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thelongroadtosanity's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
There is no love without fear, but no one told me that fear feasts on those with something to lose.
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Raina is a young witch with a strong desire for vengeance against the Witch Collector and the king that he serves called The Frost King. The day of the annual collection, the Witch Collector shows and warns her small farming community that Eastland men have infiltrates the North, and they are minutes away. Thrust into the centerpiece of the war, Raina and the Witch Collector, Alexus, flee her decimated village and head to the castle to protect the Frost King from the invading Eastlanders and their dark Prince.
I have to admit that I was quite baffled in the first few chapters. I feel that a large chunk of the world-building, magic system, and lore is just thrown at the reader in those first 2 chapters and it made me really have to push myself through to get to the plot. Later on it began to finally make sense of how Raina's magic worked and how the lore fit into the plot.
I did enjoy the storyline immensely, as it was fast paced and had tons of action and sprinkles of spice scattered throughout. I loved the spice at the end. Even though Alexus and Raina were quite literally shoved together their enemies-to-lovers felt almost like a slow burn despite it occurring with a rapid timeline.
I also loved that I couldn't predict the outcome of the battles or what was going to happen on the next page. Everything was action-packed and detailed. I thought that Alexus's history was also very interesting and different than what I was expecting him to have. I definitely get Witcher vibes from his character.
Raina also was a character who is unable to speak. I really liked how she was able to communicate consistently through the book as well as the little tidbit about the types of sign language at the very beginning of the book. 10/10 for representation.
Overall well worth the read. (06/2023)
4 out of 5 stars
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Raina is a young witch with a strong desire for vengeance against the Witch Collector and the king that he serves called The Frost King. The day of the annual collection, the Witch Collector shows and warns her small farming community that Eastland men have infiltrates the North, and they are minutes away. Thrust into the centerpiece of the war, Raina and the Witch Collector, Alexus, flee her decimated village and head to the castle to protect the Frost King from the invading Eastlanders and their dark Prince.
I have to admit that I was quite baffled in the first few chapters. I feel that a large chunk of the world-building, magic system, and lore is just thrown at the reader in those first 2 chapters and it made me really have to push myself through to get to the plot. Later on it began to finally make sense of how Raina's magic worked and how the lore fit into the plot.
I did enjoy the storyline immensely, as it was fast paced and had tons of action and sprinkles of spice scattered throughout. I loved the spice at the end. Even though Alexus and Raina were quite literally shoved together their enemies-to-lovers felt almost like a slow burn despite it occurring with a rapid timeline.
I also loved that I couldn't predict the outcome of the battles or what was going to happen on the next page. Everything was action-packed and detailed. I thought that Alexus's history was also very interesting and different than what I was expecting him to have. I definitely get Witcher vibes from his character.
Raina also was a character who is unable to speak. I really liked how she was able to communicate consistently through the book as well as the little tidbit about the types of sign language at the very beginning of the book. 10/10 for representation.
Overall well worth the read. (06/2023)
4 out of 5 stars
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content, War, Violence, and Murder
Minor: Medical content and Medical trauma
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