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kaiatoast's review
adventurous
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
3.75
prisha and harini are my favourite parts of the book. a decent follow-up to cast in firelight, but it confuses me that this series is only a duology. though i'm the first to appreciate fast-paced/relatively short fantasy novels, i still expected to learn more about the magic system, moolek's motivations, fiza and even the jailed women. definitely a strong sequel, but with lots of unexplored potential.
ateachersguidetoreading's review
5.0
"I’ve never been powerless. And I certainly have never been voiceless. Until now..."
*
Following on from the events of Cast in Firelight, we see Adraa being wrongly accused and put on trial by her people for an explosion that left Belwar devastated. The verdict leaves Adraa sentenced to life imprisonment in the Dome, an impenetrable magic-infused fortress. Jatin, her betrothed, will stop at nothing to rescue Adraa from her captivity and prove her innocence to the people of Belwar. But not everything is as it seems - dark forces are pulling the strings and there is a bigger threat at play. Will Adraa and Jatin figure it out in time to save their countries and the people they love?
*
"Bad people are always trying to corrupt good things..."
*
I loved this series completely and I'm so sad to be leaving Wickery! I'd jump at the chance to read more about Adraa and Jatin. This duology was perfect - it had action, cute romance and lots of empowering moments, magic and self-esteem wise. We got to see the introduction of some new characters, like Harini and Fiza, two very strong witches in their own right. The plot twists were fantastic and there was one I did not see coming so the shock factor was high! I know the plot needed the main characters to be separated but I felt the dual POV helped see both sides of the story until they found their way back to each other. I loved Adraa and Jatin's reunion! As well as that ending - it tied it all up with little hints about what their futures hold. I for one would love a return to Wickery someday...
I was lucky to win an eARC of this book so thank you to the author, Delacorte Press and NetGalley. I also preordered my own hardcopy because that cover is so gorgeous and it needed to be on my shelf!
*
"Grief never really disappears, just changes, becomes manageable..."
*
Following on from the events of Cast in Firelight, we see Adraa being wrongly accused and put on trial by her people for an explosion that left Belwar devastated. The verdict leaves Adraa sentenced to life imprisonment in the Dome, an impenetrable magic-infused fortress. Jatin, her betrothed, will stop at nothing to rescue Adraa from her captivity and prove her innocence to the people of Belwar. But not everything is as it seems - dark forces are pulling the strings and there is a bigger threat at play. Will Adraa and Jatin figure it out in time to save their countries and the people they love?
*
"Bad people are always trying to corrupt good things..."
*
I loved this series completely and I'm so sad to be leaving Wickery! I'd jump at the chance to read more about Adraa and Jatin. This duology was perfect - it had action, cute romance and lots of empowering moments, magic and self-esteem wise. We got to see the introduction of some new characters, like Harini and Fiza, two very strong witches in their own right. The plot twists were fantastic and there was one I did not see coming so the shock factor was high! I know the plot needed the main characters to be separated but I felt the dual POV helped see both sides of the story until they found their way back to each other. I loved Adraa and Jatin's reunion! As well as that ending - it tied it all up with little hints about what their futures hold. I for one would love a return to Wickery someday...
I was lucky to win an eARC of this book so thank you to the author, Delacorte Press and NetGalley. I also preordered my own hardcopy because that cover is so gorgeous and it needed to be on my shelf!
*
"Grief never really disappears, just changes, becomes manageable..."
casso's review
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death and Death of parent
ngreads's review
4.0
Actual rating is more like a high 3.5/5.
I feel a bit torn about this one. On one hand, I did enjoy it. Dana Swift's characters are interesting, and her world is fun to exist in. But...
There are a couple issues that drag it down. Let's get into it.
The Good:
- I really like the world of Wickery. There's a whimsical quality to the world, making it feel light in spite of the darker subject matter in the plot. I really like how colourful the whole thing feels.
- I enjoy the chemistry of Adraa and Jatin. They're just plain cute. Part of me liked them a little better in book one, just because their rivalry played a bigger role, but I still found them fun in this one.
