Ouroboros
Author: Genevieve Iseult Eldredge
Genre: Adaptation, YA, Fantasy, Fairytale
Publisher: Monster House Books LLC
All introverted geek girl Syl Skye wants is to get close to her girlfriend. But when you can kill with a simple touch, a normal date night’s not really in the cards. As it happens, Syl is also a sleeper-princess of the fair Fae. Last year after a freak accident, her power Awakened, granting her white flame to purify the darkness. Rouen Rivoche is that darkness—a dark Fae princess whose power to bewitch mortals is as terrifying as the violet lightning she controls. Rouen is Syl’s total opposite. Her mortal enemy.She’s also Syl’s beloved girlfriend.And even though they joined forces to defeat the evil Circuit Fae who harnessed the killing magic in technology to take over the school…that was so last year.Now, Syl’s touch could mean Rouen’s death. Her increasing power is spiraling out of control, threatening to burn down everything she and Rouen have built together.Their lives, their love, their very world.
My review
I received a free copy for an honest review.
This is probably not the best way to start a review, but I’m saying this just to clear out to those who have seen my review requests, and clearly saw how I’m not accepting LGBTQ books. The only reason this book was an exception was because this was an accident. Monster House Publishing books send me links to pre-approved NetGalley books (which I appreciate so much), but I accidentally clicked on the link before knowing this book was LGBTQ, and later realized how once you click on the link, you basically have no choice but to review that book.
So I thought oh well, at least if I read this book, I’ll know what LGBTQ books are like.
Oh and, I’m still not accepting LGBTQ books after this. This only solidified that. Sorry.
Also, I have nothing against LGBTQ people (seriously), but you do have to understand I have nothing against them, but because I am not one of them, I may not feel the best reading LGBTQ books. So please do understand.
So yeah, that is a very positive start.
This book (LGBTQ aside), has literally checked off every single item of my checklist called “everything I love in YA literature, or literature in general”. You’ve got fantasy worlds, sarcastic heroines, seasons magic, and more. It definitely caught my attention right from the start from its great potential. I also want to acknowledge how “newcomer” friendly the book is. I never read the first book, but the clear introduction at the beginning of this installment got me understanding everything immediately, as clear as if I read this series before already.
Ouroboros does have a fun adventure with a clear core “problem’ that the story revolves around as a whole, but I still can’t help but noticed a large number of tropes the author used for this book that not only can become quite annoying, but to the point of almost distracting the readers from the fantasy and fairies theme (because of how the book is filled with so much high-school angsty cliches). The angsty high school theme and the many present-day pop culture references can (emphasizes on could, not will) be pleasing to a lot of YA readers, but it can also become very unpleasant to a lot of other readers (especially readers who believe the high school theme is too distracting from the fantasy fairy factor). I understand that the author may want to add all these pop-culture references because she probably really wanted to shift the entire world we’re living in today to this book’s fairy fantasy world, but she obviously overdone it (because I found myself increasing supposed by the quantity of it as the book progressed).
Ultimately, my feeling toward Ouroboros is kind of mixed. The story is okay, things such as the annoying cliches really make my eyes twitch, yet at the same time I still cared for (some) of the characters. This is why I give this book a three and a half stars. Because despite its many tropes, cliches, and (one too many) pop culture references (and very-kind-of-just-okay story-line). It’s not bad enough for me to be unable to finish it or want to cut my eyes out, and it’s really not an atrocious book. For people that enjoy fantasy fairy adventure story-lines (and want LGBTQ relationships), they would definitely enjoy it and I will still recommend this to them.
My Rating:
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
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Raised by witches and dragons in the northern wilds, GIE writes angsty urban fantasy YA romance–where girls who are mortal enemies kick butt, take names, and fall in love against all odds.
She enjoys long hikes in the woods (where better to find the fair folk?), believing in fairies (in fact, she’s clapping right now), dancing with dark elves (always wear your best shoes), being a self-rescuing princess (hello, black belt!), and writing diverse books about teenage girls finding love, romance, and their own inner power.
She might be planning high tea at the Fae Court right now.
GIE is multi-published, and in her role as an editor has helped hundreds of authors make their dream of being published a reality.