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adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-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 was a superb start to the series!! I am excited to see how everything plays out in the next book!!
This book set up the series to have good potential- political intrigue, war, and some romance. The book itself kept me interested with all the vivid descriptions of the world and I hope there is more character development in the next book.
This book set up the series to have good potential- political intrigue, war, and some romance. The book itself kept me interested with all the vivid descriptions of the world and I hope there is more character development in the next book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Death, Violence, Grief, War
adventurous
tense
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, War
Moderate: Child abuse, Sexual content, Abandonment
Minor: Animal cruelty, Death of parent, Pregnancy
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Colonisation, War
Moderate: Death, Toxic relationship, Violence
Minor: Xenophobia, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, War
Moderate: Sexual content, Abandonment
Minor: Pregnancy
adventurous
emotional
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
It’s a little Star Wars derivative and I could have done with a bit more yearning in the first half BUT the second half was very fun, very spicy! I feel very invested in the political and personal dramas unfolding and will eager await the next installment.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Violence, Death of parent, Abandonment, War
Moderate: Physical abuse, Xenophobia, Injury/Injury detail
adventurous
challenging
emotional
tense
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
I felt several times during the reading of this book, something feels off, or different about the reading experience. It didn’t grab me right away - very dense world building and complicated fantasy names of people and places in the first few pages. I am usually quite turned off by that, but pushing through almost always pays off. I still can’t really put my finger on it but here are some things I did love:
1) this is a true “enemies to lovers.” This is almost always what I want when a book is billed this way. It feeds into the trope believably and over a good amount of time to really build that tension between the two characters.
2) the amount of time spent in the story vs the “X weeks/months later” felt so refreshing? I don’t know how else to put it. The story didn’t linger in places just to satisfy the plot moving forward, and it didn’t rush through important events. I wasn’t stressed out wondering what was gonna happen - all of the tension was between the two main characters, which frankly I loved. You really get a sense of a lived in world this way and it felt really natural.
3) the hurricane wars themselves - while you only really see the tail end of this conflict, there is no doubt that these wars ravaged the populace. I almost like this better, seeing the snippets of different battles without all the fuss of explaining a gruesome battle montage - besides the conflicts where our two main characters meet in battle. The absence of montages in general was so nice.
4) the writing!!! I don’t want to say flowery because that feels disingenuous but it’s the first word that comes to mind. Lush, maybe. The writing was beautiful, and different, and unexpected. I’m not sure if there will be a second book but I am hoping there will be - this was a great read and I look forward to anything else this author writes.
1) this is a true “enemies to lovers.” This is almost always what I want when a book is billed this way. It feeds into the trope believably and over a good amount of time to really build that tension between the two characters.
2) the amount of time spent in the story vs the “X weeks/months later” felt so refreshing? I don’t know how else to put it. The story didn’t linger in places just to satisfy the plot moving forward, and it didn’t rush through important events. I wasn’t stressed out wondering what was gonna happen - all of the tension was between the two main characters, which frankly I loved. You really get a sense of a lived in world this way and it felt really natural.
3) the hurricane wars themselves - while you only really see the tail end of this conflict, there is no doubt that these wars ravaged the populace. I almost like this better, seeing the snippets of different battles without all the fuss of explaining a gruesome battle montage - besides the conflicts where our two main characters meet in battle. The absence of montages in general was so nice.
4) the writing!!! I don’t want to say flowery because that feels disingenuous but it’s the first word that comes to mind. Lush, maybe. The writing was beautiful, and different, and unexpected. I’m not sure if there will be a second book but I am hoping there will be - this was a great read and I look forward to anything else this author writes.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Violence, War
I felt several times during the reading of this book, something feels off, or different about the reading experience. It didn’t grab me right away - very dense world building and complicated fantasy names of people and places in the first few pages. I am usually quite turned off by that, but pushing through almost always pays off. I still can’t really put my finger on it but here are some things I did love:
1) this is a true “enemies to lovers.” This is almost always what I want when a book is billed this way. It feeds into the trope believably and over a good amount of time to really build that tension between the two characters.
2) the amount of time spent in the story vs the “X weeks/months later” felt so refreshing? I don’t know how else to put it. The story didn’t linger in places just to satisfy the plot moving forward, and it didn’t rush through important events. I wasn’t stressed out wondering what was gonna happen - all of the tension was between the two main characters, which frankly I loved. You really get a sense of a lived in world this way and it felt really natural.
3) the hurricane wars themselves - while you only really see the tail end of this conflict, there is no doubt that these wars ravaged the populace. I almost like this better, seeing the snippets of different battles without all the fuss of explaining a gruesome battle montage - besides the conflicts where our two main characters meet in battle. The absence of montages in general was so nice.
4) the writing!!! I don’t want to say flowery because that feels disingenuous but it’s the first word that comes to mind. Lush, maybe. The writing was beautiful, and different, and unexpected. I’m not sure if there will be a second book but I am hoping there will be - this was a great read and I look forward any anything else this author writes.
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
tense
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:
No
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content
emotional
fast-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
Amazing world-building and politics
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Sexual content, Violence, War
If you don't want to read spice skip pages 447-455.
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Murder, Colonisation, War
Moderate: Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Sexual content, Grief, Abandonment
Minor: Pregnancy
It was fine. The book is medium pace but feels slow paced (so it drags) and the enemies to lovers aspect could have been stronger in that it was mostly unconvincing. The e2l dynamic should have just been focused on the fact that they are on opposite sides of the war because the personal aspect of their enemy dynamic was lacking and unconvincing Just not fleshed out enough. I would go into more detail but I'm too tired lol (not bc of the book I just need to go to sleep). Anyway it wasn't engaging enough for me be interested in reading the 2nd book but I do think there's an audience for it.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-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
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content