ㅤ ㅤ ㅤ ✦ . ⁺ . 2.4 - 2.6 ☆ . ⁺ . ✦
ㅤ ㅤ ˋ°•*⁀➷ㅤmight contain spoilers ❗
ㅤ Even if this book is marginally more captivating and interesting than the first one, I am still unwilling to give it a higher rating because so many things have not improved. Depending on what the upcoming books bring, I may raise this rating to three stars or higher, but for now, regrettably, this is the best I can manage. Considering how little I can add compared to the first book in the series, this review may likewise be rather brief.
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“I’m missing something vital about this entire situation.”
ㅤ ˗ˏˋ★‿︵‧ ˚ ₊⊹
short summary
ㅤ Lor finds herself in the midst of political machinations once more after being rescued—or rather, abducted—by the grumpy Aurora Prince. Despite her denial, she is forced to put her trust in the prince, who seems to do anything to gain her trust.
ㅤ Having decided to finally join forces against their shared foe, Lor and Nadir begin the hunt for the Heart Crown, the single item that could help them. Meanwhile, Lor finds it more difficult to resist the lust and attraction she feels for the attractive man who is assisting her since she is compelled to play the role of the prince's newest plaything.
ㅤ Therefore, you will be reading about 400 pages of lust-filled thoughts and unholy touches sprinkled with some moments of actual search for the crown.
ㅤ ˗ˏˋ★‿︵‧ ˚ ₊⊹
honest thoughts
ㅤ ⋅ ☾ Despite being slightly better than the first book, this was not the captivating, spectacular novel I had been hoping for.; not even close to it, honestly. The majority of the book is devoted to the main characters' yearning for one another and their ongoing tug-of-war relationship, which is primarily imposed by the FMC's inability to decide on anything.
ㅤ ⋅ ☾ Several times, I was more fascinated and engaged in the chapters that described the historical events that truly brought up Ouranos as it is today. Since the current events were merely getting repetitious and not really going in any direction, my attention was quickly gripped by the characters belonging to the past.
ㅤ ⋅ ☾ While the book proved to be slightly entertaining due to the constant banter between the characters, I admit that I found the action to be slightly lacking. There was not much to the plot until the book's final few chapters, except from the frequent parties, the pretending, and the passionate relationship between the two main characters, who were hardly able to resist devouring one another.
ㅤ ⋅ ☾ And finally, this is NOT the slow burn romance or the enemies to lovers you are promised. It seems that I am repeating this more and more lately, but if the characters start lusting after each other 30 pages in, I'd like to kindly ask the authors to stop marketing their books as slowburn romances. The fact that Lor literally wants to devour Nadir, yet constantly stops him before things go further between them only because she is either moody or scared, does not make this a slow burn. Not to mention that they even go far enough plenty of times in this book.
ㅤ ˗ˏˋ★‿︵‧ ˚ ₊⊹
characters
ㅤ I genuinely do not want to talk about these characters, mainly because I have nothing good to say about them, but let me just share some frustrations.
ㅤ ✧ Lor - Simply put, she is unlikeable. Although I acknowledge that she has endured a great deal and has had to go through many terrible things, this does not justify her disdain for everyone and everything. She is impetuous, she does not listen to people even when they have shown themselves to be reliable, and in the worst circumstances, she is simply too obstinate for her own good.
ㅤ ✧ Nadir - Despite all the absurd things the FMC does, this man has the patience of a saint. Is he also a little impatient and pushy? Indeed. He is still far superior to Lor, though. But it is my sincere hope that the author would choose to give this man a personality. There is little else to his character development except from his persistent want and drool over the bare minimum he receives from Lor.
ㅤ ✧ Amya, Mael, Willow, Tristan - I honestly wish there had been a lot more of these characters in this book. In terms of plot and action, I am confident they could have added a lot more to this book. Regretfully, they did not receive the attention they merited in order to accomplish this.
ㅤ ˗ˏˋ★‿︵‧ ˚ ₊⊹
should you read this?
ㅤ Most likely not; this is not something you should read. However, continue reading if, like me, you wanted to start this series in the first place and are now compelled to finish it.
ㅤ I feel like I need to make it clear that this isn't necessarily a bad book, it is just simply too underwhelming in terms of plot and action for its length. There is a huge lack of character development; there aren't many events happening and the ones that are happening are becoming repetitive at one point; and there is no real chemistry between the characters either, which makes it hard for you to resonate with the people you are reading about.
ㅤ Although there is potential for this series, I am now only honestly continuing it because I am a little interested in where the plot is headed and how it will all end. Nevertheless, I still have some modest hopes for it.
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ㅤ ᯓ ✿ pre-reading ⪼ ㅤ please do not let this be as bad as the first one because i cannot start my year like this 🙏🏻