the start was SO GOOD. literally until 'Sky' left with Wilder's manuscript I was absolutely enthralled and I loved the characters and I was so so into some good interesting and entrancing mystery/thriller... and then it all got so meta and it was too back-and-forth. Unless you're specifically a fan of books where you're unable to trust things you read earlier in a book this one is gonna be a let down. it was just so bogged down in all the different layers of stuff going on and perspectives and it just ruined my opinions on the characters and my interest in the plot aaaa so annoying.
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
oh my god that was INCREDIBLE. so fun and mysterious. the setting and the world building was so vivid and rich and the characters were just exceptional.
knocked off .25 for the attempted enemies to lovers but they were enemies for like 20 pages before they softened towards each other 🫤 and also because she used the phrase "a muscle feathered in his jaw" about 6 times and it pissed me off. also the word decorous like a million times.
other than that this was perfection. honestly - perfection !!
definitely more enjoyable for having studied twelfth night and knowing the plot and characters back to front & upside down but STILL a very enjoyable very nerdy read.
as a disclaimer it's probably not for everyone because it's such a product of our time with internet slang, and pop culture all over it but personally I'm okay with that as long as it's relevant and significant in the plot, which in this case it is!
GREAT characters and an even greater exploration of loneliness and learning to allow yourself to be emotional. also some genuinely good "enemies" to lovers... like they genuinely do hate each other to begin with thank god. and they don't instantly love each other either.
maybe it's because I'm a shakespeare ho but I just loved this book down. also now I wanna play dnd
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
simply excellent... seen a lot of criticism from fans of bardugo's other work but I think they were expecting it to read like and feel like her YA romantasy serieses when it's an adult historio-political fantasy...
anyway I'm gagged as always, thanks leigh bardugo 🙂↕️