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4.1 AVERAGE
4.1 AVERAGE
adventurous
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
-Couldn't put it down! The last 100 pages actually had my heart racing
-I loved the backstory of both main characters, and the personal relationships each had. (Jase's family, Kazi and the Rahtan)
-Absolutely loved the friendship of Kazi, Synové, and Wren! Girl power was strong
-The characters all had beautiful names
-I loved the element of the spirits/ghosts that Kazi (and maybe all Vendans?) could see. I liked how it wasn't the most important part of Kazi's character, but it also didn't feel out of place or nonsensical.
-Reading about thievery is always fun for me so I loved reading Kazi's tricks/methods
-I did feel like the ending was wrapped up very nicely. The main conflict was solved, so I'm interested to see what the next book's plot will be. Will it have as high of stakes as this one? Stakes that involve multiple kingdoms? Or will it be more focused on Tor's Watch and the Ballengers?
-I loved the backstory of both main characters, and the personal relationships each had. (Jase's family, Kazi and the Rahtan)
-Absolutely loved the friendship of Kazi, Synové, and Wren! Girl power was strong
-The characters all had beautiful names
-I loved the element of the spirits/ghosts that Kazi (and maybe all Vendans?) could see. I liked how it wasn't the most important part of Kazi's character, but it also didn't feel out of place or nonsensical.
-Reading about thievery is always fun for me so I loved reading Kazi's tricks/methods
-I did feel like the ending was wrapped up very nicely. The main conflict was solved, so I'm interested to see what the next book's plot will be. Will it have as high of stakes as this one? Stakes that involve multiple kingdoms? Or will it be more focused on Tor's Watch and the Ballengers?
Another top tier book, i had almost zero complaints. This book had everything I needed. One comment I have was the world building was a ~tad~ confusing, but that could’ve just been me not paying enough attention too. And it wasn’t all of it, just the rebellion/war they talk ab in the beginning. But overall, I love and am now rushing to Barnes and noble to snatch the second one bc I can’t wait for Amazon
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
*Dramatic sigh*, I don't think I've ever had more mixed feelings about a book. There were aspects I loved, and there were aspects I hated. No in-between. I don't think this has ever happened before... I rated this 3*, even though it's different from my normal 3* ratings (typically, these are books that are "meh", not overly good or memorable, but not bad either.
The split seems very even between the two pov-characters, actually. Everything Jase, give me more. Everything Kazi, please die in a fire.
The romance was more the main plot than the side plot, and I honestly wish more romantasy books did the romance like it was done here, only with an actually good FeMC. I loved how prominent it was and how the buildup went.
This was extremely unexpected. Especially considering this series' popularity, I had decently high expectations, and... I can't even say if they've been met. But I have no desire to read the sequel now.
RATING: ⭐⭐⭐/5
SPICE: 🌶️🌶️/4
VIOLENCE: 🩸🩸🩸/4
✅🆗 Plot
✅❌ Characters
🆗 Writing
🆗 World
🆗❌ Romance
***
So, let's start with the things I loved because I like starting with the good stuff... aka Jase Ballenger. Boy, it's been a while since I loved a male lead as much as I did him. It's also been a while since I've seen such a healthy, mature, balanced ENTJ with good yet not annoying Fi and the appropriate balance between chill and efficient, willing to do what he has to do, even if it's dirty work. Why can't all those "ENTJ" FeMCs we see popping up in romantasy, who are all terribly butchered and toxic, be more like him? Honestly, everyone needs to be more like him. The only time I raised an eyebrow just slightly was when he let Kazi get away with her BS at the end.
Give me a MMC who doesn't whine, even though he doesn't have it easy. Who's a great leader with just the right amount of reluctance. Who has clear values and loyalties that don't feel like the annoying kind of (high) Fi-values because they're subtle enough. Who is far-sighted and intelligent, can make hard decisions and step back to see all POVs of a problem or a situation. Who can forgive but doesn't forget... Do I need to go on, or...?
It wasn't just him though. I loved everything about the Ballengers, the family, the history, the setting... it gave me Winterfell/Stark vibes. This romance could have been the next Robb Stark/Talisa, but... yk, I'd actually have to like Kazi for that.
