Chasing Ravens

by Jessica E Paige

[reveriesociety_]

I liked this book, but I didn't love it. The russian culture was weaved in pretty nicely, which is probably my favorite thing about it. The main character is quiet, but smart and brave, and I also appreciated that.

But the problem was the plot, I think. It wasn't clear what the point of the story was. I don't feel much happened. At the beginning, there was too much exposition. So much I was already dreading the next pages, the next half, the whole book.

I managed to get over it when the MC started moving at last, and I liked the concept of girl against world it presented (because it usually is that way).

But then FILLER FILLER FILLER ATTACKS AGAIN







You get the point. IT WAS EVERYWHERE. No one was safe o.o

One thing that especially bugged me was this weird romance with Pavel. The guy doesn't appear until the last quarter of the book, which kind of blew it for me, since I was expecting romance, but um... maybe she should have found the way to introduce it earlier, or give poor Pavel more scene time? And even then, though the chemistry is there, they don't talk to each other a lot. But there is talk of love? When did that happen?!

The overall problem that prevented me from fully enjoying the hidden gems of this book is that it had too much stories crammed into one. They related to each other, sure, but they felt disconnected to me. Anouk first leaves her Uncle's house, and her disgusting could've-been husband, but there's no mention of them again, so... Why make us read about them in the first place? It could've easily been sumed up as backstory instead of being an entire chapter.

I have to praise the fantasy element of the story because it was handled beautifully. I just wish the rest of the book had been as well.