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pceldridge's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
I was sucked in by TikTok reviews and a beautiful cover. The story was almost good, but overall, this book just didn’t succeed. I found the writing to be clunky, and it lacked effective world building. I wish the author had utilised the strategy of building the world through story telling or education. I was also very uncomfortable with the frequent descriptions of animal cruelty and abuse for the elves benefit, including graphic descriptions of organs and literal skinning of animals.
The “romance” aspect of this book also fell flat, with big emotional jumps and a lack of development between the characters. This is absolutely not a groundbreaking adult fantasy book, the love scenes were cringey and forced, and the relationships did not develop naturally in any way. They felt very forced and expected, with no chemistry or magic to be found. Every character was one-dimensional, reactive, and without any good common sense and communication to be found.
I listened to this on audio, which also detracted from the book. Bahni Turpin is a great narrator, but her style did not fit this book at all, and made the main characters seem immature and whiney. If you plan to read this book, I recommend reading it on digital or paper.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death and Animal cruelty
Minor: Death of parent
alicejade's review
Wasn’t enjoying the plot enough to make up for disliking the characters
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Gore, Animal death, and War
kittybeemartin's review
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
- I want to start off this review by saying that there aren’t enough BIPOC authors and that I appreciate that this book had diversity inclusion, gender fluidity, and LGBT characters. I wanted to appreciate that the characters were an over 25, but they were SO immature. I wanted to like this book so badly, but it was a chore to finish. This book is supposed to be about animal companions, so if you love animals YOU’RE GOING TO HATE this book. Both main characters hunt and kill these animals and then refuse to feel bad about it because they didn’t know they were sentient. No excuse. The characters were annoying and the one “Yeeren” sounds like urine. I only finished this book out of hope it would get better. It didn’t. Also the whole “I’m not going to communicate, I’m just going to push you away” trope has no place in adult books. But the epilogue gave the promise of something interesting
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death, Animal cruelty, and Vomit
danireyne's review against another edition
SO DISAPPOINTED. Ugh, I want to love this book so much, but I need to put it down. I got to page 52 before I dipped out. I can't get on board with the idea of killing animals for magic & prophecy making. It really takes me out of the book and I absolutely have no interest in reading about animal mutilation.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death and Animal cruelty
becann's review
adventurous
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Overall an amazing read! Incredibly well written and truly draws you into the world. Lots of twists and turns keep you engaged throughout the book.
There were a few moments that left me a bit confused by the authors choices, but those moments were overshadowed by how interesting and thought provoking the rest of the book is.
There were a few moments that left me a bit confused by the authors choices, but those moments were overshadowed by how interesting and thought provoking the rest of the book is.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Animal death
Moderate: Death of parent, Death, War, Animal cruelty, and Violence
wildflower1205's review against another edition
DNF at 49%
The premise of this book was a good, but the execution was not. There were some parts of the world building that lacked logic for me which undermined the conflicts between the various groups. Since I couldn't get invested in the conflicts happening, it made it hard to care about the characters dealing with the conflicts and to root for them. Also, the actions and dialogue didn't feel like it matched the ages of the characters. In this case, they seemed younger than they actually were which was suppose to be late 20's to early 30's.
Thank you to NetGalley and Del Rey for this eARC.
The premise of this book was a good, but the execution was not. There were some parts of the world building that lacked logic for me which undermined the conflicts between the various groups. Since I couldn't get invested in the conflicts happening, it made it hard to care about the characters dealing with the conflicts and to root for them. Also, the actions and dialogue didn't feel like it matched the ages of the characters. In this case, they seemed younger than they actually were which was suppose to be late 20's to early 30's.
Thank you to NetGalley and Del Rey for this eARC.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death and Animal cruelty
madlyreading's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Sexual content, Animal death, and Racism
chelsea_nailpolishlover's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
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
Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC of this book.
5/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
1.5/5 🌶️
From start to finish I was enthralled. I couldn’t put this book down.
From the care shown to not only gender and sexuality, but to race, and disability. This book had it all. The struggles of political and moral discourse. The discrimination against those who are different. The devastation brought on by war. The struggles of what is right and what is just. The author did an amazing job. It was absolutely fantastic.
