kaistephan's reviews
49 reviews

Characters are full of personality and the story has a few unique twists that keep it interesting. While the relationship between Draven and Sora felt a bit rushed, they did have some good chemistry so it at least didn't feel forced. A few setting details were a bit jarring (how exactly does a griffin sit in a chair?) and gave the world a bit of a cartoonish feel. It's also a bit questionable that all the characters meet up after leaving the city at different times in seemingly random directions. But beyond the minor logistical issues, the plot is woven very tightly and neatly with everything fitting properly in its place. The prose has a few rough edges, as is common in young authors, but those will smooth out with time and experience. Torro is a voice to watch out for in the creature fantasy world!

This book is 90% fantasy logistics and 10% social justice tumblr posts. And while Lackey still has that smug tone of "I'm not like OTHER fantasy writers look at me subverting all these tropes that no one actually uses anymore" she is actually really good at fantasy logistics, and her social justice monologues are very timely, if heavy handed. Also she seems to have gotten over her weird thing about trans people.

This is the book I have been waiting for my entire life. A seamless blend of Western paranormal romance with Chinese xianxia fantasy; a romance between two lost souls saving each other (I do have a weakness for magical servants breaking free of their masters) with genuine warmth and humor. Family ties that are at least as strong as the romance. It might not be the perfect book, but it is the perfect book for me.

Perfect for fans of Harry Potter who hate JKR now but want to recapture the nostalgia of that world. Ortega builds a delightful world infused with magic, while also showing a deeper understanding of who is a villain and how to deal with evil in the world. 

An absolute gut punch of childhood trauma. Reading this felt like reliving elementary school. Absolutely brilliant and spot on in its portrayal of girlhood friendship games.

Deeply weird and emotionally sharp. 

Wanted to like it because I found the novel too slow, but this one actually went too fast. Lots of impactful moments got squished or skipped, like they were told not to go over a certain number of pages, which is disappointing. The art was delightful and I would have loved to see more of it.