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thereadedit's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
At first I didn't even know where to even begin with this book. I'm usually not one to reread a synopsis after I have chosen a book and put it on my TBR. This one I did when I purchased it a few months ago.
When I was looking for a book to start a few days ago I looked at the cover and thought 🤔 Oh This looks interesting. Gothic vibes, In A Castle Of Sorts, and add in a mysterious man. It hit all of those things for me. It is a slow burn for what I felt was the first 70% of the book, if not longer. I felt like it could have picked up a bit more to keep the reader a bit more engaged.
But alas, I kept reading because I needed to know what the heck I had already gotten myself into and what would unfold.
This was a much deeper read than what I was expecting. I expected there to be some death 💀, usually there is when it comes to a sorrowful gothic book. But this took you to a whole new level. LITERALLY.
With how this ends it almost requires you to read the second book so that you can see how the first really ends. I honestly don't know that I want to take that much time to really care to see how it ends or even continues.
When I was looking for a book to start a few days ago I looked at the cover and thought 🤔 Oh This looks interesting. Gothic vibes, In A Castle Of Sorts, and add in a mysterious man. It hit all of those things for me. It is a slow burn for what I felt was the first 70% of the book, if not longer. I felt like it could have picked up a bit more to keep the reader a bit more engaged.
But alas, I kept reading because I needed to know what the heck I had already gotten myself into and what would unfold.
This was a much deeper read than what I was expecting. I expected there to be some death 💀, usually there is when it comes to a sorrowful gothic book. But this took you to a whole new level. LITERALLY.
With how this ends it almost requires you to read the second book so that you can see how the first really ends. I honestly don't know that I want to take that much time to really care to see how it ends or even continues.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
tranvnguyen's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Self harm, Violence, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
maeverose's review against another edition
Idk why I thought I might like this. I’ve already established I hate YA fantasy.
TL;DR: Typical ya fantasy female mc, irritating love interest that has tension with her way too early, vague magic system
Violeta: She’s the exact same as so many other ya fantasy mcs I’ve read. Dumb (why was she convinced shadows that leave a physical mark on Arien’s skin were dreams? What??), rushing into trouble when she clearly knows less about what’s going on than the other characters, no personality other than ‘must protect brother’ and ‘I hate this mysterious scary evil man except I’m blushing at what he just said/did for some reason’. And why did she call her brother ‘my love’??? Ew
Lord Sylvanan/Rowan: Him being called ‘the monster’ over and over felt dumb to me. Like you’re trying to convince me he’s evil and scary and it’s not working. I just found him annoying. Also, I’m disfigured, and him being scarred felt like an attempt to make him seem ‘scarier/more evil’, which is an overdone, offensive and harmful trope. To be fair, I don’t remember the actual scar being described in a negative way, it’s more just the combination of ‘man whose supposedly done terrible things, is constantly referred to as ‘the monster’ and is generally just an asshole’ + the scarring, that feels questionable to me. Even if he’s redeemed or they explain why he’s scarred, that doesn’t justify it.
Violeta: She’s the exact same as so many other ya fantasy mcs I’ve read. Dumb (why was she convinced shadows that leave a physical mark on Arien’s skin were dreams? What??), rushing into trouble when she clearly knows less about what’s going on than the other characters, no personality other than ‘must protect brother’ and ‘I hate this mysterious scary evil man except I’m blushing at what he just said/did for some reason’. And why did she call her brother ‘my love’??? Ew
Lord Sylvanan/Rowan: Him being called ‘the monster’ over and over felt dumb to me. Like you’re trying to convince me he’s evil and scary and it’s not working. I just found him annoying. Also, I’m disfigured, and him being scarred felt like an attempt to make him seem ‘scarier/more evil’, which is an overdone, offensive and harmful trope. To be fair, I don’t remember the actual scar being described in a negative way, it’s more just the combination of ‘man whose supposedly done terrible things, is constantly referred to as ‘the monster’ and is generally just an asshole’ + the scarring, that feels questionable to me. Even if he’s redeemed or they explain why he’s scarred, that doesn’t justify it.
Storytelling: Why didn’t anyone explain to Violeta what they needed Arien for? Was there any reason for keeping that from her? Or was it just so that there’d be some mystery for the reader? Because it felt like an excuse for Violeta to interfere and be stupid, which I’m not exactly sure why that need to happen anyway.
Magic: It was very vague and didn’t feel well thought out. Maybe if I’d read further it would’ve been more fleshed out, but it just felt flimsy. Especially in chapter six, I think if you’re gonna have a high stakes scene like that the reader should probably know what the hell is going on. It just doesn’t have the same impact if I’m stuck on trying to picture what’s even happening. (It also didn’t help that I didn’t care about any of the characters).
I’ll end this very negative review on a positive note with a quote that I liked:
“Most of the windows are closed, and a thick tangle of ivy winds between the wooden shutters.
I’ll end this very negative review on a positive note with a quote that I liked:
“Most of the windows are closed, and a thick tangle of ivy winds between the wooden shutters.
The front door is carved with a raised pattern. I trace my fingers across it, over vines and leaves so delicate they could have been embroidered against the wood. The iron handle is carved, too.
An enormous ring shaped like a wreath, furled with leaves and bellflowers. When I put my hand against it, the cold press of iron makes me shiver.
But slowly, it begins to warm beneath my palm.”
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Murder
Moderate: Child abuse, Self harm, Blood, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Ableism
inborinth's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
❝𝐘𝐨𝐮'𝐯𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐭 𝐢𝐭 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐬𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐩𝐢𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮. 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞'𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐥𝐞𝐟𝐭?❞
Pesadillas que traspasan la realidad, recuerdos de magia y familiaridad, asesinatos y mansiones, creencias y oscuridad. Violeta está rodeada de aquellos rituales. Convive con la única familia que le queda, aunque algo perverso los aceche. Una magia tan sólida como la mismísima sangre atrapa sus sueños más profundos, pero, ¿son realmente sueños o una trampa? Caer en terror es lo único que conocen, encerrados en un hogar agonizante, alguien logra intervenir todo el dolor que han sufrido.
Lakesedge es un libro de culpa y perdón. De enfrentar verdades y recuerdos, miedos y criaturas horroríficas. Es una historia que reconoce la soledad, invertida en dos mundos tan catastróficamente parecidos. El sacrificio que los personajes deben enfrentar se torna aún más crudo, donde comienzan a hilarse la magia y el poder de algo mucho más temible que la verdad. Un ser que podría acabar con la luz del mundo, un ser que intercambia su oscuridad por lo que uno esté dispuesto a entregar. Pactos de sangre, podredumbre que acecha un hogar aniquilado de felicidad. Cada aspecto de esta historia es un rito de salvación.
Este libro tiene una prosa bellísima, cálida y mundana. El estilo gótico se cierne en cada capítulo y va creciendo a medida que la historia avanza, crece como una raíz. Es difícil abarcar cada parte del libro, pero admito que hubo aspectos del mismo que no lograron convencerme como esperaba. El intercambio romántico de los personajes, a pesar de haberlo disfrutado, lo sentí hueco. Lo presencié como algo brusco, rápido y hasta un tanto vacío. Tienen sus momentos de unión inquebrantable, pero tengo mis dudas al respecto. Tendré que enfrentar su continuación para formar una opinión más sólida en cuanto a su romance.
Pesadillas que traspasan la realidad, recuerdos de magia y familiaridad, asesinatos y mansiones, creencias y oscuridad. Violeta está rodeada de aquellos rituales. Convive con la única familia que le queda, aunque algo perverso los aceche. Una magia tan sólida como la mismísima sangre atrapa sus sueños más profundos, pero, ¿son realmente sueños o una trampa? Caer en terror es lo único que conocen, encerrados en un hogar agonizante, alguien logra intervenir todo el dolor que han sufrido.
Lakesedge es un libro de culpa y perdón. De enfrentar verdades y recuerdos, miedos y criaturas horroríficas. Es una historia que reconoce la soledad, invertida en dos mundos tan catastróficamente parecidos. El sacrificio que los personajes deben enfrentar se torna aún más crudo, donde comienzan a hilarse la magia y el poder de algo mucho más temible que la verdad. Un ser que podría acabar con la luz del mundo, un ser que intercambia su oscuridad por lo que uno esté dispuesto a entregar. Pactos de sangre, podredumbre que acecha un hogar aniquilado de felicidad. Cada aspecto de esta historia es un rito de salvación.
