Scan barcode
reyap30's review
adventurous
emotional
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
1.5
A huge thank you to MK Ahearn and Azala Press for allowing me a chance to read the ARC for this book. I saw the TikToks and was completely sold on the association to Zutara. As a huge ATLA fan and a Zutara shipper, I will gladly read anything that resembles them. And I think it fulfilled that, but as a whole I was not impressed.
I really wanted to like this book. I want to preface this review by saying I read the initial version of the ARC when it was sent out. Then a few days later I read the edited ARC two more times.
I gave this a lot of thought because my initial reaction was that I disliked it. But by my third read, I could see that some of my criticisms were due to bias and the expectation that it needed to parallel Avatar The Last Airbender more closely than it did. By the third time I read it, I was able to appreciate it for what it was, for the things that make it stand on its own as a story. That is to say, I enjoyed parts of this book. However, my overall opinion of it is poor.
To put it plainly, my main gripe with the book is the writing quality and plot feels empty in terms of what actually happens.
When it comes to setting a scene, I tend to overlook whether there is proper grammar when it comes to indie books— things like spelling or punctuation errors. I know that for self-published authors it’s expensive to invest in editing. But I think this book would really benefit from developmental editing more. There are no instances where the writing is show and not tell. I felt like all the information was spoon-fed to me from the setting, to actions and also the internal thoughts of both POVs. Not to mention the short sentences and straightforward vocabulary, those internal thoughts felt very juvenile. All the characters felt a few years younger than they actually are. I would be more convinced this was on the younger side of a YA book if it weren’t for the swear words and sex scenes sprinkled in. Which made it very uncomfortable to read spicy scenes.
Example from very early on in the book that I still can’t stop thinking about:
"Settling on my horse, I nudged her forward to follow my father off of our property. She was a beautiful, all white, thoroughbred. I’d affectionately named her Milly, but no one else called her that. All of our horses had secret names I’d given them. I gave up trying to convince my father to name them. He’d called it a waste of time when I had told him about Milly years ago. With every new horse brought to our home, I’d quietly named them, keeping them a secret only I knew."
This scene, and very first scene where she has snuck away from home is an attempt to tell the reader that Korraine has a rebellious nature. However this isn’t followed up on because of the characterization, which is my other main issue with the story.
Korraine’s personality does not match up with her actions. She is at times opinionated, stubborn, has compassion and a bit of an adventurous spirit. Most of her internal commentary centers around duty and the loyalty towards her family. She resolves to survive her time in Abelon and possibly gain intelligence to send back home. (The fact that she— a nobeman’s daughter— barely knows the political situation within her own kingdom is also concerning). However, once she gets there what she actually does for the most part is wander around the palace and surrounding city aimlessly, get drunk, spend time with her sea dragon and shop with Nyla. Amidst all this, she comes to see that her fiancé isn’t all that bad and so the attraction grows between them. There’s a disconnect between her thoughts and her actions, and also other people’s perceptions of her. There’s a moment in the book where just before they are about to be intimate, Bellamy thinks about how powerful and strong she, when in fact he has only seen her manipulate water a few times on a small scale.
Emotionally, I would consider Korraine to be strong. She is noblewoman that is being used as a bartering tool. She’s in the enemy’s kingdom, living in the royal palace, surrounded by people that have had a hand in the suffering of people from her homeland. That is an intensely highly stressful situation and I have to give her credit for at least trying to adapt. I just wish the book had taken it one step further where she actively tries to sleuth around the castle, maybe connect with a spy in Abelon who’s working for Morwen. Literally anything because according to Bellamy, “You’re the future queen. You have the freedom to go anywhere in this palace and city with little exceptions.”
Another question: WHY?
Either the king of Abelon is confident Korraine isn’t a threat or the people of this kingdom are lax about national security. They don’t trust her or the people’s response to her enough to have the wedding happen right away, but they’ll give her free rein to do whatever she wants.
And she doesn’t even take advantage of that. In all, I know it’s harsh but I feel like she’s very much a doormat. If anything if we are to make parallels to characters in ATLA, she does not remind me of Katara. She’s more like Princess Yue, in personality and appearance (which by the way was weird, because I kept imaging Zuko/Yue in my head while reading).
