Books Make us Less Miserables discussion

Post your comments on the January book here! This chat will contain spoilers!

I had mixed feelings about this book. I loved the world and the characters intrigued me, but it it felt very much like a glorified prequel. It felt like a bunch of set up for a much larger first novel. I felt like the story could have been smaller (like 350 pages instead of 500) and it would make the pacing go better. The romance lover inside me hated how Hans and Raisa met for only a little bit and then got separated. I honestly think if I had read this book in 2009 when it first came out, I would have enjoyed it so much more. I found it predictable, but I think the release date of the book is the main reason for that. The world and set up has intrigued me and I want to see the romance bloom more, so we will see if I move on to the other books in the series.

Kristin wrote: "I had mixed feelings about this book. I loved the world and the characters intrigued me, but it it felt very much like a glorified prequel. It felt like a bunch of set up for a much larger first no..."

I totally agree. I love the lore and the world, it is so involved with so much to keep learning about. We love a history written by the winners (not). I think prequel vibes is very accurate as 60% into the second book is when the main characters finally meet again. As much as I do enjoy the characters, I got frustrated by how the relationships were written. Characters themselves were strong but relationships to others were muddy and felt like they progressed weirdly in terms of writing. I did continue to read the series as I have a need to know how things happen, but I wouldn't always recommend to keep reading. It depends on what you are looking for.

I gave this book a 3/5 stars because I was simultaneously very intrigued by the world building while also having to push myself to keep reading quite a few times. I think some of the characters had good bones, like Hans, but I genuinely did not like Raisa. Her primarily conflict for the majority of the novel was "I want to go to a lot of parties and kiss a lot of boys," which just does not make her compelling and in general she is pretty childish and selfish. I did appreciate her charitable donations, though. Hans, on the other hand, was dynamic, fun, interesting, and has already experienced significant growth before and during the novel.
What I liked best were the tribes in Hanalea. I thought they were super interesting and loved that they were not without magic themselves, but it was of a different ilk.
I also particularly didn't like how the author dealt with Hans' family, quite honestly. It felt rushed and cheap.
I agree with the others' opinion as well that it was a bit too long and a bit prequel-esque, but I also was kind of jonseing to read the next book once I finished so it still overall got a 3 star from me!