How can any real life man top this piece of art, this chef dāoeuvre? they canāt. Malbonte is the blueprint, if you aināt Malbonte the ILY just wonāt hit the same šŖš§š½āāļø
I donāt like how heās constantly being referred to as being cruel or a monster. He wants to protect. I wonder if he will eventually join the order as a way to get rid of the horsemen and Shephamalum, or when we absorb power we join him.
It seems like the author is trying to redo the enemies to lovers tribe, which gives us more angst but it also doesnāt really make sense if youāve been romancing Malbonte for 10 years.
I donāt like Vickyās mindset either, but at the same time I think that his hot/cold and indifferent behavior towards her can be described as ācruelā. We know that Vicky is lowkey stupid bc she takes it personally, but from her perspective it might be cruel that Malbonte isnāt consistent in his actions and leaves her confused all the time. I also think that Vicky doesnāt actually see him as a monster, but refers to him as āmonsterā bc everyone calls him that. So sheād be speaking from a general pov. Like: āim dating the person that everyone considers a monster.ā
Itās unfair and, once again, stupid bc she should trust him more after all this time EXPECIALLY bc Malbonte keeps dropping hints everywhere. I also think she should defend him more when people talk shit about Malbonte, thereās no excuse for her to ignore or agree with her friendsā salty comments, especially after 10 years of having a solid relationship without any issue.
everyone close to vicky hates malbonte, well they will be pretty mad when i choose him over everyone AGAIN š and if i have to kill/betray them AGAIN for malbonte I WILLLLL
With Kali having so many endings, I canāt imagine how many endings Song of the Crimson Nile will have with even more stats to consider. Dedication 100
I was thinking about Malbontes role in HS2, because itās mentioned a few times by other characters that he will probably have his own agenda.
Malbonte is still siding with the Horsemen but heās helping the Order for his own benefit. Could it be that even in HS2, we will have a separate Malbonte route again? Imean Malum doesnāt want MC to interfere with Malbonteās plans. I wonder if that implies that Malbonte is in fact an independent force to defeat the Horsemen, orrrrrr Malum is actually the bad guy in this story and uses Malbonte for his own benefit.
And thatās certainly possible because we know that Shephamalum is tormenting him, and Malbonte claimed he would do anything to get rid of Malums whispers.
If Malbonte is not gonna have a separate route, heās probably gonna team up with the Order to defeat Shephamalum later on.
Either way my man looks hurt and weāre gonna fix that
I really feel like we donāt progress in her personal development at all. even her change in maturity between book 1 and book 2 wasnāt strong enough imo, girl lowkey lived in Malbontes shadow during their rule (if heās your LI).
I don't normally make this kind of "review" so late, usually I write my thoughts very early, when a new story gets published and there's only a few episodes (which didn't happen with Theodora). However, I managed to take advantage of the event and basically binged the entire book. I wouldn't have made this review if I didn't genuinely need to write my opinions on this (like my head might've exploded if I didn't).
!!Spoilers ahead!! and possibly tw? Nothing is too explicit
Because Theodora is, at the moment, only 4 episodes away from the end, I didn't go into the story blind. I knew about almost all the wow moments... and that didn't ruin the experience in the slightest.
I could gush about the author's writing forever, I was beyond impressed with... everything really, the atmosphere, the dialogue, the characters, the story, the descriptions, the MC's introspection, I can't find one thing to complain about when it comes to the style of writing and expressing. It never felt like serious matters were described too superficially, without giving sufficient attention, or too pretentiously, where it's just so artificial to the point of boredom; it stayed just on the line between too little and too much, keeping the reader entertained without feeding them gallons of information.
Maybe the season 3 finale will blow my mind, but honestly season 1 just set the bar so high everything after that just felt like "ok, moving on". This isn't at all an insult to the other two seasons, quite the opposite, I liked how season 2 gave wayyyy more attention to the MC and really dived into her head, because it makes sense. Season 1 takes a very mortal and human Theodora into unprecedented violence and suffering, especially for a woman whose previous concerns were homemaker articles. People are in pain and reality isn't safe. The fate of the burlesque dancers and Madame's unfinished business are serious problems (prostitution, abuse, drugs, abandonment), and very important at that moment, but they are fragments of other people's lives, the MC is mostly an observer, it can't even come close to the trauma of season 1. The story is coming to an end, but it's a handful of people against the villain, not innocent civilians resorting to suicide to remain on their land, coercion on top of coercion, lynching and so on. Season 1 instills terror, it shows not only the extreme fragility of human lives, how easy everything can be taken from you, but also human cruelty and sadism. Neumann isn't a supernatural creature, he's very much human and very much terrifying. I liked how there seemed to be no justice for the bad guys in season 1 and 2, it felt more realistic especially because it is unfair.
I loved how the characters were never put in the background even if they weren't the MCs LI. Being allowed to still have friendships while in a relationship and invest in those friendships is amazing. All the characters felt like humans with real lives that don't revolve around the MC, they didn't disappear if Theodora wasn't into them and their lives didn't start with her. Creating such a strong sense of family in every season with a new cast is also appreciated; even if it seems like a short time the pacing never felt rushed (it is a bit wonky in the last season but not enough to be a problem for me).
The LIs are just great. None of them really lacked anything, everything I said above applies to all of them. I didn't mind at all the "oh shit here we go again" because it perfectly showed the fact that yes, the MC is immortal and everyone around her will die, over and over again. This is where John falls into the soulmate trope thing. I casually romanced him and while I would've liked to be with him in the last season, it wasn't my fault he was in the same season with Charlotte. Regardless, I liked the "demon is soft for human, they are bffs" and John giving literally everything for Theodora with no expectations is my new addiction (though I do want to romance him properly after the story is finished). I could read whole episodes of just their interactions, not even interesting ones, like training or yearning for each other, just... having breakfast and discussing the news, or walking in the park like an old couple.
Now, the MC my beloved
From a young, inexperienced but very determined journalist who wants to make the world proud and her name known to a sad, self destructive and lonely woman, forced to live her life without end, Theodora's mind is really entertaining. Every time she got into her own head, every emotion or lack of emotion, every breakdown, it was all so authentic, I felt what she was feeling having never been in those situations myself. A character drowning in solitude and despair who occasionally sees the light just to be plunged over and over again in the dark and still go on with her life (I mean there's no choice but still).
I liked that she never fell into the not-like-other-girls mess, there was always a sense of solidarity between her and other women, more or less similar to her, without it being exploited to ridiculous levels. She wasn't above anyone but also didn't force camaraderie.
Tbh I would've been fine having like 7 more seasons of Theodora just... living her life in different places while spiralling into madness and alcoholism; that's how good she is. I think overall the characters in this book really tie everything together, like they're the cherry on top but also the frosting and main flavour of the cake.
I devoured this story, I don't even care if the ending won't be satisfactory, the first two season were just mind-blowing. I don't even know what else is there to be said, everything is so good, from the visuals, the music and noises, the CGs, to the writing itself.
For a first story, Arina set huge expectations for her next works.
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