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kiwij96's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
lighthearted
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? Yes
4.25
A fun and easy read, with relatively short chapters. An interesting concept for sure, writing both first, second and third perspectives, following a dragon chasing a prophecy, a thief trying to protect their family name, and a young acolyte torn between right and wrong. Good discussions on gender identity too. Fun fantasy heist with friendships, trust, betrayal, and morality.
Definitely could have done with more worldbuilding and plot written into the text. The characters were very "woe is me" at times where it wasn't needed. I appreciated how Everen's POV included the humans teaching him how their society worked in terms of how gender identity and pronouns worked. Also, was not a fan of the romance subplot. It would have worked much better if the characters just learned each other's surnames as an act of trust.
Definitely could have done with more worldbuilding and plot written into the text. The characters were very "woe is me" at times where it wasn't needed. I appreciated how Everen's POV included the humans teaching him how their society worked in terms of how gender identity and pronouns worked. Also, was not a fan of the romance subplot. It would have worked much better if the characters just learned each other's surnames as an act of trust.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Classism, Death, Violence, Death of parent, Animal death, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, War, Blood, and Self harm
Moderate: Body horror
Minor: Sexual content
hollowpointe's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Holy shit
Okay I loved so much about this. One- the amount of world building alone was enough to keep me engaged. The dragon religion spawning off from vanishing them centuries ago? The discussions of caste and honorifics, the concept of becoming starving, the difference between countries views on gender- it all kept me very entertained and intrigued. Also, Everen and Arcady both having their own issues and having to work past them to even BEGIN trusting each other was a good thing to witness, mostly because a lot of what I've read recently is instant trust or one big feat creates trust.
All in all, the heist and the assassin plotlines were well balanced to me and I thoroughly enjoyed them both.
As for characters, Soren was an interesting arc as she very much is codependent on Magnes who is also like the worst and did actually make me angry. An antagonist that's truly despicable, he was perfect for the mood of the book.
The title alone also was very pleasing for me especially when it occurred to me it was a reference to whale falls- something that usually creates and maintains an ecosystem for years where they fall and decay- much like how Arcady is now thriving due to Everen falling.
Dear lord this one won't be leaving my brain for a while.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Cannibalism, War, Pandemic/Epidemic, Torture, Blood, Body horror, Confinement, Genocide, Murder, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Ableism, Classism, Death of parent, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Ableism, Alcohol, Toxic friendship, Alcoholism, Grief, and Terminal illness
Minor: Cursing, Abandonment, Homophobia, Ableism, and Medical content
*Holy shit* *slight spoilers* Okay I loved so much about this. One- the amount of world building alone was enough to keep me engaged. The dragon religion spawning off from vanishing them centuries ago? The discussions of caste and honorifics, the concept of becoming starving, the difference between countries views on gender- it all kept me very entertained and intrigued. Also, Everen and Arcady both having their own issues and having to work past them to even BEGIN trusting each other was a good thing to witness, mostly because a lot of what I've read recently is instant trust or one big feat creates trust. All in all, the heist and the assassin plotlines were well balanced to me and I thoroughly enjoyed them both. As for characters, Soren was an interesting arc as she very much is codependent on Magnes who is also like the worst and did actually make me angry. An antagonist that's truly despicable, he was perfect for the mood of the book. The title alone also was very pleasing for me especially when it occurred to me it was a reference to whale falls- something that usually creates and maintains an ecosystem for years where they fall and decay- much like how Arcady is now thriving due to Everen falling. Dear lord this one won't be leaving my brain for a while.cookiecat73's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
I enjoyed this, but I didn't love it. We have two main points of view, and one or two more which come up more rarely. The main two are Arcady and Everen. I liked Arcady a lot, their backstory was pretty dark but I enjoyed their personality and their motivations were cool and intresting, and it means a lot to me to have a main character who is canonically and openely genderqueer. Everen on the other hand was a superior brat. I know that's on purpose and he does improve and I did like him more by the end, but for the most part I didn't like him or enjoy his povs very much. The world building and plot were mostly just fine, I didn't have any major critisisms, gripes, or things I hated, but I didn't love it either. I guess it's just not completely my kinda book, and that's fine, I still liked it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Confinement, Grief, Violence, Xenophobia, Death of parent, Body horror, Cannibalism, Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Classism, Death, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Alcohol, Child death, Grief, Physical abuse, Child abuse, Pandemic/Epidemic, Sexual content, Torture, and Self harm
Minor: Transphobia, Animal death, Drug use, Abandonment, Animal cruelty, Fire/Fire injury, and War
norwegianforestreader's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
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
Graphic: Abandonment, Animal death, Blood, Cannibalism, Child death, Gore, Murder, Pandemic/Epidemic, Terminal illness, Alcohol, Classism, Death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Violence, Confinement, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, and War
bookstarbri's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
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? It's complicated
4.75
Admittedly, I have a small obsession with dragons.
