susanpevensie's reviews
810 reviews

 2.5 rounded to 3 "atmospheric" stars

"a man can make mistakes. a man can change his mind. a woman? no. if she makes a mistake, she is unfit. if she changes her mind, she is fickle.
incompetent."

first and foremost, the writing in this book is absolutely beautiful. the author has a talented gift with her words. i saw that other reviewers said the lamplighter felt atmospheric, and i agree. the way she weaves them made me feel like i was transported to warbler myself—experiencing being enveloped by the constant fog, feeling watched and claustrophobic, as i followed temperance on her journey. the book was incredibly slow at first, but i did not particularly mind it because i felt like the pacing fit the story. it slowly draws you in, and once it picks up its pace, it moves very fast.

temperance was not an easy character to love. while i wanted to root for her, she did not always make the best decisions—in fact, most of her decisions were just poorly made, point black—so i became increasingly frustrated with her as the book progressed. it did not help that her mistakes were extremely costly because they did not just cost her; they cost literally everyone in her life. i had to constantly remind myself that she was a traumatized eighteen-year-old girl, and her actions read as such. after sleeping on it, i realized that it wasn't temperance—it wasn't her fault. not really. she was just destined to be doomed by the narrative. this is not a criticism of the way the narrative is set, but rather the world temperance was living in. she never had a chance.

there was a sense of hopelessness and complete futility as i slowly went through 80–90% of the story and then, the ending. i think that is why i couldn't give this book a higher rating because i am the kind of person who needs a huge pay-off after being put through hardship and pain—something i don't think i got out of the lamplighter. however, i know this book will definitely find an audience once it debuts. the writing is way too good to not have people falling in love with it. will i ever pick another book by this author? the answer is unequivocally yes.

ᡣ𐭩 i received an advance reader copy from netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review ᡣ𐭩 

 ‧₊˚ ⋅PLOT⋅ ‧₊˚ ⋅
seven years have passed since the fire that took her entire family. eva, now a 24-year-old woman is still grappling with the trauma of that tragic night—not really knowing if her memories of what occurred were to be trusted. due to her trauma, eva guarded her trust; only enjoying the company of her friend quinn. when quinn encouraged eva to give the man she was talking with a chance, eva decided to follow her advice—why not? little did she know that her decision would change her life—literally.

after her date-turned-golem attacked her, she was rescued by a dashing fae named bash, whom she was immediately taken to. eva found out that she was indeed fae-born and that in order to break the curse that had befallen her birthworld, he must take her to her faerie partner (anima). eva was immediately suspicious of him but quickly relented when she realized that it was her only way to find out the truth about what happened to her parents and twin brother.

⋅˚₊‧ THOUGHTS ‧₊˚ ⋅
i was intrigued by the premise initially. however, few chapters into the book, i realized that it was just a run-of-the-mill faerie fantasy romance and i soon found myself quite bored. the faerie lore was interesting but again, i felt like it has definitely been done before. aside from that, i liked both eva and bash as individuals but i didn't really get them as a couple. i am the kind of reader who prefers a slow build-up/development between my main characters but with bash and eva, there was definitely an insta-attraction/lust going on. that was not a fault of the book though as their instant attraction/lust was explained later.

⋅˚₊‧ FINAL WORDS ‧₊˚ ⋅
overall, i enjoyed the book for what it was. regardless of that, i don't think i would be picking up this next book in the trilogy. i would recommend this book for those who enjoy a standard fae story, an absolutely unredeemable villain, forbidden romance (sexual tensions and lingering eyes) and fated mates. i would also suggest fellow readers to check trigger warnings for the book because some scenes could be very upsetting.

ᡣ𐭩 i received an advance reader copy from netgalley and city owl press in exchange for an honest review ᡣ𐭩 

will pick up later