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openbookheartmind's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
inspiring
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Minor: Suicide attempt
readswithcat's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Well, I want to first say the star rating doesn’t reflect my true feelings. This book wasn’t for me, but that doesn’t mean I have to rate it super low. It just wasn’t my favorite and that’s ok.
To start, I have to admit really enjoyed Shadow in the Ember. It held a lot of parallels to the FBAA story and started to kind of fill in some gaps but ultimately when paired with this sequel, I’m further convinced that both series are being stretched and milked for all they’re worth for the sole purpose of publishing as many books as possible instead of telling a good story.
By the end of this book we finally have a plot that moved forward. I hesitate to say plot twist because it’s not - it’s literally obvious from the beginning where this was leading, there is just a lot of fluff in between. It could have been 200 pages max. This prequel series probably could have been 2 books I’m guessing. Most of this one could have been scrapped in my opinion. It was just the same circular conversations and repetitive inner monologue the whole time. Situations that just felt unnecessary and pointless…by the end, I was bored and exhausted by the redundancies.
I get that Sera is working through some intense things, but she seemed to lose the confidence and spark she had in book one and it felt more like I was in Poppy’s head again rather than this new separate character. I understand there’s a reason they are similar in some ways but as the reader I really don’t need to be beat over the head with it. She felt smarter and more astute in book one and in this one it just didn’t make sense that it took her so long to gain clarity in certain situations. In addition to this, this book’s banter and comic relief also felt tired and recycled. And it’s an on going issue I have with the author in general, but the modern phrases (“I noped right out of there” for example) feel so out of place and just don’t make sense. It’s so frustrating, but honestly not unexpected this far into the series. The number of times I rolled my eyes listening to this book is unprecedented.
The god/primal hierarchy and power system of this world becomes even more convoluted and borderline nonsensical in this sequel. Again this is just an opinion, but I think it could benefit from being a bit more simple. The checks and balances of power feel forced and contradictory not clever nor are they clear. It’s like there’s a new reason why one thing can’t happen because of course, this other random thing we just discovered (!) suddenly cancels it out. If I need a flow chart of a power system to understand what means what, I’m just no longer interested. And again, that’s just my preference for a book like this.
The prophesy also reads like word soup. It feels like catchy book titles were chosen and then shoehorned into the overly wordy prophesy that really doesn’t make a whole lot of sense or serve any other purpose than to, again, prolong the story and sell more more books.
I think that’s where my overall issue is with this book and where the two series in this universe are headed - everything feels forced or like it’s trying too hard to be something profound. It left me exhausted and disappointed.
I can’t fault an author for wanting to write more whether it’s to make money or because you don’t want to say goodbye to a world you’ve built - nothing inherently wrong with any of that. but stretching a series out for the sole purpose of prolonging the experience, only highlights that there’s a lack of substance. And this, to me, is a disservice to the readers and honestly the characters as well.
Positives!!! Because yes I do have them!
I love the drakens. Mainly the younglings. They’re so precious and pure and I love how every character cares for and protects them. The fate of Jadis is really what’s keeping me reading both of these series. I have grown attached to her and Reaver.
Overall, all the spicy scenes were wonderful and the most well written parts of the book. We love Daddy Nyktos.
I really love the way landscapes are described. The use of color and shapes that are familiar yet different….I think it’s the most unique aspect of this world and kinda wish some more effort had been put into those descriptions to truly paint the picture.
Overall, I want to give this at best 2 stars. I’m settling on 3 because I will continue to be invested in it no matter how I feel and I don’t think it deserves a lower rating simply because I didn’t like it. There are so many people who love it and it hits differently for them and I think that is wonderful! The author spent time on this and deserves to be recognized for the effort despite my feelings.
To start, I have to admit really enjoyed Shadow in the Ember. It held a lot of parallels to the FBAA story and started to kind of fill in some gaps but ultimately when paired with this sequel, I’m further convinced that both series are being stretched and milked for all they’re worth for the sole purpose of publishing as many books as possible instead of telling a good story.
By the end of this book we finally have a plot that moved forward. I hesitate to say plot twist because it’s not - it’s literally obvious from the beginning where this was leading, there is just a lot of fluff in between. It could have been 200 pages max. This prequel series probably could have been 2 books I’m guessing. Most of this one could have been scrapped in my opinion. It was just the same circular conversations and repetitive inner monologue the whole time. Situations that just felt unnecessary and pointless…by the end, I was bored and exhausted by the redundancies.
I get that Sera is working through some intense things, but she seemed to lose the confidence and spark she had in book one and it felt more like I was in Poppy’s head again rather than this new separate character. I understand there’s a reason they are similar in some ways but as the reader I really don’t need to be beat over the head with it. She felt smarter and more astute in book one and in this one it just didn’t make sense that it took her so long to gain clarity in certain situations. In addition to this, this book’s banter and comic relief also felt tired and recycled. And it’s an on going issue I have with the author in general, but the modern phrases (“I noped right out of there” for example) feel so out of place and just don’t make sense. It’s so frustrating, but honestly not unexpected this far into the series. The number of times I rolled my eyes listening to this book is unprecedented.
The god/primal hierarchy and power system of this world becomes even more convoluted and borderline nonsensical in this sequel. Again this is just an opinion, but I think it could benefit from being a bit more simple. The checks and balances of power feel forced and contradictory not clever nor are they clear. It’s like there’s a new reason why one thing can’t happen because of course, this other random thing we just discovered (!) suddenly cancels it out. If I need a flow chart of a power system to understand what means what, I’m just no longer interested. And again, that’s just my preference for a book like this.
