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149 reviews for:
The Black Jewels Trilogy: Daughter of the Blood, Heir to the Shadows, Queen of the Darkness
Anne Bishop
4.2 AVERAGE
149 reviews for:
The Black Jewels Trilogy: Daughter of the Blood, Heir to the Shadows, Queen of the Darkness
Anne Bishop
4.2 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
emotional
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
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
For the life of me I will never understand how this series could possibly receive this much love and praise. To be frank I thought the books were AWFUL for many reasons. I finished all three in order to give the series a solid chance, as I was under the impression that these novels were beloved older classics and foundational for the modern romantic fantasy genre that we know today (obviously SJM was hugely inspired by this books lmao). I left my rating at 2 stars instead of a mere 1 simply because the ideas and premise of the world, characters, and general plot were excellent and intriguing- but I cannot tell you how disappointing it is to be so interested in the ingredients and bones of a story, only for the execution to be so wildly bad.
First off- the writing was not all that, as many of these reviews claim it to be- it was repetitive, clunky, and certain exposition and dialogue was so long winded and unnecessary I was taken aback. If I ever hear the words snarling male, the room was spinning, midnight sepulcher voice, etc. ever fucking again I’ll lose it. has this author ever heard of moderation when it comes to her preferred use of adjectives and world building slang… like please we get it. Not to mention the characterization of everyone in every scene being so damn dramatic and for what. It was just too much. Everything lost its sparkle once you realized the soap opera esque dramatics would apply for even the slightest surprises or actions.
Now for the fmc. I LOVE an over powered, god level esque female main character. They aren’t done enough in my opinion. now in theory a novel centered around a matriarchal, female dominant power society that has gone askew through the slow perversion of the power dynamic and corruption should be fascinating. So tell me why the fuck in this novel clearly meant to explore themes of female power and hypothetical interplays between male and females in a magic system and world that values female power above all else, we NEVER got Jaenelle, the female main characters, pov. Truly it makes no sense to provide such compelling bones and wonderfully layered magic for Janelle only to have us be viewing her through the perspective of weirdly obsessed and perverse men the entire time, projecting their ideals and fantasies onto her in order to bring her story to life. She could have been SO GOOD. But her personality fell flat and lifeless throughout the novels as we lost her perspective to the icky voyeurism of men. I get that it made her a bit more mysterious and other worldly, but I really felt we needed to hear HER voice. If you’re going to write extreme and dark sexual trauma and abuse into the childhood backstory of your female main character that we even see real time evidence of happening in a large majority of the books you HAVE to provide us with more inner healing and thoughts from the victim herself in order to justify the inclusion of such graphic imagery of child abuse. I don’t want to read about her trauma from the viewpoint of the three males who feel perverse and creepy feelings towards her between the ages of 5-12, fuck it that they’re her so called protectors, their obsession is skewed and off putting.
I am ALL for dark fantasy, not much phases me and I understand that dark and sexual themes can be the vehicle through which we receive deep characterizations and commentary on real world issues (not to mention darkness for the sake of indulgent fantasy). However- I do not think the depth to which the sexual horrors went to with these books was appropriate when there didn’t seem to be a greater purpose or commentary made nor was the actual presentation and novel at that mature level of writing that made it feel like such darkness had a place. Any novel with explicit child rape, incest, pedophilic desires, sexual slavery, and more should be written with a more deft adult hand but the books feel strangely young adult in level. I hated the storyline where the main love interest was battling his sexual desires and feelings for a 12 yr old girl, no matter that she was a mythical and ancient powerful being at heart. It was fucked up and the author lacked the maturity to handle that sort of complicated interplay of dark romance. She took it too far and couldn't deliver. Don’t know how anyone could rate this novel highly.
Lastly- the plot itself, while good in theory was not executed well- the majority of the novels were simply slice of life level interactions that felt disjointed and clunky. There was no grand clever scheme by the villains, who were comical in their black and white level of evil mindless, (yet stupid) villainy. The majority of action scenes and poorly executed schemes by the villains felt pointless and didn’t really work towards a larger plot device or theme in the long run.
Put simply- it was tiring to read, elicited deep discomfort at the handling of sexual material, and above all else, I was bored.
