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they_planet's review
4.0
This book will always have such a special place in my heart, I read this when I was an absolute wee one and it will forever be the series I reach for the second things start going wrong in my life.
While yes, this book has a lot of flaws, theres grammar errors and formatting differences, and it is so rushed that sometimes a whole week will pass in the span of two pages, I believe it was self-published. It's a shame, as if this was spread into five books instead of three, and had a proper editor, I could easily see this being one of the most popular books in YA fantasy.
If you don't mind a few minor errors and a fast pace, *please* give this series a shot.
While yes, this book has a lot of flaws, theres grammar errors and formatting differences, and it is so rushed that sometimes a whole week will pass in the span of two pages, I believe it was self-published. It's a shame, as if this was spread into five books instead of three, and had a proper editor, I could easily see this being one of the most popular books in YA fantasy.
If you don't mind a few minor errors and a fast pace, *please* give this series a shot.
b4d3m's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
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
5.0
brn's review
A delightful surprise. I downloaded it at the airport because it was cheap! But I enjoyed.
hnbb's review
4.0
At first I thought i had jumped into a series and was reading the second or even third book. It was hard to figure out what was going on and I kept feeling sure I had missed something along the way. I really enjoy the author, so I kept reading and really enjoyed it. The end didn't feel resolved, though. I like books that wrap up well, even if they are in a series.
silver_and_vengeance's review
4.0
3.5 - 4 stars
I'll say that by the end of the story I didn't notice all of the typos and missing words as much because I was sucked a little deeper into the story. It definitely didn't end the way I thought it would.
On to book 2.
I'll say that by the end of the story I didn't notice all of the typos and missing words as much because I was sucked a little deeper into the story. It definitely didn't end the way I thought it would.
On to book 2.
vale15's review
2.0
Oh man I’m not ready to write a review for this book. I love to hate it. The core storyline has just so much potential. Like I literally would love to rewrite this. There are elements to this concept that are my bread and butter for fantasy. But the whole thing is pretty much ruined by the main characters. So let me break it down for you.
First let me talk about what I did like because I really don't want to start on the negatives although I usually do.
Like I said, I do like the core story line. Our "heroine" having no memories beyond being held captive and tortured by an underground cult that is trying to give regular humans magic by performing experiments on them. Hell yes sign me up. Adding Kael, a badass warrior, trained to fight since birth is definitely heading in the right direction. I loved the history of the Denai, some sort of fallen angel people who choose to forsake their homeland for the humans they have come to love and paying the price as their bloodlines slowly loose their magic. The Citadel with its magic doors, training arenas where you can't die, and quirky professors, ugh keep it coming baby! Our heroine slowly learning more about herself and growing in her powers another yes. Andddd thats about where it starts to go down hill.
Thalia has experienced brutality that makes my skin crawl. As one of the Septoris test subjects, she lasted longer than anyone. But the book doesn't really do anything to make you believe that. Once she is free and brought to the Citadel, she looses everything that could have made her interesting. Instead of being a badass chick who is incredibly strong, self-reliant and inspiring, she basically a cowering wimp who becomes a victim whenever possible. She spends so much time doubting herself, obsessing about what the people around her think about her, and showing a complete lack of confidence. There are so many moments I just cringed hard. She is just boring and I have no idea why anyone really wanted to spend time with her. She did have a few instances like when she was closer to a character I could actually like-when she stood up for the head seamstress, when she got into the training game or the few times she held her own arguing with Kael. Unfortunately those are not common. The most frustrating part is when she tries to be wise and ends up sounds condescending and immature. Specifically I noted this in her first interaction with Ruzaa. I have a super long note for that but to make is concise. When Ruzaa shows Thalia her scars and Thalia says "stay strong, never change for anyone" I literally wanted to vomit. I'm pretty sure someone wrote the same thing in my high school yearbook. That's the best Thalia, who experienced worse torture, can come up with? The same Thalia who broke under that horrific torture? Did "staying strong" help you survive that? No not really. Didn't that experience changer her and, in some cases, not for the better?
