You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.1 AVERAGE
4.1 AVERAGE
medium-paced
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I enjoyed this book. I love when women are evil and scheming. One of the characters is kind of annoying and also incompetent. She's basically immortal, but she honestly doesn't feel immortal. You'd think after 80 years you'd get over a few insecurities. She's friends with the prince, but doesn't know any of the political ramifications of the treaty he keeps talking about? Get it together.
At times, it's a bit heavy handed. There was one battle scene and it was just okay. Most of the book is scheming and manipulation, which is fun. I saw someone call this Irish Last Kingdom, and that's a really bad description.
At times, it's a bit heavy handed. There was one battle scene and it was just okay. Most of the book is scheming and manipulation, which is fun. I saw someone call this Irish Last Kingdom, and that's a really bad description.
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
Lawless did a a fantastic job of blending Irish mythology and history. I loved every element that this story had to offer, from the battles and political striving, to the Vikings, to the magic. I think historical fiction mixed with fantasy is such a powerful sub-genre and Lawless balances perfectly in this story. The principal characters are intriguing and complex, and there’s always something in the plot to keep you hooked. I am very eager for the next installment.
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
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
I'm very glad to have gotten this book off my TBR after it languished on there for about two years. Also (as has been the case recently), I decided to listen to the audiobook which turned out to be a great decision. Highly recommend if you're interested in picking this book up.
Anyways, this book follows two immortal women in 990 CE Ireland. Gormflaith is one of the last Fomorians, a race of fire-wielding people, while Fódla is a healer and a Descendent of the Tuatha Dé Danann. These two immortal races have been enemies forever, but these two women do not know each other and have their own goals. Goals that don't necessarily align with the rest of Ireland.
My interest in their POVs changed from beginning to end. In the first half, I was more interested in Gormflaith because she had more going on as she schemed her way through the years. Around the halfway point, though, my interest waned as her personality started to grate on me. I think it's on purpose, and there's a lot to be said about what kind of women she has made herself to be in a world dominated by selfish, arrogant men. Fódla, on the other hand, came to be more interesting as she took the role of a healer amongst Brian Baru's court. Though she started a little boring (that didn't really change tbh, but the circumstances around her did), I thought her POV had a little more for my brain to chew.
One of the main points of failure of this book for me was the pacing of the plot. It felt like almost constant setup/execution for the first half, which might be a consequence of having two immortal characters. Time means next to nothing to them, so we see plans schemed one chapter, then a neat little time skip to see those plans paid off. It just doesn't make for the most engaging book content. I think this gets better in the second half when the time jumps slow down, but it did make it hard for me to really feel engaged for a good portion of the book. When I really step back and ask what happened during this book, I'm left feeling like it was mostly setup for something grander in the sequel.
That being said, I did like learning more about Irish history, of which I knew basically nothing before. Also, I liked seeing both characters' opinions on mortal men (and mortal in general). There's a lot to be revealed about them as people based on how they treat others (pawns vs injured feral dogs).
The writing was okay. Occasionally there was a line that felt jarringly contemporary compared to everything else. The environmental descriptions were sometimes lacking (in the sense that we didn't get any or only got minimal). I'm not sure I'm going to read the sequel, but I'll keep it on my radar in case it fulfills a reddit bingo prompt, maybe.
Anyways, this book follows two immortal women in 990 CE Ireland. Gormflaith is one of the last Fomorians, a race of fire-wielding people, while Fódla is a healer and a Descendent of the Tuatha Dé Danann. These two immortal races have been enemies forever, but these two women do not know each other and have their own goals. Goals that don't necessarily align with the rest of Ireland.
My interest in their POVs changed from beginning to end. In the first half, I was more interested in Gormflaith because she had more going on as she schemed her way through the years. Around the halfway point, though, my interest waned as her personality started to grate on me. I think it's on purpose, and there's a lot to be said about what kind of women she has made herself to be in a world dominated by selfish, arrogant men. Fódla, on the other hand, came to be more interesting as she took the role of a healer amongst Brian Baru's court. Though she started a little boring (that didn't really change tbh, but the circumstances around her did), I thought her POV had a little more for my brain to chew.
One of the main points of failure of this book for me was the pacing of the plot. It felt like almost constant setup/execution for the first half, which might be a consequence of having two immortal characters. Time means next to nothing to them, so we see plans schemed one chapter, then a neat little time skip to see those plans paid off. It just doesn't make for the most engaging book content. I think this gets better in the second half when the time jumps slow down, but it did make it hard for me to really feel engaged for a good portion of the book. When I really step back and ask what happened during this book, I'm left feeling like it was mostly setup for something grander in the sequel.
That being said, I did like learning more about Irish history, of which I knew basically nothing before. Also, I liked seeing both characters' opinions on mortal men (and mortal in general). There's a lot to be revealed about them as people based on how they treat others (pawns vs injured feral dogs).
The writing was okay. Occasionally there was a line that felt jarringly contemporary compared to everything else. The environmental descriptions were sometimes lacking (in the sense that we didn't get any or only got minimal). I'm not sure I'm going to read the sequel, but I'll keep it on my radar in case it fulfills a reddit bingo prompt, maybe.