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readwithallyourheart's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
mysterious
reflective
4.0
lovellup's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
fast-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? It's complicated
5.0
I found this series to be one of the author’s best works. Emotionally complex with both hope, love, and heartbreak intertwined. The end was not what I’d expected, in the best way.
ghood_27's review
adventurous
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
sewster314's review against another edition
3.0
I feel so torn about these books. I couldn’t sleep last night after finishing the books. The series had so much potential.
Like many reviews, I felt this trilogy had a strong start. I enjoyed the first book. The world the author painted was beautiful but tinged with sadness— the history and visual of the trolls was heartbreaking. Cecile was fine as far as YA protagonists and her relationship with Tristan was off to an interesting start.
Book 2 was just boring to me. I had to force myself to read it. Cecile was not the sharpest tool in the shed. The plot twist was so glaringly obvious by the time Cecile finally figured it out.
Book 3 was better than book 2, but it had a lot of problems. And the ending… oy. I didn’t completely hate the ending, but I did cry through the last 20 pages or so and I was so angry with the author for it.
This part has spoilers. Things that drove me crazy:
-Cecile. Like I said, in book 1 she was mostly fine. In book 2 and 3 she was… selfish and dumb. How does she have so many people blindly loyal to her? Chris, Sabine, Marc, the twins, Tristan? Somehow she seems to inspire love and loyalty without actually earning it. IMO, just look to the way her siblings treat her. Fred has her locked up and thrown in a cellar and Joss betrays her by working with the Winter Queen. Her siblings love her, but they don’t trust her to make good decisions, which is totally accurate. She gets people killed and just kinda shoulder shrugs about it.
-I felt confused about how large or small the world was. In the first book Cecile’s family was about to throw her a “going away” party (ie, she’s moving so far away she won’t see them often), but then in later books the characters are darting around between the 3 main towns mentioned multiple times without much time passing. So which is it? Is the world big or small? Similarly, I never got a good sense of how many trolls there were in Trollus. How big is the population and how big can this city possibly be under a mountain?
-This is probably nit picky, but Chris’s character drove me crazy. Not because I didn’t like him, but because I kept wondering if this guy had a job or something else to do besides follow Cecile around and be her loyal puppy. If he was in love with her (which it was indicated he did like her in book 1), this made me angry for him. Cecile never seemed to appreciate him.
-All the deaths. I know there needs to be sacrifice, but there was TOO much! Marc, Elise, Tristan’s parents, not to mention the loss of Tristan’s life with Cecile. There was also the loss of reconciliation in so many relationships.
-Too much stuff going on without enough explanation. For example, there is a dragon, then it’s gone and it happens so fast you’re like what? I think the story could have been better served with fewer things happening, but with more detail and explanation. Somehow I got bored even with things happening and I think it’s because I didn’t care enough about the characters at time.
-I wanted more details about the fey. Is the Summer King evil or did he actually care? I still have no idea.
-The ending. I felt so empty and sad at the end, it was like reading a tragedy. After reflection I felt like Cecile = Samwise and Tristan = Frodo (from LOTR). Sam and Frodo walked the same path, but they sustained a different amount of internal damage from the experience. Cecile/Sam were still able to live their lives and smile/laugh/love despite their experience. Tristan/Frodo could not. Tristan lost literally everyone and everything he had ever known, didn’t get to reconcile with his father or aunt or brother, didn’t get to see his dream fulfilled within Trollus, finished his stone tree just to destroy it, and didn’t get his dream to live a life with Cecile, didn’t get to have a relationship with his son. It was all so depressing! Even before the Summer King took him, you could see feel the emptiness within him. It was hard to feel happy that Cecile joined him in whatever world he was living in because a part of me felt that Cecile’s love for him was only a fraction of the love he felt for her. Add to that the detail that we were led to believe the fey are mostly evil, how can we be happy that they are living among them? I think putting Sam and Frodo characters together in a romance is a mistake because the juxtaposition of their character types just doesn’t work; it’s unbalanced.
-
Like many reviews, I felt this trilogy had a strong start. I enjoyed the first book. The world the author painted was beautiful but tinged with sadness— the history and visual of the trolls was heartbreaking. Cecile was fine as far as YA protagonists and her relationship with Tristan was off to an interesting start.
Book 2 was just boring to me. I had to force myself to read it. Cecile was not the sharpest tool in the shed. The plot twist was so glaringly obvious by the time Cecile finally figured it out.
Book 3 was better than book 2, but it had a lot of problems. And the ending… oy. I didn’t completely hate the ending, but I did cry through the last 20 pages or so and I was so angry with the author for it.
