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//005 : BLUE IS FOR BELOVED
this is honest to god me after realizing that blue is for beloved is finished so i can review it. this book, i really liked but obviously there are problems that i will mention in this review, if i could choose a book i could reread it would be this. uh, spoilers so if you haven't read it go read it now! 5,4,3,2,1!
im going to first talk about the book cover which actually...ticked me off. the book is said that viktoriya is black, yet the woman on the book is a whitewashed viktoriya that i can assure you if i showed it to my friend she would tell me they look white. this easily could've been solved with basic photoshop (Adobe) so if someone is actually doing your covers please tell them to darken the skintone.
the intro of this book is actually kind of boring and has no relation whatsoever to the plot and only shows like, viktoriya and her friend, kai's friendship. that's all it does. it was a breath of fresh air due to the fact it didn't begin like other books, but it was unnecessary and can be skipped as it's not important.
one thing i liked is viktoriya's culture was showcased in the book several times like what's served at dinner / lunch and what they do during that time. which is different from a pasty white protagonist. the only other problem with viktoriya's character is that she's consistently infodumped on.
there was a chapter that i couldn't remember the number of that was honest to god an info dump chapter on the characters. that's it. viktoriya is apparently a supporter of the lgbtqia+ community, but don't say it, show it.
my beef is not that she's a supporter of the lgbtqia+ community, as i myself, am a black pansexual demigirl, my fucking beef is that there are no gay characters. you can tell me viktoriya supports the lgbtqia+ community, but give us an example of that. show her being an ally. show it.
that's one of the first things you learn in writing, show and tell. kaimana, her brother, and viktoriya worked hard to get into the college of their dreams? show it. show her working hard. show them pouring their hearts out. hell, i don't care how you do it, at least show it.
im honestly not loving nikolai's face cast or his description at all so the entirety of the book i imagined him as something else. men with long hair is a no no because it gives me flash backs to old cheesy misogynistic romance novels where the male love interest on the cover has long flowing hair. no.
okay so as for— character development, there is a lot of shit i don't like... specifically. one thing i don't like is how nikolai is so sure that he and viktoriya will be together even though she seems skeptical at first but is like one hundred percent ready to like, make out with him when she's at his house. the book is too fast paced and needs to slow down. the book is already getting a sequel but this book needs to be rewritten again. and more slowly.
there's this like — should i say, mini arc? where kaimana and viktoriya fight because shes dating nikolai and is being ridiculously secretive, and while i do understand nikolai told her not to say anything, it's still setting their friendship up for failure.
according to the narrator, viktoriya previously dated kaimana's brother and it's like hinted that kaimana's brother wants her back because he still loves her —, and as much as i fucking hate straight people that literally could've been an arc in its own the book is so damn short because everything was sped up.
i will talk about some stuff i like though since it sounds like im just pouncing on this book lmao. i absolutely adore the way the author described when nikolai and viktoriya met for the first time, the idea of a nexus forming in their minds and them hilarious being too enthralled by each other that they say each other's names repeatedly is hilarious to me
i did also like how viktoriya didn't actually decide to jump and have sex with nikolai as soon as she saw him and she thought it over.
i also loved the descriptions of fire and when viktoriya would use fire to defend herself. and im glad kaimana and ruslan aren't dating so everyone is suppose to be magically matched up ironically and have cheesy heterosexual double dates.
—however, the mating bond is really flawed and harmful. the mere thought of never being mad at your girlfriend solely because of a mating bond is creepy and can set up for an especially abusive dynamic.
also i know this book showcases racist moroi saying the n slur or other variations of it to describe viktoriya because she's black. i have really mixed feelings about this because my heart races like hell everytime i gotta read the n slur and im not here for it.
anyways, it's time for pros and cons, let's go.
PROS
- the protagonist is a woman of color which is better than a white protagonist who barely knows what shes doing.
- the protagonist actually is likable holy shit
- the protagonist manages to maintain a healthy relationship between her and her friends along with family.
- viktoriya pointing out to charity she's a dumb bitch is iconic.
- also viktoriya being hilariously aware of octavius' plan and telling charity that she's being used was a breath of fresh air
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CONS
- the idea of the mating bond making someone sick / ill or not being able to stay mad at each other for long implies very unhealthy implications
- why are there sex scenes with no warning? at the very least put it in the nsfw book
- the implications that charity and nikolai were kinky in bed is unnecessary why was that added
- why do i feel like ruslan likes viktoriya let the two brother love triangle cliche die already
it took me a while to put this review together so let me live lmao,