First off- the writing was not all that, as many of these reviews claim it to be- it was repetitive, clunky, and certain exposition and dialogue was so long winded and unnecessary I was taken aback. If I ever hear the words snarling male, the room was spinning, midnight sepulcher voice, etc. ever fucking again I’ll lose it. has this author ever heard of moderation when it comes to her preferred use of adjectives and world building slang… like please we get it. Not to mention the characterization of everyone in every scene being so damn dramatic and for what. It was just too much. Everything lost its sparkle once you realized the soap opera esque dramatics would apply for even the slightest surprises or actions.
Now for the fmc. I LOVE an over powered, god level esque female main character. They aren’t done enough in my opinion. now in theory a novel centered around a matriarchal, female dominant power society that has gone askew through the slow perversion of the power dynamic and corruption should be fascinating. So tell me why the fuck in this novel clearly meant to explore themes of female power and hypothetical interplays between male and females in a magic system and world that values female power above all else, we NEVER got Jaenelle, the female main characters, pov. Truly it makes no sense to provide such compelling bones and wonderfully layered magic for Janelle only to have us be viewing her through the perspective of weirdly obsessed and perverse men the entire time, projecting their ideals and fantasies onto her in order to bring her story to life. She could have been SO GOOD. But her personality fell flat and lifeless throughout the novels as we lost her perspective to the icky voyeurism of men. I get that it made her a bit more mysterious and other worldly, but I really felt we needed to hear HER voice. If you’re going to write extreme and dark sexual trauma and abuse into the childhood backstory of your female main character that we even see real time evidence of happening in a large majority of the books you HAVE to provide us with more inner healing and thoughts from the victim herself in order to justify the inclusion of such graphic imagery of child abuse. I don’t want to read about her trauma from the viewpoint of the three males who feel perverse and creepy feelings towards her between the ages of 5-12, fuck it that they’re her so called protectors, their obsession is skewed and off putting.
I am ALL for dark fantasy, not much phases me and I understand that dark and sexual themes can be the vehicle through which we receive deep characterizations and commentary on real world issues (not to mention darkness for the sake of indulgent fantasy). However- I do not think the depth to which the sexual horrors went to with these books was appropriate when there didn’t seem to be a greater purpose or commentary made nor was the actual presentation and novel at that mature level of writing that made it feel like such darkness had a place. Any novel with explicit child rape, incest, pedophilic desires, sexual slavery, and more should be written with a more deft adult hand but the books feel strangely young adult in level. I hated the storyline where the main love interest was battling his sexual desires and feelings for a 12 yr old girl, no matter that she was a mythical and ancient powerful being at heart. It was fucked up and the author lacked the maturity to handle that sort of complicated interplay of dark romance. She took it too far and couldn't deliver. Don’t know how anyone could rate this novel highly.
Lastly- the plot itself, while good in theory was not executed well- the majority of the novels were simply slice of life level interactions that felt disjointed and clunky. There was no grand clever scheme by the villains, who were comical in their black and white level of evil mindless, (yet stupid) villainy. The majority of action scenes and poorly executed schemes by the villains felt pointless and didn’t really work towards a larger plot device or theme in the long run.
Put simply- it was tiring to read, elicited deep discomfort at the handling of sexual material, and above all else, I was bored.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I am telling you, Something was in the waters back in the 90s
because when we got A Game of Thrones (first book in A Song of Ice and Fire series) in 1996
and Daughter of the Blood in 1998, both books are deranged, incestuous, dark, and pedophilic
And I loved every minute of reading them.... so sue me!
I mean take a minute and think! Every.thing.is.allowed and the high.Blood.Powers are not punished
Anne Bishop in her introduction said that she thought about this story using the "what if" questions and switching the societal roles. What if some of the social and sexual mores that had applied to females in our world were applied to the males in this world?
⚜ rating: easy 5 stars 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
⚜Genre: High Fantasy
⚜Theme: The Chosen One Romance Fantasy
⚜Targeted audience: Adults, definitely adults
⚜Characters: Deamon (Sadi), Saetan (High Lord of Hell), Lucivar (winged Warlord), Surreal (assassin/whore witch) and many many side characters. There is also the main focus, Witch Jaenelle, though she does not get a POV
⚜Representation: I think there are POC characters
⚜Pace: fast - so fast that if you miss a line a lot goes by
⚜TW: a lot! A whole fucking lot! think of every TW and CW there are and they are in the book but the most obvious ones are Incest and Pedophilia
⚜ tropes: the chosen one, I'd die for her, Prophecy, Age-gap
⚜ POV: third person multiple/alternating
⚜ spice 🌶🌶 🌶🌶 very dark
⚜standalone: No, part of a trilogy
⚜Ending: cliffhanger
The realm and magic system
the world is a Matriarchy ruled by immoral and ruthless Queens.
