Jess > Recent Status Updates

-Iris is still my least fav POV, although we did learn a lot about her weird family history/company. Was her mom a vampire? ig that’d explain why it was tough for her to conceive (she’s undead) & wanted Iris’s eggs. Iris used silver in her heart to keep her dead. I’m not sure how the “weak to cold” works out supernaturally. Goldaming Life could be keeping people “youthful” by slowly vampirizing them?

-I got a little bored bc there was not much tension. But where I stopped today, I feel satisfied! I keep thinking we’re getting to the end of Lucy’s diary POV, but not yet. Her mother’s still alive, Mina is cold & married, Dracula’s been feeding on/gradually turning Lucy. I like transcript Lucy’s side quests; it reminds me of the small storylines sprinkled throughout South of Midnight, which I just played-

I like Lucy’s transcript sections, where we get to spend little eras in different settings with different vampires. Thankfully, the corny humor in Iris’s section has toned down a bit. I suppose the 3 different POVs/plot lines compensate for the lack of defined plot structure. There’s not much of an outline, we’re just witnessing a series of events. I read a lot today, & towards the start of my reading today-

This is my current progression… I just figured out how to see percentages in the audiobook. 🧑🏻‍🦲

—the civilians, women, & children who are massacred as collateral damage or forced into labor or sex slavery. But I digress! I suppose this was a philosophical revelation for the time, lol.

—contextualizes Hera, is intriguing. It’s similar to how Athena is often referred to as gray eyed, but a little more odd to understand. Are they just calling her pale? 😭 I’m enjoying hearing Achilles’s sassy, melodramatic behavior & Agamemnon’s temper tantrums. As mentioned in the intro, this text is certainly anti-war. Of course, it seems to give more sympathy to the men who “have to fight” than—

It was important to me to read a translation by a woman, as history & its texts are often interpreted with such bias. It’s cool how editors/translators most feel such a kinship with other editors/translators across history as they review their work to create an updated edition. I appreciate her dedication to accessibility; a passion & value we share! Moreover, I think the term “white-armed,” which often—

[about halfway through chapter 3] I’m listening to the audiobook, though I don’t see that edition as a selection in Goodreads. The introduction had a lot of good information, though ofc it was a lot to digest! It was interesting to learn about how Homer influenced poetry & literature as a whole, whether he intended to or not. I didn’t realize the Iliad had almost 16,000 lines! I’m enjoying the narrator so far

—Iris’s character seems straight from a Life Is Strange game. She listens to boygenius 🤓 I’m reading a vampire novel! This stuff completely takes me out of the immersion/world-building from Lucy’s POV. It also particularly bugs me bc I go out of my way to avoid YA novels bc the character’s dilemmas & dialogue are sooo corny to me as a grown ass woman (something Iris is supposed to be). But here we are!

—Lucy’s transcript POV. In summary, I’m enjoying both of Lucy’s POVs greatly, but dread Iris’s a bit. Not only bc it’s cringe inducing, but also bc I hate to see people my age depicted as bumbling buffoons. We’re capable of being mature, intelligent, well-spoken with extensive vocabulary.—

—are still in May, before she’s turned. Maybe 8/8 is the date of her turning into a vampire? But this brings back up the question of how Iris’s is connected to Lucy; the house, the date. Iris’s family is obviously connected to the supernatural somehow, she knows about shapeshifting animals & murdered her mother, plus there was the story about the man/vampire she invited in. We just met a vampire doctor in—

—As an alt woman, absolutely no one even close to being goth would say that. She’s also incredibly head over heels for Elle (Lucy), who she just met, & it’s giving immature schoolgirl crush. The other two Lucy POVs I’m totally fine with, & find interesting. But Iris? Not so much. Also, the safe code: 8-8-1890. Most certainly a special date, given that one of Lucy’s POVs takes place in 1890. rn her POVs—

Since this is a coming of age story, I’d imagine Iris is meant to be around my age (early-mid twenties). But this novel is obviously written by someone much older than that, because Iris’s sections are so cheesy to me. Her humor & inner narration are especially corny. I like the humor from Lucy’s sections. But the jokes & puns from Iris… Foxated? Really? She’d describe her makeup as casual goth?—

We’ve discovered that Iris’s inherited house is connected to Lucy… it was her old house 🕵🏻‍♀️ didn’t get much time to read today lol but thankfully these chapters are short! I like that, but it also means switching between POVs very often, which I imagine may be jarring for some other readers

Interesting so far! There are 3 consistent POVs; Lucy in the past (diaries), Lucy in the present (-ish, in a convo with a therapist), & Iris in the present. There’s a surprising amount of humor (which I’ve liked). I suppose the 2 Lucy POVs help give us more insight into her character/personality/motives/background. It’s a good bit to keep up with, but I don’t think it’s lost me yet.

