Ashley > Recent Status Updates

characters like thyon make my blood boil omg

the last 25% of this was super good though

weak characterisation, subtle plot holes and unlikeable characters is keeping me from liking this book as much as the first

the plot is interesting to follow but I sadly the only character I've grown attached to is victor

bit of a slower start but I'm loving victor and sydney's emotionally unavailable psychopath and his adopted daughter dynamic

v e schwab’s writing as usual is so good.. both bury our bones and this she’s so good at making her characters feel alive and tangible

I knew I wouldn't enjoy this for long now Acker's just pissing me off

flying through this.. been a while since I read a romantasy I enjoyed (so far)

Antoine is so fucking stupid

god I'm so infuriated especially with how they're treating Lorette
this book is only further reminding me why I'm an atheist

It’s starting to feel a little long now

there's some really cool historical connections the author has made- like Clauneck and the Court of Solomon and his children and succubi being children of Ishtar to make man comprehend the beauty in her paradoxes (love and war)

so far I'm really liking this especially the dynamic between Sebastian and his demon Sarmodel

I’m so scared of how this is going to end

I'm terrified of when Vaisra will betray her cause I just know its coming..
also Rin's craving for praise and approval is so real

I never thought I’d say this but I love nezha and rin’s dynamic so much rn

“She was more feminine than she had ever been, and less.
Witch. The word drifted across his mind. We call such women so, because we have no other name.”

the villains in this series are some of the most hatable characters I've come across death is too good for Kasyan I need him skinned alive :)

ya idc I need Kasyan dead now

“Vasya barely heard; she was thinking of the joy and hunger in Marya’s face when she saw the wide world, outside the women’s quarters. “What matter if Masha was seen?” she asked with some heat. “I only took her riding.”
“Curiosity,” said Kasyan, didactically, “is a dreadful trait in girls.” ”

I need to kill everyone but vasya in this book :)
really puts into perspective the society women lived/live in

I love vasya as our main character also I'm so glad her and sasha have reunited

I need Konstantin dead thanks

WHO SAID THIS IS COSY THIS IS A HORROR STORY

I only use audiobooks for non fiction books but I’m enjoying this one

“I jumped to my feet, fists clenched. “That is not true,” I spat. “I had nothing more than that, Max. My value to powerful men is why I am alive. So don’t you dare speak of me in that way.”

ok ngl I liked that line too many stories try to take the high ground but don't understand the truth of a patriarchal society and its consequences on women

didn’t she just tell us a few chapters back that she had never seen her mother shaken.. what do you mean you saw her cry multiple times in the night during the war
these inconsistencies make none of the characters seem real like they don’t exist outside of the story

so far this suffers from what a lot of romantasy does- absent world building that doesn’t let one picture how anything looks physically forget about historically/culturally, plot conveniences, a surface level plot that takes off running and then tries and fails to invoke an emotional reaction

at least the writing is serviceable lets see

I'm starting to understand some of the criticisms of this book- repetition, not enough evidence-based analysis and lack of emphasis on pure linguistics
but as someone for whom most of all of this is new I'm still enjoying it

holy shit.. that duel was insane