Initially I was going to give this three stars, but I ended up giving it two, and here's why:
- first of all, this took me so much to read. it's a short book but it took me like two weeks. maybe it was my fault because i didn't put much effort into it or maybe the book was too slow and /boring/ at times, or maybe both, i don't know. the thing is it took me AGES.
- second: i feel like there's a lack of action. the first part of this book, "the emperor", is the one that i disliked the most. there were only character introductions and even though that is important, because you can't have a good story without properly written characters, it still covered 1/4 of the book. really, it's a 160 pages long book and this part was like fifty pages or so. and it only covered one of the two main characters.
- third: whenever i thought i understood what was going on, there was a twist or a sudden magical element introduced that put me off tracks again. like when villanelle has henri steal her heart back. yes, that is a metaphor, so far i understood, but the thing is that the metaphor was brought to live when they [SPOILER ALERT] retrieved the LITERAL heart from the house and when she ATE THAT THING. really, wth. i didn't know what to make of this book after that.
- fourth and last: just this quote "he loves me, i know that, and i love him, but in a brotherly incestuous way". that's all. is just that when i read it i got shivers.
but there are other things that i enjoyed as well, so don't go thinking that i despised that book with all my heart. for example:
- i liked the writing style and the fluency. it was a well written book, but i felt that the story in itself lacked action. for a book that praises passion so much it kind of bored me.
- villanelle. i love how she was portrayed as a free, independent, bisexual woman. she is honest with people and with her feelings, and she grows so much as a character. i liked how in the end [spoiler alert again], she learns how to protect herself from having her heart hurt again. henri on the other side did feel a bit flat in the beginning, but eventually i saw some character development as well.
and initially these were the reasons why i was going to give it three stars, but then i thought more about it and i realized that throughout the book there was not a single time when i cared about the characters. usually i feel attached to them in books and i learn to care for their well-being and fate, but in this case i really couldn't care less. and that's why i gave it two stars, which is a shame really because i liked the style so much.