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hellodebbies's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
The plot really begins towards the end of the book (~70%) and the summary resumes the first30% of the book š. There's, of course, some filling but honestly it's a very good summary of the first quarter of the book š
It is mainly focused on the characters and their relationship.
The writing is okay.
However the cliffhanger is insanely good ! Will definitely read the next one !
Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Blood, and Alcohol
Moderate: Drug use and Abandonment
Minor: Sexual assault
purplepenning's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
2.25
"Good and evil are real. They always have been. Yet the weight of the realm has always fallen on those in-between. Ones neither good nor bad."
My experience with A Fall of Ruin and Wrath is that it's like the beginning of a Sarah J Maas story written by Katee Roberts. It leans into the theme of "morally gray" like it was the assignment and plays with the push-pull of "fated mates" and "star-crossed lovers" in a way that could get interesting if a lazy "chosen one" trope doesn't get in the way.
Parts of it were kind of a mess for me ā sometimes in ways I didn't mind and sometimes in ways that I did. The world seems like standard high fantasy at first but then it's also sort of post-apocalyptic and maybe less fae and more seraphs and demons? I don't need the world building to be completely nailed down in the first book in a series so I wasn't too fussed about this. If anything makes me pick up book two it'll be wanting to figure out this fantasy world and system. I mean I did not have
Graphic: Death, Sexual content, Torture, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Addiction, Child abuse, Cursing, Drug use, Gore, Physical abuse, Violence, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Alcohol, and Classism
Minor: Rape, Sexual assault, and Vomit
Physical compulsionanallama's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
The plot of this book is *good*. Sometimes the details are odd (main character is so relatable though), and the last few chapters felt slightly rushed but that might have been because I basically read them without blinking. Regardless, this book had me *hooked*. Would I re-read? Probably not. Would I recommend it? Maybe. Am I desperately waiting for the next installment? Absolutely!
Graphic: Death
anoelle896's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Gore, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Torture, Vomit, Abandonment, and Classism
gen_wolfhailstorm's review
- 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? It's complicated
5.0
This was my first Jennifer L. Armentrout novel and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
I found the pacing to be great, with a focus on drawing our anticipation and action, never verging on being boring, whilst simultaneously not being overwhelming in content.
To accompany and complement the pacing, I appreciated the chapters being concise and manageable. It added to the desire of the every famous reader phrase of 'just one more chapter'.
I found the characters to be intriguing (especially our MFC) & I quickly grew ever more curious about these highborn lords particularly wanting to know what kind of immortal being they were. Would they fall more under the fae type being or a sort of energy vampire? I feel like this could have been called My Hyhborn lord, but not sure that would have been as catching a title for me.
I thought the lure of the deminyens was pretty cool with the idea of them radiating desire and their origin story was interesting too.
I would have loved to explore deeper the relationship between Lis and Grady. I was shown how their bond was so tight in the childhood but I don't think it was carried as strongly into adulthood enough in example. I would have also have loved to see more expansion between Lis and Naomi.
The romance was super spicy and I was blushing, let me tell you. I think that was one of my favourite parts about the book. It was definitely more romance than fantasy, but there was definitely more than enough magic and fantasy themed political intrigue to not fall too far behind the steamy scenes.
I cannot wait to see where book 2 takes Lis.
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Alcohol, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Minor: Death of parent
kmaller01's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Moderate: Death and Sexual content
kayanoelle's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Calista is a great protagonist! She asks the right amount of questions (*cough* Poppy) and I feel like her character is very realistic. Sheās brave and sometimes even bold when her intuition tells her to be but she has a sense of self-preservation, too (which I loved).
Thorne as a love interest isā¦ something. I LOVE him. At the beginning, I was a little put off by his bluntness and how he just decided things but after finding out how other Hyhborn behave, he seemed mellow in comparison lol. Anyway, I enjoyed how he actually listened to Calista and tried to respect her wishes after she explained why itās so important to her. And I genuinely just love men who simp for their love interestsš
The story was perfectly balanced in my opinion, it was heavy on the romance especially in the middle (which I liked though) whereas the beginning explored the characters & world and the last third focused on the plot. Also, we didnāt get a lot of info dumping concerning the world building which is something that bothers me in FBAA, especially the Crown of Gilded Bones and the War of Two Queens. Instead, it was incorporated into the story in a way that made it seem natural but we still get all of the information we need in order to understand the world.
I also feel like the world building isnāt too complex and thereās things that are revealed throughout the book or still unclear at the end (in a good way).
I liked the writing style, it was very easy to read and had a flow to it that made it hard to stop. I also noticed that there werenāt any typos as opposed to some of her other novels, so thatās an improvement.
Every scene that JLA included felt necessary and that also added to the flow of the story. None of the conversations or scenes were too long or seemed forced which made this really fun and I was never bored while reading. We got the perfect amount of information about the characters, their relationships and the world while simultaneously leaving enough room to elaborate in the sequel.
One minor thing that bothered me was that I found two inconsistencies within the storytelling.
1) At the beginning of one chapter, Lis said that several weeks had passed since she saw Thorne in the garden but then when she went to see Claude, she referred back to his āearlier outburstā which to me sounded like the outburst happened on the same day (because why would she still be referencing it as āearlierā if it had been several weeks ago?)
2) When Thorne asked Lis to sleep in his bed, she said that sheād only ever shared a bed with Grady but later in the story (when she was looking for Claude in his chambers before the attack) she talked about a memory of hers in that chamber where she woke up with Claude and they had breakfast in bed??
Apart from that, I loved this book and I canāt wait for the second one! I wouldnāt say the ending was a terrible cliffhanger but I wouldnāt mind having the next book in my hands right now:)
Graphic: Death, Gore, Sexual content, Blood, and Murder
Moderate: Vomit
Minor: Violence
maxinesf's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Gore, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Torture, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Drug abuse and Drug use
Minor: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Vomit
dkgreads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Graphic: Death, Gore, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Child abuse
headinthepages's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Moderate: Body horror, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail