cloudbooks's reviews
156 reviews

Jeg har hørt så meget godt om denne her bog, og jeg blev så skuffet, da jeg læste den.

Bogen handler om en ellepige ved navn Maren, som arbejder for tidsrejsefirmaet Urtid. Hun er dygtig til det job, hun skal udføre, men da hun møder Esben, så er den rejse slut. Hun bliver suget ind i en kamp mellem ellefolk, hekse, troldmænd og vætter. Det er en kamp, hun som så ikke kendte til, før hun næsten dør i den. Men nu står hun midt i den, og hun er nødt til at finde ud af, hvem hun kan stole på.

Så hvad er problemet? Hvorfor så få stjerner? Ja, der var jo sådan set ikke noget godt i bogen, men lad os tage det fra en ende af...

Maren er eftersigende 32 år gammel, men udover at hun bor i egen lejlighed, så er der ikke meget, der tyder på, at hun er voksen. Hun opfører sig som en teenager, der hader hele den verden, hun lever i. Hendes sprog, hendes tanker, ja, selv hendes måde at behandle andre på, minder om en 16årig, der aldrig har set konsekvenserne af egne handlinger. Derudover er hendes sprog blandet med engelske udtryk, hvilket kun gør hende endnu mere barnlig. Alt i alt var der så meget ligegyldig had, at jeg endte med at hade Maren, før jeg overhovedet nåede at kende hende. Hun var så irriterende, at jeg var lettet, da bogen skiftede fortæller, selvom det kun var for en kort stund.

Maren og Esbens forhold fremstår enormt urealistisk og usundt. De ser hinanden en enkelt gang og er derefter smaskforelskset i hinanden - så forelsket, at Maren bliver vred over, at hendes bedste veninde føler, at hun er gået hende bag ryggen. Esben er hele hendes verden, og hun fralægger sig alt ansvar, det øjeblik han kommer ind i den. Dertil skal der tillæges et overforbryg af kælenavne, kvalmende lange beskrivelser af, hvor meget de trænger til hinanden, og selvfølgelig de mange gange, vi får at vide, de har sex. Udover det, så får hun ferie, fordi hun er forelsket. Hendes egen arbejdsgiver mener altså, at hendes ansvarsløshed og selvviske opførsel giver grund til en feriebonus! Hvem giver folk fri fordi de er forelsket? Det gør de i denne her verden. 

Når det så er sagt, så er det her jo ikke en kærlighedshistorie. Det er i hvert fald det, vi får fortalt. Men langt, langt det meste af denne her bog handler om kærester, kærestekonflikter, drama mellem venner om kærester, og lidt ekskærester her og der. Hvis det ikke var fordi bogen indeholder ret stærke beskrivelser af voldtægt, kærestevold, psykisk vold og ufrivillig abort, så ville jeg have kaldt det en god bog for teenagere, der mangler kærestedrama i deres hverdag.

Hvad så med den verden, vi bliver præsenteret for? Jo, den er ret unik. Der er ikke mange dybdegående beskrivelser på de forskellige arter af magiske folk, som vi møder. Hvad er forskellen på hekse, troldmænd, ellefolk og vætter? Tjo, de lugter anderledes... men det er sådan set det. Der er ikke mange forklaringer på, hvordan deres magi ser ud eller virker, eller hvad der gør en person stærk fremfor en, der er svag. Det er til trods for, at vi møder rigtig mange forskellige karakterer. Ellefolk kan udsende stråler, som kan skifte farve fra person til person, men hvad gør det? De gør ondt, det er man ikke i tvivl om. De kan også danse, men det er heller ikke noget, der bliver gået i dybden med. Alt det magiske ved denne her verden er så overfladisk, fordi der bliver lagt så meget fokus på kærestedramaet. Det er en skam, for jeg tror, det er en fantastisk spændende verden, hvis bare den fik lov til at blive fortalt.

Hvad så med karaktererne? Der synes jeg også, der manglede lidt. Esben, Maren, Leonora og senere Marens søster Asta er meget stærke karakterer, der skiller sig klart ud fra de andre. Men alle andre karakterer virker meget flade. De eksisterer i højere grad for at få plottet til at virke eller for at drive en karakter til noget. De er ofte stereotypiske, hvis de ikke er hovedkarakterer. Den ellemand, der traumatiserer Asta? Så stereotypisk ond, at jeg næsten kunne se ham grine ondskabsfyldt med det røde baggrundslys, mens han gør det forbi med vores heltinde. Ellekongen? Skam ikke noget familiekærlighed her - det er den onde far, der kun vil sig selv det bedste. Ikke noget nuance her! 

Men hvad med plottet? Historien har et fint flow, og man er ikke i tvivl om, hvad der skal ske eller hvorfor. Jeg kunne godt have brugt flere forudgreb, der ikke var så tydelige. Jeg manglede spænding, der ikke handlede om kærester eller kærestesorger. Derudover synes jeg, at bogen brugte alt for lang tid på ligegyldige ting som at handle ind i Netto, tale ting igennem med andre karakterer som læseren allerede ved, og lange beskrivelser af længsler efter nogen eller noget, når det er blevet nævnt så mange gange tidligere. 

