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3.38 AVERAGE
3.38 AVERAGE
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
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
Really good setting and world building. Extremely fun to read from two characters views who can’t stand each other in an extremely sibling way.
**TW**
violence, famine, plague, d*ath of a parent, d*ath, injury detail, torture, substance ab*se
Snowblooded by Emma Sterner-Radley is my most recent read that had me in an absolute chokehold (no pun intended).
Following the lives of two notorious assassins, Petrichor and Valour, the reader is instantly pulled into a tense tale of an assassination job. Being used to working alone, it becomes a task for these two to work together to complete their assassination order.
The banter in this book is simply unmatched. Petrichor and Valour constantly bicker but it is is soon realised that it is not out of hate, but out of habit. Even Ingrid joins in occassionally (before having to become a buffer for the two).
The relationships that the characters had with each other were a perfect blend of bitter and sweet. It made them all the more relatable. (Ingrid and Valour grew on me
violence, famine, plague, d*ath of a parent, d*ath, injury detail, torture, substance ab*se
Snowblooded by Emma Sterner-Radley is my most recent read that had me in an absolute chokehold (no pun intended).
Following the lives of two notorious assassins, Petrichor and Valour, the reader is instantly pulled into a tense tale of an assassination job. Being used to working alone, it becomes a task for these two to work together to complete their assassination order.
The banter in this book is simply unmatched. Petrichor and Valour constantly bicker but it is is soon realised that it is not out of hate, but out of habit. Even Ingrid joins in occassionally (before having to become a buffer for the two).
The relationships that the characters had with each other were a perfect blend of bitter and sweet. It made them all the more relatable. (Ingrid and Valour grew on me
adventurous
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Couldn't get on with the narration, which kept explaining the worldbuilding to me.
adventurous
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:
Complicated
This was not what I expected. I would not compare this to Six of Crows.
There is little action and I don't feel connected to the characters past a surface level. Valour, Ingrid and Petrichor are good characters with interesting back stories, but there wasn't any depth to them. Even their connections to each other seemed hollow.
Valour and Ingrid seemed to develop feelings for each other instantly. Also Valour and Petrichor hated each other, but one brief conversation later that didn't even cover much, they were fine with each other.
In terms of the story, they needed to assassinate someone who sounded impossible to even find, yet they only spoke to a few people and found the warehouse very quickly. There were also whole chapters that weren't leading the story along and could have been left out. Along with too much telling us everything instead of showing.
Overall this was a slow but promising start and then a very rushed middle and end that could have been better. A quick read because not much actually happens.
Thank you to Netgalley, the author and publisher for an eARC copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
There is little action and I don't feel connected to the characters past a surface level. Valour, Ingrid and Petrichor are good characters with interesting back stories, but there wasn't any depth to them. Even their connections to each other seemed hollow.
Valour and Ingrid seemed to develop feelings for each other instantly. Also Valour and Petrichor hated each other, but one brief conversation later that didn't even cover much, they were fine with each other.
In terms of the story, they needed to assassinate someone who sounded impossible to even find, yet they only spoke to a few people and found the warehouse very quickly. There were also whole chapters that weren't leading the story along and could have been left out. Along with too much telling us everything instead of showing.
Overall this was a slow but promising start and then a very rushed middle and end that could have been better. A quick read because not much actually happens.
Thank you to Netgalley, the author and publisher for an eARC copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
This is a tough one for me because I don't know if it would be better served with more time. Petrichor is the most interesting thing about this book, but we're stuck with Valour and her "I fuck women and curse!" characterization that falls flat the moment actual banter is necessary. She doesn't come across as no-nonsense or clever, just childish-- and this isn't helped by the severe crafting issue where, instead of dropping hints toward the mystery for the reader to figure out, Valour just drops a vital piece of information, oh, about two seconds before she just tells you what the answer is. We don't have enough backstory to care when things happen, either, even though we're clearly supposed to. I nearly DNF'd this twice: once when I realized Valour wants to be Sal the Cacophony from Seven Blades in Black SO BAD and once when I felt like I was taking too long to read it and only didn't when I looked and realized I only had ten chapters left. What a shame.
