To start, I was really anticipating reading this book bc there was a TON of hype leading up to its release. Immediately, I liked the author’s writing and voice and I did find myself drawn into the different characters in the story. I was rooting for Keralie, who is a highly flawed, morally gray, sympathetic character. The world was simple and easy to understand quickly...which one can take as a strength or weakness...I didn’t mind the simplicity of it.
However, I didn’t like the way the author told the story when it came to the big reveals. They felt jerky, sudden, and anticlimactic. Much of it was told in dialogue, like “did you this? Let me tell you (and the reader) what actually happened and how I pulled the wool over your eyes!”. It felt forced and pulled me out of the story.
Also, I had a hard time believing the close and intimate history between Keralie and Mackiel, perhaps due to a lack of specific, meaningful history and the extent of his evil. The only reason that this mothered me so much was that Keralie kept harping upon her past with him and the great significance of it. I just don’t think there was enough support for it.
I did appreciate how the author did weave the plot points and make sense of everything- all the twists, etc.-it was well plotted out. I just wish it was told better because the writing itself was really nice.
However, I didn’t like the way the author told the story when it came to the big reveals. They felt jerky, sudden, and anticlimactic. Much of it was told in dialogue, like “did you this? Let me tell you (and the reader) what actually happened and how I pulled the wool over your eyes!”. It felt forced and pulled me out of the story.
Also, I had a hard time believing the close and intimate history between Keralie and Mackiel, perhaps due to a lack of specific, meaningful history and the extent of his evil. The only reason that this mothered me so much was that Keralie kept harping upon her past with him and the great significance of it. I just don’t think there was enough support for it.
I did appreciate how the author did weave the plot points and make sense of everything- all the twists, etc.-it was well plotted out. I just wish it was told better because the writing itself was really nice.