Scan barcode
ethias's review
2.0
This is basically the same book as Saviors Champion but the author did not improve between the two so it still has a lot of problems that were prevalent in the first book. I can only think of about 5 things I learned different from the first book, a lot of it was just rereading the same things. I found Leila more frustrating from her own perspective than from Tobius’s which is interesting.
Also, it strikes me as a kind of insensitive decision to make Leila’s “nanny” a black woman. Really? The replacement mother for a woman who literally has glowing white skin is a black woman who is promptly murdered.
I wish there had been some sort of subversion of the white = good and black = bad trope but there was certainly not, I can’t believe the whole premise was a woman with glowing white skin who keeps the ~darkness~ at bay to save everyone. I just think it’s ironic since the author has specifically talked about subverting this exact thing in her YouTube videos.
And Pippa is heavily implied to be developmentally disabled in some capacity and she is effectively used as a method of threatening Romulus her entire life and Leila makes use of Pippa not understanding this. The only disabled characters (that I can remember) are Tobius’s sister, Pippa, and Brontes. Tobius’s sister is just a method of motivating him, Pippa is a tool for Leila’s goals, and Brontes is not effected by his disability and is the antagonist. I think that this could have been done better, maybe it will improve in future books.
Also, it strikes me as a kind of insensitive decision to make Leila’s “nanny” a black woman. Really? The replacement mother for a woman who literally has glowing white skin is a black woman who is promptly murdered.
I wish there had been some sort of subversion of the white = good and black = bad trope but there was certainly not, I can’t believe the whole premise was a woman with glowing white skin who keeps the ~darkness~ at bay to save everyone. I just think it’s ironic since the author has specifically talked about subverting this exact thing in her YouTube videos.
And Pippa is heavily implied to be developmentally disabled in some capacity and she is effectively used as a method of threatening Romulus her entire life and Leila makes use of Pippa not understanding this. The only disabled characters (that I can remember) are Tobius’s sister, Pippa, and Brontes. Tobius’s sister is just a method of motivating him, Pippa is a tool for Leila’s goals, and Brontes is not effected by his disability and is the antagonist. I think that this could have been done better, maybe it will improve in future books.
nhdk's review
5.0
⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
The Savior’s Sister is utterly unputdownable. It’s compulsive, addictive, and mesmerizing. If you love romance, fantasy, and bloodshed, fuck your TBR pile, this is the only dark fantasy novel you need.
Truly, I fell in love with the characters, the world, the bloodshed and above all, the romance. This book, the love and romance is to die for. I will be eagerly awaiting the next book in the series
The Savior’s Sister is utterly unputdownable. It’s compulsive, addictive, and mesmerizing. If you love romance, fantasy, and bloodshed, fuck your TBR pile, this is the only dark fantasy novel you need.
Truly, I fell in love with the characters, the world, the bloodshed and above all, the romance. This book, the love and romance is to die for. I will be eagerly awaiting the next book in the series
ngreads's review
2.0
First off, spoilers for The Savior's Champion to come. If, for whatever reason, you are reading a review of book two without reading book one. So. You know. Spoilers.
There's a couple things to know about me before going into this review.
1. I don't think I've ever read a companion book. I mostly read fantasy, where companion novels are few and far between.
2. I don't often reread books. I reread parts and scenes that come to mind, but I rarely reread a book from cover to cover.
This is important, because not only is it a companion novel, it's a companion novel that has many scenes that are exactly the same aside from perspective character.
But, enough of that. Here's the good, the bad, and the hot take at the end.
The Good:
- Leila's a fun enough character to read. She's spunky. I like spunky.
- The writing, once again, is pretty decent.
- The romance between Leila and Tobias (when it's not feeling angsty), was still pretty dang cute. I like cute romances.
The Bad:
- Let's talk villains for a moment.
Personally, when I read, I want to read a villain that makes my skin crawl. I want to have the urge to look away while they're on the page, but for them to have enough charisma for me to be unable to take my eyes off them. A character like Straff Venture in Mistborn, or Hojo in Final Fantasy VII, or Blackjack Randall in Outlander.
In The Savior's Champion, I had that with Kaleo. He gave me the creeps that I desired.
In The Savior's Sister, we are more focused on Brontes as the villain, and I couldn't take him seriously.
