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4.0 AVERAGE
4.0 AVERAGE
Så fruktansvärt sorglig och mörk!! Längtar verkligen efter nästa bok!!
Read my full review at Book Obsession
Read my full review at Book Obsession
the starting was a little boring but the last two chapter were awfully stressful and frustrating i’m in pain right know my heart is broken this book killed me but i love being killed by it
Rating Clarification: 4.5
There was so much character development towards the end of the book,Loved that.
At first I just thought that Maura was an annoying yet pathetic character; but towards the end of the book you really want to kill her!
Definitely worth a read.✔
There was so much character development towards the end of the book,Loved that.
At first I just thought that Maura was an annoying yet pathetic character; but towards the end of the book you really want to kill her!
Definitely worth a read.✔
That end was...WHAT? WHY? DARN YOU SPOTSWOOD!!!! Everything was perfect. DYING for book three!
This book grab ahold of me and not let me go it gripping and that twist I knew something was going to happen but not what did happen I gotta hold back from rushed to pick up the next book in this series
The first book for me was an okay read, but this second one is even better by leaps and bounds. I think the reason why I'm able to get through it just as fast is because of the Cahill sister drama. Maura infuriates me to no end, a character I love to hate, I want to smack her so hard every time she opens her mouth or think she's better than Cate.
I like Cate enough, but I felt like she's too reserved in her own ways, that had not been for Tess and other people's push, she would not have done anything significant in this installment.
I like that this series is family centered, rather than the relationship aspects. Finn doesn't drag her down, in fact he supports her 100%, unlike other male leads who think their dame can't handle shit without them. I'm really hoping that he won't turn out like that in the end.
Definitely will finish the last book.
Final verdict: 93%; 4.5 stars.
I like Cate enough, but I felt like she's too reserved in her own ways, that had not been for Tess and other people's push, she would not have done anything significant in this installment.
I like that this series is family centered, rather than the relationship aspects. Finn doesn't drag her down, in fact he supports her 100%, unlike other male leads who think their dame can't handle shit without them. I'm really hoping that he won't turn out like that in the end.
Definitely will finish the last book.
Final verdict: 93%; 4.5 stars.
**WARNING: This review may contain a few spoilers of book 1**
Again a very nice read! I think I liked it better than book 1, although I needed more time to read it. It's quite slow-paced, because the author takes time to introduce the Sisterhood, what the purpose of this institution really is, and the disagreement between the Sisters in charge on how to pursue their mission, which is a major stake.
I really liked getting to know the Sisterhood from the inside. It's officially a convent but in fact it's a place where undercover witches, disguised in nuns, teach younger witches to control and master their powers, while plotting to overturn the Brotherhood. Hiding in plain sight: such a clever idea!
The Brothers are always more despicable in the way they treat women, but although they're getting more and more violent in their witch hunt I didn't feel their oppression as strongly as I did in book 1. Probably because the main characters are in the Sisterhood now and the Sisters are the very few women for which the Brothers have a little respect since they think they're perfect nuns (if only they knew...).
There is a lot of tension in this book, which is why it isn't boring despite the rather slow pace. The whole atmosphere is tensed as the Brothers arrest more and more women and strengthen the laws, while people start to protest. There also is a lot of tension on the Sisters' side, as they disagree on how to lead the rebellion, which is coming closer. And finally, there also is much tension between the Cahill sisters, or more precisely, between Cate and Tess on one side, and Maura on the second side.
My opinion on the Cahill sisters didn't change in this book. I still think Tess is the best protagonist out of all three. She's adorable, and the more we get to know her, the more she appears clever as well. Maura is always more infuriating, yet I didn't hate her completely because I do understand her reasons, and also she shows more personality than Cate, who, despite being the main character, continues being the most uninteresting out of the three sisters.
The ending was very frustrating. I really really want to lay my hands on book 3 now!
Again a very nice read! I think I liked it better than book 1, although I needed more time to read it. It's quite slow-paced, because the author takes time to introduce the Sisterhood, what the purpose of this institution really is, and the disagreement between the Sisters in charge on how to pursue their mission, which is a major stake.
I really liked getting to know the Sisterhood from the inside. It's officially a convent but in fact it's a place where undercover witches, disguised in nuns, teach younger witches to control and master their powers, while plotting to overturn the Brotherhood. Hiding in plain sight: such a clever idea!