The second major offense is actually Joss, the pig disguised as a nice guy. I kinda found him off putting from the beginning but really couldn't put my finger on why. And it took me about 60% of the story to finally understand. This guy the "hella toxic nice guy" which is more dangerous in my opinion than straight up toxic guys. They are just hard to spot sometimes. I realized that while it seemed like he was supporting her and trying to keep her safe, it was never because he was a nice person. He did all of these "nice things" and then when she didn't respond the way he expected her to, he literally would back her into a corner and guilt trip her to hell and back. The shining moment of his subtle grossness was here....
Thalia- "I'm sorry Joss. But you must understand I'm still missing a lot of my memories. I don't know who I am. How can I let someone else get to know me, if I don't even know myself?"
Joss- "I can't imagine how hard that must be. I understand that you need time and space to figure out who you are. If you want help then I'll be here, whenever you need me. I know you are strong enough to get through this."
JUST KIDDING!!!!!
No our resident dirtbag said this...
His voice rising in frustration "... I don't even think you're giving our friendship a chance. And that's all I'm asking for is friendship..... But you have to admit, it's a fair request, and I HAVE BEEN REALLY PATIENT."
Dude F you.
Thalia has ZERO obligation to be friends with you regardless of how you have "helped" her. Ladies you do not owe a guy anything and if he is mad because you won't do what he wants then drop him like a hot potato. That is not how friendship works. It isn't a trade where I do something for you and then you have to do something for me. If my friend had been through this kind of trauma and I was trying to be supportive and they were acting like they needed space or wanted me to back off, the last thing I would do it tell them how patient I'm being. Like Thalia is some child who is misbehaving.
I don't hate this book but there are some serious issues. I can't necessarily recommend this book unless you like pretending the main characters don't suck so you can enjoy the story.
First let me talk about what I did like because I really don't want to start on the negatives although I usually do.
Like I said, I do like the core story line. Our "heroine" having no memories beyond being held captive and tortured by an underground cult that is trying to give regular humans magic by performing experiments on them. Hell yes sign me up. Adding Kael, a badass warrior, trained to fight since birth is definitely heading in the right direction. I loved the history of the Denai, some sort of fallen angel people who choose to forsake their homeland for the humans they have come to love and paying the price as their bloodlines slowly loose their magic. The Citadel with its magic doors, training arenas where you can't die, and quirky professors, ugh keep it coming baby! Our heroine slowly learning more about herself and growing in her powers another yes. Andddd thats about where it starts to go down hill.
Thalia has experienced brutality that makes my skin crawl. As one of the Septoris test subjects, she lasted longer than anyone. But the book doesn't really do anything to make you believe that. Once she is free and brought to the Citadel, she looses everything that could have made her interesting. Instead of being a badass chick who is incredibly strong, self-reliant and inspiring, she basically a cowering wimp who becomes a victim whenever possible. She spends so much time doubting herself, obsessing about what the people around her think about her, and showing a complete lack of confidence. There are so many moments I just cringed hard. She is just boring and I have no idea why anyone really wanted to spend time with her. She did have a few instances like when she was closer to a character I could actually like-when she stood up for the head seamstress, when she got into the training game or the few times she held her own arguing with Kael. Unfortunately those are not common. The most frustrating part is when she tries to be wise and ends up sounds condescending and immature. Specifically I noted this in her first interaction with Ruzaa. I have a super long note for that but to make is concise. When Ruzaa shows Thalia her scars and Thalia says "stay strong, never change for anyone" I literally wanted to vomit. I'm pretty sure someone wrote the same thing in my high school yearbook. That's the best Thalia, who experienced worse torture, can come up with? The same Thalia who broke under that horrific torture? Did "staying strong" help you survive that? No not really. Didn't that experience changer her and, in some cases, not for the better?
The second major offense is actually Joss, the pig disguised as a nice guy. I kinda found him off putting from the beginning but really couldn't put my finger on why. And it took me about 60% of the story to finally understand. This guy the "hella toxic nice guy" which is more dangerous in my opinion than straight up toxic guys. They are just hard to spot sometimes. I realized that while it seemed like he was supporting her and trying to keep her safe, it was never because he was a nice person. He did all of these "nice things" and then when she didn't respond the way he expected her to, he literally would back her into a corner and guilt trip her to hell and back. The shining moment of his subtle grossness was here....
