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apuzzledreader's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
csartemis's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
reverie_flowers's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Overview of my thoughts: This is the first book in the series I'm giving 5 stars and for good reason because while I loved Of Glass and Glamour, this one is now easily my new favorite--purely because of the romance. But I'll get to that in a few sections. What I really liked about this one is that it's the most different from the other ones. It doesn't follow the same 'formatting' that the others do.
Plot: The book follows Maeve, one of the 7 adopted daughters of Lady Eville, continuing from where the last book left off. Maeve becomes apprenticed to Aspen, one of the acolytes of Allemar and the forsaken prince of Florin after she is held captive by them. But why would she do this? She wants power. By becoming apprenticed, Maeve would become more than a sorceress. The only downside is that as the book progresses, she becomes closer to Aspen...as he and Allemar start closing in on the ones she loves.
I loved the plot of this book. It doesn't focus on the same things the other books do, but instead, we get to see how the power actually affects the main character. If there's one thing you should know about me, it's that I love good worldbuilding in a fantasy, and this book brought that and more. I liked seeing this darker shade of magic being used, and how Maeve responded to it.
Characters: I really loved Maeve's character, and while I wouldn't say she's my favorite sister (Edden>>>) I would say she's my second--though that may change once I get to Rhea's story. One of my favorite things about Maeve was how sharp-tongued she was, and how she wasn't afraid to speak against Aspen (I loved their banter!). She had a well-written character arc, and when I tell you I got chills when she shifted into a dragon...I got chills. She's such a powerful character; one of the reasons for sure why I'm rating this book so highly.
Also, Aspen. Aspen! He did not have a right to be that good of a character. I genuinely smiled every time it described his eyes because HAZEL. Chanda Hahn knew what she was doing giving a morally grey character hazel eyes. My mind went straight to Nikolai Lantsov as soon as it said the word, "hazel," and then I just couldn't get that out of my head the whole book. Sorry, I'm getting sidetracked--I think that Aspen's character arc was one of the best in the whole series, he grew so much as a character.
Romance: Aspen and Maeve had such well-written enemies to lovers, and since that's my favorite trope of all time, I knew that they would have the best romance out of all the books. I think that thing that really defined them was the connection between them. Yes, while it was a bit possessive of him, "calling," her with the bond that bound them as her being his apprentice, I think the way that it was written made it easy to look past that. In fact, I think it added a bit more depth to their dynamic, seeing as that their hearts and energy sources were tied to each other.
If these lines don't convince you to read this book for them, I don't know what will:
Plot: The book follows Maeve, one of the 7 adopted daughters of Lady Eville, continuing from where the last book left off. Maeve becomes apprenticed to Aspen, one of the acolytes of Allemar and the forsaken prince of Florin after she is held captive by them. But why would she do this? She wants power. By becoming apprenticed, Maeve would become more than a sorceress. The only downside is that as the book progresses, she becomes closer to Aspen...as he and Allemar start closing in on the ones she loves.
I loved the plot of this book. It doesn't focus on the same things the other books do, but instead, we get to see how the power actually affects the main character. If there's one thing you should know about me, it's that I love good worldbuilding in a fantasy, and this book brought that and more. I liked seeing this darker shade of magic being used, and how Maeve responded to it.
Characters: I really loved Maeve's character, and while I wouldn't say she's my favorite sister (Edden>>>) I would say she's my second--though that may change once I get to Rhea's story. One of my favorite things about Maeve was how sharp-tongued she was, and how she wasn't afraid to speak against Aspen (I loved their banter!). She had a well-written character arc, and when I tell you I got chills when she shifted into a dragon...I got chills. She's such a powerful character; one of the reasons for sure why I'm rating this book so highly.
Also, Aspen. Aspen! He did not have a right to be that good of a character. I genuinely smiled every time it described his eyes because HAZEL. Chanda Hahn knew what she was doing giving a morally grey character hazel eyes. My mind went straight to Nikolai Lantsov as soon as it said the word, "hazel," and then I just couldn't get that out of my head the whole book. Sorry, I'm getting sidetracked--I think that Aspen's character arc was one of the best in the whole series, he grew so much as a character.
