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4.01 AVERAGE
4.01 AVERAGE
Like Rosemarked, with Umbertouched I'm left surprised and impressed. Though I've read a lot of fantasy over the years, this one manages to surprise me.
As with the first book, the pacing is slow. In some ways, that does make the book a bit less readable, but it also feels very realistic. When Zivah works on healing someone from a grievous wound, it take days. The war is tedium and anxiety between the occasional climax of a battle. There's so much time that passes over the course of this book, which, for YA fantasy at least, feels rather strange.
The plotting is of the sort where nothing is ever particularly convenient. Things don't wrap up in a neat bow. Everyone's impacted by all the terrible things that have happened to them. Some villains face punishment, but some do not. The ending actually really surprised me, becausethere's no miracle cure for Zivah. As of the end of the book, she has at most a year left to live. It's heartbreaking but wow I didn't see that coming at all. Blackburne plays with the anticipated trope and doesn't heal the heroine.
The ending does feel a bit rushed, as though it was a struggle to fit it all into the duology. Another hundred pages or so probably would have been beneficial. The emotional arcs are the ones to suffer primarily, though the plot resolution also feels very swift. I wish I'd gotten a few feels from this series, but I'm very impressed with the creativity of the plotting, and I can't wait to see what else Blackburne can do.
As with the first book, the pacing is slow. In some ways, that does make the book a bit less readable, but it also feels very realistic. When Zivah works on healing someone from a grievous wound, it take days. The war is tedium and anxiety between the occasional climax of a battle. There's so much time that passes over the course of this book, which, for YA fantasy at least, feels rather strange.
The plotting is of the sort where nothing is ever particularly convenient. Things don't wrap up in a neat bow. Everyone's impacted by all the terrible things that have happened to them. Some villains face punishment, but some do not. The ending actually really surprised me, because
The ending does feel a bit rushed, as though it was a struggle to fit it all into the duology. Another hundred pages or so probably would have been beneficial. The emotional arcs are the ones to suffer primarily, though the plot resolution also feels very swift. I wish I'd gotten a few feels from this series, but I'm very impressed with the creativity of the plotting, and I can't wait to see what else Blackburne can do.
Real Rating: 4.5 stars.
What a bittersweet ending, please send someone to sweep up the shattered pieces of my heart.
I loved Rosemarked and the only reason I didn't give Umbertouched 5 stars like its predecessor was because there was less of the tense interactions between Zivah and Dineas like there were in the first book. I lived for those moments where "new" Dineas was falling in love with Zivah and she was falling for him, but "old" Dineas was just a bitter kill-joy. Due to the nature of the sequel, this was unable to happen and I'm not saying it was a bad thing, I just missed it.
I couldn't put Umbertouched down except to sleep because I had to be a functioning adult at work the next morning. Zivah was still the badass, take-charge, I'll-do-it-myself heroine. She will forever go down in my personal reading history as one of my favorite main characters. Dineas was delightful as well as he struggled with his warring selves and loyalties. I thought Livia Blackburne did a wonderfully creative job of both of their character arcs that continued to make them feel vibrant and real.
The ending felt a little rushed and I wished we had a little more of a wrap-up, but I can't truly complain because I was still tearing-up. The ending was so satisfying because Blackburne stayed true to the story rather than coming up with some neat cop-out to make a "happy ending." Bittersweet is much better than false-sweetness in my book. I appreciated this so much that it's hard to put into words.
A great ending to a great duology.
What a bittersweet ending, please send someone to sweep up the shattered pieces of my heart.
I loved Rosemarked and the only reason I didn't give Umbertouched 5 stars like its predecessor was because there was less of the tense interactions between Zivah and Dineas like there were in the first book. I lived for those moments where "new" Dineas was falling in love with Zivah and she was falling for him, but "old" Dineas was just a bitter kill-joy. Due to the nature of the sequel, this was unable to happen and I'm not saying it was a bad thing, I just missed it.
I couldn't put Umbertouched down except to sleep because I had to be a functioning adult at work the next morning. Zivah was still the badass, take-charge, I'll-do-it-myself heroine. She will forever go down in my personal reading history as one of my favorite main characters. Dineas was delightful as well as he struggled with his warring selves and loyalties. I thought Livia Blackburne did a wonderfully creative job of both of their character arcs that continued to make them feel vibrant and real.
The ending felt a little rushed and I wished we had a little more of a wrap-up, but I can't truly complain because I was still tearing-up. The ending was so satisfying because Blackburne stayed true to the story rather than coming up with some neat cop-out to make a "happy ending." Bittersweet is much better than false-sweetness in my book. I appreciated this so much that it's hard to put into words.
A great ending to a great duology.
what a compelling sequel....while slow at times, it built up into a conclusion that was wholly satisfying and stayed true to the complicated characters at the heart of this duology. I am definitely looking forward to reading more of Blackburne's work and the Rosemarked books are going to be at the top of my fantasy recommendations for a long time.
I love these books so much. The perfect balance of heart pounding action and deep character moments, set in a rich and believable fantasy world.