There could have been so much done with all these magic lines and islands and cultures? But basically it's stated they exist and that's it. There's no going into these places and describing them or their people or their magic or why we should care about any of them or how beautiful they can be. I was really excited to dive into this world and none of that occurred at all.

With maybe one of the most interactive cover reveal processes ever (letting readers vote on TikTok and then revealing the winner on a Times Square Jumbotron), it’s probably safe to assume that the early hype around Lightlark is going to be enough to propel it to the top of many people’s TBRs. But these kind of super popular YA Fantasy books are usually hit or miss for me, so I went into Alex Aster’s debut excited, while also managing my expectations. you know when something is so bad that you just can’t look away? yeah, that was me with this book. and yes, it was as terrible as everyone said. The worldbuilding and magic systems were hazy at best. I had so many questions that never got answered. Let’s just take a little look at the Starlings (mild spoilers until the end of the paragraph): the Starlings’ curse is that they all die before they reach the age of twenty-five: are all the Starlings getting married at ten and having kids at fifteen? How are these children raised? How do they all know all the details of these prophecies if everyone’s dead AHHHHHH I DON’T GET IT

Success!

Diversity? An attempt was made. As we learn more about the world, we see more people, and they're more diverse than in the first book. I have my criticisms about how in books like this, race only feels skin deep, but an attempt was made. Is it a successful attempt? It was a step in the right direction that's for sure. If you take away everything else, this book is just poorly written and nonsensical. It’s bad. And not in a guilty pleasure sort of way, but in a “I’m offended that you thought you could sell this to readers” sort of way. And honestly, if I was the editor that was in the YAlit Reddit thread arguing with people in the comments, I would be embarrassed to admit that I edited this book. If this is the final product, I can’t imagine what a first draft looked like. EDIT (4/7/23): oooh I was so close with the title. how many bets Nightbane is a secret item/ingredient etc that Isla has to find in Nightshade alex aster tries to ratchet up the stakes of this book with no regard for how to effectively impart danger, distress or anguish. if you're not on board with one of the central three characters, there's simply no drama. the book becomes a benny hill skit of people portaling around and feeling horny

How do I find exclusive, special and limited edition books? Advice from a long-time collector. Introduction This kind of success has happened before. Ernest Cline had a movie deal for Ready Player One before the book was out. Then again, both RPO and Lightlark are highly commercialized novels, which I do consider an issue when regarding the industry as a whole and what becomes popular. This situation could been a constructive conversation about the quality of a book, privileges, the highly commercialized state of publishing, the influence of tiktok, or false advertising, and instead we’re having NONE of those. Do not invalidate anyone’s identity. This is unproductive and invasive speculation. Focus on actions, on stuff that’s actually happening. C’mon, be real. BookTok phenomenon and award-winning author Alex Aster delivers listeners a masterfully written, utterly gripping YA fantasy novel. then there’s the worst part of this book: the romance. it was so. bad. just thinking about the love triangle, instalove, 500+ year old love interests with huge power imbalances, and weird ass men that were supposed to be hot ( “I’m not sure what I enjoy more. Seeing the way you grip a sword . . . or the way your dress grips you.” AND HIS NAME IS GRIM 💀💀) brings me pain.The book's premise was promising, but the execution didn't land. Some elements felt rushed, like descriptions of the Centennial's purpose and the romances. The twist at the end was a redeeming plot point, but even then... First and foremost, it's impossible to get a real grasp on stakes. These lands have been suffering with their curses for five hundred years. And some of the curses are gnarly! The wildling's curse is that they have to eat a human heart every month to survive. But then, the people here live to be very old? Which, presumably means that they don't have very many children. The population can't be that high, because it wouldn't be sustainable if people are living longer. So how do they have even a year's supply of hearts? It's explained to us that the wildlings are dying, that their realm is losing power, that they don't have enough hearts to sustain them, but it's so hard to have a good grasp on exactly what's going on because there are so many variables that are vaguely explained. Are they at half their power, a tenth? How big are they compared to other realms? How many people do they lose a year? We need to understand the stakes! Please! Before I really lay into this book, I'll say that I understand why people would like it. I understand the appeal. Some people like reading 100 different versions of the same kind of book. I get it. It's comforting. I am also that way with certain genres of books or types of movies. But comfort, familiarity, they're not tangible measures of storytelling quality. It's possible to be comforted and find excitement in something that suffers from flaws. So, make peace with that. Isla Crown has secured the love of two powerful rulers and broken the curses that plagued the six realms for centuries, but few know the true origins of her powers. Now, in the wake of a crushing betrayal, Isla finds herself hungry for distraction, preferring to frequent Lightlark’s seductive haunts instead of embracing her duties as the newly crowned leader of two separate realms. Worse, her fellow rulers haven’t ceded victory quietly, and there are others in Isla’s midst who don’t believe her ascent to power was earned. As certain death races toward Lightlark and secrets from the past begin to unravel, Isla must weigh her responsibility to her people against the whims of the most dangerous traitor of all: her heart.

