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adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
inspiring
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
Loved all the characters and relationships. The writing and pacing of the book was a little different, but good.
4.25⭐ 3🌶️
4.25⭐ 3🌶️
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Blood, Murder, Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Child abuse, Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Pedophilia, Sexual harassment
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence
Moderate: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Blood, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment, War
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Probably one of the worst books I've read maybe ever. Truly terrible writing, flat and unlikeable characters and hardly any plot.
Writing: So clunky it's hard to make sense of what's happening sometimes. It's so unnecessarily wordy and tries too hard to use poetic language in the least appropriate places. There are frequent run-on sentences that don't actually say anything. Typos, grammatical errors, bad formatting (no paragraph breaks and not using a new line when a different character speaks), and words used incorrectly. The author constantly breaks the show don't tell rule - if a character is thinking something you better believe they'll tell you - and tell you over and over again in slightly different ways. The similies and metaphors are insane. They range from the cliché "like The first rays of sun over the snowcapped mountains" to the nonsense "like chasing a bumblebee through a maze".
Characters: Not much to say about them except they're flat, predictable and unlikeable. They murder, torture, steal, threaten and manipulate.They're way too into each other from way too early in the book and the way they pretend to be enemies at the beginning gets old very quickly when they're making cringey flirty banter all the time. There's also nothing stopping them from being together and all their friends rooting for them to be together. Not really what I'd call a forbidden romance.
Plot: The worst heist book I've ever read. We don't care about the characters or what they're stealing.We learn nothing about the dragons until page 114 and even then we only learn what colour they are. They never get any personalities. Every plot beat just feels like we're going through the motions of a linear pre-planned story. Nothing gets in their way that they can't resolve with a little violence and their plan never gets derailed and their goals never changed. She starts out wanting to find the dragons and feed her city and then does it. The end. THERE IS NO CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT AT ALL.
The political intrigue is contrived and actually doesn't make sense.They stage a coup to replace the monarch in a very undiplomatic way with a 'marriage clause' that makes no sense. Like seriously, why would you give someone power to challenge the king but only if they're married to someone with royal blood? You're trying to get rid of the royals! What good does it do to replace them with another royal and not, I dunno, someone elected by the public? The reason given for this clause existing is that it prevents civil war by creating a legal way to challenge the ruler, but I dunno - a commander of the army murdering the king sounds exactly like a civil war to me. Also who gave him that power? The King? Why the fuck would he do that?
By the end of the book I was rooting against them. I don't want Elowen to be queen - she just brutally tortured someone (in a scene that lasts longer than the heist), murdered a bunch of people just to steal their uniforms, burned her uncle alive, has no control of her sexual urges for a random hot guy she just met, and is just kind of stupid. The queen they stage the coup against at the end says "No kingdom will respect a queen who whored her way to a throne or a king who committed regiside." And, honestly, i agree. What has Elowen done, except be born a princess with dragons, that entitles her to rule? In fact, she's committed atrocities that should bar her from any position of power. Lock her back up for her war crimes!
The influence of Game of Thrones (Danaerys and her dragon eggs), and ACOTAR (and probably many other booktok romantasy books) is undeniable. I kind of wish Elowen had met the same end as Danaerys in the show.
The 'spice' also very graphic and uses cringey and problematic lines that sound like they're taken directly from porn. Cayden degrades Elowen in all the typical ways, like shoving his fingers in her mouth and 'dominating' her and calling her names like 'greedy queen' and 'dirty princess'. Telling her he'll kill anyone that touches her and that she belongs to him. No issues there I guess. There's also public sex acts in a brothel - like the author doesn't know what a brothel is and is solely basing it on the extremely graphic ones from Game of Thrones.
Overall I think it exemplifies the worst of the romantasy genre. Thin plot, flat characters and clunky, garbled prose. only appealing to those reading it for the fantasy smut.
