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3.78 AVERAGE
3.78 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-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:
Complicated
-misogynistic
-opens to long battle (over two hours), the world hasn't even been established we are thrown right into the action and it lasted so damn long
-women are only described in reference to sex; how much someone could have with them, how pretty they are, nun
-hate the MC
-opens to long battle (over two hours), the world hasn't even been established we are thrown right into the action and it lasted so damn long
-women are only described in reference to sex; how much someone could have with them, how pretty they are, nun
-hate the MC
So graphic and violent not for me
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Rape, Sexual violence, Violence
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Genocide, Gore, Sexual violence, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Vomit, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, War, Injury/Injury detail
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:
No
I've seen the reviews for this book and I can understand this is definitely not for everyone! Luckily..I'm not everyone!! Lol, I absolutely devoured this!! It took me 2 weeks to read but I was so excited to continue kagen's journey every time I picked it back up!! Is it dark? Well..YES, of course!! It's "Grimm Dark Fantasy"... what do you expect, lol!?! I loved every second of this and can't wait to read the next book? My only complaint is that I guessed a few big reveals early on, but it never took away from me wanting to keep reading and discovering that I was correct! Highly recommend if you love you some dark fantasy! Bravo!!
My thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and the author for the chance to read this book as an advanced digital reading copy!
This is my first book by Jonathan Maberry, and I suspect it will not be my last. This was a very easy read, with short chapters and the book itself divided into 4 quarters. Despite my expectations that this would be a intricately detailed high fantasy world, what I found was this world is not as complex as I imagined. There are certainly magic systems, political intrigue, mythology, and religion at play within these pages, however the reader doesn’t need to understand much to be able to follow the story. This book would be a great bridge book between the darker YA fantasy books and adult fantasy, as it reads like a YA fantasy world with many of the tropes of an adult fantasy novel.
I am not sure if I will continue on with this series or not, but this is more because I feel I’ve seen this story played out before than anything. It wasn’t poorly written or poorly plotted, I just felt like I had seen these characters in these tropes before. While I enjoyed the story, I did not find I deeply connected with any of the characters which is something that is important to me personally in my reading.
This is a perfectly good fantasy book, especially for someone who may be looking to get into fantasy or for someone moving from the YA genre into the adult genre.
This is my first book by Jonathan Maberry, and I suspect it will not be my last. This was a very easy read, with short chapters and the book itself divided into 4 quarters. Despite my expectations that this would be a intricately detailed high fantasy world, what I found was this world is not as complex as I imagined. There are certainly magic systems, political intrigue, mythology, and religion at play within these pages, however the reader doesn’t need to understand much to be able to follow the story. This book would be a great bridge book between the darker YA fantasy books and adult fantasy, as it reads like a YA fantasy world with many of the tropes of an adult fantasy novel.
I am not sure if I will continue on with this series or not, but this is more because I feel I’ve seen this story played out before than anything. It wasn’t poorly written or poorly plotted, I just felt like I had seen these characters in these tropes before. While I enjoyed the story, I did not find I deeply connected with any of the characters which is something that is important to me personally in my reading.
This is a perfectly good fantasy book, especially for someone who may be looking to get into fantasy or for someone moving from the YA genre into the adult genre.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
What an ending, I was not expecting that at all! I cannot wait for Son of the Poison Rose, book #2 in the Kagen the Damned series. The good news is I don't have to wait long because it is set to release in January.
I love that Jonathan jumps right into the story and builds the world throughout the book. Kagen is an interesting character; you start off disliking him because he is full of self-loathing, he is always drunk, and he is kind of a jerk. Then his character is pulled out of his drunken stupor and he starts becoming the hero you want him to be. I love the supporting cast of characters and the kick in the butt they provided Kagen so that he could do what was needed.
I love that Jonathan jumps right into the story and builds the world throughout the book. Kagen is an interesting character; you start off disliking him because he is full of self-loathing, he is always drunk, and he is kind of a jerk. Then his character is pulled out of his drunken stupor and he starts becoming the hero you want him to be. I love the supporting cast of characters and the kick in the butt they provided Kagen so that he could do what was needed.