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4.21 AVERAGE
4.21 AVERAGE
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
dark
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual violence
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
medium-paced
"Pages and words and information. Her favorite things."
- (Post) war crimes
- Dark romance
- Rival kingdoms
- Political intrigue
- Captive x capturer
- Trigger heavy
What I liked:
I’m usually not the biggest fan of flashbacks into the past, but I loved witnessing the characters during their school days! It added another level of insight and character development, and you could especially see how some students drifted to the dark side.
I also enjoyed how the character dynamics developed. Everyone had their own agenda, abilities, and motivations, but because of the mind magic they had to navigate around talking to each other. So interesting to witness them figure it out.
What I didn’t like:
Outside of the school and the limited bubble the main character has access to, I couldn’t quite grasp the social structures and everyday life of the wider population. Some people have magic and some don’t; how does that influence the social structures? What is technological level and what century is the world comparable to? It was all very vague for me.
Writing style: 4/5
Characters: 4/5
Story & Plot: 4/5
Vibes: 4/5
medium-paced
The names of the countries and characters are kind of absurd and often distractingly so, but I suppose that’s the romantasy trope… otherwise if you liked The Auction, you will enjoy this. It’s different for sure, with some of those key scenes returning and the tension btwn our favorite heroes all there. Unfortunately the slow burn nature of the original means we won’t see the steamy scenes until book 2 or - gasp - 3. What the heck! Gimme all three right now, I’ll buy the trilogy all at once!
the adjectives used pissed me off and by the third page I was done