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3.77 AVERAGE
3.77 AVERAGE
I should have written the review when I read the book like 2 months ago but I have been doing a bad job at this review thingy lately.
I don't entirely remember everything about the book because I have read quite enough of books since I read this one but I do remember how I felt when I started shipping Eliana with Simon although some parts felt a bit too "wait what the fuck? When did this happen?" But like is it truly an otp if they don't try to murder each other quite few times?
I loved the idea of the story and how it connected with both two girls apart centuries. Loved the concept of Sun Queen and Blood Queen. Really loved Rielle's character and Audric too. Like sure it had it's YA cliche and tropes but truly all YA books still has them. I won't say it's a bad thing because I clearly found myself being a complete trash for this book. It hooked me from the very first pages and it didn't let go until it ended.
It's safe to say I want to read the sequel very bad. My Queen Rielle needs me!! Or I need her but Eliana can come too.
I don't entirely remember everything about the book because I have read quite enough of books since I read this one but I do remember how I felt when I started shipping Eliana with Simon although some parts felt a bit too "wait what the fuck? When did this happen?" But like is it truly an otp if they don't try to murder each other quite few times?
I loved the idea of the story and how it connected with both two girls apart centuries. Loved the concept of Sun Queen and Blood Queen. Really loved Rielle's character and Audric too. Like sure it had it's YA cliche and tropes but truly all YA books still has them. I won't say it's a bad thing because I clearly found myself being a complete trash for this book. It hooked me from the very first pages and it didn't let go until it ended.
It's safe to say I want to read the sequel very bad. My Queen Rielle needs me!! Or I need her but Eliana can come too.
08/08/20
I decided to re-read because I actually finally decided to get first two books as Kingsbane finally got released in paperback or something along the lines. Because I truly did enjoy the book the first time around I read the arc of it I got from one of the Fairyloot's boxes. I still really loved the concept of the whole story. Two Queens centuries apart having almost the exact same fight against the big baddie.
It did take me three weeks to re-read it but it was mostly due to the fact that life hasn't been the greatest or even nicest to me for the last 2 months. But the moment I feel like I sorted my head, reading became easier and I wanted to read more and I am really excited to read Kingsbane. Heard it has some sex scenes from older review videos I had seen on certain channels.
However, the sex scenes in this one especially Audric's and Rielle's kinda really made me laugh so much, I don't know why but it was just hilarious in some ways. I guess can't wait for more of giggle because of it.
I had forgotten some things about it and re-reading is always the best thing if you plan on reading the following books like hundred years later.
And I can't be bothered to keep up with writing a review longer or better so this is all we will get or all that I will type out.
17/03/18
I should have written the review when I read the book like 2 months ago but I have been doing a bad job at this review thingy lately.
I don't entirely remember everything about the book because I have read quite enough of books since I read this one but I do remember how I felt when I started shipping Eliana with Simon although some parts felt a bit too "wait what the fuck? When did this happen?" But like is it truly an otp if they don't try to murder each other quite few times?
I loved the idea of the story and how it connected with both two girls apart centuries. Loved the concept of Sun Queen and Blood Queen. Really loved Rielle's character and Audric too. Like sure it had it's YA cliche and tropes but truly all YA books still has them. I won't say it's a bad thing because I clearly found myself being a complete trash for this book. It hooked me from the very first pages and it didn't let go until it ended.
It's safe to say I want to read the sequel very bad. My Queen Rielle needs me!! Or I need her but Eliana can come too.
I decided to re-read because I actually finally decided to get first two books as Kingsbane finally got released in paperback or something along the lines. Because I truly did enjoy the book the first time around I read the arc of it I got from one of the Fairyloot's boxes. I still really loved the concept of the whole story. Two Queens centuries apart having almost the exact same fight against the big baddie.
It did take me three weeks to re-read it but it was mostly due to the fact that life hasn't been the greatest or even nicest to me for the last 2 months. But the moment I feel like I sorted my head, reading became easier and I wanted to read more and I am really excited to read Kingsbane. Heard it has some sex scenes from older review videos I had seen on certain channels.
However, the sex scenes in this one especially Audric's and Rielle's kinda really made me laugh so much, I don't know why but it was just hilarious in some ways. I guess can't wait for more of giggle because of it.
I had forgotten some things about it and re-reading is always the best thing if you plan on reading the following books like hundred years later.
And I can't be bothered to keep up with writing a review longer or better so this is all we will get or all that I will type out.
