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thewillowwood's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
hear me out: this is basically if the Witcher books were actually good. sorry not sorry. this book slayed, looking forward to reading the next instalment.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Sexual content, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Animal death, Blood, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Death
mikathereviewer's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Summary of my review
Nice vocabulary and wording. Fantasy book with made-up words and gods with unique forms. Plot twist and complex and deep character relationships and development. Ups and downs on characters relationships, making them feel more real. Relatable moments, platonic love. Small LGBT+ romance (side characters) and only mild romance throughout the book. No logic leak and medium-paced book. Sometimes slow-paced, too fast romance (making it also seem unnatural) and odd ending.
• • • •
In Depth Discussion/The Review
Likes:
Nice wording. Good vocabulary choice.
Example from the prologue: The rope sliced the delicate flesh between Kissen’s teeth, and blood poured thick and hot across her tongue. She growled and bit down hard, wrenching at her restraint. A shot of pain, a grinding in her gums, then a snap. The rope! The rope was loose, her canine still buried in it, ripped clean from her mouth.
Example 2: The flames changed. They twisted together, spinning up the walls, then plunging to the floor in a pillar of fire, sparks spinning out like snow. Laughter crackled in the smoke, harsh and delighted.
Every character has their own backstory that we get told when it's the right time and a lot of the backstories reveal why certain characters behave like they do and why the whole plot with the Gods is so important in this book.
As this if a fantasy book we also get to know a few made-up words like 'liln' and others. That shows that the author tried to connect the reader more with the world by adding a few extras like this.
Plot twist. Somewhat. It's a bit complex and while you read you might not notice it immediately, but a certain character develops and we see their true form which I think the author tried to make the character look evil even though they weren't. Most twists and complexity is really on the characters themselves than the plot.
Great character development and from a hate relationship to a friend relationship. One often sees the trope 'enemies to lovers' but rarely 'enemies to friends' and if you like that, this book is for you! There is definitely still romance, but mild in my opinion.
Most of the time I actually didn't like Kissen but there were some relatable moments I want to share
1) There was a reason she preferred travelling alone; most people were deeply annoying.
2) ‘Is this the time, you flapping fool?’ (when a character is making a stupid decision there is always another who speaks against it making us readers show that the writer/author did that on purpose and that the character who did the stupid thing had a reason)
Another thing I liked about Kissen was that she liked Inara. She was rude to her sometimes, but it showed that she cared for that little girl. Kissen saw herself in that helpless little girl and wanted to protect her for that reason. That made Kissen a bit more likeable for me.
Example: She had only known the kid half a month, but if anything happened to her, Kissen might happily commit a murder.
I love, LOVE the relationship between Inara and Skedi. It was so wholesome to read the whole time and most of the highlights I added for this book were actually just them together. Now let me explain; They have a strong bond and I am not only talking about an emotional bond but also a physical one. They always need to stay together. And that can be exhausting on the long run, but they managed to get closer and get a real friendship bond and they literally love eachother in a platonic way. Inara is, since she is a small girl, most of the time helpless but Skedi protects her and it's so cute!!
There are ups and downs on characters relationships throughout the book so I myself felt like I was on a rollercoaster when I read this book as not only enemies became friends but also friends became enemies. It was sometimes hard to watch honestly, but it made that book so unique as the author managed to change a relationship in a good reasonable manner and made us readers emotional connected to the characters more.
There were many tiny details that weren't that necessary for the character or world building but that made it more unique. Like how a curse looked like on someone's body or how the Gods looked like, or the way certain characters spoke in difficult situations. Especially the small hidden messages from Skedi that one only could understand if they read between the lines when he said or thought something.
I found no logic leak whatsoever. There was always an explanation for something.
Example: ‘What happened?’ He must not have been listening in the queue, wrapped up in his own problems; he hadn’t heard what the gossipers said.