This part has spoilers. Things that drove me crazy:
-Cecile. Like I said, in book 1 she was mostly fine. In book 2 and 3 she was… selfish and dumb. How does she have so many people blindly loyal to her? Chris, Sabine, Marc, the twins, Tristan? Somehow she seems to inspire love and loyalty without actually earning it. IMO, just look to the way her siblings treat her. Fred has her locked up and thrown in a cellar and Joss betrays her by working with the Winter Queen. Her siblings love her, but they don’t trust her to make good decisions, which is totally accurate. She gets people killed and just kinda shoulder shrugs about it.
-I felt confused about how large or small the world was. In the first book Cecile’s family was about to throw her a “going away” party (ie, she’s moving so far away she won’t see them often), but then in later books the characters are darting around between the 3 main towns mentioned multiple times without much time passing. So which is it? Is the world big or small? Similarly, I never got a good sense of how many trolls there were in Trollus. How big is the population and how big can this city possibly be under a mountain?
-This is probably nit picky, but Chris’s character drove me crazy. Not because I didn’t like him, but because I kept wondering if this guy had a job or something else to do besides follow Cecile around and be her loyal puppy. If he was in love with her (which it was indicated he did like her in book 1), this made me angry for him. Cecile never seemed to appreciate him.
-All the deaths. I know there needs to be sacrifice, but there was TOO much! Marc, Elise, Tristan’s parents, not to mention the loss of Tristan’s life with Cecile. There was also the loss of reconciliation in so many relationships.
-Too much stuff going on without enough explanation. For example, there is a dragon, then it’s gone and it happens so fast you’re like what? I think the story could have been better served with fewer things happening, but with more detail and explanation. Somehow I got bored even with things happening and I think it’s because I didn’t care enough about the characters at time.
-I wanted more details about the fey. Is the Summer King evil or did he actually care? I still have no idea.
-The ending. I felt so empty and sad at the end, it was like reading a tragedy. After reflection I felt like Cecile = Samwise and Tristan = Frodo (from LOTR). Sam and Frodo walked the same path, but they sustained a different amount of internal damage from the experience. Cecile/Sam were still able to live their lives and smile/laugh/love despite their experience. Tristan/Frodo could not. Tristan lost literally everyone and everything he had ever known, didn’t get to reconcile with his father or aunt or brother, didn’t get to see his dream fulfilled within Trollus, finished his stone tree just to destroy it, and didn’t get his dream to live a life with Cecile, didn’t get to have a relationship with his son. It was all so depressing! Even before the Summer King took him, you could see feel the emptiness within him. It was hard to feel happy that Cecile joined him in whatever world he was living in because a part of me felt that Cecile’s love for him was only a fraction of the love he felt for her. Add to that the detail that we were led to believe the fey are mostly evil, how can we be happy that they are living among them? I think putting Sam and Frodo characters together in a romance is a mistake because the juxtaposition of their character types just doesn’t work; it’s unbalanced.
-
ahobbitsreadinglist's review against another edition
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
nyeran's review against another edition
1.0
“A life without purpose is no life at all. The fight to make our world a place worth living was everything to Élise, but she didn't get to see it through. I'll do this for her.”
♠ UGH.
Questo è stato il mio unico pensiero a fine lettura. Se quel ugh è un emozione io l’ho sentita per tutto il tempo.
In realtà devo fare i complimenti alla Jensen, non è facile scrivere tre libri andando sempre a peggiorare. In un certo senso complimenti Danielle, ma forse un risultato del genere preferivi pure risparmiartelo.
In questo libro non c’è nulla del secondo e c’è ancora meno del primo. È fantastico.
♠ Il problema poi è che se la prima metà del libro è in pratica un inizio allungato all’inverosimile e noia, noia, ancora noia intervallata da altra noia, la seconda metà del libro è un crescendo di avvenimenti di cui non si vede un filo logico, non si capisce dove si voglia andare a parare, sopratutto succedono cose che non fanno sviluppare la storia, succedono ma restano lì nel limbo e tu sei li che dici si ok, bene, è successa questa cosa, ma quindi? Ma adesso? Tutto fumo negli occhi, in pratica. Poi è un susseguirsi di scelte dei protagonisti che, obiettivamente, ho trovato incomprensibili. Tristan distrugge Trollus. Ci potrei anche star dentro, perché in un certo senso era una prigione per i troll, i mezzosangue erano schiavi e vivevano da schifo, quindi capisco il simbolismo del distruggerla, però poi pensandoci...era proprio necessario? Non è che si correva il rischio che i troll tornassero e rimanessero di nuovo la sotto, quindi, boh.
