3 ⭐️ i really do understand the mixed reviews. whilst, silver elite may not change your life, i still had a good time! that being said, this book isn’3 ⭐️ i really do understand the mixed reviews. whilst, silver elite may not change your life, i still had a good time! that being said, this book isn’t some groundbreaking dystopian world to immerse yourself in. there isn’t anything new to report or obsess over. but it was genuinely such a fun time that my criticisms didn’t totally ruin my overall enjoyment. the beginning felt slow and it took a while for me to get invested but once i was, i couldn’t put it down.
i wasn’t overly impressed with the writing. it felt quite basic and at times, i didn’t feel like a lot of love or creativity went into it. i think this played into the world building. francis’ established a dystopian world but it lacked substance. it’s heavy on the romance (which i didn’t mind) but i think the world building and overall plot suffered because of this focus. that being said, the simplicity of it all made this an easy read. some people might like that but i was hoping for more.
the romance between our main characters, wren darlington and cross redden, was predictable (honestly, i found most aspects of this book predictable). it’s definitely insta-lusty but didn’t venture into insta-love territory, still delivering heaps of tension and chemistry with a sweet slow burn.
wren was absolute chaos. i adored her but she also had me wanting to bang my head against a wall. does this woman have no sense of self preservation? thank god this is fiction because there’s no way this woman would have survived otherwise. wren was perhaps the only part of this book that wasn’t entirely predictable, and only because she’s the embodiment of reckless and impulsive behaviour. i now understand how my friends and family must feel watching my chaotic ass.
when it comes to cross, i don’t really have any big feelings to share. that miiiight have been because i was too busy crushing on kaine sutler who was infinitely more interesting. don’t get me wrong, i like cross. and i wouldn’t call this a love triangle by any means. i just don’t think cross brings anything new or interesting to the table. kaine had my full attention though. to summarise my thoughts on cross/kaine: anything cross can do, kaine can do better ...more
2 ⭐️ in theory, on wings of blood should have been exactly my cup of tea. unfortunately, i really didn’t enjoy this book nearly as much as i hoped i w2 ⭐️ in theory, on wings of blood should have been exactly my cup of tea. unfortunately, i really didn’t enjoy this book nearly as much as i hoped i would. the synopsis for this book seems really out of touch with what the book actually delivers.
on wings of blood is compared to fourth wing, zodiac academy and harry potter, and said to deliver dramione vibes. truly, the only comparison i can kinda see is fourth wing being that it’s a dark academia fantasy romance with dragon lore. a side from blake drakharrow, our mmc, having blonde hair and hailing from a prominent family, i’m not sure how this man can be compared to draco malfoy. blake wasn’t even a bully as the synopsis claimed - not really when everything he did was intended to be in medra’s best interest. our fmc, medra pendragon, does not give hermione vibes in the slightest (in my opinion). i’m not really sure i’ll ever understand why authors/publishers try to draw these similarities. i get that maybe it’ll draw in a similar audience base but wouldn’t you want your own book to stand on it’s own two feet without needing to compare your work to other successful series to interest people and ultimately disappoint them when the book fails to compare?
on another note, i found this book really difficult to push through. it started off alright but then just became filler up until the end chapter. i really couldn’t even tell you anything substantial that happened during the middle of the book. i can respect that the world building was extensive but, i’m never going to enjoy a book that is 5% character development, 10% plot and 85% world building. very little was overcome or resolved, it felt very stagnant, mundane and way too many chapters were dedicated to following medra attend classes that majority of the time did not contribute to the storyline or let us get to know medra more intimately.
i am going to continue the series and read the next book. purely because all the world building maaaay have set up a great next book? i do hope that is the case.
many thanks to netgalley, starwater press and boleyn for providing me with this arc. all thoughts are my own honest opinions....more