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
queer characters with actual good plot and character arc! The world building is picturesque and the quest is fun
Assassin’s Swede.
Valour and Petrichor grew up in the Order of Axsten, an assassin’s guild in the wintery city of Vinterstock. An entirely official and sanctioned guild, I should add, who “handle” difficult problems for the city’s ruling class.
They have very different, yet still very successful, approaches to their work. Valour is blunt force trauma with a heart of gold. She only kills those who she feels actually deserve it, and frequently suffers the ire of the Order for her idealistic approach. Petrichor is more of a precise surgeon - albeit one with high patient mortality, and no bedside manner whatsoever. They have a suitably antagonistic relationship, and the last thing either of them wants to do is to work together. And yet, they have one thing in common, they both want out of the Order and to have the chance of a normal life.
And so, they are given one last job, together. One that will pay well enough that they can buy their respective freedoms. All they need to do is find and kill Brandquist, the head of a shadowy criminal organisation that has flooded the city with addictive magical potions, Well, that and also not kill each other in the process.
Ah, you are thinking, this sounds like the perfect setup for an enemies to lovers romance. And you would be dead wrong. For Valour is also burdened with babysitting Ingrid, a wealthy, well-connected socialite, who has been targeted by Brandquist’s gang. Unfortunately for Valour, Ingrid is a wealthy, well-connected, and annoyingly attractive, socialite. And a pretty flirtatious one at that. So, she needs to keep her close to keep her alive, but not too close that she can’t do her job. Oh, the sapphic sexual tension!
I really enjoyed this book, and I’d love to read more set in this universe. The city itself is a pretty grim place, and obviously our two POV characters are literally assassins so it does involve quite a bit of murdering, but there is amusing banter between all of them, and the growing relationships definitely help to offset the darker tone. It’s not exactly cosy fantasy, but their hideout sure feels pretty cosy sometimes as they shelter from the falling snow. There are plenty of twists and turns, and the book feels the perfect length to deliver an entertaining and notably self-contained story. Highly recommended!
Thanks to Rebellion Publishing for the review copy.
Valour and Petrichor grew up in the Order of Axsten, an assassin’s guild in the wintery city of Vinterstock. An entirely official and sanctioned guild, I should add, who “handle” difficult problems for the city’s ruling class.
They have very different, yet still very successful, approaches to their work. Valour is blunt force trauma with a heart of gold. She only kills those who she feels actually deserve it, and frequently suffers the ire of the Order for her idealistic approach. Petrichor is more of a precise surgeon - albeit one with high patient mortality, and no bedside manner whatsoever. They have a suitably antagonistic relationship, and the last thing either of them wants to do is to work together. And yet, they have one thing in common, they both want out of the Order and to have the chance of a normal life.
And so, they are given one last job, together. One that will pay well enough that they can buy their respective freedoms. All they need to do is find and kill Brandquist, the head of a shadowy criminal organisation that has flooded the city with addictive magical potions, Well, that and also not kill each other in the process.
Ah, you are thinking, this sounds like the perfect setup for an enemies to lovers romance. And you would be dead wrong. For Valour is also burdened with babysitting Ingrid, a wealthy, well-connected socialite, who has been targeted by Brandquist’s gang. Unfortunately for Valour, Ingrid is a wealthy, well-connected, and annoyingly attractive, socialite. And a pretty flirtatious one at that. So, she needs to keep her close to keep her alive, but not too close that she can’t do her job. Oh, the sapphic sexual tension!
I really enjoyed this book, and I’d love to read more set in this universe. The city itself is a pretty grim place, and obviously our two POV characters are literally assassins so it does involve quite a bit of murdering, but there is amusing banter between all of them, and the growing relationships definitely help to offset the darker tone. It’s not exactly cosy fantasy, but their hideout sure feels pretty cosy sometimes as they shelter from the falling snow. There are plenty of twists and turns, and the book feels the perfect length to deliver an entertaining and notably self-contained story. Highly recommended!
Thanks to Rebellion Publishing for the review copy.