Reviews

Oculta by Maya Motayne

Only show reviews with written explanations

csofanni's review

Go to review page

dark funny mysterious medium-paced

4.5

firefox's review against another edition

Go to review page

5.0

So I didn't realise this was a trilogy until I put this one into goodreads. And quite frankly, I am happy to have a third book coming next year because I AM IN LOVE WITH FINN AND I NEED MORE FROM HER BECAUSE SHE'S STUNNING AND A PERFECT THIEF AND BEAUTIFUL AND OUI

The story? Great. The fantasy? Epic. The characters? Gorgeous.

I am in love.

jasmine_elizabeth's review against another edition

Go to review page

4.0

I really enjoyed listening to the audiobook. I found the plot to be interesting and the different POV’s to be engaging. I loved the romance between Finn and Alfie and how it wasn’t in your face and the main part of the plot. I didn’t see the plot twist at the end though i really should have seen both coming. I look forward to reading the conclusion of this trilogy.

moose_reads_books's review

Go to review page

adventurous challenging emotional reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Alfie & Finn have since gone their separate ways -- Alfie preparing for the next steps in taking the throne & Finn back to thieving... that is until her thieving forces her back to Castellan and thrown into a whole new level of thieving. Alfie is preparing for the 1st International Peace Summit with Englass with one large concession -- to end their magic caste system. The announcement raises mixed opinions in Castellan, with Los Toros being one of the loudest objecting voices of all. Alfie & Finn must work together once again to bring peace to Castellan and finally solve who is behind Los Toros.

I absolutely loved this book and we see so much growth, especially in the story telling, world building, and plot building from Montayne as an author (as someone who has also read Nocturna). The end of Nocturna wrapped up almost too nicely so I wasn't sure what Oculta was going to be about but wow, I was blown away. If you think you can guess the plot twist, you most likely will not. I thought the plot was incredibly well executed and a great commentary on the impacts of colonialism and the ways in which those impacts may never be rectified.

I also thought the character development and how certain character arcs were written was done well too. We meet the Englassen (the country that used to colonize Castellan) monarchy, specifically the prince and princess and see how their white privilege and male privilege play a role.

_camk_'s review against another edition

Go to review page

1.0

1.5 stars. I gave the first book of this series 4 stars so I evidently liked it, even if I don't remember much of it. But I really didn't like this book.

- The book goes from childish and immature to torture and back again. It's hard to tell who this book is suitable for.

- Alfie. He was just so frustrating. Alfie was so pitiful and annoying. We get it, he f'ed up...bad. His repetitive monologues about his self-pity and about Finn and constantly jumping to conclusion about Luka was so lazy writing. He did not have an ounce of character growth.

- Finn. I missed old Finn. Instead we get another self-pity character and is mooning over a boy she knew for a week. And when you think she had some character progression, her daddy issues come back tenfold.

- The plot. The plot was weak and boring and kinda obvious.