by Ben Alderson
rating: ☆☆
published: 5th December 2017
spoilers? a bit
Goodreads
I think the best word to describe my experience with this book is disappointed. It wasn't that I had overly high hopes for this book that weren't met - more that, the more I read of it, the less I really liked it.
Putting aside the issues I found with the editing (three times your instead of you're, and once vile instead of vial), the writing really wasn't that amazing. And that was fine, for the first 60% of the book or so, but then it got tiring. I was all prepared to rate this book 3 stars, maybe 3.5, up until the writing started to grate, but after that it was all downhill. Not only that, but some aspects of the plot and characterisation gave me real SJM vibes. If you like her books, you'll probably like this one, but as I'm sure I've made clear, I am not a fan to say the least. So those vibes did not go down well.
More majorly, the characterisation felt really off for me. The characters were fairly shallow (I really couldn't tell you much about any of them, not gonna lie), and felt inconsistent at times. Not to mention all the growling when someone they liked was anywhere near someone who might or might not be flirting with them (okay, okay, it was once, but once feels like a lot when it's a trope you hate to death). Because the characters were shallow, the relationship development was also shallow, maybe even non-existent. Yes, they didn't jump into bed straightaway, but there was hardly any change in how they behaved around one another from 10% in to 70% in when they kissed. It was honestly fairly boring. There was also the relationship between Zac and Petrer, which seemed to oscillate back and forth between Zac being friendly and apparently forgetting that Petrer cheated on him (a fact which Petrer shows no remorse for), and Zac being cold and blanking him. He cheated on you Zac! He's not even sorry! Just break it off with him completely and be done. (Don't then be disappointed when he hurts/betrays you even if he's possessed. Or at least, if you are, make your mind up on it earlier!)
The conflict right at the end also came right out of a SJM book. I mean, evil magick possession? Collar-esque devices stopping you from using magic? It's overdone. And there was some torture thrown in there too to top things off! The King tortured horrifically his own son, and I really don't understand why that was put in there. Granted it was off-screen but. Was that really necessary? Can you not set up the premise for book two in any other way?
Having said all this shit I didn't like about the book, it's only fair I end with things I did like. The worldbuilding was good, I really enjoyed that. I also loved that it had a gay romance in, but made it feel completely normal. No homophobia shoehorned in - none of that, even though it's a fantasy world, you gotta have homophobia amirite - and the relationship didn't feel like it was forced into the book (even if it was shallowly developed).
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