Here's the thing: to me, an overt asshole of a villain isn't scary or threatening. They're a loudmouthed twat who is too obvious and too overt to be an actual threat. They feel like a red herring.
Brontes didn't scare me. I get he's an abuser, but he was so overt about his abuse that it became almost laughable. Like, gee. Maybe calling your daughter - WHO IS LITERALLY WORSHIPPED AS A GODDESS - a daft cunt or a stupid bitch PRACTICALLY IN PUBLIC - isn't a smart move. And I get that he's meant to be an idiot, but that's not scary to me. He's supposed to be a loud mouthed asshole but he's ALSO supposed to be a mastermind in some ways, I think? Cunning and plotting and all that. But he's being that overt about his abuse? Really?
I couldn't buy him as an abuser. If he had been abusing her in private while putting on the face of a loving father everywhere else so that nobody would ever believe her when she tries to come forward about how he treats her, more like a narcissist or a real abuser, ESPECIALLY considering his position of power, I would have actually bought him. As he was I found him to just be a loudmouthed asshole, all bluster and no threat.
- The magic system really wasn't explained well. In book one, it seemed like the 'light' gave her the ability to heal the land and hold back the darkness. This makes sense with her healing and such. But now I don't know where that fits with teleportation. Is it because she's connected to the land? That doesn't seem to be the case. And, neat as it was, why could she see ghosts and emotions? There doesn't seem to be even a central theme to her magic, such as healing. It was kind of all over the place. I don't know what her magic was capable of. She could have suddenly shapeshifted or gained mind control and I would have believed it because I don't know what her abilities are. I'm hoping for more in the next book, but as it is I'm just lost as to what her powers are supposed to be.
- The language issue was back, but because I was rereading the same story again, all the issues I had with book one were amplified. The big one I noticed here, though, was that people are constantly saying things like 'God dammit' or 'Oh my God' or 'Oh God', but no religious system is ever mentioned. So...is there a religion? Why are you saying God? The Savior is the closest thing to a deity ever mentioned, so why aren't people swearing by the Savior? You call The Savior the Gift of God, but what is the relationship the people have with God? How do they view him? If we knew what the relationship with God is like, then we could even have Tobias's actual name meaning 'God is Good' used, rather than just 'Goodness.' If God didn't exist in this world, Goodness would have worked. If they worship a God, why not use 'God is Good'? So. You know. I have questions. I am confusion.
There's also the fact that Leila's pronouns are always capitalized, which is normally reserved for a deity. Here's the thing - we're reading from her POV, which means she mentally sees herself as a deity, though that doesn't seem to be in her character. She takes her power and position seriously, but I never saw her as thinking of herself as a god. I found it kind of jarring to read.
Also, cock. If you know, you know.
- How is it that there is somehow WAY MORE sexual conversation and objectification from the female characters than the male characters? Holy crap. Is every woman just the most horny being to ever exist? I don't mind a more sexually focused female character or female characters talking about sex, but there was something very uncomfortable about how characters we were supposed to like and root for were constantly objectifying and talking about Tobias like he was a piece of meat, while the male characters were condemned for speaking similarly about female characters in TSC. If it's being condemned in one direction, it should be condemned in the other. (Basically, how would it have been treated if a writer wrote about men talking about a female character the way Leila's servants spoke of Tobias? That kind of thing.)
- Artists - especially realism artists/ oil painters - use references. That's how they make things realistic. They don't just have a catalogue of images to paint in their heads. Unless they've painted something A LOT, odds are it's not going to be photorealistic. It would be impressionist, at best.
Tobias sketching Leila while being able to look at her is fine. Him painting flawless lilies while he hasn't so much as looked at a lily for the entire book is a little shocking, particularly since he hasn't been actively painting in years. Unless he was doing a crapload of flower studies during his training, I don't think he's going to be painting flawless lilies without a reference any time soon.
Yeah, it's a nitpick, but while I'm here I might as well bring it up.
- This felt a lot more romance heavy. I don't know why, it just did. It also felt angstier and a LOT more dramatic. Don't know why, it just did. I'm not a huge fan of angst and large amounts of drama, so that's just a me thing. If you're into it, you'll probably love it here.
- Edit, because I noticed another thing...
