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emmacartlidge's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Religious bigotry, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Confinement, Infertility, Miscarriage, and Pregnancy
Minor: Sexual content
backitupmoony's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-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? It's complicated
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Miscarriage, and Violence
Moderate: Infertility, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Religious bigotry, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Incest
fizzymilk22's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-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
Book is so good it got me back into reading books again immediately despite being a super dense 800 page long fantasy novel. I love how it takes a seemingly generic fantasy setup and uses it to examine human flaws and societal issues in such an interesting and natural way OH GOD it's so amazing. This has to be one of the best casts of characters I've ever seen in this kind of story, they're all so individually compelling but they compliment each other when together as well. Please read this I'm begging you
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Chronic illness, Death, Genocide, Gore, Incest, Infertility, Miscarriage, Sexual content, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Abortion, Murder, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, Fire/Fire injury, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
cryinginasexual's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Religious bigotry, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Miscarriage, Misogyny, and Blood
Minor: Alcoholism, Incest, Sexual content, Xenophobia, Dementia, and Grief
supergirled's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
tense
slow-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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Religious bigotry and War
Moderate: Chronic illness, Death, and Grief
Minor: Mental illness and Sexual content
apersonfromflorida's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
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
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Infertility, Miscarriage, and Violence
Moderate: Sexual content, Religious bigotry, and Pregnancy
sinaprst's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
mysterious
tense
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
5.0
why haven`t i read this sooner?
that was the very first thing that came to my mind after i finished this yesterday. this had been on my bookshelf for the last 2 years or so, because the 800+ pages intimaded me so much, but they were so worth it, this was hands down one of the best (fantasy) books i have ever read, i adored every second of it:
i mean it has dragons, sapphics, magic, pirates, female warriors, i could literally not ask for more
the world building was amazing and felt incredibly real to me and the characters were so flawed but adorable at the same time, the romance was an immaculate slow burn, the villains felt complex and well-rounded to me, the plottwists had me literally gasping and the ending was one of the most satisfying endings i have ever read (and i am usually very picky when it comes to that).
but what stood out the most to me in retrospect was how refreshing it was to read a fantasy novel that has great (queer, POC and female) represenation and that could do without racism, homophobia or violence towards women. not only are there two queer characters and three POC characters among the main four, but the book depicted and mentioned several queer relationships and POC characters in the background aswell. additionally, everything was represented in a very casual way that did not feel out of place or forced like any of it was a big deal.
overall, i would (and will) recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good fantasy read, especially if you`re looking for one that does not center a white men and does not feature hate towards any minorities
definetly a 5/5 stars for me
Edit: someone recently pointed out to me that one of the storylines is literally Arthur and Merlin from the BBC series and I cannot unsee that now, it's just so true
recommended reading ambience: https://youtu.be/6nRFaOFcbpk?si=1x-Hn4IvbV5NKwSX
that was the very first thing that came to my mind after i finished this yesterday. this had been on my bookshelf for the last 2 years or so, because the 800+ pages intimaded me so much, but they were so worth it, this was hands down one of the best (fantasy) books i have ever read, i adored every second of it:
i mean it has dragons, sapphics, magic, pirates, female warriors, i could literally not ask for more
the world building was amazing and felt incredibly real to me and the characters were so flawed but adorable at the same time, the romance was an immaculate slow burn, the villains felt complex and well-rounded to me, the plottwists had me literally gasping and the ending was one of the most satisfying endings i have ever read (and i am usually very picky when it comes to that).
but what stood out the most to me in retrospect was how refreshing it was to read a fantasy novel that has great (queer, POC and female) represenation and that could do without racism, homophobia or violence towards women. not only are there two queer characters and three POC characters among the main four, but the book depicted and mentioned several queer relationships and POC characters in the background aswell. additionally, everything was represented in a very casual way that did not feel out of place or forced like any of it was a big deal.
overall, i would (and will) recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good fantasy read, especially if you`re looking for one that does not center a white men and does not feature hate towards any minorities
definetly a 5/5 stars for me
Edit: someone recently pointed out to me that one of the storylines is literally Arthur and Merlin from the BBC series and I cannot unsee that now, it's just so true
recommended reading ambience: https://youtu.be/6nRFaOFcbpk?si=1x-Hn4IvbV5NKwSX
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Infertility, Violence, Grief, and Murder
Moderate: Miscarriage, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Suicide and Alcohol
katharina90's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.0
A bit hard to get into at first. Too much was introduced or hinted at in the first few chapters which made it difficult for me to orient myself in this fictional world.
