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maimona's review against another edition
5.0
A story of carrying on after a plague.
A story that happens after the plague and shows how people carry on with their lives, if their trauma of what they lived will ever dissipate, it may never vanish but they can live with it.
I am so deeply in love with the characters, they are loveable, strong kind and on top of that, they are so noble.
The story is very well written and arranged. It was so easy to dive into it from the very first chapter, in chapter five I was already obsessed and immersed into it.
The amount of historical details fits just right. it gives historical, architectural, and art details just what the reader needs to get the point of the scene.
the story shows different kinds of relationships, love honor brotherhood motherhood friendship, and much more.
The relationship between the two brothers is my fav! they are so loveable! I kept remembering my own older sisters, just like with velenteri they are so protective and give a reliable assurance with their presence!
the book radiates hope, that after darkness sun will rise for sure.
Even after all these people went through kindness for sure was still there. their hearts could warm a country and they are absolutely beautiful their hearts are. Bravery kindness and warmth for each other and for the ones in need, its the essence everyone should work to find in themselves.
I wasn't ready for the climax point was not even expecting it! it was so sad, so devastating and for me no one was wrong but it just went wrong somehow ... my heart ached for the characters!
By the final chapters, the book felt like it is telling a story about coming home in a lot of different ways. for each character a different kind of coming home.
The book is perfect. loved it so much, the ending was not entirely happy for everyone but what mattered was that in the end each one of them was able to carry on after everything, a different way for each one.
I am still wondering why did Cas choose to fight with a mace? was it a Symbol for the story, and identification, or just part of the character that the author wanted him to have... guess I will never know.
highly recommended and it is not related to the corona virus or came to any closer to it so you don't need to worry that it had a plague as a starting point :)
A story that happens after the plague and shows how people carry on with their lives, if their trauma of what they lived will ever dissipate, it may never vanish but they can live with it.
I am so deeply in love with the characters, they are loveable, strong kind and on top of that, they are so noble.
The story is very well written and arranged. It was so easy to dive into it from the very first chapter, in chapter five I was already obsessed and immersed into it.
The amount of historical details fits just right. it gives historical, architectural, and art details just what the reader needs to get the point of the scene.
the story shows different kinds of relationships, love honor brotherhood motherhood friendship, and much more.
The relationship between the two brothers is my fav! they are so loveable! I kept remembering my own older sisters, just like with velenteri they are so protective and give a reliable assurance with their presence!
the book radiates hope, that after darkness sun will rise for sure.
Even after all these people went through kindness for sure was still there. their hearts could warm a country and they are absolutely beautiful their hearts are. Bravery kindness and warmth for each other and for the ones in need, its the essence everyone should work to find in themselves.
I wasn't ready for the climax point was not even expecting it! it was so sad, so devastating and for me no one was wrong but it just went wrong somehow ... my heart ached for the characters!
By the final chapters, the book felt like it is telling a story about coming home in a lot of different ways. for each character a different kind of coming home.
The book is perfect. loved it so much, the ending was not entirely happy for everyone but what mattered was that in the end each one of them was able to carry on after everything, a different way for each one.
I am still wondering why did Cas choose to fight with a mace? was it a Symbol for the story, and identification, or just part of the character that the author wanted him to have... guess I will never know.
highly recommended and it is not related to the corona virus or came to any closer to it so you don't need to worry that it had a plague as a starting point :)
yagurl_courtney's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
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
4.0
shadesofkate26's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
4.5
bibliobrandie's review against another edition
4.0
Based on the cover I thought this was going to be some medieval war story. It's something very different and way more enjoyable (I hope the paperback gets a cover upgrade). It is billed as a fantasy but really it is a mystery, and a good one at that (I was guessing until the reveal). I liked the characters very much. Cas is the lead character (you are reminded again and again that he doesn't like the name Lord Cassiapeus...we know!) and he is a very mature, kind, and resilient character. The other main character is Lena and I love that she is a historian. There is A LOT going on and at first I didn't know if was all going to work out, but somehow it did. This book was inspired by plagues, in particular the Black Plague, and I worried it was too soon to read a plague book. It wasn't. I loved the humor in here. I loved the ending. My only real question, besides the cover, I also really love that this is a standalone novel. So yeah, just solid middle grade fiction here (some of the more gory details might make it lean more YA).
Spoiler
is did Cassia's ability to see ghosts help the story at all? I don't know that it did, so why?gillianc695a's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
melsmagicalreads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
enbylibrary's review against another edition
4.75
Gosh. Really lovely. Made me cry at several points, from beauty or grief. How wonderful to have a YA standalone fantasy.
iffer's review against another edition
3.0
This was an enjoyable my combination of rerurn-of-the-son, meet cute, and mystery set in a fictional setting reminiscent of post-plague Europe. That said, at times this feels like a patchwork of different vignettes, albeit many of them well-written (whether enticing with action, or tugging at the heartstrings), that make a book-length story but which could've used some finessing to make it a single cohesive novel or expanded into several storylines.
As an aside, it's interesting to think that this was being written or edited during 2020, when the world was so full of uncertainty about our time's plague. And it's interesting to think about the way in which that time period will shape the reader's experience of this book.
As an aside, it's interesting to think that this was being written or edited during 2020, when the world was so full of uncertainty about our time's plague. And it's interesting to think about the way in which that time period will shape the reader's experience of this book.
tacochelle's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
hopeful
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
4.0
This was a really cool ya fantasy, with a world inspired by medieval Europe during the black death. The mystery that drives the plot was really interesting, though I'm a little iffy on how it wraps up. The mc Cas has the ability to see and speak to ghosts, and I wish it was used more in the story. It was never fully explained, and with a plot focused on who is killing those closest to the queen, I thought we'd see Cas' power in action more, but it didn't, really.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Murder, Kidnapping, Pandemic/Epidemic, and Torture
Minor: War, Confinement, and Child death