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librarianlizreads's review against another edition
5.0
I decided to give this book a try because I love fantasy and phoenixes, without having heard anything about it. I was blown away by what I got in return.
I have always been drawn to books based on world building, history within a fictional society, and characters that you can love and root for. I appreciate a story the most when the characters can make me laugh, growl, and cry.
This book...literally has it all. The world building is great and the history of this society is phenomenal. It feels so real and believable. I find myself believing that this world was shaped by war and the goddesses of their history. I also found myself hating, loving, and putting my whole heart into the success of these characters.
If you enjoy fantasy, the struggle of discovering who you are, and overcoming all obstacles, including your family, this might be a good read for you. I for one am so glad that I decided to read this book. It is now on my list of favorites. Love it!
I have always been drawn to books based on world building, history within a fictional society, and characters that you can love and root for. I appreciate a story the most when the characters can make me laugh, growl, and cry.
This book...literally has it all. The world building is great and the history of this society is phenomenal. It feels so real and believable. I find myself believing that this world was shaped by war and the goddesses of their history. I also found myself hating, loving, and putting my whole heart into the success of these characters.
If you enjoy fantasy, the struggle of discovering who you are, and overcoming all obstacles, including your family, this might be a good read for you. I for one am so glad that I decided to read this book. It is now on my list of favorites. Love it!
kdchip's review against another edition
5.0
I really loved this book, The phoenix riders, soldiers and the spying everything pulls you into this great book. I couldn't put the book down once i got pulled into this fantasy of the phoenix riders.
airyashi's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-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
neelamreadsalot's review against another edition
1.0
DNF.
I got to Chapter 10, and then I was just done with it.
This book seems like it has everything it needs to be a great story: betrayal, phoenixes, magic, soldiers. But the author info dumps soooooo hard and soo frequently. Info dumping is where you stop the storyline to provide information/explanation about the history of the place, people, object etc. I got so annoyed, I put the book down several times. Sometimes she would info dump right in the middle of an action scene! I get that these things might be important but there are better ways to execute than a million em dashes, and pages worth of history that I won’t care about it.
If you like that sort of thing, then this is the book for you. I didn’t like that every time she info dumped, I got pulled out of the story.
I personally like it better when authors slip their information in subtly or through dialog or just simply say “hey, tell me what happened to all the Phoenix riders” and then proceed with a long explanation.
The author also does this thing where she shows how a character is feeling, then tells you how she’s feeling, then gives you a history lesson. Like in Tristan’s intro, she spends all this time explaining why he’s afraid of fire and shows that he’s looking for support from his father after disappointing him several times, and then ruins it by summarizing that he’s not actually afraid of fire, he’s afraid of his father. As if I was too stupid to grasp that myself in her long explanation, she had to spell it out for me at the end of the chapter.
I’m sorry for the rant. I just really wanted to like this book and I tried so hard to read it. But I just can’t get past the writing style.
Pro: the cover is absolutely gorgeous
I got to Chapter 10, and then I was just done with it.
This book seems like it has everything it needs to be a great story: betrayal, phoenixes, magic, soldiers. But the author info dumps soooooo hard and soo frequently. Info dumping is where you stop the storyline to provide information/explanation about the history of the place, people, object etc. I got so annoyed, I put the book down several times. Sometimes she would info dump right in the middle of an action scene! I get that these things might be important but there are better ways to execute than a million em dashes, and pages worth of history that I won’t care about it.
If you like that sort of thing, then this is the book for you. I didn’t like that every time she info dumped, I got pulled out of the story.
I personally like it better when authors slip their information in subtly or through dialog or just simply say “hey, tell me what happened to all the Phoenix riders” and then proceed with a long explanation.
The author also does this thing where she shows how a character is feeling, then tells you how she’s feeling, then gives you a history lesson. Like in Tristan’s intro, she spends all this time explaining why he’s afraid of fire and shows that he’s looking for support from his father after disappointing him several times, and then ruins it by summarizing that he’s not actually afraid of fire, he’s afraid of his father. As if I was too stupid to grasp that myself in her long explanation, she had to spell it out for me at the end of the chapter.
I’m sorry for the rant. I just really wanted to like this book and I tried so hard to read it. But I just can’t get past the writing style.
