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emhinton's review against another edition
slow-paced
2.75
While the second book was much more engaging than the first, overall I find this series to be quite tedious. The plot is extremely slow moving, none of the characters are engaging, and the romance leaves much to be desired. I love a good epic fantasy, and I love romance, but this just didn't hit the right buttons for me.
tani's review
3.0
After procrastinating on this series for years, one of my goals for this year was to try and finish this series. I really enjoyed the first two books, so was expecting something pretty decent from this one. I was a bit unpleasantly surprised, to be honest. I felt like I slogged through about 90% of this book, with only the last 10% or so really capturing my interest. Admittedly, the ending was exciting enough that I thought about upgrading this to 4 stars, but still.
Of course, I will admit that I've been distracted. Real life is interesting for me right now. In a couple days, I will be getting married and then setting out on my honeymoon, so perhaps you'll forgive me for a bit of distraction. I actually thought that this book would be a good choice for a time like this. I remember the earlier books as being fun romps with just enough danger to keep things interesting. I wasn't counting on the disconnect that I instantly felt. I had forgotten just how over-the-top these books are. Everything is epic. Everything is a matter of life and death. Souls are sworn and forsaken and things are always a big deal. I struggled mightily with this, and I spent about 100 pages at the beginning of the book complaining about it.
I had thought I had settled into the style after the first hundred pages, and things went OK for a while, but I felt like not a lot was happening. And when things did happen, it was the enemy making moves, and not our hero and heroine. Wilson spends a lot of time with Vadim Maur in the first half of the book, and I did not enjoy it. I can get down with a villain, but only if he's actually somewhat sympathetic. If you've read the the other books, you know that Vadim Maur is as irredeemable as they come, and I would have been much happier if the book had been edited down to exclude some of the sections that feature him. Villains are more fun, in my opinion, if you're actually surprised by what they do. Also, I will admit that I get really annoyed by the good guys when they don't act on all this knowledge of the villain's plans that I've been given. Never mind that they don't actually know everything I do. It's just annoying to me. Too much knowledge is not a good thing, sometimes.
Other than that, I'd say there are some pacing issues here. In some ways, the book felt like the first book of a series, because Ellysetta spends a lot of time trying to figure out what to do. I appreciate that the problem is a difficult one, but it didn't make this any more interesting to read. The middle part of the book felt pretty stagnant. I actually didn't read for about a week, to be honest. I got a little over halfway through and just put the book down, without any urge to pick it back up again. It was my impending honeymoon that prompted me to pick it up again. I'm traveling light, so I only intend to bring my Kindle for reading material, and I didn't want this book sitting around for more than a week, waiting for me to come home. Despite my lack of concentration, I forced myself through 100 pages last night, and then finished it up tonight. Finally!
As I said in the beginning of the review, the last part was definitely the strongest. Wilson can write a good action scene, and she was quite deft in unleashing all of the build-up that she'd put into place. Things got really exciting! And then the book ended, because of course.
I did enjoy the character growth that we get in this book, despite feeling like there wasn't a lot of action. Rain and Ellysetta grew both separately and together, and that was much appreciated. I hope that they will be much more impressive in the next book. I also hope that we see more resolution to the threads that Wilson has been weaving throughout these books. In particular, I want to see something done about Ellysetta's parents, who I've grown quite fond of. I just hope that the next book moves a bit quicker than this one did!
Of course, I will admit that I've been distracted. Real life is interesting for me right now. In a couple days, I will be getting married and then setting out on my honeymoon, so perhaps you'll forgive me for a bit of distraction. I actually thought that this book would be a good choice for a time like this. I remember the earlier books as being fun romps with just enough danger to keep things interesting. I wasn't counting on the disconnect that I instantly felt. I had forgotten just how over-the-top these books are. Everything is epic. Everything is a matter of life and death. Souls are sworn and forsaken and things are always a big deal. I struggled mightily with this, and I spent about 100 pages at the beginning of the book complaining about it.
