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yccngz's review against another edition
5.0
omg
wow. alright
honestly this book was hard to put down. usually thin pages and small writing scares me but i finished this so quick omg...
The characters were complex and different and that's what really hooked me. Seeing them at 8 years old and then seeing them grow up into who they are for the majority of the book was quite something. It added layers to their characters and helped us see them and care for them. One thing I really like about [a:Jon Skovron|2828923|Jon Skovron|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1339610057p2/2828923.jpg]'s writing is how cinematographic it is. His short story in [b:Summer Days & Summer Nights: Twelve Love Stories|25063781|Summer Days & Summer Nights Twelve Love Stories|Stephanie Perkins|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1443125284s/25063781.jpg|44747642] was so different but his writing was the same honey touch. I feel as if I could read his stories for days and never get bored.
The Empire of Storms is a cluster of islands. So ships and pirates are a major part of this book. I liked the travels and the the storytelling (mainly Red's) that is part of the culture. The Circle and how exactly New Laven works is somewhat complex at first but with the map, you're good to go!
did i forget to mention theres a trans character. (kind of) (tw: transphobia) (tw: misogyny) (proably more but i forget)
wow. alright
honestly this book was hard to put down. usually thin pages and small writing scares me but i finished this so quick omg...
The characters were complex and different and that's what really hooked me. Seeing them at 8 years old and then seeing them grow up into who they are for the majority of the book was quite something. It added layers to their characters and helped us see them and care for them. One thing I really like about [a:Jon Skovron|2828923|Jon Skovron|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1339610057p2/2828923.jpg]'s writing is how cinematographic it is. His short story in [b:Summer Days & Summer Nights: Twelve Love Stories|25063781|Summer Days & Summer Nights Twelve Love Stories|Stephanie Perkins|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1443125284s/25063781.jpg|44747642] was so different but his writing was the same honey touch. I feel as if I could read his stories for days and never get bored.
The Empire of Storms is a cluster of islands. So ships and pirates are a major part of this book. I liked the travels and the the storytelling (mainly Red's) that is part of the culture. The Circle and how exactly New Laven works is somewhat complex at first but with the map, you're good to go!
did i forget to mention theres a trans character. (kind of) (tw: transphobia) (tw: misogyny) (proably more but i forget)
astarions_bhaal_babe's review against another edition
4.0
I finished this on the train. I almost missed my stop because I was on the last two pages and wouldn't -couldn't!- stop reading.
Reluctantly, I had to run and I tripped over someone's feet getting yelled over, but it was totally worth it. Oh, was it worth it.
WHAT...WHAT AN EPIC BOOK!
Give me [b:Bane and Shadow|29877824|Bane and Shadow (Empire of Storms, #2)|Jon Skovron|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1476867567s/29877824.jpg|50250393]. NOW!
Reluctantly, I had to run and I tripped over someone's feet getting yelled over, but it was totally worth it. Oh, was it worth it.
WHAT...WHAT AN EPIC BOOK!
Give me [b:Bane and Shadow|29877824|Bane and Shadow (Empire of Storms, #2)|Jon Skovron|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1476867567s/29877824.jpg|50250393]. NOW!
alexisagit18's review against another edition
5.0
This is a very good book, and it is definitely an adult book. Very good, kind of slow at the beginning though. I like how Red and Hope’s stories are told, especially with Sadie and the monasteries that Hope worked at.
A good read. I recommend for ages 16 (if you are mature) and up.
A good read. I recommend for ages 16 (if you are mature) and up.
marycato's review against another edition
2.0
This book made me very very sad.
It wasn't the plot or characters that made me sad, it was the wasted potential. This book has a very interesting world, engaging characters, and a unique plot. BUT, this book also contains a ridiculous amount of nasty language and inappropriate scenes. Despite the good qualities of this book, I simply cannot give it a higher rating due to those factors.
Sometimes things happen in books that I definitely don't approve of, but I handle it and keep reading because while I don't like it I can still handle it and it doesn't cross the line. In this book, there were far too many scenes that I just felt were unnecessary and vulgar that just crossed WAY too many lines.