When it comes to books with dragons, I go weak in the knees because dragons are SO cool. And this book truly didn't disappoint me. I think it was very close to perfection. I had a few nit-picky gripes, which I'll get into in a bit, but first I want to talk about how much I loved this book as a whole. I know a lot of people will not like the way it is written, and I can understand why. There are 5 POVs total, with it mostly going back and forth between 2 (and a third a few times as well, though not as frequently). This back and forth may be a little jarring especially since the POVs are not just different characters but also different styles of POV as well. We have one that is standard first person, one that is first but is also sort of told like a letter so it dips into second. The remaining ones are all third. I thought this was really cool and a very interesting way to write a story like this, and I appreciated the experimental storytelling a lot and really enjoyed it. It made me especially love Everen's chapters!
Onto the characters, I thought they were (mostly) great! I LOVED Arcady and Everen. The side characters were interesting as well. One thing that kept me from giving this 5 stars was that I was bored with Sorin's chapters in the middle? There were definitely times when I just wanted to skip her POV and go back to the main story. Her story fits into this one and it all ties together, and I actually loved her POVs in the beginning, but those middle ones dragged on just a bit. Otherwise, I was really captivated in this story pretty much from start to finish. I thought the pacing was great and the events leading up to the finale were amazing!
This book had some great twists as well. There were three times when my mouth dropped because I hadn't expected something. Truly, it was awesome how easily L.R. Lam was able to bring something up and take it somewhere I hadn't expected at all without it feeling like a cheap surprise.
This is the start of a series and I am so excited that it is! I can't WAIT to read book 2. I loved this ending it made me feel so many things. This book is a new favorite and I have high hopes for book 2!
Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review!
When it comes to books with dragons, I go weak in the knees because dragons are SO cool. And this book truly didn't disappoint me. I think it was very close to perfection. I had a few nit-picky gripes, which I'll get into in a bit, but first I want to talk about how much I loved this book as a whole. I know a lot of people will not like the way it is written, and I can understand why. There are 5 POVs total, with it mostly going back and forth between 2 (and a third a few times as well, though not as frequently). This back and forth may be a little jarring especially since the POVs are not just different characters but also different styles of POV as well. We have one that is standard first person, one that is first but is also sort of told like a letter so it dips into second. The remaining ones are all third. I thought this was really cool and a very interesting way to write a story like this, and I appreciated the experimental storytelling a lot and really enjoyed it. It made me especially love Everen's chapters!
Onto the characters, I thought they were (mostly) great! I LOVED Arcady and Everen. The side characters were interesting as well. One thing that kept me from giving this 5 stars was that I was bored with Sorin's chapters in the middle? There were definitely times when I just wanted to skip her POV and go back to the main story. Her story fits into this one and it all ties together, and I actually loved her POVs in the beginning, but those middle ones dragged on just a bit. Otherwise, I was really captivated in this story pretty much from start to finish. I thought the pacing was great and the events leading up to the finale were amazing!
This book had some great twists as well. There were three times when my mouth dropped because I hadn't expected something. Truly, it was awesome how easily L.R. Lam was able to bring something up and take it somewhere I hadn't expected at all without it feeling like a cheap surprise.
This is the start of a series and I am so excited that it is! I can't WAIT to read book 2. I loved this ending it made me feel so many things. This book is a new favorite and I have high hopes for book 2!
Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Death and War
Minor: Confinement
marleywrites's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
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
4.25
Thank you to NetGalley for this arc!
The first 12% of this book, I wasn’t sure if I’d like it. But then, it picked up tremendously and I became obsessed. I read about 60% in one sitting.
The first 12% of this book, I wasn’t sure if I’d like it. But then, it picked up tremendously and I became obsessed. I read about 60% in one sitting.
This book has queer enemies to lovers to ??? and it’s the perfect slow burn. I also enjoyed the queer normative world where everyone is referred to with they/them pronouns until told otherwise. It worked well and I enjoyed that twist on reality.
I really love Everen as a character. He is so complex and I can’t wait to learn more about him throughout this trilogy. I actually really enjoyed the second person POV which makes sense at the end of the novel. Arcady was also fascinating, I loved how they are always dressed in cool outfits and how they have taken on the most challenging magical tasks.
The bond building between these two is dynamic and I loved the way it was described.
The last 15%— phew! You’re gonna wanna read that in one sitting. My kindle died at 92% and I was devastated!! I had to wait for it to wake back up to be able to read more.
Overall, I loved this story and these characters and I plan to read the rest of the trilogy. I’m mad I have to wait so long for the next book!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Violence
Moderate: Death of parent, Vomit, War, Alcohol, and Chronic illness
Minor: Animal death
gummifrog's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
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
I am obsessed with this book! The writing is gorgeous and immersive, the narrators of the story are relatable and lovable, and the story is complex and winding. It hit all my tickboxes in such a satisfying way - a unique magic system, dragons, enemies to lovers, underdog narratives, secrets on secrets on secrets. Whenever I wasn't reading this book, I wanted to be reading it. I can't wait for the sequel and I can't wait to share this experience with others.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Grief, Murder, Cursing, and Medical content
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Sexual content, and Religious bigotry
Minor: Body horror, Addiction, Animal death, and War
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