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A review by charvi_not_just_fiction
Child of Etherclaw by Matty Roberts
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
I've been struggling with how to rate this book, and ultimately based on my enjoyment I'm going with 2.5 stars.
Child of Etherclaw started off a bit rocky and then had potential which was ultimately squandered in the last section of the book. In the beginning few pages there was very little hook or personal investment in the characters. It wasn't bad but it could've been stronger. As we progress further into the book, things start getting interesting and ramping up with a decent air of mystery around all the characters.
I quickly got attached to the main characters, especially Elliot and Nico. I think this story could've been explored in a better manner though. Things start feeling rushed and sort of dumped on the reader to move the plot ahead. The world-building wasn't the best, I still have so many questions for this book which never got answered. I'll say though that this book is supposed to be the first in the series so I'll be a little lenient on the worldbuilding for that reason.
But because certain worldbuilding aspects aren't built well some reveals don't hit the same way I wish they would've and I come up feeling empty. I wish the author had also done more foreshadowing to battle this, a lot of the reveals feel lackluster and unsatisfying because they seem to come out of nowhere or pertain to things that weren't well explored.
Other than that, the side characters felt like they were just there to make the plot move forward and support the mc. They felt underdeveloped and just rushed? After t he halfway point everything started feeling rushed. Once more of what Arkamis is doing gets explored it almost starts to feel like a different book altogether. The ideas brought up are quite interesting but the way they're laid out really need to be worked on. Towards he end I had more or less lost most of my interest because of the rather lackluster relationships and a forced romance or two which I couldn't really give a shit about.
I guess in the end I'm disappointed because this could have maybe been a 4 star read if some of these points could've been improved.
(I received an arc of this book long back so it pains me to write a rather negative review but nevertheless, I thank the author for sending me a copy and wish them all the best with their future books.)
Child of Etherclaw started off a bit rocky and then had potential which was ultimately squandered in the last section of the book. In the beginning few pages there was very little hook or personal investment in the characters. It wasn't bad but it could've been stronger. As we progress further into the book, things start getting interesting and ramping up with a decent air of mystery around all the characters.
I quickly got attached to the main characters, especially Elliot and Nico. I think this story could've been explored in a better manner though. Things start feeling rushed and sort of dumped on the reader to move the plot ahead. The world-building wasn't the best, I still have so many questions for this book which never got answered. I'll say though that this book is supposed to be the first in the series so I'll be a little lenient on the worldbuilding for that reason.
But because certain worldbuilding aspects aren't built well some reveals don't hit the same way I wish they would've and I come up feeling empty. I wish the author had also done more foreshadowing to battle this, a lot of the reveals feel lackluster and unsatisfying because they seem to come out of nowhere or pertain to things that weren't well explored.
Other than that, the side characters felt like they were just there to make the plot move forward and support the mc. They felt underdeveloped and just rushed? After t he halfway point everything started feeling rushed. Once more of what Arkamis is doing gets explored it almost starts to feel like a different book altogether. The ideas brought up are quite interesting but the way they're laid out really need to be worked on. Towards he end I had more or less lost most of my interest because of the rather lackluster relationships and a forced romance or two which I couldn't really give a shit about.
I guess in the end I'm disappointed because this could have maybe been a 4 star read if some of these points could've been improved.
(I received an arc of this book long back so it pains me to write a rather negative review but nevertheless, I thank the author for sending me a copy and wish them all the best with their future books.)