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3.5 AVERAGE
3.5 AVERAGE
This one was SO fun to read. It has political intrigue, MURDER MYSTERY!!, big time betrayal, friends to enemies to lovers, dual POVs!!!!, a sassy and take no shit FMC, and a soft but v protective and benevolent MMC.
I LOVED our two main characters. Roz is (mostly) unapologetic in everything she does and takes no shit. She stands up for what and who she believes in no matter the cost. She has to work through a lot of hurt and betrayal and I think this helps us understand her character so well. I LOVE her.
I am a Damien apologist!! So what if he accidentally did something bad!! He said he was sorry, okay!!! He is just a soft boy who loves Roz and would follow her to the ends of the earth…literally.
I love this. I love the side characters. I love the drama. I want more. My parting thoughts are that I need the second book and I need it yesterday.
I LOVED our two main characters. Roz is (mostly) unapologetic in everything she does and takes no shit. She stands up for what and who she believes in no matter the cost. She has to work through a lot of hurt and betrayal and I think this helps us understand her character so well. I LOVE her.
I am a Damien apologist!! So what if he accidentally did something bad!! He said he was sorry, okay!!! He is just a soft boy who loves Roz and would follow her to the ends of the earth…literally.
I love this. I love the side characters. I love the drama. I want more. My parting thoughts are that I need the second book and I need it yesterday.
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I enjoyed this book much more than I first expected, which is why I'm not only looking forward to the second installment but I'll pick it up right after I had a couple of hours of sleep and some coffee^^
It wasn't perfect and some details annoyed me throughout the book (hint: too big of a focus on the romance in sort of inappropriate situations?), but it was in my opinion pretty solid for a debut book!
3,75 stars is for me a good rating, 4 would have been too high. The writing style was pleasant, I like the mystery in my fantasy, the characters were mostly alright and I enjoyed the general plot.
My issues:
It wasn't perfect and some details annoyed me throughout the book (hint: too big of a focus on the romance in sort of inappropriate situations?), but it was in my opinion pretty solid for a debut book!
3,75 stars is for me a good rating, 4 would have been too high. The writing style was pleasant, I like the mystery in my fantasy, the characters were mostly alright and I enjoyed the general plot.
My issues:
- the romance (to a certain degree), including some interactions between characters
- the plot progession (was a bit off sometimes)
- the fact that I unfortunately wasn't surprised by the majority of plot twists (but they were alright)
- the world-building could have been stronger, but I have high hopes in that regard for the next book
This book was absolutely magnificent. I know it wasn’t for everyone who read it but holy smokes I stinking loved it!
The world and the religion was incredible. The concept of the saints was so intriguing and the magic each saint bestowed on their favored was so neat.
I also wasn’t expecting a murder mystery and I was PLEASANTLY surprised. I was so into it. I didn’t see any of the twists coming. The interpersonal relationships felt deep and really fleshed out. The emotions portrayed were so beautifully done.
The two MC’s relationship was also incredible. I couldn’t peel my eyes away. I was in love with them and how they both grew and developed so much.
The imagery the author was able to communicate made me feel like I was there.
I really can’t recommend this book enough!
The world and the religion was incredible. The concept of the saints was so intriguing and the magic each saint bestowed on their favored was so neat.
I also wasn’t expecting a murder mystery and I was PLEASANTLY surprised. I was so into it. I didn’t see any of the twists coming. The interpersonal relationships felt deep and really fleshed out. The emotions portrayed were so beautifully done.
The two MC’s relationship was also incredible. I couldn’t peel my eyes away. I was in love with them and how they both grew and developed so much.
The imagery the author was able to communicate made me feel like I was there.
I really can’t recommend this book enough!
I am si blown away by the world-building here and hope we can get way more of it. I think I read that this is a duology and I really hope it’s not because I have no idea how she could delve into everything I’d love to see more of!
I went into this book having no idea if it had a sequel or was gonna have one. So when the ending came, it was like I was slapped sideways with shock. Disciples of Chaos definitely could not come any sooner!
