Elle > Recent Status Updates

At 86% another "discovery" that was obvious from the 10% mark, before the previous "big discovery" (72%) even had hints on the page.

Sigh.

At 72%, Abbakka finally "discovers" a plot that was obvious since the 20% mark. This is why I say this novel doesn't work as a political fantasy: the villains are only winning because everyone else is operating with negative IQ. The villain brags too much, shows his hand constantly, is the most cartoonishly evil advisor since Disney's Jafar, but I'm meant to believe he's some political mastermind. (He is not.)

All the "twists" are so far very easy to see coming, I can tell many, many chapters (sometimes 10+) before the protag works it out--or gets told by someone else. Political novels need to have more subtlety than this, and the ability to hide things from the reader. When machinations are this blatant, there is no enjoyment in watching it unfold. There is no mystery or surprise.

This has individual aspects I love, but it just isn't coming together to make a whole that I care about. There are snippets of prose so beautiful I have to copy them down, I adore the fantasy creatures, Abbakka remains very sympathetic. Yet the focus keeps shifting to marriage issues, & to politics but never long or deep enough to scratch my political fantasy itch. It's doing too many things to do any of them well.

I have a sinking feeling that this is going to be less fantasy than I hoped & more politics + war + toxic families + women surviving horrible marriages. Which aren't necessarily bad in a novel, but they're not what the first 12-15% of THIS one made me think it was going to be, when it started with flying lion allies and human-sea-snake enemies. I'll give it longer, but my enthusiasm just took a big hit.

I'm late to the party with this one, but finally trying this series out as a fast/easy read for when I need breaks working on all my long SFF novels. It had a strong start & established the world/setting quickly and clearly, but I'm still waiting to be emotionally engaged.

Excellent start. Love the prologue instantly establishing the mythological beasts in this world, and Spirits as part-god part-ancestors religion. I struggle to remember the names, but protag Abbakka is relatable & likable from the get-go, as a child & as an adult. She's hard-working and cares deeply about others, & I can already foresee problems when duty and love start demanding opposing sacrifices.

Not sure how far I'll get through this. It's a slog & not even 10% in yet. I like the worldbuilding & I think this would make a great tv series... but needs to be censored down to PG-13 or a low M rating, not this try-hard grimdark Snyder-esque R18+ BS. This would be really interesting without the needless over-sexualisation of all the women, & the constant swearing as if saying 'fuck' makes you super cool.

I suspect this will be too cartoonishly grimdark for me. Prologue had over-the-top swearing and unnecessary sexual details. Feels like author needs to PROVE his protag is a Real Man by constantly shoving sex and swears down our throat. A shame because I know he can craft a great world & characters (Altered Carbon) - but maybe his work only shines in adaptions where someone can edit the 12-year-old-boy off.

Probably my least favourite aspect is the fake cliffhangers leading to flashbacks that don't actually reveal what was promised. We've been told twice now that the upcoming flashback will explain why Lady Tremaine's daughters are not invited to the ball (due to something LT did in the past), but both times the flashbacks are just continuing her childhood in chronological order. Not actually giving the promised answer.

The sigh I sighed when the childhood romantic rival turned out to be the bitchiest bitchy girl you ever saw. A complete caricature, no depth or believability at all. Ugh, and you were doing so well up to that point...

Love when a female character (especially a protagonist) is allowed to be cold and 'unlikable', while still having a few positive qualities and--more importantly--understandable motivations, without washing away the toughness and unlikable qualities. Too many FMCs lately have a 'tough shell' to hide a soft, likeable 'true' self. No, just let some be unapologetically tough, mean, hard, etc.

Sometimes you back and read a MG/YA/childhood book you loved and are shocked that it doesn't hold up. I worried a little, picking this up, if I would have the same issue (still haven't read the 4th book so it's been A While since I've read Suzanne Collins).

But no, she really is still top tier on her game with both her prose and her themes. Good lord this was a shocking start right from the Reaping, as it should be.

It gets dumber, because a minor villain cons their way into the library, causing so much trouble, both at the library, & politically because he's not being offered magic + full access. And you could GIVE HIM THE MAGIC DEATH LIQUID. It will definitely kill him. It's probably going to be how Kisara "tricks" him at the end of the novel. But you could have killed him day 1 with minimal fallout. SUCH A DUMB PLOT DEVICE.

