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bangiebangs's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
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? Yes
4.0
4*
- ends on cliffhanger (unfinished trilogy/series)
- spice: 3/5 (only bc there were so few scenes, but those were excellent and worth the wait)
This had been on my TBR for a while and I finally started reading it because an author I follow loved it. Have to admit, I almost DNF’d this because it took me forever to get into the story. Not sure why but for the first quarter I wasn’t sure I knew what was going on, or cared too much either.
That said, once I got into it, boy was I into it! I knew this was an E2L story so I was excited to see how that would happen. But this isn’t even the best part (though that slow burn, hmmmm delicious!), I thought the world-building was just excellent. I still don’t totally get how one world “fell” into another or what happened to that first world exactly (it seems to still exist? Or is that another planet?) but it seems to make sense most of the time. I just think of it as continents, basically.
I really liked that the villain here is the FMC, which is somewhat unusual. And if she is bad, you really dislike her – she is not just a little villainous for show, she is a mass murderer. It does make sense that some of the other characters are not exactly willing to overlook that. If you’re a Nesta fan, you’ll probably like Dianna, though.
I think in places the antagonism and self-hate may have been a little overdone, but overall, it worked. The MMC also has his fair share of self-loathing to carry, and we get a good view into depression and recovery from different points of view, and different kinds of depression. I thought that was done really well.
Other than that, you get the usual fantasy bodies that are flat and muscled and whatnot with the endless thick shlong you expect (getting a tad tired of this, ngl, just give me a realistic body every once in a while, not this “hulking guy plus petite woman” porn-ish thing), and if I read “you need to be ready” and “he fed me his dick inch by inch until finally seated fully blah blah never felt so full” I might abandon ship.
So tl;dr, the book picked up significantly in the second half for me, and I immediately started reading the next one. The cliffhanger was only bearable bc book 2 is already out, but otherwise I would have been in pain. Best wait until the next (last?) one is out if an unfinished series is not your flavor of masochism ;)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Gore, Blood, and Sexual content
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
jen_sten's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Murder, Mental illness, Emotional abuse, Gore, Torture, Sexual content, Blood, Death of parent, Panic attacks/disorders, War, Violence, and Death
stephaniemcuervo's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Torture, Sexual content, Death, Genocide, Injury/Injury detail, War, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Kidnapping, and Murder
Moderate: Car accident, Confinement, Death of parent, and Panic attacks/disorders
booksalacarte's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
tense
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? Yes
3.0
3⭐️ 2🌶️
Badass/morally grey FMC
Enemies to lovers
Slow burn
Forced proximity
One bed
Quest
Forbidden romance
Fight scenes
Dragons
🏳️🌈 rep
Cliffhanger
Seems to be dual POV. The beginning started off with interesting world building and introduced us to the FMC. The magic is interesting. I have to admit that I’m still confused about quite a bit, but I’m thankful that the magic doesn’t look like every other romantasy out there. I think it was a little clogged in its delivery.
Badass/morally grey FMC
Enemies to lovers
Slow burn
Forced proximity
One bed
Quest
Forbidden romance
Fight scenes
Dragons
🏳️🌈 rep
Cliffhanger
Seems to be dual POV. The beginning started off with interesting world building and introduced us to the FMC. The magic is interesting. I have to admit that I’m still confused about quite a bit, but I’m thankful that the magic doesn’t look like every other romantasy out there. I think it was a little clogged in its delivery.
A god with PTSD…Liam/Samkiel a different kind of male main character. I applaud even if his character does feel like Thor after Endgame. He was fully flushed and by far the character holding the book together.
The slowest burn. Goodness gracious. They go from enemies-to-pretty much lovers, but not quite.
I didn’t enjoy how often things were repeated. Prose and stories told, in full, more than once. I found myself going, “yeah, yeah, yeah… I’ve heard this before.” It was really annoying. Then to just have to go through it again in the other POV. Yikes. The dialogue was also cringeworthy. Some of the general conversations were just not at all realistic in the way character spoke to each other and word choices.
The nature of Dianna was so immature when she wasn’t fighting. She is supposed to be almost a thousand years old? She acted like her emotional growth stopped in her early 20’s. She was written very YA. I wanted her to fight more so I didn’t have to deal with her immaturity.
The stakes felt high, until you read the line, “weeks later”… multiple times. Then you start wondering what the hell people are doing for those weeks! Nothing helpful or plot moving. Just twiddling their thumbs? I don’t want to be in the same PoV and suddenly have a plot blackout for weeks!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Cursing, Gaslighting, Gore, Death, Body horror, Cannibalism, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Grief, and Blood
haleyc00k's review
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
tense
slow-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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Body horror, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, and Sexual content
wordwilderness's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
The Book of Azriel has an interesting plot and worldbuilding, but unfortunately, the characters and their relationships fell flat for me. From the beginning, it was obvious that the reader was supposed to perceive the main character as a villain, but at the same time, the book was constantly reminding me that she only committed evil acts to save her sister. It was like the story didn't trust me to interpret the character for myself, which was also reflected in how the other characters were developed. I was told how to feel about their personalities and relationships instead of getting to see them develop through their actions. As a result, I didn't really care what happened to the characters by the end of the book.
Other than the characters, the story was pretty interesting though. I loved all the legendary monsters, and there were plenty of plot twists I never saw coming. I definitely think there's an audience for this book, even if it wasn't me.
Other than the characters, the story was pretty interesting though. I loved all the legendary monsters, and there were plenty of plot twists I never saw coming. I definitely think there's an audience for this book, even if it wasn't me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Panic attacks/disorders, Death, Gore, and Sexual content
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Toxic relationship, Grief, Torture, and Emotional abuse
Minor: War
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