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3.98 AVERAGE
3.98 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
🌟🌟🌟 (3.7/5)
This book could be the start to a pretty good new fantasy series. I enjoyed the writing and the book itself, but I also do have some criticism.
Pros:
- the plot: I really liked the story itself. It's not a completely unique story and there are certainly some fantasy books that have similar plots. But still, it was entertainingly written and I generally always looked forward to reading a bit more. I started to really enjoy it in the second half, though, when it felt like more was finally happening.
- the character development: I think it's always important for a character to develop within the book. Especially with book series, the development is often very slow, so I like to ask myself why the character makes the same mistake 3 times in a row. That was different in this book - the character development was fast, at times almost a bit too fast. Nevertheless, the more character development Lyrian went through, the more I became friends with him.
Cons:
- the worldbuilding: I feel like even though it was the prelude to a book series, the worldbuilding was almost completely lacking. Especially in fantasy books, I think good worldbuilding is an absolute must because we can't go by historical aspects. But with this book I actually have the feeling that everyone who reads it would imagine completely different worlds, because simply extremely little of the world we are in is described.
- the reasoning: In this book we follow a character who is different from all the other characters around him - he is the only one who has magic. And not once in this entire book is the background written about. We, as readers, are just supposed to believe that this is the case. But why? Is there any family history that we don't know? Why does Lyrian, of all people, have magic and the entire rest of his family does not? And not only do we not learn the reason, but our protagonist doesn't ask himself these questions - which I think is simply unrealistic.
- the pacing: Personally, the book is too fast-paced for me. This is where I think the lack of worldbuilding comes into play again, because that would give a good balance to the really fast-paced, eventful story.
- even if it is only a small thing, I have to mention it because it bothers me: there are quite often grammatical or spelling mistakes. I know, many people don't even notice them, but it bothers me, especially when it happens in every chapter.
All in all, a solid start to a new fantasy series with a lot of potential!
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
This book could be the start to a pretty good new fantasy series. I enjoyed the writing and the book itself, but I also do have some criticism.
Pros:
- the plot: I really liked the story itself. It's not a completely unique story and there are certainly some fantasy books that have similar plots. But still, it was entertainingly written and I generally always looked forward to reading a bit more. I started to really enjoy it in the second half, though, when it felt like more was finally happening.
- the character development: I think it's always important for a character to develop within the book. Especially with book series, the development is often very slow, so I like to ask myself why the character makes the same mistake 3 times in a row. That was different in this book - the character development was fast, at times almost a bit too fast. Nevertheless, the more character development Lyrian went through, the more I became friends with him.
Cons:
- the worldbuilding: I feel like even though it was the prelude to a book series, the worldbuilding was almost completely lacking. Especially in fantasy books, I think good worldbuilding is an absolute must because we can't go by historical aspects. But with this book I actually have the feeling that everyone who reads it would imagine completely different worlds, because simply extremely little of the world we are in is described.
- the reasoning: In this book we follow a character who is different from all the other characters around him - he is the only one who has magic. And not once in this entire book is the background written about. We, as readers, are just supposed to believe that this is the case. But why? Is there any family history that we don't know? Why does Lyrian, of all people, have magic and the entire rest of his family does not? And not only do we not learn the reason, but our protagonist doesn't ask himself these questions - which I think is simply unrealistic.
- the pacing: Personally, the book is too fast-paced for me. This is where I think the lack of worldbuilding comes into play again, because that would give a good balance to the really fast-paced, eventful story.
- even if it is only a small thing, I have to mention it because it bothers me: there are quite often grammatical or spelling mistakes. I know, many people don't even notice them, but it bothers me, especially when it happens in every chapter.
All in all, a solid start to a new fantasy series with a lot of potential!
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.