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3.72 AVERAGE
3.72 AVERAGE
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
This book could have easily been 4 stars for me but the ending was lacking. For a YA novel (I got this from YA Owlcrate) it was surprisingly graphic with its horror (which I super appreciated!) but I was expecting a bloodbath at the end.
First 300 pages were great.
First 300 pages were great.
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Not my style. At all
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This was good. There were parts where I wanted more details and then the last 30% I just wanted something to happen but other than that it was good.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This book was fairly reminiscent of old school young adult, adventure high fantasy. From time to time, I had joked about the fact that this was kind of reminding me of an aged up Alanna the First Adventure, with touches of We Hunt the Flame. You had the stabby sorta magical redhead and her being the only woman in a brotherhood of male knights (of which she eventually has a posse). You had the dark, broody, commander (who also moonlights as an assassin) with some sort of loyalty to a cruel king.
And then you have the tale of the missing sun goddess, and a curse on the kingdom, and a forest filled with mist and shadows. It was horrific and dark and filled with quite a bit of adventure, punctuated with a heaping amount of training montages and character banter. I did feel like there was a lot of empty space in between, and the way the romance unfolded was good until it became a matter of "oh I have to distance myself for selfless lovey dovey reasons blah blah blah," which, honestly, gets tiring after it is constantly being mentioned in BOTH parties.
Still, it was a pretty entertaining ride! Between shadow magic and firebending galore, I did find myself being amused enough to want the next book--and hope it's a duology, not a trilogy plsplspls! That last sentence in the ending, though. Bruh I can't.
And then you have the tale of the missing sun goddess, and a curse on the kingdom, and a forest filled with mist and shadows. It was horrific and dark and filled with quite a bit of adventure, punctuated with a heaping amount of training montages and character banter. I did feel like there was a lot of empty space in between, and the way the romance unfolded was good until it became a matter of "oh I have to distance myself for selfless lovey dovey reasons blah blah blah," which, honestly, gets tiring after it is constantly being mentioned in BOTH parties.
Still, it was a pretty entertaining ride! Between shadow magic and firebending galore, I did find myself being amused enough to want the next book--and hope it's a duology, not a trilogy plsplspls! That last sentence in the ending, though. Bruh I can't.
I don't know what it was about this book but I just couldn't get into it. The idea was great and I like the world but the characters just couldn't sell it. I read this in parts for a readalong and it honestly felt like I was reading the same thing every single time. It started to become tedious about halfway through when it felt like I had read the same inner dialogue for the sixth time. Having Jude say he can't be near Kiara, then immediately sit close to her or touch her, narrate about how wonderful she is, only to once again say he can't be near her was exhausting.
I also feel like we were told their personalities rather than shown. I never got the sense of darkness that everyone claimed Kiara had, she just seemed like a tough girl who liked to throw hands.
I do think the subtle build up to the reveal was really well done. I was able to piece it together with all the little clues sprinkled in, so that was done well. I also loved the myths and how it was woven into the plot and the characters. The action scenes were tense and got me into the story, only to be let down when we were once again in a quiet scene with the characters and going through the same thing. I feel like there was so much potential with this but it was the characters that fell flat and made it less enjoyable.
I also feel like we were told their personalities rather than shown. I never got the sense of darkness that everyone claimed Kiara had, she just seemed like a tough girl who liked to throw hands.
I do think the subtle build up to the reveal was really well done. I was able to piece it together with all the little clues sprinkled in, so that was done well. I also loved the myths and how it was woven into the plot and the characters. The action scenes were tense and got me into the story, only to be let down when we were once again in a quiet scene with the characters and going through the same thing. I feel like there was so much potential with this but it was the characters that fell flat and made it less enjoyable.
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
hopeful
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced