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sophiesometimesreads's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
This one is a difficult one for me to rate because I actually really enjoyed the general overarching storyline, but I think the execution left a lot to be desired. The first half had me thinking this could be a 3.5 to 4 star book, but then the second half dragged so much I had to drop the rating.
I think the book lost a lot of momentum at the tribe scenes about halfway through the book. I also think the reader was left in the dark too long with answers, given we had pieced together the "what" about halfway through but didn't get the "why" until the end of the book - and this is a 500+ page book! I felt like we went in circles a little bit towards the end.
I liked the original dynamic between Raeve and Kaan, but it sort of became bland the further we went on. I also don't really think he stood out a lot in the way of romantasy MMCs - he was tall, dark-haired, chiselled with a huge đ, and was very protective, almost veering possessive at times, over the FMC. At least he was genuinely nice for most of the story, though, and was a consent king (pun intended). Same character, different font. Raeve was a bit more interesting, as was her story, but I would have liked to see more character development throughout this book as she felt like she ended the book in the same place as at the start - stab first, ask questions later.
The writing started out pretty decent but the flowery prose got too over-the-top by the end and the word use got repetitive. How many times can one say "cleft" in a book? 36 times apparently. "Maw" also had it's fair share of page time, though it wasn't quite as obvious. I also don't understand the reasons why the names of some things were changed and not others. Why call it a "dae" when you can just say "day"?
I also would've liked more dragons.
Though I have said a lot of the negatives, I thought the premise of the story was interesting and I feel like if this and been shorter and more focused on the core storyline, it would've been far better. It just felt a little all over the place, with a lot going on but also not a lot. But I obviously seem to be in the minority with this opinion so take what you will from this review.
Graphic: Violence and Physical abuse
Moderate: Animal cruelty and Sexual content
Minor: Rape and Vomit
literarymary95's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Violence, Sexual content, Torture, and Cursing
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Rape, Vomit, Child abuse, and Pregnancy
lakinglaze's review against another edition
- 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
Moderate: Blood, Body horror, Classism, Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Sexual content, Violence, Vomit, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Cannibalism, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Sexism, Torture, Gore, and Medical trauma
chanlo1994's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Blood, Confinement, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual content, Mental illness, Violence, Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Forced institutionalization
Moderate: Cannibalism, Death of parent, Xenophobia, and Vomit
Minor: Miscarriage, Sexual assault, Rape, Domestic abuse, Kidnapping, Child death, and Child abuse
booksalacarte's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Fantasy Romance
Multi POV
Unique magic system
Assassin FMC
Dragons
Secrets
Politics
Flashbacks
I started out with all 3 mediums of consuming this book. I put the audiobook aside fairly quickly due to finding the female narrator to be to be lacking the inflection to keep my interest. I stopped listening and quickly went to my ebook to start over.
But I highly recommend listening to chapter 15, if you have the audiobook available. As well as any following that feature the characters in the chapter.
The prologue was so beautifully used to start the world-building and laying down the groundwork for this to be the start of a very intricate and intense series! Once I got to Chapter 15, I was all in. That was when the book differentiated itself from other assassin FMC books, for me.
The plot was very steady, providing the breath catching moments that kept me at the edge of my seat as well as moments settling in and showing the softer side of the characters. This made it so easy to relate to, and like, the characters.
I loved it. It lived up to all the hype I saw.
Graphic: Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Murder, Sexual content, War, Vomit, Confinement, Cursing, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Violence, Death, Excrement, Body horror, Misogyny, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, Animal cruelty, Blood, and Grief
cosmic_kurt's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Blood, Gore, Confinement, Death of parent, Grief, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, Body horror, and Death
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Murder, Sexual content, Torture, Injury/Injury detail, and Animal death
Minor: Abandonment, Child abuse, Child death, Vomit, Sexism, and Pregnancy
jdasilva's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Minor: Torture, Cursing, Sexual content, Kidnapping, Stalking, Murder, Confinement, Alcohol, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Grief, Domestic abuse, War, and Vomit
rachelbooks's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Gore, Blood, Domestic abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Animal death, Death, Misogyny, Murder, Sexual content, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Animal cruelty, Confinement, Death of parent, Violence, Grief, Mental illness, Torture, Pregnancy, and Sexism
Moderate: Abandonment
Minor: Incest, Infidelity, Trafficking, War, Child abuse, Cursing, Alcohol, Cannibalism, and Vomit
elledanie's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Didnât give us anything to like or reason to care about the main character. Nothing enjoyable about the dragons either, check trigger warnings. MMC and his friends/family are the only saving grace.
Graphic: Animal cruelty and Sexual content
Moderate: Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, Violence, Animal death, Death, Death of parent, Murder, and Torture
Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Vomit, War, and Cursing
that_awkwardpart's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
This was exactly what I needed. I got lost in the story and this beautiful world. I fell in love with these characters and my heart broke over and over .
I can't wait to see where the story will lead us . It's definitely a must read!
Graphic: Slavery, Alcohol, Death, Death of parent, Blood, Animal death, Cannibalism, Murder, Torture, War, Animal cruelty, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Vomit, Grief, Sexual assault, Violence, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Pregnancy, and Misogyny