Skediceth was my favourite character out of a simple reason; He felt the most unique and kind from the rest. Why? First of all his small form and true form are so different from eachother and it blew my brain out when I read it. Secondly, he seemed no matter what happened always the most kind and always gave me the feeling he thinks everything through and just tries to protect everyone. Thirdly, in my opinion his backstory and story throughout the book was the most sad and tragic one. And lastly, I didn't know how he truly felt and desired till the very end. He had the most complex character build and development and if one read between lines one would notice that he was also in a personal fight with himself and even though he was my favourite did some mistakes throughout this book.
Dislikes:
Kissen was rather rude than nice, for a protagonist. Good reasoning behind it, but personally her attitude bothered me when I read the book. (Especially as she was rather unkind to my favourite character and threatened to unalive him).
Example towards Inara: Somehow surprised to be addressed first, and so rudely.
Example Skedi: ‘You’ll what, kill me? That threat is getting a little old.’
Scene example (Inara tried to befriend someone and Kissen intervened): ‘Leave the girl be,’ said Kissen, and bared her teeth in a dangerous smile, then pulled Legs away. ‘And the horse.’
As mentioned above in my like list there is mild romance in this book. Many side characters have a relationship and some are even LGBT+, but that wasn't what bothered me, what actually bothered me was the love relationship with the main characters. I literally read that the girl said she will break his legs if he tried to seduce her just to see a sexual scene on the next page. It just made no sense. Especially with the personality of the girl. She was rather smart so I was surprised that she let it happen, even though she just protested against it.
The romance of the two main characters was so fast, from not liking to almost already having intercourse. I highlighted all the parts where they connected stronger and it wasn't that much (5 to be exact) until they did the 'act'. Perhaps it's 'cause I prefer slowburn but that romance just felt unnatural.
The book was a bit slow at times. Overall it had a medium pace, but sometimes slow.
The ending of the book felt like an open ending that doesn't need a sequel, but perhaps that's just me as I like books with open endings. Except 1 question/issue were all others answered/resolved so I felt satisfied with the ending. But it was a bit of an odd ending.
• • • •
Rating
How it works: Only everything that is lower than 9 gets reduced from the final rating. Depending on how strong it inflicted the overall enjoyment of reading it effects differently.
[ Story 9 / 10 ] > sometimes a bit slow-paced
[ Characters 10 / 10 ]
[ Triggering 2 / 10 ] > intercourse scene
[ Topic/Genre 8 / 10 ] > I reduce it regarding the romance part
[ Writing style 10 / 10 ]
[ Grammatic and spelling 10 / 10 ]
[ Ending 9 / 10 ] > odd ending
Final Rating
4/5
• • • •
Final thoughts/Questions
I wasn't sure if I should read this book as it was just recently added to my TBR list and there are some on that list since months, but I'm glad I read this book as I felt a great connection with Skediceth and the whole story itself was very interesting and special. Definitely reading the 2. book too!
Did you read this book? Let me know what you think of this book and my review!
Started the book: 03. June 2024
Finished the book: 04. June 2024
Wrote the review: 05. June 2024
Nice vocabulary and wording. Fantasy book with made-up words and gods with unique forms. Plot twist and complex and deep character relationships and development. Ups and downs on characters relationships, making them feel more real. Relatable moments, platonic love. Small LGBT+ romance (side characters) and only mild romance throughout the book. No logic leak and medium-paced book. Sometimes slow-paced, too fast romance (making it also seem unnatural) and odd ending.
• • • •
In Depth Discussion/The Review
Likes:
Nice wording. Good vocabulary choice.
Example from the prologue: The rope sliced the delicate flesh between Kissen’s teeth, and blood poured thick and hot across her tongue. She growled and bit down hard, wrenching at her restraint. A shot of pain, a grinding in her gums, then a snap. The rope! The rope was loose, her canine still buried in it, ripped clean from her mouth.
