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zoedavis's review
dark
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
I skimmed basically the whole thing. It was a slow start, picked up a little bit as she was meeting the half demons, and then lost me again. The writing was a little immature, it felt like reading a wattpad story a little, and there were some typos so I don’t think it went through much of an editing process. Still I thought the story was original. I think that the author has a lot of potential so I hope she keeps going.
marissalee's review
4.0
Plot: 4/5
Characters: 3/5
Spice: 1/5
If you liked the fantasy in the real world of [b:Daughter of Smoke & Bone|8490112|Daughter of Smoke & Bone (Daughter of Smoke & Bone, #1)|Laini Taylor|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1461353773l/8490112._SY75_.jpg|13355552] and "I was born to love you" trope of [b:Shatter Me|10429045|Shatter Me (Shatter Me, #1)|Tahereh Mafi|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1310649047l/10429045._SY75_.jpg|15333458] you will love this.
I am grateful to Sade Louise for providing me with an Advance Readers Copy in exchange for an honest review.
My main thoughts:
- The plot was action packed with many twists and unexpected turns. I honestly never knew what to expect and could barley guess what was gonna happen next. However, with there being so many things going on I kinda felt confused at some points.
- My favorite character was Tevari. He had some hilarious comments in high tense moments:
- I felt that for most of the book Nova seeks the truth about who she is and what she is, which is fine since that is what drives the story, but at some point we the readers have to be given something. It is hard to stay engaged with the story when we are not given tidbits here and there. Especially when every time something new happens and Nova wants to learn about it, she doesn't, just so it can be a surprise when everything starts to unravel in the last 15% of the book.
- Acknowledging that for a debut novel the story was compelling enough to keep me hooked. I think that this was a slow, but necessary, first book for a serious that has much promise.
Characters: 3/5
Spice: 1/5
If you liked the fantasy in the real world of [b:Daughter of Smoke & Bone|8490112|Daughter of Smoke & Bone (Daughter of Smoke & Bone, #1)|Laini Taylor|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1461353773l/8490112._SY75_.jpg|13355552] and "I was born to love you" trope of [b:Shatter Me|10429045|Shatter Me (Shatter Me, #1)|Tahereh Mafi|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1310649047l/10429045._SY75_.jpg|15333458] you will love this.
I am grateful to Sade Louise for providing me with an Advance Readers Copy in exchange for an honest review.
My main thoughts:
- The plot was action packed with many twists and unexpected turns. I honestly never knew what to expect and could barley guess what was gonna happen next. However, with there being so many things going on I kinda felt confused at some points.
- My favorite character was Tevari. He had some hilarious comments in high tense moments:
"So just forget you saw it."
"Photographic memory, I can't."
- I felt that for most of the book Nova seeks the truth about who she is and what she is, which is fine since that is what drives the story, but at some point we the readers have to be given something. It is hard to stay engaged with the story when we are not given tidbits here and there. Especially when every time something new happens and Nova wants to learn about it, she doesn't, just so it can be a surprise when everything starts to unravel in the last 15% of the book.
"All in due time, Nova. With some things, it's all about the timing."
All I can say is trust in the timing and keep moving forward through the pain. One day it will make sense.
- Acknowledging that for a debut novel the story was compelling enough to keep me hooked. I think that this was a slow, but necessary, first book for a serious that has much promise.
serenology's review
3.0
Thank you to the author for providing me an eArc in exchange for an honest review.
If you loved the world of the Shadowhunters series, you will find yourself at home with Blood of the Lotus. Angels, demons, family secrets–sounds familiar doesn’t it?
The main character Nova comes from a prestigious demon hunter family. While she has trained the majority of her life to follow in that legacy, her father keeps her locked away from the world. But when an offer to learn the truth comes from a demon, she risks everything to find the answers she desperately seeks.
Unfortunately, I found the first 30% of the book to be slow. The first chapter starts right with the action but then goes back two weeks to provide exposition, which I felt to be unnecessary and a bit of a slog as it takes the first third of the book to get back to that point in time.
However, once the book caught up with itself, I really began to enjoy the story. More mysteries, secrets, magic, romance and deals with demons. The story began to give off Supernatural x The Mortal Instruments vibes with tropes reminiscent of the early 2000s.
The moment that it truly kicked off, it hit the acceleration full blast. To that end, it started slow and then went far too fast in pacing. The last two-thirds of the book featured a lot of important characters and world-building, but gave you no time to digest or allow the characters you are supposed to care about to develop.
