Scan barcode
A review by cleolindbooks
The Absinthe Underground by Jamie Pacton
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
2.5
Thank you NetGalley for the e-arc!
I went in super excited for this story! I liked this author's previous work and was excited to dive into the romance. Unfortunately, I ended up not loving the story. I found it difficult to root for the main romance between Sybil and Esme; while reading the story, I felt there was very little romantic chemistry between the two characters. The characters are very different in ways that I think doesn't complement the romantic story-building; it's made very clear throughout the story that Esmay is compromising her ideals or opinions for Sybil because she loves her but is very unhappy with some of the things that are going on. This was a reoccurring issue and ultimately made me not want to root for this romance. I honestly found myself more intrigued by Hyacinth and Chloe's romance than Esme and Sybil. I liked them as characters and felt they had potential, but I think overall, we needed more development from them in order to make their story work romantically and in general.
In addition, I feel like the overall plot is very convenient and not as well thought out as I wish. The highest is unbelievably easy to the point of disbelief and, honestly, some confusion. Everything kind of just conveniently happens or works out without any plan or skill. They are both kind of just saved at every point by someone else or get unbelievably lucky time and time again. I think they were just too many elements in such a short story that everything felt extremely rushed and not as well thought out as it could've been. There were elements that I was really excited to see done in the story but so many of them felt flat as there was very little explanation or development.
Overall while I was really really excited for the story, I think it needed a bit more development and unfortunately I didn't love it.
I went in super excited for this story! I liked this author's previous work and was excited to dive into the romance. Unfortunately, I ended up not loving the story. I found it difficult to root for the main romance between Sybil and Esme; while reading the story, I felt there was very little romantic chemistry between the two characters. The characters are very different in ways that I think doesn't complement the romantic story-building; it's made very clear throughout the story that Esmay is compromising her ideals or opinions for Sybil because she loves her but is very unhappy with some of the things that are going on. This was a reoccurring issue and ultimately made me not want to root for this romance. I honestly found myself more intrigued by Hyacinth and Chloe's romance than Esme and Sybil. I liked them as characters and felt they had potential, but I think overall, we needed more development from them in order to make their story work romantically and in general.
In addition, I feel like the overall plot is very convenient and not as well thought out as I wish. The highest is unbelievably easy to the point of disbelief and, honestly, some confusion. Everything kind of just conveniently happens or works out without any plan or skill. They are both kind of just saved at every point by someone else or get unbelievably lucky time and time again. I think they were just too many elements in such a short story that everything felt extremely rushed and not as well thought out as it could've been. There were elements that I was really excited to see done in the story but so many of them felt flat as there was very little explanation or development.
Overall while I was really really excited for the story, I think it needed a bit more development and unfortunately I didn't love it.