I don't know what it is, but the vibes feel really off whenever anyone mentions Grimes. I think they should leave his crusty-ass in Hell...

This book has made me realise why I don't like a lot of Dark Academia novels. I love that this book engages with the actual academia, and we get to see it and understand it through the eyes of the protagonists. Other DA books I've looked at, the 'academia' aspect is just relegated to the setting (like it's set in a magic school, everyone has magic, but we don't really learn a single thing about magic unless it's necessary to explain a relationship). And as a grumpy person with a masters degree, I have no desire to just read about students having fun and doing anything but study 😂

This is too cute. Peter is too cute. I'm trying so hard to savor reading this and take it slow, but you can't give me moments like that and expect me to put the book down!

I got my Waterstones limited edition copy with the sprayed edges today (it's so pretty!!) and just started reading. Is it wrong that I already feel ready to kill if anyone harms a single messy hair on Peter Murdoch's head?

I managed to get hold of a copy of this book because I like to try and give the benefit of the doubt, and I know that my own tastes don't always align with whatever the flavour of the day is over on BookTok/Booktube/whatever. So, I thought why not? Firstly, I understand that this is a young writer (regardless of the fact she wants to claim mastery over her craft in her early twenties. Who wasn't over-confident in their skills at that age?) and I'm trying so hard to give her some grace, but this is not good. Words are misused or chosen in a way that they lose their meaning. It's filled with McGuffins - why would you keep a scroll that basically outs your entire system of governance and belief as a lie? The dialogue language feels anachronistic to the setting (using things like 'chill', calling people 'man', use of the word 'bang' - I honestly wouldn't be surprised to come across 'rizz' in here). I know one of the main gripes people have with this is info dumping. I'm fine with telling and not showing in a way that works and helps the plot (Shogun by James Clavell is full of telling and not showing - and, yes, I know it's not an entirely fair comparison, but it was the first thing come to mind). The problem is what is info dumped and when; if a character from a different faction, who has nothing to do with the plot walks past, we suddenly get an info dump on their appearance and their faction. I get that this is supposed show how the narrator character thinks about the world around her, but it just reads as cumbersome because of the way it's written. But, somehow on the other end of the scale is the geography issue. This is a book with a map yet places don't seem to have names? We get things along the line of 'you go twenty minutes east of the trail' to describe a place where an important ceremony is happening. Just give the place a name, important plot things are happening there, it should have a name or at least some form of descriptor that is understandable to the characters. So, yeah... I am genuinely trying to be open about this and I will finish it, but this is not bringing me any joy.