Hot Take:
In my honest opinion, The Savior's Champion and The Savior's Sister should have been combined into one book. Knowing who Leila is through Savior's Champion wouldn't ruin the book. (For example, I knew from basically the moment she showed up who she was in Savior's Champion, and it was still a tense enough read). A twist or a secret can still be effective if the reader knows what it is - what matters more is how the character reacts and how it changes the story. So long as we know why the character is keeping the secret, it can work.
The entire time I was reading, I felt like I was missing out on the action. It was a tournament story where we only saw the events outside of the tournament. The best comparison I can think of is if we had a companion novel to the Hunger Games that only followed Haymitch dealing with people in the Capitol. That's what it felt like to me.
Because of this, the story felt like it was missing half the plot, and half the tension. A lot of the tension and excitement in TSC came from Tobias in the Tournament - and while there was political intrigue in TSS, it didn't carry the momentum of the plot nearly as well as TSC. By the end, I found that I had to remind myself to pick the book up and keep reading, and was skimming most of the chapters that I had already seen through Tobias's POV just to get to the new content. I didn't care about seeing things I had already seen, I just wanted it to end.
I know it would require sacrificing certain scenes and replacing them with 'tell' moments, where a character thinks back on an event rather than having the reader experience the event with them. It would also require a bit of timeline shifting. It would be a bit more complex. But I think it would have made a MUCH stronger story than having the views split. The scenes from the opposite character's POV could just as easily be made into a bonus section, or put into a deleted scenes page on a website.
I'll still read The Savior's Army when it comes out. I still would like to see where it all goes, but I really hope that it's dual perspective next time. I have no desire to read another companion novel - I'd rather have both sides of the story shown in one book, with bonus content if need be.
There's a couple things to know about me before going into this review.
1. I don't think I've ever read a companion book. I mostly read fantasy, where companion novels are few and far between.
2. I don't often reread books. I reread parts and scenes that come to mind, but I rarely reread a book from cover to cover.
This is important, because not only is it a companion novel, it's a companion novel that has many scenes that are exactly the same aside from perspective character.
But, enough of that. Here's the good, the bad, and the hot take at the end.
The Good:
- Leila's a fun enough character to read. She's spunky. I like spunky.
- The writing, once again, is pretty decent.
- The romance between Leila and Tobias (when it's not feeling angsty), was still pretty dang cute. I like cute romances.
The Bad:
- Let's talk villains for a moment.
Personally, when I read, I want to read a villain that makes my skin crawl. I want to have the urge to look away while they're on the page, but for them to have enough charisma for me to be unable to take my eyes off them. A character like Straff Venture in Mistborn, or Hojo in Final Fantasy VII, or Blackjack Randall in Outlander.
In The Savior's Champion, I had that with Kaleo. He gave me the creeps that I desired.
In The Savior's Sister, we are more focused on Brontes as the villain, and I couldn't take him seriously.
Here's the thing: to me, an overt asshole of a villain isn't scary or threatening. They're a loudmouthed twat who is too obvious and too overt to be an actual threat. They feel like a red herring.
Brontes didn't scare me. I get he's an abuser, but he was so overt about his abuse that it became almost laughable. Like, gee. Maybe calling your daughter - WHO IS LITERALLY WORSHIPPED AS A GODDESS - a daft cunt or a stupid bitch PRACTICALLY IN PUBLIC - isn't a smart move. And I get that he's meant to be an idiot, but that's not scary to me. He's supposed to be a loud mouthed asshole but he's ALSO supposed to be a mastermind in some ways, I think? Cunning and plotting and all that. But he's being that overt about his abuse? Really?
I couldn't buy him as an abuser. If he had been abusing her in private while putting on the face of a loving father everywhere else so that nobody would ever believe her when she tries to come forward about how he treats her, more like a narcissist or a real abuser, ESPECIALLY considering his position of power, I would have actually bought him. As he was I found him to just be a loudmouthed asshole, all bluster and no threat.
- The magic system really wasn't explained well. In book one, it seemed like the 'light' gave her the ability to heal the land and hold back the darkness. This makes sense with her healing and such. But now I don't know where that fits with teleportation. Is it because she's connected to the land? That doesn't seem to be the case. And, neat as it was, why could she see ghosts and emotions? There doesn't seem to be even a central theme to her magic, such as healing. It was kind of all over the place. I don't know what her magic was capable of. She could have suddenly shapeshifted or gained mind control and I would have believed it because I don't know what her abilities are. I'm hoping for more in the next book, but as it is I'm just lost as to what her powers are supposed to be.
