3/5 stars
When I first picked this book I was definitely expecting more out of it as the blurb made the book appear to be something I would enjoy. The plot focuses on a pair of two unlikely friends, Ember and Poppy, who discover that they had been switched at birth.
Going into the book I thought the plot would unfurl a lot quicker than it did as the blurb gives away that Poppy and Ember had been switched. This also means that when it was finally revealed that they had been switched I found it really underwhelming. The pacing of the entire plot was slow but it did slowly gain momentum towards the end of the book, which I am hoping means that the next book in the series will be significantly better.
The prologue of this book started off in a rather hesitant and disjointed way and it made it really tempting to put the book down but once you got past the prologue it did improve. It did introduce some of the villain's backstory but other than that there was not much I liked about the prolouge. It felt forced and was difficult to read but after I got passed the first few chapters the writing style did improve.
The witch element of the book was slightly cliqued as some of the spells used a cauldron but at the same time, it was interesting to see Poppy attempt to use pans and other things to do the spell. Because the society that the witches have created for themselves is so removed from what the modern world is like, it provides an interesting view on what really matters in life. This message is also shown through the character of Leo so interesting as he has a difficult life but he still seems to find joy.
Leo was definitely my favorite character as I found his character refreshing compared to other male love interests in YA books through his homeless status and he is the opposite of the 'bad boy love interest' trope that is seen quite a lot in YA. In my opinion, the subject of homelessness was treated well in the novel as neither of the girl's view Leo negatively and through Leo's backstory, Brignull begins to explore child abuse. The references to child abuse were refreshing as she showed the strength that Leo has from going through it even though his abuse still traumatizes him which I thought was quite inspirational.
Overall this book was slightly cliqued and the plot pacing wasn't very well done which are the main reasons I gave this book a lower rating. I hope that if I ever read the next book in the series it will be much better as I think this could be a good place for Brignull to start from and to develop more complex themes.
Please let me reinforce that just because I didn't like this book does not mean that you will not enjoy it and that this is just my personal opinion. I have left the Goodreads link below which has some glowing reviews of the book.
Let me know your thoughts in the comments and happy reading,
Mizza xx
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25189584-the-hawkweed-prophecy
When I first picked this book I was definitely expecting more out of it as the blurb made the book appear to be something I would enjoy. The plot focuses on a pair of two unlikely friends, Ember and Poppy, who discover that they had been switched at birth.
Going into the book I thought the plot would unfurl a lot quicker than it did as the blurb gives away that Poppy and Ember had been switched. This also means that when it was finally revealed that they had been switched I found it really underwhelming. The pacing of the entire plot was slow but it did slowly gain momentum towards the end of the book, which I am hoping means that the next book in the series will be significantly better.
The prologue of this book started off in a rather hesitant and disjointed way and it made it really tempting to put the book down but once you got past the prologue it did improve. It did introduce some of the villain's backstory but other than that there was not much I liked about the prolouge. It felt forced and was difficult to read but after I got passed the first few chapters the writing style did improve.
The witch element of the book was slightly cliqued as some of the spells used a cauldron but at the same time, it was interesting to see Poppy attempt to use pans and other things to do the spell. Because the society that the witches have created for themselves is so removed from what the modern world is like, it provides an interesting view on what really matters in life. This message is also shown through the character of Leo so interesting as he has a difficult life but he still seems to find joy.
Leo was definitely my favorite character as I found his character refreshing compared to other male love interests in YA books through his homeless status and he is the opposite of the 'bad boy love interest' trope that is seen quite a lot in YA. In my opinion, the subject of homelessness was treated well in the novel as neither of the girl's view Leo negatively and through Leo's backstory, Brignull begins to explore child abuse. The references to child abuse were refreshing as she showed the strength that Leo has from going through it even though his abuse still traumatizes him which I thought was quite inspirational.
Overall this book was slightly cliqued and the plot pacing wasn't very well done which are the main reasons I gave this book a lower rating. I hope that if I ever read the next book in the series it will be much better as I think this could be a good place for Brignull to start from and to develop more complex themes.
Please let me reinforce that just because I didn't like this book does not mean that you will not enjoy it and that this is just my personal opinion. I have left the Goodreads link below which has some glowing reviews of the book.
Let me know your thoughts in the comments and happy reading,
Mizza xx
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25189584-the-hawkweed-prophecy
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