Reviews

Now I Rise by Kiersten White

hastings91's review against another edition

4.0

Plot: 3.5 stars
Characters: 10 stars
Writing: 4 stars
Pacing: 2.5 stars
Representation (Muslim,Gay,Bi,side wlw):3.5 stars
Overall rating: 4 stars


My main reaction to the ending is that I love (1) brutal dragon queen, (1) sly kind hearted prince, (2) angelic sapphic girls and (1) equally angelic ambassador.

Also that Mehmed is trash.
RTC

amysbrittain's review against another edition

4.0

I love this series! Lada, the main protagonist, is tough as nails but faulted, and we see her forge her identity more fully through every ruthless or merciful move she makes, buoyed by the loyalty of her dedicated followers. In book one, Radu was clever but vulnerable and tragically besotted with unrequited feelings for Mehmed. In this book, he takes a circuitous route to realize more completely his worldview and true sense of self.

White doesn’t make self-discovery too easy for her characters, but when they earn it, it’s even sweeter for the reader to witness. The Ottoman setting here was vibrant and layered, and White lays out the messy politics and religious fervor on both sides wonderfully.

ang0521's review against another edition

4.0

Definitely liked this more than the first and would give it 4.5 stars. I really like Kiersten White’s writing and the characters she has created. I really enjoyed the multiple POV which I think was attempted in the first book but is much clear in this one. One thing I did not like was the time jumps. I didn’t really see a point to it and there was no big moment of time coming together. Regardless, still a great book that had be constantly hooked.

hamckeon's review against another edition

5.0

I love everything about this series.

anita_van_sunshinee23's review against another edition

4.0

NO TIENEN IDEA DE LO QUE ES ESTO, TIENEN QUE LEERLO SE LOS DIGO EN SERIO, BUENA HISTORIA, BUENOS PERSONAJES, MUCHO CAOS Y AAAAAH ME GUSTÓ MUCHO MÁS QUE EL ANTERIOR

Perdón pero ese final me dejo con la emoción a tope, estoy

astravars_thrubooks's review against another edition

5.0

Fuck me up why don't you?

quequel's review against another edition

5.0

Eu não sei que poder é esse que essa autora tem, mas a escrita dela me prende de um jeito, eu me transporto para a história com facilidade, Os irmãos continuam a jornada pelo que desejam e sempre que você não espera ela traz pelos olhos deles reflexões sobre religião, politica, desejo, amizade etc. Ansiosa pelo final da trilogia.

lindsey_kerrigan's review against another edition

3.0

I have no idea what I just finished reading. Like I don’t think I have my thoughts in a cohesive enough manner to write a review but I am going to try. This book took a dark turn in the second half of the book that I was not expecting. With Lada's travel to the throne and Radu standing witness to all the horrors of the fall of the wall it felt like this book was just gruesome murder after gruesome murder for a larger portion of it. On the one hand I am happy with the man that we have been able to watch Radu turn into over the expanse of this book and I am happy he seems to finally be seeing some of Mehmed’s true colors, but on the other hand I do not like what Lada has turned into and every time Nicolae begs her to try to go through the ruling of her country in a less harsh way I beg her to listen to him for once. I just feel that she has gotten her point across on the throne and she doesn’t need to continue on in the same manner that she is currently taking but I guess we will just have to wait and see in the next book. I need to know where the next book takes us but at the same time I am fearful for what comes next. I NEED Lada and Radu to be reunited and I really hope Radu finds happiness with Cyprian. Cyprian and Nazira needed to both make it to safety and if I don’t see either of them in the last book I’m gonna be really upset. I’m very intrigued by how over the course of this book both siblings turned away from Mehmed in their own ways and I’m interested to see what happens with that in the next book as well. Throughout most of the book I felt like nothing was really happening, like I feel like for a good portion of the book Lada was at a standstill with her throne and Radu was at a standstill with the wall falling and we kept just bouncing back and forth between these unchanging problems which became kind of repetitive after a while. Other than that, the fact of how dark the story became was the only thing that truly shocked me. Since the third book is the last I am bracing that it has a better outcome than this did but one can only hope. The first book felt like it was spent learning about Lada and Radu as people and this book felt like it was spent watching to see what Lada and Radu did as these people. (I’m not sure if that makes any sense but that’s how I see it)

abbievillehorror's review against another edition

5.0

Oh my god. Lada and Radu are perhaps my favorite protagonists ever. Though I hate Lada as a person, I absolutely love her as a character. She is the ultimate hero-of-her-own-story villain - and good lord, did I love watching her turn from fierce, brutal little girl to ruthless, bloodthirsty leader.
And Radu is still as sad and sweet as ever, but his journey was more growing from idealist to realist and, I think, he is now moving toward cynicism even as he tries to keep a grasp on himself. I welcome all the character growth and betrayal and heartbreak that Kiersten White has mined from history.
I can't wait for the next book to break my heart along with Radu's, to make me bleed at the end of Lada's knife.

emotionalbookreport's review against another edition

2.0

So, the thing is....I don’t think the story itself is uninteresting. I just really REALLY dislike the characters! It was a constant, well if she was here what would SHE do? If he was here what would HE do? I found it really annoying. And again, WHAT THE HELL WITH MEHMED???? He is a piece of SHIT! Anyways, on to the last one! I’ve come this far, may as well make the full descent into self loathing, amiright? _:(´ཀ`」 ∠)