Take a photo of a barcode or cover
cathik's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
mariana_mls's review against another edition
3.0
I received an ARC for an honest review of this book.
The blood magic was interesting and the tension between Carmen and Antonio was fun to read.
Carmen being pulled into the world of Elites and trying to navigate that while preparing for the Blood Tournament kept me reading.
However, it is in need of some editing. Some examples:
"If you really one to know, maybe I'll tell you the story one day".
"when faced with a life of death situation, human beings tended to choose self preservation over heroics".
Also, on one page a character that only knows Carmen by her fake name calls her "Carmen". At first I thought it was a plot point that this character figured out her real name. However, it's just an error that should be corrected.
The book ends with a cliffhanger and there was even a bit of a twist that I did not see coming.
Overall, it was an interesting story and even with all the grammatical errors, I would read book 2.
The blood magic was interesting and the tension between Carmen and Antonio was fun to read.
Carmen being pulled into the world of Elites and trying to navigate that while preparing for the Blood Tournament kept me reading.
However, it is in need of some editing. Some examples:
"If you really one to know, maybe I'll tell you the story one day".
"when faced with a life of death situation, human beings tended to choose self preservation over heroics".
Also, on one page a character that only knows Carmen by her fake name calls her "Carmen". At first I thought it was a plot point that this character figured out her real name. However, it's just an error that should be corrected.
The book ends with a cliffhanger and there was even a bit of a twist that I did not see coming.
Overall, it was an interesting story and even with all the grammatical errors, I would read book 2.
nikonxnicki's review against another edition
4.0
I had the honor of being able to read this book as an ARC in exchange for reviews and I hope the author continues her progress on an amazing story. This book was a bit of a slow burn and at first I wasn't entirely sure I would really like it. There is a LOT of world and character building that goes into the first installment of this series. I do, however, think that some of the information was really key in figuring out what was going on toward the end.
I debated between giving a 3 and a 4 star review because although the story line and the amazing cliff hanger ending deserves a 5 star review, there were way too many grammatical and spelling errors to have already been edited. I'm no grammar or spelling nut, I'm not even an English major, but I had to re-read several sentences throughout the book because while my brain could skip over the words, I had to make sure I was reading it correctly. Ultimately, this book deserves a good rating because if the editing were better, the story line is amazing and different enough that I crave more. I've already pre-ordered the sequel because I want to know what happens, but I'm hoping that the editing is better in the next installment.
This is the first time I've read anything from this author so I'm not sure if the errors are common but I can tell that she knows how to captivate her audience. I also think it would have been helpful for the Spanish translations to be put next to the Spanish itself instead of at the end of the book. A lot of the time, I was having to rely on my kindle translation but we all know how sometimes translators don't do the best and I loved the way the author described the translations at the end, it just would have been helpful as a side by side.
I debated between giving a 3 and a 4 star review because although the story line and the amazing cliff hanger ending deserves a 5 star review, there were way too many grammatical and spelling errors to have already been edited. I'm no grammar or spelling nut, I'm not even an English major, but I had to re-read several sentences throughout the book because while my brain could skip over the words, I had to make sure I was reading it correctly. Ultimately, this book deserves a good rating because if the editing were better, the story line is amazing and different enough that I crave more. I've already pre-ordered the sequel because I want to know what happens, but I'm hoping that the editing is better in the next installment.
This is the first time I've read anything from this author so I'm not sure if the errors are common but I can tell that she knows how to captivate her audience. I also think it would have been helpful for the Spanish translations to be put next to the Spanish itself instead of at the end of the book. A lot of the time, I was having to rely on my kindle translation but we all know how sometimes translators don't do the best and I loved the way the author described the translations at the end, it just would have been helpful as a side by side.
ascrima's review against another edition
4.0
3.5/4⭐️ I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review! Firstly, thank you to Daniela and her team for sending me a copy. This world interested me from the beginning and I was so excited to dive in. This was such an interesting plot and was reminiscent of the hunger games in some ways which I enjoyed. Some points of the plot were a bit slow for me but the by the end it definitely picked up!!
shereads_theworld's review against another edition
2.0
I just couldn't get into this one. There was no connection with the characters, and it felt like there should have been a little more world building. The FMC cried a lot, and it felt like every page she was actively weeping
afantaseaofbooks's review against another edition
4.0
◦ I've received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review ◦
⮞
⮞
ellen_r's review against another edition
3.0
I received this as an ARC. I truly enjoyed the plot of this book. I was captivated by the setting and the character dynamics. I enjoyed the magic system, but would have loved to discover more about it other than it’s healing properties. I am very much looking forward to the next book to see what happens and get my questions answered!
spiringvenus's review against another edition
2.0
I didn’t like it enough to read the series.
Things I liked:
Things I liked:
- Interesting blood magic
- A competition like the Hunger Games
Things I didn’t like :
- The typos and errors. It kept jolting me out of concentration.
- It’s very slow. The pacing was dragging. A whole book and the games haven’t even started.
- The magic isn’t used for anything but healing.
- Carmen was always very confused, but she just kept spinning and didn’t really make any decisions. She’s a bit dim.
cbking1's review against another edition
4.0
I enjoyed the world building, the characters, and the plot!
kcv's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- 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 started reading this one because it was on my kindle so I think I won it in a Goodreads giveaway. I had no idea what it was about and just dove right in. The first page has an author's note which explained that the author is bilingual and she switches between Spanish and English all day. She wanted the book to read the same way. Where most books with Spanish in them will italicize the Spanish, she didn't want the othering to happen. She wanted her characters to seamlessly speak both spanish and English and I LOVED IT. What a good start to Latinx Heritage Month. The book itself gives hunger games vibes, but instead of sending off poor kids to be killed, it's just a competition for young adult rich kids. This first book is all the lead up to the games and it's exactly what I wanted from Hunger Games. Give me the training, the preparation, don't rush into the games. It was such an enjoyable read. Can't wait to read the rest of the series.