- The language issue was back, but because I was rereading the same story again, all the issues I had with book one were amplified. The big one I noticed here, though, was that people are constantly saying things like 'God dammit' or 'Oh my God' or 'Oh God', but no religious system is ever mentioned. So...is there a religion? Why are you saying God? The Savior is the closest thing to a deity ever mentioned, so why aren't people swearing by the Savior? You call The Savior the Gift of God, but what is the relationship the people have with God? How do they view him? If we knew what the relationship with God is like, then we could even have Tobias's actual name meaning 'God is Good' used, rather than just 'Goodness.' If God didn't exist in this world, Goodness would have worked. If they worship a God, why not use 'God is Good'? So. You know. I have questions. I am confusion.
There's also the fact that Leila's pronouns are always capitalized, which is normally reserved for a deity. Here's the thing - we're reading from her POV, which means she mentally sees herself as a deity, though that doesn't seem to be in her character. She takes her power and position seriously, but I never saw her as thinking of herself as a god. I found it kind of jarring to read.
Also, cock. If you know, you know.
- How is it that there is somehow WAY MORE sexual conversation and objectification from the female characters than the male characters? Holy crap. Is every woman just the most horny being to ever exist? I don't mind a more sexually focused female character or female characters talking about sex, but there was something very uncomfortable about how characters we were supposed to like and root for were constantly objectifying and talking about Tobias like he was a piece of meat, while the male characters were condemned for speaking similarly about female characters in TSC. If it's being condemned in one direction, it should be condemned in the other. (Basically, how would it have been treated if a writer wrote about men talking about a female character the way Leila's servants spoke of Tobias? That kind of thing.)
- Artists - especially realism artists/ oil painters - use references. That's how they make things realistic. They don't just have a catalogue of images to paint in their heads. Unless they've painted something A LOT, odds are it's not going to be photorealistic. It would be impressionist, at best.
Tobias sketching Leila while being able to look at her is fine. Him painting flawless lilies while he hasn't so much as looked at a lily for the entire book is a little shocking, particularly since he hasn't been actively painting in years. Unless he was doing a crapload of flower studies during his training, I don't think he's going to be painting flawless lilies without a reference any time soon.
Yeah, it's a nitpick, but while I'm here I might as well bring it up.
- This felt a lot more romance heavy. I don't know why, it just did. It also felt angstier and a LOT more dramatic. Don't know why, it just did. I'm not a huge fan of angst and large amounts of drama, so that's just a me thing. If you're into it, you'll probably love it here.
- Edit, because I noticed another thing...
Spoiler
How does Tobias know how to read? It's said that he had no tutors during the sparring scene in the labyrinth, which implies he's uneducated. Which means he should probably be illiterate, unless he was taught by some other source. If so, what is his level of education? Who taught him to read? Why does he have such a love for the scrolls that Leila shows him, and knows his spelling and whatnot? Did his art teacher teach him? I can believe an uneducated man getting an apprenticeship with a great artist based on talent alone, but Tobias seems to go from uneducated to literary nerd when the plot finds it convenient for an admittedly cute moment. This is an issue in Champion as well, but this is the book that gave me pause - BECAUSE I WAS READING THE SAME STORY AGAIN, AND THUS HAD TIME TO HAVE THESE QUESTIONS GET RAISED IN MY HEAD. So...yeah. This goes into the worldbuilding issues, but I'm very curious about the average level of education in this world. You can't have a character who is confused about tutors and complaining that he didn't have an education, and then have him well versed in classical poetry a few chapters later.Hot Take:
In my honest opinion, The Savior's Champion and The Savior's Sister should have been combined into one book. Knowing who Leila is through Savior's Champion wouldn't ruin the book. (For example, I knew from basically the moment she showed up who she was in Savior's Champion, and it was still a tense enough read). A twist or a secret can still be effective if the reader knows what it is - what matters more is how the character reacts and how it changes the story. So long as we know why the character is keeping the secret, it can work.
The entire time I was reading, I felt like I was missing out on the action. It was a tournament story where we only saw the events outside of the tournament. The best comparison I can think of is if we had a companion novel to the Hunger Games that only followed Haymitch dealing with people in the Capitol. That's what it felt like to me.
