Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.26 AVERAGE
4.26 AVERAGE
adventurous
fast-paced
This was an amazing fantasy story. I loved the general plot and cast of characters in this book. And there were a few plot points that surprised me honestly when we got there!
Our two main characters definitely grew a lot throughout this book, considering how naive and annoying they started out as. And I appreciated that the enemies to lovers (and the lovers to enemies) trope didn’t got from 0 to 100, but progressed reasonably with the story.
One small personal detail as well - Having just recently finished Arcane on Netflix though, I couldn’t help but overlay most of these characters onto that cast. 🙃
Loot->Silko; Sylah->Violet; Anoor->Caitlin (or Mel honestly); Uka->Umbessa ….
Our two main characters definitely grew a lot throughout this book, considering how naive and annoying they started out as. And I appreciated that the enemies to lovers (and the lovers to enemies) trope didn’t got from 0 to 100, but progressed reasonably with the story.
One small personal detail as well - Having just recently finished Arcane on Netflix though, I couldn’t help but overlay most of these characters onto that cast. 🙃
Loot->Silko; Sylah->Violet; Anoor->Caitlin (or Mel honestly); Uka->Umbessa ….
challenging
emotional
inspiring
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
Love may give you strength, but retribution gives you purpose.
Wonderful character development, great message.
If you like games and trials, giant lizards and blood magic then this book might be for you. In this book, El-Arifi showcases an unjust empire, blind privilege, feminism, addiction and betrayal in a captivating, honest and powerful way.
The main FMCs (Annora, Sylah, and Hassa) all are uniquely different from each other, struggling in different ways and are yet bound towards the same future. Annora and Sylah were STRESSING me out the whole book.
This book was heavy at times. Please look up your trigger warnings (some include: addiction, abuse, torture, slavery).
I wish there was a bit more world building and more of the erus. Also, I am really glad that I listened to this book on audio. It was a very immersive experience and I highly recommend it.
In conlusion, Jond sucks.
adventurous
dark
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
adventurous
emotional
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
An amazing story about oppression, rebellion, and setting the status quo on fire.
The idea behind being separated into castes from your blood color is original and I don’t think I’ve seen before. I thought that was a pretty interesting concept but this wasn’t really what I had hoped for.
This was so long and it didn’t need to be so drawn out. You have to get half way into the book for anything to actually start happening. I’ve noticed a lot of books are suffering from that this year.
The characters are all one dimensional and boring. There’s barely any traits or personality separating them from each other. They could all be the same person.
There’s also so much dialogue and inner monologue that I felt was unnecessary. Also, one supposed main character barely shows up too so not sure why this was mentioned in the synopsis. The audiobook was almost 20 hours if that tells you anything. I won’t be continuing this series and it wasn’t bad - just not for me. I seem to be an outlier here so don’t listen to me if you want to read this one but honestly, I was too bored.
Thank you to Netgalley for an advanced copy!
This was so long and it didn’t need to be so drawn out. You have to get half way into the book for anything to actually start happening. I’ve noticed a lot of books are suffering from that this year.
The characters are all one dimensional and boring. There’s barely any traits or personality separating them from each other. They could all be the same person.
There’s also so much dialogue and inner monologue that I felt was unnecessary. Also, one supposed main character barely shows up too so not sure why this was mentioned in the synopsis. The audiobook was almost 20 hours if that tells you anything. I won’t be continuing this series and it wasn’t bad - just not for me. I seem to be an outlier here so don’t listen to me if you want to read this one but honestly, I was too bored.
Thank you to Netgalley for an advanced copy!
Fantastic read! Complicated characters, interesting story line, lovely writing~ Enjoyed this so much. Grumpy that how busy I've been at work and in life kept me from finishing this fantastic book earlier.
adventurous
mysterious
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
a truly magnificent fantasy that explores identity, systems of oppression, addiction, and loyalty, among other things. the characters are flawed, but develop and grow over time. it took a little bit to get into, but i devoured the latter parts of the book and really look forward to reading the sequels.
dark
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I had really high expectations for this given that the start was so strong and the worldbuilding was so good. However, it just became this disjointed feeling YA wannabe romantasy and I just couldn't enjoy it as much as I wanted to. It just came across as so juvenile in places and it let otself down because of it. Also why the unnecessary sex references/scenes/jokes?
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
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