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4.01 AVERAGE
4.01 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
emotional
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:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Minor: Child abuse
Couldn’t put it down! Got me out of a reading slump and I can’t wait for book #2!
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
3⭐️
1.5 🌶️
I enjoyed the book. I will read the second book when it comes out. There are pros and cons to this book and the story:
Pro:
FMC Nizzara is battle strong, kind, and not annoying. MMC Dagen is dark but loving and giving Rhysand vibes. Their banter I loved. The slow burn was good. The games and trials aspect I liked. I like the idea of vessel rings linked with a spirit and the magical element in there. The last 150 pages were fun to read and that part was exciting.
Cons:
The world building lacked, it was so slow the first 300 pages. I felt like the same story line was repeating the first 300 pages: Nizzara is training, her dad is awful, she is sad/lonely. I was getting bored and almost DNF it. Then when the story did pick up it was enjoyable and I flew through it. Unfortunately, it felt very rushed in the end. SPOILER*||Too much happened in the last few chapters and it almost felt like the author was dropping information in my lap instead of it being revealed naturally. The battle was too quick with the half monster people-rushed. What happened with her dad, her soul, bargain over Dagen and the element of the heir from the other kingdom was done in 1 chapter- felt rushed. Then the last 2 chapters the sister element came into play (didn’t feel like a natural reveal) and the information was just dumping in my lap- like the author was telling me instead of the story unfolding naturally- felt rushed again.|| The spice element was good, slow burn done well but when the scene finally happened I would have enjoyed a longer spicy scene- felt like it was over too quick for the slow burn that was nicely developed.
I will read the second book because I want to know what happens. I just hope the pacing of the book is better.
The unique magic system and slow-burn chemistry between the MC's was great, however the world-building is lacking and the FMC makes frustrating, repetitive decisions, that slow the pacing through the first 75% of the book. I did enjoy the ending and look forward to reading the next book in the series.
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The premise of this book is usually what I would go for: strong female main character, death trials, political scheming, monsters, magic, etc. The whole vessel thing is interesting and souls and whatnot. What was really lacking in this book for me was the world building and the lore. And the most frustrating part is that, since the main character is such a big reader and researcher, there’s ample opportunities to effectively weave that into the story. However a lot of the history of the kingdoms, the origin and purpose of the vessels, all the stuff about gems and melding and stuff is all kind of glossed over. I feel like you get more info about species from other realms than you do about the main setting. I went through most of the book not really knowing what was going on or being introduced to another plot point in a way that made me feel like I’d missed something. The slow burn romance and duel tournaments kept it interesting but the overall storyline that was taking place, while it involved a lot of stuff that was happening “off stage”, things could have been explained better.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
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:
N/A
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:
Yes
Great read! Super interesting magic system, complicated family dynamics, a fierce FMC and a top tier MMC. The main two characters have great banter and chemistry. The FMC has a challenging and sometimes violent relationship with her father - can be a little hard to read, check the triggers. Very much looking forward to the next book!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Physical abuse, Violence
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
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
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
spirits, ghosts, phantoms, wraiths… call ’em what you want, but they just hit different. they’ve got that mysterious, haunting vibe that pulls you in!!! this one was so so good it absolutely delivered! now I’m simply doomed, having to wait for the next book to come out, but (there’s always a but) apparently, the author’s still working on it. so, here I am, keeping an eye out for anything else that can hook me like this.