Weepy

Honestly. It gives ‘I'm 14 and I'm broken and this is deep.” Kind of energy. And yet, I liked it. It was good. I would re-read it again, eventually. 

I enjoyed Hermione's brokenness and no one knowing what to do about it. The state of therapy in the wizarding world is apparently abysmal but it is what it is. I enjoyed seeing her bond with some of the Slytherin characters and eventually fighting for them. I liked the push and pull of the relationship and Draco's self-fufilling attempts to push her away. 

However, the angst is overwhelming and tiring. She took him back every time when he didnt deserve it which shows her damage but is hard to read. Especially at the very end when his ‘growth' is just running away from everything, and everyone and Hermione just looks for him and takes him back like nothing. It was out of character and  kind of cheesy.

I found this book was decent, but just didn't capture my interests like fantasy-romance usually does. I think I was expecting it to be more lighthearted, smutty and fun because of the reviews I saw on TikTok. I've heard the subsequent books are better; but probably won't be trying this one again anytime soon so I won't be trying those either. I gave myself extended time to finish it but eventually called it as a DNF once I got through another book and was really reluctant to return to this one.

Read and DNF'd at 60% as part of a buddy read. 

Honestly, the smut was quality but the context was ?!?! 

I thought the worldbuilding was actually kind of cool and interesting. I would have been interested in a book that explores this world a bit more. I suppose that might have happened in later sections that I did not read. However, at the 60% mark I was just not interested enough to continue. Perhaps I'll go back to it at a later date.

Honestly, I just found the book difficult to follow. There were some meaningful moments and tidbits of cleverly worded sentiments that stood out to me. Which is why I couldn't bring myself to just give up on this. But honestly, understanding the book would have been easier if I knew anything about the soviet period it was set in. As it was, there was just a lot I was skipping over or not understanding because I didn't get the context probably. Maybe this is one I  can come back to in a while. 

I read this in one day after procrastinating on a month long buddy read. So it's a fairly easy read, which is sometimes nice. 

Other people said they were confused by the opening, which confuses me. I thought it was pretty clear what was going to happen. But, by the end I was still hoping for some divine intervention or twist that would change the outcome, which means I must have connected to the characters at some extent. 

Sometimes the difference between two stars and three stars is “would I read it again?” in this case the answer is no. Ultimately, the book isn't my style, and there is nothing particularly compelling or enjoyable enough that makes me want to return to it anytime soon.