Så hvad var godt? Jeg kunne godt lide den verden, vi blev præsenteret for. De få sider, hvor Maren ikke var fortæller, var faktisk til at holde ud at læse. Og den italesætter nogle problematikker, som jeg synes er vigtige, men formår ikke at fremlægge dem på en sund måde. Maren er så følelseskold, at uanset hvad hun går igennem, så rører det hende sådan set ikke. Der er alt for lidt godt i denne her bog til, at jeg tager næste bog op. Det er ikke en bog for mig, og jeg tror ikke, at den bliver bedre i den næste.

The book started off with so much excitement! It promised a heist in a fantasy world that isn't just yet another fantasy version of medieval Europe or Victorian London. The two male characters had an amazing dynamic - and had some Ol' West vibe to them. And who turns down the promise of Dragon Dung as potent magic? It was bound to be great!

Here's the great parts:

The crazies! Elbrig Taut and Cinza Ortemion really made the first part of the book shine. They felt so unique and I loved them both to bits. I just wish they had played a bigger role in the story than they did.

The fantasy world is quite unique. Granted there's a lot of explaining to be done, and the book keeps repeating it throughout. And the dragons! These dragons aren't pet dragons. They really do eat people and they really do act like grand creatures capable of instant destruction. It was nice to see them be treated as animals but as the grandest ones of all (Though I heavily disliked the idea of referring to them as pigs).

Now the bad parts.
The female main character was very flat compared to the other characters. She felt very solid from the beginning but once I realized that she was nothing more than the role she needed to play, I lost my excitement for her. Then the whole romantic relationship started and I wondered what the point of it was. The woman is supposed to be reclusive and hate interacting with people but one fake kiss and she's falling in love with him? It just continued to be badly handled throughout and it never made much sense. 

The first big heist is so well planned out. But the last 200 pages throws heist upon heist upon heist at you. It's like there was a different ending at some point but it wasn't grand enough so it was rewritten so many times that it ended up as a mashup of 10 different endings. It was exhausting to read the last 200 pages.

That one time the female main character is the main leader, there's suddenly lots of time skipping and no reason to go into depth about anything. But we spent 500 pages when the male characters were leading the heist. 

The religious aspect of the story really bothered me. I get why it was part of it but the side-plot that was spent explaining the religion and re-explaining it? It was just boring. The torches that mean so much to the whole world? Doesn't mean anything to the main characters and we never really interact with them. It was just world building for world building's sake.

Which brings me to the last point. The last 20% of the book had me extending my belief so much that it felt unrealistic even for a fantasy story. I'm all in for saving the world but I was told to blindly believe the ruse and I had no reason to doubt it at the end. The few times when something makes the ruse go wrong, the main characters never truly suffer from it. It's always fixed by another impossible thing. This point alone brought the book down to only 3.5 stars when it had otherwise been a solid 4.

Last but not least, this book could be read as a standalone but it's a trilogy now. I don't think the book needed two extra books. Especially not two very long books.

Would I read this book again? No.
Did I enjoy it? Yes. I did.

A smuggler falls in love with another smuggler only to discover they weren't at all who they said... and suddenly the kingdom is falling apart. Who do you side with when you've fought on both sides?

This book was such a joy. I'm discovering that I really love some of the tropes in this story. I do think the cast of characters could be a little more diverse, and I did wish the story was not as predictable as it was.

I don't know what else to say. The characters are lovely, the story was great, and the pace was just slow enough to keep it full of suspense without stalling. I'd read it again, and I'd probably enjoy it too.

While I like the illustrations - they do take up a rather classical art style - the story retells parts that we've already been told in Vicious. With that said, I do still think this story could largely be read on its own though it doesn't have a conclusion.

I wish I had longer to get to know the characters. They felt a little too rough to be any more than stereotypes and that impacted the story a bit.

Not a must read but a "It's nice" read.

3 stars because it's just okay.

This book was the first in the series where I didn't have this constant vague sense of annoyance while reading it. The writing gets better and better for each book - I genuinely hadn't seen the twist coming this time. Though it's not much different from the others. Four books in and each book follows the same pattern. I hope that changes, it's getting a little boring.

Once again, I have to conclude that I'm simply too old to fully enjoy these books. There was so much teenage drama in this one to the point that I sometimes wondered why I was even reading it. It wasn't enough that one couple had issues, no. It had to be all of them simultaneously - even if one of the couples was away for half the book!

Not a book I'd read again, but at least now I can have an opinion about these books based on actually reading them and not just rumors.

This story makes you think about the relationship between Greenland and Denmark. It makes you wonder how many kids are left behind because of that relationship. It breaks your heart and gives you to think, with only so few words written on a page.

Such a heartbreaking story that sadly happens to far too many children in war. The last few pages will never leave me. That really truly hit home. 

I love this world and these characters so much that I don't think I can be very critical of the story. I loved everything about it! And even after an extra book, I desperately need more.

This is a story about found family, magic, and about a witch. It's heartwarming, it's sweet, and it's full of comfort. And a little sad too.

It's definitely a book I'd read again. 

The plot is okay. I definitely feel this book was written for teenagers, not adults, and naturally that made it a lot harder to connect to the characters as an adult. 

But this book also has serious inconsistencies with its writing. This would have been a 2 star but there was barely a character with a consistent personality in this book, let alone a consistent narration style.

I'm hoping the next books in the series are better.