I'm so annoyed every time that a review doesn't save.
So this is going to be the short version.
Because I am annoyed.
And also in a different order because I think it'll work better this way.
The book ends on a cliffhanger, which isn't a problem. I like cliffhangers. The problem is that it ended on a cliffhanger, and a rather dramatic one, and I was just disappointed at the end. The reason for this, I believe, is that there was a severe pacing issue with this book. It didn't feel like it got going until the end. There was very little build up to the climax. I was just settling into the book and then it ended. And it's not like I'm not interested in the characters. I am. I don't love any of them, but, again, I was just settling in. I was feeling a lot of affection for them. I don't need a ten landing. I'm happy with a seven. A little bit of a stumble, and I'll forgive it. But I need to feel like I can trust the author at the end of the book.
Bear with me here.
I'm still waiting for Winds of Winter, even though at this point I'm pretty sure it's stupid to do, because of the end of AGoT. It's grim dark fantasy, and kind of more or less depressing. And it's not like the ending is any better. But the ending feels like GRRM saying "I've got you. You can trust me." And I do. And it's stupid.
Another grim dark fantasy I read at about the same time as AGoT, which won't be named because I'm not here to lambast it, was just as depressing. The ending, however, completely soured me to reading any of the others in the series even though there was so much I liked about the book. And a decade or so later, when I see that book, I mentally curl my lip.
And another one, grim dark fantasy as well, read at the same time, The Way of Shadows by Brent Weeks, had a lot going for it. And it ended I'm such a way that I actually read the second book. I didn't like that one as well, but it ended so that I felt safe to keep reading. I actually need to reread it now that I have the third one. And it also made me a fan of Weeks, which made me happy to turn to a different series of his.
This isn't a grim dark fantasy. But this book also isn't a traditionally depressing genre. The point here is that if a book that is just generally depressing can still make me feel hopeful and emotionally safe (if a little bruised), I can expect that from books that are not. And this book didn't hug me and make me feel safe.
The other problem is that I feel uncomfortable with preaching of any kind, which is a separate problem since I am in fact religious. (Also why I don't usually read religious books because no thanks). And this book was preachy regarding LGBTQ+. Now, I did just say that I'm religious so I know the assumption that is about to be made. But bear with me. The problem is that the main character, whose name starts with an L, spends a lot of time telling the reader how fine she is with all of it. She spends so much time that it makes me feel like she thinks there is a problem. Because you don't spend that much time and energy defending something unless you know that there's a problem.
And I pretty much make a career out of defending problematic characters and people. After The Force Awakens came out, I wrote a ten page apology (in the traditional sense) of why Kylo Ren was actually a good guy. He kills Han in The Force Awakens. Han is my favorite character. Would I have put that much energy into defending him if I wasn't aware that he was a problem? No. That's why I don't defend Leia. She's not a problem.
The other problem with it is the frequency with which L girl makes the comments. The more often an author brings something up, the more important it is. And it was all telling, for the most part.
Avoiding any real details, there's a conversation in the club. And it was sweet and emotional and so supportive. And it was SHOWING us what L girl had been telling us. That was honestly one of my favorite scenes in the entire book. We got some real character depth and relationship development and I am still just so absolutely here for it. The author did well on that scene. No preaching. Just two characters having a conversation that pulled at my black little heart strings.
The foreshadowing wasn't super great. But because of the preaching thing going on, I wasn't as absorbed as I could have been, so it didn't bother me as much as it does with other books where either things are foreshadowed with the subtlety of a sledgehammer, or not foreshadowed at all and just come out of nowhere. The case here was more lack of than it was sledgehammer.
I did actually enjoy the book. I know it doesn't sound like it, but I did. The author did a really good job with the characters. I genuinely liked all of them (except for the bad guys, eff those guys). And because I like all of them, with what happens at the end, I do genuinely want to know how they're going to react to things. Like Jenny. What is going to be her response to that insanity. And the boys. The dynamic is going to change wildly and I really want to know how they're going to deal with it. And obviously I want to know how that cliffhanger is going to be resolved.
But I was still disappointed.
Now, this part was not included in the original review, but my feelings have adjusted a little in the hours since finishing the book and writing the first review.
I'm probably going to read the second one. I'll give the author one more chance on the ending for me to trust going forward. Because sometimes the second book is better. I read a book this summer where I didn't particularly like the first book, but since I had to read to the third one, I kept going. And I'm glad I did because the third one was just so good. But because I'm going to be holding it at an emotional distance, I might not rate any of them higher than four stars.
Also, that cover makes me cringe.