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3.75 AVERAGE
3.75 AVERAGE
adventurous
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-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:
Yes
adventurous
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
This book has everything I love in a fantasy book, pronunciation guide at the beginning, maps! (Thank you to the author for sending me a bigger version) a FMC who we see blossom into a strong confident woman, a mysterious morally grey MMC and plenty of action and magic. This book had me smiling like an idiot in one scene in particular, read it and you’ll know which I mean. And after that ending I cannot wait for the next book. 5 stars
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
**Thank you so much to the authors, Net Galley, and Onyx Publishing for the ARC!!**
I’ll be honest, I don’t read much romantasy at all after booktok let me down too many times. But when the opportunity came along to read and review a brand new novel with such a compelling description, I knew this could be my chance to break into the genre.
I enjoyed this book so much - the characters, the imagery, the settings, the world-building, all of it was beautiful, accessible to new fantasy readers, and gripping from start to finish. I loved watching out FMC work her way out of her shell and let herself grow into a total badass.
The cliffhanger has me dying for the rest of the series, and I can’t wait to get lost in this world again and again.
I’ll be honest, I don’t read much romantasy at all after booktok let me down too many times. But when the opportunity came along to read and review a brand new novel with such a compelling description, I knew this could be my chance to break into the genre.
I enjoyed this book so much - the characters, the imagery, the settings, the world-building, all of it was beautiful, accessible to new fantasy readers, and gripping from start to finish. I loved watching out FMC work her way out of her shell and let herself grow into a total badass.
The cliffhanger has me dying for the rest of the series, and I can’t wait to get lost in this world again and again.
**ARC Review**
I really enjoyed this book. The characters were developed beautifully. I identified so much with Fia being an introvert myself and feeling out of place in large social settings. I also enjoyed the clothing descriptions because of my profession of working with costumes. I would love to see some of those dresses in person! Once I started it was very easy to get caught up in this book. I could easily picture in my mind the world and people that had been created. I felt like the people especially were familiar, like I had interacted with them previously (even though it was my first read of this book). A great read overall. I'm looking forward to reading the next one.
A small thing: it felt very descriptive word heavy in the beginning. Although the book quickly found its rhythm, the words didn't flow as easily as I would have liked in the beginning of the story. It may have just been me getting used to the writing style though.
I really enjoyed this book. The characters were developed beautifully. I identified so much with Fia being an introvert myself and feeling out of place in large social settings. I also enjoyed the clothing descriptions because of my profession of working with costumes. I would love to see some of those dresses in person! Once I started it was very easy to get caught up in this book. I could easily picture in my mind the world and people that had been created. I felt like the people especially were familiar, like I had interacted with them previously (even though it was my first read of this book). A great read overall. I'm looking forward to reading the next one.
A small thing: it felt very descriptive word heavy in the beginning. Although the book quickly found its rhythm, the words didn't flow as easily as I would have liked in the beginning of the story. It may have just been me getting used to the writing style though.
ARC provided by NetGalley for a fair and honest review!
This was cute. I do really like the concept of it, the story and the lore is very interesting. I just don’t know if this writing is for me. I feel like this story was a bit too fast paced and it some things got lost in translation because of it. The romance for me was not very well developed. I wanted to see more growth on the pages for friendships and romances than I feel I got to see. It didn’t ruin the story, however. I did enjoy the journey and the ending actually wasn’t what I expected/saw coming. I’ll most likely give this another try when the next book comes out!
This was cute. I do really like the concept of it, the story and the lore is very interesting. I just don’t know if this writing is for me. I feel like this story was a bit too fast paced and it some things got lost in translation because of it. The romance for me was not very well developed. I wanted to see more growth on the pages for friendships and romances than I feel I got to see. It didn’t ruin the story, however. I did enjoy the journey and the ending actually wasn’t what I expected/saw coming. I’ll most likely give this another try when the next book comes out!
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
1.5/5 spice
Holy freaking gods! My mind is absolutely blown! I am unwell and simultaneously feral for more. From the element of the unknown, fantastic world building paired with so much tension and fighting i don't think I'm going to be able to move on from this. I’m a sucker for a fantasy book but this one was so well done it’s hard to believe this is the authors debut. I was so unprepared for the ending but man did that make me freaking ready for the next installment. I need the next book like yesterday! Safe to safe I'm obsessed and these two authors knocked it out of the freaking park!
