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A review by betwixt_the_pages
The Hanging Night by Sasha Hibbs
2.0
Rating 2.5/5 Penguins (rounded down)
Quick Reasons: one dimensional characters; I struggled to get through this one; instalove all the way; intriguing play on fated lovers; if I were more invested in the characters that ending would have BROKEN me
HUGE thanks to Sasha Hibbs, Christina Hooker, Evernight Teen, and Netgalley for the ARC copy of this title! My review of this book is voluntarily written and in no way altered or impacted by this gesture.
I knew he was waiting for me to respond, to say anything to reciprocate his feelings, and I wanted to, but I also didn't want to upset my aunts or disappoint my mother. What would she have said? Red rose; red flag; red rose; red flag. Seemed to me as though either one could have thorns.
I wanted, SO BADLY, to love this book, Penguins. I fell in love with the cover, the blurb was just captivating enough to really draw me in and keep me guessing, and I was SO ready to be destroyed by this book. But the truth is...I struggled, hard core, to get into and then to finish this read. And I am so, so sad about that. This isn't a BAD read. The story is fast-paced, there's a unique twist to the idea of "fated lovers" and "twin flames" that blew this out of the water, and the writing is captivating. The story seems to almost fall into your lap, and then make YOU fall with it.
BUT....fast paced as the plot was, this was almost TOO fast. Things happened at a speed that makes little sense (or maybe it happened at a normal time, but without a true "point of reference" I don't know which it was.) The insta-love was immediate, cloying, and almost high-school ish (which I mean, okay, they ARE in high school, but still). I didn't feel as if we really got a SENSE for who these characters are, what motivates/drives them, what their personalities are...instead, it was "Oh, you're the new girl, I'm the broody guy with issues....and now our entire personalities are each other." The aunts had a bit more character building around them, which made up for the main duo not really having any. On top of this...a lot of this story had holes. We find out the truth about the past versions of our main duo, we find out the truth behind the magics and what's happening, but toward the end it felt less cohesive and more "thrown" together. For most of this read, the story is told in dual-POVs for our main duo...but then at the end, suddenly, we have POVs for every character mentioned? It did not feel truly "cohesive" but rather an attempt to "force the story" and/or force it all to make sense. And the ending?! I'll be honest...if I were more invested in these characters and their stories, the ending might have broken me completely. Instead, it just felt...a bit trite. And this is just book 1??? I don't see where a Book 2 could possibly go from here, so I'm interested in how that's going to play out.
"Your mom stayed until you were two, trying so hard to love your father into sobriety, but the fact is, you can't slay someone else's dragon. Truth be told, I think she'd have even settled for a tame dragon, and Joseph knew that, but he couldn't help himself."
I wish, so badly, I could have loved this read, Penguins. The good news is, while it wasn't the book for me personally, I'm sure there are some of you out there who will absolutely LOVE this read! I definitely recommend checking it out if you're a lover of all things mystical and magic, fated tarot readings, and the breaking of an EONS long curse. The Hanging Night is upon us, Penguins....are you ready to bare your soul?
Quick Reasons: one dimensional characters; I struggled to get through this one; instalove all the way; intriguing play on fated lovers; if I were more invested in the characters that ending would have BROKEN me
HUGE thanks to Sasha Hibbs, Christina Hooker, Evernight Teen, and Netgalley for the ARC copy of this title! My review of this book is voluntarily written and in no way altered or impacted by this gesture.
I knew he was waiting for me to respond, to say anything to reciprocate his feelings, and I wanted to, but I also didn't want to upset my aunts or disappoint my mother. What would she have said? Red rose; red flag; red rose; red flag. Seemed to me as though either one could have thorns.
I wanted, SO BADLY, to love this book, Penguins. I fell in love with the cover, the blurb was just captivating enough to really draw me in and keep me guessing, and I was SO ready to be destroyed by this book. But the truth is...I struggled, hard core, to get into and then to finish this read. And I am so, so sad about that. This isn't a BAD read. The story is fast-paced, there's a unique twist to the idea of "fated lovers" and "twin flames" that blew this out of the water, and the writing is captivating. The story seems to almost fall into your lap, and then make YOU fall with it.
BUT....fast paced as the plot was, this was almost TOO fast. Things happened at a speed that makes little sense (or maybe it happened at a normal time, but without a true "point of reference" I don't know which it was.) The insta-love was immediate, cloying, and almost high-school ish (which I mean, okay, they ARE in high school, but still). I didn't feel as if we really got a SENSE for who these characters are, what motivates/drives them, what their personalities are...instead, it was "Oh, you're the new girl, I'm the broody guy with issues....and now our entire personalities are each other." The aunts had a bit more character building around them, which made up for the main duo not really having any. On top of this...a lot of this story had holes. We find out the truth about the past versions of our main duo, we find out the truth behind the magics and what's happening, but toward the end it felt less cohesive and more "thrown" together. For most of this read, the story is told in dual-POVs for our main duo...but then at the end, suddenly, we have POVs for every character mentioned? It did not feel truly "cohesive" but rather an attempt to "force the story" and/or force it all to make sense. And the ending?! I'll be honest...if I were more invested in these characters and their stories, the ending might have broken me completely. Instead, it just felt...a bit trite. And this is just book 1??? I don't see where a Book 2 could possibly go from here, so I'm interested in how that's going to play out.
"Your mom stayed until you were two, trying so hard to love your father into sobriety, but the fact is, you can't slay someone else's dragon. Truth be told, I think she'd have even settled for a tame dragon, and Joseph knew that, but he couldn't help himself."
I wish, so badly, I could have loved this read, Penguins. The good news is, while it wasn't the book for me personally, I'm sure there are some of you out there who will absolutely LOVE this read! I definitely recommend checking it out if you're a lover of all things mystical and magic, fated tarot readings, and the breaking of an EONS long curse. The Hanging Night is upon us, Penguins....are you ready to bare your soul?