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Reviews tagging 'Fire/Fire injury'
Crescent City – Wenn die Schatten sich erheben by Sarah J. Maas
83 reviews
sarahtaymo's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual violence, Violence, War, Xenophobia, Torture, Physical abuse, Racism, Drug use, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, Sexual assault, Murder, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Slavery, Drug abuse, Hate crime, Sexism, Sexual content, and Sexual harassment
vermontsnowboarder's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
It pains me to rate this book so low. I like Maas' books. I enjoy the characters, the worldbuilding, and the writing. This book fell flat in many ways. Before you read this review, please know that it contains SPOILERS. Big ones.
1. Pacing. The pacing throughout this entire book was off. Parts of it were dragged out unnecessarily(I did not need pages upon pages of Bryce wandering through the tunnels, only to be repeated 500 pages later.) Parts of it were rushed through. All of it was like getting whiplash over and over again. Honestly, there were far too many points of view. I doubt most authors could get a pacing that worked for so many different storylines.
2. Plotholes. Again, I think this is because there were too many different storylines to keep track of. But the mistakes were glaringly obvious.Let's take Bryce at the beginning as an example. Rhys locked her up in the Hewn City. Knew that she would go through the grate. Made it so that she only saw one path. After we were told over and over again that "even Rhys doesn't know these tunnels are here". ??? Make it make sense. This is one example of many things that don't add up and contradict.
3. Repetition. Ok, all of this can be blamed on too many storylines. One storyline would end. That last paragraph would be *marginally* rephrased and then used at the beginning the next time that storyline was picked back up. A literary technique might be used here, but it wasn't used well. I would have thought the editors would have caught how jarring it was to repeat sentences. But it was more than just that.I know that Maas was attempting to draw the connection between Midgard and the original world of the Fae (we still don't know what that planet is called, despite five books taking place there). But the repetition of Bryce walking through the same tunnels on two different worlds was a bit much.
4. The characters. I've never been a big fan of Bryce and Hunt. Bryce was excellent in the first book and has only slid wildly downhill into being an unrelatable, whingy, my way or the highway. Hunt was still cardboard. Truthfully, the only characters that were developed and interesting were Ruhn and Lidia. The fact that she did well writing them and devoted a similar amount of space means that if more care was taken, we could have cared about the others as well. Even well-established characters weren't written well.We saw Rhys once, in the beginning. Really? He is the most powerful high lord in history, and he manages to talk to Bryce once. Gotcha. Nesta, at least, made sense and was written all right. But it is not at all believable that Bryce would be able to get Truth-Teller away from Azriel. Super Powerful Magical Starborn Princess nonsense aside - there is no way that the shadows and his training failed that badly. It just....wasn't believable.
5. Writing. There are many instances of weak writing. It feels a bit odd for me to say about an author that I like so much. Having read everything Maas has written, I know that she can write torture scenes well.Aelin went through it in Kingdom of Ash. And we were given this watered-down jumble? Maas did not make me care that they were getting tortured. My heart didn't hurt, it wasn't sad, it wasn't brutal. It just was. I think it was because it was all past. There wasn't an action that she cut away from. She would cut to after, occasionally right before. But there was no skin in the game. Nothing for us to feel emotionally attached to. Battles. From ToG and ACOTAR, we know that Maas can write battles (some of them are better than others, but we know she can) well. Yet this giant battle that the entire book felt like it was working up to was blase. Boring and nonexistent. Where was the heartbreak? Where was the emotion? Where was the fear? It wasn't at this battle if you can even call it that. After all that work to get Hel to Midgard to help them fight, we barely noticed their presence. The Asteri, who are supposedly the biggest bad that there ever was, were barely an inconvenience.
1. Pacing. The pacing throughout this entire book was off. Parts of it were dragged out unnecessarily
2. Plotholes. Again, I think this is because there were too many different storylines to keep track of. But the mistakes were glaringly obvious.