Eventually I did enjoy the story and I appreciated the diversity in characters which is so often lacking in fantasy novels authored by white folks.
The book reads pretty young (almost but not quite YA) and the writing wasn't always my cup of tea. Some issues with pacing, and both plot and characters could have been more complex given the 800+ page count.
Eventually I did enjoy the story and I appreciated the diversity in characters which is so often lacking in fantasy novels authored by white folks.
The book reads pretty young (almost but not quite YA) and the writing wasn't always my cup of tea. Some issues with pacing, and both plot and characters could have been more complex given the 800+ page count.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Miscarriage, Sexual content, and Religious bigotry
Minor: Death, Torture, Kidnapping, and War
welgan's review against another edition
Did not finish : here is why
This book was gifted to me, and I really didn't want to read it. But other books reminded me of my love ofor reading, and thaught me I didn't mind that much reading about female narrators at a time I really didn't want to identify with female characters. So I decided to give a try !
And it really was not what I wanted to read, at all. I don't like court intrigues, I don't like plots about royal mariages and having a child, I don't like spy and secrets mission stories. Also I'm not a huge fan of dark, realistic fantasy. I saw the praises for he book comparing it to Game of Thrones, and yeah, I think it's fair : to me it feels a lot like Game of Thrones (plus a lot of characters die for shock value), but written by a woman (not in writing style, I couldn't compare because I haven't read GoT books, but in atmosphere and genre).
The mystery about the truth behind the religions kept me interested, but I just couldn't go the other half of the book. Besides the fact I don't like the genre, a lot of scene felt cliché and had me roll my eyes, I couldn't get attached to a lot of the characters, and some events happened too quickly, or during an ellipse...
More precise examples of what added up to finally make me stop reading (spoiler of course)
The death of Kitston seemed unecessary, unwarranted and wasn't even that of a shock value because I didn't had time to get attached to him and to understand how important he was to Loth.
Speaking of which, the courtisan who suddently learns to survive in the wild while infected by the plague, then is found by a magical giant weasel deux ex machina, and then crosses a mountain and a desert without any provisions was really too much for me.
The attack of the queen's cortege was stupid. They have the least prepared guards and spies in the whole history of kingdoms and queendoms.
The romance felt added on the top of everything, and generally the characters who were lovers didn't make me feel a great alchemy between them, except for Jannart and Niclays.
And stop letting important moments be told afterwards in a sentence or two ! I want to read what Loth felt when he got deliberately infected, and what it was like when Tané bonded with her dragon and learned to know her. It's so desappointing to read it like "oh by the way it happened. Anyways, here's what we're going to do now."
Dragons felt uninteresting. All knowing, very ancient, deity-like creatures often do, it's too hard to relate to them, and they can quickly sound "cliché of great old sage". Also if you didn't skip all the bonding part where we could learn about whatmakes the dragon an individual, maybe I wouldn't have the feeling the dragon character is a merely a fonction. Maybe it gets better in the second half of the book, to be fair.
There are also nice things
On a positive note, I found Niclays' character very interesting and nuanced : not likeable, but understandable and very human. The queen Sabran was rather interesting to read too.
The universe felt nice, deep and complex ; I like how specific the depicted cultures seem. It's nothing too fancy or original, but it does it job well.
And I really appreciate a world were homosexuality is just normal as heterosexuality.
Conclusion
In the end, I decided I didn't want to force myself to finish the book, so I flipped through the remaining half, found the answerrs to my questions about the mystery, and I'm glad I did because ew. I don't think I wanted to read all of that.
Well, it wasn't for me in it genre, and turns out I don't like the writing either.
Warning about the glossary
Side note : don't read anything in the glossary or character list (even if it's much needed in the begininng when you're drowned in court titles and courtisans characters), because it can spoil you, and it will. I learned stuff that was upposed to be secret and revealed much later in the book !!
This book was gifted to me, and I really didn't want to read it. But other books reminded me of my love ofor reading, and thaught me I didn't mind that much reading about female narrators at a time I really didn't want to identify with female characters. So I decided to give a try !
