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evbyrd's review against another edition
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Death, Animal death, Child death, and Blood
blewballoon's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
I'm not sure how to rate this because I didn't really have any strong feelings about the book. I had mostly a bland reading experience. Apart from maybe Violet, I didn't feel attached to any of the characters, and that made it harder to care what was going on with them. It felt like I was just skimming the surface level of plot and characters for the most part.
The writing style reminded me of Sabriel by Garth Nix, which is nice, but that style doesn't help when the text is fairly repetitive and the book is mostly predictable.There are several twists towards the very end, but if you know there is a twist and you try at all to predict what it is, you will probably figure them all out long before the characters do. I didn't feel like any of the twists improved my opinion of the book or gave me that "oh I want to re-read now that I know the twist!" type feeling that would re-contextualize the story, and they didn't make me excited for a sequel. It's more that the whole first 90% of the book feels like it was just filler.
I'm trying not to be too harsh, but there really isn't much I liked, despite wanting to like it and having high hopes for it. It has elements that sort of reminded me of other books I do like, but as if I only got the seltzer drink wisp of flavor of the real fruit. I don't even mind when stories are predictable and characters are a bit cliche as long as the book is still immersive and fun to read, but I didn't have much fun with this. I didn't hate it, though. For me, the book was a lot of death and dullness, and it's the combination of sad/bored that risks putting me into a reading slump if I don't find something good to snap me out of it. I will say the audiobook narrator is very good, but I kept speeding the poor man up (I think I finished on 1.6 speed) because I wanted it to be over.
The writing style reminded me of Sabriel by Garth Nix, which is nice, but that style doesn't help when the text is fairly repetitive and the book is mostly predictable.
I'm trying not to be too harsh, but there really isn't much I liked, despite wanting to like it and having high hopes for it. It has elements that sort of reminded me of other books I do like, but as if I only got the seltzer drink wisp of flavor of the real fruit. I don't even mind when stories are predictable and characters are a bit cliche as long as the book is still immersive and fun to read, but I didn't have much fun with this. I didn't hate it, though. For me, the book was a lot of death and dullness, and it's the combination of sad/bored that risks putting me into a reading slump if I don't find something good to snap me out of it. I will say the audiobook narrator is very good, but I kept speeding the poor man up (I think I finished on 1.6 speed) because I wanted it to be over.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, Murder, and Violence
Moderate: Death of parent, Torture, War, and Confinement
Minor: Body horror and Child death
cait's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Animal death, Confinement, Grief, Infidelity, Murder, Abandonment, Death, Blood, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Child abuse, Child death, Classism, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Physical abuse, Racism, Gaslighting, Gore, Violence, Vomit, and War
spooderman's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: War, Torture, Panic attacks/disorders, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Death, Classism, Murder, Emotional abuse, Blood, Violence, Physical abuse, Kidnapping, Gaslighting, Death of parent, Confinement, and Adult/minor relationship
Moderate: Pedophilia, Xenophobia, Racism, Trafficking, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Sexism, Infidelity, Incest, Homophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Stalking, Sexual assault, Self harm, Slavery, Outing, Child death, Child abuse, and Abandonment
aexileigh's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
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? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, War, Death of parent, Blood, Classism, Genocide, Violence, and Death
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Torture, Child death, Racism, and Adult/minor relationship
bugcollector's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
what is this bs
and when is the next one coming out đšđ
and when is the next one coming out đšđ
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death of parent, Murder, Torture, Violence, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Gore, and Grief
freckled_frog_boi's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
I had really high hopes for this one because it was set in old London, with a magical world hidden from the eyes of humans, and an ancient war the main characters are thrust into. Plus, we have some queer and poc rep!
However, it felt lacking on quite a few levels. Maybe because it's a YA novel, and I just didnât check the genre beforehand? Idk. But I believe YA could be good if it were written well; this book was⌠not.
First of all, do you know the miscommunication trope? It felt like the author was miscommunicating to the readers the whole time. Yes, there was foreshadowing, but it was to lead us all in a different direction, only for the author to âplot twistâ us all in the last 50 pages. While some foreshadowing worked for both storylines, the original wrong one and the plot-twist right one, there was no way we could have seen the twist coming, which is the opposite of the whole point of foreshadowing, I feel.
The author also had the mc spout monologues to explain what was going on, as if the mc just ~Knew~ what was going on the whole time. And even though we were in his POV most of the time, there were no hints as to what he actually knew.
AND THERE WAS NO HUMOR??? Literally, the only two funny parts were unintentional. It was not meant to be funny, but it was too absurdist not to chuckle. PSA! WE NEED MORE HUMOR IN FANTASY! PLEASE!
Also, it tried to follow the trope of having all MC parents be dead/abusive so they wouldnât hold the heroes back from their adventure. It felt overdone and didnât help me get into the novel. I felt like rolling my eyes.