Because of this, the story felt like it was missing half the plot, and half the tension. A lot of the tension and excitement in TSC came from Tobias in the Tournament - and while there was political intrigue in TSS, it didn't carry the momentum of the plot nearly as well as TSC. By the end, I found that I had to remind myself to pick the book up and keep reading, and was skimming most of the chapters that I had already seen through Tobias's POV just to get to the new content. I didn't care about seeing things I had already seen, I just wanted it to end.
I know it would require sacrificing certain scenes and replacing them with 'tell' moments, where a character thinks back on an event rather than having the reader experience the event with them. It would also require a bit of timeline shifting. It would be a bit more complex. But I think it would have made a MUCH stronger story than having the views split. The scenes from the opposite character's POV could just as easily be made into a bonus section, or put into a deleted scenes page on a website.
I'll still read The Savior's Army when it comes out. I still would like to see where it all goes, but I really hope that it's dual perspective next time. I have no desire to read another companion novel - I'd rather have both sides of the story shown in one book, with bonus content if need be.
shaunareads's review
3.0
I went into this with pretty low expectations because I don't generally like retelling of the same story from a different POV. So I wasn't really disappointed, and actually enjoyed it more than I thought I would.
It has been a while since I read TSC, which I really enjoyed, so the repetitive nature of the dialogue between Leila and Tabias didn't bother me, as well as some of the scenes.
I will say, I don't really feel this book was necessary and would have preferred it paired with TSC as a duel POV or just continued on with the series.
It has been a while since I read TSC, which I really enjoyed, so the repetitive nature of the dialogue between Leila and Tabias didn't bother me, as well as some of the scenes.
I will say, I don't really feel this book was necessary and would have preferred it paired with TSC as a duel POV or just continued on with the series.
itspandorasjar's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
fast-paced
- 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
thiskiwi03's review
3.0
2.5stars
The Savior's Sister is the second book in The Savior's Series, and follows Leila in her adventures and conflicts while The Sovereigns Tournament is happening. It is coinciding with the first book "The Saviors Champion”, just following a different character.
The ST is held when the Savior comes of age and 20 men fight to the death in order to win the favor of both the Sovereign and the Savior. At the end of the tournament, the victor is arranged to be married to the savior and they rule alongside her. However, explored in TSS, there is an internal plot to murder the savior so Brontes (the Sovereign) can continue ruling the realm.
While I loved TSC, I found it different from what I had read at the time, I found TSS a bit harder to read. This book had the same issue with the first in my opinion, and that was that the world, and magic system felt really flat and claustrophobic. With the world, in TSC it was the labyrinth and arenas and challenges that Tobias was in, and that was it… With TSS, the world is the castle, and that’s it… there are mentions of other realms and the possibility of war, but that was almost like a throw-away plot point.
The magic system is not well explained. The few times we do see magic being used, it isn’t explained.. It just happens. She thinks of somewhere and POOF, she’s there! She touches things and they are healed, Hallelujah!!! Enough said…
I found the use of language in TSS a lot more crass than I was expecting. And there was points of regal formal “summon this person, or that person is dismissed” and then in the next vein there is lots of talk about sex in a modern yet vulgar manner. And the sexual exposures (and one in particular) were just gross and vulgar. The one I'm thinking of, and I don’t want to spoil it, quite late in the book (if ya know ya know), I feel like that was just put in there to be a point of shock value. And it was a shock, completely unbelievable and completely unnecessary except to maybe make you hate these characters even more.
I mean, maybe the crassness used throughout the book is supposed to be there, like a “peek behind closed doors” type of thing. But it contradicted the regalness and more realistic dialog within the book, and it just didn’t work.
There was a lot of politics and murdering and things of that nature within the castle, and those were all really boring to me. Politics isn’t something I follow at the best of times, but I tried…
The plot twist revealing who this secret traitor is, it just didn’t work. Readers would be shocked, for sure, I mean if you really went in with your detective hat, it wouldn’t be too hard to figure it out, but this person was one among several rather forgettable characters that show up very little throughout the story. There was no Chekhov's Gun (that I could see), and the reveal just took me way out of the story and at that point (very late in the book) I kind of rushed toward the end.
