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ohmosh's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
heorina13's review against another edition
3.0
Giving this book 3 stars (mainly for Kiran, ehehe) even though I couldn't actually finish it. It's simply not my cup of tea.
tinlizzyd08's review against another edition
4.0
Yessss, I’m loving Book Two, maybe even more than Book One, dare I say? I want to give it a 4.5 (if we had that option, ahem, GoodReads, looking at YOU!) It’s definitely a great read and I am more invested than ever in the world of the Atlantians and the Ascended. Armentrout is giving us a wonderful world and as she adds more characters and magic it just gets richer and deeper. I can’t wait to see what comes next and she definitely drops a little bomb at the end of this one!
What I LOVED ❤️
Poppy’s character development is very top tier. In Book One she is meek, unsure and willing to accept a lot of mistreatment at the hands of others. But in Book Two, she is really discovering her own boundaries and finding herself and I love it! Her fear and insecurity starts to be replaced by determination and self empowerment and it’s just exciting to see her come into her own!
ROMANCE!
What I LOVED ❤️
Poppy’s character development is very top tier. In Book One she is meek, unsure and willing to accept a lot of mistreatment at the hands of others. But in Book Two, she is really discovering her own boundaries and finding herself and I love it! Her fear and insecurity starts to be replaced by determination and self empowerment and it’s just exciting to see her come into her own!
ROMANCE!
bashatdemonhead's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
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
4.0
evermoresversion's review against another edition
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
˖ ࣪ ⟡˚<i> <u>1 star</u> </i>˚⟡ ࣪ ˖
did Jennifer L. Armentrout hold a gun to the head of everybody who rated this 5 stars?
i’m genuinely asking because i feel like i’ve lost brain cells reading this book.
ᝰ <b>writing</b> ⊹.˚
now, the first book in the series didn’t have impeccable writing, but here it was like 2x worse. the amount of times characters used modern slang in this book… i lost count. on top of that, this book was WAY too long, like honestly, this could’ve been an email.
ᝰ <b>world-building</b> ⊹.˚
for the amount of times the characters mentioned their plans of going to Atlantia you would expect the world- building and lore of Atlantia to be better. i’m still confused about stuff to do with the Ascended, so i’ve just lost all hope.
ᝰ <b>plot</b> ⊹.˚
this book is 600+ pages, and let me tell you, nothing happens until the last two chapters. they spend the whole book talking about how much they need to get to Atlantia, yet they only get there in the last two chapters. the whole book is just Poppy and Casteel sitting around, fighting, complaining, fucking, sharing sob stories… and i frankly do not give a fuck.
ᝰ <b>characters</b> ⊹.˚
⭒<i> <u>Poppy</u>, </i>at first, i was genuinely proud of her for standing up for herself and not taking Casteel’s shit, but that all ended because after just 75 pages, she was horny again for a man who kidnapped her and had lied to her the entire time in the previous book. she spends the entire book complaining. it’s literally the same thing over and over again like does she even have any original thoughts or…? oh, she also learns to stab people, wow, amazing.
⭒<i> <u>Casteel</u>, </i>all this man has going for him is that he is conventionally attractive, because this whole book is basically just him making up excuses for why he did what he did to Poppy. “i did it because i cared”, “i did it for your own good”, man, i’m about to slap you.
ᝰ <b>tropes</b> ⊹.˚
⭒ <i>1st person POV</i>
⭒ <i>marriage of convenience</i>
⭒ <i>forced proximity</i>
⭒ <i>secret identities</i>
⭒ <i>whiny characters</i>
⭒ <i>plotless</i>
⤷<i> <u>spice level</u>:</i> 🌶️🌶️
ᝰ <b>final thoughts</b> ⊹.˚
this was so bad. i’m kind of disappointed as i thought i’d really want to read the 3rd book after this one, but i give up.
did Jennifer L. Armentrout hold a gun to the head of everybody who rated this 5 stars?
i’m genuinely asking because i feel like i’ve lost brain cells reading this book.
ᝰ <b>writing</b> ⊹.˚
now, the first book in the series didn’t have impeccable writing, but here it was like 2x worse. the amount of times characters used modern slang in this book… i lost count. on top of that, this book was WAY too long, like honestly, this could’ve been an email.