If not for those scenes and the language, I would probably give this book 4 stars, which makes me pretty sad.
It wasn't the plot or characters that made me sad, it was the wasted potential. This book has a very interesting world, engaging characters, and a unique plot. BUT, this book also contains a ridiculous amount of nasty language and inappropriate scenes. Despite the good qualities of this book, I simply cannot give it a higher rating due to those factors.
Sometimes things happen in books that I definitely don't approve of, but I handle it and keep reading because while I don't like it I can still handle it and it doesn't cross the line. In this book, there were far too many scenes that I just felt were unnecessary and vulgar that just crossed WAY too many lines.
If not for those scenes and the language, I would probably give this book 4 stars, which makes me pretty sad.
cupiscent's review against another edition
3.0
In many ways, this is rollicking-good-read fantasy with low effort required. It was pacey, interesting, full of grimy thief-and-ninja derring-do, and held up by some big fantasy ideas. I don't mind a bit of that sort of thing now and then; it's not my favourite sort of reading; this was done pretty well for what it is. Within that, there one surprising positive, balanced out by a key and unfortunate negative.
On the positive: the gender balance of the worldbuilding. The book first grabbed my attention when it introduces the background of one of our orphan protags; he's the child of a whore and a noble-turned-slumming-it-artist... it's just that the mother's the artist and the father's the whore. Our hero's first love-interest (who likes him heaps but isn't a settling-down sort of girl, whereas he's figuring out how to hyphenate their names) works security at a brothel; we see her at one point acting in defense of a male whore. And the thieves-cant of their slum is charmingly gender balanced, reflecting the fact that everyone fights hard regardless of gender. (This is all lowest-rung stuff. High society and official organisations are reliably and familiarly misogynist, but that's a key plot element. And sure, the sailors around the Southern isles are nervous about having women on board, but the reason is that it attracts sea monsters, something that we are given reason to suppose might just be true. It would be far from the weirdest thing the magically-messed-with fauna of this world can do.)
On the negative: the pacing. The book takes its time establishing our two main characters (Hope and Red) through their youths, before they finally meet as established if young adults. There's plenty of interesting stuff going on here, but when the final half of the book seems to rush through all of the actual plot, it leaves me wondering whether the author shouldn't have been a touch less indulgent about all that opening material. Moreover, there's a third key character who barely gets any screentime before she's essential to the finale (and the story ongoing at the book's close), and I really wanted to see more of her. (Especially since. Having her be a fully explored and thoroughly known character would make it feel less blithe.)
I think I'm going to read more, and if you like some social conscience with your thiefly grim-fantasy hijinks, perhaps have a crack at this one.
On the positive: the gender balance of the worldbuilding. The book first grabbed my attention when it introduces the background of one of our orphan protags; he's the child of a whore and a noble-turned-slumming-it-artist... it's just that the mother's the artist and the father's the whore. Our hero's first love-interest (who likes him heaps but isn't a settling-down sort of girl, whereas he's figuring out how to hyphenate their names) works security at a brothel; we see her at one point acting in defense of a male whore. And the thieves-cant of their slum is charmingly gender balanced, reflecting the fact that everyone fights hard regardless of gender. (This is all lowest-rung stuff. High society and official organisations are reliably and familiarly misogynist, but that's a key plot element. And sure, the sailors around the Southern isles are nervous about having women on board, but the reason is that it attracts sea monsters, something that we are given reason to suppose might just be true. It would be far from the weirdest thing the magically-messed-with fauna of this world can do.)
On the negative: the pacing. The book takes its time establishing our two main characters (Hope and Red) through their youths, before they finally meet as established if young adults. There's plenty of interesting stuff going on here, but when the final half of the book seems to rush through all of the actual plot, it leaves me wondering whether the author shouldn't have been a touch less indulgent about all that opening material. Moreover, there's a third key character who barely gets any screentime before she's essential to the finale (and the story ongoing at the book's close), and I really wanted to see more of her. (Especially since
Spoiler
a big part of her story is her transition from male-bodied to female-bodied, and I am uneasy about the peremptory nature of that significant shiftI think I'm going to read more, and if you like some social conscience with your thiefly grim-fantasy hijinks, perhaps have a crack at this one.
purplebookshelf's review against another edition
4.0
“But at a certain point in our lives, we cannot passively allow our upbringing to define us. We must choose it or choose other.”