I actually read the first two Throne of Glass books between reading Lightlark and Nightbane. It really is a huge aesthetic and tone inspiration, and the two feel very similar. It is true that the Lightlark series is attempting to occupy the same romantasy feel as ACOTAR, but the similarities do not stop there. I think, if the book is actually attempting to do anything, it'd be a proper romantasy. I don't want to write a conclusion, so I won't. Thanks for the arc. My curiosity has been quenched. Tiktok will love this book. I can't imagine that it's translation to film will be good. I say that as a film reviewer who doubles as an avid reader. Things aren't looking good. Now, this book was touted on the author’s TikTok and in a stupid amount of marketing as enemies-to-lovers, villain-gets-the-girl. It had quotes, tropes etc. Some of the quotes I looked up were there, but I can totally see why people thought the tropes were all a complete lie. Isla has a little love triangle going on with two of the other realm rulers: 500-year-old love interests (bc of course they are) named Grim and Oro. I think my biggest problem is going to be with the Centennial itself. Plainly, almost all of the constructs of the Centennial are arbitrary and unnecessary.

preread: “but i thought you were done taking book recommendations from tiktok?” shhhhhhhhh. just one more. the publisher and netgalley were really just passing the audiobook arc around like a blunt at a party (thank you to them for real tho) but that meant i have some friends who also got to read this, who i had to pester with questions the entire time i read this book because wow. incomprehensible. 😚✌🏽 may god have mercy on your soul. i dropped an early bad review of lightlark. i found it to be pretty shallow and silly, sparse in its worldbuilding and preoccupied with romance but. i guess that has a place. looking over that review, i stand by it and am here to report that the prose was less try-hard lyrical and adverby. the rest of the book however?

Anyway, that’s just my two cents. I’m hoping that by putting this out there, I can finally gets some peace and stop thinking about this book. I don't know who finds the 500 year man and 18 year old girl romance appealing, but I'm so tired of it. It's laughable. Even if they look 20... seriously? Every time I remember the character's ages, and how they actually act in the book, I have to laugh. Even just the fact that she beats them both in combat. It's like... okay. Both of these men led their armies in a war against each other 500 years ago and have been practicing fighting since and they just got their asses beat by an 18 year old. She wasn't even doing anything new that they haven't seen or her puting her own spin on it. She just beat them. Funny. I know it's YA and the main character needs some quality that gives her worth like that, but it's just so jarring. Some of the book subscription boxes do sell individual titles. (Their subscription books are also fantastic, but I tend not to find a use for all the added merch they come with, so they’re not super cost effective in my case.) Some of the most popular subscription services include:

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Here’s the tea y’all: the romantic tropes, stupidly enough, were advertised as belonging to ONE love interest. The tropes were ACTUALLY divided up among BOTH of them. So all that enemies-to-lovers, villain-gets-the-girl stuff? Yeah, the author means two different men. recommend: if you want to read what everyone else is reading so you know what’s going on? yes. in any other context? no. Oro was not Tamlin'd (at least, not really in the way Tamlin was Tamlin'd). He has some screentime until maybe 40% of the book before it becomes the Grimshaw show.