I really have to stop giving Melissa De La Cruz a chance. She is simply not the author for me. I appreciate that others might enjoy her writing but so far with every try, I've been left less than impressed.
The Encanto's Daughter is set up like a YA, but reads definitely more middle grade. It starts off as a high paced fantasy but quickly turns into a magical academy book with a dash of solving a murder mystery. There were quite a few things that I didn't like. There is no character depth or connection. Everything is flat and surface level. We don't see MJ mourning her father or her previous life, she barely worries about her mother, and spends most of her time dealing with school drama. Everything in the plot happens to our main character, MJ, at exactly the right time in order to move it along with almost zero effort on her part. The romance is severely lacking and just seems to be happening with again zero effort.
I did like that this is a book based on Filipino mythology and that we get to explore some of that diversity, but I wish it had been executed to be enjoyable.
The Encanto's Daughter is set up like a YA, but reads definitely more middle grade. It starts off as a high paced fantasy but quickly turns into a magical academy book with a dash of solving a murder mystery. There were quite a few things that I didn't like. There is no character depth or connection. Everything is flat and surface level. We don't see MJ mourning her father or her previous life, she barely worries about her mother, and spends most of her time dealing with school drama. Everything in the plot happens to our main character, MJ, at exactly the right time in order to move it along with almost zero effort on her part. The romance is severely lacking and just seems to be happening with again zero effort.
I did like that this is a book based on Filipino mythology and that we get to explore some of that diversity, but I wish it had been executed to be enjoyable.