Reviews with content warning for Death - The Bronzed Beasts

ITS COOL IM FINE IM TOTALLY COOL AND FINE

god damn I don't think the end of a series has torn my heart up like that in a good while. It was epic, exciting, surprising, and exactly what it should have been.

I love this entire adventure, my heart is forever with this beautiful and funny as hell found family, and I don't know how to cope with it being over. THE EPILOGUE WILL HAUNT MY DREAMS FOR ALWAYS.

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thebakerbookworm's review against another edition

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adventurous 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

3.0

I didn’t quite get the satisfaction I wanted from this conclusion: a lot of the plotting felt like the first two books—same problems, same tensions, same issues—and I remain confused by aspects of this world. The world-building just never really made sense to me, and I was really hoping everything would click together in my head by this book, but nope. What exactly is forging? Couldn't tell you.

How did it get undone at the end? I have no idea.

Honestly, I felt more confused with each book, and the plot seemed to get worse with each one too.

The ending also left much to be desired, especially because the characters were so interesting. They deserved a more powerful conclusion. I think Enrique and Zofia are my favorite characters because they had the most consistent arcs across the trilogy (

though I knew Zofia was gonna lose that letter and it annoyed the heck out of me that she didn't open it in the second book...felt like it was more for tension than what she truly would have done

) and they also had the most satisfying ending. I remain annoyed by Séverin's development and I became annoyed with all of what happened with Laila in this book.

Seriously, Séverin's quest to become a god never made sense and it did not get the resolution that it needed for it to have impact on the character...like he still went through with it? even though everyone agreed it was a bad idea? and his only consequence was that he got eternal youth? but had to wait a century before he could see Laila again? because she became a god instead? And we still don't know anything more about Laila's creation and how it happened and why her gift works or how she became L'Enigme. The stakes about Laila dying in this book never felt as urgent as they kept saying it was.

I liked Laila and Séverin together but their relationship is never really fleshed out over the trilogy so I don't know why they like each other.

All that being said, I’m still glad I read the series. I mean, I decided to still give this conclusion three stars, even though I had issues with it. I think the characters are intriguing enough to still read it, and Hypnos's humor in this book made for some good chuckles. Overall, the series had a lot of potential and great characters so I wouldn’t not recommend it…but being disappointed in the ending makes it hard to wholeheartedly recommend.

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karambit's review

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adventurous 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

4.25

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achingallover's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

there were some parts of this which were absolutely 5 stars, perfection, beautiful. sadly not all, or even most of it. but zofia has my whole heart and so does enrique and that won't change.

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nytephoenyx's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional 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

4.25

I’ve got some mixed feelings about The Bronzed Beasts. It’s the third book in a trilogy I have, as a whole, loved. Chokshi’s writing remains vibrant and beautiful – some of the most beautiful sentences I’ve ever read come from Roshani Chokshi’s brilliance. When I like a series, a book, an author as much as I have enjoyed Chokshi’s Gilded Wolves trilogy, I am not always objective as I should be.

I did not like the ending.

Any of the endings, if I’m being honest.

There was something so sad about it all, and I see what Chokshi did and can imagine her choices for doing so. In many ways, the ending is quite beautiful. I thinks lots of readers will love it. I think The Bronzed Beasts will make readers cry. I think the ending was a perfectly acceptable turn of events and from a writing and general audience perspective, it will be well-received. There are a lot of good things to say about the ending of this book. I didn’t like it because it was overly romantic, I guess. There’s a lot of grandeur and sadness. It wasn’t quite how I wanted things to go and I’m a bit frustrated.

You can see Chokshi’s skill as an author by the way I am brooding over the ending. She’s got her claws in me with this trilogy. I raved for The Gilded Wolves and The Silver Serpents. I have loved Zofia and Enrique… but in so many ways I wish personally their stories had taken different routes. Again. Great writing! Not what I wanted. Gah! I even felt for Hypnos. Those three have always been my favorites in the trilogy and they continue to shine in their own way. Each plays their part, each gets their voice (to a point) and each has to grow and accept the world as it is in their own way.

And, of course, Severin and Laila have their story. I think readers will like their story.

My favorite part of these books – the part that captures my heart and squeezes mercilessly – is the adventure. Chokshi is so good at writing adventure. She mixes emotion, setting, action, atmosphere, everything so perfectly that I forget there is a real world for I am drowning in hers. The adventure in The Bronzed Beasts was far too short for my liking. We spend a lot of time with healing hearts and brooding. It will appeal to many readers, but it is not so appealing to me.

Would I read The Bronzed Beasts and in fact the whole trilogy again? Yes! Of course! Absolutely. It’s marvelous, bewitching, and I have loved it. I can wish it ended differently and still love the books. I wait for Chokshi’s next release with bated breath.

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ferencb's review

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adventurous dark mysterious 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? Yes

4.5

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decklededgess's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny lighthearted mysterious 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? Yes

3.0

trigger warnings: violence, physical injury, blackmail, terminal illness, gore, death, mental illness, antisemitism

I loved this series when I read the first book but this third one was a bit of a let down compared to the other two. Even so, it's a great wrap up to this trilogy and I don't see how else Roshani Chokshi could have concluded the series without pisses off the readers.

Roshani Chokshi's writing has improved fantastically over her past few books so this was a solid piece of writing. The heist was action packed, the descriptive language was vivid but not overdoing the purple prose. I love the cast of characters, the found family dynamic, the reconnections and new friendships built, the strong character growth and more.

I did feel like some of the characters got off a little too easy for some of the out of line shit they pulled in all three books but these characters are clearly beloved to Roshani so I didn't really predict her putting them through more trauma than they've already been through.

A solid conclusion!

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quinn's review

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adventurous emotional funny inspiring 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

4.5

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