Thalia- "I'm sorry Joss. But you must understand I'm still missing a lot of my memories. I don't know who I am. How can I let someone else get to know me, if I don't even know myself?"
Joss- "I can't imagine how hard that must be. I understand that you need time and space to figure out who you are. If you want help then I'll be here, whenever you need me. I know you are strong enough to get through this."
JUST KIDDING!!!!!
No our resident dirtbag said this...
His voice rising in frustration "... I don't even think you're giving our friendship a chance. And that's all I'm asking for is friendship..... But you have to admit, it's a fair request, and I HAVE BEEN REALLY PATIENT."
Dude F you.
Thalia has ZERO obligation to be friends with you regardless of how you have "helped" her. Ladies you do not owe a guy anything and if he is mad because you won't do what he wants then drop him like a hot potato. That is not how friendship works. It isn't a trade where I do something for you and then you have to do something for me. If my friend had been through this kind of trauma and I was trying to be supportive and they were acting like they needed space or wanted me to back off, the last thing I would do it tell them how patient I'm being. Like Thalia is some child who is misbehaving.
I don't hate this book but there are some serious issues. I can't necessarily recommend this book unless you like pretending the main characters don't suck so you can enjoy the story.
picklepantry's review
4.0
An easy read that takes you to another world. Although it sometimes moves too fast or too slow, you have to admire the strong female main character.
curls's review
4.0
Do you like your damsels distressed? Swooning? Fainting? Love triangles?
Thalia is a prisoner, undergoing torture treatments in a machine she thinks of as the Iron Butterfly. She has no memories of her life before prison.
A prison break is made by fellow prisoner Kael, and Thalia is found adrift in the river by Joss and his friend. She has no where to go, so she tags along with Joss to the capital city.
There are humans, and then there are the Denai, who are beings who resemble humans but have gifts. They are dying out, and they take safe haven in the Citadel. Joss is a Denai, and he is on his way to the school there.
The school meets with Thalia, and agree to take her in. She is given a position as a servant while the Adepts investigate who kidnapped her. Humans don’t have Denai powers, but Thalia finds herself having bizarre nightmares and strange abilities from her time in the Iron Butterfly.
So besides the fact that there are a ton of ya tropes here, I did enjoy the story. There is a love triangle (I’m rooting for you Kael), a heroine who makes some really bad decisions, and there’s a lot of blacking out. Girl should probably see a doctor, it’s not ok to faint that much. But the memory loss was well done, and so was the angst over the fact that the book start with the main character being straight up tortured. I hate it when you have a character who has been through a lot, and it’s all, well the past is the past, moving on, let’s never mention this again.
All in all, a YA fantasy that has room to grow.
3.5 Stars
Thalia is a prisoner, undergoing torture treatments in a machine she thinks of as the Iron Butterfly. She has no memories of her life before prison.
A prison break is made by fellow prisoner Kael, and Thalia is found adrift in the river by Joss and his friend. She has no where to go, so she tags along with Joss to the capital city.
There are humans, and then there are the Denai, who are beings who resemble humans but have gifts. They are dying out, and they take safe haven in the Citadel. Joss is a Denai, and he is on his way to the school there.
The school meets with Thalia, and agree to take her in. She is given a position as a servant while the Adepts investigate who kidnapped her. Humans don’t have Denai powers, but Thalia finds herself having bizarre nightmares and strange abilities from her time in the Iron Butterfly.
So besides the fact that there are a ton of ya tropes here, I did enjoy the story. There is a love triangle (I’m rooting for you Kael), a heroine who makes some really bad decisions, and there’s a lot of blacking out. Girl should probably see a doctor, it’s not ok to faint that much. But the memory loss was well done, and so was the angst over the fact that the book start with the main character being straight up tortured. I hate it when you have a character who has been through a lot, and it’s all, well the past is the past, moving on, let’s never mention this again.
All in all, a YA fantasy that has room to grow.
3.5 Stars
hmbb99's review
3.0
A good book that captured my interest. The ending left me unsatisfied though as it left the story only half told. I wish authors would finish the stories instead of cutting them off midway to encourage readers to purchase a second book.