Your power level is determined by the Jewels you are bestowed on upon reaching a certain age in a night called Virgin Night.
there are 13 jewels intermediate by the Opal. the darker ones are stronger than the light and the Black is the most powerful.
The realm used to be ruled by Witch, an all-powerful female, but it has been centuries since Witch ruled.
They are immortals who could heal themselves however they could be killed. When they die, they reside in Hell.
Children are the weakest amongst them since they are jewel-less, and even though there are no laws of protection, there is a conscious understanding among the citizens of the realm that children are off-limits. That, however, does not stop some derailed Blood from taking advantage of helpless children.
Non-Power people (humans in other words) are called Landens. Landen children, upon their death, go to a place in Hell called cildru dyathe
All this info is not dumped upon you, you have to catch it while reading. I loved that the author did not bother with detailed page-long descriptions. As an involved reader, you have to catch these yourself.
Meet the characters
Saetan SaDiablo: High Lord of Hell, Daddy of the underworld. He becomes Jaenelle's mentor and forms questionable father/lover feelings for her. He has many sons, but the main ones are Daemon and Lucivar, each from different mothers. Both are captured young and forced to become sex slaves.
Saetan is a very powerful Black Jeweled Warlord who was once the original Witch consort. He is 50.000 years old but still retains his powers.
Daemon SaDiablo: son of Saetan, mother thought to be Hespathah at first. She helped separate Daemon from his father when he was a child and along with Queen Dorothea put a Ring of Obedience around his penis to make him a sex slave. Daemon is a Black jeweled very powerful Warlord Prince who is described as extremely beautiful.
He is a Black Widow meaning he has venom under one of his finger nails. He has the power of seduction and can bring pleasure and destruction to a woman with his "PHANTOM" hands. Because of the Ring, he cannot "insert himself (had to use that)". He is 1700 years old. According to the prophecy, he is to be the lover to the future Witch. He has waited for her for 700 years. Daemon is madly in love with Witch even though he hasn't seen her and has proclaimed his life for her. SO imagine his surprise when he meets 12-year old Jaenelle 🤣🤣
Lucivar SaDiablo: son of Saetan though he does not know. He was also separated and enslaved. He is described as extremely handsome with "BAT-LIKE WINGS".
He and Daemon did not know that they are brothers and at some point they were lovers (don't ask, just move on). When Lucivar and Daemon are together, they can rake havoc like no other. That is why Queen Dorothea separated them.
He is the first to meet Jaenelle at 5 years old. She came to him because at a moment of desperation, he prayed for a friend. He made her promise not to come back until she is at least 17.
Jaenelle Angelline: 700 years ago, a Black Widow witch prophecied the coming of WITCH (not a witch or the witch). Although Jaenelle has no POV in the book, everything revolves around her. Saetan is mentoring her, Daemon is living and preparing for her, Lucivar maintains his will to live for her. Even Cassandra, the original Witch, faked her death to become Guardian for her.
she has already all the jewels' power and her birth jewel is Black, something that has rarely been seen for thousands of years. She is innocent, loving, and caring trying to protect the children around her. We first meet her when she is 5, but most of the book is when she is 12. Something awful happens to her by the end
There is a mention in the book of triangles having four sides: "body, chalice and jewels surrounded by the fourth side, the Self So meet our four-sided triangle
I absolutely adored this book. I can see and understand completely that it is not going to be for anyone. In fact, many will find it disturbing and bordering on distasteful.
But, as I said, If you are a fan of George RR Martin's ASOIAF, then the book will be a breeze for you.
The language is plucked from our time. I felt like Anne time-traveled to the future and came back to write in a style understandable to 21st-century fantasy lovers. The book felt like playing jigsaw puzzle with the reader as if Anne puts a piece and you put a piece.
I loved how every single character in the book was Morally Grey if not Black.