And it really was not what I wanted to read, at all. I don't like court intrigues, I don't like plots about royal mariages and having a child, I don't like spy and secrets mission stories. Also I'm not a huge fan of dark, realistic fantasy. I saw the praises for he book comparing it to Game of Thrones, and yeah, I think it's fair : to me it feels a lot like Game of Thrones (plus a lot of characters die for shock value), but written by a woman (not in writing style, I couldn't compare because I haven't read GoT books, but in atmosphere and genre).
The mystery about the truth behind the religions kept me interested, but I just couldn't go the other half of the book. Besides the fact I don't like the genre, a lot of scene felt cliché and had me roll my eyes, I couldn't get attached to a lot of the characters, and some events happened too quickly, or during an ellipse...
More precise examples of what added up to finally make me stop reading (spoiler of course)
Speaking of which, the courtisan who suddently learns to survive in the wild while infected by the plague, then is found by a magical giant weasel deux ex machina, and then crosses a mountain and a desert without any provisions was really too much for me.
The attack of the queen's cortege was stupid. They have the least prepared guards and spies in the whole history of kingdoms and queendoms.
The romance felt added on the top of everything, and generally the characters who were lovers didn't make me feel a great alchemy between them, except for Jannart and Niclays.
And stop letting important moments be told afterwards in a sentence or two ! I want to read what Loth felt when he got deliberately infected, and what it was like when Tané bonded with her dragon and learned to know her. It's so desappointing to read it like "oh by the way it happened. Anyways, here's what we're going to do now."
Dragons felt uninteresting. All knowing, very ancient, deity-like creatures often do, it's too hard to relate to them, and they can quickly sound "cliché of great old sage". Also if you didn't skip all the bonding part where we could learn about whatmakes the dragon an individual, maybe I wouldn't have the feeling the dragon character is a merely a fonction. Maybe it gets better in the second half of the book, to be fair.
There are also nice things
On a positive note, I found Niclays' character very interesting and nuanced : not likeable, but understandable and very human. The queen Sabran was rather interesting to read too.
The universe felt nice, deep and complex ; I like how specific the depicted cultures seem. It's nothing too fancy or original, but it does it job well.
And I really appreciate a world were homosexuality is just normal as heterosexuality.
Conclusion
In the end, I decided I didn't want to force myself to finish the book, so I flipped through the remaining half, found the answerrs to my questions about the mystery, and I'm glad I did because ew. I don't think I wanted to read all of that.
Well, it wasn't for me in it genre, and turns out I don't like the writing either.
Warning about the glossary
Side note : don't read anything in the glossary or character list (even if it's much needed in the begininng when you're drowned in court titles and courtisans characters), because it can spoil you, and it will. I learned stuff that was upposed to be secret and revealed much later in the book !!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Infertility, Miscarriage, Murder, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Sexual content
thoseoldcrows23's review against another edition
adventurous
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.0
I wanted to like this book so bad, but it just didn't work for me. I probably should have DNF it a long time ago, but I kept convincing myself to push forward in the hopes that it would get better and it just never did.
Let me begin by saying I understand why so many people love this book. Shannon's writing is very readable, and I think that the trappings of old school fantasy are potent enough and the execution competent enough, that for many people it's going to be incredibly engaging. However, I found the process of reading this book to be painfully tedious. For a 800 page book I feel like very little actually happens. The plot is pretty generic and so much of what happens is just people traveling from place to place or people sitting around and talking. This probably wouldn't have bothered me if I had liked the characters more, but I found most of the main characters to be rather boring and shallow, and none of the side characters even felt like people. They were just cardboard cutouts who the author would trot out when the plot necessitated having another person present, and then they would completely disappear from the story when they're present wasn't directly needed.
As for the world building, I think that's probably the most interesting part of the book. The problem though is that the same bits of lore are repeated over and over and over again, and we’re constantly reminded of bits of world building that we've already been told. It became very tiresome very fast, and my interest faded quickly.
Despite all these problems I pushed through the book, hoping that I would eventually come to see what everyone else seems to see and fall in love with it, but alas it never happened. I found the ending of the book to be completely unsatisfying and the solution to the issue of the big bad to be very predictable and unoriginal.
I'm so bummed that I didn't like this more than I did, but it just wasn't for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Miscarriage, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Alcoholism, Infertility, Sexual content, Suicide, and Grief
Minor: Vomit