Example 2: The flames changed. They twisted together, spinning up the walls, then plunging to the floor in a pillar of fire, sparks spinning out like snow. Laughter crackled in the smoke, harsh and delighted.
Every character has their own backstory that we get told when it's the right time and a lot of the backstories reveal why certain characters behave like they do and why the whole plot with the Gods is so important in this book.
As this if a fantasy book we also get to know a few made-up words like 'liln' and others. That shows that the author tried to connect the reader more with the world by adding a few extras like this.
Plot twist. Somewhat. It's a bit complex and while you read you might not notice it immediately, but a certain character develops and we see their true form which I think the author tried to make the character look evil even though they weren't. Most twists and complexity is really on the characters themselves than the plot.
Great character development and from a hate relationship to a friend relationship. One often sees the trope 'enemies to lovers' but rarely 'enemies to friends' and if you like that, this book is for you! There is definitely still romance, but mild in my opinion.
Most of the time I actually didn't like Kissen but there were some relatable moments I want to share
1) There was a reason she preferred travelling alone; most people were deeply annoying.
2) ‘Is this the time, you flapping fool?’ (when a character is making a stupid decision there is always another who speaks against it making us readers show that the writer/author did that on purpose and that the character who did the stupid thing had a reason)
Another thing I liked about Kissen was that she liked Inara. She was rude to her sometimes, but it showed that she cared for that little girl. Kissen saw herself in that helpless little girl and wanted to protect her for that reason. That made Kissen a bit more likeable for me.
Example: She had only known the kid half a month, but if anything happened to her, Kissen might happily commit a murder.
I love, LOVE the relationship between Inara and Skedi. It was so wholesome to read the whole time and most of the highlights I added for this book were actually just them together. Now let me explain; They have a strong bond and I am not only talking about an emotional bond but also a physical one. They always need to stay together. And that can be exhausting on the long run, but they managed to get closer and get a real friendship bond and they literally love eachother in a platonic way. Inara is, since she is a small girl, most of the time helpless but Skedi protects her and it's so cute!!
There are ups and downs on characters relationships throughout the book so I myself felt like I was on a rollercoaster when I read this book as not only enemies became friends but also friends became enemies. It was sometimes hard to watch honestly, but it made that book so unique as the author managed to change a relationship in a good reasonable manner and made us readers emotional connected to the characters more.
There were many tiny details that weren't that necessary for the character or world building but that made it more unique. Like how a curse looked like on someone's body or how the Gods looked like, or the way certain characters spoke in difficult situations. Especially the small hidden messages from Skedi that one only could understand if they read between the lines when he said or thought something.
I found no logic leak whatsoever. There was always an explanation for something.
Example: ‘What happened?’ He must not have been listening in the queue, wrapped up in his own problems; he hadn’t heard what the gossipers said.
Skediceth was my favourite character out of a simple reason; He felt the most unique and kind from the rest. Why? First of all his small form and true form are so different from eachother and it blew my brain out when I read it. Secondly, he seemed no matter what happened always the most kind and always gave me the feeling he thinks everything through and just tries to protect everyone. Thirdly, in my opinion his backstory and story throughout the book was the most sad and tragic one. And lastly, I didn't know how he truly felt and desired till the very end. He had the most complex character build and development and if one read between lines one would notice that he was also in a personal fight with himself and even though he was my favourite did some mistakes throughout this book.
Dislikes:
Kissen was rather rude than nice, for a protagonist. Good reasoning behind it, but personally her attitude bothered me when I read the book. (Especially as she was rather unkind to my favourite character and threatened to unalive him).
Example towards Inara: Somehow surprised to be addressed first, and so rudely.
Example Skedi: ‘You’ll what, kill me? That threat is getting a little old.’
Scene example (Inara tried to befriend someone and Kissen intervened): ‘Leave the girl be,’ said Kissen, and bared her teeth in a dangerous smile, then pulled Legs away. ‘And the horse.’
