sunshinesusan's reviews
22 reviews

From Blood and Ash by Jennifer L. Armentrout

adventurous dark emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

1.75

Yikes. 

I think this book is Armentrout’s first foray into high fantasy. She’s very prolific already, although mostly modern romance and PNR which are less my thing. Keeping those facts in mind helps explain a few of the bad writing choices, but not, by any means, all. 

So to start I absolutely hate the name “Pennellephe”. Every time it appeared in the text, I had to slow down and sound it out and each time I did, my brain was like, “Why.” I also hate that the bad faction is called “Descenters”. I get how it sounds similar, and that’s cute, I guess? but why are they called that? The book has lots of modern slang throughout, so made-up words stand out all the more and deserve an explanation. 

Poppy (shudder) has little to no agency in major story beats, and that’s actually done well. At some point, she explains that living is for other people, not for her, and that’s a really interesting concept to explore. I wish her character matched this backstory better: a person who grows up isolated, coddled and repressed is going to have some learned helplessness and trauma responses, but Poppy has none of that. It’s a backstory laid over the top of an independent, spirited individual. While admirable in theory, it makes the whole Maiden story device fall flat. 

I’m doing the math here, and if families are only allowed to keep their first two children, especially in this violent universe, the population will decline. The city feels entirely too bustling for the truth of the matter, which is people are dying off to attacks, curses, accidents and the Ascended much faster than they can reproduce. It should be a ghost town. 

There’s no map. The number of places Armentrout drops requires a map, even a shitty hand drawn one. SOMETHING. Maybe she just didn’t get around to it and book 2 will have one? 

I’ve seen people suggest a drinking game where you take a shot every time Hawk says Poppy is “intriguing”. I suggest sips instead, because it’s no good to black out before you even get a third of the way through!

And there’s this one point where he makes an obvious false dichotomy logical fallacy while arguing with her, and she’s like, “oh I guess that’s right,” and uh NO, that’s not right! This is not an unreliable narrator, its just a weak fucking argument. 

A relatively sane story goes off the rails in the last 15% of the story. Hawke/Casteel’s (which. Don’t get me started on how dumb those names are) werewolf minions flat-out murder the humans protecting Poppy and imprison her as leverage to regain Casteel’s brother. Casteel goes through a total personality change; instead of an honorable, if roguish, man who respects humans and believes in death with dignity, he becomes a bloodthirsty asshole. Poppy’s guards didn’t need to be murdered, although if they had died, he could have treated their deaths with dignity but instead it was treated flippantly, light-heartedly, almost like it was the butt of a joke. He tells Poppy early on that no one will hurt her again, and instead sets her up for a long string of perilous situations that end up in her nearly dying. Rather than taking on responsibility for his mistake of leaving her alone with werewolves who, for some reason, hate her (she’s a human?! Not their enemy??), he instead murders his minions to what, I guess, warn the others off? He sets them up, impaled and disemboweled, inside the castle? Which, *gross*. It’s a tiny castle, the people he wanted to send the message to aren’t going to see them there. It’s barbaric and a complete change from the man who OSTENSIBLY respected those who live life in service and belief that they deserve to die a dignified death? He could have just publicly executed them but he had to get creative and cruel? That’s an entirely villainesque move. See, I can make up words too. But they MAKE SENSE IN CONTEXT.  

Then he feeds on Poppy, which. Uh. He insisted the whole time that Atlantians (cuh-RINGE) didn’t feed on humans, so I guess that’s not true. But it’s okay! Because it turns out she’s only half human??

Honestly there is too much of the story told through exposition. People who shouldn’t have knowledge are just laying it straight out, like Hawke is somehow instantly sure that one of Poppy’s parents was an Atlantian, rather than her discovering it herself, maybe once she visits Atlantis? That would have been such a good way to develop her character and allow her to explore her roots! But yeah, I guess the villain, I mean love interest, telling her straight-out works too. 

But then it makes no sense, as Poppy rightly points out, that Hawke intends to trade her to the ascended because now she’s essentially his countryman. So it’s probably illegal for him to be holding her prisoner, and even MORE illegal that he then decides to MARRY HER (??????) without her consent. 

Like, I get it. He’s supposed to be complicated and moody and a Bad Boy ™. But that character archetype only works if (1) his  actions are defensible (otherwise he’s indistinguishable from the villain) and (2) Poppy has enough agency to have other options, and choose him anyway. Neither of those are the case, rendering the love interest a total douchebag instead. 

So Hawke sucks. Poppy’s character is flat. The world building sucks. The abrupt character change in Hawke made no sense. 

This book has such serious shortcomings that I just. I can’t even. So why am I holding the second book in my hands? because I’m an idiot who bought the second book without reading the first. 

Maybe this mess will redeem itself in book 2. Otherwise I may dnf. 

Winter's Orbit by Everina Maxwell

4.25

A Court of Silver Flames by Sarah J. Maas

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful inspiring medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

Kings Rising by C.S. Pacat

adventurous dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.25

I love a happy ending 🥹

Ocean's Echo by Everina Maxwell

adventurous dark emotional funny inspiring mysterious reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I absolutely loved this book. The snappy dialogue, the grand, almost self-indulgent descriptions, almost everything. I knocked off half a star for the middle, which seemed to drag on a little. Also, there were a lot of abstract descriptions that force the reader to slow down and really absorb what might be going on, which isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. 

Savage Lands by Stacey Marie Brown

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.5

Hello my name is Petunia Midnight Wicker Basket and I am the chosen one. I’m in love with two three nearly identical white dudes. Which one will I choose????? I’m also so clumsy!!! Except in all forms of combat. I’m also a fae. 

Also I really wish someone would explain to Stacey Marie Brown, or any of her editors, how italics work. 

Symphony for a Deadly Throne by E.J. Mellow

2.5

Endlessly Disappointing.

I read this book all the way through hoping that once-- just once--

Zimri would make a decision that wasn't naive, selfish, or just fucking shitty. Nope! He remains petulant and unlikable all the way through. This, from a dude that spent the better part of his life as a protege of the Thief King?! C'mon.

And that's not even to touch on the fact that

he utterly betrayed Arabessa, undermined and disrespected her and removed her agency by using his powers against her when he swore he wouldn't. How weak can you be?!

. You know who does that!? Villains. 

All in all, it was chock-full of plot holes, endless platitudes, and an exorbitant amount of moralizing as it tried desperately to make the case that the way it treated its heroine was somehow okay. I just feel so let down, and to think I'd hoped the series would improve from book 1. Ugh.

Dance of a Burning Sea by E.J. Mellow

medium-paced

3.25

So many plot holes. Also I hate when the man is an asshole for the sake of being an asshole, and I REALLY hate when I feel like

them ending up together

isn’t properly justified. 

Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir

4.0

I didn’t like the end. Like I get the poetry of it but

it seems such a sad end for someone who suffered their whole life

. 

House of Beating Wings by Olivia Wildenstein

3.75

Why are none of the men likeable? Like none of them ever. Also Dante’s character is purposefully opaque and inconsistent, and it’s not just flawed perception by an unreliable narrator.