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4.01 AVERAGE
4.01 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Book 2 of the duology. This is solid fantasy and I don't recommend unless you are well versed in this genre because it's long and there's tons of arcs and stories to keep track of. However these are solid fantasy reads that brings in Lore that I appreciated.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I enjoyed this book better than the first. Still hard to get into in the beginning but after halfway I enjoyed how the story went and kept you involved.
Actual rating: 3.5 stars
While the pacing in the first half is still glacial, with a lot of plot set-up and characters background stories and pseudo-academic essays on various aspects of folklore, the latter half kills it.
While the pacing in the first half is still glacial, with a lot of plot set-up and characters background stories and pseudo-academic essays on various aspects of folklore, the latter half kills it.
4.5 stars. I still think the excerpt-info-dumps are boring ways to cheat at explanation, especially because they (luckily) stop later in the book and Cargill proves he can have his characters explain things without writing a textbook about it. I do love how he writes dialogue, though; while it might not *always* be perfectly believable/realistic, in those moments when it's not, it's still banter-y and awesome so I can't even judge it harshly.
Phenomenal sequel to Dreams and Shadows. I highly suggest these two novels. I hope that Cargill continues this series. If you enjoy dark fae stories (in the horror/unsettling sense) this you have found the right series. There is zero "cuteness" to these stories. Every choice is bad and life is a struggle. Well written and the characters are filled out well.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Not very often does it happen that the second book in a series is better than the first, but I think that's the case with this book.
Looking forward to more in this series.
Looking forward to more in this series.
Brilliant - just brilliant. This is largely a placeholder review (which I will forget to ever change, so y'know, just read the first three words again.)
I really enjoyed this book, even though I read it several years after the first one and had forgotten some of the details. Reading a magical story set in Austin was just what I needed at this moment in time.