Romance: Aspen and Maeve had such well-written enemies to lovers, and since that's my favorite trope of all time, I knew that they would have the best romance out of all the books. I think that thing that really defined them was the connection between them. Yes, while it was a bit possessive of him, "calling," her with the bond that bound them as her being his apprentice, I think the way that it was written made it easy to look past that. In fact, I think it added a bit more depth to their dynamic, seeing as that their hearts and energy sources were tied to each other.
If these lines don't convince you to read this book for them, I don't know what will:
"I hate you."
"I know."
Another thing I liked about the book, specifically under the 'romance' section, would be that there isn't a love triangle this time. In the first few books, there is a very prominent love triangle, but in this book, it wasn't there. And I'm not saying a love triangle is bad (Chanda Hahn actually writes them very well) but I think it was smart not to have one--further setting the book apart from the others. I liked how it specifically focused on Aspen and Maeve.
Age Rating: 13-14+
Overall: If you can't tell by how much I've written, I really love this book series, and this one is now my new favorite. This series needs way more attention! The characters, plot, and romance was everything. THE. ROMANCE. WAS. ON. POINT.
brii_brii's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
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
4.0
xkxspadesxkx's review against another edition
5.0
Please excuse me while I go cry in a corner from this whirlwind of emotion......
otherworldlyreader's review against another edition
4.0
While I got a decent bit of the way through, I paused reading and haven't had the motivation to pick this back up. Hopefully given some time I can try this book again again since so many people really liked this one. In the meantime, I'm trucking along to the next book.
apagetoturn's review against another edition
5.0
This is the fifth book in this particular retelling YA fantasy series.... and is my favorite yet! Maeve is such a fireball and her story is one I've wanted since this series started. This is a series that MUST be read in order, as there are ties that connect them all so far. The best part of this book though was the deeper dive on Aspen... and the connections made. These characters are so FLAWED and so BROKEN and have had to overcome so much. This book also altered my overall thoughts on some other characters as well. Such a good book!
rilynn's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
constant2m's review against another edition
5.0
Wow! Chanda's last book crossed into a lot of unusual topics, but this one blew me away. I also have to confess that I laughed at Allemar in the last book. For the evilest of all evil villains, he was almost comic relief, freeing the princess to see whose powers were the most chaotic. Here, however, he and Aspen (banished prince and Allemar's acolyte) kidnap Maeve, force her to become an acolyte, and trick her into using her powers for violence and murder.
Maeve, left for dead and forgotten by the family who didn't even try to find her, had always been the troublemaker in her family. She has never learned to control her powers and when Allemar expresses an interest in training her, she agrees, not understanding that his dark sorcery will permanently change her and make her access her natural magic. As she tries to learn what she can and find a way to disentangle herself, she meets other shifters who are trapped by other spells. She has to try to free them even if it means death for herself and others, and if she survives, she has to search even harder to find a way to free herself from Allemar and Aspen, otherwise, she may be forced to kill innocents.
By far the darkest in the series so far, this book is a good reminder of the power of family, of trust, of love, and the extent people will go to in the absence of these essentials. It's also a reminder that no one is beyond redemption, if they only dare to believe they are worth it and that they can change. I loved it!
Maeve, left for dead and forgotten by the family who didn't even try to find her, had always been the troublemaker in her family. She has never learned to control her powers and when Allemar expresses an interest in training her, she agrees, not understanding that his dark sorcery will permanently change her and make her access her natural magic. As she tries to learn what she can and find a way to disentangle herself, she meets other shifters who are trapped by other spells. She has to try to free them even if it means death for herself and others, and if she survives, she has to search even harder to find a way to free herself from Allemar and Aspen, otherwise, she may be forced to kill innocents.
By far the darkest in the series so far, this book is a good reminder of the power of family, of trust, of love, and the extent people will go to in the absence of these essentials. It's also a reminder that no one is beyond redemption, if they only dare to believe they are worth it and that they can change. I loved it!
shavonbrown's review against another edition
1.0
I just really found Aspen and Maeve to be really annoying characters. There wouldn't even be a book if either of them learned to ask for help or didn't get involved with an evil sorcerer for power.