I had thought I had settled into the style after the first hundred pages, and things went OK for a while, but I felt like not a lot was happening. And when things did happen, it was the enemy making moves, and not our hero and heroine. Wilson spends a lot of time with Vadim Maur in the first half of the book, and I did not enjoy it. I can get down with a villain, but only if he's actually somewhat sympathetic. If you've read the the other books, you know that Vadim Maur is as irredeemable as they come, and I would have been much happier if the book had been edited down to exclude some of the sections that feature him. Villains are more fun, in my opinion, if you're actually surprised by what they do. Also, I will admit that I get really annoyed by the good guys when they don't act on all this knowledge of the villain's plans that I've been given. Never mind that they don't actually know everything I do. It's just annoying to me. Too much knowledge is not a good thing, sometimes.
Other than that, I'd say there are some pacing issues here. In some ways, the book felt like the first book of a series, because Ellysetta spends a lot of time trying to figure out what to do. I appreciate that the problem is a difficult one, but it didn't make this any more interesting to read. The middle part of the book felt pretty stagnant. I actually didn't read for about a week, to be honest. I got a little over halfway through and just put the book down, without any urge to pick it back up again. It was my impending honeymoon that prompted me to pick it up again. I'm traveling light, so I only intend to bring my Kindle for reading material, and I didn't want this book sitting around for more than a week, waiting for me to come home. Despite my lack of concentration, I forced myself through 100 pages last night, and then finished it up tonight. Finally!
As I said in the beginning of the review, the last part was definitely the strongest. Wilson can write a good action scene, and she was quite deft in unleashing all of the build-up that she'd put into place. Things got really exciting! And then the book ended, because of course.
I did enjoy the character growth that we get in this book, despite feeling like there wasn't a lot of action. Rain and Ellysetta grew both separately and together, and that was much appreciated. I hope that they will be much more impressive in the next book. I also hope that we see more resolution to the threads that Wilson has been weaving throughout these books. In particular, I want to see something done about Ellysetta's parents, who I've grown quite fond of. I just hope that the next book moves a bit quicker than this one did!
scrants19's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
emsy_'s review
2.0
The characters all behave very unrealistically. The romance feels performative and unbelievable. A lot of the time it feels as though the characters are caricatures of masculinity and femininity
lifeand100books's review
5.0
SO much development occurs in this book. Rain finally becomes the king we knew he could be - recognizing that the Fey's ways need to change in order to ensure their continued survival.
Ellie also continues to discover more and more about herself. Not only through her magical discoveries, but also from her relationship with Rain. I've enjoyed seeing the two of them butt heads in this book illustrating that even relationships between soul mates have their issues at times.
And thumbs up for the minor characters who are winning my heart over page by page: Gaelen, The Tairen, Bel, and Kiel & Kieran. <3
Ellie also continues to discover more and more about herself. Not only through her magical discoveries, but also from her relationship with Rain. I've enjoyed seeing the two of them butt heads in this book illustrating that even relationships between soul mates have their issues at times.
And thumbs up for the minor characters who are winning my heart over page by page: Gaelen, The Tairen, Bel, and Kiel & Kieran. <3
esthergreenwoodx's review
5.0
"How could he lay claim to a soul that already belongs utterly to you? There is nothing I would not give, no part of me I would not sacrifice, no law I would not break if it meant keeping you from harm. Kem'reisha sha ver. My soul is yours. Do with it what you will."
sobbing
sobbing
emotionalbookreport's review
3.0
This was a very slow book compared to the first two. I couldn’t read more than a few chapters at a time. There was a lot to digest, but it was a lot of the same? And am I the only one who doesn’t like Lillie and Lorelle? Like first of all, children like that, annoying. And then they are actually magical?? And so was their MOTHER?? Who royally fucked up in the last book because she couldn’t stand magic so much? And these amazing fey warriors weren’t able to sense it?? It’s stupid, and I don’t see where this fits in with the story except that they’re trying to set up the little girls to be future mates of the twins that are taking care of them now? Which, no, weird.
proseandpurls's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.0