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_kayla_marie_'s review
dark
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Blood, Body horror, Confinement, Torture, Slavery, Physical abuse, Child abuse, Death, and Death of parent
Moderate: Chronic illness, War, Genocide, Injury/Injury detail, and Gore
ailsaod's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This book was surprisingly good - I do not usually read YA or books about fairies and I only really picked this up because it was available at the library and I needed something to read on the train. I think the main reason I liked this book is that this book doesn't describe fairies in the mainstream fashion - these fairies do tick some of the usual boxes (think a bit like Tolkien elves) but there is an added eldritch element that I really enjoyed. The settings are described vividly and this only makes it more effective when creepy magic things happen. This book is what you would get if you combined Indiana Jones and the snow white film Mirror Mirror (2012), make of that what you will!
The one downside is that the book just sort of ends. There is no proper resolution, just a dip in the action and then it stops which is rather unsatisfying when there is so far no sequel announced!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Police brutality, and Murder
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Torture, Suicide, Confinement, and Child death
Minor: War, Genocide, and Death of parent
therainbowshelf's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
slow-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? It's complicated
4.0
I picked this up because of Rainbowcrate Book Box and I enjoyed it quite a bit (Rainbowcrate included a silverware set for this book and a silverware set in the book is an actual character!). I love the chosen ones trope, and it was fun seeing everything start off with a theif forced to break into an ancient ruin. There's some unaddressed ableism in here related to one of the main characters, which I was hoping to see more discussion about but that didn't come up. I don't think I enjoyed the audiobook as much as I would have enjoyed reading this one for myself.
📘The Gist 📘: A thief under duress by a wizard breaks into an ancient ruin and wakes a sleeping fae who starts them on a quest to find 6 chosen ones linked to a powerful weapon.
📒Representation📒: BIPOC mc, disabled mc, mlm mc, mtf sc
💕 For readers looking for 💕: adventure, chosen one trope, fun dialogue, entertaining situations between layers of tension, quirky metal animal companions
📘The Gist 📘: A thief under duress by a wizard breaks into an ancient ruin and wakes a sleeping fae who starts them on a quest to find 6 chosen ones linked to a powerful weapon.
📒Representation📒: BIPOC mc, disabled mc, mlm mc, mtf sc
💕 For readers looking for 💕: adventure, chosen one trope, fun dialogue, entertaining situations between layers of tension, quirky metal animal companions
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Ableism, Torture, Police brutality, Murder, Genocide, and Confinement
Moderate: Grief, Death, Death of parent, and Child death
Sibling deathspiritedfaraway's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
medium-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? N/A
4.0
This book is what you get when you mix dark humor, a quest, advanced machinery, magic and a queer slowburn warrior prince/pragmatic thief romance together and I absolutely adored it! It also doesn't hurt that there is lots of diversity in the cast of main characters.
"They only problem was that Rag's couldn't think of any story or rhyme where a human shook hands with a fae and came out on top."
I will say that Rags' point of view was my favorite. Rags is my grumpy son and he needs to be protected at all costs, okay? I have such a soft spot for grumpy and sarcastic characters and the people that love them. Which brings me to my brand new OTP: Shining Talon and Rags! All the scenes with them were *chef's kiss* and I would scream in joy if we got Shining Talon's point of view in the next book!
The only thing about this book that wasn't my favorite was how I probably would have enjoyed this more if it was just from a couple point of views, instead of five. Which isn't to say I hated the other point of views, I just wasn't as engaged in them as I was with Rags'. But that's totally a me thing.
Overall, I found this to be an amazingly fun beginning and I can’t wait to get my hands on the sequel. Because I seriously need more Rags and Shining Talon and the fact that there isn’t any fanfic for them is a shame lol
"They only problem was that Rag's couldn't think of any story or rhyme where a human shook hands with a fae and came out on top."
I will say that Rags' point of view was my favorite. Rags is my grumpy son and he needs to be protected at all costs, okay? I have such a soft spot for grumpy and sarcastic characters and the people that love them. Which brings me to my brand new OTP: Shining Talon and Rags! All the scenes with them were *chef's kiss* and I would scream in joy if we got Shining Talon's point of view in the next book!
The only thing about this book that wasn't my favorite was how I probably would have enjoyed this more if it was just from a couple point of views, instead of five. Which isn't to say I hated the other point of views, I just wasn't as engaged in them as I was with Rags'. But that's totally a me thing.
Overall, I found this to be an amazingly fun beginning and I can’t wait to get my hands on the sequel. Because I seriously need more Rags and Shining Talon and the fact that there isn’t any fanfic for them is a shame lol
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Grief, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Torture, and Violence
Moderate: Ableism, Body horror, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Infertility, Medical content, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Trafficking, and Xenophobia
Minor: Child death and Infertility
unicornsbookshelf's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Disclaimer: I have voluntarily reviewed this book after receiving a free copy from the publisher via Edelweiss+; thank you!
I had no idea that a romance between a himbo fae and a very averse to being loved thief was something I needed in 2020 but this book proved me wrong.
Rags are on his way to rob the treasury of the Gutter King when he gets captured by the Queensguard and brought in front of one of the heads of the royal houses and a sorcerer known from horrible stories - Morien the Last. Morien wants Rags’ skills to get into ancient fae ruins and find the treasure inside. At the end of the maze, however, Rags doesn’t find gold but a sleeping fae who has a much bigger quest for him.
I went into Master of One expecting it to be mainly one POV story. Because of that I was kind of thrown off my groove and it took me a while to get used to perspective jumps, which get more frequent the more we get into the book. When you accept that you have to get invested in more than just two characters and get used to POV changes it’s much better so keep in mind this is kind of a squad book. Overall, when it comes to the plot it was fast-paced but still left time for the main romance slowly developing. There was a lot of action, which I felt took away from the relationship growing between our group of heroes and it didn’t help that some of them had all the reason to actively hate the others. I feel like we still have a chance to see that develop in the future books, though and I’m waiting happily for some found family feels. I also enjoyed the parts of the Great Paragon interacting with their masters and with each other and how each of them had its personality.
Now, for the characters - Rags and Shining Talon were my absolute favorites. Their relationship was sweet and I loved seeing how angry Rags would get because he didn’t think he deserved Tal’s kindness. I also liked Somhairle’s POV and Inis grew on me as the plot progressed. I think my least favorite was Cab, mostly because I didn’t care that much for his plotline and the side characters around him. I felt his part suffered from introducing too many characters at once and not having the time to develop them. Besides that, however, the characters are promising and lovable, each one with their unique voice. They are also all very queer with m/m romance in the center, a trans character, and possibly some other rep in the sequel.
All in all, Master of One is a great YA debut with a world and story that shows a lot of promise and a group of lovable misfits. I’m really curious to see how the series progresses.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Torture and Violence
Minor: Genocide
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