I loved Daemon's dedication to Jaenelle. I think this is where the concept of "mates" sprang from. Remember when Jacob in Twilight said that imprinting means you be whatever she needs you to be? well, Daemon took that further. He is not shy of saying he loves Jaenelle and will be her lover one day for ever, however, being a child, he will wait.
I even loved the deranged twisted themes in the book. They reminded be of watching episodes of Gladiators.
I especially loved how the book addressed how different each react to being broken. Daemon was raped and assaulted by his supposedly mother but he still maintained limits to what he is willing to do. Kartane was raped by his mother but he turned his brokenness towards children.
I think I am going to seek out all fantasies written before 2000 because honestly, the oversensitivity modern fantasy is having is boring.
ACOTAR and ToG were inspired by this
I am 99.99% sure SJM read this book. There is no way the similarities are coincidental. Please note that I am not saying there was plagiarism. On the contrary, I know that writers are influenced by others and immitate their concepts. The story in DoTB is very different than those of SJM.
1- Daemon/Rhysand/Dorian: An all-powerful High lord Prince who is captured because he was protecting his brother/people, possesses shadow/phantom hands that could bring pleasure and destruction. He is forced to be a whore to a powerful Queen Witch. He is destined to be with the chosen one.
Tall, dark hair, dark complexion, extremely handsome and deadly.
2- Lucivar/Lucian/illiryans/Aeline: Lucivar has bat like wings. He is tall dark and handsome. He is "An Eyrien" warrior who was nothing without his "wings". As punishment, he was sent to the "salt mines of Pruul" and whipped daily.
3- Arachnians/Kharankui: Spider-like creatures who weave webs for dreams. they resemble Black Widows. Their webs are very powerful and expensive.
4- Sadistic Queen
and this is just from book 1, let's see if the rest of the trilogy hold any more :)
because when we got A Game of Thrones (first book in A Song of Ice and Fire series) in 1996
and Daughter of the Blood in 1998, both books are deranged, incestuous, dark, and pedophilic
And I loved every minute of reading them.... so sue me!
I mean take a minute and think! Every.thing.is.allowed and the high.Blood.Powers are not punished
Anne Bishop in her introduction said that she thought about this story using the "what if" questions and switching the societal roles. What if some of the social and sexual mores that had applied to females in our world were applied to the males in this world?
⚜ rating: easy 5 stars 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
⚜Genre: High Fantasy
⚜Theme: The Chosen One Romance Fantasy
⚜Targeted audience: Adults, definitely adults
⚜Characters: Deamon (Sadi), Saetan (High Lord of Hell), Lucivar (winged Warlord), Surreal (assassin/whore witch) and many many side characters. There is also the main focus, Witch Jaenelle, though she does not get a POV
⚜Representation: I think there are POC characters
⚜Pace: fast - so fast that if you miss a line a lot goes by
⚜TW: a lot! A whole fucking lot! think of every TW and CW there are and they are in the book but the most obvious ones are Incest and Pedophilia
⚜ tropes: the chosen one, I'd die for her, Prophecy, Age-gap
⚜ POV: third person multiple/alternating
⚜ spice 🌶🌶 🌶🌶 very dark
⚜standalone: No, part of a trilogy
⚜Ending: cliffhanger
The realm and magic system
the world is a Matriarchy ruled by immoral and ruthless Queens.
Your power level is determined by the Jewels you are bestowed on upon reaching a certain age in a night called Virgin Night.
there are 13 jewels intermediate by the Opal. the darker ones are stronger than the light and the Black is the most powerful.
The realm used to be ruled by Witch, an all-powerful female, but it has been centuries since Witch ruled.
They are immortals who could heal themselves however they could be killed. When they die, they reside in Hell.
Children are the weakest amongst them since they are jewel-less, and even though there are no laws of protection, there is a conscious understanding among the citizens of the realm that children are off-limits. That, however, does not stop some derailed Blood from taking advantage of helpless children.
Non-Power people (humans in other words) are called Landens. Landen children, upon their death, go to a place in Hell called cildru dyathe
All this info is not dumped upon you, you have to catch it while reading. I loved that the author did not bother with detailed page-long descriptions. As an involved reader, you have to catch these yourself.
Meet the characters
Saetan SaDiablo: High Lord of Hell, Daddy of the underworld. He becomes Jaenelle's mentor and forms questionable father/lover feelings for her. He has many sons, but the main ones are Daemon and Lucivar, each from different mothers. Both are captured young and forced to become sex slaves.
