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abby_can_read's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-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? Yes
4.0
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
📱
I liked this book more after re-reading it. The writing style kept me engaged and the plot was interesting. I liked the characters and the their relationships.
⭐️⭐️⭐️-November 2023
📱
📱
I liked this book more after re-reading it. The writing style kept me engaged and the plot was interesting. I liked the characters and the their relationships.
⭐️⭐️⭐️-November 2023
📱
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture, Death, and Violence
Moderate: Death of parent, Murder, and Blood
Minor: Child death and Suicidal thoughts
j_emerson18's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-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
OH. MY. GOD. This book is everything to me. The connections to the previous book was unmatched. Emily Lloyd Jones stands as my top three favorite author. She's phenomenal. The characters drive me crazy and have me so invested in their well being. The banter is top tier. Dear God this was such an amazing read. So incredibly invested in this fictional universe.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Death, Grief, Child death, Blood, Violence, Vomit, Torture, Murder, and Death of parent
Moderate: Alcohol and Abandonment
scrubsandbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-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? Yes
4.0
A twist/betrayal that caught me way off guard in a good way, a mix of different and flawed characters, and a corgi that sneezes around magic. This was a good standalone fantasy to pass my time in.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Torture, and Murder
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Child death
beholderess's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture and Confinement
Moderate: Death, Child death, Death of parent, and Emotional abuse
leonormsousa's review
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, Physical abuse, Animal death, Child death, Vomit, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Suicide, Blood, and Violence
thewildmageslibrary's review
4.0
I didn't know anything about this but decided to finally pick it up. I enjoyed it more than the Bone Houses, though THEY'RE CONNECTED?? I guess it's just been too long since I read TBH, I can't remember how this prequel ties in .
CW: drowning
CW: drowning
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture, Death, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Violence, Death of parent, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, and Kidnapping
Minor: Child death
avacadosocks's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Violence, Death, Child death, Blood, and Torture
teaclockwitch's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
tense
medium-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? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Grief, Torture, War, Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Emotional abuse, Murder, and Child death
smhawks's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, and Death
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Torture, Violence, Child death, Death, War, and Murder
koistyfishy's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-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? It's complicated
4.0
This was a stunningly beautiful and enchanting fantasy book and I absolutely adored it!!! This was a buddy read with my Darling Richard and was meant to be an experience to draw me into Audiobooks. All I can say is I might not be fully converted but if this is what I have been missing out on in Audio - I need to rectify that as soon as possible!!!!
What really drew me into this was how strong the atmospheric ambience of the story was. The overall feeling of fairytale-esque magic and charm weaved into the mood, characters, tone and plot! It was just utterly delightful and whimsical at times (especially in the scenes with Trefor - the little corgi "spy"), that I found myself at times just mesmerised as I sat back and just enjoyed it.
This story is loosely based on the myth of cantre'r gwaelod - which is like a Welsh "Atlantis" and follows a girl called Mer, who happens to be one of the last Water Diviners (this means she has the ability to magically control water). For years she was a tool, used by the Prince, and exploited for her power... until she escaped. Now her past has caught up to her. The old spymaster who originally stole her from her home, all those years ago, has come to find her again. Only this time he has a proposal for her... one that includes a plan to get back at the evil prince.
I am quite glad that I experienced this story as an Audiobook, because Emily Lloyd-Jones does not go easy on the reader with all the Welsh names of people and places. I actually had to look up the spelling of half the things, cause my mind alone would not be able to piece them together without help!!! I mean there were the normal ones - Mer, Fane, Ifanna but then there were also Renfrew, Garanhir, Caer Wyddno, Gwaelod and then castell which in WELSH "ll" has a [ɬ] sound it so sounds like "Castethhh"....
The characters in this were lovely; however, we are still meeting most of them after halfway in the book, so it can feel a little slow in terms of plot progression and can make the characterisation feel weak because we don't actually spend too long with the characters before the main plot starts progressing really quickly in the second half. As such this does not give enough time to fully develop all the characters!