For example, the author made a POC character, only to have her adopted parents be racist and abusive in order to force her into a heroâs journey. And then it was never discussed again. Being Indian isnât a plot device; it's part of her character, and I wished there was more fleshed out for her. She was also described as boyish/manly, which I didnât appreciate. Not simply because she was the only POC character as far as I could tell, but because she trains to become a strong fighter, and her âmanlinessâ is given as one of the reasons sheâs interested in swords and learning to fight. You can be feminine and like swords, goddammit. She doesnât need to be masculine to like sword fighting!
Second of all, the queer rep was disappointing. We donât really get a hint that Will, our MC, is bi until he kisses a girl who Iâm pretty sure is his cousin. Gross. And itâs not explained away. Later, when we realize he somehow knew the truth the whole time, none of the characters even blink once about it. Itâs just not addressed. Prior to him kissing his cousin, we are lead to think heâs gay; given what we are told, he appreciates other peopleâs âboyishâ looks. To me, it felt like his attraction to women was just a plot point to build a single point of unidentifiable foreshadowing. It was not written to be a part of his character. Which sucks.
Another weird thing for me was reading the POVs of the women in the book. They all had an underlying tone that they had crushes on Will. There was no reason that needed to be in there. Like the author could have just written it, so that wasnât the case. Idk why they chose to do that; there was no point in us reading about a bunch of women crushing on, who we thought, was a gay man. Itâs just uncomfortable.
And finally! The gay romance. Firstly, the only queer romance in here was between MLM, white, pretty boys. Which is OK to have in a book, those types of characters can be wonderful. But this story wrote all of them as being extremely powerful but extremely submissive, which is just another form of harmful representation. And all of the gay romances are highly sexualized, down to stabbing scenes containing crazy sexual subtext. It made me extremely uncomfortable to read, and thatâs REALLY saying something bc I like a good horny romance. This is just not a good horny. Rip.
I donât know. With how this book was explained, I was hoping to see more of a variety of queer rep, at least healthy queer rep!
It just didnât feel well done. Sorry guys!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Animal death, Genocide, Gore, Violence, Death of parent, and Torture
Moderate: Death of parent and Abandonment
Minor: Classism, Injury/Injury detail, Bullying, and Colonisation
nirelocin's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Blood, Torture, War, Animal death, Death, and Death of parent
Moderate: Child death and Toxic relationship
samchase112's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I think what people were is less important than what they are. And what people are is less important than what they could be.
Even under the guise of an overcomplicated fantasy world and endless description of said world and each of its ultimately useless facets, CS Pacat is still a master of tension and romance. And that is the reason I come back to her books again and again.
A good chunk of the book (read: ~80%) is a lot of explaining and confusing details, and I really was not enjoying my time with it. The whole old world/new world and the Stewards as a community were a lot to take in, and honestly it didn't even matter much by the end; I just didn't really care about them or their purpose. And do I really need to? (Honestly, the smaller-scale political battles of CaPri felt more intense and important than the big world struggles of this one.) Violet is badass, and I already love Will. James has such potential, and unfortunately he was barely in this first installment. But once we get to the real twists, the real meat of the story, in the last 20% or so, this book becomes a CS Pacat book. Just as in Captive Prince, this first book is mainly a set up for the epicness that will (hopefully) be the rest of the trilogy. I cannot wait for the sequel to be released!
Reread October 2023
Second reading: unquestionably better than the first! Knowing all the world-building to come, I was able to fully immerse myself in the story and world, and it was glorious. The characters were captivating, the story relentless, and the intrigue top-notch. I was absolutely enthralled.
Even under the guise of an overcomplicated fantasy world and endless description of said world and each of its ultimately useless facets, CS Pacat is still a master of tension and romance. And that is the reason I come back to her books again and again.
A good chunk of the book (read: ~80%) is a lot of explaining and confusing details, and I really was not enjoying my time with it. The whole old world/new world and the Stewards as a community were a lot to take in, and honestly it didn't even matter much by the end; I just didn't really care about them or their purpose. And do I really need to? (Honestly, the smaller-scale political battles of CaPri felt more intense and important than the big world struggles of this one.) Violet is badass, and I already love Will. James has such potential, and unfortunately he was barely in this first installment. But once we get to the real twists, the real meat of the story, in the last 20% or so, this book becomes a CS Pacat book. Just as in Captive Prince, this first book is mainly a set up for the epicness that will (hopefully) be the rest of the trilogy. I cannot wait for the sequel to be released!
Reread October 2023
Second reading: unquestionably better than the first! Knowing all the world-building to come, I was able to fully immerse myself in the story and world, and it was glorious. The characters were captivating, the story relentless, and the intrigue top-notch. I was absolutely enthralled.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Torture, Death of parent, Violence, Blood, Child death, and Death
Moderate: Genocide, Grief, Slavery, and War
Minor: Vomit
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