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adventurous
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
*thank you netgalley and the publisher for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*
I AM NOT WELL. like i am frothing at the mouth right now.
this is one of the best fantasy books i have read lately. it has everything i want when i dive into a fantasy world: action, magic, political intrigue, found family, romance, and of course, magical races
i genuinely gasped at every single twist and reveal that this book had. these characters gripped my heart and to see them be betrayed and thrown through the ringer hurt my fragile heart. in the best way.
the romance in the book is so swoons too. like i wanted these characters to just get together before they even touched hands. the pining was too much!!
lastly, this world is so thoughtfully fleshed out and you can actually feel the world come alive on the pages. i felt like i was in mosima with these characters. it’s so rare that i find a book with such a well thought out and structured fantasy world. it takes great skill to do that, which this author very clearly has.
thank you for writing this. also, i need the next book now.
I AM NOT WELL. like i am frothing at the mouth right now.
this is one of the best fantasy books i have read lately. it has everything i want when i dive into a fantasy world: action, magic, political intrigue, found family, romance, and of course, magical races
i genuinely gasped at every single twist and reveal that this book had. these characters gripped my heart and to see them be betrayed and thrown through the ringer hurt my fragile heart. in the best way.
the romance in the book is so swoons too. like i wanted these characters to just get together before they even touched hands. the pining was too much!!
lastly, this world is so thoughtfully fleshed out and you can actually feel the world come alive on the pages. i felt like i was in mosima with these characters. it’s so rare that i find a book with such a well thought out and structured fantasy world. it takes great skill to do that, which this author very clearly has.
thank you for writing this. also, i need the next book now.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism, Sexual content, Violence, Murder, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Grief, Alcohol, War
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
The scars of their life had fused them together.
Wow, for being a 400ish page, it took me a long time to finish this book. My initial reaction is that I liked it AND I am not sure I am excited for the rest of the series.
Plot- 3.5/5🔆
Spice- 1ish/5🌶️
Romance-0/5💗
Ok, so first of all, Pila is my favorite character. She is the only one who has REAL TALK. Puts people in their place. The rest of the characters felt pretty complex. I went from liking them to being annoyed pretty quickly. They are older characters which I love, but unfortunately they all act young. One in particular loves to throw tantrums, yes we are looking at you Lettle. No one is ever on the same page with each other, and it felt like all the characters were bumping off of each other the entire time, like a pin ball game. I love chemistry and banter, and I think I felt like it was missing that.
The plot is intense. There feels like a lot of details are provided, which is why I felt like this was a slower read. I really thought I had the whole story figured out but the last 20 % of the book was one plot twist after another. That was a pleasant surprise.
Lastly, I can't mentally picture drumfire without giggling. Thinking of Yeeran tippy tapping her fingers to try and kill someone is just silly. It feels like that cannot be a serious tool for war. But anyways..
This book has great representation of people with disability and LGBTQ+. I would say this book is way more fantasy than romance. In fact the "romance" in the book seemed to be just an accidental thing that happens, rather than a plot point.
Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for this arc in exchange for an honest review!
Wow, for being a 400ish page, it took me a long time to finish this book. My initial reaction is that I liked it AND I am not sure I am excited for the rest of the series.
Plot- 3.5/5🔆
Spice- 1ish/5🌶️
Romance-0/5💗
Ok, so first of all, Pila is my favorite character. She is the only one who has REAL TALK. Puts people in their place. The rest of the characters felt pretty complex. I went from liking them to being annoyed pretty quickly. They are older characters which I love, but unfortunately they all act young. One in particular loves to throw tantrums, yes we are looking at you Lettle. No one is ever on the same page with each other, and it felt like all the characters were bumping off of each other the entire time, like a pin ball game. I love chemistry and banter, and I think I felt like it was missing that.
The plot is intense. There feels like a lot of details are provided, which is why I felt like this was a slower read. I really thought I had the whole story figured out but the last 20 % of the book was one plot twist after another. That was a pleasant surprise.
Lastly, I can't mentally picture drumfire without giggling. Thinking of Yeeran tippy tapping her fingers to try and kill someone is just silly. It feels like that cannot be a serious tool for war. But anyways..
This book has great representation of people with disability and LGBTQ+. I would say this book is way more fantasy than romance. In fact the "romance" in the book seemed to be just an accidental thing that happens, rather than a plot point.
Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for this arc in exchange for an honest review!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death
Minor: Death, Violence, Death of parent, Murder, War
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
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
Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC of this book.