Fia Riftborne has been carrying a secret deep within her lies an ability clawing to get out and she is desperately trying to keep the darkness from erupting. Unintentionally exploding on two noble women turns Fia’s life upside down when her demonstration of power is witnessed by none other than the elusive General Laryk Ashford. With the growing threat of deadly wraith attacking general Ashford see Fia as the weapon that she is. Get prepared for undeniable tension as Fia is forced to face her nightmare of an ability and the overwhelming nature that is Laryk Ashford
Holy freaking gods! My mind is absolutely blown! I am unwell and simultaneously feral for more. From the element of the unknown, fantastic world building paired with so much tension and fighting i don't think I'm going to be able to move on from this. I’m a sucker for a fantasy book but this one was so well done it’s hard to believe this is the authors debut. I was so unprepared for the ending but man did that make me freaking ready for the next installment. I need the next book like yesterday! Safe to safe I'm obsessed and these two authors knocked it out of the freaking park!
Fia Riftborne has been carrying a secret deep within her lies an ability clawing to get out and she is desperately trying to keep the darkness from erupting. Unintentionally exploding on two noble women turns Fia’s life upside down when her demonstration of power is witnessed by none other than the elusive General Laryk Ashford. With the growing threat of deadly wraith attacking general Ashford see Fia as the weapon that she is. Get prepared for undeniable tension as Fia is forced to face her nightmare of an ability and the overwhelming nature that is Laryk Ashford
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Thank you to @netgalley and @onyxpublishing for a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest thoughts.
When I read this description I didn’t hesitate to pick up this book! I absolutely devoured it and this book brought me out of a slump from over consumption of other books! I didn’t want to put it down and when I had to, I was thinking about when I could pick it up next!
Fia was a relatable FMC and she was a fun character to follow along! I loved her snarky behavior and comments when she was irritated. She gave me many moments of laughing out loud and I loved getting to know her. There were a few moments with her character development that progressed just a little too quickly considering what we learn about her past. She gave into the circumstances faster than I thought she would have but it was still enough in line that I can easily overlook it.
Our MMC, the General, was a bit more frustrating to get to know. He comes across as cocky and abrasive throughout most of the book, keeping Fia at an arms length through derogatory comments and then suddenly we are meant to believe that he has loved her this entire time and root for them as a couple? I can get behind it to some degree, but I did wish that we got to see more of his softer sides earlier than we did, even if in small glimpses.
I loved the war college / training scenes and wished we had more of those moments. I would have loved to see our recruits working together a bit more with their respective powers than we got. I know this wasn’t meant to be the MAIN focus of the story but it was a bit more side plot than I wanted. Even the scenes where Fia is privately training her own magic needed to be a bit more developed. I wish those scenes of her magic development were more fleshed out to give us a deeper understanding of how it worked and grew as it did. She kept discovering new ways to use her powers but it felt like it was an afterthought.
I’m excited to read book two and get more world development. I always thought something more was going on with Fia and thee CLIFFHANGER was simultaneously frustrating and exciting!
When I read this description I didn’t hesitate to pick up this book! I absolutely devoured it and this book brought me out of a slump from over consumption of other books! I didn’t want to put it down and when I had to, I was thinking about when I could pick it up next!
Fia was a relatable FMC and she was a fun character to follow along! I loved her snarky behavior and comments when she was irritated. She gave me many moments of laughing out loud and I loved getting to know her. There were a few moments with her character development that progressed just a little too quickly considering what we learn about her past. She gave into the circumstances faster than I thought she would have but it was still enough in line that I can easily overlook it.
Our MMC, the General, was a bit more frustrating to get to know. He comes across as cocky and abrasive throughout most of the book, keeping Fia at an arms length through derogatory comments and then suddenly we are meant to believe that he has loved her this entire time and root for them as a couple? I can get behind it to some degree, but I did wish that we got to see more of his softer sides earlier than we did, even if in small glimpses.
I loved the war college / training scenes and wished we had more of those moments. I would have loved to see our recruits working together a bit more with their respective powers than we got. I know this wasn’t meant to be the MAIN focus of the story but it was a bit more side plot than I wanted. Even the scenes where Fia is privately training her own magic needed to be a bit more developed. I wish those scenes of her magic development were more fleshed out to give us a deeper understanding of how it worked and grew as it did. She kept discovering new ways to use her powers but it felt like it was an afterthought.
I’m excited to read book two and get more world development. I always thought something more was going on with Fia and thee CLIFFHANGER was simultaneously frustrating and exciting!