Here are some of my (least) favourite quotes I think are worth sharing:
- "Each day that passes is another sunset grinding a shard of my heart to dust, ready for the wind to carry it back to Imirath. My existence is haunted by my dragons. I'm destined to walk through a graveyard of hope."
- "When wielded properly, words have the power to cut someone down with more pain and precision than any sword."
- "Do you know how I punish untoward advances? I end the offender and make it look like a disappearance. If the princess bonded to five dragons can become a ghost, I suppose anyone can."
- "He treats me like a cherished secret he'll keep to the grave."
- "I suppose I should also give thanks for his dedication to preserving my virtue by forbidding you from taking the torture down the route you wished in hopes of selling me to a kingdom once my bond was broken"
- "I wonder how different the world would be if people ceased thinking the unknown is a threat. People remain ignorant when they don't open their minds to new teachings. They remain frozen in time like a statue while everything progresses around them."
- "There's a chip carved in the shape of his name within the walls I've built around myself. Something about him makes me feel alive, and like I've found the place I've been searching for without prematurely knowing my destination."
- "Steam has never looked so endearing" - I think she meant 'enticing'.
- "I kneel in the snow but I don't do anything before a shadow rises in front of the cliff like steam from a kettle."
- "Vengeance is a promised signed in blood."
- "My future has been rewritten in a language I can't read yet, but Cayden is in it; I could recognize him in any vernacular."
- "Now he's scrambling to his knees, crying out from the blade I impaled in him." - I think she means 'impaled him with'.
- "Bow before your Queen or burn and bleed!"
-"A united front. Burn and bleed. Together we reign. Together we go to war."
She also says first and fisting at least 10 times.
If you can't see any problem with the above then this book is for you.
Writing: So clunky it's hard to make sense of what's happening sometimes. It's so unnecessarily wordy and tries too hard to use poetic language in the least appropriate places. There are frequent run-on sentences that don't actually say anything. Typos, grammatical errors, bad formatting (no paragraph breaks and not using a new line when a different character speaks), and words used incorrectly. The author constantly breaks the show don't tell rule - if a character is thinking something you better believe they'll tell you - and tell you over and over again in slightly different ways. The similies and metaphors are insane. They range from the cliché "like The first rays of sun over the snowcapped mountains" to the nonsense "like chasing a bumblebee through a maze".
Characters: Not much to say about them except they're flat, predictable and unlikeable. They murder, torture, steal, threaten and manipulate.
Plot: The worst heist book I've ever read. We don't care about the characters or what they're stealing.
The political intrigue is contrived and actually doesn't make sense.
By the end of the book I was rooting against them. I don't want Elowen to be queen - she just brutally tortured someone (in a scene that lasts longer than the heist), murdered a bunch of people just to steal their uniforms, burned her uncle alive, has no control of her sexual urges for a random hot guy she just met, and is just kind of stupid. The queen they stage the coup against at the end says "No kingdom will respect a queen who whored her way to a throne or a king who committed regiside." And, honestly, i agree. What has Elowen done, except be born a princess with dragons, that entitles her to rule? In fact, she's committed atrocities that should bar her from any position of power. Lock her back up for her war crimes!
The influence of Game of Thrones (Danaerys and her dragon eggs), and ACOTAR (and probably many other booktok romantasy books) is undeniable. I kind of wish Elowen had met the same end as Danaerys in the show.
The 'spice' also very graphic and uses cringey and problematic lines that sound like they're taken directly from porn.
Overall I think it exemplifies the worst of the romantasy genre. Thin plot, flat characters and clunky, garbled prose. only appealing to those reading it for the fantasy smut.
Here are some of my (least) favourite quotes I think are worth sharing:
- "When wielded properly, words have the power to cut someone down with more pain and precision than any sword."
- "Do you know how I punish untoward advances? I end the offender and make it look like a disappearance. If the princess bonded to five dragons can become a ghost, I suppose anyone can."
- "He treats me like a cherished secret he'll keep to the grave."