As mentioned above in my like list there is mild romance in this book. Many side characters have a relationship and some are even LGBT+, but that wasn't what bothered me, what actually bothered me was the love relationship with the main characters. I literally read that the girl said she will break his legs if he tried to seduce her just to see a sexual scene on the next page. It just made no sense. Especially with the personality of the girl. She was rather smart so I was surprised that she let it happen, even though she just protested against it.
The romance of the two main characters was so fast, from not liking to almost already having intercourse. I highlighted all the parts where they connected stronger and it wasn't that much (5 to be exact) until they did the 'act'. Perhaps it's 'cause I prefer slowburn but that romance just felt unnatural.
The book was a bit slow at times. Overall it had a medium pace, but sometimes slow.
The ending of the book felt like an open ending that doesn't need a sequel, but perhaps that's just me as I like books with open endings. Except 1 question/issue were all others answered/resolved so I felt satisfied with the ending. But it was a bit of an odd ending.
• • • •
Rating
How it works: Only everything that is lower than 9 gets reduced from the final rating. Depending on how strong it inflicted the overall enjoyment of reading it effects differently.
[ Story 9 / 10 ] > sometimes a bit slow-paced
[ Characters 10 / 10 ]
[ Triggering 2 / 10 ] > intercourse scene
[ Topic/Genre 8 / 10 ] > I reduce it regarding the romance part
[ Writing style 10 / 10 ]
[ Grammatic and spelling 10 / 10 ]
[ Ending 9 / 10 ] > odd ending
Final Rating
4/5
• • • •
Final thoughts/Questions
I wasn't sure if I should read this book as it was just recently added to my TBR list and there are some on that list since months, but I'm glad I read this book as I felt a great connection with Skediceth and the whole story itself was very interesting and special. Definitely reading the 2. book too!
Did you read this book? Let me know what you think of this book and my review!
Started the book: 03. June 2024
Finished the book: 04. June 2024
Wrote the review: 05. June 2024
Content Warnings
Graphic: War and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Death of parent, Child death, and Sexual content
scrooche's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
as my first foray back into reading fantasy books in over a decade, this was truly wonderful. I bought the sequel before I even finished this book so I had it ready and lined up to start reading right away. The characters are wonderful in the ways they interact with each other and the world, the plot twists were genuinely shocking (from someone who is often pretty good at calling where a plot is headed), the bonds between the characters never feel forced and the world building is fascinating. I cannot recommend this book highly enough tbh.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Violence
Minor: Sexual content
charlieswrittenadventures's review against another edition
adventurous
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.0
I really wanted to love this book. The concept of it is really cool and the main characters by themselves are interesting as well.
However I felt very disappointed while reading this. There were long stretches where nothing really happened and the conversations just felt a bit unnecessary as they did not really reveal much about the main characters.
The sex scene also just felt entirely out of place and unnecessary. Personally I did not get the feeling that those two characters had that kind of chemistry between them.
Technically this would have left it at 2 stars but I'm absolutely deducting one for the overuse of the word 'flesh'. Where is the variety in the descriptions? There could have been 'splintered bones'. There could have been 'broken skin and torn muscles'. There could have been 'a network of silvery scars stretching across her skin like dew-covered cobwebs in a meadow'. But all we got was 'flesh'. :(
However I felt very disappointed while reading this. There were long stretches where nothing really happened and the conversations just felt a bit unnecessary as they did not really reveal much about the main characters.
The sex scene also just felt entirely out of place and unnecessary. Personally I did not get the feeling that those two characters had that kind of chemistry between them.
