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maple_dove's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
relaxing
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
I loved Elsabet and Jonathan together, platonically and romantically! Their relationship was just so relaxing to read!
While the deaths and the demise of Elsabet were obviously extremely sad, it was nice to read the hopeful endings to them too.
Oh and, fuck the Arrons. That's it.
Oh and, fuck the Arrons. That's it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Alcohol, Infidelity, and Blood
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Sexual content, Child death, Death of parent, and Misogyny
emtees's review against another edition
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
This is a short novella set in the world of Three Dark Crows, 500 years before the plot of the main series. It is the story of Elsabet, the last queen of Fennbirn to possess the sight gift. The novella starts out with Mirabella, Arsinoe and Katharine hearing the story of Elsabet as Fennbirn remembers it: that she went mad because of her gift, had three houses executed, and had to be locked away in a tower for twenty years, and that because of her, all potential queens born with the sight are killed before they can take the throne. From there, the story then flashes back to tell the story of what really happened.
It was pretty easy to tell going in that the story the girls heard in the “present” wasn’t going to be accurate, but I still expected some twists and turns on the way to the truth. Unfortunately, this is a very slight story without many surprises. It feels like the author wanted to write a tragic story about court intrigue, romantic jealousy and betrayal, but she also wanted to make this story go by as quickly as possible. So what could have been a twisty political tale instead is told in the most straightforward manner possible. The bad guys have no redeeming qualities, are identifiable as soon as they turn up on page and never make any mistakes; the good guys may have flaws, but those flaws having nothing to do with the things that happen to them, so there’s no tragic irony at all. You can see the plot unfolding, but because there never seems like a point when Elsabet could have avoided her fate, it’s more frustrating than sad to read. And it wraps up incredibly quickly.
Spoilers for the ending: The worst part is that Elsabet’s gift ends up having nothing to do with why she is betrayed and locked up. The whole basis for why this story even matters within the world of the main series is that this is why there are no more queens with the oracle gift, but it turns out that’s just a coincidence. Elsabet could have had any gift. So what’s even the point?
It was pretty easy to tell going in that the story the girls heard in the “present” wasn’t going to be accurate, but I still expected some twists and turns on the way to the truth. Unfortunately, this is a very slight story without many surprises. It feels like the author wanted to write a tragic story about court intrigue, romantic jealousy and betrayal, but she also wanted to make this story go by as quickly as possible. So what could have been a twisty political tale instead is told in the most straightforward manner possible. The bad guys have no redeeming qualities, are identifiable as soon as they turn up on page and never make any mistakes; the good guys may have flaws, but those flaws having nothing to do with the things that happen to them, so there’s no tragic irony at all. You can see the plot unfolding, but because there never seems like a point when Elsabet could have avoided her fate, it’s more frustrating than sad to read. And it wraps up incredibly quickly.
Spoilers for the ending:
Content Warnings
Moderate: Infidelity
bookishgoob's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
i hate the arron’s. i hate the fact that innocent people were murdered. i hate a coup. </it’s so hard to just sit and read about a coup happening to a good person. a coup that changed the course of history for this series.>
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Blood, Child death, Classism, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Gore, Grief, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Violence
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