- The plot (for the most part) was solid and complex enough to please me. I like that it got into some darker subject matter.
The Not-so-Good:
- There were some concepts that came out of nowhere, but were treated as though they had been well-established as though we, the reader, were supposed to be just as amazed as the characters.
- The villain was very 'meh' for me. While Moolek and the Vencrin had a lot of potential as villains, I felt like they didn't have enough page time for me to really care about them. This was a problem in book one, as well, but it was bigger here, since this was the finale of the duology. The reveal of who the leader of the Vencrin also fell flat for me. There just wasn't enough of a presence from the character they were revealed to be for me to feel the impact I think Dana was going for.
- The pacing at the end of the book went from 0-100 REALLY fast. It was like trial...prison...politics...WAR! BATTLE! DUEL! DEATH! DUEL!...finale. I really feel like this story needed a third book. There were a lot of questions left unanswered, making it feel like the story is unfinished, but as far as I'm aware this is a duology, so...is there going to be another series or something? I don't know.
- As cool as it was, there were a couple points where the magic system felt like it broke from the rules established earlier.
I'm sure these issues would be considered nitpicks to most readers, but they just grabbed my attention. If you just want a fun fantasy read to dive into, I highly recommend this duology. For the most part, for a YA series, this is pretty good and gives me a flicker of hope for the genre's future.
Overall, I quite enjoyed this and hope to see more stories written in the world of Wickery to fill out more of the lore and answer the questions I still have. I'd definitely be interested in seeing what Dana writes next, and seeing her grow as a writer.
I feel a bit torn about this one. On one hand, I did enjoy it. Dana Swift's characters are interesting, and her world is fun to exist in. But...
There are a couple issues that drag it down. Let's get into it.
The Good:
- I really like the world of Wickery. There's a whimsical quality to the world, making it feel light in spite of the darker subject matter in the plot. I really like how colourful the whole thing feels.
- I enjoy the chemistry of Adraa and Jatin. They're just plain cute. Part of me liked them a little better in book one, just because their rivalry played a bigger role, but I still found them fun in this one.
- The plot (for the most part) was solid and complex enough to please me. I like that it got into some darker subject matter.
The Not-so-Good:
- There were some concepts that came out of nowhere, but were treated as though they had been well-established as though we, the reader, were supposed to be just as amazed as the characters.
Spoiler
The scene that comes to mind is when Adraa mind-casts in the final fight, and her sister is amazed. But...when has this ever been something to aspire to? The silent casting was a big deal because we know that words are required, so it was cool to see another form of language used. However, the silent casting wasn't treated as a big deal while mind casting was...and yet it was never said that mind casting was so legendary or seen as such a big deal. I was really thrown off by that, though it wouldn't have been a big deal to me if the characters didn't treat it as such a big revelation.- The villain was very 'meh' for me. While Moolek and the Vencrin had a lot of potential as villains, I felt like they didn't have enough page time for me to really care about them. This was a problem in book one, as well, but it was bigger here, since this was the finale of the duology. The reveal of who the leader of the Vencrin also fell flat for me. There just wasn't enough of a presence from the character they were revealed to be for me to feel the impact I think Dana was going for.
- The pacing at the end of the book went from 0-100 REALLY fast. It was like trial...prison...politics...WAR! BATTLE! DUEL! DEATH! DUEL!...finale. I really feel like this story needed a third book. There were a lot of questions left unanswered, making it feel like the story is unfinished, but as far as I'm aware this is a duology, so...is there going to be another series or something? I don't know.
Spoiler
If this had been a trilogy, it would have been neat to see it end with Jatin being captured by Moolek and Adraa going into hiding with her family, then the third book being the big showdown against Moolek. That way we get more Moolek and more explanation of the gods? I dunno. Just throwing out thoughts, here. It just felt too rushed to me at the end of this one.- As cool as it was, there were a couple points where the magic system felt like it broke from the rules established earlier.
