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angelofthetardis's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
We return to the Cedarfall Court shortly after the events that rounded off the first book in the series to find a land in chaos. Robin Icethorn now knows who his enemies are, and events quickly escalate to take things from bad to worse. Turning his back on his newly discovered heritage and yet still unable to slip back to his old life, he finds himself considering the old adage 'my enemy's enemy is my friend' and embarking on a dangerous quest which could have fatal consequences for him and his friends.
There are plenty of moments in this book that I was not expecting! It certainly keeps you on your toes and gives you pause when reading, but everything still fits within the story and flows really well. Almost to the point where it feels like you should have seen it coming! However, once you get into the swing of things there are other elements that are fairly predictable, and while I enjoyed being right or almost right about these things it did feel like a bit of a disappointment that these bits couldn't have been twisted to continue to surprise the reader.
The story itself is not quite as tight or defined as the previous book; it's a little meandering and takes longer to get going. I'm not sure that the book needed to be quite as long to successfully tell the story - perhaps a more ruthless edit might have eliminated a little more exposition and other superfluous material, but it does still read very well.
While characters from the previous book do carry forward, somehow they don't hold your attention in the same way - they come across as placeholders and scene fillers IMO, with very little character development. New characters are introduced which do get a better work up, but for the most part it's very much Robin's show.
As with the last book, I did really enjoy the M/M romantic entanglement, but again the development was waaaay too sudden for my taste. However, you very quickly forget that as there does seem to be more depth explored in this scenario - the physical aspect is definitely still there, but it does feel more rounded growth with feelings. And the author is very good at letting us experience Robin's emotions. Connected to this, I was rooting for Erix throughout, which made his storyline even more heartbreaking.
No, it's not quote as good as the first one, but absolutely worth a read. Looking forward to the next one!
There are plenty of moments in this book that I was not expecting! It certainly keeps you on your toes and gives you pause when reading, but everything still fits within the story and flows really well. Almost to the point where it feels like you should have seen it coming! However, once you get into the swing of things there are other elements that are fairly predictable, and while I enjoyed being right or almost right about these things it did feel like a bit of a disappointment that these bits couldn't have been twisted to continue to surprise the reader.
The story itself is not quite as tight or defined as the previous book; it's a little meandering and takes longer to get going. I'm not sure that the book needed to be quite as long to successfully tell the story - perhaps a more ruthless edit might have eliminated a little more exposition and other superfluous material, but it does still read very well.
While characters from the previous book do carry forward, somehow they don't hold your attention in the same way - they come across as placeholders and scene fillers IMO, with very little character development. New characters are introduced which do get a better work up, but for the most part it's very much Robin's show.
As with the last book, I did really enjoy the M/M romantic entanglement, but again the development was waaaay too sudden for my taste. However, you very quickly forget that as there does seem to be more depth explored in this scenario - the physical aspect is definitely still there, but it does feel more rounded growth with feelings. And the author is very good at letting us experience Robin's emotions. Connected to this, I was rooting for Erix throughout, which made his storyline even more heartbreaking.
No, it's not quote as good as the first one, but absolutely worth a read. Looking forward to the next one!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Grief, and Death of parent
Moderate: Religious bigotry, Violence, Death, Kidnapping, Murder, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Cursing, Torture, and Sexual content
Minor: Alcohol and Confinement
andremay's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
As far as pros go, I do not regret continuing the series despite being disappointed by the first book. Because the plot is intriguing enough, with plot twists that I couldn’t see ahead of the time they were actually revealed (cookie points for them), and the world building picked up in this novel.
However, I couldn’t get past the lack of chemistry between the MC and the love interest, and I’d have loved to see more of his complicated feelings about Erix, not another relationship so soon. It didn’t make any sense to me.
This wasn’t even the most rushed thing in the book. You’re telling me it took a Hunter all of 100 pages to fall in love with a fey, somebody from the race he has hated for his entire life and sworn to kill? There was no emotional conflict between heart and mind, it simply happened, and it was so out of character, considering he is hot-headed and strong-willed since the beginning and until the end, exception being his feelings for Robin
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Torture, and Kidnapping
Minor: Sexual content
ts_anne13's review
adventurous
dark
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? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Sexual content, Gore, Murder, and Violence
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