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4.34 AVERAGE
4.34 AVERAGE
adventurous
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I don't even know where to begin with this wonder of a book.
My favorite part of it is without a doubt the way characters are written, especially Ryn and Naomi, which were not easy to put on paper while avoiding all kinds of clichés stuck with them. Ryn is an amazing main character, especially a few chapters in, who we learn to understand and to love by the end of the book. Far from (only) being a damsel in distress, Naomi is her perfect love interest, with a sharp intelligence and her own emotional struggles to figure out. They both make a very cute couple, shy and balanced. I really enjoyed their different discovery and exploration of their feelings, and the different (very cute) ways they yearned for each other. The plot was well balanced between the action and the characters' interactions/romance and nothing felt repetitive or boring. I found the pacing perfect, and couldn't close the book until I'd reached the end.
The secondary characters all felt useful and helped the narrative, especially Denise, who at this point is just my favorite wingwoman. They all have their defined personalities, except maybe Naomi's male love interests, but their blandness is made to fit with her cliché dreamed life, and is a taste of how wrong it would be for this dream to happen without Ryn.
I really enjoyed that despite the etiquettes we could stick on characters (unemotional badass divinity, senator's perfect daughter, senator strict single dad, funny/mean bff, genius detective), they ALL went beyond them. I ended up enjoying reading about Naomi's dad's antics and being surprised when he didn't act as I thought he would (e.g. the hospital scene), or O'Riourke's humor (the burrito is a burrito, come on), where I normally wouldn't care that much about secondary cast. They went beyond all of my expectations, had actually intelligent reasoning, that is no dumb miscommunication or useless grudges that make me want to slap characters irl. I actually loved the fact that I could relate to them so much in certain scenes that it felt as if I, as the reader, was represented in the book (e.g. Denise, so many times I related to you Denise, Wes too). This certainly raises the bar for the next f/f urban fantasy book I'll pick (hopefully the second of this series if it's published soon?
My favorite part of it is without a doubt the way characters are written, especially Ryn and Naomi, which were not easy to put on paper while avoiding all kinds of clichés stuck with them. Ryn is an amazing main character, especially a few chapters in, who we learn to understand and to love by the end of the book. Far from (only) being a damsel in distress, Naomi is her perfect love interest, with a sharp intelligence and her own emotional struggles to figure out. They both make a very cute couple, shy and balanced. I really enjoyed their different discovery and exploration of their feelings, and the different (very cute) ways they yearned for each other. The plot was well balanced between the action and the characters' interactions/romance and nothing felt repetitive or boring. I found the pacing perfect, and couldn't close the book until I'd reached the end.
The secondary characters all felt useful and helped the narrative, especially Denise, who at this point is just my favorite wingwoman. They all have their defined personalities, except maybe Naomi's male love interests, but their blandness is made to fit with her cliché dreamed life, and is a taste of how wrong it would be for this dream to happen without Ryn.
I really enjoyed that despite the etiquettes we could stick on characters (unemotional badass divinity, senator's perfect daughter, senator strict single dad, funny/mean bff, genius detective), they ALL went beyond them. I ended up enjoying reading about Naomi's dad's antics and being surprised when he didn't act as I thought he would (e.g. the hospital scene), or O'Riourke's humor (the burrito is a burrito, come on), where I normally wouldn't care that much about secondary cast. They went beyond all of my expectations, had actually intelligent reasoning, that is no dumb miscommunication or useless grudges that make me want to slap characters irl. I actually loved the fact that I could relate to them so much in certain scenes that it felt as if I, as the reader, was represented in the book (e.g. Denise, so many times I related to you Denise, Wes too). This certainly raises the bar for the next f/f urban fantasy book I'll pick (hopefully the second of this series if it's published soon?
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
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:
Complicated
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The book seems to me to not really know where to position itself : parts are really graphic and dark, others are about teenagers figuring out romantic relationships with a definite YA, almost too lighthearted and innocent feel to them and then there are weirdly specific political references that seem out of context and with convoluted messaging behind them.
I really liked parts of it but would have prefered the story to decide on a genre and intended audience.
I really liked parts of it but would have prefered the story to decide on a genre and intended audience.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Torture, Violence, War
Moderate: Rape, Sexual violence
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-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
I actually enjoyed this far more than I thought I would. I was confused at first, I hadn't read the synopsis so I had no clue what the era this would be set in or what it was even about except for 'monsters'.
This has been tagged as YA in some places but it does cover a lot of themes that are actually quite dark and gruesome. But I liked that. Matthews didn't sugarcoat anything and was pretty blunt about it, which I really appreciate. The writing style is pretty basic but that's okay considering this is written as YA and Ryn herself doesn't have the greatest understanding of the English language, so it felt more like being in her head despite it being third person (third person limited?).
Ryn was the most interesting part of this book. How she thinks and acts is so intriguing to read --a powerful, bloodthirsty deity who is so emotionally and socially stunted she's practically a teenage girl. But I think that's what makes it fun, she doesn't bother to hide the weird way she talks or her quiet nature, she's blunt about it. The other main character, and love interest Naomi, was interesting too with her relationship with her father and those around her because of him. The way Matthews tackled her sexuality was actually pretty relatable, especially for me, I went through pretty much an identical experience -- minus the obsessed monsters stalking me. Naomi's dad being a Republican did give me the ick. Especially if you consider the fact that they had thought Ryn was an illegal immigrant who could barely speak English and Naomi, this perfect girl, just took her under her wing... I don't know it felt a bit off.
The worldbuilding could have been better:how did the monsters come to be? Why was Ryn so feared even by the Fates? More details on the banishment, on Ryn's origins, etc . But this was supposed to be the first in a series -- which I'm almost 100% sure has been abandoned -- so it wouldn't surprise me if Matthews intended for more in the later books.
This has been tagged as YA in some places but it does cover a lot of themes that are actually quite dark and gruesome. But I liked that. Matthews didn't sugarcoat anything and was pretty blunt about it, which I really appreciate. The writing style is pretty basic but that's okay considering this is written as YA and Ryn herself doesn't have the greatest understanding of the English language, so it felt more like being in her head despite it being third person (third person limited?).
Ryn was the most interesting part of this book. How she thinks and acts is so intriguing to read --
The worldbuilding could have been better:
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Stalking, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Sexual harassment, War
Moderate: Homophobia
this is more of a slow burn/buildup book. interesting premise with gods and demons, likeable characters, and wise dialogue.
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I just loved the story, and I'm always checking to see if there's another instalment on the series but nothing ever pops up, I'm beginning to think there's not going to be another book
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes