Reviews

I want to preface this review by saying that I am a huge fan of Chloe Gong and her work ("these violent delights" is one of my favorite books to this day). That being said, I was just not a fan of this book. I wanted to like it. I annotated it because I truly thought I would. Let me start with the plot. It was too busy. The magic system seemed rushed. It was overly confusing. The characters were shallow (except August and Galipei I love them wholeheartedly 🫶🏼). Some parts were really good. The smut was absolutely terrible. Like I can't really say I enjoy smut in general but it was really bad. It ended in an intriguing way. I do want to pick up the next one. I want to read all her work. This one just fell flat.

mcwilcox_12's review

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adventurous mysterious tense 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? It's complicated

4.0

Slow start but action packed second half with lots of twists and turns. Really enjoyed this and can’t wait for book 2

nataliahirabe's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging tense 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

5.0

indieieio's review

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fast-paced

4.5

africhik's review against another edition

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adventurous dark tense slow-paced

3.0

sethers's review

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Plot- or character-driven? Plot

3.5

amenon07's review

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1.0

Incredibly disappointed with this one. I was so excited for this book because despite not being a YA reader at all, I enjoyed These Violent Delights, so I was very eager to see what she could do with her adult debut (PLUS, Antony and Cleopatra is my favorite of Shakespeare’s tragedies!!!).
The romance did not make me feel anything whatsoever, the premise is cliche (and way too reminiscent of the Hunger Games to stand on its own), and the characters are not likeable or developed in the slightest (and only very faintly reminiscent of the Shakespearean originals). The writing makes this read 10x more YA than These Violet Delights (a book actually written for a YA audience) ever did. And to top it all off, I am very put-off by the main “magic system” in this book, so to speak - body jumping. I think I could write a whole different review about my qualms with just that.
Disappointed because I know that Gong is likely capable of much more, as she is quite the talented author. Seems like this book may have been rushed.

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