The Brothers are always more despicable in the way they treat women, but although they're getting more and more violent in their witch hunt I didn't feel their oppression as strongly as I did in book 1. Probably because the main characters are in the Sisterhood now and the Sisters are the very few women for which the Brothers have a little respect since they think they're perfect nuns (if only they knew...).
There is a lot of tension in this book, which is why it isn't boring despite the rather slow pace. The whole atmosphere is tensed as the Brothers arrest more and more women and strengthen the laws, while people start to protest. There also is a lot of tension on the Sisters' side, as they disagree on how to lead the rebellion, which is coming closer. And finally, there also is much tension between the Cahill sisters, or more precisely, between Cate and Tess on one side, and Maura on the second side.
My opinion on the Cahill sisters didn't change in this book. I still think Tess is the best protagonist out of all three. She's adorable, and the more we get to know her, the more she appears clever as well. Maura is always more infuriating, yet I didn't hate her completely because I do understand her reasons, and also she shows more personality than Cate, who, despite being the main character, continues being the most uninteresting out of the three sisters.
The ending was very frustrating. I really really want to lay my hands on book 3 now!
There will be uncut spoilers in this review.
Oh, Star Cursed. For all the ways you improved upon Born Wicked, you also fell much, much farther than the first book in this series did.
Where to even start? I’m going to go with the good stuff first. Star Cursed has much better pacing and plotting than Born Wicked. Lots of stuff actually happens other than in the very last third, and it’s interesting to read about! There’s also better fleshing out of the magic system and world, and how this society works.
As far as characters go, Cate was much more likeable this time around, although I found Maura to be reverting into a very flimsy archetype of a character--the overly emotional fanatic. Tess still didn’t leave much of an impression on me, even though more things arguably happen to and with her in this book.
I also actually enjoy Finn and Cate’s relationship. They’re equals, they act like equals, and they work together well as equals. It’s rare to see in a YA novel, so I appreciated it here and seeing them work together.
But that’s it, as far as the good goes. Let’s get to the bad, and hoo boy, do I have a lot to nitpick with Star Cursed.
For a series that tries its hardest to be feminist, I’ve been iffy on its feminist cred from the very first book. As I mentioned in my review for that one, Cate is horrific when it comes to other women, especially if they’re overtly feminine and, to her perception, “simple minded”. The narrative also supports this, with only two women breaking out of that perception and proving themselves to be Cate’s friends, Sachiko and her half-sister Rory. To my mind, you can’t have a feminist message in a book if you’re going to have your main character be a snot to other women like Cate was.
Thankfully, Cate has more or less dropped this attitude in Star Cursed... but then it seems the narrative makes up for that by having all the women fighting each other. I do understand what Spotswood was attempting to do here, to show that everyone has their opinion on how a war should be waged, and I did appreciate the shades of grey she attempted to inject in the story. But gods, at some points it felt like everyone in this story took a huge drink of some Stupid Tea. Why would the Sisterhood try to divide the sisters as much as they did? What would it have proven? Why do they all need to be at each other’s necks in the first place?
There’s also a very uncomfortable trend I noticed in regards to the characters of colour in this series. Pretty much nothing good happens to them; they’re either friends with Cate but need to be saved at one point, or they’re evil. No real exceptions. I don’t think this is intentional at all, but when I gathered up a list of all the characters of colour and what happens to them, it was a little hard not to see the pattern emerging.
Also, in this alternate version of New England where it’s normal and accepted to have rich people of colour, why couldn’t Cate and her sisters have been non-white? Why is it that one of the prophesied sisters just has to be a slim, blonde, plain (but not ugly, never ugly), rich white woman?
And there’s also the fact that Maura, the emotional (lesbian, or at least bisexual) sister, becomes an antagonist to Cate’s tightly controlled protagonist. Because all emotional women are silly and don’t do anything good, don’t you know? And those lesbians, you need to watch out for them too.
Also, the ending? While I do realize how powerful it might be on its own, I rolled my eyes. It felt like a cheap ploy for drama and angst on Cate’s part, and to further separate Maura and Cate for good. We all know Finn is either going to remember or fall back in love with Cate anyway, so it just feels a little needless and, well, stupid.
I want to like this series, I truly do. It has so many elements I love in fiction. But I finished Star Cursed feeling more frustrated and irritated than I did when I finished Born Wicked. I honestly don’t know if I’m going to continue with this series. I’m interested in what happens, but at the same time it does so much that angers me that I don’t know if it’s worth it to invest time in it.
