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4.42 AVERAGE
4.42 AVERAGE
This book was an absolute thrill to read. I was sucked in from the first page. I was worried it might be a little much page wise, it teeters on the edge of how much I like in a book, I'm a fussy page count girl
A Stellar Debut
Jeannin Counts created a stellar world in this debut novel. It kept me engaged, I became emotionally invested in the relationships, and laughed at the surprise twist ending. Seriously, laughed out loud. Looking forward to the next book!
Jeannin Counts created a stellar world in this debut novel. It kept me engaged, I became emotionally invested in the relationships, and laughed at the surprise twist ending. Seriously, laughed out loud. Looking forward to the next book!
SO HAPPY I READ THIS BOOK
It was everything! I was sucked in immediately, the world building and the characters are SO GOOD! My heart hurt with every twist and turn, 400 pages is NOT enough i can’t wait until the second book comes out!
Y’all definitely have to set time aside to pick up this book!
It was everything! I was sucked in immediately, the world building and the characters are SO GOOD! My heart hurt with every twist and turn, 400 pages is NOT enough i can’t wait until the second book comes out!
Y’all definitely have to set time aside to pick up this book!
Wait though, the actual whiplash from this love triangle had me in a chokehold
Wow! I really enjoyed this one! I love fantasy, and I'm always up for "otherworldly magic" that we haven't seen before. I mean, stars!? When have you read a fantasy novel about stars?
I really enjoyed the multiple POVs. I think Zane's POV was my favorite
I really enjoyed the multiple POVs. I think Zane's POV was my favorite
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I ended up really enjoying this story. The world-building and plot were unique and a lot of the side characters were pretty endearing. My favorite of the POV characters was Zane, and I found his character arc and unfolding romance much more interesting and engaging than any of the more primary characters. He is also, I feel, the character that had the most development throughout the story. Iyanna, our main character, didn't seem to grow much, but I still enjoyed her even if I found her annoying and naive (much too trusting) sometimes. Emmeric fell somewhere between those two for me in terms of likeability. I saw some hints of growth from him, and if he ends up being Iyanna's primary love interest (I hope he does. I did not like Altair), he would be a bit of breath of fresh air in all the romantasy alpha male heroes that all feel kind of the same to me.
My main issue with the story, and why I didn't rate it higher, is because of the writing style. The author has a lot of promise, but I feel like she might lack confidence in her ability to get things across to readers, and that led to a lot of hand-holdy quirks in her prose I found somewhat annoying. There were also a lot of popular romantasy micro-tropes that felt like they were more shoe-horned in instead of arising naturally, perhaps for marketing purposes.
My main issue with the story, and why I didn't rate it higher, is because of the writing style. The author has a lot of promise, but I feel like she might lack confidence in her ability to get things across to readers, and that led to a lot of hand-holdy quirks in her prose I found somewhat annoying. There were also a lot of popular romantasy micro-tropes that felt like they were more shoe-horned in instead of arising naturally, perhaps for marketing purposes.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Torture
Moderate: Death of parent
This is a debut book from Jeannin Counts. To be honest, I am pleasantly surprised at how good the writing was for it being her first novel. For sure a character driven story with an interesting plot, at points a little slow but interesting enough to continue on. The side story involving Prince Zane had my interest peaked especially. The prince deserves some happiness after dealing with so much. There is both F/M and M/M romantic trysts happening in this book. The first book ended dramatically (shiiz got real). So I'm very curious what book 2 has in store for us.
Characters 4★ Plot 3.5★ Spice 1.5
Characters 4★ Plot 3.5★ Spice 1.5
This was such an interesting and unique story! The magic system and the history is all very different from anything I can think of having read and I really liked it.
Iyana is an interesting and tough character for me. And somewhat sheltered lifestyle definitely play a factor in her personality and there’s a lot of times where I just wanna smack her. She gives brat vibes for sure. At the same time she’s tough and keeps rolling with the blows life deals out nonstop. The fact that she hates shoes is also a funny quirk that makes her memorable.
Altair is not my favorite. He is a little too conceited for me liking and comes of condescending at times. However, given who he is, I guess I can see where his attitude comes from and can’t totally blame him. In short, I don’t like him but I don’t hate him.
Poor Emmeric is the king of drawing the short stick. The poor guy just can’t seem to catch a break and I kind of love him. He so far seems to be an all around decent guy who got tossed in a crazy situation. His relationship with Talon is so sweet and I love how they are loyal to each other. Speaking of Talon, possibly my favorite character in the whole story so far! He’s totally irreverent and sweet, and I love that he works to defuse all the tense moments in the group. I really enjoyed his more emotional and supportive side as well, especially when he was helping Zane deal with his own trauma.
The addition of Liz makes this a very strange and chaotic group. She is the free spirit I think everyone wishes they could beg she lives her life to the fullest even if it’s unconventional and I am all for it!
Unfortunately, the ending absolutely gutted me for one particular reason, and I very much need it to be miraculously resolved in the sequel 👏🏻
Iyana is an interesting and tough character for me. And somewhat sheltered lifestyle definitely play a factor in her personality and there’s a lot of times where I just wanna smack her. She gives brat vibes for sure. At the same time she’s tough and keeps rolling with the blows life deals out nonstop. The fact that she hates shoes is also a funny quirk that makes her memorable.
Altair is not my favorite. He is a little too conceited for me liking and comes of condescending at times. However, given who he is, I guess I can see where his attitude comes from and can’t totally blame him. In short, I don’t like him but I don’t hate him.
Poor Emmeric is the king of drawing the short stick. The poor guy just can’t seem to catch a break and I kind of love him. He so far seems to be an all around decent guy who got tossed in a crazy situation. His relationship with Talon is so sweet and I love how they are loyal to each other. Speaking of Talon, possibly my favorite character in the whole story so far! He’s totally irreverent and sweet, and I love that he works to defuse all the tense moments in the group. I really enjoyed his more emotional and supportive side as well, especially when he was helping Zane deal with his own trauma.
The addition of Liz makes this a very strange and chaotic group. She is the free spirit I think everyone wishes they could beg she lives her life to the fullest even if it’s unconventional and I am all for it!
Unfortunately, the ending absolutely gutted me for one particular reason, and I very much need it to be miraculously resolved in the sequel 👏🏻