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3.98 AVERAGE
3.98 AVERAGE
I wanted to give it a 4 but decided on a 3.5 as there are some things I didn't like.
Onyx for example we have few scenes with him being mean and then nothing for the rest of the book like he is not part of the story anymore and one scene when he is back being mean.
Also the parallel of the cabin and the one from ACOTAR series is just copy/paste...
On the other side I really liked the relationship between Raven and Kirsi, Bastian is super intriguing, Grey is also part of my favorites with his behaviour and humour.
The story as well was very well constructed, I was not expecting the revelation at the end.
Overall a good read :)
Onyx for example we have few scenes with him being mean and then nothing for the rest of the book like he is not part of the story anymore and one scene when he is back being mean.
Also the parallel of the cabin and the one from ACOTAR series is just copy/paste...
On the other side I really liked the relationship between Raven and Kirsi, Bastian is super intriguing, Grey is also part of my favorites with his behaviour and humour.
The story as well was very well constructed, I was not expecting the revelation at the end.
Overall a good read :)
I’m a sucker for a games and trials story and this one didn’t disappoint! The ending was a little random but a great cliffhanger!
This book is okay. Started off really good.
I don’t really love being told all the information. The magic system wasn’t clear, even at 50% which was frustrating.
It was enjoyable but I found myself having some negative feelings towards main characters so yeah there’s that.
I think I only finished it as it was an audiobook.
I don’t really love being told all the information. The magic system wasn’t clear, even at 50% which was frustrating.
It was enjoyable but I found myself having some negative feelings towards main characters so yeah there’s that.
I think I only finished it as it was an audiobook.
3.5⭐
This book is niicee. I swear I didn't expect it to be good. I read 400 pages in less than a day.(っ º - º ς)
it has fantasy , it has witches it has magic a handsome villain
This book is niicee. I swear I didn't expect it to be good. I read 400 pages in less than a day.(っ º - º ς)
it has fantasy , it has witches it has magic a handsome villain
I cannot believe I am saying this, BUT: this book unseated Tides and Ruin as my favorite Miranda Lyn book--hands-down, this is her best work yet!!
I always worry that books centering on a series of trials will become formulaic, but it speaks to this author's genius that never once did this narrative have that repetitive feel you find so often with books featuring some kind of tournament. This is a character-driven story at its core, and the trials existed first and foremost to exemplify the innermost workings of their personalities and helped flesh out the plot beautifully, as opposed to slowing it down.
I was engrossed entirely with this world and even became emotional with the way things played out. I enjoyed myself immensely while reading this via audiobook; the narrator did such a superb job differentiating the rich cast of characters, so if you're audio obsessed like me, I highly recommend!! It includes a look at the sequel as well, which absolutely blew me away and has me so pumped for the release of book 2!!
My biggest takeaway--RAVEN/BASTIEN and the ICICLE. That is all lol. Miranda rendered this hate-to-love/enemies-to-lovers pairing so spectacularly. It's not often our male MCs have a full blown BEARD--I'm so obsessed lol. The supporting characters were incredible as well, Kirsi being my favorite among them. I was very touched by the grandmother story arc as well, having lost my grandma as a young adult also, but still sense her inspiring spirit to this day, making Raven's experience here so moving and relatable.
All in all, this one is perfect for fans of the Serpent and Dove trilogy and the Cruel Prince Trilogy. It's giving Hunger Games and The Selection vibes as well, but with SPICE. Definitely recommend it for the autumnal season, but can be devoured year-round of course!
Thank you so much to the author for sending me a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review! All thoughts and opinions expressed above are entirely my own.
I always worry that books centering on a series of trials will become formulaic, but it speaks to this author's genius that never once did this narrative have that repetitive feel you find so often with books featuring some kind of tournament. This is a character-driven story at its core, and the trials existed first and foremost to exemplify the innermost workings of their personalities and helped flesh out the plot beautifully, as opposed to slowing it down.
I was engrossed entirely with this world and even became emotional with the way things played out. I enjoyed myself immensely while reading this via audiobook; the narrator did such a superb job differentiating the rich cast of characters, so if you're audio obsessed like me, I highly recommend!! It includes a look at the sequel as well, which absolutely blew me away and has me so pumped for the release of book 2!!
