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nikkisreadingx's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
My Hunger Games trauma is going to prevent me from rating this until I get through the review so let's go.
Notable things:
- The enemies-to-lovers trope is *really* well done. I don't like this trope when it's not fantasy or dark romance and often times, I feel like it's too rushed. It wasn't with this one. At all. The development of Dianna' and Liam's relationship is so...real. They hate each other for so long until they don't, and then they realized they hadn't hated each other for as long as they thought. It was just beautiful and as soon as that started, I was hooked.
- The world building is unique. The lore is great. In the beginning, it felt very Revelations/Rapture, then became very Valhalla/Ragnorak as we got to know more in the book. I can see now that the twist is because Dianna is kept in the dark about so many things and watching it unfold was interesting.
But I would also call it a little...lazy? If that's the right word. This is called high fantasy, but you could replace 'Onuna' with 'Earth' and it would make sense, because practically everything on the world was a reflection of earth. How people spoke, how they dressed, the technology, the buildings, it was all what we see in real life. This book hit the mark on urban-fantasy with other worlds on different planets. Urban fantasy is my preferred, so this worked for me. If you're looking for a true high fantasy feel, I think it misses there.
- Dianna's personality is fair and makes sense and is entertaining at times, but some of her snark is too immature for a centuries old warrior. However, I *loved* her character growth. So while her commentary was annoying in the first half of the book, it's welcome and endearing in the second half of the book. I didn't quite pinpoint when that shift happened (probably around the time she starts helping Liam with his nightmares), but it was really nice to see her grow and lose a bit of her bravado in favor of confidence in herself.
(I also could have done without the 'evil villain' clothing descriptions every time she got dressed in the frist half of the book. Why are they always the same?)
- The pacing of this book is a little off. The beginning took me forever. Mostly because it was a trauma dump. High stakes from page one, no moments of rest, I couldn't dive in because it was too much. When Liam was introduced, I thought there would be a break -- nope. He's as broken as she is. (Which, I will admit, had me curious to their story and helped me set aside time to continue reading even when I just wanted to dive into something sweet and happy.)
However, when it gets *going*, when Dianna is with Liam and finally removed from Kaden, I was sucked in. Completely. I went from reading 50 pages a day to 250 pages in one sitting. I only stopped because I knew I needed to a break before I got to the end.
- The ending. I hate cliffhangers in books and that's part of why it was slow going for me to get into this book. I also was under the impression this was a duet, so to finish this book and find out the sequel also has a cliffhanger?? 😤😠But let's not get derailed there.
Part of the ending was predictable from the very beginning -- see: Hunger Games trauma -- and part of it was just heartbreaking. I don't like trauma porn, which was so much of the beginning of the book, that now, to see how much further it goes, how Dianna *cannot* be allowed to be happy, ever, it makes me very hesitant to continue reading the series. Especially when I don't know when the end is finally going to happen. I will because it was really good and I want to know how Dianna and Liam finally fall in love and I want to see how Liam helps Dianna heal in the next one, but I know I will struggle starting that book because it's just going to hurt.
As soon as I got into the book, I loved it. Even knowing what was coming, even knowing that I would hate the ending, even knowing that there wasn't a happy on the horizon for anyone, I couldn't help but love it. And I'm really interested to see where it goes.
Also -- don't go in this expecting spice. He fingers her, she blows him, that's all you're getting between these two in the whole 500 pages of the book. It makes sense -- because they're proper enemies-to-lovers -- but seeing people give this more than half a chili for spice meter is giving me all sorts of dissonance.
Notable things:
- The enemies-to-lovers trope is *really* well done. I don't like this trope when it's not fantasy or dark romance and often times, I feel like it's too rushed. It wasn't with this one. At all. The development of Dianna' and Liam's relationship is so...real. They hate each other for so long until they don't, and then they realized they hadn't hated each other for as long as they thought. It was just beautiful and as soon as that started, I was hooked.
- The world building is unique. The lore is great. In the beginning, it felt very Revelations/Rapture, then became very Valhalla/Ragnorak as we got to know more in the book. I can see now that the twist is because Dianna is kept in the dark about so many things and watching it unfold was interesting.
But I would also call it a little...lazy? If that's the right word. This is called high fantasy, but you could replace 'Onuna' with 'Earth' and it would make sense, because practically everything on the world was a reflection of earth. How people spoke, how they dressed, the technology, the buildings, it was all what we see in real life. This book hit the mark on urban-fantasy with other worlds on different planets. Urban fantasy is my preferred, so this worked for me. If you're looking for a true high fantasy feel, I think it misses there.
- Dianna's personality is fair and makes sense and is entertaining at times, but some of her snark is too immature for a centuries old warrior. However, I *loved* her character growth. So while her commentary was annoying in the first half of the book, it's welcome and endearing in the second half of the book. I didn't quite pinpoint when that shift happened (probably around the time she starts helping Liam with his nightmares), but it was really nice to see her grow and lose a bit of her bravado in favor of confidence in herself.
(I also could have done without the 'evil villain' clothing descriptions every time she got dressed in the frist half of the book. Why are they always the same?)
- The pacing of this book is a little off. The beginning took me forever. Mostly because it was a trauma dump. High stakes from page one, no moments of rest, I couldn't dive in because it was too much. When Liam was introduced, I thought there would be a break -- nope. He's as broken as she is. (Which, I will admit, had me curious to their story and helped me set aside time to continue reading even when I just wanted to dive into something sweet and happy.)
However, when it gets *going*, when Dianna is with Liam and finally removed from Kaden, I was sucked in. Completely. I went from reading 50 pages a day to 250 pages in one sitting. I only stopped because I knew I needed to a break before I got to the end.
