A review by linaria
The Diabolic by S.J. Kincaid
1.0
Ok, so I'm trying to get better about reviewing books, especially right after reading them. I have super mixed feelings about this book.
I could do very little to hurt Tyrus, but I could do this: die passively at his unwilling hands. It was the cruelest blow I could strike at him and the only weapon left in my arsenal.
Really? REALLY? That's ALL you could do? Super-engineered lethal assassin and THAT'S your plan.
It started off amazingly. I loved the world-building. The scheming and politics was a lot of fun. BUT about halfway through the book, it takes a turn for the worse. I had trouble connecting to the characters and at this point the book REALLY wanted me to have all the feels for the main characters and their relationships BUT I just really, really didn't care. During what I guess was supposed to be a pretty dramatic death scene, I felt absolutely nothing. I just looked at the page count and wondered how the author could possibly wrap the book up in like 50 pages.
The author wrapped it up quickly by making it a confusing series of double-crossings that made no sense in terms of character development. The last few chapters are full of lying, betraying, backstabbing bullshit, but it's so convoluted that I wonder if it needed a few more passes with editing. Like honestly, it's like the author tried to make everyone super schemey but it just didn't really come out well.
I'm not sure whether I'll end up reading the sequel. I may, but hopefully it takes a little longer in the editing room.
I could do very little to hurt Tyrus, but I could do this: die passively at his unwilling hands. It was the cruelest blow I could strike at him and the only weapon left in my arsenal.
Really? REALLY? That's ALL you could do? Super-engineered lethal assassin and THAT'S your plan.
It started off amazingly. I loved the world-building. The scheming and politics was a lot of fun. BUT about halfway through the book, it takes a turn for the worse. I had trouble connecting to the characters and at this point the book REALLY wanted me to have all the feels for the main characters and their relationships BUT I just really, really didn't care. During what I guess was supposed to be a pretty dramatic death scene, I felt absolutely nothing. I just looked at the page count and wondered how the author could possibly wrap the book up in like 50 pages.
The author wrapped it up quickly by making it a confusing series of double-crossings that made no sense in terms of character development. The last few chapters are full of lying, betraying, backstabbing bullshit, but it's so convoluted that I wonder if it needed a few more passes with editing. Like honestly, it's like the author tried to make everyone super schemey but it just didn't really come out well.
I'm not sure whether I'll end up reading the sequel. I may, but hopefully it takes a little longer in the editing room.