17/03/18
I should have written the review when I read the book like 2 months ago but I have been doing a bad job at this review thingy lately.
I don't entirely remember everything about the book because I have read quite enough of books since I read this one but I do remember how I felt when I started shipping Eliana with Simon although some parts felt a bit too "wait what the fuck? When did this happen?" But like is it truly an otp if they don't try to murder each other quite few times?
I loved the idea of the story and how it connected with both two girls apart centuries. Loved the concept of Sun Queen and Blood Queen. Really loved Rielle's character and Audric too. Like sure it had it's YA cliche and tropes but truly all YA books still has them. I won't say it's a bad thing because I clearly found myself being a complete trash for this book. It hooked me from the very first pages and it didn't let go until it ended.
It's safe to say I want to read the sequel very bad. My Queen Rielle needs me!! Or I need her but Eliana can come too.
Mistrzostwem świata to to nie jest i trochę się pokrzywiłam, ale przez większość książki dobrze się bawiłam
3.5/5
3.5/5
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
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
This was a tense, exciting ride.
I have to admit, I did not expect this book to be good. It was hyped when it came out, but the description never struck a chord with me. "Two queens... separated by a thousand years..." Honestly, it sounded annoying. POV-switching isn't my favorite, and having to invest in TWO separate characters and TWO separate stories is often burdensome. What the description didn't mention, though, is that it's actually one complete story from the get-go, and that there's time travel involved.
The plot is an angels-vs-humans situation, similar to the Dominion TV show/Legion movie, except set in a sort of Medieval/Renaissance fantasy world. This is interesting enough, but the book is carried mostly by the characters. Rielle's story is the more enjoyable one, which is sad because the prologue already tells us how it ends. Her magic trials were actually far less interesting than her relationships with everyone -- her father, her friends, her tutor. I felt like through her I was able to care about them all.
Eliana's chapters were compelling as well, but that was mostly because of the other characters, not Eliana herself. She has an intriguing setup: cold, arrogant, selfish, antagonistic, fiercely loyal. Her persona is born of pain and watching her grapple with her protective selfishness and haltingly grow beyond it was compelling. Unfortunately, she also apparently studied the art of being annoying under Caeleheana from Throne of Glass.
The constant sneering, coldly smiling, and viciously grinning gets old. So does the unceasing braggadocio about how skilled, deadly and ruthless she is. Eliana is not infrequently ambushed, bested, and knocked out -- yet for some reason she CANNOT shut up about how she's the Dread of Wherever and could kill them all with her left pinky finger. It's nowhere near as bad as Throne of Glass, but still gets grating after a while. She's lucky she has her fabulous brother Remy and that Simon is EXACTLY the kind of character I most adore, otherwise this would be much harder to forgive.
BIG CAVEAT AND ALSO QUESTION: Is this an adult book or a YA book? I found it in the YA section of the library and the characters are older teenagers. However... there is a full sex scene in one of Rielle's chapters near the end and a lot more sexual references throughout than I am used to seeing from YA.
I have to admit, I did not expect this book to be good. It was hyped when it came out, but the description never struck a chord with me. "Two queens... separated by a thousand years..." Honestly, it sounded annoying. POV-switching isn't my favorite, and having to invest in TWO separate characters and TWO separate stories is often burdensome. What the description didn't mention, though, is that it's actually one complete story from the get-go, and that there's time travel involved.
The plot is an angels-vs-humans situation, similar to the Dominion TV show/Legion movie, except set in a sort of Medieval/Renaissance fantasy world. This is interesting enough, but the book is carried mostly by the characters. Rielle's story is the more enjoyable one, which is sad because the prologue already tells us how it ends. Her magic trials were actually far less interesting than her relationships with everyone -- her father, her friends, her tutor. I felt like through her I was able to care about them all.
Eliana's chapters were compelling as well, but that was mostly because of the other characters, not Eliana herself. She has an intriguing setup: cold, arrogant, selfish, antagonistic, fiercely loyal. Her persona is born of pain and watching her grapple with her protective selfishness and haltingly grow beyond it was compelling. Unfortunately, she also apparently studied the art of being annoying under Caeleheana from Throne of Glass.
The constant sneering, coldly smiling, and viciously grinning gets old. So does the unceasing braggadocio about how skilled, deadly and ruthless she is. Eliana is not infrequently ambushed, bested, and knocked out -- yet for some reason she CANNOT shut up about how she's the Dread of Wherever and could kill them all with her left pinky finger. It's nowhere near as bad as Throne of Glass, but still gets grating after a while. She's lucky she has her fabulous brother Remy and that Simon is EXACTLY the kind of character I most adore, otherwise this would be much harder to forgive.
