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3.99 AVERAGE
3.99 AVERAGE
I enjoyed this book and look forward to reading the entire series. But I don't feel like I truly have much to say about it.
I like the character development. I like the mythology. I like the concept a lot.
These powerful young women with golden blood are considered cursed and demonic by the patriarchal religion their empire practices. Typically, they are disappeared or violently held captive. But now, the emperor wants to use their strength to form an army of these women to fight the deathshrieks, creatures that terrorize the empire.
I suppose the reason I don't have much to say is because it feels like it has the typical qualities of a first book in a series. This book provided a lot of the background for the fantasy empire of Otera and laid a lot of the groundwork for how this world works. But the author does this by setting up a mystery. What is Deka's real identity? So, we spend a lot of time in that mystery, in the character development, and in trying to understand how Otera works.
I'm looking forward to reading book two because I think that's when things will really kick in to high gear.
I like the character development. I like the mythology. I like the concept a lot.
These powerful young women with golden blood are considered cursed and demonic by the patriarchal religion their empire practices. Typically, they are disappeared or violently held captive. But now, the emperor wants to use their strength to form an army of these women to fight the deathshrieks, creatures that terrorize the empire.
I suppose the reason I don't have much to say is because it feels like it has the typical qualities of a first book in a series. This book provided a lot of the background for the fantasy empire of Otera and laid a lot of the groundwork for how this world works. But the author does this by setting up a mystery. What is Deka's real identity? So, we spend a lot of time in that mystery, in the character development, and in trying to understand how Otera works.
I'm looking forward to reading book two because I think that's when things will really kick in to high gear.
I enjoyed the twists and the empowerment. Glad the heroine learned her truth as well as the others. The friendship was the best I've read in YA in a long time.
Definitely could be a one and done book.
Definitely could be a one and done book.
adventurous
dark
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:
No
Things happen quickly at the beginning of this book and then it's kinda slow throughout while we learn more.
Content Warnings
Minor: Body horror, Violence
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
challenging
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
lighthearted
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This book is something I struggle with because, honestly it's just boring. It's a lot of telling and spoon feeding to the reader. I wanted to excuse that because I get that it's a YA novel but I don't really think that's an excuse. There's things that I do like but at the same time much of the story suffers from a passive MC. The ending just feels sort of hollow. The romance is flat.
The camp / training she is going to is supposed to be grueling and intense but it's not.
The story only progresses if white hands is mentioned or there.
The character development is pretty non-existent outside of vague feelings of this being wrong. I'm just going to skip over the romance because it's really fleeting and just not worth mentioning.
Where the story thrives is in the lore, and world building. The first act is pretty solid and had a really good rhythm. It really set you up for the world and culture feels unique. The monsters have a cool concept. I feel like if this book had more plot and pushed her mc harder to earn leadership and be cunning I think the book would be more enjoyable.
The camp / training she is going to is supposed to be grueling and intense but it's not.
The story only progresses if white hands is mentioned or there.
The character development is pretty non-existent outside of vague feelings of this being wrong. I'm just going to skip over the romance because it's really fleeting and just not worth mentioning.
Where the story thrives is in the lore, and world building. The first act is pretty solid and had a really good rhythm. It really set you up for the world and culture feels unique. The monsters have a cool concept. I feel like if this book had more plot and pushed her mc harder to earn leadership and be cunning I think the book would be more enjoyable.
This fantasy novel has some interestingly eerie worldbuilding flourishes early on, but I've found the ensuing plot to be slow and overly predictable, which makes it hard to fully invest in the heroine's journey, much as I always love to celebrate another dark-skinned #ownvoices protagonist. There's also more dubious fairy-tale logic than I'd typically expect in a story like this -- all the village girls have their blood tested at age 16 to see if it runs gold as a sign of latent magic powers, for instance, which I guess means nobody ever gets a scratch or starts menstruating before that point -- and that tends to further distance me as a reader. I normally think of the YA genre as being written about younger people and not exclusively for them, but this might be one of those rare counter-examples that works best for an audience less jaded by familiar tropes.
[Content warning for racism, sexism, and gore.]
Find me on Patreon | Goodreads | Blog | Twitter
[Content warning for racism, sexism, and gore.]
Find me on Patreon | Goodreads | Blog | Twitter
adventurous
dark
reflective
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:
Complicated
3/5
I have a lot of feelings about this book. When I first read the synopsis of it, I was overcome with an overwhelming sense of anticipation. Finally, when I got the book I couldn't help but be disappointed. It was a great story, however, the execution of it felt more like a Disney movie than a novel befitting of it's material. However, this book does deal with mature themes that a Disney movie could not contain like rape, child abuse, death, and betrayal. In the end, I was interested in the book and gripping the pages. Overall, the only thing that was bad about this book is that it did not reach my expectations.
I have a lot of feelings about this book. When I first read the synopsis of it, I was overcome with an overwhelming sense of anticipation. Finally, when I got the book I couldn't help but be disappointed. It was a great story, however, the execution of it felt more like a Disney movie than a novel befitting of it's material. However, this book does deal with mature themes that a Disney movie could not contain like rape, child abuse, death, and betrayal. In the end, I was interested in the book and gripping the pages. Overall, the only thing that was bad about this book is that it did not reach my expectations.