Although the third-person narrative initially made it hard for me to immerse myself in this story, I was impressed by the captivating, vivid descriptions that effortlessly brought the characters and world to life. I was also fascinated by the intriguing and creative world that was established. However, I struggled with the clunky worldbuilding information dumps and wished some concepts, like the tea house, had been better developed.
Almost 4-stars
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RUTHLESS VOWS by Rebecca Ross
Like the previous book, beautiful, enchanting prose and rich descriptions bring this sequel to life. However, there is lots of telling and little showing, especially for the world-building and characters. Besides this, the underdeveloped concepts and glaring holes in the magic system only made the world-building fall flat for me.
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INK BLOOD SISTER SCRIBE by Emma Törzs
Lush details and descriptions brought this story to life but were jarringly excessive – especially in the first half of the story. On top of this, a third-person point of view was used, which made the writing style even less engaging. There were some cute moments of humour, though, and fewer information dumps in the second half of the story, making the pacing better.
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SING ME TO SLEEP by Gabby Burton
Vivid descriptions and details smoothly bring this story and world to life. I also loved how the complex world-building was delivered in bite-sized pieces and merged with the unfolding story.
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THE REVELATION OF LIGHT AND DARK by Sawyer Bennett
From the start, a palpable atmosphere of foreboding and mystery kept the story engaging. Equally intriguing was the concealed paranormal world gradually established throughout the story. However, I struggled slightly with the overly descriptive writing style, especially since there is lots of filler information, and much is told, not shown.
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DARK WATER DAUGHTER by H.M. Long
The rich, fresh world takes readers to unruly waters, lush land and everything in between. Further enriching this is a gritty historical setting filled with mythical creatures and magic. Each aspect of this complex setting is gradually established in well-timed, bite-sized pieces with a smooth and vivid writing style.
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THIS WICKED FATE by Kalynn Bayron
The picturesque writing laced with witty humour made this an easy, engaging read. What’s more, the fascinating magic and Greek mythology aspects of the world are further developed in this sequel, enriching the story. My only issue was that the constant deluge of unnecessary details, like how noise-cancelling headphones work, gradually weakened the tension and slowed the story.
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THE ADVENTURES OF AMINA AL-SIRAFI by Shannon Chakraborty
Amina’s sassy narrative quickly grabbed my attention, and I loved the humour this brought to the story. I was also pulled in by the fascinating world, with its rich mythology, culture, history and religion. While this world-building is presented in information dumps, these were easy to follow and strengthened by vivid descriptions which brought the world to life.