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3.95 AVERAGE
3.95 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
inspiring
mysterious
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:
Complicated
4 1/2 stars easy!! REALLY looking forward to reading the next one!
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-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
Wow this was an amazing start to the series.
I was invested from the very start. The writing was imersive and made it so easy to fall into the story and forget you are only reading and not a part of the story. Usually with multiple POV's I usually prefer 1 over the other but I was always excited to see the next POV. I do wish we had more of the Sister Adare as I think that part of the world needed to be explored more, but by the ending to this book, I can see it becoming a main focus in the next. I loved seeing the 2 brothers and how different but similar they were being brought up. Their training was vastly different but both had many things to learn for their future within the empire and I can't wait to see how what they were taught will come into play now with how things ended in this book. I honestly think this is a strong start and foundation and I can't wait for the next books to be delivered so I can continue because I will be getting to them immediately
I was invested from the very start. The writing was imersive and made it so easy to fall into the story and forget you are only reading and not a part of the story. Usually with multiple POV's I usually prefer 1 over the other but I was always excited to see the next POV. I do wish we had more of the Sister Adare as I think that part of the world needed to be explored more, but by the ending to this book, I can see it becoming a main focus in the next. I loved seeing the 2 brothers and how different but similar they were being brought up. Their training was vastly different but both had many things to learn for their future within the empire and I can't wait to see how what they were taught will come into play now with how things ended in this book. I honestly think this is a strong start and foundation and I can't wait for the next books to be delivered so I can continue because I will be getting to them immediately
2.5* Let me first start this off by saying I have my opinion on this book, and you have yours. Let's agree to disagree here. I came across this book after it was listed alongside Malice by John Gwynne as a book for adult fantasy and grimdark fans. I looked at the rating on here and figured I give it a shot hoping the book would be something I would enjoy.
Unfortunately, that was not the case. First thing, the book has great world-building. I enjoyed that aspect of it. However, I found the book somewhat boring. The plot is something that's been done before; an emperor is murdered and his children are targeted next. I was hoping that Staveley would put an interesting twist on it, but in my opinion he did not. There was, however, one part of the book that I was not expecting so I appreciate that.
Adare's part of the book was great and the main reason I gave this book 2.5 stars. But Adare only had 4 or 5 chapters in the book, and the rest of the book was given to Kaden and mostly Valyn. I'm not sure how old Valyn is supposed to be (I'm assuming older than Kaden whom is 17), but boy did he act like a teenager most of the book. He had little growth and only showed true development the last three chapters of the book. God, I wish Adare had more chapters.
The last thing I'm gonna comment on is the language the narrative and characters used to refer to women. They were either bitches or whores. A female character could not be described unless her breasts and hips were mentioned. I had to laugh when a character (not mentioning who because of spoilers) was tied up and facing death had time to think about a woman's shapely breasts and curvaceous hips. Not to mention the woman he was commenting on was also in bad shape injury wise. I bought the physical copy of this book, but if it wasn't for the audiobook I wouldn't have finished it.
I don't plan on reading the other books unless someone tells me we get more of Adare's POV.
Unfortunately, that was not the case. First thing, the book has great world-building. I enjoyed that aspect of it. However, I found the book somewhat boring. The plot is something that's been done before; an emperor is murdered and his children are targeted next. I was hoping that Staveley would put an interesting twist on it, but in my opinion he did not. There was, however, one part of the book that I was not expecting so I appreciate that.
Adare's part of the book was great and the main reason I gave this book 2.5 stars. But Adare only had 4 or 5 chapters in the book, and the rest of the book was given to Kaden and mostly Valyn. I'm not sure how old Valyn is supposed to be (I'm assuming older than Kaden whom is 17), but boy did he act like a teenager most of the book. He had little growth and only showed true development the last three chapters of the book. God, I wish Adare had more chapters.
The last thing I'm gonna comment on is the language the narrative and characters used to refer to women. They were either bitches or whores. A female character could not be described unless her breasts and hips were mentioned. I had to laugh when a character (not mentioning who because of spoilers) was tied up and facing death had time to think about a woman's shapely breasts and curvaceous hips. Not to mention the woman he was commenting on was also in bad shape injury wise. I bought the physical copy of this book, but if it wasn't for the audiobook I wouldn't have finished it.
I don't plan on reading the other books unless someone tells me we get more of Adare's POV.
A traditional epic fantasy opener featuring a murdered king and his 3 children. The book does not do anything drastically to alter the fantasy landscape, it just tell a nice story pretty well. A nice pace with some great action and setup propels the book forward, even if things fall into place a bit conveniently. A major gripe would be the lack of chapters that the female lead gets as compared to her 2 brothers
