A big giant that you to NetGalley and Perfectly Poisoned Press for letting me review this eARC. All thoughts and opinions are 100% my own.
Have you ever had a word stuck on the tip of your tongue, but just couldn’t seem to get it out? That was this book. It had such potential. The story is there waiting to be told, but it just never came out. Almost like reading a detailed outline with no substance added in to bring the story to life.
Several times throughout the book I thought I skipped a page and turned back to read what I missed…. But there was nothing missing to read. Just an empty void in the narration. Which is SUCH A BUMMER because it had so much potential! I could like the characters, I could like this world, but I don’t because I don’t because I was never told why I should. I was never lead down a path to fall in love or feel any connection with this world and it characters.
Now, I hate the term “insta-love” but here it applies. We have no understanding why the characters “fall in love” or have any connection whatsoever to the narrative to get sucked in. In truth, the story is missing about two hundred, if not three, pages worth of character development, world building, and overall depth.
By the end, I was so mad that I stuck it out. I kept hoping against hope for a solid ending to a mostly disappointing read, but was left bitter for the time wasted. However, I did still finish it and I liked what was there to read. So . . . it gets two starts.
I desperately wanted to love this story so much that if it is ever rewritten with more substance I would be willing to give it another go. Fingers crossed.
A Portrait in Ash and Lace was written by Sofia Aves. Check it out on Goodreads!
Rated: ★★
To All The Books I've Loved Before 