Reviews

Carving Shadows into Gold by Brigid Kemmerer

lisbethwhite's review

adventurous funny reflective sad 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

4.0

lermonysnickers's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious 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 love this series but oof you can feel the middle book syndrome in this one. I still love it and all the characters, but the pacing is a bit slower and the POVs are less spread out than they were in the previous book. Like the first 10 chapters are just Jax and Tycho and then they aren't in the same place again until the very end, which was a little disappointing since the premise of this book implied that they would getting more time together, not less. I think the best word to describe how this book felt to me is anticlimactic. We know the stakes have risen because that's what we're told, but it doesn't FEEL like they've risen compared to the first book. And maybe I wouldn't be feeling these things if I had read the book in one week instead of three (I've been sick and not reading as much). All that said, I like how this book is setting up for the last one, so hopefully everything it's done pays off in the end.

lermonysnickers's review

adventurous emotional mysterious 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

omgyaynina's review against another edition

3.0

I still care enough about these characters to finish this series, but there were moments in this book where I wasn’t sure if I’d feel that way by the end. Quite a lot of the conflicts and conversations felt repetitive. I was bored for a lot of it, it felt like this book exists solely to set up book three rather than to tell its own story.

readswithkae's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful 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? It's complicated

5.0

Brigid Kemmerer nails it again. Any time I read a book by her, the world absorbs me and Carving was no exception. I am stressed. I am tense. I want to know that everything will be okay. 

A well deserved five stars and me immediately screaming at no less than five people to read her books. 

aallee31817's review

challenging funny hopeful sad tense medium-paced

4.0

ebac622's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring 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

5.0

xnoelisax's review against another edition

4.0

the ending made me cry
i weirdly feel betrayed
is it ok if i LOVED it and also kinda hated it?? lol

hazelsnoot's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

As with her other fantasy trilogys, the author hit the second-book slump. I was frustrated by how so many of my fave characters were separated, and especially annoyed by Grey and Lia Mara

who are full grown adults but spent 75% of the book not speaking to each other! They are full monarchs doing a miscommunication trope! And their reuniting convo was fully off-page

Will read the third book, hoping for a happy ending with Jax and Tycho. 

larbytheworm's review against another edition

Too many uni exams