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3.73 AVERAGE
3.73 AVERAGE
Overall the twin rulers are mostly clueless and not really the crafty thwarters the author tries to tell us they are. The plot is convoluted and the twists are really out of left field. I wish she did a better job of hinting at the twists before they happened. Also, like Ranka and Aramis never really felt like enemies so Ranka's internal dialogue of "oh she's so cool but she hates me" never really made sense. A bit hard to follow. A lot of reviews talk about antisemitism and reverse racism but I didn't see any of that in the book. Like, just cuz the author used the term blood witch doesn't mean it has anything to do w/ Judaism. Also also the twins werent evil?? where r ppl getting that they were anything other than orphaned figureheads??
adventurous
dark
funny
hopeful
tense
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:
Yes
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-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
Genuinely saddened to discover this book was a 1/1, I would eat up an entire series in this universe even with different characters. You get a whole book and then an entire short story afterwards ;-; I absolutely loved!
adventurous
challenging
dark
tense
slow-paced
This was such an emotional book, I cried a lot reading it. From the very first pages of the book, Rebecca hooked me on Ranka. I loved her and I just wanted better for her, even though she couldn't see that she deserved that yet.
It is very beautifully written which is a feat for a story with a lot of violence and some gore. The main romance was a really sweet reprieve from the emotional and violent story. I was also really interested in the magic system and the mystery of what was going on and what/who was causing it. There were some good twists and a sweet ending.
This book is very dark: the setting, the plot. But through that darkness the characters shine so brightly. The main four characters are so different but all so beautiful and fit together so well. Ranka took on so much alone but she is so loyal and loves so hard. Aramis was so intelligent and loyal and such a fighter in her own way. Galen was such a sweetheart, he felt so pure. And Percy, he was harder to get to know at first, but then you discover how smart he is and loyal. It feels so repetitive to say it but all of the characters were so loyal to those they loved and they all showed it in different ways and it was really beautiful. Oh to be loved by any one of them would be so sweet.
My favorite quotes:
"Ranka knew better than anyone what it meant to love a sibling so much that reason and right no longer mattered, so long as they were safe"
"You're not alone, okay? Not if you have me. And not because you owe me, or because we share a coven name, but because you're my friend, and I love you because I choose to. Because you're worth it. And I'm not going anywhere. Let that be enough, Ranka. Walk away from this, before it's too late. I'm begging you."
"You infuriate me. You impress me, and amaze me, and drive me utterly mad, and every day I hate you a little less, and it's making all this far, far worse"
"Where other witches had believed in a distant goddess, Ranka had only ever believed in family. Vivna, Ongrum, Yeva - they had been her prayer, her religion, the thing her heart spun around."
"No, that's not the answer. That's not how you heal. It's time for you to be your own person, Ranka. We're not responsible for the wounds we suffer - but we are responsible for healing them. So when the moment comes, and when that choice is in front of you - I'm begging you to choose yourself. That's the only way you heal. It's the only way you can be free. . . The only way out of this is to choose yourself, again and again, even when it's hard. Even when it's terrifying. Even when you feel like the most broken, unworthy, worthless person in the world."
"There are no heroes here. No villains. There are only monsters - the ones we need, the ones we spare, and the ones we burn."
"Sometimes, the people we love aren't worthy of it. They betray our history, take away hope for any future that might have been. But it doesn't change what they gave us. Not if we don't want it to. And the knowing - the truth of it, that they weren't who you thought? That you didn't know sooner? It doesn't make it any more our fault."
"She had not been loved by these women. She had survived them. It never should have happened. She'd been a child, a girl, a witch desperate for a scrap of warmth. She had deserved better. She had always deserved better."
"I am not weak because I loved you. I am strong because I survived you. I am strong because after all the hurt, still I love. Still I trust. My strength is not owed to the wounds you gave me, but my willingness to let them scar."
"What a fool Ranka had been to think she wanted the Skra, Ongrum's pride, or even Vivna's return. to believe she needed to meet the cruel conditions of someone else's love to be worth anything at all. She had all she needed right here. Ranka tilted her face to the sun. The colors had never been brighter."
To Rebecca (not that she'll see this), you wrote a beautiful book that spoke to me emotionally, such that not only did I cry an insane amount when reading, I also cried when looking back at my favorite quotes to pull for this review. Could you please stop making me cry (just kidding I'm masochistic and love emotionally devasting books, keep them coming).
It is very beautifully written which is a feat for a story with a lot of violence and some gore. The main romance was a really sweet reprieve from the emotional and violent story. I was also really interested in the magic system and the mystery of what was going on and what/who was causing it. There were some good twists and a sweet ending.
This book is very dark: the setting, the plot. But through that darkness the characters shine so brightly. The main four characters are so different but all so beautiful and fit together so well. Ranka took on so much alone but she is so loyal and loves so hard. Aramis was so intelligent and loyal and such a fighter in her own way. Galen was such a sweetheart, he felt so pure. And Percy, he was harder to get to know at first, but then you discover how smart he is and loyal. It feels so repetitive to say it but all of the characters were so loyal to those they loved and they all showed it in different ways and it was really beautiful. Oh to be loved by any one of them would be so sweet.