ᝰ <b>world-building</b> ⊹.˚
for the amount of times the characters mentioned their plans of going to Atlantia you would expect the world- building and lore of Atlantia to be better. i’m still confused about stuff to do with the Ascended, so i’ve just lost all hope.
ᝰ <b>plot</b> ⊹.˚
this book is 600+ pages, and let me tell you, nothing happens until the last two chapters. they spend the whole book talking about how much they need to get to Atlantia, yet they only get there in the last two chapters. the whole book is just Poppy and Casteel sitting around, fighting, complaining, fucking, sharing sob stories… and i frankly do not give a fuck.
ᝰ <b>characters</b> ⊹.˚
⭒<i> <u>Poppy</u>, </i>at first, i was genuinely proud of her for standing up for herself and not taking Casteel’s shit, but that all ended because after just 75 pages, she was horny again for a man who kidnapped her and had lied to her the entire time in the previous book. she spends the entire book complaining. it’s literally the same thing over and over again like does she even have any original thoughts or…? oh, she also learns to stab people, wow, amazing.
⭒<i> <u>Casteel</u>, </i>all this man has going for him is that he is conventionally attractive, because this whole book is basically just him making up excuses for why he did what he did to Poppy. “i did it because i cared”, “i did it for your own good”, man, i’m about to slap you.
ᝰ <b>tropes</b> ⊹.˚
⭒ <i>1st person POV</i>
⭒ <i>marriage of convenience</i>
⭒ <i>forced proximity</i>
⭒ <i>secret identities</i>
⭒ <i>whiny characters</i>
⭒ <i>plotless</i>
⤷<i> <u>spice level</u>:</i> 🌶️🌶️
ᝰ <b>final thoughts</b> ⊹.˚
this was so bad. i’m kind of disappointed as i thought i’d really want to read the 3rd book after this one, but i give up.
shelbisreading's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
This series is going to be a DNF for me. The relationships and dialog felt predictable and forced, and the weird wolf/king/fmc threesome foreshadowing gave me so much uncontrollable ick. . All this said, it’s really cool that the author finished so many books and it has such a large audience of fans, that’s a huge accomplishment and I hate to be so negative about an author’s hard work.
ryatwilight's review against another edition
4.0
4.5⭐️. Once again, I was very pleasantly surprised. While this wasn’t the most action packed book, I still really enjoyed it and did not want to put it down. There was definitely still action interspersed throughout the book, but nothing truly earth shattering or jaw dropping happened except in the last paragraph of the book.
Where this book truly shined was in the development of Poppy and Casteel’s relationship. It was the primary focus of the book and I was amazed at how well paced it was and the banter was fantastic. I also love how the banter continued after Poppy stopped resisting how she felt about Casteel and she remained her snarky, stabby self. I’m really glad she didn’t go all soft and lovey dovey. I was living for their interactions. I even liked the “pretending”.
But I think the absolute best part of this book is Kieran. I need more of him. I adore his bored, seemingly unaffected nature and his little humorous quips. Every line of his dialog brought a smile to my face and I also lived for any interaction with him in it. And the scenes where he’s naked in the woods after shifting back to his human form after fighting the Dead Bones Clan and Poppy is trying not to look at him and when they’re on the mountain on their way to Atlantia and they have to share a canvas tarp for sleeping and Poppy awakes to find that “every part of her had somehow escaped the cold” will live rent free in my brain forever. And all I have to say is that the Joining better happen and it better get “very intimate”. It would be incredibly cruel to throw that out there as a possibility and have it not happen. Casteel doesn’t even seem like he’d be opposed to it…in fact, he seems intrigued. I don’t care if it’s just a one time, in the heat of the moment thing. It’s not a want, it’s a need at this point.
And Casteel is just delicious. I still love him and the fact that he valued her and never tried to change her. “He allowed her to protect herself and stood beside her rather than in front of her.”
I’m still liking Poppy and I’m not minding all the questions she asks at all. I actually like it since most of the time I also have the same questions. I also enjoyed the light hearted teasing she got from Casteel and Kieran because of all her questions.