Nova is constantly promised that “the right time hasn’t come yet” in order to not give way the plot twist and the time skips prevent emotional attachment to the other characters that have a larger role to play, particularly the love interest (of which I personally found unappealing because of the incorporated trope).
It’s a fun story that sets up a lot of events for the eventual sequel, but Blood of the Lotus felt like too much exposition for the rest of the series, almost like one big prologue to the main event.
If you loved the world of the Shadowhunters series, you will find yourself at home with Blood of the Lotus. Angels, demons, family secrets–sounds familiar doesn’t it?
The main character Nova comes from a prestigious demon hunter family. While she has trained the majority of her life to follow in that legacy, her father keeps her locked away from the world. But when an offer to learn the truth comes from a demon, she risks everything to find the answers she desperately seeks.
Unfortunately, I found the first 30% of the book to be slow. The first chapter starts right with the action but then goes back two weeks to provide exposition, which I felt to be unnecessary and a bit of a slog as it takes the first third of the book to get back to that point in time.
However, once the book caught up with itself, I really began to enjoy the story. More mysteries, secrets, magic, romance and deals with demons. The story began to give off Supernatural x The Mortal Instruments vibes with tropes reminiscent of the early 2000s.
The moment that it truly kicked off, it hit the acceleration full blast. To that end, it started slow and then went far too fast in pacing. The last two-thirds of the book featured a lot of important characters and world-building, but gave you no time to digest or allow the characters you are supposed to care about to develop.
Nova is constantly promised that “the right time hasn’t come yet” in order to not give way the plot twist and the time skips prevent emotional attachment to the other characters that have a larger role to play, particularly the love interest (of which I personally found unappealing because of the incorporated trope).
It’s a fun story that sets up a lot of events for the eventual sequel, but Blood of the Lotus felt like too much exposition for the rest of the series, almost like one big prologue to the main event.
roserreads's review
4.0
First off I’d like to thank the lovely author for sending me an ARC in exchange for my honest review.
This story starts off slow and unravels well, the writing is easy to read and the storyline, despite how many questions are thrown in and unanswered, is relatively easy to follow. I recommend reading this if you love–reincarnation, hunters, demons, angels, and quests. (Yes, the novel does contain religious aspects.)
It took me a while to get through this book because it dragged itself a little in my opinion. Once I reached the halfway point it felt like repetition but I pushed myself and got through it. And OMG when I tell you the rest of the book is packed with so much action and interesting topics. Reading the first half was worth it. I literally could not put it down! I love everything about it. One thing is for sure I plan to reread it.
I understand why it dragged- because Nova (protagonist) was constantly pushed into a corner of questions and her desire for the truth took up most of the novel. Her questions went unanswered or met with a “not yet,” “it's not time,” or “you’ll find out soon.” Never getting a clear answer irritated her just as much as it did me. But anyway on to what I did enjoy.
I love a great reincarnation novel, Sadie Louise does a great job of adding this trope to her novel. The demons vs. angels aspect really captured my attention from the beginning. I love the multiple quests Nova did and the fights/pain these characters had to endure. The characters were lovely to an extent–you didn’t get to know them well enough but I hope with book two we get that. Nova is a strong, witty character and I love her.
To anyone who plans to read this novel please give it a chance, and I promise you will love it.
Blood of the Lotus, Sadie Louise’s debut novel, was full of surprises and lovable characters! I can’t wait for book two and thanks again for the ARC.
This story starts off slow and unravels well, the writing is easy to read and the storyline, despite how many questions are thrown in and unanswered, is relatively easy to follow. I recommend reading this if you love–reincarnation, hunters, demons, angels, and quests. (Yes, the novel does contain religious aspects.)
It took me a while to get through this book because it dragged itself a little in my opinion. Once I reached the halfway point it felt like repetition but I pushed myself and got through it. And OMG when I tell you the rest of the book is packed with so much action and interesting topics. Reading the first half was worth it. I literally could not put it down! I love everything about it. One thing is for sure I plan to reread it.
I understand why it dragged- because Nova (protagonist) was constantly pushed into a corner of questions and her desire for the truth took up most of the novel. Her questions went unanswered or met with a “not yet,” “it's not time,” or “you’ll find out soon.” Never getting a clear answer irritated her just as much as it did me. But anyway on to what I did enjoy.
I love a great reincarnation novel, Sadie Louise does a great job of adding this trope to her novel. The demons vs. angels aspect really captured my attention from the beginning. I love the multiple quests Nova did and the fights/pain these characters had to endure. The characters were lovely to an extent–you didn’t get to know them well enough but I hope with book two we get that. Nova is a strong, witty character and I love her.