- The ending. I hate cliffhangers in books and that's part of why it was slow going for me to get into this book. I also was under the impression this was a duet, so to finish this book and find out the sequel also has a cliffhanger?? 😤😠But let's not get derailed there.
Part of the ending was predictable from the very beginning -- see: Hunger Games trauma -- and part of it was just heartbreaking. I don't like trauma porn, which was so much of the beginning of the book, that now, to see how much further it goes, how Dianna *cannot* be allowed to be happy, ever, it makes me very hesitant to continue reading the series. Especially when I don't know when the end is finally going to happen. I will because it was really good and I want to know how Dianna and Liam finally fall in love and I want to see how Liam helps Dianna heal in the next one, but I know I will struggle starting that book because it's just going to hurt.
As soon as I got into the book, I loved it. Even knowing what was coming, even knowing that I would hate the ending, even knowing that there wasn't a happy on the horizon for anyone, I couldn't help but love it. And I'm really interested to see where it goes.
Also -- don't go in this expecting spice. He fingers her, she blows him, that's all you're getting between these two in the whole 500 pages of the book. It makes sense -- because they're proper enemies-to-lovers -- but seeing people give this more than half a chili for spice meter is giving me all sorts of dissonance.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Murder, Sexual content, Suicide, Death, Blood, Cursing, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Grief, War, Death of parent, Torture, and Violence
Moderate: Abandonment
radiantgeode's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
sad
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Kidnapping, Gaslighting, Fire/Fire injury, Death of parent, Death, Suicide, Mental illness, Grief, Torture, Slavery, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Violence, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, Toxic friendship, Suicide attempt, Murder, Sexual violence, Sexual content, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Rape, War, Cursing, and Blood
overflowingshelf's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
CW: Violence; torture; murder; death; depression/PTSD; suicide; war
I came to this book for the hero but stayed for the villain. Or villainess, I should say.
Don’t be scared of the length of The Book of Azrael – once you start reading it, you’ll fly through it and not want to put it down! But be warned – there is a killer cliffhanger at the end!
Dianna gave up her life a thousand years ago to save her sister. She called on anyone who would listen, not expecting a monster far worse than her nightmares to answer. Now she does what Kaden wants, even if it means securing an ancient relic from the creatures that hunt her crime. After the Gods War, Liam, formerly known as Samkiel and more commonly referred to as the World Ender, shut himself away, hiding from the world. But an attack on those he holds dear sends him back to the one realm he never wished to visit again and into the sights of an enemy he thought he imprisoned years ago. Now enemies of old must work together to save their world and all the realms in between.
I love me a good, complicated villainess, and Dianna is exactly that. She delivers the sass, the snark, and the stabbing I want from my morally grey heroines. She’s a badass, complicated woman, and I immediately loved her.
Despite being on what I’d call team evil, Dianna has a softer side that we see through her relationship with her sister Gabby. Dianna would do ANYTHING for her sister, including giving up her own life in service of the bad guy. That kind of devotion is really striking. Dianna’s relationship with her sister grounds hers, humanizes her. That relationship is central to the story and is a main driver behind much of Dianna’s actions and the plot of the story. I still have questions and theories about her powers, but I’m excited to see what happens to Dianna in book 2, as the ending of this book will have some SERIOUS implications for her character development.
And then we have Liam, also known as Samkiel and the World Ender, and boy, could he not be more different personality-wise, but they both are broken in their own way. When we met him, he is in a very dark mental state. He’s suffering from PTSD and depression, with the literal weight of the worlds on his shoulder and massive expectations placed on him. While he may be viewed as a god, he considers himself a monster. Slowly and reluctantly, he works to confront his issues, opening himself up more emotionally. But he’s still got a long way to go to get back to the man he was before. I enjoyed all the layers to his character as we see different versions of him in flashbacks, as it helped drive home just how much his actions impacted him mentally and emotionally.
Now if you want a TRUE enemies-to-lovers book, that is EXACTLY what you get with The Book of Azrael. By nature of who they are, Dianna and Liam are technically mortal enemies – their kinds of have been fighting each other for centuries. Both Dianna and Liam try to kill the other and their companions at various points in this book. But watching their relationship develop, albeit a bit slowly, was sweet. You get fantastic flirty banter and fighting, but also some real emotions and deep feelings between them. I’m excited to see where the relationship goes in book 2 as I feel like some significant obstacles are still coming their way.
The world-building in this book was decent, but it does take a while for all the pieces to start to fit together. It’s a bit confusing sorting out the world, the creatures, the religion, and the magic in the beginning. I am not sure I 100% understand all the nuances of the world yet, and I feel there is still a lot more to play with and explore in future books, but I didn’t find this hampering my enjoyment of the story by any means.
This book is a bit of a beast in terms of length, as it clocks in at nearly 500 pages. But the book never felt like it was that long. I flew through this book as the story immediately hooked me. The pacing is perfect. Amber Nicole seamlessly weaves the action, exposition, world-building, and romance together. It feels balanced – for every big action scene, we get an equal amount of quiet, softer scenes focusing on the characters, their relationships, and their emotions. There are some fun twists and turns in the plot along the way and a killer ending, making me even more excited for book two.
I picked this book up on a whim after seeing some fantastic fan art, and I am SO glad I did. This delivered exactly what I wanted, with a feisty, morally grey heroine, a complex and troubled hero with lots of action and romance to boot. I’m so glad I don’t have to wait long for book 2, The Throne of Broken Gods, because the ending is a cliffhanger, and I cannot wait to see what happens next!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Murder, Violence, Torture, and War
Moderate: Mental illness and Suicide
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