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4.02 AVERAGE
4.02 AVERAGE
dark
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I really struggled to rate this book.
I started this book last year and set it aside because of how slow the beginning was. It felt like the first 100 pages were repetitive and unnecessary to the reader, and that it was more so the author trying to decide on what story she wanted to tell. I spent too much time trying to make sense of half started ideas and conflicting information that it didn’t let me enjoy the story.
There were also a lot of dialogue/formatting errors that made it difficult to follow who was talking or what was being talked about. The clarification improved toward the end of the book, but the conversations still felt forced.
The story was interesting once it got going, but it would have been so much more enjoyable with more editing. With this being one of Kara Douglas’s first books, I’m hopeful that her future books continue to improve. She has really great ideas and was able to evoke some emotion through her writing, it was just difficult to sort through all the errors, misleading information, and loose ends.
I started this book last year and set it aside because of how slow the beginning was. It felt like the first 100 pages were repetitive and unnecessary to the reader, and that it was more so the author trying to decide on what story she wanted to tell. I spent too much time trying to make sense of half started ideas and conflicting information that it didn’t let me enjoy the story.
There were also a lot of dialogue/formatting errors that made it difficult to follow who was talking or what was being talked about. The clarification improved toward the end of the book, but the conversations still felt forced.
The story was interesting once it got going, but it would have been so much more enjoyable with more editing. With this being one of Kara Douglas’s first books, I’m hopeful that her future books continue to improve. She has really great ideas and was able to evoke some emotion through her writing, it was just difficult to sort through all the errors, misleading information, and loose ends.
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Okay I should have looked into this more thoroughly before reading it because it was a whole boatload of tropes.
In the kingdom of Crea, Amira Ramsey, daughter of the Royal Merchant, has grown up in the main training camp, where each day soldiers and guards are churned out to serve in the palace and the army ranks. Her father’s position among the king’s closest associates as the head of the kingdom’s commerce and reason for the heavy taxes leaves her bereft of a normal life. Hungry for more power, he lives at the royal training camp to develop skills in combat and become an ultimate threat. The recruits at camp are either scared of Amira because of the Ramsey name, or find a target in her as one of only two girls at the camp. Amira is left with few allies- there’s Dog, a stray canine, and Opal, the daughter of the royal commander of the armies. Amira is responsible for the chores at camp and cannot leave other than to retrieve items from the market for her father under the supervision of a guard. The only act of her choice is staking out her own form of training in camp, something she is not formally privy to, these self-learned abilities keeping the recruits’ animosity at bay. But the desire for freedom grows stronger each day and she begins to wonder if she will never get out. Her call is answered- albeit in a form she never saw coming: the Royal Matching, an event imitated by the king to unite powerful families. Amira has no interest in marriage but cannot challenge her father. And so she enters the palace and a new life among the court royals as one who’s spent her past in the muck of the training camp.
First 3/10 is centered around her life at the training camp. The next 6/10 is at the palace. Amira is subtly characterized as “not like the other girls” since she has physical aptitude that none of the other palace women have. She comes off as a bit naive to court politics but what I do appreciate is how she holds her ground against others’ wishes for her. Amira has built a resistance as her life has already been defined by her father; she does all she can to prevent that control from growing further. The plot got a bit lost once she entered the palace. I didn’t know what the aim was. Each day Amira would go to a new palace event intended to accelerate the matching. The whole Crea vs Penyth kingdom politics and magic subplot were rare mentions and basically nonexistent. I could forget that it was even part of the story until the last 1/10 when it suddenly became relevant again. Those elements were what drew me in the first place from the overview but the magic was actually so out of pocket that it didn’t make sense. Other than that, the found family element was great and Amira isn’t entirely annoying.
