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spazgirl76's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-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
3.75
xknight95's review against another edition
4.0
Thank you NetGalley and Orbit Books for the eARC…
I thought this was a great start to the trilogy. We have mysterious magical artifacts, murder mysteries, political discord, chimeras (which are always fun), and really great LGBT+ representation. There were lots of questions that I had a long away, and some were answered and some were left unanswered which makes me keen to discover the answers in the next two books.
As much as I enjoyed the plot and the mysteries, the characters are what drove this book home for me. I love captivating and morally grey characters. Ryx, our main character has a magic that everyone else considers “broken”. Any living thing she touches dies. I thought she was a solid main character. Not my favourite in the book but she was interesting and witty enough to hold my attention (important as this is told as first person). The Rookery were my favourites, especially Ashe. I really love her “stab first, ask questions later” attitude, though the rest of the Rookery do a good job at holding her back from those impulses. Severin was another interesting character. A bit of a mystery most of the book, you never knew what side he was on. Speaking of characters their was quite a bit of representation that I really loved to see; bisexual main character, a non-binary character, a potentially asxual/ maybe aromantic character, and some potential lesbian characters. As it is only the first book I expect my “potentials” will become more clear.
Then there is Gloamingard. This is the name of Ryx’s grandmothers castle and where the majority of the story takes place. I really loved Gloamingard. I found it fascinating how every new Witch Lord would add to the castle, with an end result with various secret passages, and various rooms built quite differently, from bones to plants and trees. Looking at the map, this world is quite vast. In this first book we did not do much exploring, but I look forward to exploring more of the world of Eruvia in the coming books.
Really the only faults I can say is that I found the beginning a little slow to captivate me, and that I was not crazy over how the end conflict was resolved. The latter is more of a preference thing. There was just a lot of talking to get out of a couple tight spots where I was just thinking “do the antagonists really not know what is going on?” I am also on the fence with the magic system. Maybe it is because we did not get much from it in this first book. I would love to learn more about the magic of this world. Really just a few minor things. The ending itself was good, in that it resolved some conflicts while leaving/creating more for the upcoming books to solve.
In conclusion I would recommend this book to someone who loves magic and mystery mixed with some fantasy politics.
I thought this was a great start to the trilogy. We have mysterious magical artifacts, murder mysteries, political discord, chimeras (which are always fun), and really great LGBT+ representation. There were lots of questions that I had a long away, and some were answered and some were left unanswered which makes me keen to discover the answers in the next two books.
As much as I enjoyed the plot and the mysteries, the characters are what drove this book home for me. I love captivating and morally grey characters. Ryx, our main character has a magic that everyone else considers “broken”. Any living thing she touches dies. I thought she was a solid main character. Not my favourite in the book but she was interesting and witty enough to hold my attention (important as this is told as first person). The Rookery were my favourites, especially Ashe. I really love her “stab first, ask questions later” attitude, though the rest of the Rookery do a good job at holding her back from those impulses. Severin was another interesting character. A bit of a mystery most of the book, you never knew what side he was on. Speaking of characters their was quite a bit of representation that I really loved to see; bisexual main character, a non-binary character, a potentially asxual/ maybe aromantic character, and some potential lesbian characters. As it is only the first book I expect my “potentials” will become more clear.
Then there is Gloamingard. This is the name of Ryx’s grandmothers castle and where the majority of the story takes place. I really loved Gloamingard. I found it fascinating how every new Witch Lord would add to the castle, with an end result with various secret passages, and various rooms built quite differently, from bones to plants and trees. Looking at the map, this world is quite vast. In this first book we did not do much exploring, but I look forward to exploring more of the world of Eruvia in the coming books.
Really the only faults I can say is that I found the beginning a little slow to captivate me, and that I was not crazy over how the end conflict was resolved. The latter is more of a preference thing. There was just a lot of talking to get out of a couple tight spots where I was just thinking “do the antagonists really not know what is going on?” I am also on the fence with the magic system. Maybe it is because we did not get much from it in this first book. I would love to learn more about the magic of this world. Really just a few minor things. The ending itself was good, in that it resolved some conflicts while leaving/creating more for the upcoming books to solve.
In conclusion I would recommend this book to someone who loves magic and mystery mixed with some fantasy politics.
itputsthebookupontheshelf's review
4.0
"Guard the tower, ward the stone
Find your answers writ in bone
Keep your trust through wits or war:
Nothing must unseal the Door"
I have not read any of Caruso's other works, but this story takes place in the same realm of her Swords and Fire series. You don't need to have read that series first to enjoy this one, though. I enjoyed it quite well, knowing nothing of the previous series beforehand.
With its quick paced plot and chaos insuing right from the start, this book is a page turner.
We first meet Ryx, who is from a line of witch lords where powers are passed along the family line. But somehow Ryx's magic backfired, and instead of making things better, she can kill with a touch. I loved watching her character development.
I would say this story was more about court intrigue and character/world building than anything, but I didn't mind, and I believe it was a good start to this new series.
Now that I know there are other stories in this same realm, I will definitely be checking those out. Caruso does a wonderful job of drawing you into her world with her writing.
Thank you to Orbit Books and Netgalley for the gifted copy
Find your answers writ in bone
Keep your trust through wits or war:
Nothing must unseal the Door"
I have not read any of Caruso's other works, but this story takes place in the same realm of her Swords and Fire series. You don't need to have read that series first to enjoy this one, though. I enjoyed it quite well, knowing nothing of the previous series beforehand.
With its quick paced plot and chaos insuing right from the start, this book is a page turner.
We first meet Ryx, who is from a line of witch lords where powers are passed along the family line. But somehow Ryx's magic backfired, and instead of making things better, she can kill with a touch. I loved watching her character development.
I would say this story was more about court intrigue and character/world building than anything, but I didn't mind, and I believe it was a good start to this new series.
Now that I know there are other stories in this same realm, I will definitely be checking those out. Caruso does a wonderful job of drawing you into her world with her writing.
Thank you to Orbit Books and Netgalley for the gifted copy
justagirl22's review
adventurous
dark
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
rollie's review
5.0
9/10 ♡
The book ties my emotions into knots for 450 pages straight, then showers me in a wave of mildly bitter mercy.
The book ties my emotions into knots for 450 pages straight, then showers me in a wave of mildly bitter mercy.
averagebee's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
harborwriter's review
5.0
Hells, that was an intense ride! Melissa Caruso is an absolute master of pacing, stakes, and tension. While this one has a bigger playing field than Swords & Fire, it hits many of the same notes! I think I might need a break before continuing the trilogy though to read something less stressful!
kristinecanwrite's review
4.0
Slow beginning but a fun political fantasy once the action started moving. A lot of interesting side characters who I hope to see more of in later books.