The romance between Leila and Tobias: I loved TSC because it was sprinkled in there, but there was constant “I’m not in this tournament to love the savior, I hate the savior, I only have eyes for her sister”. It made for a really sweet romance when they were together, and there was definitely some sweet romance in here as well, but there are a couple of points that I didn’t like through TSS… First, and this did happen a bit in TSC, was the bipolar “I love you, lets have a huge argument about something/get out, wait please don’t leave”. It does make me wonder whether either, or both, Leila and Tobias have bipolar. I know they always had a short time together when they did see each other, but the conflicts felt too rushed, and then suddenly they were over and it was all “no, I’ll wait till you’re ready” type thing…
My other point to make is that I found Leila was a lot hornier than Tobias with so many fantasies about him that happen. And when they are written, sometimes I found it hard to determine if they were real or fantasies. A change into something like italics may have helped to distinguish.
While I have stated quite a few sticking points, I did still enjoy my time reading this for the most part, and I have seen that there will be another installment of the series coming, and I really hope we see more of this world and really get to understand it beyond the castle gates. This is an opportunity to really expand. To develop the relationship even further with Tobias and Leila, and let them get to know each other properly. I will continue on with the series, but I am expecting better from the next book.
Characters: 3
Plot: 2
World: 2
Romance: 4
Re-readablility: 1
Average: 2.5
The Savior's Sister is the second book in The Savior's Series, and follows Leila in her adventures and conflicts while The Sovereigns Tournament is happening. It is coinciding with the first book "The Saviors Champion”, just following a different character.
The ST is held when the Savior comes of age and 20 men fight to the death in order to win the favor of both the Sovereign and the Savior. At the end of the tournament, the victor is arranged to be married to the savior and they rule alongside her. However, explored in TSS, there is an internal plot to murder the savior so Brontes (the Sovereign) can continue ruling the realm.
While I loved TSC, I found it different from what I had read at the time, I found TSS a bit harder to read. This book had the same issue with the first in my opinion, and that was that the world, and magic system felt really flat and claustrophobic. With the world, in TSC it was the labyrinth and arenas and challenges that Tobias was in, and that was it… With TSS, the world is the castle, and that’s it… there are mentions of other realms and the possibility of war, but that was almost like a throw-away plot point.
The magic system is not well explained. The few times we do see magic being used, it isn’t explained.. It just happens. She thinks of somewhere and POOF, she’s there! She touches things and they are healed, Hallelujah!!! Enough said…
I found the use of language in TSS a lot more crass than I was expecting. And there was points of regal formal “summon this person, or that person is dismissed” and then in the next vein there is lots of talk about sex in a modern yet vulgar manner. And the sexual exposures (and one in particular) were just gross and vulgar. The one I'm thinking of, and I don’t want to spoil it, quite late in the book (if ya know ya know), I feel like that was just put in there to be a point of shock value. And it was a shock, completely unbelievable and completely unnecessary except to maybe make you hate these characters even more.
I mean, maybe the crassness used throughout the book is supposed to be there, like a “peek behind closed doors” type of thing. But it contradicted the regalness and more realistic dialog within the book, and it just didn’t work.
There was a lot of politics and murdering and things of that nature within the castle, and those were all really boring to me. Politics isn’t something I follow at the best of times, but I tried…
The plot twist revealing who this secret traitor is, it just didn’t work. Readers would be shocked, for sure, I mean if you really went in with your detective hat, it wouldn’t be too hard to figure it out, but this person was one among several rather forgettable characters that show up very little throughout the story. There was no Chekhov's Gun (that I could see), and the reveal just took me way out of the story and at that point (very late in the book) I kind of rushed toward the end.
The romance between Leila and Tobias: I loved TSC because it was sprinkled in there, but there was constant “I’m not in this tournament to love the savior, I hate the savior, I only have eyes for her sister”. It made for a really sweet romance when they were together, and there was definitely some sweet romance in here as well, but there are a couple of points that I didn’t like through TSS… First, and this did happen a bit in TSC, was the bipolar “I love you, lets have a huge argument about something/get out, wait please don’t leave”. It does make me wonder whether either, or both, Leila and Tobias have bipolar. I know they always had a short time together when they did see each other, but the conflicts felt too rushed, and then suddenly they were over and it was all “no, I’ll wait till you’re ready” type thing…
My other point to make is that I found Leila was a lot hornier than Tobias with so many fantasies about him that happen. And when they are written, sometimes I found it hard to determine if they were real or fantasies. A change into something like italics may have helped to distinguish.