—to it. I think this book executed themes of grief well; how the emotions can feel like too much, depressive episodes, not wanting to burden/stress others with your hurting, etc. I believe some of Lorelei’s curse can be viewed as a metaphor for grief & one’s responses for it. All in all, wonderful wlw & drama 💌

—The ending was a tad confusing at first, but from what I gathered, Nephele & Lorelei discovered magic could be harnessed from the fetus/future child echo? & they destroyed magic altogether, making the wastelands in between city states not dangerous anymore & also depleting Nephele’s magic abilities. Additionally, I think grief was portrayed well in Lorelei’s character & I liked how Nephele grew to respond—

I really liked this one, the romance worked for me bc of how willing the two characters were to accommodate one another, despite having different personalities & experiences. It’s a novella, so the world building isn’t terribly complex, but I think it made sense for what it was & was also engaging. I loved the dramatic lesbians! Both Lorelei & Nephele were characters I could understand & connect with—

Caitlin Starling has perfected writing lesbian yearning, emotional battles, & listening in order to meet each others needs 🧘🏻‍♀️ No notes 🦭

—her character if we didn’t have that insight. This is my first Starling book with multiple POVs; they seem distinct so far. Lorelei is definitely a character one can sympathize with, considering her grief & lack of agency, something nobody wants to experience. The mystery behind the magic curse is also intriguing, though we don’t know much about it yet.

Interesting so far; I always appreciate how Starling jumps straight into the story, allowing the reader to piece together the exposition/context for themselves rather than info dumping. We learn the characters personalities & behaviors through some narration, but also directly through witnessing their actions. Very refreshing. I’m glad we see that Nephele does empathize with Lorelei, it’d be easy to dislike—

The romance wasn’t convincing imo. Enemies to lovers AND second chance romance w hardly any transition or a mature conversation addressing how they’ve hurt each other & how they’ll repair/grow through it. Admittedly, they have emergencies going on, but still. Sex isn’t a magical solution to make their dynamic work! I wasn’t fond of it. All in all, I didn’t hate this book, but it didn’t amaze me either

Overall, this was ok. A bleak ending in preparation for book 2, which I don’t think I’ll pick up. I was more interested in the progression of the story towards the end, but not invested in the characters enough to continue the series. Not to mention, all the characters are dead except the main 2 love interests, although I wouldn’t be surprised if somehow, Leon returned (à la Palpatine).

—with how to stop the zombie-esque infected & finding the cause! The romance is lacking in investment for me. I also feel like this is Bioshock fanfiction with the focus on the impacts of wealth/greed/expansion, futuristic tech that people can get addicted to, underwater city stuff. That’s ok with me though. Just feel like the tension, intrigue, & suspense could’ve been better. not bored reading it though 👍

—each other & Kess is often times just cruel? Then they hook up? While injured? I don’t feel invested in their relationship, although I like Nix’s character. Kess is ok. I didn’t expect the Leon plot twist. I think the writing style as far as language is good. The pacing could’ve been faster/with more of the dramatic stuff towards the beginning imo. The interesting stuff is the freaky possession disease—

—the outbreak. The outbreak & mystery behind that, as well as the horror/action elements, are interesting. I wish there was more of that earlier in the story. The romantic tension between Nix & Kess wasn’t enough to captivate me before the plot took off. I don’t think they have much chemistry, honestly; I’ll admit I’m a bit biased bc I don’t prefer enemies to lovers, but still. They’re just rude to—

The last third of this book has interested me significantly more than the first 2/3. The action ramped up rather suddenly. I understand that the author planned this to be the first in a series; to my knowledge, 3 years will have passed between the publication of books 1 & 2. That’s a long time, & I feel like the payoff isn’t worth it as of now; there wasn’t much intrigue for the first 2/3 of the book before—

I feel like the buildup could’ve been paced a little faster :P just personal preference

Yuri is definitely still in the toxic stage bc why didn’t Kess immediately help Nix when she showed up stabbed??? She just wanted to finish her shower rq. Girl… 🧑🏻‍🦲