If you ask what my favorite part of this book was, I'd actually say the beginning, their time of being chained together. I high-key enjoyed that part, it could have been longer. I'm gonna let it inspire me some for my own writing, I think. The forced proximity and reluctant allies with the survival aspect were on point, and I think the fact that I was rooting for the ship at all was because of the well-done buildup in this part.
Then... what went wrong? Well, the more technical part of the things I hated was the writing. Not all of it, but specifically the way Kazi's POV was written.
The overuse of metaphors was annoying as hell, to the point where I still, among others, don't know whether girl was seeing actual ghosts or not. Chill your Ni out, PLEASE. One's tert function should NOT be this hyperactive. Well, she's unhealthy so maybe I shouldn't be surprised. And the tendency to spiral into completely pointless, irrelevant flashbacks every few chapters that lasted for PAGES and didn't do anything besides being elaborate ways for Kazi to toot her own trumpet even more, did not help either. All they did was make me wish I had read this instead of listening to the audiobook so that I could have skipped past them.
I really don't understand what those were supposed to be good for. Most were completely irrelevant to the plot, and honestly, I couldn't care less about anything that was described. The beginning (first two-ish chapters) was the same. Nothing that actually happened there, mattered to the plot.
If the flashbacks were removed and the beginning shortened, the book would have been better. It was too long and at times way too slow-moving, pacing-wise, anyway. To the point where I was rolling my eyes out of boredom.
The worldbuilding was overall good, and I did enjoy the world, but it was overdone and slightly confusing at times, with some pretty big info-dumps. There's no point in introducing world aspects that aren't going to be relevant or amount to anything in the actual plot. It just slows down the pace needlessly and makes me want to skim.
That being said, something else I feel I should say is that I don't like how this book glorifies revenge and holding grudges. I didn't mind Kazi's two partners as much as I did her, (that being said, I didn't really care about either of them either, I'm not sure why. They weren't bad characters, just kinda meh to me, like most the supporting cast). But I hate that here, revenge (and quite brutal revenge) is being shown as desirable or acceptable. As something to be proud of.
Dude, if you're proud of yourself for getting revenge, you have a problem. The only thing to be proud of is one's ability to forgive and let the past go... which didn't happen here.
Anyway, I already mentioned my biggest problem with this book, namely Kazi. I am going to, from this point on, use her as the perfect example of that "arrogant, self-absorbed, narrow-minded (probably Fi-dom) FeMC who gets away with everything, and supported in her eternal arrogance instead of punished for it by the plot and world, because she's the MC" stereotype I loathe so much. Because that's exactly what she was.
Someone really needs to slap her until she stops filling the pages of her POV with either whining or praising herself—no in between. Look, I get you had a tRaGiC bAcKsTorY or whatever, but it sufficed to tell me once. And you also have no right to dismiss the situations or hardships of others, even if they're not "as bad" as your own. That's toxic af.
Suffice to say, thank you, book, for the reminder why ISFP 8 FeMCs with overbearing Fi-Ni piss me off.
I don't care if she's badass, or "the best" at what she does (as she keeps mentioning), the fact that she spent all that time with the Ballengers and Jase, and STILL suspected them to be working with the dude she was sent to capture did it for me. I was waiting for her to have some kind of development, to admit she was wrong, to ask Jase straight out for this guy after they discovered him... or, yk, at least give him the benefit of a doubt? But noo, she had to keep walking around with her blinkers that she didn't lose until she was literally hit in the forehead with the truth.
Also the audacity of her to accuse Jase of being dishonest (which he was, but never without good reason, he never lied more than he absolutely had to which I appreciate) while she herself literally lied so much to him, WITHOUT any valid reason or point whatsoever was infuriating. Girl isn't just a chronic liar, but also an extreme hypocrite, who got AWAY with those lies too. Look at Jase, not holding it against her (like he should have) while she gets pissed at him... *long sigh*.
The fact that she did what she did (tell the queen) behind Jase's back at the end, instead of walking up to him, apologizing (apparently, FeMCs aren't allowed to apologize or sth), and promising to do everything in her power to make sure he was treated justly and that she'd speak on his behalf, did me in though. It's only serving her arrogance (that never went away, btw) and the fact that he wasn't upset at all, upsets me.