We’ll see what happens, I guess. But I’m not going to be hurrying out for book three.
See more of my reviews at On The Nightstand.
Oh, Star Cursed. For all the ways you improved upon Born Wicked, you also fell much, much farther than the first book in this series did.
Where to even start? I’m going to go with the good stuff first. Star Cursed has much better pacing and plotting than Born Wicked. Lots of stuff actually happens other than in the very last third, and it’s interesting to read about! There’s also better fleshing out of the magic system and world, and how this society works.
As far as characters go, Cate was much more likeable this time around, although I found Maura to be reverting into a very flimsy archetype of a character--the overly emotional fanatic. Tess still didn’t leave much of an impression on me, even though more things arguably happen to and with her in this book.
I also actually enjoy Finn and Cate’s relationship. They’re equals, they act like equals, and they work together well as equals. It’s rare to see in a YA novel, so I appreciated it here and seeing them work together.
But that’s it, as far as the good goes. Let’s get to the bad, and hoo boy, do I have a lot to nitpick with Star Cursed.
For a series that tries its hardest to be feminist, I’ve been iffy on its feminist cred from the very first book. As I mentioned in my review for that one, Cate is horrific when it comes to other women, especially if they’re overtly feminine and, to her perception, “simple minded”. The narrative also supports this, with only two women breaking out of that perception and proving themselves to be Cate’s friends, Sachiko and her half-sister Rory. To my mind, you can’t have a feminist message in a book if you’re going to have your main character be a snot to other women like Cate was.
Thankfully, Cate has more or less dropped this attitude in Star Cursed... but then it seems the narrative makes up for that by having all the women fighting each other. I do understand what Spotswood was attempting to do here, to show that everyone has their opinion on how a war should be waged, and I did appreciate the shades of grey she attempted to inject in the story. But gods, at some points it felt like everyone in this story took a huge drink of some Stupid Tea. Why would the Sisterhood try to divide the sisters as much as they did? What would it have proven? Why do they all need to be at each other’s necks in the first place?
There’s also a very uncomfortable trend I noticed in regards to the characters of colour in this series. Pretty much nothing good happens to them; they’re either friends with Cate but need to be saved at one point, or they’re evil. No real exceptions. I don’t think this is intentional at all, but when I gathered up a list of all the characters of colour and what happens to them, it was a little hard not to see the pattern emerging.
Also, in this alternate version of New England where it’s normal and accepted to have rich people of colour, why couldn’t Cate and her sisters have been non-white? Why is it that one of the prophesied sisters just has to be a slim, blonde, plain (but not ugly, never ugly), rich white woman?
And there’s also the fact that Maura, the emotional (lesbian, or at least bisexual) sister, becomes an antagonist to Cate’s tightly controlled protagonist. Because all emotional women are silly and don’t do anything good, don’t you know? And those lesbians, you need to watch out for them too.
Also, the ending? While I do realize how powerful it might be on its own, I rolled my eyes. It felt like a cheap ploy for drama and angst on Cate’s part, and to further separate Maura and Cate for good. We all know Finn is either going to remember or fall back in love with Cate anyway, so it just feels a little needless and, well, stupid.
I want to like this series, I truly do. It has so many elements I love in fiction. But I finished Star Cursed feeling more frustrated and irritated than I did when I finished Born Wicked. I honestly don’t know if I’m going to continue with this series. I’m interested in what happens, but at the same time it does so much that angers me that I don’t know if it’s worth it to invest time in it.
We’ll see what happens, I guess. But I’m not going to be hurrying out for book three.
See more of my reviews at On The Nightstand.
Full review available at Coffee & Wizards. Here's a sneak peek...
Let me get straight to the point: you need to add this series to your must-read-immediately pile. There are two big reasons why: 1. fantastic world building and history and 2. female characters and relationships that are real and raw and wonderful. I could also add realistic and heartbreaking romances as a secondary reason, though as that’s something you can find in most YA books, I don’t feel a great need to focus on it.
Let me get straight to the point: you need to add this series to your must-read-immediately pile. There are two big reasons why: 1. fantastic world building and history and 2. female characters and relationships that are real and raw and wonderful. I could also add realistic and heartbreaking romances as a secondary reason, though as that’s something you can find in most YA books, I don’t feel a great need to focus on it.