In the kingdom of Crea, Amira Ramsey, daughter of the Royal Merchant, has grown up in the main training camp, where each day soldiers and guards are churned out to serve in the palace and the army ranks. Her father’s position among the king’s closest associates as the head of the kingdom’s commerce and reason for the heavy taxes leaves her bereft of a normal life. Hungry for more power, he lives at the royal training camp to develop skills in combat and become an ultimate threat. The recruits at camp are either scared of Amira because of the Ramsey name, or find a target in her as one of only two girls at the camp. Amira is left with few allies- there’s Dog, a stray canine, and Opal, the daughter of the royal commander of the armies. Amira is responsible for the chores at camp and cannot leave other than to retrieve items from the market for her father under the supervision of a guard. The only act of her choice is staking out her own form of training in camp, something she is not formally privy to, these self-learned abilities keeping the recruits’ animosity at bay. But the desire for freedom grows stronger each day and she begins to wonder if she will never get out. Her call is answered- albeit in a form she never saw coming: the Royal Matching, an event imitated by the king to unite powerful families. Amira has no interest in marriage but cannot challenge her father. And so she enters the palace and a new life among the court royals as one who’s spent her past in the muck of the training camp.
First 3/10 is centered around her life at the training camp. The next 6/10 is at the palace. Amira is subtly characterized as “not like the other girls” since she has physical aptitude that none of the other palace women have. She comes off as a bit naive to court politics but what I do appreciate is how she holds her ground against others’ wishes for her. Amira has built a resistance as her life has already been defined by her father; she does all she can to prevent that control from growing further. The plot got a bit lost once she entered the palace. I didn’t know what the aim was. Each day Amira would go to a new palace event intended to accelerate the matching. The whole Crea vs Penyth kingdom politics and magic subplot were rare mentions and basically nonexistent. I could forget that it was even part of the story until the last 1/10 when it suddenly became relevant again. Those elements were what drew me in the first place from the overview but the magic was actually so out of pocket that it didn’t make sense. Other than that, the found family element was great and Amira isn’t entirely annoying.
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Yes
Fun, refreshing read with witty banter and enjoyable characters. Kara Douglas delivers a debut book that balances heavy topics with some fun kick up your heels romance. I really enjoyed the back and forth between the characters.
Amira, the FMC, is portrayed as strong character with more to learn. She has been largely shelter by her overbearing jerk of a father, but she doesn't let that stop her from striving for more. I really enjoyed her quick thinking, but also her ability to think critically about situations. The MMC was refreshingly broody, but comical. I can't wait for more of him in the next book.
Kara does a good job of constantly pulling threads of the overall plot. She gives a little and then gives us more questions to ponder as we follow our FMC. I loved that not everything is as simple as it first appears. I have more questions and I cannot wait to see where it leads in book 2.
Overall, Kara's book is a fun adventure of epic fantasy, budding romance, and wit. I can't wait to read more from her as an author!
Amira, the FMC, is portrayed as strong character with more to learn. She has been largely shelter by her overbearing jerk of a father, but she doesn't let that stop her from striving for more. I really enjoyed her quick thinking, but also her ability to think critically about situations. The MMC was refreshingly broody, but comical. I can't wait for more of him in the next book.
Kara does a good job of constantly pulling threads of the overall plot. She gives a little and then gives us more questions to ponder as we follow our FMC. I loved that not everything is as simple as it first appears. I have more questions and I cannot wait to see where it leads in book 2.
Overall, Kara's book is a fun adventure of epic fantasy, budding romance, and wit. I can't wait to read more from her as an author!
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
medium-paced
Dropping the link to my reading vlog: https://youtu.be/GWCioDSAUZ8?si=46Vui_Fmz2PdWl-o
This book was absolutely FANTASTIC! I could not get enough of these characters or this world. I can not say enough great things about this book.
I went in completely blind and was consistently looking forward to what would happen next. This book had me in a chokehold! I don't want to spoil anything, but for any fantasy romance fans that want to consistently swoon... please pick up this book. You can thank me later !
This book was absolutely FANTASTIC! I could not get enough of these characters or this world. I can not say enough great things about this book.
I went in completely blind and was consistently looking forward to what would happen next. This book had me in a chokehold! I don't want to spoil anything, but for any fantasy romance fans that want to consistently swoon... please pick up this book. You can thank me later !