The prophesy also reads like word soup. It feels like catchy book titles were chosen and then shoehorned into the overly wordy prophesy that really doesn’t make a whole lot of sense or serve any other purpose than to, again, prolong the story and sell more more books.
I think that’s where my overall issue is with this book and where the two series in this universe are headed - everything feels forced or like it’s trying too hard to be something profound. It left me exhausted and disappointed.
I can’t fault an author for wanting to write more whether it’s to make money or because you don’t want to say goodbye to a world you’ve built - nothing inherently wrong with any of that. but stretching a series out for the sole purpose of prolonging the experience, only highlights that there’s a lack of substance. And this, to me, is a disservice to the readers and honestly the characters as well.
Positives!!! Because yes I do have them!
I love the drakens. Mainly the younglings. They’re so precious and pure and I love how every character cares for and protects them. The fate of Jadis is really what’s keeping me reading both of these series. I have grown attached to her and Reaver.
Overall, all the spicy scenes were wonderful and the most well written parts of the book. We love Daddy Nyktos.
I really love the way landscapes are described. The use of color and shapes that are familiar yet different….I think it’s the most unique aspect of this world and kinda wish some more effort had been put into those descriptions to truly paint the picture.
Overall, I want to give this at best 2 stars. I’m settling on 3 because I will continue to be invested in it no matter how I feel and I don’t think it deserves a lower rating simply because I didn’t like it. There are so many people who love it and it hits differently for them and I think that is wonderful! The author spent time on this and deserves to be recognized for the effort despite my feelings.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Blood and Violence
michaela_reads_books's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
I really like this series of JLAs. I do think it’s kind of repetitive of the FBAA storyline and characters, BUT I think that’s okay because I kind of like this story better. And I think it also helps show the parallel between Sera and Poppy’s stories since they’re ultimately connected and related.
This story started off slow and I felt like they were having a lot of sex (don’t get me wrong I love shut), but there wasn’t much plot development. It did pick up in the last half and once that happened I had a hard time putting the book down. The ending kind of snuck up on me and I felt left a lot of plot lines and points open that I thought would be resolved but I guess that’s because there’s going to be another book lol so I’ll just wait to find out! Overall it was a good story and plot with a twist at the end I wasn’t expecting, and I can’t wait to see what happens in the next book!
This story started off slow and I felt like they were having a lot of sex (don’t get me wrong I love shut), but there wasn’t much plot development. It did pick up in the last half and once that happened I had a hard time putting the book down. The ending kind of snuck up on me and I felt left a lot of plot lines and points open that I thought would be resolved but I guess that’s because there’s going to be another book lol so I’ll just wait to find out! Overall it was a good story and plot with a twist at the end I wasn’t expecting, and I can’t wait to see what happens in the next book!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, Death of parent, Infidelity, Death, Animal death, Grief, War, Sexual content, and Violence
Minor: Slavery, Suicide attempt, Fatphobia, Murder, Body shaming, Confinement, and Cursing
balancethebooks's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Torture, Emotional abuse, Murder, and Suicidal thoughts
hapalyn's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
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? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Mental illness, Sexual content, Violence, Cursing, Gore, Murder, Death, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Suicidal thoughts, War, Alcohol, Fatphobia, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Sexual assault, Body shaming, Child death, Death of parent, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Torture
hq_reads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
This was brilliant - I loved the slow burn and angst between Sera and Nyktos.
The ending was very unexpected! I cannot wait for the next book!!! I have theories though….
I think that because Sera has Sotoria’s soul she will ascend when Nyktos removes the embers (because we know from the blood and ash series that he was successful). I think Sotoria will sacrifice her soul and die to save Sera… and I think Nyktos and Sera are heartmates and I think this will restore/has already restored his kardia
The ending was very unexpected! I cannot wait for the next book!!! I have theories though….
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Mental illness
Moderate: Confinement, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, and Violence
Minor: Alcohol and Fatphobia
kaelielily's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
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
4.5
Would have been a 5 star read, if not for the overly complicated worldbuilding. At this point, I have no idea who is a god, godling, primal or what the difference between them is.
I had to google so much throughout the book and often didn’t even get answers there.
I did love the story though, the characters are great, I love the draken especially!
Sera is a very relatable main character and her mental health problems are well written. It was amazing to see the others support her and build her up.
The chemistry between Nyktos and her is off the charts, and not just in their spicy scenes. My favorite scene wasSera trying to runaway to kill Kolis. The hurt, worry and love for each other was so real in that moment.
I had to google so much throughout the book and often didn’t even get answers there.
I did love the story though, the characters are great, I love the draken especially!
Sera is a very relatable main character and her mental health problems are well written. It was amazing to see the others support her and build her up.
The chemistry between Nyktos and her is off the charts, and not just in their spicy scenes. My favorite scene was
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Violence, and Sexual content
Moderate: Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, and Sexual harassment
wackly93's review against another edition
medium-paced
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood and Sexual content
Moderate: Child death, War, Sexual harassment, Death, Violence, and Sexual assault
Minor: Confinement and Kidnapping
ka_ke's review against another edition
dark
emotional
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? No
5.0
Can we get the next books now? Please? Cause I am NOT OKAY. Is this the part where she goes into stasis? Or does that happen in the next book? Now I want to reread FBAA damn it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Murder, Religious bigotry, Blood, Body horror, Cursing, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Death, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Gore, Toxic relationship, Child abuse, Classism, and Colonisation