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A review by niaslibrary
Crystal Iris by Blair M. Shadows
2.75
2.75⭐️
Firstly I'd like to thank Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op via NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to review this audio ARC of Crystal Iris by Blair M. Shadows!
》Urban Fantasy + Romantasy
》magical amulets
》Harvard Professor meets Cowboy
》Academia
Fun fact to start: I don't know how I didn't catch this earlier but apparently her childhood boyfriends name is Aaron and not Erin????? I always heard Erin in the Audiobook, this is crazy!
Now to start I'd just like to ask - with so much love, so so much love - what kind of name is 'Hoyt'?? Let alone what kind of name is that for a love interest?? I didn't even know this WAS a proper name before I started this?!😭
The beginning was very slow but with the magic introduction still very intriguing!
The book continued to be rather slow and draggy with rather unnecessarily long 'all day scenes' while the tension and page turner scenes were sadly very short and quickly cut off.
The MC's quest to learn more about this magic amulet she's been given, seems to only appear as an afterthought if at all after the romance plot gets more prominent.
We learn so little about the magic system to begin with, only to be info dumped by the end not because the MC finally sought some answers but because of actions out of her control.
I did really like the art quotes at the beginning of each chapter and how we got to see a bit of the MC's teaching life. Though there were a few too many University scenes, in my opinion since they did little to further the romance or fantasy plot.
By the end I was most of all fed up with the pacing. Filler scences seemed to drag on forever while very plot relevant scences were over within one and a half pages. Very disheartening to read.
Though the ending was definitely this books one redeeming quality.
Unfortunately for me the ending was 100 times more captivating than its build-up.
I was missing the feeling of being hooked to a book, the thrill of turning a page, the need to know what's going to happen. Though I might've had higher expectations because other reviews stated feeling exactly that.
I didn't feel very much connected to any of the characters, nor did I much care for any of them which is why I think the ending might've hit even better if the build up had been more thorough.
Again the ending though, the ending left me wanting to know more, to find out where this is going!
All in all I was a big fan of the initial concept and definitely enjoyed the ending and bits.
So who knows, maybe I will pick up the sequel!
And while this wasn't my cup of tea, I do think other readers might still enjoy this very much.
Firstly I'd like to thank Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op via NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to review this audio ARC of Crystal Iris by Blair M. Shadows!
》Urban Fantasy + Romantasy
》magical amulets
》Harvard Professor meets Cowboy
》Academia
Fun fact to start: I don't know how I didn't catch this earlier but apparently her childhood boyfriends name is Aaron and not Erin????? I always heard Erin in the Audiobook, this is crazy!
Now to start I'd just like to ask - with so much love, so so much love - what kind of name is 'Hoyt'?? Let alone what kind of name is that for a love interest?? I didn't even know this WAS a proper name before I started this?!😭
The beginning was very slow but with the magic introduction still very intriguing!
The book continued to be rather slow and draggy with rather unnecessarily long 'all day scenes' while the tension and page turner scenes were sadly very short and quickly cut off.
The MC's quest to learn more about this magic amulet she's been given, seems to only appear as an afterthought if at all after the romance plot gets more prominent.
We learn so little about the magic system to begin with, only to be info dumped by the end not because the MC finally sought some answers but because of actions out of her control.
I did really like the art quotes at the beginning of each chapter and how we got to see a bit of the MC's teaching life. Though there were a few too many University scenes, in my opinion since they did little to further the romance or fantasy plot.
By the end I was most of all fed up with the pacing. Filler scences seemed to drag on forever while very plot relevant scences were over within one and a half pages. Very disheartening to read.
Though the ending was definitely this books one redeeming quality.
Unfortunately for me the ending was 100 times more captivating than its build-up.
I was missing the feeling of being hooked to a book, the thrill of turning a page, the need to know what's going to happen. Though I might've had higher expectations because other reviews stated feeling exactly that.
I didn't feel very much connected to any of the characters, nor did I much care for any of them which is why I think the ending might've hit even better if the build up had been more thorough.
Again the ending though, the ending left me wanting to know more, to find out where this is going!
All in all I was a big fan of the initial concept and definitely enjoyed the ending and bits.
So who knows, maybe I will pick up the sequel!
And while this wasn't my cup of tea, I do think other readers might still enjoy this very much.