♠ Per tutto il libro ho vissuto con un certo senso di lontananza, non sono riuscita a sentire nulla per nessuno dei personaggi, persino Marc, che era l’unico che a mio avviso anche alla fine di questo orrore di trilogia meritava una gioia, non riesce ad ottenere nulla di nulla. I personaggi secondari sarebbero potuti non esserci che tanto sticazzideisecondarichiseliricorda. Cècile ha continuato la caduta libera anche in questo ultimo libro, ha continuato a fare quello che faceva nel secondo, piagnucola, si piange addosso perché vuole salvare le persone che ama però non si applica. Non è che ci si mette con convinzione e tira fuori dei piani studiati o comunque dei piani di riserva, no, si butta in decisioni stupide che rendono la situazione peggiore. La scusa poi è sempre la stessa, la protagonista è tosta, il problema è che per certi scrittori essere tosti ed essere illogici sono sinonimi. È inutile che poi si incazza se la gente con un po’ più di cervello fa dei piani senza informarla, tu non sei capace, tesoro. Ma in questa trilogia tutto è per Cècile. Qualsiasi cosa Tristan decida di fare o dire ha tutto a che fare con lei, tutto gira intorno a lei. Tutto le è dovuto.
Il suo ragazzo è sullo stesso livello perché pure lui non fa granchè, il più delle volte i suoi pensieri sono da perfetto zerbino di Cècile, il restante delle volte la ignora. Lui tra l’altro si ritrova nei guai quasi sempre per colpa di Cècile o comunque perché vuole tenerla al sicuro e poi fa la cazzata. Tra i due poi non si sente la minima emozione, sappiamo che i due si amano perché abbiamo letto i libri precedenti ma non riescono a farti provare nulla. In alcuni capitoli è tutto un susseguirsi di la amo/lo amo, ho bisogno di lui/lei e in altri è come se i due non si siano mai visti ne conosciuti ne parlati.
Il rapporto con il mio cane era più stretto e significativo di quello che hanno Cècile e Tristan. Com’era quella storia che i due sono legati mentalmente e ognuno sente il dolore dell’altro? No perché quando Tristan si ritrova mezzo morto lei non si preoccupa minimamente.
♠ E poi mi dai quel finale?
Qualcuno dica a certi autori che uccidere un personaggio dopo aver illuso i lettori non è solo una bastardata ma è anche un tentativo facile di far provare emozioni. Se sei bravo/a riesci a far provare emozioni diverse dall’angoscia e dal dolore, capisco che sia il sentimento più facile da scatenare ma almeno sforzarsi un po?
♠ UGH.
Questo è stato il mio unico pensiero a fine lettura. Se quel ugh è un emozione io l’ho sentita per tutto il tempo.
In realtà devo fare i complimenti alla Jensen, non è facile scrivere tre libri andando sempre a peggiorare. In un certo senso complimenti Danielle, ma forse un risultato del genere preferivi pure risparmiartelo.
In questo libro non c’è nulla del secondo e c’è ancora meno del primo. È fantastico.
♠ Il problema poi è che se la prima metà del libro è in pratica un inizio allungato all’inverosimile e noia, noia, ancora noia intervallata da altra noia, la seconda metà del libro è un crescendo di avvenimenti di cui non si vede un filo logico, non si capisce dove si voglia andare a parare, sopratutto succedono cose che non fanno sviluppare la storia, succedono ma restano lì nel limbo e tu sei li che dici si ok, bene, è successa questa cosa, ma quindi? Ma adesso? Tutto fumo negli occhi, in pratica. Poi è un susseguirsi di scelte dei protagonisti che, obiettivamente, ho trovato incomprensibili. Tristan distrugge Trollus. Ci potrei anche star dentro, perché in un certo senso era una prigione per i troll, i mezzosangue erano schiavi e vivevano da schifo, quindi capisco il simbolismo del distruggerla, però poi pensandoci...era proprio necessario? Non è che si correva il rischio che i troll tornassero e rimanessero di nuovo la sotto, quindi, boh.