Saetan is a very powerful Black Jeweled Warlord who was once the original Witch consort. He is 50.000 years old but still retains his powers.
Daemon SaDiablo: son of Saetan, mother thought to be Hespathah at first. She helped separate Daemon from his father when he was a child and along with Queen Dorothea put a Ring of Obedience around his penis to make him a sex slave. Daemon is a Black jeweled very powerful Warlord Prince who is described as extremely beautiful.
He is a Black Widow meaning he has venom under one of his finger nails. He has the power of seduction and can bring pleasure and destruction to a woman with his "PHANTOM" hands. Because of the Ring, he cannot "insert himself (had to use that)". He is 1700 years old. According to the prophecy, he is to be the lover to the future Witch. He has waited for her for 700 years. Daemon is madly in love with Witch even though he hasn't seen her and has proclaimed his life for her. SO imagine his surprise when he meets 12-year old Jaenelle 🤣🤣
Lucivar SaDiablo: son of Saetan though he does not know. He was also separated and enslaved. He is described as extremely handsome with "BAT-LIKE WINGS".
He and Daemon did not know that they are brothers and at some point they were lovers (don't ask, just move on). When Lucivar and Daemon are together, they can rake havoc like no other. That is why Queen Dorothea separated them.
He is the first to meet Jaenelle at 5 years old. She came to him because at a moment of desperation, he prayed for a friend. He made her promise not to come back until she is at least 17.
Jaenelle Angelline: 700 years ago, a Black Widow witch prophecied the coming of WITCH (not a witch or the witch). Although Jaenelle has no POV in the book, everything revolves around her. Saetan is mentoring her, Daemon is living and preparing for her, Lucivar maintains his will to live for her. Even Cassandra, the original Witch, faked her death to become Guardian for her.
she has already all the jewels' power and her birth jewel is Black, something that has rarely been seen for thousands of years. She is innocent, loving, and caring trying to protect the children around her. We first meet her when she is 5, but most of the book is when she is 12. Something awful happens to her by the end
There is a mention in the book of triangles having four sides: "body, chalice and jewels surrounded by the fourth side, the Self So meet our four-sided triangle
I absolutely adored this book. I can see and understand completely that it is not going to be for anyone. In fact, many will find it disturbing and bordering on distasteful.
But, as I said, If you are a fan of George RR Martin's ASOIAF, then the book will be a breeze for you.
The language is plucked from our time. I felt like Anne time-traveled to the future and came back to write in a style understandable to 21st-century fantasy lovers. The book felt like playing jigsaw puzzle with the reader as if Anne puts a piece and you put a piece.
I loved how every single character in the book was Morally Grey if not Black.
I loved Daemon's dedication to Jaenelle. I think this is where the concept of "mates" sprang from. Remember when Jacob in Twilight said that imprinting means you be whatever she needs you to be? well, Daemon took that further. He is not shy of saying he loves Jaenelle and will be her lover one day for ever, however, being a child, he will wait.
I even loved the deranged twisted themes in the book. They reminded be of watching episodes of Gladiators.
I especially loved how the book addressed how different each react to being broken. Daemon was raped and assaulted by his supposedly mother but he still maintained limits to what he is willing to do. Kartane was raped by his mother but he turned his brokenness towards children.
I think I am going to seek out all fantasies written before 2000 because honestly, the oversensitivity modern fantasy is having is boring.
ACOTAR and ToG were inspired by this
I am 99.99% sure SJM read this book. There is no way the similarities are coincidental. Please note that I am not saying there was plagiarism. On the contrary, I know that writers are influenced by others and immitate their concepts. The story in DoTB is very different than those of SJM.
1- Daemon/Rhysand/Dorian: An all-powerful High lord Prince who is captured because he was protecting his brother/people, possesses shadow/phantom hands that could bring pleasure and destruction. He is forced to be a whore to a powerful Queen Witch. He is destined to be with the chosen one.
Tall, dark hair, dark complexion, extremely handsome and deadly.
2- Lucivar/Lucian/illiryans/Aeline: Lucivar has bat like wings. He is tall dark and handsome. He is "An Eyrien" warrior who was nothing without his "wings". As punishment, he was sent to the "salt mines of Pruul" and whipped daily.
