Reviews with content warning for Violence - The Eternal Ones

Reviews tagging 'Violence'

The Eternal Ones by Namina Forna

8 reviews

linhsreadinghour's review

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful inspiring 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? No

4.0

Sound conclusion to a really great YA fantasy series. I think I loved book 1 and 2 the most. I think 3 felt a little distant to the rest of the books because it has been a while since I read the first 2 books. That aside, I think the series overall is such a good diverse YA fantasy series for young readers.

I think it’s best for older younger readers due to the really big and dark themes the books explored but I think it’s done in a really accessible way for young readers. It’s a great gateway series that would ease them into adult fantasy, exploring themes such as oppression, misogyny, and lgbtq+ rep (great non-binary rep in book 3.

It’s got all the goodness in fantasy such as sisterhood, quest, found family, animal companion, gods, and a whole lot of cool magic and creatures.

At the heart of the story though, is the classic theme of coming of age and that everyone has a choice in who they become.

If I review book 3 specifically though, I thought that book 1 and 2 were much better. I remember having more bigger reactions to book 1 and 2. This book I felt like I had to force myself to keep reading near the middle. We’re introduced to some new characters/creatures and information/decisions but ultimately this and the ending felt a little rushed. I also understand Deka was trying to grapple with her destiny but her emotions were all over the place it seemed.

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ashndean88's review against another edition

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challenging dark hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I felt this was the weakest in the trilogy.

There was just so much repetition! I understand the need for a recap of information and significant plot developments between books because of how long publishing can take, but doing them constantly throughout the story is a bit ridiculous. Especially when we're at the end of the book and I'm being reminded of something for the fourth time. Once in the beginning is enough!

Another aspect that bothered me was how the characters would go against themselves. For example, there were a couple of times Deka would say something like "I will no longer allow my emotions to control me." Then a few paragraphs later, guess what happened? Her emotions controlled her. I wish she would've just experienced and work through them. That would've been much more compelling. The same thing would happen between characters both with emotions and in regards to tolerating one another. It was odd. Especially when the flip happened without any explanation.

Those were my big issues. However, there were still aspects I enjoyed. Having a group of people so loyal to one other was refreshing, as was witnessing Deka maneuvering through the path she was thrust into. Although I could predict how essentially the book would end, I didn't know how we would get there. So there were enough twists and turns to keep me interested, despite also really wanting to just get this book done with.

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kshertz's review against another edition

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adventurous 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

4.25

The ending of the trilogy! It was time. It took a while to read because I had started to grow weary of more battles and more obstacles. But in the end they pulled it off. It was sad but satisfying and definitely if someone asked for a BIPOC fantasy novel with a badass femme heroine, these three books will be the first recommendation. I’ll miss this found family but look forward to wherever the author goes from here.

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le3713's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

I loved the world Forna created, and then broke apart, over the course of this series. Unfortunately, I spent so long trying to remind myself of the characters and the elements of the world that I think some of the impact of the plot was lost on me. The ending balanced hope and loss in a measure that felt appropriate to the heaviness of the series.

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amypt46's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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lpdx's review against another edition

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adventurous dark hopeful slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

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beckyyreadss's review

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adventurous challenging dark tense medium-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

4.0

I wanted to read this book because I absolutely adored the first book in the series, the second one was just as good, and I was waiting patiently for this book, and I think I got my hopes a little too high for this book because I was expecting more.

This book is still based on Deka who we’ve been following throughout the whole trilogy. She is a goddess-in-waiting with the potential to save her people from the brutal ancient goddesses who terrorize her kingdom of Otera. But first she must find the source of her divine power and if the Gilded ones find it before she does, they will drain her power and tear Otera apart. Alongside her friends, Deka faces the hardest battle of her life, not just with the goddess but with her own doubts. What if becoming a goddess makes her as evil as the Gilded Ones? And is she ready to leave her earthly life and loves behind?

I will forever love how Namina Forna does the found family in this book and how she manages difficult subject as well as being diverse with the LGBT rep and the POC rep. I loved the relationship between Deka and Keita and how Namina didn’t rush the romance. In most romantasy when the world is ending, they are married by the first book (From Blood and Ash, I'm looking at you). I will forever love the found family aspect and how kick ass these women are and how they choose the men they want to be around and aren’t forced anywhere. Britta saved this book from being three stars, she is the only one with some sense in her brain and I loved how her journey ended.