I really enjoyed Mer though. She was caring, determined, and just utterly amazing. She carries a lot of guilt based on the atrocities she had a hand in when being used by the Prince, and so has a strong moral desire to do good and right. Fane was also spectacular and his arc was heartbreaking and still sweet to see unfold. The romance between the two of them is cute, adorable and very understated - this is almost the perfect type of romance for anyone. It's a great experience for readers who don't like romance in their books, as it's not the main plot or subplot. BUT it also gives us romance lovers at heart our little squeals of delight!
The best character in this book however is TREFOR....yes the Corgi! He is basically adorable and funny. The scenes when he was described added youthful humour and comedic relief to the dark seriousness of the main tale. He reminded me of every Disney princess having a silly sidekick and all I want right now is my own little "other-folk" spy!
One of the reasons why this wasn't a five-star for me...BUT might actually be something that could be a 5 Star for some people is to do with the plot... Firstly the main plot centres around a "heist". I am not typically into these types of books as I don't particularly enjoy this type of story - HOWEVER, I know people are dying to find this "trope" in books.
This was one of the books that I did not see the twist coming and when it happened I was stunned into shock and questioning my reality! The last 30% of this book is amazing, fast-action-paced and really does shoot up this story to new heights!
Overall I would strongly recommend this read if you are looking for a cosy, magical fantasy that interweaves lore, myth and legend into an atmospheric and delightful comfort that is perfect to cosy up to on a rainy day!
What really drew me into this was how strong the atmospheric ambience of the story was. The overall feeling of fairytale-esque magic and charm weaved into the mood, characters, tone and plot! It was just utterly delightful and whimsical at times (especially in the scenes with Trefor - the little corgi "spy"), that I found myself at times just mesmerised as I sat back and just enjoyed it.
This story is loosely based on the myth of cantre'r gwaelod - which is like a Welsh "Atlantis" and follows a girl called Mer, who happens to be one of the last Water Diviners (this means she has the ability to magically control water). For years she was a tool, used by the Prince, and exploited for her power... until she escaped. Now her past has caught up to her. The old spymaster who originally stole her from her home, all those years ago, has come to find her again. Only this time he has a proposal for her... one that includes a plan to get back at the evil prince.
I am quite glad that I experienced this story as an Audiobook, because Emily Lloyd-Jones does not go easy on the reader with all the Welsh names of people and places. I actually had to look up the spelling of half the things, cause my mind alone would not be able to piece them together without help!!! I mean there were the normal ones - Mer, Fane, Ifanna but then there were also Renfrew, Garanhir, Caer Wyddno, Gwaelod and then castell which in WELSH "ll" has a [ɬ] sound it so sounds like "Castethhh"....
The characters in this were lovely; however, we are still meeting most of them after halfway in the book, so it can feel a little slow in terms of plot progression and can make the characterisation feel weak because we don't actually spend too long with the characters before the main plot starts progressing really quickly in the second half. As such this does not give enough time to fully develop all the characters!
I really enjoyed Mer though. She was caring, determined, and just utterly amazing. She carries a lot of guilt based on the atrocities she had a hand in when being used by the Prince, and so has a strong moral desire to do good and right. Fane was also spectacular and his arc was heartbreaking and still sweet to see unfold. The romance between the two of them is cute, adorable and very understated - this is almost the perfect type of romance for anyone. It's a great experience for readers who don't like romance in their books, as it's not the main plot or subplot. BUT it also gives us romance lovers at heart our little squeals of delight!
The best character in this book however is TREFOR....yes the Corgi! He is basically adorable and funny. The scenes when he was described added youthful humour and comedic relief to the dark seriousness of the main tale. He reminded me of every Disney princess having a silly sidekick and all I want right now is my own little "other-folk" spy!
One of the reasons why this wasn't a five-star for me...BUT might actually be something that could be a 5 Star for some people is to do with the plot... Firstly the main plot centres around a "heist". I am not typically into these types of books as I don't particularly enjoy this type of story - HOWEVER, I know people are dying to find this "trope" in books.
This was one of the books that I did not see the twist coming and when it happened I was stunned into shock and questioning my reality! The last 30% of this book is amazing, fast-action-paced and really does shoot up this story to new heights!
Overall I would strongly recommend this read if you are looking for a cosy, magical fantasy that interweaves lore, myth and legend into an atmospheric and delightful comfort that is perfect to cosy up to on a rainy day!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Death, and Torture
Minor: Child death and Blood