A review by elyana
Beyond the Ruby Veil, by Mara Fitzgerald
2.0
(DNFed at 60%)
I've been on a book buying ban for a few weeks now and I am currently trying to focus on reducing my TBR.
I was really excited when I put this book on my wishlist and got it as a Christmas present, as it sounded cool and was marketed as "sapphic ruthless girls". Then I looked at the writing style and got... a little bit less excited. But I needed to know if it was worth the read or not so I started reading, and sadly it wasn't worth it.
It's a short fantasy book with quite a simple writing style, so I really thought I would finish it either way but it just got more and more ridiculous and I couldn't do it.
So what did I like about this book ?
- The world created by Mara Fitzgerald was honestly interesting. We have a city trapped under a red shadow veil with no source of water. They depend on a watercrea (a witch) to create water from the blood of people who are meant to die very soon. Then the MC kills the watercrea, run away and discover what's behind the ruby veil. I found it quite interesting and really wanted to see how the author was going to explain the things that were happening to our characters.
What did I not like about this book ?
- The characters : I tend to like morally grey characters and quite enjoyed Emanuela, our main character, at the beginning of the book. She was mean sometimes and really ambitious, but showed love to the people close to her and was quite funny. Then she just gradually became more and more infuriating, impulsive and all-around horrible to other people, even her supposed "bestfriend".
Let's talk about the bestfriend, Ale. He is the epitome of the "gay bff" who's just here as an accessory to the main character and has no brain of his own. He follows her everywhere and just keeps stuttering during all their conversations, while Emanuela constantly cuts him off and humiliates him for who he is. Here is a quote from page 54 :
What the heck. We never go back to the horrible things Emanuela says to him and he never defends himself (at least before the 60% mark). I wouldn't want to be a young gay boy reading this book, honestly.
We also have Verene and Theo, but I don't want to bother talking about them.
- The writing : As mentioned before, it's a fast-paced and easy book to read as the writing is quite simple. It could be a good thing, but some chapters and dialogues felt really unpolished.
The action scenes are weird too, everything happens way too fast and Emanuela gets out of every difficult situation way too easily. She's always saying "I'm superior, I'm not like other people blablabla" but if things are constantly made so easy for her it's difficult to believe in her so-called greatness.
Also some characters are just thrown to the side and we do not get answers for things that I think should be mentioned. (for example,)
Honestly I won't say this book wasn't entertaining. It was entertaining, but in such a ridiculous way I couldn't consider the story and those characters seriously anymore.
My Bookstagram
I've been on a book buying ban for a few weeks now and I am currently trying to focus on reducing my TBR.
I was really excited when I put this book on my wishlist and got it as a Christmas present, as it sounded cool and was marketed as "sapphic ruthless girls". Then I looked at the writing style and got... a little bit less excited. But I needed to know if it was worth the read or not so I started reading, and sadly it wasn't worth it.
It's a short fantasy book with quite a simple writing style, so I really thought I would finish it either way but it just got more and more ridiculous and I couldn't do it.
So what did I like about this book ?
- The world created by Mara Fitzgerald was honestly interesting. We have a city trapped under a red shadow veil with no source of water. They depend on a watercrea (a witch) to create water from the blood of people who are meant to die very soon. Then the MC kills the watercrea, run away and discover what's behind the ruby veil. I found it quite interesting and really wanted to see how the author was going to explain the things that were happening to our characters.
What did I not like about this book ?
- The characters : I tend to like morally grey characters and quite enjoyed Emanuela, our main character, at the beginning of the book. She was mean sometimes and really ambitious, but showed love to the people close to her and was quite funny. Then she just gradually became more and more infuriating, impulsive and all-around horrible to other people, even her supposed "bestfriend".
Let's talk about the bestfriend, Ale. He is the epitome of the "gay bff" who's just here as an accessory to the main character and has no brain of his own. He follows her everywhere and just keeps stuttering during all their conversations, while Emanuela constantly cuts him off and humiliates him for who he is. Here is a quote from page 54 :
"Nobody wants that with you. Nobody wants you at all. Do you even realize how pathetic your life is without me ?"
What the heck. We never go back to the horrible things Emanuela says to him and he never defends himself (at least before the 60% mark). I wouldn't want to be a young gay boy reading this book, honestly.
We also have Verene and Theo, but I don't want to bother talking about them.
- The writing : As mentioned before, it's a fast-paced and easy book to read as the writing is quite simple. It could be a good thing, but some chapters and dialogues felt really unpolished.
The action scenes are weird too, everything happens way too fast and Emanuela gets out of every difficult situation way too easily. She's always saying "I'm superior, I'm not like other people blablabla" but if things are constantly made so easy for her it's difficult to believe in her so-called greatness.
Also some characters are just thrown to the side and we do not get answers for things that I think should be mentioned. (for example,
Spoiler
what happened at the wedding after Emanuela was kidnapped by the watercrea? How was Ale married to someone else so fast?Honestly I won't say this book wasn't entertaining. It was entertaining, but in such a ridiculous way I couldn't consider the story and those characters seriously anymore.
My Bookstagram