This book was very war focused, with a few different love stories between multiple POV’s. I really enjoyed having the multiple view points. The way they intertwined with each other between the timeline of events was beautifully done.
My favorite character was Lettle. She was treated like a child, she was put down, but she was so incredibly strong. She showed everyone what she was made of. I love her character so much.
If you loved fourth wing and the banter with the characters and their dragon familiars then you’ll loveeeeee this book!
I did personally struggle with one of the TW’s, the malnutrition and starvation aspect that was brought up multiple times during the book. As someone who was starved and malnourished to the point of almost dying it brought up a lot of emotions for me, that I thought I had worked through. There was a particular moment in the book about half way through that hit me hard. I don’t know if the author has ever had to also go through a situation where they were starved and malnourished but they wrote like they knew exactly what someone who’s been through that would say and feel. It didn’t feel mocking, it didn’t feel like it was an after thought. The emotions that were expressed while discussing those things were present. And accurate.
As hard as it was for me emotionally I hope it puts into perspective for some people who have never been through something like that, that they can imagine the difficulties and trauma it causes someone. How often that trauma pops up. And how words about food, and eating can affect the people around you without you even realizing it.
A mix of Tropes, and TW’s just to name a few -
found family, enemies to lovers, familiars, murder, death, war, starvation/malnourishment, friends to lovers, WW, MM, MW, disability representation, discrimination, gore, animal death, descriptive language of desecration of animal remains, hunting, confinement.
5/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
1.5/5 🌶️
From start to finish I was enthralled. I couldn’t put this book down.
From the care shown to not only gender and sexuality, but to race, and disability. This book had it all. The struggles of political and moral discourse. The discrimination against those who are different. The devastation brought on by war. The struggles of what is right and what is just. The author did an amazing job. It was absolutely fantastic.
This book was very war focused, with a few different love stories between multiple POV’s. I really enjoyed having the multiple view points. The way they intertwined with each other between the timeline of events was beautifully done.
My favorite character was Lettle. She was treated like a child, she was put down, but she was so incredibly strong. She showed everyone what she was made of. I love her character so much.
If you loved fourth wing and the banter with the characters and their dragon familiars then you’ll loveeeeee this book!
I did personally struggle with one of the TW’s, the malnutrition and starvation aspect that was brought up multiple times during the book. As someone who was starved and malnourished to the point of almost dying it brought up a lot of emotions for me, that I thought I had worked through. There was a particular moment in the book about half way through that hit me hard. I don’t know if the author has ever had to also go through a situation where they were starved and malnourished but they wrote like they knew exactly what someone who’s been through that would say and feel. It didn’t feel mocking, it didn’t feel like it was an after thought. The emotions that were expressed while discussing those things were present. And accurate.
As hard as it was for me emotionally I hope it puts into perspective for some people who have never been through something like that, that they can imagine the difficulties and trauma it causes someone. How often that trauma pops up. And how words about food, and eating can affect the people around you without you even realizing it.
A mix of Tropes, and TW’s just to name a few -
found family, enemies to lovers, familiars, murder, death, war, starvation/malnourishment, friends to lovers, WW, MM, MW, disability representation, discrimination, gore, animal death, descriptive language of desecration of animal remains, hunting, confinement.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Chronic illness, Violence, Child death, Alcoholism, War, Confinement, Animal cruelty, Medical trauma, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Gore, Death, Colonisation, Bullying, Blood, Forced institutionalization, Excrement, Murder, Genocide, Domestic abuse, Death of parent, Classism, and Animal death
gaby_readsbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This was a very enjoyable fantasy book, I loved the characters and the friendships. The whole premise is super interesting and I enjoyed the world building, though it was a bit slow. I would say this is a great introduction into adult fantasy as the magic and lore isn’t too overwhelming or confusing. There is a bit of instalove which isn’t my favorite trope. I am looking forward to the rest of this series!
Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine, Del Rey for granting me access to the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine, Del Rey for granting me access to the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty and Animal death
Moderate: War
meisfii's review
It was difficult getting through the first few chapters with all the graphic descriptions but thought I'd push through but as the story progressed I just found that I didn't care at all about any of the characters or anything that was about to happen.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Animal death, and Body horror