My favorite quotes:
Spoiler
"Ranka knew better than anyone what it meant to love a sibling so much that reason and right no longer mattered, so long as they were safe"
"You're not alone, okay? Not if you have me. And not because you owe me, or because we share a coven name, but because you're my friend, and I love you because I choose to. Because you're worth it. And I'm not going anywhere. Let that be enough, Ranka. Walk away from this, before it's too late. I'm begging you."
"You infuriate me. You impress me, and amaze me, and drive me utterly mad, and every day I hate you a little less, and it's making all this far, far worse"
"Where other witches had believed in a distant goddess, Ranka had only ever believed in family. Vivna, Ongrum, Yeva - they had been her prayer, her religion, the thing her heart spun around."
"No, that's not the answer. That's not how you heal. It's time for you to be your own person, Ranka. We're not responsible for the wounds we suffer - but we are responsible for healing them. So when the moment comes, and when that choice is in front of you - I'm begging you to choose yourself. That's the only way you heal. It's the only way you can be free. . . The only way out of this is to choose yourself, again and again, even when it's hard. Even when it's terrifying. Even when you feel like the most broken, unworthy, worthless person in the world."
"There are no heroes here. No villains. There are only monsters - the ones we need, the ones we spare, and the ones we burn."
"Sometimes, the people we love aren't worthy of it. They betray our history, take away hope for any future that might have been. But it doesn't change what they gave us. Not if we don't want it to. And the knowing - the truth of it, that they weren't who you thought? That you didn't know sooner? It doesn't make it any more our fault."
"She had not been loved by these women. She had survived them. It never should have happened. She'd been a child, a girl, a witch desperate for a scrap of warmth. She had deserved better. She had always deserved better."
"I am not weak because I loved you. I am strong because I survived you. I am strong because after all the hurt, still I love. Still I trust. My strength is not owed to the wounds you gave me, but my willingness to let them scar."
"What a fool Ranka had been to think she wanted the Skra, Ongrum's pride, or even Vivna's return. to believe she needed to meet the cruel conditions of someone else's love to be worth anything at all. She had all she needed right here. Ranka tilted her face to the sun. The colors had never been brighter."
To Rebecca (not that she'll see this), you wrote a beautiful book that spoke to me emotionally, such that not only did I cry an insane amount when reading, I also cried when looking back at my favorite quotes to pull for this review. Could you please stop making me cry (just kidding I'm masochistic and love emotionally devasting books, keep them coming).
2.5/5 stars
reads like mediocre fanfiction - has the unstable pacing and one dimensional characters to prove it
reads like mediocre fanfiction - has the unstable pacing and one dimensional characters to prove it
A standard fantasy adventure that's a quick read but nothing phenomenal. The romance was predictable, the antagonist was as expected, and the adventure followed all the regular tropes. I liked how Mix addressed trauma and the impact it can hold without people remembering the traumatic experience. The mystery around the other county is enticing enough for a sequel!
The reviews on "reverse racism" are a reach! I could honestly hardly tell the characters were mixed race. The fact that the author is white writing about mixed Black characters is probably what made the characters so nondescript to me. I waited to see where there was enslavement, and SPOILER ALERT it's an oligarchy with some prejudice against witches... So not slaves, just extreme poverty, speciesism, and power-hungry magicless people. (Almost like a fantastical parallel to Western History O_o)
Just another Black reader putting my review up to inform others to think for themselves. Stop the foolishness y'all!
The reviews on "reverse racism" are a reach! I could honestly hardly tell the characters were mixed race. The fact that the author is white writing about mixed Black characters is probably what made the characters so nondescript to me. I waited to see where there was enslavement, and SPOILER ALERT it's an oligarchy with some prejudice against witches... So not slaves, just extreme poverty, speciesism, and power-hungry magicless people. (Almost like a fantastical parallel to Western History O_o)
Just another Black reader putting my review up to inform others to think for themselves. Stop the foolishness y'all!
dark
emotional
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
Pleasantly surprised!
This story holds a lot of depth - betrayal, coming-of-age and healing from abuse. I loved Ranka as a character. She was not perfect, but devastatingly relatable especially when you see her choices out of the light of how she has been abused and manipulated, forced to become what she is.
Percy, Galen and Aramis are all great side characters who all get a backstory, whole personalities and reasons for their choices.
The story is intricate, full of political intrigue, betrayals and twists. Highly recommend!
This story holds a lot of depth - betrayal, coming-of-age and healing from abuse. I loved Ranka as a character. She was not perfect, but devastatingly relatable especially when you see her choices out of the light of how she has been abused and manipulated, forced to become what she is.
Percy, Galen and Aramis are all great side characters who all get a backstory, whole personalities and reasons for their choices.
The story is intricate, full of political intrigue, betrayals and twists. Highly recommend!