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jcsie's review against another edition
i just dont think this is for me. if i ever want to pick it up again, i still have the ebook!
barnes_leah's review
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
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? Yes
5.0
malimaan's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
vaporization's review against another edition
1.0
What a useless book. It has no right to be this long when it's this boring. The amount of times I rolled my eyes cannot be counted.
The things I dislike: immature writing, writing that does too much in terms of formatting (writers I beg leave your writing alone and let the words do the work), too many characters to not care about, twists so predictable and obvious the characters look stupid, too many references to memes and popular culture that date the book.
This book has perspectives from Arlo, Nausicäa, Vehan, Aurelian, Celadon, and Riadne. And does such a poor job of using all of these perspectives. The climax of Vehan and Aurelian's relationship is initially not from either of their perspectives. What. Riadne's perspectives are so boring, so predictable, so cookie-cutter. Arlo looks like a Massive Idiot for being duped by her. That's not even a spoiler, it's just obvious if you have half a brain. If the author wanted Riadne's words not to sound sarcastic and manipulative all the time maybe they shouldn't have put in the italics that make things sound sarcastic. Not every other word has to be in italics jesus.
I think Lethe and Celadon are interesting, and that's about it. However Celadon's reputation in my mind took quite a hit when he was given so many obvious clues to his big reveal that he looks like an absolute moron for not getting it immediately. He's like hm this is an interesting and probably significant clue that seems to tie back to some other significant thing I discovered before I wonder what it could mean. YEAH. I WONDER.
Also, Celadon's queerness gets briefly mentioned in one paragraph. For how heavy-handed the rest of the book is about it it felt like it was shoved in just to say that he was queer. This is not an issue of tokenization, this is an issue of bad writing and poor character development.
The things I dislike: immature writing, writing that does too much in terms of formatting (writers I beg leave your writing alone and let the words do the work), too many characters to not care about, twists so predictable and obvious the characters look stupid, too many references to memes and popular culture that date the book.
This book has perspectives from Arlo, Nausicäa, Vehan, Aurelian, Celadon, and Riadne. And does such a poor job of using all of these perspectives. The climax of Vehan and Aurelian's relationship is initially not from either of their perspectives. What. Riadne's perspectives are so boring, so predictable, so cookie-cutter. Arlo looks like a Massive Idiot for being duped by her. That's not even a spoiler, it's just obvious if you have half a brain. If the author wanted Riadne's words not to sound sarcastic and manipulative all the time maybe they shouldn't have put in the italics that make things sound sarcastic. Not every other word has to be in italics jesus.
I think Lethe and Celadon are interesting, and that's about it. However Celadon's reputation in my mind took quite a hit when he was given so many obvious clues to his big reveal that he looks like an absolute moron for not getting it immediately. He's like hm this is an interesting and probably significant clue that seems to tie back to some other significant thing I discovered before I wonder what it could mean. YEAH. I WONDER.
Also, Celadon's queerness gets briefly mentioned in one paragraph. For how heavy-handed the rest of the book is about it it felt like it was shoved in just to say that he was queer. This is not an issue of tokenization, this is an issue of bad writing and poor character development.
dfendyr_'s review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
I really enjoyed this read and finished it rather fast! The characters are definitely my favorite thing about the Hollow Star Saga.
I’m not 100% certain if I like the direction the plot is going in but I will definitely keep reading this series! We get a lot of LGBTQ+ representation in this book! Some include a lesbian (main character), a gay man (main character) a non-binary person (minor character) and we also get some Ace presentation! Mental health is also an important topic in this book and a few of the characters struggle with mental illnesses such as anxiety.
The romantic and platonic relationships are really really nice and I found myself rotting for the couples. This book also had a good mix of slow and more tense scenes! This does slow the pacing a little but I really liked that we got to see the characters in more than just fight scenarios. Especially the group dynamic was built in this novel. The villain also had a really interesting back story and I found myself sympathizing with them at some points.
The previous novel had quite some world building and I feel like the info dumping I expired before was still present but a lot better in this book. The first book took a few months for me to finish despite loving the characters but this wasn’t the case this time. That being said the descriptions of people and places were still pretty detailed which might border some people.