Where Jase was objective and fair, Kazi was so incredibly self-absorbed and only concerned with her own gain, her own POV, her own situation and past, that it was driving me mad. She seems to be completely unable to see things from the perspective of others, or at least consider their POVs as equally important to her own.
To summarize, here we have a FeMC who thinks and acts like she's The Best, and entitled to act however she wants just because of her tragic backstory and background, who doesn't suffer any significant consequences for her behavior, or her mistake in the end (she doesn't even apologize for taking Jase prisoner or suspecting him). When he actually called her out, I was cheering. But of course, she keeps her arrogant facade up instead of being humble for one (1) second in her life—
"Let me see if I have this straight. What you're telling me is they inflintrated Tor's Watch under false pretenses. They violated my family's trust. They put them at risk. Ate our food. Slept in our beds. They used us. They made promises they had no intention of keeping. They betrayed us. So tell me, how are they different from you?" ...YOU GO MAN, YOU TELL HER, I LOVE YOU.
... You know how she responds to this very accurate assessment? "I wouldn't have killed you, Jase. I wouldn't have butchered your family. Can you say the same for them?" BRUH?! I'M SORRY BUT THAT'S THE ABSOLUTE BARE MINIMUM?!
I think I've sufficiently proven my point with this brief exchange.
I was suffering along with him over her insane indecisiveness, his Te just wanted a straightforward stance on their relationship from her (I honestly think he asked her THREE times), and she never gave him anything to work with.
There was no significant character development away from those traits (arrogance, self-absorption, entitlement, indecisiveness) either. I'm not sure if she became more open-minded at the very end, but if so, it wasn't very apparent. I mean, she did the bare minimum of what she had to do to fix the mess she'd gotten Jase in, so... I can't say I'm happy.
Yes, this is my one negative example for this type of FeMCm alright.
***
*Sigh*, alright, now that I've screamed at Kazi sufficiently, I'd like to ask ... is the sequel worth my time, or am I just going to get even angrier? I have such mixed feelings about this book that I really don't know.
Either way, I suggest you guys read and make your own opinions. But suffice to say, Kazi is not it. If you're a writer, I highly recommend you try and make your FeMC less like her.
The split seems very even between the two pov-characters, actually. Everything Jase, give me more. Everything Kazi, please die in a fire.
The romance was more the main plot than the side plot, and I honestly wish more romantasy books did the romance like it was done here, only with an actually good FeMC. I loved how prominent it was and how the buildup went.
This was extremely unexpected. Especially considering this series' popularity, I had decently high expectations, and... I can't even say if they've been met. But I have no desire to read the sequel now.
RATING: ⭐⭐⭐/5
SPICE: 🌶️🌶️/4
VIOLENCE: 🩸🩸🩸/4
✅🆗 Plot
✅❌ Characters
🆗 Writing
🆗 World
🆗❌ Romance
***
So, let's start with the things I loved because I like starting with the good stuff... aka Jase Ballenger. Boy, it's been a while since I loved a male lead as much as I did him. It's also been a while since I've seen such a healthy, mature, balanced ENTJ with good yet not annoying Fi and the appropriate balance between chill and efficient, willing to do what he has to do, even if it's dirty work. Why can't all those "ENTJ" FeMCs we see popping up in romantasy, who are all terribly butchered and toxic, be more like him? Honestly, everyone needs to be more like him. The only time I raised an eyebrow just slightly was when he let Kazi get away with her BS at the end.
Give me a MMC who doesn't whine, even though he doesn't have it easy. Who's a great leader with just the right amount of reluctance. Who has clear values and loyalties that don't feel like the annoying kind of (high) Fi-values because they're subtle enough. Who is far-sighted and intelligent, can make hard decisions and step back to see all POVs of a problem or a situation. Who can forgive but doesn't forget... Do I need to go on, or...?
It wasn't just him though. I loved everything about the Ballengers, the family, the history, the setting... it gave me Winterfell/Stark vibes. This romance could have been the next Robb Stark/Talisa, but... yk, I'd actually have to like Kazi for that.
