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3.75 AVERAGE
3.75 AVERAGE
adventurous
funny
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Thank you Wattpad for the review copy, my opinions are my own.
This was a fun departure from the Ruby Dixon alien series, and I wasn't disappointed by the change to fantasy. Candra is an admitted flirt and spoiled princess who is one of the last of the Vestalin bloodline and when her sister that was destined to be the sacrifice to the Tower of Balance is killed in a shipwreck, is voluntold to be the new sacrifice. Given only 3 days to get to the Tower, she is NOT HAPPY about this change, especially since she has a chronic illness that she deals with and has to inject a potion daily to prevent her body from killing her from the inside. She has to figure out everything, including how to deal with her Tower mate, Nemeth, the Fellian sacrifice. They are locked into this tower for seven years to appease a very angry goddess.
Nemeth is not quite what Candra expected, she wasn't certain what she was expecting but a large grey winged scholar wasn't it. When two years pass, and there's no delivery of supplies, Nemeth and Candra must work together to find out what's going on, but the world is very changed from when they went into the Tower.
Candra deals with what appears to be a fantasy version of diabetes, but she's also a plus sized main character and very sex positive. Nemeth is a scholar and obsessed with books (man after my own heart), but also he's got secrets. Reminds me of Gargoyles (the TV show), and he's much bigger than Candra.
The story is spicy and fun, just like the Ice Planet series. If you like the IPB series, then give this one a try.
This was a fun departure from the Ruby Dixon alien series, and I wasn't disappointed by the change to fantasy. Candra is an admitted flirt and spoiled princess who is one of the last of the Vestalin bloodline and when her sister that was destined to be the sacrifice to the Tower of Balance is killed in a shipwreck, is voluntold to be the new sacrifice. Given only 3 days to get to the Tower, she is NOT HAPPY about this change, especially since she has a chronic illness that she deals with and has to inject a potion daily to prevent her body from killing her from the inside. She has to figure out everything, including how to deal with her Tower mate, Nemeth, the Fellian sacrifice. They are locked into this tower for seven years to appease a very angry goddess.
Nemeth is not quite what Candra expected, she wasn't certain what she was expecting but a large grey winged scholar wasn't it. When two years pass, and there's no delivery of supplies, Nemeth and Candra must work together to find out what's going on, but the world is very changed from when they went into the Tower.
Candra deals with what appears to be a fantasy version of diabetes, but she's also a plus sized main character and very sex positive. Nemeth is a scholar and obsessed with books (man after my own heart), but also he's got secrets. Reminds me of Gargoyles (the TV show), and he's much bigger than Candra.
The story is spicy and fun, just like the Ice Planet series. If you like the IPB series, then give this one a try.
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
- 3🌶️
- I have mixed emotions about this book. There were really great plot points/ twists, but there were also lots of plot holes.
- I loved that this was a unique universe and that the romance had knotting/ tails without being in the omegaverse. The banter and cinnamon roll main male was an added bonus.
- However, the book dragged a lot at times and I felt like the tower itself could have been one book and the rest a second.
- The concept was really unique but the gods/ lore could have had slightly more structure.
- Overall, I think this was a good or ok read, but not as entertaining or wrapped up as well as the IPB series.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
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:
No
ARC review! big thank you to the publisher/author for sending me this early!
this was my first ruby dixon book, and i’ve now decided to read everything they’ve ever written! this book was a chonker, but it never felt like it was dragging on for the sake of dragging on. even when it seemed to slow or were just taking time to get to know the characters i was never bored with the story and being inside candra’s head made me laugh out loud more than once! my one complaint: the slow burn was slooooww buurrrnnningggg (ok, not a complaint bc i enjoyed every painful second of it but ykwim) and the lack of communication made me want to pull my hair out at times but in the end everything was worth the wait! (p.s that little plot twist at the end was insane but i never doubted nemeth for a second)
this was my first ruby dixon book, and i’ve now decided to read everything they’ve ever written! this book was a chonker, but it never felt like it was dragging on for the sake of dragging on. even when it seemed to slow or were just taking time to get to know the characters i was never bored with the story and being inside candra’s head made me laugh out loud more than once! my one complaint: the slow burn was slooooww buurrrnnningggg (ok, not a complaint bc i enjoyed every painful second of it but ykwim) and the lack of communication made me want to pull my hair out at times but in the end everything was worth the wait! (p.s that little plot twist at the end was insane but i never doubted nemeth for a second)
Not my favorite ruby dixon book ever. There were a few plot holes in my opinion and I wasn’t a fan of how quickly the book wrapped up after spending so much time on the journey. All of that said, if ruby dixon writes it I will read it.
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
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
While I have read all of this author’s Ice Planet Barbarians series and almost all of her Icehome series, I haven’t read any of her books that don’t involve blue aliens. It was a no-brainer for me to give a different genre from her a try. I’m glad I did. Although the story started slowly for me, once Princess Candra was locked in the tower I was fully invested.
Candra had a bit of a Scarlett O’Hara thing going on. Every time things got tough and she felt like giving up and crying her eyes out, she would tell herself she could cry about it “tomorrow” or “later”. She has basically been told she is useless her whole life. She may be a Princess and have the blood of her nation’s founder running through her veins, but she also has a blood-sickness and is not the firstborn. Since nobody thought she was worth much, she did what she wanted when she wanted. Her actions gave her quite a reputation. She was thought of as loose, frivolous, and spoiled. To be fair, she kind of was those things. She was also loyal, loving, and persistent. Candra grows up in many ways while in the tower. She digs deep and finds things out about herself she didn’t know. She’s one tough cookie.
Nemeth may start out as a scary presence, but it turns out he’s just a big teddy bear. Especially when it comes to Candra. There is a lot of mistrust and preconceived notions on both sides, but these two can’t stay apart forever. The more they talk, the more they wonder about all they learned while growing up.
As much as I loved staying in the bubble of the tower with Candra and Nemeth, it becomes obvious huge changes are going on outside the tower. Eventually, the pair cannot ignore the outside world and have to make some tough decisions. But they decide that whatever is happening, they are committed to being together.
Many eye-opening things happen on their journey outside of the tower, and that part of the story did drag a bit. The pacing wasn’t consistent throughout this story, and this was one of the slow parts for me. Once they rejoin society (I’m wording this in a way to avoid spoilers) I felt Nemeth’s secret-keeping became too much. Both Nemeth and Candra kept things from each other, which was understandable with the situation they were in. Yet when Nemeth continued to keep things from Candra I got annoyed.
This was a great story. It could have been so much better if the pacing issues were resolved.
**I received an ARC of this book courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher. All opinions expressed in this review are my own and given freely**
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness
Moderate: Slavery, Violence
adventurous
dark
mysterious
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
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
adventurous
dark
lighthearted
fast-paced
adventurous
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
I had fun reading this! I started reading this as a funny, knotting-but-it’s-not-omegaverse porn, lighthearted book. But the plot was really good! Def porn with plot. Dixon knows how to balance the two and not leave you hanging with just one
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Abandonment
Moderate: Slavery, Blood, Vomit, Pregnancy