My biggest takeaway--RAVEN/BASTIEN and the ICICLE. That is all lol. Miranda rendered this hate-to-love/enemies-to-lovers pairing so spectacularly. It's not often our male MCs have a full blown BEARD--I'm so obsessed lol. The supporting characters were incredible as well, Kirsi being my favorite among them. I was very touched by the grandmother story arc as well, having lost my grandma as a young adult also, but still sense her inspiring spirit to this day, making Raven's experience here so moving and relatable.
All in all, this one is perfect for fans of the Serpent and Dove trilogy and the Cruel Prince Trilogy. It's giving Hunger Games and The Selection vibes as well, but with SPICE. Definitely recommend it for the autumnal season, but can be devoured year-round of course!
Thank you so much to the author for sending me a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review! All thoughts and opinions expressed above are entirely my own.
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
i picked this up hoping for an autumnal, fun, witchy read before halloween — and while it is indeed autumnal and witchy, i struggled with this hard.
on the surface, this book seems great — in a kingdom broken up into different quasi-elemental ‘covens’, the witches have struggled over the years as subjects of the fire coven and the dark king, a legendary half-shifter, half-witch who’s been killing witches and stealing grimoires. our FMC raven is an ‘unmarked’ witch — aka a witch with powers not immediately visible via magical tattoos, and after losing her grandmother and the coven leader who replaced her grandmother, decides to enter a witchy hunger games to vie for the position herself. and those hunger games are hosted and judged by the dark king.
truly this had a lot of potential, but i just could not get into it. the writing was not my cup of tea, with its abundance of modern language used, and the romance was so insta-love that even me, a leo, couldn’t buy into it. the upside? the dark king is a shadow daddy who writes fun, flirty, bantery letters. MY KRYPTONITE. and yet still this book wasn’t enjoyable for me, due to the lack of buildup and how quickly our FMC switches sides, despite years of loss, trauma, and grief attributed to his rule, and absolutely no explanation for why the dark king is drawn emotionally or romantically to our FMC.
while this book wasn’t for me, if you’re on the hunt for an easy witchy read with minimal investment, you might want to pick this up. the spice is fun and bastian is intriguing, and the ‘hunger games’ competitive element makes it for a fast-paced read — but if you’re looking for depth and emotional connection, or for plausible romance to invest in, skip this one.
2.5/5.
on the surface, this book seems great — in a kingdom broken up into different quasi-elemental ‘covens’, the witches have struggled over the years as subjects of the fire coven and the dark king, a legendary half-shifter, half-witch who’s been killing witches and stealing grimoires. our FMC raven is an ‘unmarked’ witch — aka a witch with powers not immediately visible via magical tattoos, and after losing her grandmother and the coven leader who replaced her grandmother, decides to enter a witchy hunger games to vie for the position herself. and those hunger games are hosted and judged by the dark king.
truly this had a lot of potential, but i just could not get into it. the writing was not my cup of tea, with its abundance of modern language used, and the romance was so insta-love that even me, a leo, couldn’t buy into it. the upside? the dark king is a shadow daddy who writes fun, flirty, bantery letters. MY KRYPTONITE. and yet still this book wasn’t enjoyable for me, due to the lack of buildup and how quickly our FMC switches sides, despite years of loss, trauma, and grief attributed to his rule, and absolutely no explanation for why the dark king is drawn emotionally or romantically to our FMC.
while this book wasn’t for me, if you’re on the hunt for an easy witchy read with minimal investment, you might want to pick this up. the spice is fun and bastian is intriguing, and the ‘hunger games’ competitive element makes it for a fast-paced read — but if you’re looking for depth and emotional connection, or for plausible romance to invest in, skip this one.
2.5/5.
I'm sorry, this just didn't make sense. How do you go from loathing someone for the murder of your beloved grandmother to falling in love with them? There just wasn't enough interaction between the two main characters to suspend enough disbelief for their relationship to work. I also found the plot a bit derivative and the characters fell a bit flat. The writing was solid, but I think it was just a bit too young adult for me.
Love the premise, a little messy though and the characters feel flat at times. Hoping for a lot more character development in the next book!