★★★★★ 4
Imperfect characters
Format: Kindle
4.5 stars ⭐
I don't really understand the harsh criticism in some of these reviews (Goodreads). I rarely write reviews myself, but I think this book deserves it.
Look, it absolutely has its issues. I wasn't feeling it in the beginning -- the first few chapters were all tell and no show, literally just telling us all this background in a few paragraphs rather than feeding us bits and pieces at a time. The writing significantly improves after a few chapters, though. And I didn't catch any spelling or grammatical typos often found in new, self published books.
After the rough start, I absolutely flew through the rest of the book and couldn't put it down. Seriously stayed up until 2am with it. So I also don't agree with comments calling it boring. Definitely did not bore me. I thought it ticked all the right boxes: romance, fantasy, a magic system, tragedy, fate, character growth.
A lot of the poor reviews I'm seeing are in regards to the FMC's character. Personally, I like flawed characters and think it's more realistic than reading the POV of someone who always makes the right decisions, is always honest, is always selfless, etc. Humans aren't like that. Readers love when male leads are morally grey, but God forbid a woman isn't perfect.
So I like flawed characters and I like a little bit of tragedy, which the author provides. Ends on a cliffhanger, and I can't wait to read the sequel next month. I really want to learn more about Malachi.
All in all, not a bad start from this author. Give it a chance.
SOMEWHAT SPOILERY:
I LOVE the concept of fated mates that kind of hate each other. Most books with the fated mates trope allow the characters to immediately fall for each other and get together relatively easily. But this is way more interesting ;)
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Reviewed in the United States on October 1, 2023
