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3.41 AVERAGE
3.41 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
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:
Yes
LOVED the themes of family/friendship, freedom, and self discovery. A little in-your-face due to the writing style; I would've preferred a more reflective, cathartic experience, but it was still done beautifully!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Forced institutionalization
Moderate: Death, Gun violence, Slavery, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, War
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read an ARC of this wonderful book! This Golden Flame is a YA fantasy novel set in a world the resembles ancient Greece, where the magistrate and his corrupt Scriptorium are searching for a secret that has been lost for centuries that will wreak havoc on the world around them. The central characters are Karis, an orphan girl who has been forced into servitude to the Scriptorium, and Alix, an ancient automaton who Karis finds and accidentally reanimates. These two, along with a whole cast of other interesting and fun characters, work to discover the secrets of their world and bring down the corrupt regime. While the plot itself has certainly been done before (girl finds ancient secrets and learns that all is not how it was presented to her by corrupt officials), the worldbuilding is spectacular and that alone makes the book worth reading. In addition to the awesome atmosphere, the characters themselves are all fascinating and complex. I especially love the fact that while there is some romance in the book, there is NO ROMANCE between the narrator characters or as part of the central plotline. This book has some great LGBTQIA rep, including the main character, Karis, who is ace, and her brother, Matthias, and his lover, Rudy, who are gay. This is truly an incredible work of YA fantasy, one of the best I've read this year. Highly, highly recommend!
3.5/5
Lovely book about identity in a fantasy wrapper.
Check out my full review at Forever Young Adult.
Lovely book about identity in a fantasy wrapper.
Check out my full review at Forever Young Adult.
This was such an interesting concept for a book. Set in a world where script is written into runes that have power, power to build, mend move but also to destroy. The nation of Erastus used the runes to imbue colossal automatons with life and use them to protect their nation, but they turned to violence. Karis was an orphan who was captured and sent to become an acolyte for the Scriptorium but they took her brother way from her and she has burned with anger for years. When she awakens a human sized automaton she sees a chance to escape and hunt for her brother. Cue an adventure involving pirates, betrayal and a hint of mechanical magic.
The book is told from both Karis’s and Alix’s (the automaton) POV which was great, giving life to the automaton’s emotions and vulnerabilities. This book represents a range of sexualities in a very open and inclusive way. Showing Karis’s inner thoughts about her asexuality and how she sometimes wants more connection with others while knowing that it isn’t sexual in any way. It’s possibly the only book where everyone but the MC has a relationship but this was a strength of the book for me.
The book is told from both Karis’s and Alix’s (the automaton) POV which was great, giving life to the automaton’s emotions and vulnerabilities. This book represents a range of sexualities in a very open and inclusive way. Showing Karis’s inner thoughts about her asexuality and how she sometimes wants more connection with others while knowing that it isn’t sexual in any way. It’s possibly the only book where everyone but the MC has a relationship but this was a strength of the book for me.
Loveable characters:
Yes
ARO REP AND FANTASY ROBOTS YES YES
Hm.. I really don't know how to rate this book. Although I liked the characters and the plot was ok, I couldn't really connect with the story. Maybe this is my fault as I've just finished what I consider my favourite book of all time before this.
1. I think I need to start being really, really selective and picky about the books I read, because it lessens the chances of reading something I won't love, and 2. beautiful covers need to stop being wasted on books that don't deserve them (the naked hardcover of this Fairlyoot edition is gorgeous).
I wanted to like this book. I really did. A world inspired by Greek mythology and culture was basically all I needed to hear to be interested in it. But after reading this (and not even really finishing it - I decided to mostly just skim through the end) I'm left feeling like I don't quite know what I've just read. Throughout the whole thing I only had a very vague grasp on the world building, and I had no connection to any of the characters at all - I felt maybe slightly attached to Alix, but there was nothing about this book that kept me hooked. It's the writing, for the most part; I don't love the author's style. There's something really annoying they do where they constantly repeat sentences like "Only now I see..." "Only then I realize...." "Only this isn't" "Only this, only that" et cetera. It's really repetitive and takes me out of the story a lot. The writing doesn't flow well.
It's a shame, because the concept behind this book was really cool, and the world could've been incredible. The characters could have been better fleshed out and a little more three-dimensional. The three stars I'm giving it are because of the things I did understand about the setting that I liked, and honestly, one star is for this Fairyloot cover.
But yeah, this book was kind of the straw that broke the camel's back - I've been reading a lot of three-star books lately that have been disappointing me, and I hate that feeling. I really only want to read books from now on that are gonna wow me and make me fall deeply in love. This was not one of them.
I wanted to like this book. I really did. A world inspired by Greek mythology and culture was basically all I needed to hear to be interested in it. But after reading this (and not even really finishing it - I decided to mostly just skim through the end) I'm left feeling like I don't quite know what I've just read. Throughout the whole thing I only had a very vague grasp on the world building, and I had no connection to any of the characters at all - I felt maybe slightly attached to Alix, but there was nothing about this book that kept me hooked. It's the writing, for the most part; I don't love the author's style. There's something really annoying they do where they constantly repeat sentences like "Only now I see..." "Only then I realize...." "Only this isn't" "Only this, only that" et cetera. It's really repetitive and takes me out of the story a lot. The writing doesn't flow well.
It's a shame, because the concept behind this book was really cool, and the world could've been incredible. The characters could have been better fleshed out and a little more three-dimensional. The three stars I'm giving it are because of the things I did understand about the setting that I liked, and honestly, one star is for this Fairyloot cover.
But yeah, this book was kind of the straw that broke the camel's back - I've been reading a lot of three-star books lately that have been disappointing me, and I hate that feeling. I really only want to read books from now on that are gonna wow me and make me fall deeply in love. This was not one of them.
It's gonna be a no from me.
Yeah it has a whole bunch of LGBTQ rep
But like.... How you gonna have someone that wants to be called them/they REFUSE to call someone by their chosen name?
Idk just wasn't for me.
Yeah it has a whole bunch of LGBTQ rep
But like.... How you gonna have someone that wants to be called them/they REFUSE to call someone by their chosen name?
Idk just wasn't for me.