I went into this book having no idea if it had a sequel or was gonna have one. So when the ending came, it was like I was slapped sideways with shock. Disciples of Chaos definitely could not come any sooner!
Things I loved: the Italian medieval inspired setting, the idea of saints and being blessed by them with special skills, the murder mystery, the friends to enemies to lovers. The book immediately throws the reader fully into the world and the mystery, but also was little sparse on the full details of her world. I really enjoyed the characters and the interactions between Roz and Damian. I’m excited to see where it goes next, especially after the final reveal in the epilogue.
This book never really delivered that “ah ha!” moment for me, hence the three stars. The reveals were a bit predictable and the friends to adversaries to lovers (??) trope was a bit whiplashy, but I did enjoy myself and I’ll likely pick up the sequel.
It's now been a couple of weeks since I last picked up this book and, honestly, I can't bring myself to pick it up again.
It's not that it's bad per say, it's just kind of... boring?
The suspense curve is flat, the characters bickering isn't funny, the plot is moving slowly and the atmosphere is lacking something.
I feel like on paper this book has such a good premise, there's potential for dark vibes, but it ends up just falling flat in both atmosphere and action. Mix that with a writing style that doesn't really make you connect with what's on the pages. I can't exactly put my finger on why it prose didn't do it for me, other than it felt detached.
I wasn't connecting with the characters either, which definitely does not help. I LOVE a stabby lead girl, they are my kryptonite when it comes to fantasy, I almost always love anything with a stabby lead girl in it, but even Roz didn't do it for me.
If I'd finished the book, I think it would've ended at somewhere around 2.5 stars. I'm not hating on it, it's just not making me want to read, and so I really can't bring myself to pick it up again, apologies.
DNF @ 42%
Thanks to NetGallery and Titan Books for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review
It's not that it's bad per say, it's just kind of... boring?
The suspense curve is flat, the characters bickering isn't funny, the plot is moving slowly and the atmosphere is lacking something.
I feel like on paper this book has such a good premise, there's potential for dark vibes, but it ends up just falling flat in both atmosphere and action. Mix that with a writing style that doesn't really make you connect with what's on the pages. I can't exactly put my finger on why it prose didn't do it for me, other than it felt detached.
I wasn't connecting with the characters either, which definitely does not help. I LOVE a stabby lead girl, they are my kryptonite when it comes to fantasy, I almost always love anything with a stabby lead girl in it, but even Roz didn't do it for me.
If I'd finished the book, I think it would've ended at somewhere around 2.5 stars. I'm not hating on it, it's just not making me want to read, and so I really can't bring myself to pick it up again, apologies.
DNF @ 42%
Thanks to NetGallery and Titan Books for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review
Having had some time to think about it, I think this book firmly sits at 3.5 stars for me. But I rounded it up to 4 stars.
As is probably evident from my notes below, I loved most of this book—it was sitting at 5 stars for me most of the way through. And then the ending happened—that last 25% of the book fell flat for me, and was somewhat underwhelming.
~~~~~~
My notes while reading:
- I love Roz and Damien’s relationship. The banter. The angst. The memories ugh. I’m a sucker for enemies to lovers, but childhood friends to enemies to lovers is even better!
- The writing was great. I loved it a lot.
- I know some people took issue with Roz because of how angry she was. But I think it was totally justified. Was she unnecessarily rude in some instances? Yes. But in terms of her deep-seated rage over what happened to her father, and how the unfavored are being treated, I understood where she was coming from.
- Damian is a soft boy soldier and I absolutely adored him as a character! His pining (obsession) for Roz was a bit much at times, but I still loved his journey outside of that.
- I absolute adore Isla, the Coroner. I wish we’d seen more of her!
- The angst was laid on a little too thick sometimes; but I did enjoy it for the most part. There were just some moments where Roz and Damien were potentially in danger, and I felt like it wasn’t a good time to be pining for the other person so hard.