- "I suppose I should also give thanks for his dedication to preserving my virtue by forbidding you from taking the torture down the route you wished in hopes of selling me to a kingdom once my bond was broken"
- "I wonder how different the world would be if people ceased thinking the unknown is a threat. People remain ignorant when they don't open their minds to new teachings. They remain frozen in time like a statue while everything progresses around them."
- "There's a chip carved in the shape of his name within the walls I've built around myself. Something about him makes me feel alive, and like I've found the place I've been searching for without prematurely knowing my destination."
- "Steam has never looked so endearing" - I think she meant 'enticing'.
- "I kneel in the snow but I don't do anything before a shadow rises in front of the cliff like steam from a kettle."
- "Vengeance is a promised signed in blood."
- "My future has been rewritten in a language I can't read yet, but Cayden is in it; I could recognize him in any vernacular."
- "Now he's scrambling to his knees, crying out from the blade I impaled in him." - I think she means 'impaled him with'.
- "Bow before your Queen or burn and bleed!"
-"A united front. Burn and bleed. Together we reign. Together we go to war."
She also says first and fisting at least 10 times.
If you can't see any problem with the above then this book is for you.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence
Moderate: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Murder, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
this is a tiktok romantasy book. if you like turning off your brain and reading, you’ll like this. the romance was predictable but fun, but it was the lack of worldbuilding and dragons that got to me. like, you’re telling me she has smut books and leggings but catapults are new? and how did aestilian actually come to be? and also why did we never get cayden backstory? i’m sure it’s being saved for a sequel but i’m just disappointed bc it felt like we were just supposed to go oh he’s Traumatized so he Understands Her. the writing was somewhat clunky, but again, enjoyable when i turned my brain off. like don’t get me wrong - this was a fun read. also where were the dragons though :( i was disappointed by how little we actually saw of them. if you’d like to see a more detailed and less stream-of-consciousness review, follow me on instagram @malarkeytbr !
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Torture
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Pedophilia, Sexual harassment
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
While I think the pacing could be improved, overall I loved the plot and character development!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Sexual content, Violence, Blood
Moderate: Confinement, Cursing, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Suicidal thoughts, War
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I liked their banter at the start and I liked the dragons element of it but otherwise it was pretty cliche, the betrayal was sooo obvious her uncle? Shocking 🙄 and like the final act to ruin the relationship him marrying her as the clause to overthrow the current monarchs so fin can stay alive wasn't that bad??? Like she's being such a baby about it. I also like the toxic protectiveness stuff was so yuck after the first 25% of the book
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Torture, Violence, Blood, Murder, War, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Bullying, Cursing, Panic attacks/disorders, Police brutality, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
inspiring
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture
Moderate: Child abuse, Physical abuse
Minor: Sexual harassment
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Violence
Moderate: Child abuse, Torture, Blood, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, War, Injury/Injury detail
adventurous
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Elowen is the epitome of a Mary Sue: she is the most perfect leader, she is the best fighter and the best healer, everyone just adores her, and she has not one, not two, but FIVE dragons. Even Danaerys didn’t have five dragons.
I understand that this book was independently published, but it needs a professional editor. I cannot stress enough how poorly edited this book was. So much telling and no showing.
There is a lot of terrible and cringe dialogue. The so-called found family just becomes friends with no real reason. The concept of the plot was interesting at first but quickly dulled because there was no tension between any of the characters (everyone loves Mary Sue, remember?). And the heist didn’t even begin until 62% of the book. The names and places are a jumbled word soup.
Cayden is supposed to be the big bad broody love interest but it was basically insta-love and no romantic tension. I did appreciate there was no love triangle though. The male best friend stayed the platonic best friend.
Overall, it kept me entertained. I will probably continue the series, but you won’t see me rushing.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Violence, Blood
Moderate: Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Alcohol
Minor: Pedophilia, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Death of parent, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail