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whenjessreads's review
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This was a cute, modern fairytale, definitely for a younger audience than the Folk of the Air series. Themes were coming of age/growing up/all that fun teenagery stuff. I had a bit of trouble trying to relate this to FOTA. Is it a prequel, is it set in the future, is it not related at all? There were some overlapping characters, but it didn’t seem to mesh in any meaningful way.
Holly Black’s writing was lovely, as always. This read like a fairytale. The setting was also great - the existence of faerie within an urban environment should have felt more jarring, but was managed well.
There were a couple of good twists on traditional roles in here. The damsel in distress saving herself; the fairytale princess being a fairytale prince; the modern representation of knights and bards etc etc… but I just wasn’t a fan of the characters. They were all either annoying or undeveloped, and the relationships just lacked substance.
The plot twists were fun, but honestly the whole thing felt a little chaotic, especially toward the end. Combine that with the slow start and… it felt disorganised and kinda boring. I enjoyed it but I’m already forgetting it.
Content Warnings
Minor: Domestic abuse, Self harm, Suicide, Violence, Alcohol, and Drug use
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