One For My Enemy

This was good! Very dramatic, as all books by this author are. I am beginning to get tired of that as a trope. That said, the intrigue was good. The story was good. The characters were good. And the ending was chef kiss.

Giving it 4 stars because it was fairly overwrought and trite in places, but still I couldn't stop reading.

TWs: Use of drugs/drug abuse, death of a family member3.5 rounded down; I really enjoyed the first half, then it kind of got all muddled and boring ;-;Though Lev and Sasha's romance immediately started like BAM in the beginning and was weirded out by it, I did like how silly Lev was and eventually developed into something more. Once Lev's death happened and everyone started to just come back alive, it got really repetitive, even with the writing. I think Blake writes beautifully, but that's one thing I noticed she does -- write things over and over for drama/tense feels. It's a love/hate relationship ;-; I was hoping for more magic stuff but it was more drugs, which I didn't expect, and felt like it could've been more.. The Bridge being this middle man the entire time became really boring too.. sighLoved it more than [b:The Atlas Six 59058504 The Atlas Six (The Atlas, #1) Olivie Blake https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1639472883l/59058504.SY75.jpg 75499539], but less than [b:Alone With You in the Ether 61126612 Alone With You in the Ether Olivie Blake https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1661863300l/61126612.SY75.jpg 84581419]

This was my introduction to Olivie Blake's writing, and I can say for sure that I will be checking more of her works, since I found her writing to be exquisite and managed to capture the appeal of this story.

I've read my fair share of retellings and It's not always I find books that follow the original pattern while managing to have their own flair. But this one does that, and more. It is a Romeo & Juliet retelling, so expect family feuds (this time between two witch families, which I found to be cool) and tragic forbidden relationships. My favorite aspect though, was the way the author crafted her characters, I felt they were realistic and made sense to me even when they weren't at their best. The romance was balanced between the family politics and its own angsty, melodramatic themes like I expected it to be but I was pleasantly surprised with one specific pairing and ended up emotionally invested in their doomed love story.

“Why didn't you let me choose you? I would have gone to you, Masha, if you'd asked. You would've only had to ask, and i would have chosen you over everything.”

Manhattan masa kini, dua keluarga penyihir yang merupakan rival mencoba mempertahankan kontrol kerajaan bisnis kriminal mereka.
Pada satu sisi ada Keluarga Antonova yang terdiri atas tujuh bersaudari, semuanya cantik, licik dan tanpa ampun. Dipimpin oleh Baba Yaga, ibu mereka, merupakan pemasok obat terlarang eksklusif.
Pada sisi lain ada keluarga Fedorov yang terdiri atas tiga bersaudara, dipimpin oleh ayah mereka, Koschei The Deathless, yang bisnisnya meliputi pemerasan yang mendominasi komunitas penyihir di Manhattan.
Ide ceritanya merupakan retelling kisah Romeo & Juliet dunia modern. Dua keluarga yang merupakan rival, walau menjalankan bisnis yang tidak sama persis, Antonov dan Fedorov. Bukan cuma kisah cinta Lev dan Sasha ataupun Dima dan Masha, namun ada pula kisah dinamika antara Antonova bersaudari dan Fedorov bersaudara.
Dengan world building dan magic system yang tidak rumit, buku ini cukup mudah dipahami. Untuk yang terbiasa high fantasy mungkin kurang cocok, karen fokus buku ini lebih ke penceritaan perseteruan dua keluarga.
Gaya menulis Miss Blake memang berbeda dari novel umumnya. Perpaduan dari prosa dan berlirik. Aku menyukai buku-buku miss Blake sebelumnya, seperti The Atlas Six, The Atlas Paradox dan Alone With You In The Ether.
One For My Enemy mengikuti pola pada karya-karya Miss Blake sebelumnya, bab yang panjang dan dialog yang juga panjang. Untuk yang kurang cocok dengan pola seperti ini pasti akan merasa bosan. Namun entah kenapa rasanya Miss Blake menulis khusus buatku karena membuatku kecanduan dengan karya-karyanya.

One For My Enemy is a dramatic, convoluted web of a story about intense love & aimless, shallow animosity. And I had so much fun reading it. Olivia Blake knows exactly how to keep you hooked, despite the plot becoming undefined & nonsensical at times.

Reading this book reminded me a lot of If We Were Villains - another story that leans into its shakespearean tendencies & takes itself perhaps a bit too seriously. Romance, lust, lies, wrath, violence; it was all hands on deck for this Urban Fantasy.

I would recommend this book if you're looking for a wild ride through a mafia-like, witchy romance. It's fun, quick, & exciting.