If you ask what my favorite part of this book was, I'd actually say the beginning, their time of being chained together. I high-key enjoyed that part, it could have been longer. I'm gonna let it inspire me some for my own writing, I think. The forced proximity and reluctant allies with the survival aspect were on point, and I think the fact that I was rooting for the ship at all was because of the well-done buildup in this part.
Then... what went wrong? Well, the more technical part of the things I hated was the writing. Not all of it, but specifically the way Kazi's POV was written.
The overuse of metaphors was annoying as hell, to the point where I still, among others, don't know whether girl was seeing actual ghosts or not. Chill your Ni out, PLEASE. One's tert function should NOT be this hyperactive. Well, she's unhealthy so maybe I shouldn't be surprised. And the tendency to spiral into completely pointless, irrelevant flashbacks every few chapters that lasted for PAGES and didn't do anything besides being elaborate ways for Kazi to toot her own trumpet even more, did not help either. All they did was make me wish I had read this instead of listening to the audiobook so that I could have skipped past them.
I really don't understand what those were supposed to be good for. Most were completely irrelevant to the plot, and honestly, I couldn't care less about anything that was described. The beginning (first two-ish chapters) was the same. Nothing that actually happened there, mattered to the plot.
If the flashbacks were removed and the beginning shortened, the book would have been better. It was too long and at times way too slow-moving, pacing-wise, anyway. To the point where I was rolling my eyes out of boredom.
The worldbuilding was overall good, and I did enjoy the world, but it was overdone and slightly confusing at times, with some pretty big info-dumps. There's no point in introducing world aspects that aren't going to be relevant or amount to anything in the actual plot. It just slows down the pace needlessly and makes me want to skim.
That being said, something else I feel I should say is that I don't like how this book glorifies revenge and holding grudges. I didn't mind Kazi's two partners as much as I did her, (that being said, I didn't really care about either of them either, I'm not sure why. They weren't bad characters, just kinda meh to me, like most the supporting cast). But I hate that here, revenge (and quite brutal revenge) is being shown as desirable or acceptable. As something to be proud of.
Dude, if you're proud of yourself for getting revenge, you have a problem. The only thing to be proud of is one's ability to forgive and let the past go... which didn't happen here.
Anyway, I already mentioned my biggest problem with this book, namely Kazi. I am going to, from this point on, use her as the perfect example of that "arrogant, self-absorbed, narrow-minded (probably Fi-dom) FeMC who gets away with everything, and supported in her eternal arrogance instead of punished for it by the plot and world, because she's the MC" stereotype I loathe so much. Because that's exactly what she was.
Someone really needs to slap her until she stops filling the pages of her POV with either whining or praising herself—no in between. Look, I get you had a tRaGiC bAcKsTorY or whatever, but it sufficed to tell me once. And you also have no right to dismiss the situations or hardships of others, even if they're not "as bad" as your own. That's toxic af.
Suffice to say, thank you, book, for the reminder why ISFP 8 FeMCs with overbearing Fi-Ni piss me off.
I don't care if she's badass, or "the best" at what she does (as she keeps mentioning), the fact that she spent all that time with the Ballengers and Jase, and STILL suspected them to be working with the dude she was sent to capture did it for me. I was waiting for her to have some kind of development, to admit she was wrong, to ask Jase straight out for this guy after they discovered him... or, yk, at least give him the benefit of a doubt? But noo, she had to keep walking around with her blinkers that she didn't lose until she was literally hit in the forehead with the truth.
Also the audacity of her to accuse Jase of being dishonest (which he was, but never without good reason, he never lied more than he absolutely had to which I appreciate) while she herself literally lied so much to him, WITHOUT any valid reason or point whatsoever was infuriating. Girl isn't just a chronic liar, but also an extreme hypocrite, who got AWAY with those lies too. Look at Jase, not holding it against her (like he should have) while she gets pissed at him... *long sigh*.
The fact that she did what she did (tell the queen) behind Jase's back at the end, instead of walking up to him, apologizing (apparently, FeMCs aren't allowed to apologize or sth), and promising to do everything in her power to make sure he was treated justly and that she'd speak on his behalf, did me in though. It's only serving her arrogance (that never went away, btw) and the fact that he wasn't upset at all, upsets me.
Where Jase was objective and fair, Kazi was so incredibly self-absorbed and only concerned with her own gain, her own POV, her own situation and past, that it was driving me mad. She seems to be completely unable to see things from the perspective of others, or at least consider their POVs as equally important to her own.