Pro: the cover is absolutely gorgeous
mels_reading_rook's review against another edition
5.0
4.5 stars
After being betrayed by her sister, Veronyka strikes out on her own to find the Phoenix Riders, who have been biding their time and regaining strength after the last war. Unfortunately, they are not recruiting right now, and they're especially not recruiting girls. So Veronyka takes on the guise of Nyk and begins working for them as a stableboy in hopes to earn an apprenticeship and one day be part of their ranks. Meanwhile, there are forces moving to make sure the Riders disappear once and for all as the reappearance of her sister threatens to shatter the life Veronyka has worked so hard to create for herself...
There are a lot of things to like about this book. The world is rich with an incredibly interesting history, and snippets of it can be seen between chapters as it slowly reveals the parallels beginning to occur in past and present. Because of the author's attention to the worldbuilding, it has led the story to take place in a setting that feels almost alive, especially at the end of the book as hints to bigger machinations led by people with their own goals and desires.
The writing is also great to read. It flows really well, is easy and fast to read, yet flowery without dragging down the pace. I honestly started to switch often between the audiobook and the physical just so I could consume the story even faster. I think that really shows how engaging the writing and the story is, as it left me wanting more in a good way.
One thing to mention, though I said the writing didn't bog down the pacing, unfortunately, I found the beginning of the book slow to read for an entirely different reason. As the setting and history was being established, there would be sections of exposition explaining pieces of the setting's history that interrupted the flow of the story. I actually thought about DNFing the book because of it, but I'm so glad I didn't!
Another thing I really liked was the characters. They became so dynamic, influenced by their experiences and each other! They were so much fun to watch and follow along on their adventures. For example, how Tristan acted in the beginning of the story was so much different from the end, and he would have reacted to certain reveals from the end of the story so much differently if it happened in other places of the book. So good!
Overall, I recommend this story who wants a fun fantasy adventure with awesome phoenix action!
After being betrayed by her sister, Veronyka strikes out on her own to find the Phoenix Riders, who have been biding their time and regaining strength after the last war. Unfortunately, they are not recruiting right now, and they're especially not recruiting girls. So Veronyka takes on the guise of Nyk and begins working for them as a stableboy in hopes to earn an apprenticeship and one day be part of their ranks. Meanwhile, there are forces moving to make sure the Riders disappear once and for all as the reappearance of her sister threatens to shatter the life Veronyka has worked so hard to create for herself...
There are a lot of things to like about this book. The world is rich with an incredibly interesting history, and snippets of it can be seen between chapters as it slowly reveals the parallels beginning to occur in past and present. Because of the author's attention to the worldbuilding, it has led the story to take place in a setting that feels almost alive, especially at the end of the book as hints to bigger machinations led by people with their own goals and desires.
The writing is also great to read. It flows really well, is easy and fast to read, yet flowery without dragging down the pace. I honestly started to switch often between the audiobook and the physical just so I could consume the story even faster. I think that really shows how engaging the writing and the story is, as it left me wanting more in a good way.
One thing to mention, though I said the writing didn't bog down the pacing, unfortunately, I found the beginning of the book slow to read for an entirely different reason. As the setting and history was being established, there would be sections of exposition explaining pieces of the setting's history that interrupted the flow of the story. I actually thought about DNFing the book because of it, but I'm so glad I didn't!
Another thing I really liked was the characters. They became so dynamic, influenced by their experiences and each other! They were so much fun to watch and follow along on their adventures. For example, how Tristan acted in the beginning of the story was so much different from the end, and he would have reacted to certain reveals from the end of the story so much differently if it happened in other places of the book. So good!
Overall, I recommend this story who wants a fun fantasy adventure with awesome phoenix action!
stephtherose_'s review against another edition
4.0
This was an excellent YA fantasy. My only issues with it was the info dumping at times.
oakamoore's review against another edition
3.0
While its exposition is a bit heavy-handed, and the world and its inhabitants are slightly one dimensional, this novel's execution is solid.
The prose is easy to read, and descriptive, though Preto will oftentimes delve into flashbacks and side details/tangents in the midst of conversations, or what should be fast-paced action scenes; while enlightening, this does slightly disrupt the pace of said sequences.
The prose is easy to read, and descriptive, though Preto will oftentimes delve into flashbacks and side details/tangents in the midst of conversations, or what should be fast-paced action scenes; while enlightening, this does slightly disrupt the pace of said sequences.
harleyrae's review against another edition
4.0
Outside of the fact that it took me 2 months to get through this book(was not in an audiobook mood), I really enjoyed this!!!! I can’t wait to read the next books, hopefully at a slight faster pace though!