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3.86 AVERAGE
3.86 AVERAGE
adventurous
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
Wonderful edition to the world. It is a little bit of 2nd book syndrome with a tad bit of info dump in the beginning to learn more about the world, magic, and the invaders. It's does have the adventure and story that I loved in the first towards the middle to end of the book. Also it builds on the relationship of Qayn and Imani along with Taha and Imani I love the complication that comes with those 3. It builds on Imani siblings and more into Taha's thoughts and mind set. It's a good second book and leaves you wanting the 3rd.
Thank you NetGalley and Delacorte Press for the opportunity to read this e-arc. This is my honest opinion of the book.
Thank you NetGalley and Delacorte Press for the opportunity to read this e-arc. This is my honest opinion of the book.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-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
slow-paced
Thank you Get Underlined for the gifted ARC.
MIXED THOUGHTS.
BLOG || INSTAGRAM
This genuinely started strong. After being mixed about book one I was hopeful this would rise to the occasion, and it did…for a bit. The beginning had me intrigued and I love this whole cast of characters. There’s a good found family quality and Imani is a strong FMC. I can easily cheer her on and I liked seeing the growth in her character. I also loved having Taha’s POV too. It was a solid contrast to Imani’s journey and getting to see what was happening in other parts of the world too.
The middle took a veer of a sub story that I was bored by. I am still puzzling out why it was added as it didn’t fully connect back into the main story. Maybe it does in book three? I don’t know. The hunger games-esque moment felt out of place amongst the rest of the book. I do think the magic system is interesting and mapped out well. I love that I can understand what’s happening amongst the spices and tea and monsters.
You may see this called romantic. It is not. And that was a big letdown for me too. There IS ROMANCE, but it is maybe 10% of the story. I would have loved to see more development in this arena because I thought it was going to play a bigger role.
I’ll still read the third book because I am intrigued enough and the last quarter picked up some necessary speed. I am very curious how everything will come together.
Overall audience notes:
- YA Fantasy
- Language: low
- Romance: kisses
- Violence: moderate
- Content Warnings: loss of life, brief torture, weapons violence
MIXED THOUGHTS.
BLOG || INSTAGRAM
This genuinely started strong. After being mixed about book one I was hopeful this would rise to the occasion, and it did…for a bit. The beginning had me intrigued and I love this whole cast of characters. There’s a good found family quality and Imani is a strong FMC. I can easily cheer her on and I liked seeing the growth in her character. I also loved having Taha’s POV too. It was a solid contrast to Imani’s journey and getting to see what was happening in other parts of the world too.
The middle took a veer of a sub story that I was bored by. I am still puzzling out why it was added as it didn’t fully connect back into the main story. Maybe it does in book three? I don’t know. The hunger games-esque moment felt out of place amongst the rest of the book. I do think the magic system is interesting and mapped out well. I love that I can understand what’s happening amongst the spices and tea and monsters.
You may see this called romantic. It is not. And that was a big letdown for me too. There IS ROMANCE, but it is maybe 10% of the story. I would have loved to see more development in this arena because I thought it was going to play a bigger role.
I’ll still read the third book because I am intrigued enough and the last quarter picked up some necessary speed. I am very curious how everything will come together.
Overall audience notes:
- YA Fantasy
- Language: low
- Romance: kisses
- Violence: moderate
- Content Warnings: loss of life, brief torture, weapons violence
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced