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4.26 AVERAGE
4.26 AVERAGE
I had to sit on this one for a while before writing a review. As a whole, I enjoyed it a lot, and it was a breath of fresh air among all the fantasy stories I've been reading lately.
The world building was fun and expansive, and I especially like Seiiki and the Ocean dragons. The magic system was cool, but maybe a bit lackluster at times, and I enjoyed the secret society of the priory.
While the characters themselves are well written, I wouldn't say any of them really pop on their own. Most of them are pretty cliched and fall into pretty well-known tropes. However, the book really shines in its relationships between characters. Obviously, the primary romantic relationship is great and well written, but the secondary romances and especially the platonic friendships between characters, serve really well to make the characters shine.
Unfortunately, the overall story and especially the ending felt a tiny bit uninspired, and everything goes down the way you would expect it to, more or less. That being said, I think along with the interesting setting, this mildly lackluster story serves to provide a sandbox for these characters to explore their relationships.
Overall, it's a really good book im more than likely to recommend.
Thank you, Samantha Shannon
The world building was fun and expansive, and I especially like Seiiki and the Ocean dragons. The magic system was cool, but maybe a bit lackluster at times, and I enjoyed the secret society of the priory.
While the characters themselves are well written, I wouldn't say any of them really pop on their own. Most of them are pretty cliched and fall into pretty well-known tropes. However, the book really shines in its relationships between characters. Obviously, the primary romantic relationship is great and well written, but the secondary romances and especially the platonic friendships between characters, serve really well to make the characters shine.
Unfortunately, the overall story and especially the ending felt a tiny bit uninspired, and everything goes down the way you would expect it to, more or less. That being said, I think along with the interesting setting, this mildly lackluster story serves to provide a sandbox for these characters to explore their relationships.
Overall, it's a really good book im more than likely to recommend.
Thank you, Samantha Shannon
A wonderful book of world building and intense storytelling. There are flaws in the book that leave you confused. That being missing information of why certain things happened, dialogue being improper, and things feeling just slightly rushed. However for such a large book it shouldn't feel rushed. However it was.
It was enjoyable despite any flaws. I enjoyed the lore of the world, and the characters. However, Loth one of our POV characters seemed to not have as much character development as the others. Leaving a him as a pusher instead of getting his own flavor like Ead, Roos, and Tané.
The story of the West was the main story following Ead and Sabran. The other characters made for a well and good story, just they weren't the ones under focus. They weren't the draw to keep going as much as they could have been. For the East could have been just as enticing if they put a little more focus into it.
The story ended rather open and bittersweet. So it could continue or could end there. A continuation to clear things up is the hope.
It was enjoyable despite any flaws. I enjoyed the lore of the world, and the characters. However, Loth one of our POV characters seemed to not have as much character development as the others. Leaving a him as a pusher instead of getting his own flavor like Ead, Roos, and Tané.
The story of the West was the main story following Ead and Sabran. The other characters made for a well and good story, just they weren't the ones under focus. They weren't the draw to keep going as much as they could have been. For the East could have been just as enticing if they put a little more focus into it.
The story ended rather open and bittersweet. So it could continue or could end there. A continuation to clear things up is the hope.
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
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
emotional
inspiring
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
tense
slow-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
adventurous
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
Only took nearly 2 months to finish this beast. Granted, I did take it deliberately slowly (usually only reading a chapter a day), and I have to say I enjoyed consuming it at that pace. The world is huge, the story sometimes meandering, and it was nice to sit in it for several weeks.
While I enjoyed a lot here - the characters, the rich world, the imagery - I found the core fight between good and evil a lottle disappointing.I was expecting a final lore twist with the Nameless One that never came. He was just the embodiment of pure evil and nothing more, which is always a bit boring. The end of this book does hint that the rest of the series might go deeper into the question of how disparate nations can maintain peace after the defeat of a common enemy, which I would love to read more about. I need to take a break while I read some other things, but I'm sure I'll keep going with book 2 soon.
While I enjoyed a lot here - the characters, the rich world, the imagery - I found the core fight between good and evil a lottle disappointing.
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This book was everything. The world building was beautiful, the strength of the women was unmatched, and the ending battle could rival any fantasy epic. To read a story like this with women at the center meant everything to me.
adventurous
slow-paced