But again, this book is a romance, not a political fantasy. I probably don’t have enough grounds to complain about it, but if these elements are going to be there, I would hope they make enough sense that there aren’t questions of how or why.
Bellamy as a character is only slightly a step up from Korraine. He’s moody, brash and hyper focused on supporting this orphanage in the city. He deeply cares about his kingdom, his sister and the approval of his father. I could see strong parallels to Zuko, as was the inspiration of his character. But I do want to point out that his trauma is very downplayed. There’s a scene where he’s being physically abused by his father that turns into an excuse for Korraine to nurse him to health. It felt like that scene was less about his development as a character and more of a way to forge intimacy between the two leads. As much as his backstory was intriguing, I felt like he was directionless until he learned the truth of his mother’s death.
As for the worldbuilding, I am a high fantasy reader so my expectations are unrealistically high in that aspect. This is mainly a romance but I was left wanting for more details on some things.
Examples:
“Long ago the goddesses had shaped our kingdoms and blessed us with the abilities to control the elements.”
Who are the goddesses? How did they give the abilities to humans? How did the first elemental users learn the arts? What is the history behind this?
“The goddesses want a balance of power, and this marriage gives us the best chance at that. Whether you follow through or not is up to you.”
So if the goddesses want a balance of power, and are known to interact with humans (i.e. giving them abilities) why have they done nothing about the war?
How are the dragons interacting with their humans? How are the sea dragons able to interact as well. There’s this quote in the beginning of the book about the sea dragons, but I don’t feel like this is fully explained. Is the bond really only sensing one another? And if so, why doesn’t Talay come when Korraine is being kidnapped by pirates? How does the bond work? Can it it be shut off at all? Does the bond only work because they are elemental users?
“Most of the warriors in our kingdom had their own sea serpent, raised and bred in a special cove controlled by the palace. The only reason I’d been gifted one was because the king gifted my father’s children each with their own as a sign of his gratitude following the war.”
This insinuates that non elemental users can also bond, so then how does that magic work?
Again, this might all be very nitpicky. Not everyone needs that kind of worldbuilding, but for me it wasn’t enough.
I do find the concept of warring nations intriguing and was excited to see how an arranged marriage would mitigate the conflict. Given that this is a fantasy world, I expect a certain amount worldbuilding that feels immersive. I wasn’t pulled in like I wanted to be.
When it comes to the plot, not much happens other than:
-Korraine exploring, going to parties/getting drunk and befriending a guardsman that tries to assault her
-Bellamy is either training or visiting his favorite orphanage
-Bellamy gets sent to a battle and gets punished for letting his men die/his scars cause the sexual tension to turn into a romantic moment -Bellamy finding out his father had his mother killed
-They run away to Morwen, leaving his sister behind
-Get married and then get captured
Which by the way was really weird, because Nyla and Bellamy have a really good relationship. A loving one, with trust and loyalty and genuine friendship. The fact that she doesn’t really hear him out when he’s trying to tell her that their father isn’t who they think he is was bizarre. She didn’t really give a good argument as to why she stayed behind. It’s even more bizarre that she’s hunting them down at the end of the book.
I do want to say this book has the elements of Zutara if that is why you’re reading this. Broody prince that’s secretly a dork at heart meets a headstrong girl that loves her family. Although I cannot agree that Korraine parallels Katara in any way, you could easily find things to relate back to that dynamic.
Would I recommend this book to anyone? Probably not. I think it’s a good start though. If this were polished a bit more, with what the author was intending to do with this story it could be something much greater.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Trafficking, Domestic abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual assault, and War
lenneth_books's review
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
I was very lucky to come across this book and selected to be an arc reader. It was a very fun and easy read and I devoured it in two days. It's very Zutara coded with her own very unique story but had a lot of fun reading. There were parts of the book that I feel like jumped a little too quickly and I'm all for slow burn enemies to lovers but feel like they got there so fast and didn't have as much interaction as I would have liked to build more of their love up.
Regardless, enjoyed the read and ready to read the sequel.
Regardless, enjoyed the read and ready to read the sequel.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Fire/Fire injury, and Domestic abuse
More...