3. Repetition. Ok, all of this can be blamed on too many storylines. One storyline would end. That last paragraph would be *marginally* rephrased and then used at the beginning the next time that storyline was picked back up. A literary technique might be used here, but it wasn't used well. I would have thought the editors would have caught how jarring it was to repeat sentences. But it was more than just that.
4. The characters. I've never been a big fan of Bryce and Hunt. Bryce was excellent in the first book and has only slid wildly downhill into being an unrelatable, whingy, my way or the highway. Hunt was still cardboard. Truthfully, the only characters that were developed and interesting were Ruhn and Lidia. The fact that she did well writing them and devoted a similar amount of space means that if more care was taken, we could have cared about the others as well. Even well-established characters weren't written well.
5. Writing. There are many instances of weak writing. It feels a bit odd for me to say about an author that I like so much. Having read everything Maas has written, I know that she can write torture scenes well.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Misogyny, Colonisation, Confinement, Violence, War, Slavery, Torture, and Sexual content
Minor: Sexual assault, Classism, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, and Excrement
traceyanderson's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Genocide, Child abuse, Death, Blood, Emotional abuse, Cannibalism, Colonisation, Hate crime, Torture, Body horror, Misogyny, Slavery, Child death, Classism, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Confinement, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Gore, Grief, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical content, Vomit, and War
dani_reis's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.5
HEAVY SPOILERS IN REVIEW
I wholeheartedly disagree with Bloomsbury giving out ARCs. The amount of people spoiling the story pre-release is unacceptable.
The ending was too focused on being a HEA and tried making a neat little packaged ending. Instead of cliffhanger POVs, I just felt like they were useless. Tharian headed back to Ariadne, and his wife going after another love. Then Ithan not telling literally anyone "don't drink the water after" because wtf are they supposed to drink? Sigrid just being a loose end. I think it's Perry, Amelie's sister, who isn't explained at all, and I'm not sure I care.
The crossover. Was it even necessary?? They spent the whole time in the caves. She leaves them wanting to kill her or slice off her back, and she's like "hey, you're all cool, take my fragile, human parents who I'd split worlds to save." But she never stepped out of the caves to experience fae culture to change her mind about fae.
Hel. Hel was not even needed because she could have just had a conversation with Aidas. They didn't even explore Hel, and sounds like they never will go back.
Hunt was pretty toxic in this book. I am anticipating that Hunt and Bryce have issues in future books (please be only one more).
As a whole, I really enjoyed it. It had lots of action. But let's just admit: Lydia carried this book, until the "I have secret children plot."
Bonus chapter from Walmart: liked it. Gave us insight to why she maybe gave up her parents to them.
Bonus from B&N: meh. I wanted to skim it. Near the end it was cute, but kind of mad I own the copy.
Bonus from indie: loved it. Thank fucking god. Approve of this one.
Still need to read the other bonus chapters.
I wholeheartedly disagree with Bloomsbury giving out ARCs. The amount of people spoiling the story pre-release is unacceptable.
The ending was too focused on being a HEA and tried making a neat little packaged ending. Instead of cliffhanger POVs, I just felt like they were useless. Tharian headed back to Ariadne, and his wife going after another love. Then Ithan not telling literally anyone "don't drink the water after" because wtf are they supposed to drink? Sigrid just being a loose end. I think it's Perry, Amelie's sister, who isn't explained at all, and I'm not sure I care.
The crossover. Was it even necessary?? They spent the whole time in the caves. She leaves them wanting to kill her or slice off her back, and she's like "hey, you're all cool, take my fragile, human parents who I'd split worlds to save." But she never stepped out of the caves to experience fae culture to change her mind about fae.
Hel. Hel was not even needed because she could have just had a conversation with Aidas. They didn't even explore Hel, and sounds like they never will go back.
Hunt was pretty toxic in this book. I am anticipating that Hunt and Bryce have issues in future books (please be only one more).
As a whole, I really enjoyed it. It had lots of action. But let's just admit: Lydia carried this book, until the "I have secret children plot."
Bonus chapter from Walmart: liked it. Gave us insight to why she maybe gave up her parents to them.
Bonus from B&N: meh. I wanted to skim it. Near the end it was cute, but kind of mad I own the copy.
Bonus from indie: loved it. Thank fucking god. Approve of this one.
Still need to read the other bonus chapters.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Sexism, Violence, Blood, Confinement, Sexual content, Classism, Cursing, Slavery, Torture, Death, War, Genocide, Mental illness, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Grief, and Medical trauma
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Animal death, and Medical content
Minor: Abandonment, Toxic relationship, and Kidnapping
heidishartrandnewell's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Death, Vomit, Blood, and Torture
Moderate: Incest, Gaslighting, Physical abuse, Confinement, Forced institutionalization, Classism, Grief, Gun violence, Excrement, Sexism, Colonisation, Infidelity, Medical content, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Rape, and Slavery
hgalvin's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
tense
fast-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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture, Violence, and War
Moderate: Violence and Misogyny
Minor: Slavery, Fire/Fire injury, and Rape
kera_reads's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
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? No
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: War, Violence, Torture, and Cannibalism
Moderate: Genocide, Vomit, Murder, Trafficking, Grief, Slavery, and Kidnapping
Minor: Injury/Injury detail, Fire/Fire injury, Excrement, and Drug use
bi_n_large's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: War, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Blood, Genocide, Sexual content, Gore, Confinement, Torture, Death of parent, Toxic relationship, and Death
Moderate: Physical abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, and Emotional abuse
Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Child death, Rape, and Sexual violence
losthought323's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
I don't think SJM books are for me anymore. This was an okay story--all the plot questions from the previous books are addressed, and all the usual SJM writing hallmarks are here. But, the answers to these questions are either huge exposition dump of information that probably should have come up earlier, or a character has magically figured out a solution that no one else has at the last possible second, and the reader never really gets clued into how or why they find this answer.
The pacing is breakneck on this one. There's a conflict, there's the outcome of that conflict, and then the characters have about three lines of witty dialogue about how messed up that all is before they're running to put out the next fire. I know time is supposed to be limited, which is supposed to add tension, but It leaves the character and their development feeling topical at best.
My specific problems with this book:
1) THE POV CHANGES IN THE MIDDLE OF CHAPTERS???? WHYY???? And it's always awkward to jump from a cliffhanger to a separate plot thread that ends in another cliffhanger? Round and Round it goes.
2) I hate Bryce in this book. She constantly rages against The Astari and the Fae Lord and Ladies of the World for using their powers to abuse people, but half the time, she's just as bad as the people she hates.
-Early on Selene gives a condensed world history lesson to Bryce. Bryce spends the entire time ranting about how selfish it was for the sisters not to save the people behind her when she portal-ed away. Then, Bryce immediately takes two powerful weapons she doesn't know how to use, awakens an Ancient, and endangers two strangers and the entire planet because her world, her answers, and her people are more important than everyone else.
-She doesn't want to be a Fae Queen or associated with the Fae, but she will play the royal Fae card whenever it's convenient or necessary to save her friends and family.
-Towards the end of the book, Bryce uses the horn to contact Nesta to give her the death Mask and sends her human parents to the other world to get the powerful mask. But also admits she's just sending her parents because they're humans and in danger. There's a whole argument about not having enough time to save civilians. But there's enough time to call a helicopter, her friends, and her allies's friends to Allowen and fly to Nena, but not enough time to take a couple more people and send them to the non-Astarhi world.
3) Every problem, small or large, in this plot follows the same formula: The characters gather together and ask how we are going to take on this problem. Bryce is says she has a plan. During the plan, she fakes her way through and says something like, "I'm not sure what I'm doing," and then magically figures out exactly what she needs to do at the right time. Cue fawning side characters, mates and enemies---saying i knew she could do it!
