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stitchsaddiction's review against another edition
1.0
Thank you Netgalley for the eARC of this book.
I firstly have to say that I didn't finish this book.
When I initially requested the ARC from Netgalley, I was unaware that it was the second book in a series. My mistake (holds hands up) one I have learned from and now check over at Goodreads.But I digress...
The author informed me that this book could be read independently from 'I'm a Gay Wizard' when I mentioned I was struggling with understanding what was happening and the brief recap that started the book. A warning light should have been when I saw that the author had also explained in the prior to chapter one that he had renamed certain species though why I wasn't sure.
The 'recap' left me utterly confused and I chose to read the first book (review is on goodreads 2 stars) to see if that helped. Sadly it didn't and I found the story of book two to be as confusing and disorientating as the first book.
Thankfully, there wasn't a repeat of the vicious assault (or wasnt prior to me stopping reading) but there were mentions of upsetting incidents for our now four main characters (Johnny, Alison, Hunter and Blake) including the death of Alison's mother whose illness had been mentioned in book one. Whilst I understand that books cannot always be happy 24/7, I felt like this girl had already gone through so much and the death was unnecessarily cruel. Whilst it does set up Alison's distancing from Johnny; her 360° personality turn and distrust of her longterm friend wasnt believable.
I tried to continue reading so that I could do two things, give an honest and full review; and also see if there would be light finally at the very dark and somewhat disastrous journey Johnny and his friends had been through in book one. It instead felt like I was wading through quicksand mentally and wasnt enjoying the story at all.
Like its prequel, book two needs more world building and contrast from all the teenage angst and darkness.
The arc also features repeated grammatical mistakes which I hope are caught before its release.
I firstly have to say that I didn't finish this book.
When I initially requested the ARC from Netgalley, I was unaware that it was the second book in a series. My mistake (holds hands up) one I have learned from and now check over at Goodreads.But I digress...
The author informed me that this book could be read independently from 'I'm a Gay Wizard' when I mentioned I was struggling with understanding what was happening and the brief recap that started the book. A warning light should have been when I saw that the author had also explained in the prior to chapter one that he had renamed certain species though why I wasn't sure.
The 'recap' left me utterly confused and I chose to read the first book (review is on goodreads 2 stars) to see if that helped. Sadly it didn't and I found the story of book two to be as confusing and disorientating as the first book.
Thankfully, there wasn't a repeat of the vicious assault (or wasnt prior to me stopping reading) but there were mentions of upsetting incidents for our now four main characters (Johnny, Alison, Hunter and Blake) including the death of Alison's mother whose illness had been mentioned in book one. Whilst I understand that books cannot always be happy 24/7, I felt like this girl had already gone through so much and the death was unnecessarily cruel. Whilst it does set up Alison's distancing from Johnny; her 360° personality turn and distrust of her longterm friend wasnt believable.
I tried to continue reading so that I could do two things, give an honest and full review; and also see if there would be light finally at the very dark and somewhat disastrous journey Johnny and his friends had been through in book one. It instead felt like I was wading through quicksand mentally and wasnt enjoying the story at all.
Like its prequel, book two needs more world building and contrast from all the teenage angst and darkness.
The arc also features repeated grammatical mistakes which I hope are caught before its release.
chenesbookishadventure's review against another edition
3.0
Such an interesting read. Although I missed the first book, the sequal still made sense and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
I enjoyed the queer representation, which felt realistic and not overdramatized. The characters had personalities that was more than just their sexual orientation. I enjoyed the way the characters responded to the circumstances and they're witty personalities.
The story was something I haven't experienced in a long time and had me laughing in more than a few places. The dialogue was fun and flowed naturally. It kept me at the edge of my seat and I could not put it down.
Thus I can just say I really enjoyed reading the book, getting to know the characters and the different settings.
The writing read easily which made for a fast and easy read.
Fantasy as not really being a place that has explored social representation, is slowly being addressed and for that I applaud this book.
I enjoyed the queer representation, which felt realistic and not overdramatized. The characters had personalities that was more than just their sexual orientation. I enjoyed the way the characters responded to the circumstances and they're witty personalities.
The story was something I haven't experienced in a long time and had me laughing in more than a few places. The dialogue was fun and flowed naturally. It kept me at the edge of my seat and I could not put it down.
Thus I can just say I really enjoyed reading the book, getting to know the characters and the different settings.
The writing read easily which made for a fast and easy read.
Fantasy as not really being a place that has explored social representation, is slowly being addressed and for that I applaud this book.
elysareadsitall's review against another edition
4.0
The Dreamworld layers were weird and exciting. I loved the found family aspect and how important those relationships were. I can't wait to see what happens next.
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