However, compared to the last two books, Deka’s character journey just didn’t do it for me this time around. She started off so angry and hurt and worried about dying to just giving up and letting everyone go and not being angry and that happened in a space of a chapter like what? Another thing i struggle with is book where there is a big war, and the world is ending and then it all gets resolved in one chapter. This book was mainly information overload, internal debates and travelling and then it was like okay, wars over, we are becoming Gods, the end. I was just expecting more.

I really enjoyed the first book, and the second one was just as good, but I feel like i was drastically let down with this last book. However, I will always read Namina’s work and cannot wait to see more of her work in the future.

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bookishmillennial's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny inspiring reflective sad slow-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

disclaimer: I don’t really give starred reviews. I hope my reviews provide enough information to let you know if a book is for you or not. Find me here: https://linktr.ee/bookishmillennial

"But it is always my cost...Always, always. It's always me making sacrifices. Even now."

Is this where I got it from, this habit of blaming myself for anything and everything?
But no, Otera is the reason, the culprit. Its culture is. The Infinite Wisdoms - the false holy books on which I was raised-conditions women to take on the sins of everyone else. No matter the situation, no matter the person, if something happens, it's always the woman's fault. And barring that, it is the fault of the men who love other men, or the yandau, or the maimed and injured, the infirm-anyone who isn't a typical Oteran man.
It is always the fault of those on the periphery.
We are the ones Otera sees as inherently weak, shameful. We are the ones who must always shoulder the blame.

"No more prescribed roles. No false holy books. No more following arcane rules, simply because you appear a certain way. Now everyone in Otera can be who they wish. Who they are inside. And that's all I've ever asked for."

To give you a very quick recap of Deka's current situation at the beginning of this book, let me help you out real quick. Deka has discovered more and more of her goddess powers and each time she uses one of her abilities, gold sores take over her body, reminding her that her time as a human is limited. Each moment that she doesn't reconnect with her kelai (celestial essence), she is closer to scattering into a million pieces. If this happens, no one will be able to stop the Gilded Ones or the Idugu will bleed her kingdom of Otera dry. Deka searches for her Mother, visits the gods, and dodges danger at every turn with the help of her friends and her mentor White Hands. Deka is the Angoro, the slayer of the gods, and she must live up to this namesake for peace.

Just as a recap for her mom's backstory: "The last time I saw Mother, she was lying on her deathbed, face pale and haggard, body nearly wasted away. Her dark brown skin had turned to ash, blood the color of rubies dripped from her nose, and deep sores cracked the sides of her mouth. Later, I would learn this was all a ruse: Mother was an alaki, a descendent of the Gilded Ones; she couldn't die from, or even contract, human illnesses. But she needed to keep the village elders and jatu off her trail as she tried to find a way to keep me from being discovered, so she faked her death and fled Irfut, hoping to get to White Hands so they could formulate a way to rescue me. Except somewhere along the way, she discovered the truth of the Gilded Ones, the truth of the date they wished for me. And she tried to save me. She suffered horrifically as a result."

Overall, I thought this was an inspiring and bittersweet end to this series, and while it took a bit to get there (there was absolutely some seemingly aimless filler in between these pages!), I certainly appreciated the quieter moments between the characters as they mentally and emotionally prepared to confront the inevitable (is it?! that's what I was wondering up until the very end, which I think Forna did an excellent job of - making readers guess what Deka's fate would be) choice of sacrificing herself to save her friends and the world.

Ixa gets an honorable mention because I love him; he is goofy, loyal and fiesty. I just adore this shape-shifting companion!!! Also, I absolutely adored the hot springs scene with Deka and all of her found family, Britta, Li & Keita. *tears up*

RIP to Asha, Katya, Rian, and Kweku, but I hope they're resting peacefully in the Afterlands/Blissful Lands until they're ready to be born again as the Great Circle promises in this universe! And long live Belcalis, new badass empress of the One Kingdom!!! Gosh, what a bittersweet ending for my favorite honeys!!!

I will miss this series and I think it would be really cool to see optioned and adapted on screen!

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