#but does it hinder the story too much? i can't double up on any other characters i don't think

[prosebushpatch]

i am going to continue to... overwhelm the narrative with characters

[americankimchi]

i finished two books over the past four days........ master of one by jaida jones & dani bennett and reverie by ryan la sala

long post under cut :3

master of one

this one... was kind of disappointing at the end lmao.

master of one had a lot of build-up to a climax that seemed... pretty lackluster. it reads pretty heavily like a book leading into a sequel, so i hope the next installment drops soon because i was left deeply unsatisfied by the ending lol. also i wish shining talon and the rest of the fae characters were more interesting... they all seemed so flat!!! they barely had any screentime and no POV chapters; everything about them was filtered through the perspective of others which i feel was a damn shame.

shining talon was there from the beginning and by the end of the book i feel like he was the same person, almost no growth happened. i mean i guess he and rags had a romantic thread for the whole thing which felt a bit rushed in my opinion but maybe that's what fae are just like so eh....

also the fact that rags was sixteen had me. squinting. couldn't get invested in it because of how weirded out i was by the concept of a centuries old fae prince and a teenager 💀

especially since rags was SO mean to shining talon for the whole book. most of that had to do with his inferiority complex but still. get it together, rags.

on the plus side i loved the worldbuilding SO much. love that revisionist history theme that keeps getting callbacks. the fae turning out to be less cruel and more complex, victims of a war they tried to survive and brutally lost. the queen's mysterious plans and strangely lengthened lifespan vs. her lack of a real matriarchal heir and how that resentment breeds in her sons. the rebellion and all the characters in it!!! rags's backstory with dane as well. sad as hell 😭😭 the strange creatures that bond immediately with their chosen masters, how they become two halves of a complete whole. the mirrorcraft!!! how does it work!!! how do the sorcerers channel their magic, how does the red cloth work, and why the fuck was morien SKINLESS. LIKE WHAT.....

anyways final score: 6/10 and mostly because the story is unfinished and the final climactic scene with morien was super underwhelming. maybe book 2 will raise the score for me in hindsight but until it comes out (if it comes out) i can't say.

reverie

oh my god kane (main character) irritated me so much the whole fucking book. i understand that he's been through a traumatic experience and know that he's dealing with the consequences of actions he doesn't even remember doing due to his amnesia is making him lash out but MAN....... understanding it and tolerating it are two very different things

like i sympathize with his situation i really do: it's shitty, nobody seems to be able to help him, and the people who seem to know more about it are constantly trying to gaslight him into believing that nothing's wrong. but he was so fucking RUDE to his sister who was the only one in his corner the whole way through until she, too, fucking snapped from all the disrespect he was slinging her way.

not to mention the fact that he had the rules of the dreamworlds/reveries explained to him multiple times and he STILL IGNORED THEM. KNOWING THAT DOING SO PUTS PEOPLE'S LIVES IN JEOPARDY. WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU

and it's not a "oh kane forgot" NO THIS BITCH WILLFULLY PUT THE LIVES OF OTHERS IN DANGER. and for what!!!! to do selfish shit??? that had absolutely no basis in logic??? he'd do something dumb, realize it was dumb, and then double-down. everything he did in the book actively hindered or harmed everyone else AND himself too! i hated him! the whole! fucking! book!!!

he lost his fucking mind over his sister like my guy can you just pump the brakes. pump the FUCKING brakes. stop ruining everyone's lives because you don't want and don't know how to fix things properly!!!!! GOD........ EVERYTHING YOU TRIED TO DO IN ORDER TO FIX THINGS MADE THINGS WORSE. EVERY SINGLE TIME!!!!!!!

the others (the name of his friend group) didn't deserve all the shit he put them through, especially after it was revealed that his amnesia was SELF-INFLICTED. he straight up ASKED to have his memories removed!!! and the others were just keeping away from him because they didn't want him dragged back into their world without the knowledge necessary to survive it. and even after he was told this he was mean as hell!! which okay, i would ALSO be pissed about being kept in the dark like that but his friends were like. they constantly tried to help him and for what. to be disrespected at every turn? blown off and ignored? given the cold, spiteful shoulder??? LEAVE HIS ASS!!! IF HE WANTS TO BE ALONE THEN LET HIM BE ALONEEEEEEE AARRRRGGHGHGHGUIHG

he pulled his head out of his ass for the last 5 or 6 chapters of the book but my god he pissed me off so much. fuck that guy. dean, sophia, and the others deserve better.

final score: also a 6/10 but only because the supporting cast was so good. the main antagonist poesy was also extremely iconic with the looks and the dark confidence. literally gaslit gatekept and girlbossed through the whole book.

edit: also it should be noted that even though some of the characters annoyed me, i still finished master of one in two days and i finished reverie in one. they were engaging enough for me to keep reading...... yeah :3