Spoiler
For example, wouldn't it make more sense if the spell to cause the women to go mute was caused by pink magic, since it would be a healing spell used to cause harm? Why would wind be the thing to make someone go mute? Is it yellow magic wrapped around the vocal chords? In that case, why wouldn't it be easily reversible? Also...how would a truth spell and mind spells work? There isn't a god of the mind. What magic combination is being used here? It's little magic system details and small oversights like these that I find draw me out of the narrative.I'm sure these issues would be considered nitpicks to most readers, but they just grabbed my attention. If you just want a fun fantasy read to dive into, I highly recommend this duology. For the most part, for a YA series, this is pretty good and gives me a flicker of hope for the genre's future.
Overall, I quite enjoyed this and hope to see more stories written in the world of Wickery to fill out more of the lore and answer the questions I still have. I'd definitely be interested in seeing what Dana writes next, and seeing her grow as a writer.
beccaalina's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
allierob01's review
4.0
I liked this but the beginning was so maddening but I guess it that it did it’s job of setting up the plot
susannah_h's review
4.0
In the end I throughly enjoyed this book. However, I felt like it lacked some of the magic of the first book. The plot of the first book was mostly focused on Adraa and Jatin's relationship and interpersonal struggles, while this book was more action and plot based. Part of what made the first book so good was the characters, the plot was nothing absolutely spectacular, but served well to support the stronger part of the story (the characters). Since this book moved away from that, I found it less enjoyable.
A big beef I had with it (and why it took me so long to finish this book) was that the beginning of the book largely was based around miscommunication. This is my BIGGEST book beef. I know later on, it is explained (kind of?) and so I understand why it was that way, but it just bugged me so much.
Swift didn't much expand on the world building that she started in the first book, which undercut the main plot of this story.
I still love that Adraa and Jatin's relationship is very healthy. Not many YA and fantasy writers make relationships so peaceful. It's a breath of fresh air just like in the first book.
Overall, a good solid read, but lacking some of what made me love the first book so much
A big beef I had with it (and why it took me so long to finish this book) was that the beginning of the book largely was based around miscommunication. This is my BIGGEST book beef. I know later on, it is explained (kind of?) and so I understand why it was that way, but it just bugged me so much.
Swift didn't much expand on the world building that she started in the first book, which undercut the main plot of this story.
I still love that Adraa and Jatin's relationship is very healthy. Not many YA and fantasy writers make relationships so peaceful. It's a breath of fresh air just like in the first book.
Overall, a good solid read, but lacking some of what made me love the first book so much
lillanaa's review
3.0
How is this only a duology. This magic system feels like it's just getting its due, the story feels like it's just ramping up, and we're finally getting to the interesting parts of the romance. I understand there's a good ending, but something feels lacking about it, like there should be way more to it. This feels so dissatifying with how good the rest of the book was, there's so much buildup to what almost feels like a cliffhanger. I enjoyed it a lot, especially the direct continuation from the first book, but this is either the most open ended duology ever or there's plans for another book at some point.
Other than that, though, this was phenomenal. The twists and turns feel real, the characters are still just as fantastic as the first, and I know I mentioned it earlier but this magic system is so interesting. The romance didn't feel overwhelming to me, despite it being the thing marketed, and it felt believable, not taking away from the fantasy elements. This is strong, I just wish it didn't take such a dissatifying nosedive.
Other than that, though, this was phenomenal. The twists and turns feel real, the characters are still just as fantastic as the first, and I know I mentioned it earlier but this magic system is so interesting. The romance didn't feel overwhelming to me, despite it being the thing marketed, and it felt believable, not taking away from the fantasy elements. This is strong, I just wish it didn't take such a dissatifying nosedive.
books4susie's review
5.0
When Adraa is falsely accused of the Mount Gandhak eruption, she is sent to the Dome. Devastated, Jatin is determined to free her and prove her innocence. I usually don't like stories where our main characters are separated and trying to work their way back to each other but it works really well for the story. Adraa soon discovers that the Dome isn't what it seems and the problems facing her kingdom are larger than she ever thought possible. Even though the story is a duology, I would have liked to have read more of the story.