Early in the book, Bryce is with Nesta and Azriel in tunnels. The story at the time is in Bryce's POV. Azriel notes her hand scraps aren't healing, but her knees are. Bryce makes an excuse that she's half human, and that's why it's not working. As a reader, I know Bryce, at this point, is in a strange world, with people she's not sure she can trust and seeking dangerous answers. I know she's holding her cards close to her chest for a reason. But the writing never gives us a hint of her intentions. We get context clues of whats coming-Nesta mentions the wyrm monster, the cave shakes, and i think we see the a dead one's bones. So it's not totally out of left field when Bryce is like haha, i have summoned the Wyrm with my blood as a distraction so I can run off. But why even have this chapter in Bryce's perspective if we never really get to be in her head? Wouldn't there be more stakes and tension here if Bryce explained even a bit of her actions and how she hid them from Nesta and Azriel? (The only way I can justify her not once not thinking about any plans whatsoever here is maybe she's worried about Rhysand hearing her thoughts. But it wouldn't be hard for there to be a line about her being paranoid he's listening.)
Another 'what the f***' moment of this for me was when Bryce portals home and "is held hostage" in her house. For most of the scenario, while she is home, there are no clues that she went there on purpose. She opens the chapter by saying my powers have a sense of humor for slamming my face into that wall. Then she whines and complains and banters with her dad for about two chapters, during which they trade information. Then, Bryce reveals she was faking being a hostage, stole a key to unlock her magic handcuffs from Ruhn's room (THAT'S SUPER CONVENIENT), and was just using her villainous' dad's massive ego to figure out the information she wanted on the magic blades and her star powers. Do we see her search for the key? No, we did see her hide in her borhters room and cry about her brother and husband being tortured on his bed. THE WHOLE CHAPTER IS IN HER POV--so why aren't we, as readers, privy to her master chess moves?
Bryce pulls out a notebook she stole from the Autumn King to barter with Morwen. When did she take that?
Bryce figures out how to use the swords when she thrust them inside Pollack's ribcage. How? She's collected the three-star magic batteries of her evil ancestors, so she just knows how to do it i guess?
The only reason this sort of Sherlock Homes' Suprise reveals work in other media is that the clues are visible if you look for them, and the convoluted answer as to how they arrived at that solution is also revealed dramatically in a conversation or internal monologue where they tell you had they did it. Bryce's surprise reveals you are just surprised out of the left field that is convenient to get her to the next plot point and gives us no insight on her actual character.
3) What is the point of Sigrid's character? Ithan could have had a perfectly compelling reluctant leader of the Pack arc without her. Instead, we get 65% of the book of him running around trying to resurrect her just so he can bump into Jezebel and Hypaxia, who will offload some more ancient history exposition and conveniently have all the tools they need to save Bryce from death.
4) What's the point of Baxian's character? His mate was killed, all of his rebel allies were killed, and he was tortured. He also reveals a tragic backstory about why he became a monster before switching sides. But hey, look, the pegasus are back. Baxian's lost his mate and part of his soul, been tortured, and lost all of his rebellion allies--sorry all your friends are dead, but hey, alien parasites didn't eat your mate's soul, she's in heaven. Please don't immediately unalive yourself. Instead, keep acting as a steward to Bryce's country because the ancient Pegasus has returned.
5) Characters withholding important information for dramatic reveals.
-Jezebel is the caretaker of a wiped-out human civilization history that explains a time before the Astari. Her people died 1500 years ago to protect this knowledge and ensure it wasn't forgotten. She proceeds to make sure it is forgotten because a demon cursed her and because it is not really powerful--just theoretical math books or literature. Even though knowing there was a world before the Asteri would have been helpful for the main character to know two books ago.
-The Prince of Hels doesn't tell Hunt he has the power to override the inked crown on his head because Hunt had to suffer/be tortured or else they would find out he was Hel test tube baby. The also don't tell Bryce any of the information Helena or Silene had infor dumped earlier on because she wasn't ready yet.
-Danika is still a character who knows the secrets of everything and everyone in the book. Everyone attributes some aspect of the rebellion's success or their character development to her.
6) Love heals mass amounts of trauma and tosses away what could be interesting explorations of complex and deeply hurt characters by making them mates.
-Hunt's got PTSD the size of an entire universe about being a commanding officer of the army and watching his friends die because of his orders and decisions. Bryce tells him to get over it and that she loves him. Hunt does.
