I’m so split about this book.
So-much like the book-I’ll start with everything wrong with it.
1) The beautiful rendition of how exactly you shouldn’t write.
“I am shook”
“I am horrified”
“I am afraid”
Isn’t the first thing you learn as a writer is to show, NOT tell? Honestly, I was disappointed to find one of the biggest YA authors couldn’t managed such a simple task.
2) The plot holes. The gease letting Jude remain unaffected by magic holds after Dain dies, but the one about keeping her spying a secret doesn’t? Copy Editor to SHAME. And Jude mentions she has been granted ‘True Sight’ meaning she can see through glamour. But then in the epilogue she cannot see Oak’s horns.
3) I can’t see anything while reading this. Holly Black’s imagery is shamefully bad. And, going along with that, her world building is beyond weak.
Now onto all the good things about this book.
1) Jude’s family dynamic. It was amazingly written and so refreshing to see a character battle against the fact that she loves her parents murder. Honestly, I think all the characters were beautifully written. (My personal favourites being Jude and The Bomb)
2) Okay, there are two Cardan camps:
-Cardan is evil. Jude cannot forgive him.
OR
-Jude and Cardan are the only true enemy to lovers and should be treated as such.
My opinion is this. Jude is just as bad, if not worse than Cardan. She killed one of his best friends. She kidnapped and tricked him. She took advantage of his obsession with her and made out with him, WHILE HOLDING A KNIFE TO HIS THROAT.
So, I totally support their relationship, and kinda love it...
Annnnnd that leads onto my third reason.
3) Anyone who has ever read YA knows this scene:
Weak girl shakes in corner as she stares at the strong, smirking murderer. She hates her small self for wanting him, the fact that he is so much more powerful than her, but she can’t help it. He knows she wants him too, and treats her like sexy trash for it.
It is such overused trope, that is just expected in any YA novel. So you can imagine my absolute delight when the scene in this book changed it to a skilled, cunning warrior Jude smirking down at a chained Cardan as she kissed him for no other reason than to taunt him. YESSSSSSS. Loved it.
Basically this book comes down to bad writing techniques and exquisite plotting. Let’s hope the latter does Jude justice in the next book.
So-much like the book-I’ll start with everything wrong with it.
1) The beautiful rendition of how exactly you shouldn’t write.
“I am shook”
“I am horrified”
“I am afraid”
Isn’t the first thing you learn as a writer is to show, NOT tell? Honestly, I was disappointed to find one of the biggest YA authors couldn’t managed such a simple task.
2) The plot holes. The gease letting Jude remain unaffected by magic holds after Dain dies, but the one about keeping her spying a secret doesn’t? Copy Editor to SHAME. And Jude mentions she has been granted ‘True Sight’ meaning she can see through glamour. But then in the epilogue she cannot see Oak’s horns.
3) I can’t see anything while reading this. Holly Black’s imagery is shamefully bad. And, going along with that, her world building is beyond weak.
Now onto all the good things about this book.
1) Jude’s family dynamic. It was amazingly written and so refreshing to see a character battle against the fact that she loves her parents murder. Honestly, I think all the characters were beautifully written. (My personal favourites being Jude and The Bomb)
2) Okay, there are two Cardan camps:
-Cardan is evil. Jude cannot forgive him.
OR
-Jude and Cardan are the only true enemy to lovers and should be treated as such.
My opinion is this. Jude is just as bad, if not worse than Cardan. She killed one of his best friends. She kidnapped and tricked him. She took advantage of his obsession with her and made out with him, WHILE HOLDING A KNIFE TO HIS THROAT.
So, I totally support their relationship, and kinda love it...
Annnnnd that leads onto my third reason.
3) Anyone who has ever read YA knows this scene:
Weak girl shakes in corner as she stares at the strong, smirking murderer. She hates her small self for wanting him, the fact that he is so much more powerful than her, but she can’t help it. He knows she wants him too, and treats her like sexy trash for it.
It is such overused trope, that is just expected in any YA novel. So you can imagine my absolute delight when the scene in this book changed it to a skilled, cunning warrior Jude smirking down at a chained Cardan as she kissed him for no other reason than to taunt him. YESSSSSSS. Loved it.
Basically this book comes down to bad writing techniques and exquisite plotting. Let’s hope the latter does Jude justice in the next book.