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pam_h's review
3.0
This was good. I don't know why I was expecting lightweight world-building (the length, I guess?), but it was really quite detailed. I liked the slow burn, but I swear it was begging for a slightly higher heat rating!! And the action plot climax was a bit ambitious for such a short length when you've already spent so much time on world-building. It made that scene feel extremely underdeveloped in comparison, and I think the scope just needed to be scaled back a touch. But mostly I just wanted more smut :)
kylek's review
3.0
If this was a full novel and the world building was more fleshed out, it´d be amazing.
nightpeaches's review
3.0
There was a lot of worldbuilding in this novella, maybe a little too much for me personally since I had a bit of a hard time keeping track of the different courts' and characters' relationships to each other. But I really liked the romance and I loved the characters, especially Shan and his tinkering. Very enjoyable relationship dynamic between warm, extroverted Shan and reserved, introverted Tirellian.
aprillen's review
4.0
Rounded down. Durreson might be a new favourite fantasy romance writer of mine. Great characters and voices, great, imaginative worldbuilding, sweet romance and lots of good people even in dire situations, in a way that reminds me a little bit of T. Kingfisher.
Like Durreson's other stories, this could have been longer, and fewer ends left hanging loose (even if it's so well-paced that it never feels rushed). I really wanted to understand what happened to the water/ice people. But hopefully this means we may get other stories set in this world.
Like Durreson's other stories, this could have been longer, and fewer ends left hanging loose (even if it's so well-paced that it never feels rushed). I really wanted to understand what happened to the water/ice people. But hopefully this means we may get other stories set in this world.
jennayra's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.25
calissa's review against another edition
4.0
The Court of Lightning is a fantasy m/m romance set in a world at war. For decades, the Court of Ice has been seeking to conquer the other courts. With the Court of Lightning defeated, the Court of Wind is one of the last remaining but they are under increasing threat. In order to survive, Master Artificer Arashan and paladin Tirellian must team up to venture into the ice-encased heart of the Court of Lightning. Deep within enemy territory, their old friendship thaws into something more.
This story was written for the Goodreads M/M Romance Group's annual challenge. My first encounter with the work of Amy Rae Durreson was via The Lodestar of Ys, written for last year’s challenge. I was very impressed and was therefore very much looking forward to The Court of Lightning. Overall, it mostly lived up to my expectations. Durreson does a wonderful job of taking the challenge prompt she's been given and spinning something totally unexpected out of it. Her world-building is top quality, putting to shame some fantasy novels I've seen in print. She weaves magic and politics into something complex and vibrant.
Her character work is also excellent. The friendship between Arashan and Tirellian is at once comfortable and awkward, not always able to bridge the gap between extrovert and introvert. Shyness is shown not just as an endearing character trait, but one that inhibits and is struggled with. Her soldiers suffer from shellshock and the effects of the terrible lives they’ve had to lead.
My one criticism is that there was just a little too much jammed into the story. The Court of Lightning is around 6 000 words shorter than The Lodestar of Ys and I felt it could have used the extra length. The pacing felt ever so slightly off. Being a sweet romance, I would have liked a bit more time when the romantic relationship between Arashan and Tirellian wasn’t being overshadowed by life-threatening danger, awesome though that was.
All-in-all, an excellent read and well worth the time. A few loose ends have me suspecting that we'll see more stories in this universe from Durreson and I very much look forward to them.
Read more reviews on my blog.
This story was written for the Goodreads M/M Romance Group's annual challenge. My first encounter with the work of Amy Rae Durreson was via The Lodestar of Ys, written for last year’s challenge. I was very impressed and was therefore very much looking forward to The Court of Lightning. Overall, it mostly lived up to my expectations. Durreson does a wonderful job of taking the challenge prompt she's been given and spinning something totally unexpected out of it. Her world-building is top quality, putting to shame some fantasy novels I've seen in print. She weaves magic and politics into something complex and vibrant.
Her character work is also excellent. The friendship between Arashan and Tirellian is at once comfortable and awkward, not always able to bridge the gap between extrovert and introvert. Shyness is shown not just as an endearing character trait, but one that inhibits and is struggled with. Her soldiers suffer from shellshock and the effects of the terrible lives they’ve had to lead.
My one criticism is that there was just a little too much jammed into the story. The Court of Lightning is around 6 000 words shorter than The Lodestar of Ys and I felt it could have used the extra length. The pacing felt ever so slightly off. Being a sweet romance, I would have liked a bit more time when the romantic relationship between Arashan and Tirellian wasn’t being overshadowed by life-threatening danger, awesome though that was.
All-in-all, an excellent read and well worth the time. A few loose ends have me suspecting that we'll see more stories in this universe from Durreson and I very much look forward to them.
Read more reviews on my blog.
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