BIG CAVEAT AND ALSO QUESTION: Is this an adult book or a YA book? I found it in the YA section of the library and the characters are older teenagers. However... there is a full sex scene in one of Rielle's chapters near the end and a lot more sexual references throughout than I am used to seeing from YA.
considering that this is a trilogy, i’m going to wait to get all my thoughts out til the third book. all i’ve got today is that this was captivating (although hard to get into it) (ik bc i picked it up two years ago and didn’t get past the first chapter). it felt like reading two ya fantasies at the same time. the tropes in question being:
1. bored, rich girl that’s a friend of a royal and suddenly discovers she more royal than anyone
2. poor, badass girl that discovers she has powers and can actually save her family/the world
anyway stan simon. i’m really bored of audric he’s extremely vanilla. corien just isn’t fleshed out enough, idk what he’s about. and is havsta?…is tht his name… henry? halter? harlan? harvey? tf was his hame? well that’s all we need to know abt him.
1. bored, rich girl that’s a friend of a royal and suddenly discovers she more royal than anyone
2. poor, badass girl that discovers she has powers and can actually save her family/the world
anyway stan simon. i’m really bored of audric he’s extremely vanilla. corien just isn’t fleshed out enough, idk what he’s about. and is havsta?…is tht his name… henry? halter? harlan? harvey? tf was his hame? well that’s all we need to know abt him.
There were some weird moments in this book, but overall I really liked it. It combines so many fantasy elements without falling short. It has some cringy sex scenes, but I wouldn't say there is a lot of romance. It's mostly lust between two teenagers.
We follow two girls, more than 1000 years apart. At least, that is stated in the text but is never clear from the way the world changed. It could just as easily have been 100 years apart. Or fifty. My other complaint is that there are some trials in this book, that were just not interesting. I didn't feel afraid for the characters involved in the trial and I found the trials to be confusing. I couldn't picture them clearly in my head.
If you like Sarah J Maas her books (at least her Throne of Glass series), you will probably like this one as well. I have negative things to say about both, but I enjoy too much to give a negative review.
We follow two girls, more than 1000 years apart. At least, that is stated in the text but is never clear from the way the world changed. It could just as easily have been 100 years apart. Or fifty. My other complaint is that there are some trials in this book, that were just not interesting. I didn't feel afraid for the characters involved in the trial and I found the trials to be confusing. I couldn't picture them clearly in my head.
If you like Sarah J Maas her books (at least her Throne of Glass series), you will probably like this one as well. I have negative things to say about both, but I enjoy too much to give a negative review.
I honestly cannot think of any specific complaints about this book. It is a fun fantasy story, page turning, involving. There are some overpowered characters, which is not my favorite, but they make up for it by being really annoying in personality, so there is a pretty good balance throughout the story. I am already eagerly reading the sequel.
#88 - 2020
Genre: YA Fantasy
Berusaha menyukai sebuah buku yang sebelumnya direview bagus, tapi aku merasa biasa-biasa saja itu seperti dikhianati. Suatu keajaiban tetep bisa menyelesaikan 512 halaman dalam 24 jam, amazing kan.
Terdiri 2 POV yaitu Rielle dan Eliana yang terpisah berabad-abad, dimana sepanjang membacanya apa hubungan antara mereka berdua ini, satu-satu persamaan adalah nama Simon, yang tetap aja aku mengira-ngira apakah Simon di era Rielle adalah Simon yang sama dengan yang di era Eliana.
Masalah terbesar adalah aku suka bagian Rielle, yang lengkap dengan romance dengan Aubric, sang pangeran, tapi gak suka sama Eliana. Kalau boleh skip bagian Eliana alangkah baiknya, tapi gak bakal ketemu kaitan mereka berdua. Apalagi kita dipaksa untuk memikirkan hubungan mereka, dengan clue disana sini, apalagi di bagian akhir.
Diawali dengan adegan Rielle melahirkan seorang bayi, tanpa tahu siapa ayah sang bayi, kemudian dia menyuruh Simon untuk pergi bersama bayi yang baru dilahirkan. Setelah itu kisah pun mundur 2 tahun sebelumnya, nah selamat anda akan bertanya-tanya sepanjang membaca buku ini.
Jangan harap yah diakhir ada jawabannya, just lucky guess. Pengarang maunya kita baca lanjutan serialnya, sedangkan ini buku terdiri dari 3 buku, yg buku ketiga belum terbit. Hadeh kena PR lagi seh.
