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4.27 AVERAGE
4.27 AVERAGE
adventurous
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
Disclaimer: I am not a romantasy girly. I love my fantasy with a side of romance, but I generally am not interested in stories with romance as the main plot. Even though I thought the fantasy elements were lacking, this was a fun and easy read and I do not regret reading it.
Biggest Pros:
• The pacing was very good for me. I found the book hard to put down and finished it in a couple of days. While it had its problems, it was generally very entertaining.
• I really enjoyed the action scenes / arena scenes. I thought they were the most engaging and well-written parts of the book.
• Overall, I don’t regret reading this at all. It was fun, entertaining, and easy to read. For me, that’s plenty good enough.
Biggest Cons:
• Every time I think about this book, I can’t recall its name, so make of that what you will.
• The world building and development of mystery and political intrigue were weak, with the exception of the tower / arena itself. As a fantasy fan, I was waiting to learn more about the world outside of the competition plot, but that never really happened satisfactorily. Like tell me more about the different races of winged vampires. Where did they come from? And the Gods, are there more of them? Have they existed since the beginning of time or were they once mortals who were granted Godly gifts? Do the humans worship the Gods also? What's the flora and fauna situation? Is it just the same as normal Earth but with vampires? If it's just regular Earth, then what period of human civilisation is this set? And what's the scale of this whole thing, like are the vampires on every continent? Are there even any other continents? The fantasy and worldbuilding really felt like just a setting or backdrop for the romance and that's okay, but it just doesn't do it for me.
• The surprise at the end would have landed for me a little better if In fact, I can’t recall there being any real hints, unless I missed something.
• I can enjoy an plot, but not when it feels like I cannot abide that. It makes me wonder if the author feels they are incapable of keeping a romance interesting for a whole second book without relying on which is so trendy right now.
•
Biggest Pros:
• The pacing was very good for me. I found the book hard to put down and finished it in a couple of days. While it had its problems, it was generally very entertaining.
• I really enjoyed the action scenes / arena scenes. I thought they were the most engaging and well-written parts of the book.
• Overall, I don’t regret reading this at all. It was fun, entertaining, and easy to read. For me, that’s plenty good enough.
Biggest Cons:
• Every time I think about this book, I can’t recall its name, so make of that what you will.
• The world building and development of mystery and political intrigue were weak, with the exception of the tower / arena itself. As a fantasy fan, I was waiting to learn more about the world outside of the competition plot, but that never really happened satisfactorily. Like tell me more about the different races of winged vampires. Where did they come from? And the Gods, are there more of them? Have they existed since the beginning of time or were they once mortals who were granted Godly gifts? Do the humans worship the Gods also? What's the flora and fauna situation? Is it just the same as normal Earth but with vampires? If it's just regular Earth, then what period of human civilisation is this set? And what's the scale of this whole thing, like are the vampires on every continent? Are there even any other continents? The fantasy and worldbuilding really felt like just a setting or backdrop for the romance and that's okay, but it just doesn't do it for me.
• The surprise at the end would have landed for me a little better if
Spoiler
there had been more foreshadowing of the main character’s true origins.• I can enjoy an
Spoiler
enemies to lovers to enemiesSpoiler
it has been set up for them to become lovers again.Spoiler
the enemies to lovers trope•
Spoiler
Also, he literally killed her dad right in front of her. Then threatened to rape her (whether he was lying for her safety or not, I don’t care, it was disgusting). Then forced her to marry him. And yet, I feel like the author still wants us to root for them. I don’t want to read the sequel because I don’t want to see her forgive him and go back to him. Girl, have some self-respect.
adventurous
funny
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:
No
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
fast-paced
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
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
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
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:
No
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
dark
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
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
dark
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A decent vampire romance if you like a slow burn
I'm a little on the fence with this story. I like Raihn and Oraya as a couple and I particularly enjoyed the scenes where they trained together. The sex scene was also probably the best I've read in a romatasy book so far. But I found the world to be a little convoluted (although there is a glossary at the end that helps) and the story does drag. The plot is unique, but some of the trials were difficult to imagine and the different vampire clans, Gods and Goddesses were hard to follow alongside the story or Raihn, Oraya and the Nightborn King. I'll definitely read the next book at some point, but I won't rush to!
I'm a little on the fence with this story. I like Raihn and Oraya as a couple and I particularly enjoyed the scenes where they trained together. The sex scene was also probably the best I've read in a romatasy book so far. But I found the world to be a little convoluted (although there is a glossary at the end that helps) and the story does drag. The plot is unique, but some of the trials were difficult to imagine and the different vampire clans, Gods and Goddesses were hard to follow alongside the story or Raihn, Oraya and the Nightborn King. I'll definitely read the next book at some point, but I won't rush to!