Este libro tiene una prosa bellísima, cálida y mundana. El estilo gótico se cierne en cada capítulo y va creciendo a medida que la historia avanza, crece como una raíz. Es difícil abarcar cada parte del libro, pero admito que hubo aspectos del mismo que no lograron convencerme como esperaba. El intercambio romántico de los personajes, a pesar de haberlo disfrutado, lo sentí hueco. Lo presencié como algo brusco, rápido y hasta un tanto vacío. Tienen sus momentos de unión inquebrantable, pero tengo mis dudas al respecto. Tendré que enfrentar su continuación para formar una opinión más sólida en cuanto a su romance.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicide, Blood, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
trippalli's review against another edition
dark
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
First positively the author has a beautiful way of describing rooms, places, clothes, details with adjectives and so the world building is effective and stunning. Unfortunately that's about where it ends. The last survivor/resurrected of the drown family is constantly cutting themselves to do blood magic. The premise is they are trying to undo the corruption on the land caused by the tragedies and causing the tragedies This corruption had killed all the plants and blackened the water of the lake.
The other characters introduced who are trying to help with their magic are failing and also start self cutting to pull power which seems both dark, repeatative and unhelpful. The narrator makes a deal with the dark underlord and gives up her family... The love triangle between the undrowned traffic love survivor and the dark underlord both seem like abusive relationships full of gaslighting, darn deals and unfortunately violent power dynamics.. Giving up positive things in their lives to try to save this cursed land.
It all became redundant, dark and pointless. There's really no plot, the relationships aren't founded in love but more power dynamics, pity, and tragedy. I skimmed through entire book speed reading after the first half trying to see if it would evolve and a plot would evolve. Nothing evolved.
Sadly I can't recommend this, as despite the promising descriptive language and world building, the characters relationships are very triggering for me as an abuse survivor, and the self cutting is horrific, knowing people who suffered with cutting in real life this is not ok to weave into a young adult book as a source of magic. It's not cutting is just tragic self harm.
The other characters introduced who are trying to help with their magic are failing and also start self cutting to pull power which seems both dark, repeatative and unhelpful. The narrator makes a deal with the dark underlord and gives up her family... The love triangle between the undrowned traffic love survivor and the dark underlord both seem like abusive relationships full of gaslighting, darn deals and unfortunately violent power dynamics.. Giving up positive things in their lives to try to save this cursed land.
It all became redundant, dark and pointless. There's really no plot, the relationships aren't founded in love but more power dynamics, pity, and tragedy. I skimmed through entire book speed reading after the first half trying to see if it would evolve and a plot would evolve. Nothing evolved.
Sadly I can't recommend this, as despite the promising descriptive language and world building, the characters relationships are very triggering for me as an abuse survivor, and the self cutting is horrific, knowing people who suffered with cutting in real life this is not ok to weave into a young adult book as a source of magic. It's not cutting is just tragic self harm.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Gore, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail
jwhitlow91's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Gore, Physical abuse, Self harm, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Vomit, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Sexual content and Suicide attempt
yaoipaddle's review against another edition
biggest hint this book will suck: main character's name is violeta graceline.
if you like this book i beg you to read something else because this must be the only book you have read in your life. it's not even entertaining enough as a hate-read.
this book reads like what every edgy teen wrote in middle school, but we all grew up and knew it sucked and should never been a published book. this author didnt.
it feels like the author assumes the reader is an idiot and needs to be shown graphic child abuse at page 7 for us to understand that the adoptive mother is bad. there are so many ways to convey this info without functionally beating it us over the head with it. (sorry for the shit pun, not intended)
the main character is unloveable and irritating. the opening scene has her "saving" her brother from child abuse yet she follows it up with making him, with freshly burned and blistered hands, clean her wounds. ??????? do it yourself!!!
hey reader do you know how the main love interest is bad? because violeta literally calls him monster all the time for in my eyes zero reason. (yes i know the reason in universe but it seems like the least of violetas worries considering her brother is being engulfed in darkness and her whole thing is about how he is innocent even though people would consider him a monster.... girl!??!?!?!?!?!?!) but worry not reader, she makes sure to tell us he's attractive as soon as she sees him and in the following page too. also don't worry she makes sure to later on tell us that she herself is "curved and small"....... GIRL SHUT UPPPPPPPPPP
you already know where the story will go and how things will play out. nothing about this book is compelling or loveable. it's paced like garbage. has awful characters. an unloveable main character. a poorly built fantasy world. and zero good qualities.