Technically this would have left it at 2 stars but I'm absolutely deducting one for the overuse of the word 'flesh'. Where is the variety in the descriptions? There could have been 'splintered bones'. There could have been 'broken skin and torn muscles'. There could have been 'a network of silvery scars stretching across her skin like dew-covered cobwebs in a meadow'. But all we got was 'flesh'. :(
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
kaylaswhitmore's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
This was a fun read with lots of rich world-building. The system of gods and humans felt both wondrous and intuitive, often making me curious about just what other gods there are out there and how much their power stretches (which I suppose I should simply read the next book sooner rather than later, then). I also enjoyed the characters in the story, from the lovable side characters to our main cast of heroes. Their voices all felt starkly unique to each other and I appreciated how their bonds grew over time.
That being said, I did have some critiques of the narrative and style. First, I felt that Skediceth’s point of view—while it shed light on a god’s perspective—did take away from the pain of his betrayal to Inara. Instead of feeling surprised by his takeover of her mind and body, I saw it coming a mile away and therefore didn’t feel as stunned or hurt by it as I think I could have, had his POV chapters not foreshadowed it so heavily. In that regard, I do wish she had perhaps limited her use of POVs to just Inara, Elo, and Kissen to maintain more suspense. Secondly, the big reveal of Arren’s betrayal also felt a bit lacking due to how intensely evil he was upon Elo sacrificing himself. I would have liked to see him struggle a little more when faced with the reality of his selfish power grab in front of someone who I do believe he must have loved at some point. That came across a bit superficial or disingenuous if only because it leaned more towards a place of “aha! the mask is off, muahahah!” as opposed to a hard hitting betrayal.
I do feel that Kaner really brought the story together for a very engaging end, however, and it certainly kept me wanting to see what happens next! Despite the few things I was a bit dissatisfied with, I felt that there were many more things to be excited about. Kissen, for one, is a breath of fresh air. I’ve read quite a few “angry women” protagonists now at this point, but I really loved Kissen’s flavor of it. She’s both down to earth and wildly spontaneous, and that combination made her an extremely fun character to follow. I also adored Inara, and think that she was a cool spin on the “naive girl discovering the world” trope. Her power and individuality made it easy to root for her and exciting to imagine what she will become.
I’m looking forward to reading Sunbringer, even if I’m nervous about the fates of our favorite found family!
That being said, I did have some critiques of the narrative and style.
I do feel that Kaner really brought the story together for a very engaging end, however, and it certainly kept me wanting to see what happens next! Despite the few things I was a bit dissatisfied with, I felt that there were many more things to be excited about. Kissen, for one, is a breath of fresh air. I’ve read quite a few “angry women” protagonists now at this point, but I really loved Kissen’s flavor of it. She’s both down to earth and wildly spontaneous, and that combination made her an extremely fun character to follow. I also adored Inara, and think that she was a cool spin on the “naive girl discovering the world” trope. Her power and individuality made it easy to root for her and exciting to imagine what she will become.
I’m looking forward to reading Sunbringer, even if I’m nervous about the fates of our favorite found family!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Cursing, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence
Moderate: Alcohol, Death of parent, Grief, Sexual content, and War
missgarceau's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Blood, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, War, Violence, Genocide, and Hate crime
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts and Sexual content
beckyremillard's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Fire/Fire injury, and Violence
Moderate: Sexual content, Child abuse, Child death, and Death of parent
Minor: Animal death
mazomazli's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Death, Death of parent, War, Grief, and Sexual content
little_miss_book_'s review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, War, Sexual content, and Fire/Fire injury
blewballoon's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I wasn't sure what to expect from this book. I was worried that it would be a more grim fantasy story with a lot of violence and pain, maybe like Ashes of the Sun by Django Wexler. There are definitely dark elements and high stakes, but the characters are really charming and easy to invest in. There is always a running theme that finding and caring for people is good, even though sometimes there are betrayals and mistakes. There were a couple turns the plot took that were refreshing compared to where I expected the story to go. A lot of plot was crammed in here. It felt much longer than it was, in the best way. The audiobook narration was pretty good as well. I'm definitely looking forward to more from this series.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Death of parent, Death, and Violence
Moderate: War and Grief
Minor: Sexual content