-Ruhn has a hard time coming to terms with the fact that the woman he was in love with is a double agent who betrayed him and his sister, helped torture him, and historically has murdered and tortured lots of people. Then he finds out she did everything cause she's a mom and also thinks she's hot. What trauma? We're mates now.
Theorion is an immature guy who just wants to have some fun and continually makes bad decisions because he's unwilling to face his own emotions. Then he gets married, and he's suddenly ready to be a hero.
7) The smut in this book all felt like the same scene written over and over again regardless of the parties involved.
The pacing is breakneck on this one. There's a conflict, there's the outcome of that conflict, and then the characters have about three lines of witty dialogue about how messed up that all is before they're running to put out the next fire. I know time is supposed to be limited, which is supposed to add tension, but It leaves the character and their development feeling topical at best.
My specific problems with this book:
1) THE POV CHANGES IN THE MIDDLE OF CHAPTERS???? WHYY???? And it's always awkward to jump from a cliffhanger to a separate plot thread that ends in another cliffhanger? Round and Round it goes.
2) I hate Bryce in this book. She constantly rages against The Astari and the Fae Lord and Ladies of the World for using their powers to abuse people, but half the time, she's just as bad as the people she hates.
-Early on Selene gives a condensed world history lesson to Bryce. Bryce spends the entire time ranting about how selfish it was for the sisters not to save the people behind her when she portal-ed away. Then, Bryce immediately takes two powerful weapons she doesn't know how to use, awakens an Ancient, and endangers two strangers and the entire planet because her world, her answers, and her people are more important than everyone else.
-She doesn't want to be a Fae Queen or associated with the Fae, but she will play the royal Fae card whenever it's convenient or necessary to save her friends and family.
-Towards the end of the book, Bryce uses the horn to contact Nesta to give her the death Mask and sends her human parents to the other world to get the powerful mask. But also admits she's just sending her parents because they're humans and in danger. There's a whole argument about not having enough time to save civilians. But there's enough time to call a helicopter, her friends, and her allies's friends to Allowen and fly to Nena, but not enough time to take a couple more people and send them to the non-Astarhi world.
3) Every problem, small or large, in this plot follows the same formula: The characters gather together and ask how we are going to take on this problem. Bryce is says she has a plan. During the plan, she fakes her way through and says something like, "I'm not sure what I'm doing," and then magically figures out exactly what she needs to do at the right time. Cue fawning side characters, mates and enemies---saying i knew she could do it!
Early in the book, Bryce is with Nesta and Azriel in tunnels. The story at the time is in Bryce's POV. Azriel notes her hand scraps aren't healing, but her knees are. Bryce makes an excuse that she's half human, and that's why it's not working. As a reader, I know Bryce, at this point, is in a strange world, with people she's not sure she can trust and seeking dangerous answers. I know she's holding her cards close to her chest for a reason. But the writing never gives us a hint of her intentions. We get context clues of whats coming-Nesta mentions the wyrm monster, the cave shakes, and i think we see the a dead one's bones. So it's not totally out of left field when Bryce is like haha, i have summoned the Wyrm with my blood as a distraction so I can run off. But why even have this chapter in Bryce's perspective if we never really get to be in her head? Wouldn't there be more stakes and tension here if Bryce explained even a bit of her actions and how she hid them from Nesta and Azriel? (The only way I can justify her not once not thinking about any plans whatsoever here is maybe she's worried about Rhysand hearing her thoughts. But it wouldn't be hard for there to be a line about her being paranoid he's listening.)
Another 'what the f***' moment of this for me was when Bryce portals home and "is held hostage" in her house. For most of the scenario, while she is home, there are no clues that she went there on purpose. She opens the chapter by saying my powers have a sense of humor for slamming my face into that wall. Then she whines and complains and banters with her dad for about two chapters, during which they trade information. Then, Bryce reveals she was faking being a hostage, stole a key to unlock her magic handcuffs from Ruhn's room (THAT'S SUPER CONVENIENT), and was just using her villainous' dad's massive ego to figure out the information she wanted on the magic blades and her star powers. Do we see her search for the key? No, we did see her hide in her borhters room and cry about her brother and husband being tortured on his bed. THE WHOLE CHAPTER IS IN HER POV--so why aren't we, as readers, privy to her master chess moves?