To anyone who plans to read this novel please give it a chance, and I promise you will love it.
Blood of the Lotus, Sadie Louise’s debut novel, was full of surprises and lovable characters! I can’t wait for book two and thanks again for the ARC.
ryleydoug's review
4.0
One of the things that really caught my attention while I was reading this book was the diversity within the characters. Not only is there a strong female main character, which I love to see, there is a cast of characters of all different ethnicities and from all over the world. I love seeing people represented. I think that diversity is one of the most important things about books.
I also really enjoyed the modern flair that it added to the world of fantasy. The worldbuilding with the angels and demons was very well thought out and complex enough to entice me and make me interested in it within pages of reading it. I loved seeing the main characters wear crop tops and cargo pants instead of floor length gowns and corsets. It made the story feel more relatable and almost realer.
The characters were the driving point of the story, flawed yet lovable. There were so many times when the characters felt real to me and that almost seems like the most important thing in the story.
I loved this story and if you're a fan of stories like Demon Slayer and fantasy/dystopian, you will too.
I also really enjoyed the modern flair that it added to the world of fantasy. The worldbuilding with the angels and demons was very well thought out and complex enough to entice me and make me interested in it within pages of reading it. I loved seeing the main characters wear crop tops and cargo pants instead of floor length gowns and corsets. It made the story feel more relatable and almost realer.
The characters were the driving point of the story, flawed yet lovable. There were so many times when the characters felt real to me and that almost seems like the most important thing in the story.
I loved this story and if you're a fan of stories like Demon Slayer and fantasy/dystopian, you will too.
crookedbookshelf's review against another edition
3.0
***ARC provided by Author***
Review coming soon.
Review coming soon.
keandrews95's review
4.0
I received this free ARC in exchange for an honest review. I stumbled across this book through an Insta ad and was drawn to such a gorgeous cover. The plot was also intriguing, but rather than a straight up fantasy like I was expecting it turned out to be an urban paranormal fantasy (that's not a knock on the book, but something that threw me when I first started reading because I was expecting something else). The overall premise of the book reminded me a lot of the Shadowhunters series with the struggle between angles, hunters, demons, and magical artifacts. Lance and Rishi turned out to be my favorite side characters. The half demons were cool and there were a few I wanted to know more about and see more of. There were a lot of cool concepts in this book, but there was also almost a bit too much squished into it that made it hard to untangle the plot. I struggled with liking Nova at times and her relationship with Luka. There were points in the story where Nova wasn't asking the right questions or getting the answers she maybe should have been searching for, which was a slight frustration for me while reading. Parts of the dialogue were repetitive where characters would keep saying the same thing only slightly differently and the conversations didn't always flow smoothly. I would have also liked to have seen more of the world building to really ground me in it because I struggled to get a real feel for everything in the beginning. While the beginning of the story dragged for me, the second half really picked up. If you're a fan of paranormal fantasy stories, this is the book for you. I give this book a 3.5 rounded up to 4 stars.
wvbookwitch's review
4.0
Summary: Nova Fandera has always known her duty was to kill demons. She just never thought she would join them. In this winding tale Nova finds family secrets through her relationships with angels, demons, half-demons, and a world full of more questions than answers. She is kept in the confines of her father's estate, locked away, as if to hide a secret. In her journeys she finds a family magical artifact, she hopes it's the answer to her questions but one only know if they answer the call of the Lotus.
Review: Needless to say, this world is beautifully set with mysteries and monsters galore. A battle of angels and demons and a mysterious family heirloom makes this definitely worth a read. Nona is adventurous and a very thought out character. Although sometimes the characters were a little frustrating in their reasoning. There was also a perfect amount of world building which was a delight. I couldn't have asked for a better setting. Overall my rating for this book is a 4.5/5.
Extended Breakdown:
Story: 4.5/5
Characters: 4/5
Magic System: 4/5
Blog: https://wvbookwitch.blogspot.com/
TikTok: @wvbookwitch
Review: Needless to say, this world is beautifully set with mysteries and monsters galore. A battle of angels and demons and a mysterious family heirloom makes this definitely worth a read. Nona is adventurous and a very thought out character. Although sometimes the characters were a little frustrating in their reasoning. There was also a perfect amount of world building which was a delight. I couldn't have asked for a better setting. Overall my rating for this book is a 4.5/5.
Extended Breakdown:
Story: 4.5/5
Characters: 4/5
Magic System: 4/5
Blog: https://wvbookwitch.blogspot.com/
TikTok: @wvbookwitch