Genre: YA Fantasy
Berusaha menyukai sebuah buku yang sebelumnya direview bagus, tapi aku merasa biasa-biasa saja itu seperti dikhianati. Suatu keajaiban tetep bisa menyelesaikan 512 halaman dalam 24 jam, amazing kan.
Terdiri 2 POV yaitu Rielle dan Eliana yang terpisah berabad-abad, dimana sepanjang membacanya apa hubungan antara mereka berdua ini, satu-satu persamaan adalah nama Simon, yang tetap aja aku mengira-ngira apakah Simon di era Rielle adalah Simon yang sama dengan yang di era Eliana.
Masalah terbesar adalah aku suka bagian Rielle, yang lengkap dengan romance dengan Aubric, sang pangeran, tapi gak suka sama Eliana. Kalau boleh skip bagian Eliana alangkah baiknya, tapi gak bakal ketemu kaitan mereka berdua. Apalagi kita dipaksa untuk memikirkan hubungan mereka, dengan clue disana sini, apalagi di bagian akhir.
Diawali dengan adegan Rielle melahirkan seorang bayi, tanpa tahu siapa ayah sang bayi, kemudian dia menyuruh Simon untuk pergi bersama bayi yang baru dilahirkan. Setelah itu kisah pun mundur 2 tahun sebelumnya, nah selamat anda akan bertanya-tanya sepanjang membaca buku ini.
Jangan harap yah diakhir ada jawabannya, just lucky guess. Pengarang maunya kita baca lanjutan serialnya, sedangkan ini buku terdiri dari 3 buku, yg buku ketiga belum terbit. Hadeh kena PR lagi seh.
An enjoyable fantasy story, not without a few hitches, but this one will have me going back for the sequel—as yet, still [b:Untitled|40523458|Untitled (Empirium #2)|Claire Legrand|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/book/50x75-a91bf249278a81aabab721ef782c4a74.png|62895161].
From the beginning, through several sets of introductions to characters, plots, and settings, the novel felt confusing and busy. An easy case of too many characters and too quick a rotation through their points-of-view. Here, in the first act (assuming the three-act structure) the novel dips quite often into the skimmable realm and the characters, at various times, feel fairly standard and stock with predictable voices.
Rielle—heroine number one—brings intrigue, power, and mystery to the table and is an easy character to like and care about. Her relationships with her friends and her mentor all feel very authentic and Legrand avoids many tropes often found in this kind of fantasy structure. There are no "mean girls," no overlording villainous court figure, and no unnecessary wavering of character and spirit. No one is hung up on all the decisions. Everyone seems to know his or her own mind, for the most part, and they play their roles accordingly.
Immediately, I liked Simon's POV, but was disappointed to find that he never takes over the narration again. Simon, a character not even mentioned in the book's summary, plays a pivotal role throughout the story, but he's never really given enough attention beyond that opening. The novel would've been improved if we didn't follow Eliana and instead got the benefit of Simon. He has more of an internal struggle with which we can identify (failure, anyone?) and seeing Eliana through his eyes would've smoothed out some of those rough edges Eliana brings.
Getting to know Eliana was a little more difficult. While I really liked that she is apparently interested in both sexes (how often is there a true main character who is bisexual?), I was disappointed from that angle that it wasn't explored more—but there are more novels to come, so we shall see. There are a pair of husbands who were tertiary characters, but who leveled out the diversity nicely in that area. Anytime a same-sex couple can be portrayed as ordinary and even introduced with all the nonchalance of it being no big deal, I'm in. But that's not my main issue with this character....
To me, Eliana seems like a faux-badass. Like she’s a badass until real badasses are present and then her badassery is diminished to something lesser and common. I don't know...just the lack of oomph from her character despite what I was told as we began her story. The Dread/Eliana was often caught unawares and she seemed to be thrown off her game quite often. Regardless, she felt more written than the other characters, and less real because of it.
Act two picks up the pace and really holds this story together. My interest level increased tremendously and I was ready for the story to break wide open. Once the trials began for Rielle, everything about this book improved markedly. Legrand really shines here with her ability to properly write both a fight action sequence and a magical obstacle course of sorts (for lack of a better term). Neither was overwritten or improperly paced—instead we had the necessary pull for wanting to continue reading. Skimmable pages—gone.
