Rica

A special edition of this series is getting published soon so I decided to give it a try to see if I'd like to shell out the cash.

It was enjoyable! I liked the light worldbuilding and lore. The characters were very YA at times but their dedication and loyalties struck a chord in me. I'm a sucker for devoted characters <3 

The writing wasn't anything special and it certainly had a YA vibe to it, however! It was compelling and accessible and a nice light read. I don't normally read books so quickly and it was personally refreshing to gobble this one up. 

Without a doubt a guilty pleasure and I'm starting the sequel right away!

Ease of reading/following along: 5
Character development: 5
Character enjoyment: 4.5
Plot development: 4.75
Ploy enjoyment: 4.25
Vibe check: 4.25
=4.625
I was following along fairly well on my drives to work listening to the audiobook. To be honest, I didn't realize how attached I'd gotten to the characters until the book was over and I was itching to find out how it all turned out.
I must say the audiobook is VERY well read, it felt like a little movie in my head the whole time.

Ease of reading/following along: 5
Character development: 4.75
Character enjoyment: 3.75
Plot development: 4.5
Ploy enjoyment: 4
Vibe check: 4.5
= 4.41

Now that's what I call dark academia. I listened to the audiobook read by the author and I have to say I really enjoyed Donna Tartt's intonations. Being read by the author feels very authentic to the overall tone of both the narrator's point of view as well as all the character's attitudes. While this sort of story isn't usually my thing I was, for the most part, gripped by the story. Tartt's style can feel very long and perhaps meandering at times but when it came to this story I would say it served to add to the mysterious and academic settings. 

Given all the hype I've seen around the book I wasn't too sure of what I was getting into but overall I find myself charmed by the tale. I'm so enchanted by it I'd actually like to get back to it in written form one day to give myself a chance to highlight and annotate passages. 

Went in knowing next to nothing, ended up absolutely gutted by the end. Not my typical type of fiction but I enjoyed it, especially the second half of the book.