3- Arachnians/Kharankui: Spider-like creatures who weave webs for dreams. they resemble Black Widows. Their webs are very powerful and expensive.
4- Sadistic Queen
and this is just from book 1, let's see if the rest of the trilogy hold any more :)
These were absolutely wonderful! Daughter of the Blood got off to a slower start from me, but from about midway through that until the end, I was hooked. The rape themes, especially the Briarwood portions in Daughter of the Blood, were pretty tough to get through at times but- that's a dark subject that SHOULD be hard to get through. Bishop's imagination is quite something and once I fully understood the world of magic she built I was enthralled.
Definitely a fantasy must-read. Definitely.
Definitely a fantasy must-read. Definitely.
Daughter of the Blood:
I was hooked from the very first page. The world Bishop spins is brilliant. A society based on magic held inside jewels with a thin veil of civility to protect the weak and control the powerful.
I couldn't stop reading this. I wanted more with each and every page. I want to strangle Bishop for the ending, too. I'm glad the second book is nearby!
Heir to the Shadows
It takes a long time for things to be made right in this book and Jaenelle is still damaged and ready to run. I loved this book even more for this. At times I was telling these characters to run the other way but knew they would face things for better or for worse.
Daemon in the Twisted Kingdom provided enough of a distraction for Lucivar to come into his own yet didn't keep him lost completely. I'm still waiting for a Titian/Surreal meet up and the final dark book.
Queen of the Darkness:
The tension between Terrielle and Kaeleer builds so much in this book but some of the characters are so oblivious. I loved that right up till the end Dorothea and Hekatah both thought Jaenelle could be controlled. Really?
The character growth in this book is spectacular as each main character must find their place in Witch's life and their place with each other.
The ending was a little hurried in my mind but I enjoyed it nonetheless. The ending leaves it open for much more to happen. And the questions. So many questions!
Best trilogy/book I've read this year without a doubt.
I was hooked from the very first page. The world Bishop spins is brilliant. A society based on magic held inside jewels with a thin veil of civility to protect the weak and control the powerful.
I couldn't stop reading this. I wanted more with each and every page. I want to strangle Bishop for the ending, too. I'm glad the second book is nearby!
Heir to the Shadows
It takes a long time for things to be made right in this book and Jaenelle is still damaged and ready to run. I loved this book even more for this. At times I was telling these characters to run the other way but knew they would face things for better or for worse.
Daemon in the Twisted Kingdom provided enough of a distraction for Lucivar to come into his own yet didn't keep him lost completely. I'm still waiting for a Titian/Surreal meet up and the final dark book.
Queen of the Darkness:
The tension between Terrielle and Kaeleer builds so much in this book but some of the characters are so oblivious. I loved that right up till the end Dorothea and Hekatah both thought Jaenelle could be controlled. Really?
The character growth in this book is spectacular as each main character must find their place in Witch's life and their place with each other.
The ending was a little hurried in my mind but I enjoyed it nonetheless. The ending leaves it open for much more to happen. And the questions. So many questions!
Best trilogy/book I've read this year without a doubt.
adventurous
dark
hopeful
lighthearted
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:
Complicated
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
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
I started reading this book on a whim. I picked it up at the library and started reading it right after I finished a different series and wanted to keep reading, and was sucked RIGHT in.
As soon as I started reading I couldnt stop! This book was amazing in the story telling and the world that it takes place in. I was very impressed.
As soon as I started reading I couldnt stop! This book was amazing in the story telling and the world that it takes place in. I was very impressed.
I bought this book thinking it was a huge epic fantasy series I could munch through happily for a week. Boy, was I in for a surprise when I found the dark and mature subjects present in it. The magic system was as fascinating as I expected it to be, and the world just as interesting. Unfortunately, Jaenelle reaches Mary Sue status without any difficulty, which means this series gets a 4/5. For those who don't understand the MS criteria, it's this: 1) overpowered without any personal effort [ex. overpowered because she's The Chosen One or because of rituals and not because of long term training] 2) male protagonists love her without much development or reason [ex. I'm pretty sure one of them fell in love with her through a single dream] 3) no noticeable character development on her part.
Still, I enjoyed reading the book, even with its flaws.
Still, I enjoyed reading the book, even with its flaws.