Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.5 AVERAGE
3.5 AVERAGE
~~Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me an advanced copy of the book!~~
Man, I'm just having a mediocre beginning to my reading this year. Not that I've read so much this year, since this is the fifth book I've read so far, but still.
Anyway, I was enjoying this at the beginning before it slowly slipped away to annoyance and confusion. The writing tends to repeat the character's thoughts over and over again, and the worldbuilding was surface-leveled and left much to be desired Like, Roz doesn't use her magic often, which is fine for her character, but we never get a deep dive into the magic system other than what is told in exposition dumps.
The plot also lacked the focus it needed. The focus wasn't so much on solving the murder mysteries but more so on Roz and Damien's romance, which wasn't even that good, to be honest. I like angry women in my stories, but Roz was annoying because her sole desire for revenge was so one-dimensional and made her so boring. I felt as though she always had to be the 'right' one. Her viewpoint is never seriously challenged (Damien doesn't count because he's a wet napkin equivalent of a character), and she never tries to understand any other perspectives because she's the main character! She doesn't need to! And Damien's constantly whining about the guilt he feels is also grating. An arc where a character loses faith in his religion and its system has been done good in other works, but just not here. These two together just did nothing for me. The chemistry might has well been a fart in the wind.
Overall, very disappointed read, as this was one of my most anticipated of the year.
Man, I'm just having a mediocre beginning to my reading this year. Not that I've read so much this year, since this is the fifth book I've read so far, but still.
Anyway, I was enjoying this at the beginning before it slowly slipped away to annoyance and confusion. The writing tends to repeat the character's thoughts over and over again, and the worldbuilding was surface-leveled and left much to be desired Like,
Spoiler
why aren't the disciples the soldiers? I understand it's a parallel, that the lives of those considered holy are put above the mundane, but the disciples have magic. Very useful magic. Roz and other Patience disciples' metal-bending skills alone would be exploited by their government if the officials were actually smart enough to do it. Throwing people without magic into battle when you have people who could do that doesn't make sense.The plot also lacked the focus it needed. The focus wasn't so much on solving the murder mysteries but more so on Roz and Damien's romance, which wasn't even that good, to be honest. I like angry women in my stories, but Roz was annoying because her sole desire for revenge was so one-dimensional and made her so boring. I felt as though she always had to be the 'right' one. Her viewpoint is never seriously challenged (Damien doesn't count because he's a wet napkin equivalent of a character), and she never tries to understand any other perspectives because she's the main character! She doesn't need to! And Damien's constantly whining about the guilt he feels is also grating. An arc where a character loses faith in his religion and its system has been done good in other works, but just not here. These two together just did nothing for me. The chemistry might has well been a fart in the wind.
Overall, very disappointed read, as this was one of my most anticipated of the year.
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
When I first started I wasn’t sure if I was reading YA or not, but once I googled and confirmed it helped me look at this book in a new light.
A lot of time is spent on the main characters in their inner turmoil in a way that is very much YA. I would’ve liked the murder-mystery to woven better throughout. But, the like “oh look at the good timing!” of a YA was a nice break from some of the high fantasy that I’ve been reading.
A lot of time is spent on the main characters in their inner turmoil in a way that is very much YA. I would’ve liked the murder-mystery to woven better throughout. But, the like “oh look at the good timing!” of a YA was a nice break from some of the high fantasy that I’ve been reading.
3.75 stars !! a super cute and fun murder mystery with a second chance romance (they also loath each other at the start
adventurous
dark
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I really enjoyed this book.
Damian and Roz's relationship was a great read and the magic system linked with the gods is intriguing.
The mystery element of the story kept me hooked and had a satisfying ending to the first book. I can't wait to read more in the next instalment.
Damian and Roz's relationship was a great read and the magic system linked with the gods is intriguing.
The mystery element of the story kept me hooked and had a satisfying ending to the first book. I can't wait to read more in the next instalment.
Spending 400 pages over two separate library rentals for something to happen, only for that something to finally be so anticlimactic to set up for a sequel was so disappointing
It's not bad, with some interesting worldbuilding and prose on the felicitous side of capable. But it's not compelling and not giving me enough of what I want - I think it's the narrowness of world (delivered through only two narrators, both young) and a belaboured setup of the plot while focusing on emotion. (Both of these are fairly standard issues I have with YA fantasy, so that's a me-problem.)
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
I don't know if I want to give this a star rating right now because I'm not sure what that rating would honestly be.
I really liked the first chapter of this book, but after that I struggled to stay interested in it. It's very obvious that M.K. Lobb is a good author, I just really think this book wasn't for me. Honestly, some of the writing just felt stiff to me. I wanted to like Roz and Damian, but everything about their characters are so serious, I just didn't have fun reading this.
And again, I'm not trying to knock the author when I say any of this. I think a lot of other people will enjoy this book, it just wasn't doing anything for me.
In terms of the ending, I thought I knew what was happening early on (and I was slightly correct!) Overall, I would recommend this to others wanting to read some dark fantasy, and I could see myself trying to read it again further down the line to see if my opinions have changed. Right now, I don't see myself picking up the sequel, though.
ARC thanks to Netgalley.
I really liked the first chapter of this book, but after that I struggled to stay interested in it. It's very obvious that M.K. Lobb is a good author, I just really think this book wasn't for me. Honestly, some of the writing just felt stiff to me. I wanted to like Roz and Damian, but everything about their characters are so serious, I just didn't have fun reading this.
And again, I'm not trying to knock the author when I say any of this. I think a lot of other people will enjoy this book, it just wasn't doing anything for me.
In terms of the ending, I thought I knew what was happening early on (and I was slightly correct!) Overall, I would recommend this to others wanting to read some dark fantasy, and I could see myself trying to read it again further down the line to see if my opinions have changed. Right now, I don't see myself picking up the sequel, though.
ARC thanks to Netgalley.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes