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jammeeaira's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
sad
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? Yes
5.0
dannydee's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
thenewreadingnook's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-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
5.0
This book was impossibly perfect for a sequel. The way the first book ended I thought we were done with blindsides and jaw dropping plot twists but I was WRONG.
Lynette NONI is a masterful author. I am so deeply immersed in this story.
The deception from Zulee was not that shocking because she just seemed so fake and sus to me this whole book but their poor brother Tor!! Then Cal knowing her secret the whole time and still caring for her the way he does? And Mirryn?? That dirty little ******************* (I made that up to make it seem like I was stringing expletives together because I hate her). And then Rhess? I always knew she was so impossibly SUS BUT WHAT??
This is going down and as one of my fav series EVER and I’m not even done with it.
Lynette NONI is a masterful author. I am so deeply immersed in this story.
The deception from Zulee was not that shocking because she just seemed so fake and sus to me this whole book but their poor brother Tor!! Then Cal knowing her secret the whole time and still caring for her the way he does? And Mirryn?? That dirty little ******************* (I made that up to make it seem like I was stringing expletives together because I hate her). And then Rhess? I always knew she was so impossibly SUS BUT WHAT??
This is going down and as one of my fav series EVER and I’m not even done with it.
caitie145's review
4.0
*4.5
ASKDJIWBW WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO WITH THAT ENDING!! I NEED THE NEXT BOOK NOW!!
While I LOVED this book is still loved the first one just a tiny bit more. The character development in this book was phenomenal, honestly actually like Caldon now?! God this book is going to be on my mind for a while
ASKDJIWBW WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO WITH THAT ENDING!! I NEED THE NEXT BOOK NOW!!
While I LOVED this book is still loved the first one just a tiny bit more. The character development in this book was phenomenal, honestly actually like Caldon now?! God this book is going to be on my mind for a while
lyakimov's review against another edition
3.0
3.75 stars.
This was an improvement from the first book in some ways, but also a step back in other ways. I was really glad that the setting was finally more expansive and we could see the stuff going on outside Zalindov prison. We got a lot of lore and world building regarding the Karantine and Velantis families, and got to know a lot more interesting characters and build great dynamics. I loved Kiva's brother Tor and enjoyed getting to learn more about the rebel cause and Kiva's family in general. I think that the writing was smooth and flowed so well, and the book kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time. It was super fast-paced and entertaining.
Kiva really was annoying at some points because she was so dense. I predicted every twist, especially everything that happened with Zuleeka and Mirren. It felt so convenient that everything fell into place in an exact, specific way with nothing out of place. There was so much going on at the end of the book that should have been spread out between the last half instead of the last 50 pages because it was really like we were having different reveals and twists thrown at us constantly. Like Res being best friends with Tor? Like everything is so damn convenient and every little piece falls right into place, no messiness at all. There was also the threat of the kingdom beyond that may pose a threat, but this threat felt clunky when introduced into the plot - it doesn't seem like it was integrated well into the plot.
I'm honestly annoyed as hell about that ending because I don't want to go back into the prison, I want to actually be seeing stuff going on in the kingdom because that's where the interesting stuff is. Now we are right back where we started with Kiva not knowing anything about the world outside.
The relationship between Kiva and Jaren was odd because Jaren was just like this perfect character. He is ridiculously perfect to the point that it is annoying because he has NO FLAWS!!!! When can he have one little flaw? And I think Jaren's development is stunted in this book too because we see no character growth. Honestly, we rarely saw him unless he was giving Kiva a random piece of confidential information that she was going to run and give her siblings within .5 seconds. It was weird how...absent he was in the book? Like all Kiva and Jaren's relationship development occurred in book one and it's just how it is now with no maturing, no changes, nothing?? The romance was so weird because how could I care for the romantic moments when we literally barely see him during the whole book and they don't really have any relationship growth???? It's such a bizarre way to write a love interest/love story because of the way that Kiva inwardly thinks about Jaren. I actually liked their relationship in book one, but it just felt stagnant. She also has so much guilt for betraying Jaren and his family but just keeps flip-flopping back and forth. GIRL, MAKE A DECISION!!!! HURRY UP! It was so frustrating at some points like girl....what are you doing??