- The narrators for the audiobook were both great, but I especially loved the narrator for Damian. He was fantastic, and really captured Damian’s voice well! I also really liked their voice for the killer.
- I will say I guessed the killer fairly early on in the book. But then I started to second guess myself as the investigation went on. So in a way I was right, and in another way I was wrong. Anyway, I wish that there had been clues as to who the killer was, so that readers who were paying close attention could figure it out (unless there were clues that I just missed? that's totally possible)
- Once I reached the last quarter or so of the book, and once the villain was revealed, the story fell a bit flat for me. I won’t give spoilers, but the killer’s monologue just felt a bit too mustache-twirling for my liking. The way the villain treated Roz and Damian (toying with them almost) in those final chapters also felt a bit off to me. Also, Roz's thinking at the end kind of threw me. That is the main reason why I ultimately couldn’t give this book a higher rating.
Overall this was an enjoyable read, and I will most likely read the sequel. I was just more excited about doing so before I read the ending, if that makes sense.
As is probably evident from my notes below, I loved most of this book—it was sitting at 5 stars for me most of the way through. And then the ending happened—that last 25% of the book fell flat for me, and was somewhat underwhelming.
~~~~~~
My notes while reading:
- I love Roz and Damien’s relationship. The banter. The angst. The memories ugh. I’m a sucker for enemies to lovers, but childhood friends to enemies to lovers is even better!
- The writing was great. I loved it a lot.
- I know some people took issue with Roz because of how angry she was. But I think it was totally justified. Was she unnecessarily rude in some instances? Yes. But in terms of her deep-seated rage over what happened to her father, and how the unfavored are being treated, I understood where she was coming from.
- Damian is a soft boy soldier and I absolutely adored him as a character! His pining (obsession) for Roz was a bit much at times, but I still loved his journey outside of that.
- I absolute adore Isla, the Coroner. I wish we’d seen more of her!
- The angst was laid on a little too thick sometimes; but I did enjoy it for the most part. There were just some moments where Roz and Damien were potentially in danger, and I felt like it wasn’t a good time to be pining for the other person so hard.
- The narrators for the audiobook were both great, but I especially loved the narrator for Damian. He was fantastic, and really captured Damian’s voice well! I also really liked their voice for the killer.
- I will say I guessed the killer fairly early on in the book. But then I started to second guess myself as the investigation went on. So in a way I was right, and in another way I was wrong. Anyway, I wish that there had been clues as to who the killer was, so that readers who were paying close attention could figure it out (unless there were clues that I just missed? that's totally possible)
- Once I reached the last quarter or so of the book, and once the villain was revealed, the story fell a bit flat for me. I won’t give spoilers, but the killer’s monologue just felt a bit too mustache-twirling for my liking. The way the villain treated Roz and Damian (toying with them almost) in those final chapters also felt a bit off to me. Also, Roz's thinking at the end kind of threw me. That is the main reason why I ultimately couldn’t give this book a higher rating.
Overall this was an enjoyable read, and I will most likely read the sequel. I was just more excited about doing so before I read the ending, if that makes sense.
This book got me out of my reading slump and for some reason I couldn’t put it down. I was super excited for a fantasy murder mystery story but was almost let down throughout majority of the book. Instead of really being a murder mystery, it morphed into an enemies to lovers romance novel. Eventually my motivation went from wanting to know who the culprit was to wanting to see how Damian and Roz’s relationship with one another ended up. I didn’t have super high expectations for this book, however I’m mainly bummed a bit about the rise to the climax of the story. The pacing was a bit off, I think if there was more case-solving than trauma talking then it would been a smoother read. I did really like the ending however, and I honestly wanted the whole book to have the same vibes as it did in the end. That being said I also wish this book had a little bit more meat on its bones in the murder mystery aspect. I still give it 4 stars bc I do like the story in the end when I don’t think about it too much lol. This was a fun read and honestly I do plan to read the next.