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3.79 AVERAGE
3.79 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
dark
hopeful
tense
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-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
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
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:
N/A
adventurous
medium-paced
REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS
My ending thoughts? Sadly disappointed.
It’s not because the plot is bad or the characters are bad—if anything, there’s SO MUCH potential in this second book for it to be truly great.
The first part started off with a bang. The pacing from the first book was met in the second, and I was sailing through those chapters.
And then? I can’t put my finger on exactly what happened, but everything kind of… deflated. The tension between the main characters was resolved (? Kind of? I was craving more about why Rooke had a change of heart), and from there everything felt less intense, less life or death, even though the stakes are very much life or death.
What really set off the change for me was the incredibly obvious grammatical and prose errors in the second half of the book. It seemed like the Bree had someone comb through the first half, but not the second, and it resulted in clunky sentences, dialogue, and a continuation of needless repetition. (By the end, I was about to throw a tantrum if I read one more sentence with a “but” in it, which happened to be almost every other sentence.)
The last quarter of the book took me longer to get through than the first half. This might be an exaggeration, but it’s how I felt. It was a slog. The grammar, the lack of editing, the disconnect I felt from the main characters that I had felt SO STRONGLY about in the first book—all of it led to a disappointing ending. To the point where I might not want to read the third book, just because all of these issues truly hindered my reading experience. It felt like I was reading a first draft, not a final product.
The reason I’m so disappointed is because this series, these characters, this plot, this magic system, this world building is SO GREAT!! There’s SO MUCH POTENTIAL for it to be truly mind blowing. I feel like it could have been if the author spent more time editing and refining the story. Because man oh MAN, if she had done that with this book (and even the first book) it would have been an absolute HOME RUN.
(Side note: Rooke has so much insane backstory that it made me wonder if she should have done a first series with Rooke in the Fates War, then written this series. I’m thinking along the lines of how Robin Hobb wrote her 16 book mega series with multiple mini series to tell the story of the world of Fitz (and friends). The story this author wants to tell could actually really benefit from that structure. It would take away some dramatic effect from us learning about Rooke, but it would add more dramatic effect for us as readers to anticipate the revelations from Soren’s perspective.)
My ending thoughts? Sadly disappointed.
It’s not because the plot is bad or the characters are bad—if anything, there’s SO MUCH potential in this second book for it to be truly great.
The first part started off with a bang. The pacing from the first book was met in the second, and I was sailing through those chapters.
And then? I can’t put my finger on exactly what happened, but everything kind of… deflated. The tension between the main characters was resolved (? Kind of? I was craving more about why Rooke had a change of heart), and from there everything felt less intense, less life or death, even though the stakes are very much life or death.
What really set off the change for me was the incredibly obvious grammatical and prose errors in the second half of the book. It seemed like the Bree had someone comb through the first half, but not the second, and it resulted in clunky sentences, dialogue, and a continuation of needless repetition. (By the end, I was about to throw a tantrum if I read one more sentence with a “but” in it, which happened to be almost every other sentence.)
The last quarter of the book took me longer to get through than the first half. This might be an exaggeration, but it’s how I felt. It was a slog. The grammar, the lack of editing, the disconnect I felt from the main characters that I had felt SO STRONGLY about in the first book—all of it led to a disappointing ending. To the point where I might not want to read the third book, just because all of these issues truly hindered my reading experience. It felt like I was reading a first draft, not a final product.
The reason I’m so disappointed is because this series, these characters, this plot, this magic system, this world building is SO GREAT!! There’s SO MUCH POTENTIAL for it to be truly mind blowing. I feel like it could have been if the author spent more time editing and refining the story. Because man oh MAN, if she had done that with this book (and even the first book) it would have been an absolute HOME RUN.
(Side note: Rooke has so much insane backstory that it made me wonder if she should have done a first series with Rooke in the Fates War, then written this series. I’m thinking along the lines of how Robin Hobb wrote her 16 book mega series with multiple mini series to tell the story of the world of Fitz (and friends). The story this author wants to tell could actually really benefit from that structure. It would take away some dramatic effect from us learning about Rooke, but it would add more dramatic effect for us as readers to anticipate the revelations from Soren’s perspective.)
adventurous
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:
Complicated
While I loooved the first 85% of this book, the last 15% felt rushed, and I truly did not know what was going on at some points. That being said, I really love this world and the relationship the witches have with the land/forests. It's very interestin and beautiful. I wont lie, I will be sad to leave this world behind. I can't wait for the 3rd book, and I will be reading what the rest of this author writes.
Content Warnings
Moderate: War
adventurous
emotional
challenging
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-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:
Complicated
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
sad
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:
No
