- While I’m not thrilled with how the protagonist deliberately weakens herself nor how many are keen to take advantage of her, the world-building is interesting and the parts where she’s not pigeonholed as a victim are top notch.
- Something about the irreverent atmosphere doesn’t quite feel right when meshed with the heavy subject matter and it’s annoying that the protagonist has such a perfect assassination ability yet no offensive abilities or ranged weapons to go with it. Was also more than a little annoyed by the soft reset at the end of the first book.
I will strive Beyond This Cursed Bloodline
- This story reads very much like a fan-translation of a Japanese light novel, with a large number of odd turns of phrase and instances of broken syntax. Personally I ended up finding the style kind of charming… even if I did have to give up providing edit suggestions only a few chapters in. No, ultimately what caused me to drop it near the end of the second book was the whole ‘can’t control her powers’ plotline that got introduced. It just felt completely arbitrary and at odds with how her soulscape had been built up specifically to grant total control over her abilities.
- Definitely interesting, but I’m starting to think psychological and/or underdog stories just aren’t what I’m looking for.
- The title is pretty accurate, far moreso than I was expecting honestly. Starting her off as a baby was a bold move when combined with her total rejection of everything around her, and one that just doesn’t work for me.
- The setting pissed me off just a little bit too much to stick around long enough to see how/if the protagonist’s personality evolved.