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eve_reads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Overall Thoughts:
⁕ I am happy to report that, as I had hoped, this book does expand MUCH upon the historical context of the angelic/human wars. A majority of my questions were answered and I was very satisfied.
⁕ This book did not give me the fast-paced, edge of seat, nail-biting start that the Furyborn did. The chapters were still decently short, but I wasn't as absorbed in the action as consistently. The ending (and a massive plot twist) did turn things around in the end, though.
⁕SPOILER: The development of a few romantic relationships had me quite baffled. There is much hinting that Ludivine, Rielle, and Audric are all at least interested in some sort of polyamorous relationship, but didn't Ludivine explicitly state in Furyborn that she was never attracted to them in that way? Also, I get that Corien offers Rielle an opportunity to be completely herself and not tied to the restrictions of a kingdom, but how does Rielle so easily overlook the horror of his actions (the literal murder of her friends and family) when addressing her romantic feelings towards him?
⁕ SPOILER: There were a couple of glaring mistakes in the text that I cannot believe an editor did not catch. The biggest being in chapter 33 when Rielle yells through the door to her guard Evyline that she's upset because she thought she could sleep in, but then later it's written that Evyline is still traveling to the castle on foot after a visit to a neighboring kingdom. How can she be in 2 places at once?! Gahh!! It's a detail that's inconsequential to the plot but still so sloppy.
To read my full review, visit: https://evereads.online/
For regular book-related content, follow my Instagram account: @eve_reads
⁕ I am happy to report that, as I had hoped, this book does expand MUCH upon the historical context of the angelic/human wars. A majority of my questions were answered and I was very satisfied.
⁕ This book did not give me the fast-paced, edge of seat, nail-biting start that the Furyborn did. The chapters were still decently short, but I wasn't as absorbed in the action as consistently. The ending (and a massive plot twist) did turn things around in the end, though.
To read my full review, visit: https://evereads.online/
For regular book-related content, follow my Instagram account: @eve_reads
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Violence, Blood, Child death, Animal death, Body horror, Death of parent, Gore, and War
ka_ke's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
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
5.0
I’m not sure how this series was classified as Y/A, it’s definitely more suited for Adult Fantasy readers.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Grief, Gun violence, Murder, Violence, and War
Moderate: Death of parent, Genocide, Sexual content, Torture, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Abandonment
claudiamacpherson's review
adventurous
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Rielle has finally been crowned Sun Queen, but now she faces the task of repairing the falling Gate. To do so, she must collect the castings of the saints, scattered around the world and protected by the Obex guard. A thousand years in the future, Eliana is grappling with her new power and what it means: that she is the Sun Queen and daughter of the Kingsbane.
As I had expected, my preference for Rielle's storyline in Furyborn was almost immediately reversed in Kingsbane. From reading others' reviews, I knew a lot of people were annoyed by Rielle...but I didn't realize how quickly I would come to agree with them. She was impulsive, violent, rude, and arrogant, and just generally an obnoxious character to follow. It was so frustrating to watch her push away all of the kindness and assistance those around her tried to give her. Eliana, on the other hand, did a 180 in the other direction and suddenly became a much more understandable character (at least for me). Though I thought the shift was a bit too abrupt to be realistic, I liked seeing her start to open up to people and allow herself to care for people besides Remy. I also enjoyed the occasional POVs of other characters interspersed throughout the book, especially Jessamyn's.It really helped show how the tiniest changes effected by time travel could cause important differences in the distant future. Like with the warnings about the characters, I had also heard that there was a major betrayal at the end of this book. I still was not prepared for Simon to be working for the angels. I had assumed that the betrayal would come from Rielle's storyline, either her betrayal (which was inevitable) or either Ludivine or Audric's betrayal of her, causing her to join Corien. But nope, even after all Simon's emotional scenes of love with Eliana, he still turned out to be a bad guy?? I'm hoping that we'll get some justification for his actions (or at least an explanation) in the third book, because it really does feel out of character.
Happy ending meter (no spoilers, just the general vibe of the ending):Definitely not happy. Surprising (if you're me, but maybe you'll see the ending coming...I sure didn't). Thank god I have the next book ready to go!
As I had expected, my preference for Rielle's storyline in Furyborn was almost immediately reversed in Kingsbane. From reading others' reviews, I knew a lot of people were annoyed by Rielle...but I didn't realize how quickly I would come to agree with them. She was impulsive, violent, rude, and arrogant, and just generally an obnoxious character to follow. It was so frustrating to watch her push away all of the kindness and assistance those around her tried to give her. Eliana, on the other hand, did a 180 in the other direction and suddenly became a much more understandable character (at least for me). Though I thought the shift was a bit too abrupt to be realistic, I liked seeing her start to open up to people and allow herself to care for people besides Remy. I also enjoyed the occasional POVs of other characters interspersed throughout the book, especially Jessamyn's.
Happy ending meter (no spoilers, just the general vibe of the ending):
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence, Blood, Body horror, Child death, Cursing, Death, Gore, Kidnapping, and Sexual content
Minor: Gun violence and Pregnancy
stormywolf's review
challenging
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This was not the best time to read this through. Then again, I don't know if there's ever a good time to read a book like this, but definitely not when you're already feeling depressed. It's not uncommon for the 2nd book in a trilogy to be more depressing than the first, what with needing to set up for the more triumphant finale, but this one, I think, takes it to a new extreme. I mean, I don't even think Catching Fire (The Hunger Games) was this disheartening.
Read my full review at The Wolf's Den
Overall, I think Kingsbane was well written, though maybe a little slow in places, and a great character study in how love, and grief and fear can shape people. Both story and characters are detailed and complex, and every chapter knows just how to end to where you want to get back to their story as quick as possible. Of course, you end up feeling that way for both storylines, so you're stuck reading the book as written. If you were intrigued by the first book, you'll definitely want to continue their stories, but I might recommend waiting until the next book is out so you're not left in so much despair for so long...
Read my full review at The Wolf's Den
Overall, I think Kingsbane was well written, though maybe a little slow in places, and a great character study in how love, and grief and fear can shape people. Both story and characters are detailed and complex, and every chapter knows just how to end to where you want to get back to their story as quick as possible. Of course, you end up feeling that way for both storylines, so you're stuck reading the book as written. If you were intrigued by the first book, you'll definitely want to continue their stories, but I might recommend waiting until the next book is out so you're not left in so much despair for so long...
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, Murder, Child death, Blood, Body horror, Suicide attempt, Gore, Toxic relationship, Violence, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Stalking
Moderate: Infidelity, Death of parent, and Grief
Minor: Gun violence, Animal cruelty, and Animal death
A good bit of the murder/death is either fantasy (a character snapping a character into ashes or summoning fire at them) or done during battle/war.brynn_books's review against another edition
4.0
This book was amazing!! And I feel betrayed!
I will admit it did take me 1 1/2 months to read because I just started my junior year of high school and I’ve been hella busy but it was so good.
I NEED THE SEQUEL NOW!!!
I will admit it did take me 1 1/2 months to read because I just started my junior year of high school and I’ve been hella busy but it was so good.
I NEED THE SEQUEL NOW!!!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Gun violence, Sexual assault, Blood, Death, Genocide, and Self harm
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