactions, I felt overwhelmed by the rest of the characters and the lore. There was simply too much: too much Capitalization, too much world history dropped at once, too much telling instead of showing, too many named characters to keep track of... I found my attention wandering more often than it should've. This one simply wasn't for me. If you like lots of detail and history in your epic fantasies, this one might be for you.
Bottom line: good premise obscured by an over-abundance of detailed lore.
I was immediately drawn to the book by the absolutely lovely cover, the comparison to ACOTAR, and the blurb promising enemies-to-lovers court intrigue with a unique magic system. While the characters of Zaria (captive Chosen One) and Harken (king of a hidden court) had some snappy dialogue and interesting interactions, I felt overwhelmed by the rest of the characters and the lore. There was simply too much: too much Capitalization, too much world history dropped at once, too much telling instead of showing, too many named characters to keep track of... I found my attention wandering more often than it should've. This one simply wasn't for me. If you like lots of detail and history in your epic fantasies, this one might be for you.