To summarize, here we have a FeMC who thinks and acts like she's The Best, and entitled to act however she wants just because of her tragic backstory and background, who doesn't suffer any significant consequences for her behavior, or her mistake in the end (she doesn't even apologize for taking Jase prisoner or suspecting him). When he actually called her out, I was cheering. But of course, she keeps her arrogant facade up instead of being humble for one (1) second in her life—
"Let me see if I have this straight. What you're telling me is they inflintrated Tor's Watch under false pretenses. They violated my family's trust. They put them at risk. Ate our food. Slept in our beds. They used us. They made promises they had no intention of keeping. They betrayed us. So tell me, how are they different from you?" ...YOU GO MAN, YOU TELL HER, I LOVE YOU.
... You know how she responds to this very accurate assessment? "I wouldn't have killed you, Jase. I wouldn't have butchered your family. Can you say the same for them?" BRUH?! I'M SORRY BUT THAT'S THE ABSOLUTE BARE MINIMUM?!
I think I've sufficiently proven my point with this brief exchange.
I was suffering along with him over her insane indecisiveness, his Te just wanted a straightforward stance on their relationship from her (I honestly think he asked her THREE times), and she never gave him anything to work with.
There was no significant character development away from those traits (arrogance, self-absorption, entitlement, indecisiveness) either. I'm not sure if she became more open-minded at the very end, but if so, it wasn't very apparent. I mean, she did the bare minimum of what she had to do to fix the mess she'd gotten Jase in, so... I can't say I'm happy.
Yes, this is my one negative example for this type of FeMCm alright.
***
*Sigh*, alright, now that I've screamed at Kazi sufficiently, I'd like to ask ... is the sequel worth my time, or am I just going to get even angrier? I have such mixed feelings about this book that I really don't know.
Either way, I suggest you guys read and make your own opinions. But suffice to say, Kazi is not it. If you're a writer, I highly recommend you try and make your FeMC less like her.
Listening to this on 3x speed couldn’t even help. A million characters, most of whom are completely irrelevant or feel like carbon copies each other and could be reduced down to a handful. And the main characters were the worst! Booktok advertised this as “enemies to lovers” but really they fell in love within the first 100 pages and then spent the rest of the book not being honest/communicating and then getting super offended when they’d find out about each others “lies.” I just couldn’t stand it. Not to mention the “plot” dragged on for nearly 500 pages. Feels like this was trying to be a long world building fantasy but the plot/world building was done on sand. Wouldn’t recommend and I won’t be buying the next book in this series.
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
reflective
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
September 1, 2024
no, this was when i realized that i kinda actually hate fantasy books cuz.... CHAPTER 1 AND LOOK—
FIRST CHAPTER AND THERES ALREADY SO MANY DAMN THINGS TO MEMORIZE?????
i mean im the type of reader that I NEEEEEED to memorize everything, so when you have a fantasy book which has so many damn things to memorize....I HAD TO WRITE IT ON A DAMN PAPER JUST TO KNOW WTF IS HAPPENING, and still I don't know what tf is happening
k bai i'll just stick to reading nonfiction books and fiction books that doesn't put so many damn terms in your face BRO IT'S LITERALLY THE FIRST CHAPTER.
dnf, wont ever finish, i dont care if i wasted my money
(shit i dont know how to attach an image to my goodreads review)
no, this was when i realized that i kinda actually hate fantasy books cuz.... CHAPTER 1 AND LOOK—
FIRST CHAPTER AND THERES ALREADY SO MANY DAMN THINGS TO MEMORIZE?????
i mean im the type of reader that I NEEEEEED to memorize everything, so when you have a fantasy book which has so many damn things to memorize....I HAD TO WRITE IT ON A DAMN PAPER JUST TO KNOW WTF IS HAPPENING, and still I don't know what tf is happening
k bai i'll just stick to reading nonfiction books and fiction books that doesn't put so many damn terms in your face BRO IT'S LITERALLY THE FIRST CHAPTER.
dnf, wont ever finish, i dont care if i wasted my money
(shit i dont know how to attach an image to my goodreads review)
adventurous
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A