While I have stated quite a few sticking points, I did still enjoy my time reading this for the most part, and I have seen that there will be another installment of the series coming, and I really hope we see more of this world and really get to understand it beyond the castle gates. This is an opportunity to really expand. To develop the relationship even further with Tobias and Leila, and let them get to know each other properly. I will continue on with the series, but I am expecting better from the next book.
Characters: 3
Plot: 2
World: 2
Romance: 4
Re-readablility: 1
Average: 2.5
kizvjmoncrieff's review
5.0
Another Unbeatable Book
TSC is my favourite book ever, and while I can say there are many ways in which this book is so much better. I don't believe as a whole that it bears TSC. One reason, is it suffers from one of the biggest issues companion novels face, especially ones so close to the first as this... You know how it ends but what is fine well are the mysteries and intrigue that from you reading and the love of the characters and plot which meld so nicely together.
We got to meet characters we never have before and we have learnt new things we didn't because it is all through Paula's perspective and I love that. I have a little crush on Erebus, a new character in this book. I hate Wimbledon even more and Delphi... She remains such an amazing character and my favourite in this series.
TSC is my favourite book ever, and while I can say there are many ways in which this book is so much better. I don't believe as a whole that it bears TSC. One reason, is it suffers from one of the biggest issues companion novels face, especially ones so close to the first as this... You know how it ends but what is fine well are the mysteries and intrigue that from you reading and the love of the characters and plot which meld so nicely together.
We got to meet characters we never have before and we have learnt new things we didn't because it is all through Paula's perspective and I love that. I have a little crush on Erebus, a new character in this book. I hate Wimbledon even more and Delphi... She remains such an amazing character and my favourite in this series.
superfangirl818's review
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
I was slightly disappointed at first when I noticed that The Savior's Sister followed the same plot as the first book, The Savior's Champion, just from Leila's point of view, but I got over that quickly when I realized that now we are in Leila's perspective, it's essentially its own plot because of how much information we were missing just when we were just in Tobias's perspective. The plot was enthralling to me and the characters were beautifully written, as was the romance between Tobias and Leila. I especially LOVED Leila. She had so many layers to her and she was just so well-written. I can't wait for The Savior's Army!
sohare1981's review
5.0
So far I've loved all three books written by Jenna Moreci, and watch her videos on youtube a lot. Yes, there are some scenes that appear in both this book and the Saviors Champion, but that's because it's the same story, just told from a different perspective. Rather than rehashing the Savior's Champion the Savior's Sister is told from inside the fortress and gives details about the Saviors Tournament from the Savior's point of view.
Lelia is basically a prisoner within her own home. Her father plans to have her killed, and she must fight with all she can to protect her life and her realm. What she doesn't expect is to fall in love with one of the Tournament's competitors Tobias, the Artist. She kills anyone who is standing in her way of becoming the ruler of her realm and working with her father aiding his plans. Things turn darker when she learns some of her closest confidantes have turned against her but it doesn't stop her from fighting to protect her life, and Tobias's.
I would recommend reading The Savior's Champion before you read this story, as it goes into more detail about the competition the men are in, told from Tobias's point of view. Though I'm not sure if you really need to read it to understand what is happening in this story. The two do work side-by-side. So if you want to know what happens in many of the challenges and events that are just brushed over in this book I'd pick up The Savior's Champion and read that.
Lelia is basically a prisoner within her own home. Her father plans to have her killed, and she must fight with all she can to protect her life and her realm. What she doesn't expect is to fall in love with one of the Tournament's competitors Tobias, the Artist. She kills anyone who is standing in her way of becoming the ruler of her realm and working with her father aiding his plans. Things turn darker when she learns some of her closest confidantes have turned against her but it doesn't stop her from fighting to protect her life, and Tobias's.
I would recommend reading The Savior's Champion before you read this story, as it goes into more detail about the competition the men are in, told from Tobias's point of view. Though I'm not sure if you really need to read it to understand what is happening in this story. The two do work side-by-side. So if you want to know what happens in many of the challenges and events that are just brushed over in this book I'd pick up The Savior's Champion and read that.