Bryce pulls out a notebook she stole from the Autumn King to barter with Morwen. When did she take that?
Bryce figures out how to use the swords when she thrust them inside Pollack's ribcage. How? She's collected the three-star magic batteries of her evil ancestors, so she just knows how to do it i guess?
The only reason this sort of Sherlock Homes' Suprise reveals work in other media is that the clues are visible if you look for them, and the convoluted answer as to how they arrived at that solution is also revealed dramatically in a conversation or internal monologue where they tell you had they did it. Bryce's surprise reveals you are just surprised out of the left field that is convenient to get her to the next plot point and gives us no insight on her actual character.
3) What is the point of Sigrid's character? Ithan could have had a perfectly compelling reluctant leader of the Pack arc without her. Instead, we get 65% of the book of him running around trying to resurrect her just so he can bump into Jezebel and Hypaxia, who will offload some more ancient history exposition and conveniently have all the tools they need to save Bryce from death.
4) What's the point of Baxian's character? His mate was killed, all of his rebel allies were killed, and he was tortured. He also reveals a tragic backstory about why he became a monster before switching sides. But hey, look, the pegasus are back. Baxian's lost his mate and part of his soul, been tortured, and lost all of his rebellion allies--sorry all your friends are dead, but hey, alien parasites didn't eat your mate's soul, she's in heaven. Please don't immediately unalive yourself. Instead, keep acting as a steward to Bryce's country because the ancient Pegasus has returned.
5) Characters withholding important information for dramatic reveals.
-Jezebel is the caretaker of a wiped-out human civilization history that explains a time before the Astari. Her people died 1500 years ago to protect this knowledge and ensure it wasn't forgotten. She proceeds to make sure it is forgotten because a demon cursed her and because it is not really powerful--just theoretical math books or literature. Even though knowing there was a world before the Asteri would have been helpful for the main character to know two books ago.
-The Prince of Hels doesn't tell Hunt he has the power to override the inked crown on his head because Hunt had to suffer/be tortured or else they would find out he was Hel test tube baby. The also don't tell Bryce any of the information Helena or Silene had infor dumped earlier on because she wasn't ready yet.
-Danika is still a character who knows the secrets of everything and everyone in the book. Everyone attributes some aspect of the rebellion's success or their character development to her.
6) Love heals mass amounts of trauma and tosses away what could be interesting explorations of complex and deeply hurt characters by making them mates.
-Hunt's got PTSD the size of an entire universe about being a commanding officer of the army and watching his friends die because of his orders and decisions. Bryce tells him to get over it and that she loves him. Hunt does.
-Ruhn has a hard time coming to terms with the fact that the woman he was in love with is a double agent who betrayed him and his sister, helped torture him, and historically has murdered and tortured lots of people. Then he finds out she did everything cause she's a mom and also thinks she's hot. What trauma? We're mates now.
Theorion is an immature guy who just wants to have some fun and continually makes bad decisions because he's unwilling to face his own emotions. Then he gets married, and he's suddenly ready to be a hero.
7) The smut in this book all felt like the same scene written over and over again regardless of the parties involved.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Torture
Moderate: Death, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Blood, Colonisation, Body horror, Child abuse, and Cursing
Minor: Genocide
tiana_king's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
This didn’t really go the way I expected. Like at all. The author definitely left the door open for more books. The pacing was great, the characters stayed awesome, and the ending was solid. *spoilers*
My only beef was we didn’t spend near enough time in ACOTAR and the alpha mystic character was pointless
My only beef was we didn’t spend near enough time in ACOTAR and the alpha mystic character was pointless
Content Warnings
Graphic: Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, Confinement, Kidnapping, Torture, Blood, Gore, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Death, Murder, Sexual content, and Violence
Moderate: Child death, Child abuse, and Domestic abuse
Minor: Genocide and Slavery