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4.21 AVERAGE
4.21 AVERAGE
Dnfing. The first book was good and then.... Idk. All the characters feel the same? Like I had to wait for someone to say their name to remind myself "oh yes, it's Altair rn not Nasir" and etc.
3,5
bir tik zorlayarak uzatilmis gibi hissettirdi maalesef bekledigim o etkiyi de alamadim
bir tik zorlayarak uzatilmis gibi hissettirdi maalesef bekledigim o etkiyi de alamadim
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
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:
No
The book dipped a bit for me in the middle but when it rebounded it was off to the races to the end. I appreciated the ending that really buttoned up this world.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book tried really hard to be better than the first, but it just completely failed. I loved Altair so much; he was hilarious. And Nasir was okay. But Zafira was one of the most aggravating people I have ever read. I really was hoping for Yasmine and Zafira to break up, but we don't always get what we want, do we?
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
I liked this series quite a bit. I think unfortunately this series mixes a lot of previous YA tropes and ideas that were reminiscent of Throne of Glass, Wrath and the Dawn, and Ember in the Ashes. It mostly is able to stand on its own by some interesting ideas but I think it doesn't flesh out some of its characters well enough. For example, Altair, I personally don't like that much so seeing him on entirely his own subplot felt dragging. Also, I think this is a problem that Throne of Glass had a lot of, but this series lacks a lot of subtlety. Both ToG and this go for the one-liners, the inspirational and climatic badass lines that are meant to get readers going, but there're way too many and feel very shoved in. Also, this author does this thing for emphasis where she'll do something like
"and then he
stopped
breathing" (i just made this up, it isn't in the book)
for dramatic emphasis. I liked it the first time but by the end, I'd felt like I'd seen it at least 10 times and it started to lose its weight. Also, this is something that had me thinking but I think the author unintentionally is breaking the fourth wall. In fantasies like this, the narrator is telling a story but never or very rarely acknowledges the story they're telling is a literal story or something someone is consuming but I feel like the way the author wrote this got heavy-handed enough at some points and lacked subtlety enough times that the characters felt like they were overemphasizing their thoughts and feelings for dramatic effect and for readers. Like Nasir is referred to as the prince of death hundreds of times and yeah I get it and the two narrators drone on about "a monster doesn't have a heart" or "the prince of death feels nothing". I think knowing when to keep it minimal is important and had she cut out some of it, it would have got the point across more effectively and reduced the page length (it felt overly long).
Also, I don't mind romantic thoughts and eloquent speeches about love but I think at some points, the main romance gets to the point of over cringey because the story hasn't convinced me it earns it. Like I get it, the person is your soul mate but waxing on about it endlessly for 500 pages is a bit much. When something bad happens to a character, trust you audience to understand the gravity enough instead of spending endless lines discussing it. To me, sometimes the best things are the things not put on the page, instead left open.
To me, overall this book was good, but it definitely needed another round of editing to cut down on the theatrics. Trust your audience to know what is important, when to freak out, how to respond to plot developments, and to understand your symbolism, character development, etc. Also, the ending reminded me of LOTR, where it just kept going and going and going and each of the last ten chapters convinced me I was at the end. I didn't mind the ending, it just needed to be better structured, like I had no idea where we were going.
"and then he
stopped
breathing" (i just made this up, it isn't in the book)
for dramatic emphasis. I liked it the first time but by the end, I'd felt like I'd seen it at least 10 times and it started to lose its weight. Also, this is something that had me thinking but I think the author unintentionally is breaking the fourth wall. In fantasies like this, the narrator is telling a story but never or very rarely acknowledges the story they're telling is a literal story or something someone is consuming but I feel like the way the author wrote this got heavy-handed enough at some points and lacked subtlety enough times that the characters felt like they were overemphasizing their thoughts and feelings for dramatic effect and for readers. Like Nasir is referred to as the prince of death hundreds of times and yeah I get it and the two narrators drone on about "a monster doesn't have a heart" or "the prince of death feels nothing". I think knowing when to keep it minimal is important and had she cut out some of it, it would have got the point across more effectively and reduced the page length (it felt overly long).
Also, I don't mind romantic thoughts and eloquent speeches about love but I think at some points, the main romance gets to the point of over cringey because the story hasn't convinced me it earns it. Like I get it, the person is your soul mate but waxing on about it endlessly for 500 pages is a bit much. When something bad happens to a character, trust you audience to understand the gravity enough instead of spending endless lines discussing it. To me, sometimes the best things are the things not put on the page, instead left open.
To me, overall this book was good, but it definitely needed another round of editing to cut down on the theatrics. Trust your audience to know what is important, when to freak out, how to respond to plot developments, and to understand your symbolism, character development, etc. Also, the ending reminded me of LOTR, where it just kept going and going and going and each of the last ten chapters convinced me I was at the end. I didn't mind the ending, it just needed to be better structured, like I had no idea where we were going.
adventurous
medium-paced
Same thoughts from the first book. Read bc i just can't dnf. Had so many senseless and cringe moments but a quick read overall.
adventurous
dark
emotional
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