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3.36 AVERAGE
3.36 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
adventurous
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Good, sometimes beautiful. I just couldn’t quite get invested in the story and found the magic system too opaque to find intriguing. It felt like starless sea on occasion but not enough to make my heart yearn in the same way, more like the author also read that book and wanted to emulate its nostalgic vibe without understanding why it felt that way.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
dark
hopeful
inspiring
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:
No
Loved the writing style and world building, but agree that a lot of questions were left unanswered.
Primarily….
I don’t mind that we only get a glimpse into Marianne in the end. She’s a coward who abandoned her family and condemned her daughter in favor of saving her own skin. I love that it was open ended and not tied up nicely with a bow of reunification and answers for Violet.
I also don’t mind that we don’t get a lot of backstory for Tamriel. He’s a minor character; we aren’t owed an additional story. We know he was cast out of their homeland and Astriade protected him but also used him.
The only thing that really nags me is, Ever and Astriade had a child during that period of “a year and a day” so who raised the child? Where did it go? Astriade killed everyone else, how is it the child survived to carry on the Everly line for Violet to be a descendent of?
Why did Astriade create Fidelis? She destroyed Elandrial, so is Fidelis the other part that was cleaved off? Is she creating scholars and keys to try to find her home world again so she doesn’t need to go to Elandrial and go through Ever? Why can’t she go home without Ever’s blood…? Does their bargain somehow prevent her from going home until she collects, like a law of their people??
Despite my confusion, I still loved it.
Primarily….
I don’t mind that we only get a glimpse into Marianne in the end. She’s a coward who abandoned her family and condemned her daughter in favor of saving her own skin. I love that it was open ended and not tied up nicely with a bow of reunification and answers for Violet.
I also don’t mind that we don’t get a lot of backstory for Tamriel. He’s a minor character; we aren’t owed an additional story. We know he was cast out of their homeland and Astriade protected him but also used him.
The only thing that really nags me is, Ever and Astriade had a child during that period of “a year and a day” so who raised the child? Where did it go? Astriade killed everyone else, how is it the child survived to carry on the Everly line for Violet to be a descendent of?
Why did Astriade create Fidelis? She destroyed Elandrial, so is Fidelis the other part that was cleaved off? Is she creating scholars and keys to try to find her home world again so she doesn’t need to go to Elandrial and go through Ever? Why can’t she go home without Ever’s blood…? Does their bargain somehow prevent her from going home until she collects, like a law of their people??
Despite my confusion, I still loved it.
A woman wonders why her mother left, and in looking for the answer she finds herself swept up in a drama that has been unfolding for centuries.
Heavy, and mysterious, this story unfolds in a way that keeps you turning pages to learn more.
Why only 4 stars? Towards the end, the characters seem to make decisions for the plot and less because of their internal motivations. This could just be my read of it.
I'll update this after my re-reading next year.
Heavy, and mysterious, this story unfolds in a way that keeps you turning pages to learn more.
Why only 4 stars? Towards the end, the characters seem to make decisions for the plot and less because of their internal motivations. This could just be my read of it.
I'll update this after my re-reading next year.