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avoraciousreader68's review
medium-paced
3.5
3.5
Book source ~ BBNYA Tour
When Lissabet, or Libby to her friends, is chosen as the sacrifice to The Three dragon gods she’s not just surprised, she’s stunned. She isn’t even one of the choices! She wasn’t supposed to be there at all, but the high sorcerer insisted, so she obeyed. Now, everything is chaos. Not only didn’t she die (yet), but the ritual for The Three has gone horribly wrong. While she and the eldest, Rhetahn, flee across the land searching for answers, demons march from their exile killing all the dragon shifters they come across. Who will be the victors?
This is an interesting world with lots of varied characters. It’s been quite awhile since I read a book where the MC is supposed to be sacrificed. But of course, she’s not, otherwise she wouldn’t be an MC. Right? The whole ritual exploding majestically sideways is a great plot point to build on. It’s the catalyst for chase and survival while trying to get answers. I’m not down with the insta-love though. Lust I can get behind, but love? Nah. Not yet at any rate. The writing tends to get bogged down in some areas and there are times the dialogue tries too hard to flow normally giving it a stilted feel. Also, this book ends on a cliff hanger with only a few issues addressed, but that does give the second book a good jump off point. If you like a rich fantasy world where the characters are in peril then this is the book for you.
thepastelnerd's review
DNF at 43%.
TLDR: The fantasy elements are interesting, but it's hugely overshadowed by a romance that isn't even a romance. It's straight up insta-lust.
Thank you to the author for giving me a free ebook version in exchange for an honest review. I really tried to keep going and finish the book to honor her gift, but since a main element of the story is so off putting to me that I don't intend on finishing or keeping my copy of the book, I'm giving it one star.
Ok. So. The setup of the story is that Libby, our protagonist, is unwillingly chosen to be sacrificed to the three gods (who are brothers) of the land in order to renew their power. During the ritual, one of the gods suddenly goes mad and kills the youngest brother while severely injuring the oldest. The guards help the oldest brother and Libby escape to the mountains, where they learn demons are invading the land for the first time in millennia. Subsequently, they set out on a journey to find the priests who selected Libby for the sacrifice and find out why the ritual went so wrong. The plan is for the oldest god to then complete the ritual to renew his power so he can save everybody.
This god is the other protagonist, Rhetann. Remember, he's severely injured by his brother's hand after watching him go mad and kill their youngest sibling after 2,000 years of being with each other. He's in hiding and his people are being attacked all around by enemies he hasn't had to deal with for those 2,000 years. He still needs to kill Libby to fix everything. So what does he keep thinking about?
How much he wants to bang her.
I'm not kidding.
To (unsuccessfully) resist his feelings, he declares she's a powerful manipulator who only wants to seduce him so he'll spare her life.
And Libby, learning this after some intense kissing, still (presumably since this is a romance) accepts his advances further into the novel! WHAT!?
In the eternal words of Ron Weasley, they "REALLY need to sort out their priorities."
Basically, the foundations of their relationship are attempted murder, further intent to murder, sexism, and lust. And even though I didn't even get halfway through, I really didn't want to continue knowing their relationship was going to. Even without the murder and ritual sacrifice, a relationship built solely on lust while wrapped in sexism should not be portrayed as desirable. In real life, it often leads to a toxic relationship and abuse.
The romance would have made much more sense if it was a much slower enemies-to-unlikely-friends-to-lovers build. That would have given more needed time for the characters to be developed (both mains feel pretty unoriginal to be brutally honest, which is why I haven't said much about else them). I also didn't appreciate the frequent strong language, although I know others wouldn't mind it at all.
Some good points include a legitimately interesting fantasy system. I actually really enjoyed the idea of a world where turning into a dragon/other animal is a normal part of society, and these ideas are impressively original and well thought out. And although the violence and intimacy levels are something I'm not really comfortable with, I also appreciate the inclusion of content warnings so that I partially knew what to expect going in. Content warnings show a lot of respect for your readers' mental health and I wish more books had them. Again, I am genuinely grateful to the author for being among the first to give me a free copy of their book to honestly review.
But nothing about the romance was appealing to me and I just couldn't get past that.
TLDR: The fantasy elements are interesting, but it's hugely overshadowed by a romance that isn't even a romance. It's straight up insta-lust.
Thank you to the author for giving me a free ebook version in exchange for an honest review. I really tried to keep going and finish the book to honor her gift, but since a main element of the story is so off putting to me that I don't intend on finishing or keeping my copy of the book, I'm giving it one star.
Ok. So. The setup of the story is that Libby, our protagonist, is unwillingly chosen to be sacrificed to the three gods (who are brothers) of the land in order to renew their power. During the ritual, one of the gods suddenly goes mad and kills the youngest brother while severely injuring the oldest. The guards help the oldest brother and Libby escape to the mountains, where they learn demons are invading the land for the first time in millennia. Subsequently, they set out on a journey to find the priests who selected Libby for the sacrifice and find out why the ritual went so wrong. The plan is for the oldest god to then complete the ritual to renew his power so he can save everybody.
This god is the other protagonist, Rhetann. Remember, he's severely injured by his brother's hand after watching him go mad and kill their youngest sibling after 2,000 years of being with each other. He's in hiding and his people are being attacked all around by enemies he hasn't had to deal with for those 2,000 years. He still needs to kill Libby to fix everything. So what does he keep thinking about?
How much he wants to bang her.
I'm not kidding.
To (unsuccessfully) resist his feelings, he declares she's a powerful manipulator who only wants to seduce him so he'll spare her life.