normally id give a book 2 stars if it wasn't my taste but i figured someone else would enjoy it, but if youre going to read a ya fantasy or romance there is literally any number of books that is more worth your time, energy, and money. dont even borrow this from a library. it SUCKS.
if you like this book i beg you to read something else because this must be the only book you have read in your life. it's not even entertaining enough as a hate-read.
this book reads like what every edgy teen wrote in middle school, but we all grew up and knew it sucked and should never been a published book. this author didnt.
it feels like the author assumes the reader is an idiot and needs to be shown graphic child abuse at page 7 for us to understand that the adoptive mother is bad. there are so many ways to convey this info without functionally beating it us over the head with it. (sorry for the shit pun, not intended)
the main character is unloveable and irritating. the opening scene has her "saving" her brother from child abuse yet she follows it up with making him, with freshly burned and blistered hands, clean her wounds. ??????? do it yourself!!!
hey reader do you know how the main love interest is bad? because violeta literally calls him monster all the time for in my eyes zero reason. (yes i know the reason in universe but it seems like the least of violetas worries considering her brother is being engulfed in darkness and her whole thing is about how he is innocent even though people would consider him a monster.... girl!??!?!?!?!?!?!) but worry not reader, she makes sure to tell us he's attractive as soon as she sees him and in the following page too. also don't worry she makes sure to later on tell us that she herself is "curved and small"....... GIRL SHUT UPPPPPPPPPP
you already know where the story will go and how things will play out. nothing about this book is compelling or loveable. it's paced like garbage. has awful characters. an unloveable main character. a poorly built fantasy world. and zero good qualities.
normally id give a book 2 stars if it wasn't my taste but i figured someone else would enjoy it, but if youre going to read a ya fantasy or romance there is literally any number of books that is more worth your time, energy, and money. dont even borrow this from a library. it SUCKS.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Death of parent and Fire/Fire injury
elwan_enchanted's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Gore, Self harm, Blood, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Death, Suicide, Violence, Vomit, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury
kaydie96's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child death, Death, Gore, Sexual content, and Death of parent
r_a_bell's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
This book read like a 2012 self-insert watt pad fanfic, especially in the beginning. There’s a lot of build-up with no delivery and it seems like instead of letting the story speak for itself, the author instead just tells you how you should feel about the story.
At the beginning, the main character refer to the (initial) antagonist as “the monster” constantly. After hearing a single rumor about him, being told that he’s called a monster and having like 2 interactions with him. It’s like it was just easier to have the main character keep calling him a monster instead of actually illustrating it and leading you to that conclusion yourself. The entire book just felt like it was trying to hard to be dark and scary, without actually delivering.
My biggest complaint, though, is the descriptions throughout do not line up. When I read, I have a movie that plays in my head of what’s going on in the book. And the way actions were described, it completely took me out of the story almost constantly! For example, if it describes two characters in the same room, at first it will describe them as being on opposite side of the room, and then 2 seconds later it’ll be saying that character A grabbed Character B’s hand. When did they cross the room?? Did I miss something or do they just have super long arms??
My final note:there’s supposed to be a love triangle in this?? The third person in the supposed love triangle is only actually in a scene maybe 3 times. And the way it’s described it felt my creepy and weird than anything. Reading it, I kept thinking to myself “does the author mean for it to sound like the main character is kind of into him??” Nothing about it seemed intentional.
At the beginning, the main character refer to the (initial) antagonist as “the monster” constantly. After hearing a single rumor about him, being told that he’s called a monster and having like 2 interactions with him. It’s like it was just easier to have the main character keep calling him a monster instead of actually illustrating it and leading you to that conclusion yourself. The entire book just felt like it was trying to hard to be dark and scary, without actually delivering.
My biggest complaint, though, is the descriptions throughout do not line up. When I read, I have a movie that plays in my head of what’s going on in the book. And the way actions were described, it completely took me out of the story almost constantly! For example, if it describes two characters in the same room, at first it will describe them as being on opposite side of the room, and then 2 seconds later it’ll be saying that character A grabbed Character B’s hand. When did they cross the room?? Did I miss something or do they just have super long arms??
My final note:
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Self harm, Suicide, Blood, Vomit, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Abandonment