Right after finishing it
I don’t know how to rate this. I’m not sure if I loved it (which is possible because I swallowed it in less than 24 hours) or if I hated it (THAT ENDING WTF). I need to think.

Unpopular Opinion Time~
I'm more inclined to believe that I... hated it? Cardan (lbr the real reason I'm reading this) hardly interacts with Jude or even appears on the page. Nothing really happens so I ended up skimming big chunks

Most of the issues between Jude and Cardan would be solved if they just TALKED. The big twist at the end just made me rage because it makes me think that in book 3 (which I will be reading because I clearly hate myself) Cardan and Jude will have even less time together. All of this to say that I ended up even more frustrated and with more questions than I expected.

Read this in a day while rebelling against my mountain of schoolwork.

I must be the exception to the rule because I did not find this funny at all. Half the time I was jarred by the lack of connection between the chapters and then I remembered this was a blog so it's not supposed to have a thread, maddening as it was. The other half of the time I was bored.

Nonetheless, I found myself relating to certain things she described particularly concerning depression. The artwork is very amusing and the parts with the dogs were my favorite. 

I don’t know what to think of this honestly. This book held so much promise but failed in delivering those promises. I wanted to like it but I didn’t. However, I didn’t hate it either.

What I did like: the worldbuilding. The rich Indian mythology. The prose*. The talking horse.

What I didn't like: The plot meandered too much. It jumped between worlds and didn't clearly establish the scene.

As for the love story, I just didn’t buy into it. Insta-love does not do it for me. I didn’t feel anything for either of them. And trust me, there were so many moments that could’ve been juiced for maximum angst and they weren’t. Their love does not grow throughout the book

It made me feel cheated.

Maya makes decisions based on other people. She doesn’t try to confront anyone or figure things out for herself. Because of this, she is constantly manipulated throughout the book. It’s not as if you can blame her too much considering she is a sheltered 17-year-old princess. However, that doesn’t stop you from wanting to smack the crap out of her.

Amar is a stock character. Nothing about his personality stood out to me.

The villain was cookie cutter af.

*The prose walked a delicate balance between very lovely or way too purple. Sadly, it jumped into 'too purple' more often than not. There were times where I wasn’t even sure what the author was talking about.

First DNF of 2016. Le bummer.

I gave it the old college try but, no. I can't continue to read this. I'm bored out of my mind. The pace is way too slow. Nothing is really happening. I don't care enough about the characters to want to find out what happens.

Off to greener pastures aka a hopefully more engaging book.

FINALLY FINISHED! I can't believe it took a month for me to get through it but between finals and traveling back and forth, I can see why it took so long.

So yes, one of the most recommended books of this waning year and I... did not like it that much. It was incredibly underwhelming.

For one, it is horribly meandering. I think this book could've been way more entertaining and less excruciating in its pace if they had cut 150 pages. There was just so many needless descriptions that I got bored more than once. I found myself dropping the book for some other activity way too often.

In the end, was the story worth it? I don't think so. The pacing was absolute shit. Many things weren't explained. I kept saying "what the fuck?" to the book, half-expecting it would listen and explain itself. It didn't. It just kept dragging on and making little sense. I did enjoy the spell casting, though.

The Wood was a formidable villain. The Dragon was an asshole. The heroine with a name I cannot spell was insufferable more often than not. I kept wishing Kasia, her BFF, was the heroine. There were a lot of deaths in this book but I didn't mourn a single one. In fact, I didn't really connect to any of the characters. Characterization was just that hollow.

The romance was appalling and completely unnecessary. There was no chemistry. Every single time the narration hinted at them being a couple, I cringed. Same goes for the sex scene. I would've preferred that they had become friends, anything but lovers. Sarkan aka the Dragon needs to learn how to be a human.