@ 40%: Reveals that the magic library has a liquid that judges if you're good/safe for the library or not, either granting magic or killing the drinker. We just wasted 40% of a novel on the main librarian testing the spy, when he could have made her drink the magic trust liquid on day 1 & had her drop dead if a traitor or confirmed as safe, solving one of his major problems. Instead, weeks of games.

I AM SO MAD.

"She loathed the humid weather, loathed the scrape of her black fighting leathers against her clammy skin, and the weight of the sword across her back. Each one was a reminder that her life was no longer her own, and she carried them like stones through a river, waiting for the day they dragged her under."

... Dear god, way to get me in the first few pages, author. Damn. I'm a sucker for a great metaphor.

"This has always been a story about lying," the wolf POV says at 70%. And that's true, but it was never the main focus until over 60% in, which feels like too long to suddenly switch major themes/motivations.

The prose remains excellent, but there's too much "suddenly out of nowhere" in the plot for me to feel it flows naturally. If someone (multiple people) are going to heel-turn, there needs to be hints earlier.

Finished the first story, which is the continuation of story 2 from book 1. It was my favourite from #1 but I'm disappointed b/c it dropped the Buddhism & political tension in favour of multiple 'level up' battles for the twins to earn more powers. And then 'boss battles' with the big bads from last installment. It became very boring. (The mystery story coming up next better not do the same.)

Really weird heel-turn where the person responsible for all of Bisclavret's risks now tries to play like everyone else has made terribly dangerous decisions against his better advice. Did Bisclavret do a stupid? Yes. Was he married insanely, unbelievably fast? Also yes. But you had 3 weeks to pull him aside & talk him out of it, or make your threats about telling his wife then. Not wait til after the wedding night.

There's an interesting parallel between werewolf Bisclavret who thinks a soft gentle wife will 'fix' his wolf episodes, & the king (was he ever named?) who ~50% is revealed as manic-depressive & thinks new obsession Bisclavret will 'fix' his depression. The text makes it clear that it's unfair of Bisclavret to expect this from an unknowing woman, or to marry at all, but has yet to reflect the same back on the king.

Is this incredibly long or just slowing down? The first portion seemed to move so fast, but it feels like I should be further through at this point, not only just halfway.

Unbelievably boring. Book 1 was mid, but this is worse. 2 year timeskip doesn't help. So much Telling, so much RETELLING of book 1 as if scared we didn't read it, and no emotional through-line (Cain in book 1). Loran and Cain's POVs are gone, replaced with some truly bland characters, one of which is in the past showing the conflict between Lysandros and Eldred... y'know, villains who are long dead. I don't care.

There's just enough modern sensibility to keep this from feeling like it's TOO old. Royalty must marry opposite gender & have kids, but same-sex lovers are completely accepted by society. Women have no rights, but male characters promise to give them a choice of marriage & to vet their own suitors, disguising the fact that women are property. It's uncomfortable but not a deal-breaker.

Almost 50% in & the world feels barely explored or explained. Its maybe a bit TOO character-focused, to the detriment of the unique world that was promised. I'm feeling entirely too light on both necromancy and dragons, which were the two selling points of this novel.

I'm shocked that swapping between 2nd and 3rd perspectives works so well. This is beautifully written, a touch of age and a touch of fantasy make this feel like a lyrical fairy tale, suffused with yearning. Not just romantic yearning either, but yearning for your childhood dream now in reach, yearning to not be sick, basically the yearning for the fairy tale 'happily ever after' you know reality won't let you have.

I don't know that the "historical note" at the start is a good idea. This hasn't been marketed to actual history buffs / readers, but the note gives the impression that's what to expect. I had to come back to goodreads and check the blurb & novel comparisons, out of fear I'd accidentally requested an arc for something I was going to really struggle with.

I feel like we skipped all the introduction & just jumped into everyone's big first action / change-of-circumstance. I'm not sure it's working, not for all 3 POVs anyway. I expected to like Loran's POV the most but she does the most 'skipping' from event to event so it's harder to connect with her than with Cain who's timeline is consistently-paced. Arienne’s in the middle, but also dropping all the good lore, so.

The worldbuilding is a bit generic, sounds like several other Asian YA novels of the past few years mashed together. It's also very Telling, rather than Showing. The writing feels less mature than her previous novels, which is odd. It's much harder to get into than Song of Silver Flame Like Night.