I did really like Kiva's friendship with Caldon.. Those moments between them were nice and kept me sane among Kiva's horrendously repetitive inner monologue that repeated the same shit every single scene. I listened to the audiobook, and every single time I heard a repeated piece of dialogue I was so damn annoyed. Typically I don't mind this in books because it's good to make sure the reader remembers the stuff that the author wants them to remember from previous character interactions. However, the amount of times Kiva remembered Zuleeka saying something like "You can't play for both sides, you have to choose between them or us" and "Find something that we could use to our advantage and something that would make taking the throne legitimate" was RIDICULOUS!!!! I heard those so many times each chapter that I thought that my audiobook had accidentally skipped backwards and kept repeating the same thing. Kiva's repetitive inner monologue was absolutely ridiculous and needed some editing down because after the 15th time in one chapter that she thinks about feeling guilty, I think that the audience knows that she feels guilty, so cut it out!!!
I do want to say that the audiobook's audio and narrator were amazing. It was so clear and easy to listen to, even on 3.5x speed and I completely understood every single word that the narrator said. Her articulation was amazing!
I am interested in reading the final book, and I am hopeful that we won't have to be in the prison again for the entire damn book. I really want to see the kingdom and all the inevitable chaos as a result of Zuleeka and Mirren taking the throne.
This was an improvement from the first book in some ways, but also a step back in other ways. I was really glad that the setting was finally more expansive and we could see the stuff going on outside Zalindov prison. We got a lot of lore and world building regarding the Karantine and Velantis families, and got to know a lot more interesting characters and build great dynamics. I loved Kiva's brother Tor and enjoyed getting to learn more about the rebel cause and Kiva's family in general. I think that the writing was smooth and flowed so well, and the book kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time. It was super fast-paced and entertaining.
Kiva really was annoying at some points because she was so dense. I predicted every twist, especially everything that happened with Zuleeka and Mirren. It felt so convenient that everything fell into place in an exact, specific way with nothing out of place. There was so much going on at the end of the book that should have been spread out between the last half instead of the last 50 pages because it was really like we were having different reveals and twists thrown at us constantly. Like Res being best friends with Tor? Like everything is so damn convenient and every little piece falls right into place, no messiness at all. There was also the threat of the kingdom beyond that may pose a threat, but this threat felt clunky when introduced into the plot - it doesn't seem like it was integrated well into the plot.
I'm honestly annoyed as hell about that ending because I don't want to go back into the prison, I want to actually be seeing stuff going on in the kingdom because that's where the interesting stuff is. Now we are right back where we started with Kiva not knowing anything about the world outside.
The relationship between Kiva and Jaren was odd because Jaren was just like this perfect character. He is ridiculously perfect to the point that it is annoying because he has NO FLAWS!!!! When can he have one little flaw? And I think Jaren's development is stunted in this book too because we see no character growth. Honestly, we rarely saw him unless he was giving Kiva a random piece of confidential information that she was going to run and give her siblings within .5 seconds. It was weird how...absent he was in the book? Like all Kiva and Jaren's relationship development occurred in book one and it's just how it is now with no maturing, no changes, nothing?? The romance was so weird because how could I care for the romantic moments when we literally barely see him during the whole book and they don't really have any relationship growth???? It's such a bizarre way to write a love interest/love story because of the way that Kiva inwardly thinks about Jaren. I actually liked their relationship in book one, but it just felt stagnant. She also has so much guilt for betraying Jaren and his family but just keeps flip-flopping back and forth. GIRL, MAKE A DECISION!!!! HURRY UP! It was so frustrating at some points like girl....what are you doing??
I did really like Kiva's friendship with Caldon.. Those moments between them were nice and kept me sane among Kiva's horrendously repetitive inner monologue that repeated the same shit every single scene. I listened to the audiobook, and every single time I heard a repeated piece of dialogue I was so damn annoyed. Typically I don't mind this in books because it's good to make sure the reader remembers the stuff that the author wants them to remember from previous character interactions. However, the amount of times Kiva remembered Zuleeka saying something like "You can't play for both sides, you have to choose between them or us" and "Find something that we could use to our advantage and something that would make taking the throne legitimate" was RIDICULOUS!!!! I heard those so many times each chapter that I thought that my audiobook had accidentally skipped backwards and kept repeating the same thing. Kiva's repetitive inner monologue was absolutely ridiculous and needed some editing down because after the 15th time in one chapter that she thinks about feeling guilty, I think that the audience knows that she feels guilty, so cut it out!!!
I do want to say that the audiobook's audio and narrator were amazing. It was so clear and easy to listen to, even on 3.5x speed and I completely understood every single word that the narrator said. Her articulation was amazing!
I am interested in reading the final book, and I am hopeful that we won't have to be in the prison again for the entire damn book. I really want to see the kingdom and all the inevitable chaos as a result of Zuleeka and Mirren taking the throne.
tay_low's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
lia_madison's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0