And Libby, learning this after some intense kissing, still (presumably since this is a romance) accepts his advances further into the novel! WHAT!?
In the eternal words of Ron Weasley, they "REALLY need to sort out their priorities."
Basically, the foundations of their relationship are attempted murder, further intent to murder, sexism, and lust. And even though I didn't even get halfway through, I really didn't want to continue knowing their relationship was going to. Even without the murder and ritual sacrifice, a relationship built solely on lust while wrapped in sexism should not be portrayed as desirable. In real life, it often leads to a toxic relationship and abuse.
The romance would have made much more sense if it was a much slower enemies-to-unlikely-friends-to-lovers build. That would have given more needed time for the characters to be developed (both mains feel pretty unoriginal to be brutally honest, which is why I haven't said much about else them). I also didn't appreciate the frequent strong language, although I know others wouldn't mind it at all.
Some good points include a legitimately interesting fantasy system. I actually really enjoyed the idea of a world where turning into a dragon/other animal is a normal part of society, and these ideas are impressively original and well thought out. And although the violence and intimacy levels are something I'm not really comfortable with, I also appreciate the inclusion of content warnings so that I partially knew what to expect going in. Content warnings show a lot of respect for your readers' mental health and I wish more books had them. Again, I am genuinely grateful to the author for being among the first to give me a free copy of their book to honestly review.
But nothing about the romance was appealing to me and I just couldn't get past that.
aliteraryescape's review
adventurous
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? No
3.75
rainnbooks's review
4.0
Book # 1 in The Gods of Trivium series, Sacrifice brings forth a fantasy world in all its technicolor brilliance.
This is the 2nd fantasy book that I have read recently where GODS are more or less even weaker than humans, oopsie, creates quite an impression you see...LOL!
Vicky Walklate’s Sacrifice is all about rituals and customs followed by humans who are led by their sorcerers to live alongside the creatures in their world. And what a creature world it is, called Jothesia, there are all kinds of shifters, air, water, ground, and then dwarfs, nalfies, demons, eachy, harpy, to name a few. The dragon shifters are the most powerful of the lot and it is the 3 dragon brothers Rhetahn, Mhaljett, and Storren who are revered as the Gods whose magical powers have to be replenished every 25 years. It is this ritual for which Libby is forced to participate by the High sorcerer and by coincidence chosen as the sacrifice to the Gods.
Libby was an easy character to fall in love with, her kindness and compassion, and of course, the sassy banter with Rhetahn the highlight of the novel. Once she realizes that her blood could be the reason for the mayhem that halts the sacrifice, Libby reluctantly joins Rhetahn as they travel the realm to meet the High sorcerer. The story builds from a painful loss of love but the author skillfully manages to weave a web of deceit and intrigue that has been waiting to happen for more than 2000 years. I loved this fantasy world with its underground tunnels and rivers and the dwarfian town of stalactites. The romance that develops between Libby and Rhetahn felt too quick, I would have loved to have a little slower pace for the feelings to change from enemies to lovers.
It was however the supporting characters like Dax and Fen that absolutely held my fascination. Dax especially with his no-fear attitude to Rhetahn in laying out the truths as he sees fit was superb. Storren has a very minuscule presence in the story but his easy-going charm was definitely felt so much that I hope the author has a full-length role for him in the next.
The ending is an explosive revelation about Libby’s origins, and I can’t wait to grab my hands on the copy of the second book in the series.
Many thanks to the author for a chance to read and review this book. All opinions are expressed voluntarily.
This review is published in my blog Rain'n'Books, ##Goodreads, ##Amazon India, ##Book Bub, ##Medium.com, ##Facebook, ##Twitter.
This is the 2nd fantasy book that I have read recently where GODS are more or less even weaker than humans, oopsie, creates quite an impression you see...LOL!
Vicky Walklate’s Sacrifice is all about rituals and customs followed by humans who are led by their sorcerers to live alongside the creatures in their world. And what a creature world it is, called Jothesia, there are all kinds of shifters, air, water, ground, and then dwarfs, nalfies, demons, eachy, harpy, to name a few. The dragon shifters are the most powerful of the lot and it is the 3 dragon brothers Rhetahn, Mhaljett, and Storren who are revered as the Gods whose magical powers have to be replenished every 25 years. It is this ritual for which Libby is forced to participate by the High sorcerer and by coincidence chosen as the sacrifice to the Gods.
Libby was an easy character to fall in love with, her kindness and compassion, and of course, the sassy banter with Rhetahn the highlight of the novel. Once she realizes that her blood could be the reason for the mayhem that halts the sacrifice, Libby reluctantly joins Rhetahn as they travel the realm to meet the High sorcerer. The story builds from a painful loss of love but the author skillfully manages to weave a web of deceit and intrigue that has been waiting to happen for more than 2000 years. I loved this fantasy world with its underground tunnels and rivers and the dwarfian town of stalactites. The romance that develops between Libby and Rhetahn felt too quick, I would have loved to have a little slower pace for the feelings to change from enemies to lovers.
It was however the supporting characters like Dax and Fen that absolutely held my fascination. Dax especially with his no-fear attitude to Rhetahn in laying out the truths as he sees fit was superb. Storren has a very minuscule presence in the story but his easy-going charm was definitely felt so much that I hope the author has a full-length role for him in the next.
The ending is an explosive revelation about Libby’s origins, and I can’t wait to grab my hands on the copy of the second book in the series.
Many thanks to the author for a chance to read and review this book. All opinions are expressed voluntarily.
This review is published in my blog Rain'n'Books, ##Goodreads, ##Amazon India, ##Book Bub, ##Medium.com, ##Facebook, ##Twitter.
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