5/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
1.5/5 🌶️
From start to finish I was enthralled. I couldn’t put this book down.
From the care shown to not only gender and sexuality, but to race, and disability. This book had it all. The struggles of political and moral discourse. The discrimination against those who are different. The devastation brought on by war. The struggles of what is right and what is just. The author did an amazing job. It was absolutely fantastic.
This book was very war focused, with a few different love stories between multiple POV’s. I really enjoyed having the multiple view points. The way they intertwined with each other between the timeline of events was beautifully done.
My favorite character was Lettle. She was treated like a child, she was put down, but she was so incredibly strong. She showed everyone what she was made of. I love her character so much.
If you loved fourth wing and the banter with the characters and their dragon familiars then you’ll loveeeeee this book!
I did personally struggle with one of the TW’s, the malnutrition and starvation aspect that was brought up multiple times during the book. As someone who was starved and malnourished to the point of almost dying it brought up a lot of emotions for me, that I thought I had worked through. There was a particular moment in the book about half way through that hit me hard. I don’t know if the author has ever had to also go through a situation where they were starved and malnourished but they wrote like they knew exactly what someone who’s been through that would say and feel. It didn’t feel mocking, it didn’t feel like it was an after thought. The emotions that were expressed while discussing those things were present. And accurate.
As hard as it was for me emotionally I hope it puts into perspective for some people who have never been through something like that, that they can imagine the difficulties and trauma it causes someone. How often that trauma pops up. And how words about food, and eating can affect the people around you without you even realizing it.
A mix of Tropes, and TW’s just to name a few -
found family, enemies to lovers, familiars, murder, death, war, starvation/malnourishment, friends to lovers, WW, MM, MW, disability representation, discrimination, gore, animal death, descriptive language of desecration of animal remains, hunting, confinement.
5/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
1.5/5 🌶️
From start to finish I was enthralled. I couldn’t put this book down.
From the care shown to not only gender and sexuality, but to race, and disability. This book had it all. The struggles of political and moral discourse. The discrimination against those who are different. The devastation brought on by war. The struggles of what is right and what is just. The author did an amazing job. It was absolutely fantastic.
This book was very war focused, with a few different love stories between multiple POV’s. I really enjoyed having the multiple view points. The way they intertwined with each other between the timeline of events was beautifully done.
My favorite character was Lettle. She was treated like a child, she was put down, but she was so incredibly strong. She showed everyone what she was made of. I love her character so much.
If you loved fourth wing and the banter with the characters and their dragon familiars then you’ll loveeeeee this book!
I did personally struggle with one of the TW’s, the malnutrition and starvation aspect that was brought up multiple times during the book. As someone who was starved and malnourished to the point of almost dying it brought up a lot of emotions for me, that I thought I had worked through. There was a particular moment in the book about half way through that hit me hard. I don’t know if the author has ever had to also go through a situation where they were starved and malnourished but they wrote like they knew exactly what someone who’s been through that would say and feel. It didn’t feel mocking, it didn’t feel like it was an after thought. The emotions that were expressed while discussing those things were present. And accurate.
As hard as it was for me emotionally I hope it puts into perspective for some people who have never been through something like that, that they can imagine the difficulties and trauma it causes someone. How often that trauma pops up. And how words about food, and eating can affect the people around you without you even realizing it.
A mix of Tropes, and TW’s just to name a few -
found family, enemies to lovers, familiars, murder, death, war, starvation/malnourishment, friends to lovers, WW, MM, MW, disability representation, discrimination, gore, animal death, descriptive language of desecration of animal remains, hunting, confinement.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Genocide, Gore, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Racism, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Excrement, Medical content, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
adventurous
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I’ve been looking forward to this book and it delivered in many ways: incredibly fast paced, lovable characters, and an engaging storyline. While I enjoyed my overall experience I do have a few detractors: for me, the plot felt INCREDIBLY predictable. I guessed almost EVERY major plot point well before it happened, so if you’re looking to be surprised this may not be the one for you. In addition the writing felt very simple compared to the authors other work. Which I don’t think is necessarily a bad thing, and made for a very easy read, but wasn’t quite what I was expecting. There is also an enemies to lovers troupe here, as well as borderline insta love , but if that’s something you don’t mind then read on!
For me, it was an overall enjoyable experience, and I look forward to the next installment!
For me, it was an overall enjoyable experience, and I look forward to the next installment!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, War, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Dementia
Minor: Child abuse