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3.74 AVERAGE
3.74 AVERAGE
challenging
hopeful
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I agree with the reviews that speak to the pacing at times being frustrating. Though understandable given the time that needs to go by in this long book. This was most evident in how the convoluted ending rushed through some added twists.
Overall enjoyed the MCs
Overall enjoyed the MCs
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
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:
Complicated
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
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
I wish this was a series and not a standalone 🥲
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
3.5 stars.
My love for Ruby Dixon is not news, so I ran to get this one when I saw it was in a new universe.
Candra is a spoiled princess forced at the last minute to spend the next seven years in a distant tower to appease the gods…along with a prince of the rival lands. Candra feels different from most of Ruby’s previous heroines, and frankly she was unlikable at times. But despite that, she definitely grows on you as she becomes more self-sufficient and less spoiled.
While I enjoyed Candra and Nemeth together, I felt like pacing was off. Not much seemed to happen, really. Just a lot of banter between them. And Nemeth was a little one-dimensional and had not much of a personality.
But…I still enjoyed it like I enjoy everything I read by Ruby. So I consider that a win.
Thank you to W by Wattpad books for the review copy.
My love for Ruby Dixon is not news, so I ran to get this one when I saw it was in a new universe.
Candra is a spoiled princess forced at the last minute to spend the next seven years in a distant tower to appease the gods…along with a prince of the rival lands. Candra feels different from most of Ruby’s previous heroines, and frankly she was unlikable at times. But despite that, she definitely grows on you as she becomes more self-sufficient and less spoiled.
While I enjoyed Candra and Nemeth together, I felt like pacing was off. Not much seemed to happen, really. Just a lot of banter between them. And Nemeth was a little one-dimensional and had not much of a personality.
But…I still enjoyed it like I enjoy everything I read by Ruby. So I consider that a win.
Thank you to W by Wattpad books for the review copy.
dark
emotional
funny
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I’m giving this three stars because the writing wasn’t terrible but my actual enjoyment was somewhere in the two star range.
I remember seeing Ruby advertise the chapters of this book as they were being released on Yonder. I didn’t read any of the story then because I’m not paying for another app, not even for Ruby, but was interested in the premise. So I waited to read it until now. Unfortunately this book had issues; mainly, it was too long. The story initially started out focused on the characters but eventually became about a meandering plot which was overly bloated. I could assume this would be due to the serialized pay-per-chapter release, but I’ve read other series written by Ruby that suffered from the same issue that were just published as novels.
Beyond that I don’t personally think the female main character was written well. She was pretty much one note and it was set to horny. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good steamy book, but want the characters to have more to them than just the desire to bone. I understand and appreciate that was part of her characterization; however, it superseded any romantic buildup or chemistry which Ruby generally does well. In fact it was done well for the male main character in this book. As a reader this made it hard to buy into the romance or root for the couple.
There were also gripes I had that may not bother everyone but grated on my nerves. Specifically the countless times “dragon shite” was used even though there were no dragons in this book and the audiobook narrator’s choice to make the main character and narrator of the story have an American accent despite saying things like “piss off,” “arse,” “shite,” etc. Additionally the male main character, his people, and the human males all had what I think was a Scottish accent. Maybe the human males had an old school Transatlantic style accent but the women were just straight up bland American. So every “piss off,” “arse,” “shite,” etc. was just unbelievably off-putting. And lastly, along with having issues with several scenes throughout the story the final one was incredibly frustrating but I can’t get into the reasons why because of spoilers.
In the end, this book had issues. Some were just my personal gripes but others were with the writing. I still love Ruby’s work and will continue to try out whatever she comes up with in the future.
Thank you to Netgally and the publisher for an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review. Also, shoutout to my local library and Libby for having the audiobook.
I remember seeing Ruby advertise the chapters of this book as they were being released on Yonder. I didn’t read any of the story then because I’m not paying for another app, not even for Ruby, but was interested in the premise. So I waited to read it until now. Unfortunately this book had issues; mainly, it was too long. The story initially started out focused on the characters but eventually became about a meandering plot which was overly bloated. I could assume this would be due to the serialized pay-per-chapter release, but I’ve read other series written by Ruby that suffered from the same issue that were just published as novels.
Beyond that I don’t personally think the female main character was written well. She was pretty much one note and it was set to horny. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good steamy book, but want the characters to have more to them than just the desire to bone. I understand and appreciate that was part of her characterization; however, it superseded any romantic buildup or chemistry which Ruby generally does well. In fact it was done well for the male main character in this book. As a reader this made it hard to buy into the romance or root for the couple.
There were also gripes I had that may not bother everyone but grated on my nerves. Specifically the countless times “dragon shite” was used even though there were no dragons in this book and the audiobook narrator’s choice to make the main character and narrator of the story have an American accent despite saying things like “piss off,” “arse,” “shite,” etc. Additionally the male main character, his people, and the human males all had what I think was a Scottish accent. Maybe the human males had an old school Transatlantic style accent but the women were just straight up bland American. So every “piss off,” “arse,” “shite,” etc. was just unbelievably off-putting. And lastly, along with having issues with several scenes throughout the story the final one was incredibly frustrating but I can’t get into the reasons why because of spoilers.
In the end, this book had issues. Some were just my personal gripes but others were with the writing. I still love Ruby’s work and will continue to try out whatever she comes up with in the future.
Thank you to Netgally and the publisher for an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review. Also, shoutout to my local library and Libby for having the audiobook.
Ruby Dixon never misses!!! As a huge fan of the Ice Planet Barbarians series I had high hopes for this story. This is my first time venturing outside of that series and I loved every minute of this book. And the spice? Immaculate.
Ruby Dixon seriously knows how to write a romance novel. I love her sassy FMCs and the brooding, protective MMCs they get paired with. There’s always a perfect balance between plot and smut and I will eat it up every single time!!!
Ruby Dixon seriously knows how to write a romance novel. I love her sassy FMCs and the brooding, protective MMCs they get paired with. There’s always a perfect balance between plot and smut and I will eat it up every single time!!!