Magda > Recent Status Updates

i'm struggling through it, verging on DNFing, despite my rule of not DNFing.

i wouldn't say it's terrible, or awful, or bad — i simply struggle to care about this book. i am not into this plot at all. the world-building is eh, the characters are eh.

but i will make it. i'm half way.

at first it was hard to get through. possibly because english isn't my first language (and here i thought my english was rather good), and the writer uses words i have NEVER heard of before.

the world-building is quite confusing at first, but the more you get into it, the more you understand.

poor sybil, i feel so bad for her. she deserved better! but also wow, the action is picking up, and we're finally seeing the change happening in dorian due to henry's influence, and how the portrait is changing!

this is so intriguing.

if i write down lord henry's quotes here, goodreads would ban me or something. this guy has literally the worst quotes possible. he's soo horrible.

and the way he is a bad influence on dorian! although i do think dorian's quotes about jewish people is more of a "victorian-era-book" issue. still, it showcases how badly lord henry is affecting dorian.

this book explores the topics of vanity and superficial beauty so well already, as well as basil's clear obsession and perhaps suppressed romantic feelings towards dorian.

so far this actually seems less like a caraval rip-off, and the characters have more chemistry with each other.

pros: the trials are actually lowkey creative, i'm liking them so far. also, ophelia's OCD is nicely presented.

cons: ophelia and blackwell have no chemistry, so why are they screwing. no, actually, it's not about the chemistry — it's about the fact that they just met each other, and besides the most stereotypical banter relationship, there's literally nothing about them. zero depth basically.

did the author really use the sandman quote, the one which was popular on tiktok? it's suspiciously just like that. please tell me i'm not wrong, lmfaooo. that would be hilarious.

also this is a poor imitation of caraval, if caraval had smut in it. why is she so crazy for that guy? you just met him, what is wrong with you.

this is why i don't read books with smut. the plot is just lust, the rest is just "whatever"

maybe i'm too aroace for this, but how is it that in books like these, the main character sees the love interest and the next chapter she immediately thinks about screwing him? stupid, boring, gross, gtfo

pros: i'm still liking the gothic and dark atmosphere, and at least the author didn't rip-off the trials, lmao. the maze one was nice, although too short. why are we going so fast? calm down, slow down

what the hell? why is no one mentioning the fact that it's a caraval rip-off? two sisters, one disappears, there's a magical game appearing out of nowhere with a magical prize, there's even the "(..) days until (...)" format??

ohhh, so that's how it went down between them, i see. i already knew angie is going to die, i just didn't expect victor to accidentally do it. and now eli has a good reason for hating victor, and vice versa.

this is getting juicy.

first time reading a book by V.E Schwab, i'm loving it so far

aelin is being a mary sue and it's pissing me off, everyone has a plot armor so i don't feel any stakes at all, no tension. i hate what SJM is doing with manon. a wife? really?

god this is lame

aelin is free, hell yes