I am a big fan of Nausicaä and her character and we get some nice moments with her in this novel which made me really happy. Her backstory is also a bigger theme here as well as her trauma which I really enjoyed. At this point I would pay attention to the trigger warnings which you find at the beginning of the novel Arlo being more courageous in this book also made me really happy. Especially when it comes to protecting her friends she’s fierce and never backs down! She has however been a little bit naive at times which is understandable since she is really young but can be quite frustrating. Ahh and now Vehan, Aurelian and Celadon found their way into my heart too! While in book one I found myself not connecting with them this book made up for that! We learn more about Celadon and his past ( I won’t go into detail because I don’t want to spoil anything). The relationship between Vehan and Aurelian gets a little more complicated and they get some cute scenes together. We also learn more about their family’s and private life making them feel like actual people instead of the flat characters they were (at least for me) before.
I’m not sure how much else I can say without giving away too much of the plot because a lot happens in this book!
If you weren’t sure of continuing this series I would say give this book another go. I was pleasantly surprised and would definitely recommend it despite the few flaws I mentioned above.
I’m not 100% certain if I like the direction the plot is going in but I will definitely keep reading this series! We get a lot of LGBTQ+ representation in this book! Some include a lesbian (main character), a gay man (main character) a non-binary person (minor character) and we also get some Ace presentation! Mental health is also an important topic in this book and a few of the characters struggle with mental illnesses such as anxiety.
The romantic and platonic relationships are really really nice and I found myself rotting for the couples. This book also had a good mix of slow and more tense scenes! This does slow the pacing a little but I really liked that we got to see the characters in more than just fight scenarios. Especially the group dynamic was built in this novel. The villain also had a really interesting back story and I found myself sympathizing with them at some points.
The previous novel had quite some world building and I feel like the info dumping I expired before was still present but a lot better in this book. The first book took a few months for me to finish despite loving the characters but this wasn’t the case this time. That being said the descriptions of people and places were still pretty detailed which might border some people.
I am a big fan of Nausicaä and her character and we get some nice moments with her in this novel which made me really happy. Her backstory is also a bigger theme here as well as her trauma which I really enjoyed. At this point I would pay attention to the trigger warnings which you find at the beginning of the novel Arlo being more courageous in this book also made me really happy. Especially when it comes to protecting her friends she’s fierce and never backs down! She has however been a little bit naive at times which is understandable since she is really young but can be quite frustrating. Ahh and now Vehan, Aurelian and Celadon found their way into my heart too! While in book one I found myself not connecting with them this book made up for that! We learn more about Celadon and his past ( I won’t go into detail because I don’t want to spoil anything). The relationship between Vehan and Aurelian gets a little more complicated and they get some cute scenes together. We also learn more about their family’s and private life making them feel like actual people instead of the flat characters they were (at least for me) before.
I’m not sure how much else I can say without giving away too much of the plot because a lot happens in this book!
If you weren’t sure of continuing this series I would say give this book another go. I was pleasantly surprised and would definitely recommend it despite the few flaws I mentioned above.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Blood, Cursing, Death of parent, Grief, Mental illness, Gore, Violence, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Trafficking, Kidnapping, Sexism, Outing, Suicide attempt, Torture, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide, and Mental illness
Really lovable characters and an interesting plot with dense world buildinglibrarygxrl's review
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
A fantastic sequel!!!!!
gperna01's review
5.0
I typically do not review books that are not ARCs or betas because I am not necessarily the most eloquent with my words. I know I am a terrible writer okay and unless I am forced to write a review I will not but damn this book had me in its clutches. I am not sure I will ever stop thinking about it. The first book was good... but this was fantastic. It was slow moving at first and I think she could have cut 100 pages of nonsense but I get why she did not as there are two more books to come. THE POLITICAL INTRIGUE OMFG I wish I knew more people who have read this to chat about it because damn the intricacy of this book is beyond words. Ashley is amazing and I have never felt so represented in a book. If you are apart of the LGBTQIA+ community please please read this. It is the most represented I have ever felt as a gay person and it makes me want to cry because it is so hard to find in fantasy books. Along with that the plots and the POVs are so good and I know there are holes that are made on purpose to really bring it together in the end but I feel that this is SJM level Easter egg writing and I am obsessed. It is a must read for people who want a SJM book with more politics, more secrets, more villains, more Gods and actually LGBTQIA+ representation.
agentalpo's review
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
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? No
4.0