Melissa Wright (1)

This is the first book I've read by Melissa Wright, and it was lovely. It took me a minute to get my bearings as it started with non-stop action. Since she was young, Etta has been able to see fae. The problem is that everyone else in the kingdom believes that they have successfully kept out the fae. Her problem only gets worse when she returns home and is given an impossible task instead of the position she has trained for her entire life. It kept me guessing. There's a wee bit of unreliable narrator going on, but it makes sense all things considered. And the romance worked for me. Definite enemies to lovers, but that makes sense as misconceptions are replaced with actual knowledge of the real person. I shall be reading more of Melissa's books and cheering this one on for SPFBO 9.… (mere)

Not so sure about this book, not enough to recommend it others to read. The main character is isolated, as I've seen in a few other books where the character is expected to become strong and an amazing leader. This book doesn't have the same feel as those, though.

The "romance" subplot honestly sucks, as the main character can't make up her mind if she likes him or hates him. This is not the same as a triangle. And the other "suitors" that she might consider are written more as friends and not romantic ideals. I'm not sure if this was supposed to be YA or New Adult, but the main character is written like she's a petulant child or preteen who just needs a good spanking.

While most of the characters are rather poorly designed, the story line and mystery attached to it kept me reading. Except then I reached the last few chapters. The last few chapters had a definite laziness to the writing as the reveals to the main character all came in the form of journal entries instead of being written into the action throughout the book. It killed the mystery that was the book, at least to me. And because of the way the reveals were done, the final scene just didn't have the same impact that it could have had.

The book doesn't grab me so I'm not proceeding to the rest of the series.… (mere)

This book sucks. This sums it up - “Freya.” He said my name as if it were tearing at him and my chest ached. “You don’t understand.”

Yes that's the entire problem - no one understands and more importantly no one ever explains. This whole book is a mess that makes little sense. From the start we're introduced to Freya a character who knows nothing, says little and complains a lot. She has no idea what's going on and she has no real drive to find out. She's an absolute idiot and that makes it extremely hard to like her. She kills a bird, chokes a few people and has no idea what she's doing - even when she is told that those things were her fault she doesn't so much as flinch. She has no reaction, remorse or compassion. She kills the bird and flicks it behind a shelf so no one can see it. There's no horror, no confusion of what the hell have I done, no sadness, nothing. Then she flicks it behind the shelf and is promptly done with the whole thing. It's basically never thought of again. The other characters move around her, manipulating her into whatever the hell they are doing and she just floats. The characters are flat and lifeless and it's a struggle to connect with them.

I finished but I wish I hadn't picked this up.… (mere)

I found this very dull with no interesting characters. Also, Warrick never wears a shirt. He didn't exude a level of sexy enough to be that shirtless. I usually love mysterious magical dudes, but Warrick was terribly bland.

Nim needed more spunk. Although I did find the letter she wrote Warrick fun, it felt like she just went wherever the plot told her. Very little resistance or attitude.

Ultimately, I think it was a combination of plot and lackluster main and side characters that couldn't keep my interest.

1.5
… (mere)