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theladyduckofdoom's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
sch91086's review against another edition
3.0
This started stronger than it finished, and I don't think it was as good as the first book, [b:Markswoman|35008759|Markswoman (Asiana, #1)|Rati Mehrotra|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1499096497s/35008759.jpg|49559896]. I think the big issue here is that a lot of those standardized YA Fantasy tropes Mehrotra managed to avoid in book one, had a full throttle, pedal to the medal presence here.
The romance was a huge focus this time around. For the record, I hate complaining that romance exists in a book- because I actually like romance. Claire and Jamie, Edward and Elizabeth, Elizabeth and Darcy, truly, it's a favorite theme of mine. What I don't like, is when we spend pages and pages straight up day dreaming of the significant other. That was how this romance often felt. There are barriers to Kyra's relationship with Rustan, but none of them ever felt all that challenging.
Another one of the things that I loved in Markswoman, was that Kyra never felt like a special snowflake to me in the first book. She made mistakes, she became an outcast, etc. Here special snowflake syndrome is alive and swinging. I can't say much without spoilers, but every single scene felt like it was dedicated to how special, how much better/braver/stronger/smarter she was then everyone else. I did a lot of eyerolling.
Finally- this novel requires a lot of suspension of disbelief. The relationships between these people were just not believable. Kyra upends centuries of fear and tradition regarding the wyr-wolves for no other reason than that she's the Mahimata of the Order of Kali. All the elders and other clans just sort of accept her rule. She's enlisted to lead a war despite never having been in one and only being like 18/19 years old. I was just kind of sick of it all at the end.
Despite all this, there were still parts I enjoyed. The introduction of the wyr-wolves was wonderful and probably my favorite part. The overall plot wasn't bad, even if it was wholly unbelievable and a little generic. There were a lot of great ideas at play, the hall of mirrors, the Sahirus, the hub and transport system. It was also a very quick read- and I tend to be more forgiving of those.
The ending was both abrupt and bizarre. Nothing was really explained. Kyra and Rustan got an ending but literally no one else. This book really needed a conclusion or an epilogue of some sort to make it feel complete. I reviewed an advance copy so it's entirely possible my copy simply didn't have it, but I was definitely left wanting more (and not really in a good way).
If you enjoyed the first book, it's probably worth reading the second just to see how it all ends. I'll be curious to see what Mehrotra does now that this duology is complete. Thank you to Edelweiss and Harper Collins for providing me with an eARC to review.
The romance was a huge focus this time around. For the record, I hate complaining that romance exists in a book- because I actually like romance. Claire and Jamie, Edward and Elizabeth, Elizabeth and Darcy, truly, it's a favorite theme of mine. What I don't like, is when we spend pages and pages straight up day dreaming of the significant other. That was how this romance often felt. There are barriers to Kyra's relationship with Rustan, but none of them ever felt all that challenging.
Another one of the things that I loved in Markswoman, was that Kyra never felt like a special snowflake to me in the first book. She made mistakes, she became an outcast, etc. Here special snowflake syndrome is alive and swinging. I can't say much without spoilers, but every single scene felt like it was dedicated to how special, how much better/braver/stronger/smarter she was then everyone else. I did a lot of eyerolling.
Finally- this novel requires a lot of suspension of disbelief. The relationships between these people were just not believable. Kyra upends centuries of fear and tradition regarding the wyr-wolves for no other reason than that she's the Mahimata of the Order of Kali. All the elders and other clans just sort of accept her rule. She's enlisted to lead a war despite never having been in one and only being like 18/19 years old. I was just kind of sick of it all at the end.
Despite all this, there were still parts I enjoyed. The introduction of the wyr-wolves was wonderful and probably my favorite part. The overall plot wasn't bad, even if it was wholly unbelievable and a little generic. There were a lot of great ideas at play, the hall of mirrors, the Sahirus, the hub and transport system. It was also a very quick read- and I tend to be more forgiving of those.
The ending was both abrupt and bizarre. Nothing was really explained. Kyra and Rustan got an ending but literally no one else. This book really needed a conclusion or an epilogue of some sort to make it feel complete. I reviewed an advance copy so it's entirely possible my copy simply didn't have it, but I was definitely left wanting more (and not really in a good way).