This is a fantasy hidden gem for me!
Side note I can see this being an awesome TV series so someone needs to get on that asap
What I wanted from this book was a fast-paced action adventure and I got that and more! It’s written brilliantly, has such a good cast of characters that I now love and an interesting world that I want to carry on exploring
★★★★☆
This is a fantasy hidden gem for me!
Side note I can see this being an awesome TV series so someone needs to get on that asap
What I wanted from this book was a fast-paced action adventure and I got that and more! It’s written brilliantly, has such a good cast of characters that I now love and an interesting world that I want to carry on exploring
★★★★☆
dorian_gray's review against another edition
5.0
So much fun!
Hope and Red is an adult fantasy book, but it has the economy of style and fast-paced writing that YA is known for. I was instantly attached to every character - Sadie the Pirate Queen! Red the artistic orphan! Bleak Hope, a trainee warrior with the coolest name ever! Nettles! Filler! Hurlo! Brigga Lin! Awesome, awesome, awesome.
I read this book more than a week ago, and I still remember character names without having to look them up. That's rare. That means this book left an impression on me, stronger than most other things I've read.
The magic system is incredibly interesting, and the worldbuilding was so easy to slip right into. I felt like I was wandering the streets with Hope and Red, and the slang was both creative and easy to understand without even having to think about it.
There's a lot of plot packed into this book, but it never stops moving. Events lead right into one another, and it's very difficult to find a stopping point that won't absolutely torture the reader. You gotta eat, drink, pee, and sleep sometime, but where is this scene going, what's happening next?!
Scenes where magic is used as a weapon? Grotesque and terrifying, but also very effectively described. The author is very keen to unsettle the reader in those moments, and yeah wow, it works.
I've got both sequels sitting in my cart right now. Just waiting for payday.
Hope and Red is an adult fantasy book, but it has the economy of style and fast-paced writing that YA is known for. I was instantly attached to every character - Sadie the Pirate Queen! Red the artistic orphan! Bleak Hope, a trainee warrior with the coolest name ever! Nettles! Filler! Hurlo! Brigga Lin! Awesome, awesome, awesome.
I read this book more than a week ago, and I still remember character names without having to look them up. That's rare. That means this book left an impression on me, stronger than most other things I've read.
The magic system is incredibly interesting, and the worldbuilding was so easy to slip right into. I felt like I was wandering the streets with Hope and Red, and the slang was both creative and easy to understand without even having to think about it.
There's a lot of plot packed into this book, but it never stops moving. Events lead right into one another, and it's very difficult to find a stopping point that won't absolutely torture the reader. You gotta eat, drink, pee, and sleep sometime, but where is this scene going, what's happening next?!
Scenes where magic is used as a weapon? Grotesque and terrifying, but also very effectively described. The author is very keen to unsettle the reader in those moments, and yeah wow, it works.
I've got both sequels sitting in my cart right now. Just waiting for payday.
aasheeaa's review against another edition
4.0
This book took a while to get use to, the beginning I found very slow but maybe 150 pages in, it suddenly got really good and I could not put it down.
This is a fantastic start to a series.
This is a fantastic start to a series.
lourdes_chapters_we_love's review against another edition
5.0
I LOVED IT! what a fantastic read, definitely a top favorite!
Review - https://chapterswelove.com/2017/04/27/hope-and-red-the-empire-of-storms-book-1-by-jon-skovron/
Bane and Shadow, Book 2: https://chapterswelove.com/2017/08/30/bane-and-shadow-by-jon-skovron/
Review - https://chapterswelove.com/2017/04/27/hope-and-red-the-empire-of-storms-book-1-by-jon-skovron/
Bane and Shadow, Book 2: https://chapterswelove.com/2017/08/30/bane-and-shadow-by-jon-skovron/