One thing I’m hoping to get the answer to in the upcoming books is why she has such a connection to the wolven. Did they have a special bond with Nyktos at one point?
Where this book truly shined was in the development of Poppy and Casteel’s relationship. It was the primary focus of the book and I was amazed at how well paced it was and the banter was fantastic. I also love how the banter continued after Poppy stopped resisting how she felt about Casteel and she remained her snarky, stabby self. I’m really glad she didn’t go all soft and lovey dovey. I was living for their interactions. I even liked the “pretending”.
But I think the absolute best part of this book is Kieran. I need more of him. I adore his bored, seemingly unaffected nature and his little humorous quips. Every line of his dialog brought a smile to my face and I also lived for any interaction with him in it. And the scenes where he’s naked in the woods after shifting back to his human form after fighting the Dead Bones Clan and Poppy is trying not to look at him and when they’re on the mountain on their way to Atlantia and they have to share a canvas tarp for sleeping and Poppy awakes to find that “every part of her had somehow escaped the cold” will live rent free in my brain forever. And all I have to say is that the Joining better happen and it better get “very intimate”. It would be incredibly cruel to throw that out there as a possibility and have it not happen. Casteel doesn’t even seem like he’d be opposed to it…in fact, he seems intrigued. I don’t care if it’s just a one time, in the heat of the moment thing. It’s not a want, it’s a need at this point.
And Casteel is just delicious. I still love him and the fact that he valued her and never tried to change her. “He allowed her to protect herself and stood beside her rather than in front of her.”
I’m still liking Poppy and I’m not minding all the questions she asks at all. I actually like it since most of the time I also have the same questions. I also enjoyed the light hearted teasing she got from Casteel and Kieran because of all her questions.
One thing I’m hoping to get the answer to in the upcoming books is why she has such a connection to the wolven. Did they have a special bond with Nyktos at one point?
kippins's review against another edition
3.0
Book 2
Hmmmmmm I should learn my lesson. This is what happens when I steam right into the second book of a series immediately after the first.
Things that I let go and overlooked in the first start to really annoy me in the second.
Things like modern day phrases and words that don’t belong in high fantasy.
Phrases like “living his best life”
There were many, MANY more.
Also the repetitiveness of phrases and “personality traits” about stabbing and punching and questions etc.
But. I still enjoyed the story. I’m still curious to know what the hell is going on and I don’t know if I can resist going on to book 3 after that ending!!
Hmmmmmm I should learn my lesson. This is what happens when I steam right into the second book of a series immediately after the first.
Things that I let go and overlooked in the first start to really annoy me in the second.
Things like modern day phrases and words that don’t belong in high fantasy.
Phrases like “living his best life”
There were many, MANY more.
Also the repetitiveness of phrases and “personality traits” about stabbing and punching and questions etc.
But. I still enjoyed the story. I’m still curious to know what the hell is going on and I don’t know if I can resist going on to book 3 after that ending!!
martinenl's review against another edition
3.0
Na het eerste deel is het een verandering dat ik geen foute kon ontdekken, maakt het lezen een stuk relaxter en meer plezierig. Het blijven 3 sterren, toch ontwikkelen het verhaal zich beter in dit boek dan in het eerste deel. De spanning is voelbare door het gehele boek, ook de seksuele variant. Zo nu en dan snap ik de keuzes, op andere momenten hoeft het van mij niet. Die aandacht had aan een sterker verhaal besteed kunnen worden.
Je leert in dit deel de karakters beter kennen en geheimen worden ontrafeld en nieuwe komen boven water. Dat maakt dat ik toch deel 3 wil lezen, heel slim geschreven in dat opzicht. Het einde van dit boek laat je achter met zoveel vragen dat je gewoon direct verder wilt lezen.
Je leert in dit deel de karakters beter kennen en geheimen worden ontrafeld en nieuwe komen boven water. Dat maakt dat ik toch deel 3 wil lezen, heel slim geschreven in dat opzicht. Het einde van dit boek laat je achter met zoveel vragen dat je gewoon direct verder wilt lezen.