If you enjoyed the first book, it's probably worth reading the second just to see how it all ends. I'll be curious to see what Mehrotra does now that this duology is complete. Thank you to Edelweiss and Harper Collins for providing me with an eARC to review.
em_err's review against another edition
4.0
Thanks so much to Goodreads for this giveaway!!
About the ending.... what the crap was THAT? No clue where they are, no clue what happens. Truly a cliff hanger that Rick Riordan would be proud of. But you know what Rick did really well? He wrote more than two books before leaving everyone hanging!
Yes, I’m slightly mad, but in my defense it’s after one in the morning and the book hangover has only begun. Don’t misunderstand me, this thing was so good. I read Markswoman just before and the sequel was so much better than the original! Couldn’t. Put. This. One. Down.
What did I like? Action, mystery, adventure, travel, the characters, the different perspectives, all the plot twists, and the what-will-happen-next moments. Seriously, phenomenal storytelling.
What did I dislike? Well, the ending, obvs. But I’ve already established that bit. Can’t think of much else. I will say that just like in Markswoman, the romance aspect still felt very forced. Not as bad, but still forced. Like, “Oh, well it’s YA so of course Kyra HAS to go gah-gah for the first male she lays eyes on. Anything else won’t do.” Do I ship it? Yes. 100%. Just make it believable. The same with her killing Kai Tau. That felt very... well easy. It was over really quickly. It was like everyone talked about him and then in wizard of oz fashion, there wasn’t much behind the curtain. And nothing much behind the curtain meant it was over quickly and it was kind of a let down. And it wasn’t exactly believable or realistic.
Still mad. Still want answers that I know I’ll never get. But it was definitely still worth the read. I would recommend it and would read it again. I would also definitely read a third book!
About the ending.... what the crap was THAT? No clue where they are, no clue what happens. Truly a cliff hanger that Rick Riordan would be proud of. But you know what Rick did really well? He wrote more than two books before leaving everyone hanging!
Yes, I’m slightly mad, but in my defense it’s after one in the morning and the book hangover has only begun. Don’t misunderstand me, this thing was so good. I read Markswoman just before and the sequel was so much better than the original! Couldn’t. Put. This. One. Down.
What did I like? Action, mystery, adventure, travel, the characters, the different perspectives, all the plot twists, and the what-will-happen-next moments. Seriously, phenomenal storytelling.
What did I dislike? Well, the ending, obvs. But I’ve already established that bit. Can’t think of much else. I will say that just like in Markswoman, the romance aspect still felt very forced. Not as bad, but still forced. Like, “Oh, well it’s YA so of course Kyra HAS to go gah-gah for the first male she lays eyes on. Anything else won’t do.” Do I ship it? Yes. 100%. Just make it believable. The same with her killing Kai Tau. That felt very... well easy. It was over really quickly. It was like everyone talked about him and then in wizard of oz fashion, there wasn’t much behind the curtain. And nothing much behind the curtain meant it was over quickly and it was kind of a let down. And it wasn’t exactly believable or realistic.
Still mad. Still want answers that I know I’ll never get. But it was definitely still worth the read. I would recommend it and would read it again. I would also definitely read a third book!
delaneybull's review
2.0
There were a lot of worldbuilding additions that were good, but distracted from the setup of the first book.
snrubydolem's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
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? It's complicated
4.0
bookwormbullet's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Violence, Animal death, Murder, and War
Minor: Sexism and Misogyny
belinda31's review against another edition
2.0
Quite disappointed with this second book in the duology.
mkpatter's review against another edition
3.0
The final showdown was so anime it kind of made me laugh
foreveryoungadult's review
Graded By: Mandy C.
Cover Story: Pretty Deadly
BFF Charm: Natalie Imbruglia
Swoonworthy Scale: 6
Talky Talk: Futuristic Science Fantasy
Bonus Factors: Aliens?, Changed Minds
Relationship Status: Remember Me Fondly
Read the full book report here.
Cover Story: Pretty Deadly
BFF Charm: Natalie Imbruglia
Swoonworthy Scale: 6
Talky Talk: Futuristic Science Fantasy
Bonus Factors: Aliens?, Changed Minds
Relationship Status: Remember Me Fondly
Read the full book report here.
bibliophilicjester's review against another edition
4.0
4.5 stars for this criminally underrated book/series/author. UGH I loved it so much