hann_cant_read's reviews
431 reviews

Thank you to netgalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review.
I'm so sorry I couldn't finish. DNF at 12%
This book is supposed to be New Adult. I'm learning that just means middle grade writing with probably some spice. Very weird dynamic.
The dialogue was so clunky, it read like a first draft or outline. I actually loved the premise but couldn't get through the actual writing.
Editors are not an optional part of the publishing process 

 Thank you to netgalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
I really wanted to love this book, and there were some really great pro's!
The writing itself was pretty and the different settings were described beautifully, even if I felt the story itself was a little lackluster.

1. To start, the pacing was rough. It started so slow, and then by the end it felt like we were rushing to get a conclusion before the book ended. The only time anything happened was in the Fairyland, but we barely spent any time there. So much of the time was just filler until they went back, and I still don't understand what the castle by the gate and the magic creature there had to do with any of the plot. 

2. The random celtic (I think) words could have added to the story, but she used them so much and then never explained what she was talking about. It was tricky to get into a story when I have to keep stop and looking up words to know what is even going on. It felt like I was trying to read an entire story in a different language instead of pulling in cultural elements. It was also extremely info dumpy at times, especially in the beginning, that I felt like I wasn't even retaining any of the information that they wanted me to.

3. Our MC was just so dumb. But then also randomly just understood things out of nowhere. She was so easily manipulated by everyone around her. She never learned. She talks so much about how she was forged into a weapon but we never actually see her be successful at it, except that she can dive into a frozen lake and survive I guess. She just has no critical thinking skills even when it's so so clear she's being lied to. How she randomly discovered how to save the day at the end I'll never know. I can forgive her not realizing her mom was manipulating her because she was just so desperate to be loved. But her sister? From the story Rogan told about her, to every single conversation Fia had with her it was clear she was trying to manipulate. 

4. The romances. So bland. I understand the initial falling for the prince, because he was the one person who showed her kindness growing up. But man he's so spineless and his only trait is having the hots for her. I even understand her succumbing to his "charms" because of her attachment. But that's genuinely all he had going for him. He was there, and he wasn't mean to her. But his attachment to her was just as shallow. There was nothing holding them together so why it took them so long to end it is beyond me. And once they ended it that was just kind of it? There was no aftermath or addition to the plot. We just moved on to the point that if they had just been friends the whole time the story would have been the same.
The other romance was at least more interesting if not any deeper. It still seemed like that love also happened as a matter of convenience though due to the lack of time they actually spent together. She was there and his skin didn't burn her so he fell in love. For how much of the book was focused on the romance instead of plot, we still barely got to explore actual depth to their relationship.

5. What happened to the random dude that she owes a kiss to?

6. The ending was abrupt. She suddenly knows how to save him, and her, and the world. Clearly there are things left unresolved for us to discover in the next one, but it just felt so convenient that she found the perfect solution with no real build up / quality foreshadowing to her thought process. 

So. The concept was interesting but man, the execution was not my cup of tea.

I have a few problems with this.
1. The MC isn't like other witches. She's a cool witch. There is literally nothing she isn't secretly amazing at. She had literally zero flaws except that she doesn't like to open up to people?

Except that she does, she has a really good friend at the school, she just doesn't delve into her past trauma, so apparently that means no one knows her. but like come on. Not only is she actually a surprise best at magic in the class, but also surprise she's been taking secret sword lessons and is actually better than the wielders at that too. And don't forget she's like an amaaaaazing healer. Way better than the other witches at that school.

2. The way our MC's magic manifests felt like a cheap shock value.

There had to be a rape because again, brutal shock value, but also it couldn't be her because she still needed to be a pure and untouched virgin, so it had to be her sister.

3. The constant flashbacks drove me nuts. They added nothing to the story and just messed with the pacing! We just ended up repeating that same information later in the main timeline, and then eventually it stopped being 1:1 chapters and just every other / every few chapters started with a flashback before going back to the main timeline.
4. The world building was mainly just listing different kinds of demons constantly. I couldn't keep track of what they were, and tbh I don't think it made a difference. There could have been just one kind of demon and it wouldn't have changed anything except shortened the word count a bit.
5. The characters had no depth, and so their attraction to each other had no depth.

Also, he would just randomly get naked, tease her about her discomfort with it, but then like act like he was doing his damnedest to hold himself back. Idk it really didn't make sense.

It was just boring. If it was longer I probably would have dnf'd.

I genuinely loved this as a modern take on Celtic folklore. I'm typically not a horror person, but I think this was really well done. Some of the body horror stuff made me cringe but I'm easily made to cringe, so that's a low bar.
I am absolutely a sucker for sibling love / loyalty. I'll eat that shit up every time and this book was no different. Seeing the lengths that these sisters would go to to protect each other, even while arguing / disagreeing and at times not knowing if the others would do the same for them? Chef's kiss.

I absolutely cannot believe how long it took me to realize Gabe was the masked man. There were so many clues leading up to the reveal and she still got me

That being said, there were a few things I didn't like, in terms of characterization. To be honest though I think most of them are personal preference more than like ACTUAL problems with the story.
1.

I think the kiss with Iris and Tyler was unnecessary. We already saw with the broken pinky that Iris had an unhealthy obsession with wanting to be exactly like Grey. I feel like the kiss felt more like a betrayal to her sister than an obsession with wanting to be like her. It just didn't hit me the way I think it was meant to.

2.

I think Iris should grow up and forgive Grey. I said what I said. I knowww that part of the growth was her realizing she didn't actually want to be just like Grey and that she can be strong without the violence. But idk, Grey would and did do everything for her sisters. And even with them abandoning her she would do it all over again, because it was the only way to save them. It feels different than a narcissist who requires you to be grateful and takes it out on you when you're not. She saved her sisters and will live her life alone if that's the consequence.

I had to dnf at 33% when the headmaster banged Maggie and then admitted to misleading her about her son. The relationship felt icky anyway, but bruh.
The beginning made it seem like Crenshaw was the good magic place, but the more we got to know it through these kidnapped characters the shittier / more elitist it seemed. 
I was so so bored, and every character was so annoying. I don't know how we were inside so many different character's heads and still learned so little about them and whats going on. I had no one to root for, everyone was just insufferable. I thought Maggie's storyline would at least be interesting but it really did not take much for her to go from worried mother to jumping her "captor's" bones.
Speaking of which. There is so much insta-lust it's a little nauseating. I love some good romance and/or smut but this didn't have either. No substance to the lust. 

I really really wanted to love this, but to be honest it was only okay. The pacing was just a little off - really slow at some points that should have been exciting.
The love triangle, instead of being dramatic just kind of felt confusing, almost as if the author kept forgetting which one was supposed to be the love interest. There was also very little build up for them - just suddenly  it was insanely intense, and maybe that's a me problem but I need more tension.
Then there were things logistically that just didn't make sense. Laith, in general. How is he new to Ettenia but also a high ranking official in the Horned Guard? How did he escape the vampires that captured him and/or why did they just let him go? (essentially rendering Arthie's betrayal completely useless/pointless without her having to do any internal work?) Why was she so thrown off by him wanting Calibore at the end when he literally told you he wanted the artifact right after you showed it to him?
How did everyone except Jin realize she was a half-vampire? Does she literally only drink coconuts and no blood? That just feels so weird and random, even with all the mentions of coconut throughout the story.
I know I complain a lot, but I did actually enjoy it, and I'm curious to see where the story goes.