♠ Per tutto il libro ho vissuto con un certo senso di lontananza, non sono riuscita a sentire nulla per nessuno dei personaggi, persino Marc, che era l’unico che a mio avviso anche alla fine di questo orrore di trilogia meritava una gioia, non riesce ad ottenere nulla di nulla. I personaggi secondari sarebbero potuti non esserci che tanto sticazzideisecondarichiseliricorda. Cècile ha continuato la caduta libera anche in questo ultimo libro, ha continuato a fare quello che faceva nel secondo, piagnucola, si piange addosso perché vuole salvare le persone che ama però non si applica. Non è che ci si mette con convinzione e tira fuori dei piani studiati o comunque dei piani di riserva, no, si butta in decisioni stupide che rendono la situazione peggiore. La scusa poi è sempre la stessa, la protagonista è tosta, il problema è che per certi scrittori essere tosti ed essere illogici sono sinonimi. È inutile che poi si incazza se la gente con un po’ più di cervello fa dei piani senza informarla, tu non sei capace, tesoro. Ma in questa trilogia tutto è per Cècile. Qualsiasi cosa Tristan decida di fare o dire ha tutto a che fare con lei, tutto gira intorno a lei. Tutto le è dovuto.
Il suo ragazzo è sullo stesso livello perché pure lui non fa granchè, il più delle volte i suoi pensieri sono da perfetto zerbino di Cècile, il restante delle volte la ignora. Lui tra l’altro si ritrova nei guai quasi sempre per colpa di Cècile o comunque perché vuole tenerla al sicuro e poi fa la cazzata. Tra i due poi non si sente la minima emozione, sappiamo che i due si amano perché abbiamo letto i libri precedenti ma non riescono a farti provare nulla. In alcuni capitoli è tutto un susseguirsi di la amo/lo amo, ho bisogno di lui/lei e in altri è come se i due non si siano mai visti ne conosciuti ne parlati.
Il rapporto con il mio cane era più stretto e significativo di quello che hanno Cècile e Tristan. Com’era quella storia che i due sono legati mentalmente e ognuno sente il dolore dell’altro? No perché quando Tristan si ritrova mezzo morto lei non si preoccupa minimamente.
♠ E poi mi dai quel finale?
Qualcuno dica a certi autori che uccidere un personaggio dopo aver illuso i lettori non è solo una bastardata ma è anche un tentativo facile di far provare emozioni. Se sei bravo/a riesci a far provare emozioni diverse dall’angoscia e dal dolore, capisco che sia il sentimento più facile da scatenare ma almeno sforzarsi un po?
literary_steph's review against another edition
“Much can happen, between the time of two heartbeats”
What a way to wrap up an epic trilogy. Trolls, Fey, witches, and dragons? Sign me up!
From the get-go, I was totally transported into this magical world and felt like I was living it.
Cecile and Tristan are legit #CoupleGoals. A troll and a human witch teaming up against all odds is everything. Despite their own battles and insecurities, it was so cool to follow their growth, both individually and as a power couple.
Warrior Witch was a wild ride, filled with twists and turns. The stakes were high, and yeah, my heart was basically doing acrobatics the whole time. Saying goodbye to some of the characters was tough 😭
The ending? Chef's kiss. It hit ME right in the feels! Had me crying through the last few chapters, but honestly, wouldn't have it any other way.
What a way to wrap up an epic trilogy. Trolls, Fey, witches, and dragons? Sign me up!
From the get-go, I was totally transported into this magical world and felt like I was living it.
Cecile and Tristan are legit #CoupleGoals. A troll and a human witch teaming up against all odds is everything. Despite their own battles and insecurities, it was so cool to follow their growth, both individually and as a power couple.
Warrior Witch was a wild ride, filled with twists and turns. The stakes were high, and yeah, my heart was basically doing acrobatics the whole time. Saying goodbye to some of the characters was tough 😭
The ending? Chef's kiss. It hit ME right in the feels! Had me crying through the last few chapters, but honestly, wouldn't have it any other way.
amybraunauthor's review against another edition
5.0
Oh boy, that hurt so good. Fantastic ending to a great trilogy, but it was ROUGH. Like, really, seriously rough. To the point where I crying a little bit for something to just GO RIGHT! But the ending of Cecile and Tristan's story was exciting, unexpected, adventurous, romantic, and almost exactly what I was hoping it would be. There were a couple things that seemed out of the blue and at some points I thought there wasn't enough explanation as to what was happening, but overall I was satisfied with how things ended. Which is saying something, because the body count was massive. Seriously, EVERYONE suffered, which I suppose is par for the course, but still. Yikes. There was one particular event I refuse to accept, and honestly I feared the worst at the end. But I got the catharsis I hoped for, which is all a fangirl can ask for. I definitely enjoyed experiencing this trilogy and will miss Cecile, Tristan, Marc, the twins, and all the rest. Definitely worth reading!