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greenxora's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death
Moderate: Death, Physical abuse, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Torture, Suicide attempt, and War
bevlovesbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
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
5.0
shanisshelves's review against another edition
4.0
This is a compelling dark YA romantasy about Mancella, who is heir to the throne, and whose magic allows her to summon animals, but only after she’s killed them with her bare hands. Her father is a monster and a tyrant, and in her bid to escape his control, she meets Silver, a charming, sarcastic, thief and liar. He’s grown up on the streets and will do whatever it takes to survive. They become unlikely allies as Mancella fights to save her kingdom, but all the while, Silver is manipulating her to get what he wants. However, they both end up falling for each other and have to face what that means for themselves and their ambitions. This book is filled with deception, betrayal, trauma, friendship, magic, banter, and just a hint of angsty romance. I had a great time with it, and I can’t wait for the next book! I was lucky enough to receive an ALC, and the audio is fantastic. It’s dual narration with Brenda Scott Wlazlo and Jake Chronister and they did such an amazing job with it. I highly recommend listening!
🐆
My rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice level: 🌶️
🐆
Read if you like:
▫️a princess and a thief
▫️magic gifted by the Broken Citadel
▫️rebellion against a tyrant king
▫️reluctant allies
▫️dual POV
🐆
Thank you to Fierce Reads, Macmillan Children’s, Macmillan Audio, D. L. Taylor, and NetGalley for the ARC and ALC. I received advanced copies for free, and am leaving this review voluntarily.
🐆
Connect With Me
https://instagram.com/shanisshelves?igshid=OGQ5ZDc2ODk2ZA==
https://www.tiktok.com/@shanisshelves
tc_booksandmore's review against another edition
38% and I am not engaged, I don’t understand what the hell is going on, the whole discussion about killing a human was disgusting, even proposing a fake fight is shudder inducing.
No thank you, this one is NOT for me.
No thank you, this one is NOT for me.
readingwithmrleo's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
3.5
To be honest, I was quite craving a fantasy read so to jump into this one really hold my interest. While the world-building wasn't that present from the start, I still went with it and figured it would come later on. Sadly, after a while, I still felt like it was lacking. The story was fascinating, but I always had so many unanswered questions and I couldn't really quite figure out the overall situation. That being said, I was still interested enough in the story to enjoy it.
Tropes:
YA Romantasy
Secrets / betrayals
Trauma
High stakes
Special powers
Different class
Enemies to lovers
While this one is YA fantasy, it was a bit on the darker side for sure. The animal parts were hard on me, but the fact that they still were part of our main character definitely made it better. I did love our main characters as soon as they appeared on the page. Both had quite a backstory, and they were easy to understand for me. I could see their relationship evolve quite nicely as they started to open up, and the dynamic between them was interesting with the secrets and all.
One thing that was missing for me though was some kind of attachment to the side characters. I might be more picky with fantasy, but I enjoy the whole found family trope only if I truly feel it. I cannot say the side characters held my interest enough for me to be stressed about what would happen to them and all. So that was a bit of a bummer.
I did see the plot twists coming, but that is not something I find negative, it was well plotted, all happened in its own time, and I was always looking forward to continuing this read. The ending was too much of a happy ending for me to feel a need to continue the series. That final plot twist honestly just annoyed me and I can easily forget about it, and they lived happily ever after in my head.
Overall, this one had a super interesting plot and it's a very nice debut, I'm glad I read it!
Thanks to ColoredPagesBookTour, Fierce Reads and the author for my copy of the book. All opinions are my own.
Tropes:
YA Romantasy
Secrets / betrayals
Trauma
High stakes
Special powers
Different class
Enemies to lovers
While this one is YA fantasy, it was a bit on the darker side for sure. The animal parts were hard on me, but the fact that they still were part of our main character definitely made it better. I did love our main characters as soon as they appeared on the page. Both had quite a backstory, and they were easy to understand for me. I could see their relationship evolve quite nicely as they started to open up, and the dynamic between them was interesting with the secrets and all.
One thing that was missing for me though was some kind of attachment to the side characters. I might be more picky with fantasy, but I enjoy the whole found family trope only if I truly feel it. I cannot say the side characters held my interest enough for me to be stressed about what would happen to them and all. So that was a bit of a bummer.
I did see the plot twists coming, but that is not something I find negative, it was well plotted, all happened in its own time, and I was always looking forward to continuing this read. The ending was too much of a happy ending for me to feel a need to continue the series. That final plot twist honestly just annoyed me and I can easily forget about it, and they lived happily ever after in my head.
Overall, this one had a super interesting plot and it's a very nice debut, I'm glad I read it!
Thanks to ColoredPagesBookTour, Fierce Reads and the author for my copy of the book. All opinions are my own.
secty's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
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
3.5
Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. Elements I enjoyed, and elements I didn’t. Love a good royal political intrigue. Love family dynamics. Didn’t really enjoy the magical elements. Now that may have me shot down by all fantasy fans.. because how can you live fantasy but hate magic. I just find it hard to understand to be honest, and this was no exception. I found myself rereading trying to grasp what was going on. Then I found myself skimming. Not a good sign.
The characters were interesting though. Mancella is everything I want in my FMC. She’s feisty and opinionated and not going down without a fight. Silver… slightly less interested in him, and I struggled with him when first introduced, but I warmed up!
Overall, it was a fun and exciting read, but not one I was picking up during every free moment to continue reading.
The characters were interesting though. Mancella is everything I want in my FMC. She’s feisty and opinionated and not going down without a fight. Silver… slightly less interested in him, and I struggled with him when first introduced, but I warmed up!
Overall, it was a fun and exciting read, but not one I was picking up during every free moment to continue reading.
ashlynsalwaysreading's review against another edition
3.0
I’m not really sure how to feel about this. It was definitely more of a young adult fantasy read than anything else. The plot was good. I’m not completely sure if I loved the characters or not. However, I think my biggest issues was the lack of world building. I felt like I was just thrown into the world and it really took about halfway through the book to really grasp how it worked and about the magic. I did listen to the audiobook and while I liked the narrators voices for the most part, I’m not sure if I really loved some of their inflections and tones. At times they would speak so softly that I would have to turn the volume up super loud and then a second later turn it way down since it would be blasting in my ear when they talked normal. But either way, this book had potential and I can see how people would love it. But for me, I liked it, but it was disappointing at the same time.