Unfortunately, we lost a bit of that engaging facet once we were in the third and final act of the story. Uneven delivery, pacing, characterization, and plot development leads to more questions than are necessary for a finale—even with the understanding that it’s part of a larger story to be concluded through later installments. The triangle between Ludivine, Rielle, and Audric felt grounded in the triangle created by the characters Scarlett O’Hara, Ashley Wilkes, and Melanie Hamilton for a while—it did eventually out itself properly and shake off any phoniness.
Eliana feels utterly laden with weaponry. And all those weapons all seem to be named with rather atypical names for swords, daggers, knives, and such. The weapon-pack-mule, coupled with an odd and sudden change in her dealings with Simon—which seems nearly out of character for her, or a rushed character evolution, she began to feel very forced and wrongly shaped. It was as though there was far more going on in the author's head than what appears in print.
However, the overall story is still intriguing and there were many questions from the ending that remain unanswered. Questions for which I do want answers. I hope there is improvement in the sequel that will bolster the need for a continuing series. Good beginnings.
I received this book for free from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This in no way affected my opinion of the book, nor the content of my review.
From the beginning, through several sets of introductions to characters, plots, and settings, the novel felt confusing and busy. An easy case of too many characters and too quick a rotation through their points-of-view. Here, in the first act (assuming the three-act structure) the novel dips quite often into the skimmable realm and the characters, at various times, feel fairly standard and stock with predictable voices.
Rielle—heroine number one—brings intrigue, power, and mystery to the table and is an easy character to like and care about. Her relationships with her friends and her mentor all feel very authentic and Legrand avoids many tropes often found in this kind of fantasy structure. There are no "mean girls," no overlording villainous court figure, and no unnecessary wavering of character and spirit. No one is hung up on all the decisions. Everyone seems to know his or her own mind, for the most part, and they play their roles accordingly.
Immediately, I liked Simon's POV, but was disappointed to find that he never takes over the narration again. Simon, a character not even mentioned in the book's summary, plays a pivotal role throughout the story, but he's never really given enough attention beyond that opening. The novel would've been improved if we didn't follow Eliana and instead got the benefit of Simon. He has more of an internal struggle with which we can identify (failure, anyone?) and seeing Eliana through his eyes would've smoothed out some of those rough edges Eliana brings.
Getting to know Eliana was a little more difficult. While I really liked that she is apparently interested in both sexes (how often is there a true main character who is bisexual?), I was disappointed from that angle that it wasn't explored more—but there are more novels to come, so we shall see. There are a pair of husbands who were tertiary characters, but who leveled out the diversity nicely in that area. Anytime a same-sex couple can be portrayed as ordinary and even introduced with all the nonchalance of it being no big deal, I'm in. But that's not my main issue with this character....
To me, Eliana seems like a faux-badass. Like she’s a badass until real badasses are present and then her badassery is diminished to something lesser and common. I don't know...just the lack of oomph from her character despite what I was told as we began her story. The Dread/Eliana was often caught unawares and she seemed to be thrown off her game quite often. Regardless, she felt more written than the other characters, and less real because of it.
Act two picks up the pace and really holds this story together. My interest level increased tremendously and I was ready for the story to break wide open. Once the trials began for Rielle, everything about this book improved markedly. Legrand really shines here with her ability to properly write both a fight action sequence and a magical obstacle course of sorts (for lack of a better term). Neither was overwritten or improperly paced—instead we had the necessary pull for wanting to continue reading. Skimmable pages—gone.
Unfortunately, we lost a bit of that engaging facet once we were in the third and final act of the story. Uneven delivery, pacing, characterization, and plot development leads to more questions than are necessary for a finale—even with the understanding that it’s part of a larger story to be concluded through later installments. The triangle between Ludivine, Rielle, and Audric felt grounded in the triangle created by the characters Scarlett O’Hara, Ashley Wilkes, and Melanie Hamilton for a while—it did eventually out itself properly and shake off any phoniness.
Eliana feels utterly laden with weaponry. And all those weapons all seem to be named with rather atypical names for swords, daggers, knives, and such. The weapon-pack-mule, coupled with an odd and sudden change in her dealings with Simon—which seems nearly out of character for her, or a rushed character evolution, she began to feel very forced and wrongly shaped. It was as though there was far more going on in the author's head than what appears in print.
However, the overall story is still intriguing and there were many questions from the ending that remain unanswered. Questions for which I do want answers. I hope there is improvement in the sequel that will bolster the need for a continuing series. Good beginnings.
I received this book for free from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This in no way affected my opinion of the book, nor the content of my review.