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3.82 AVERAGE
3.82 AVERAGE
adventurous
mysterious
fast-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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Sexual content
Minor: Vomit
it’s gay porn with (too much) back story. but I enjoyed it enough.
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
3.5
What can I say, I liked it but I didn't love it? The things I liked I liked a lot though. I liked the characters. I thought they were well rounded and engaging, even the side characters. Nestor and Fedeles struck me particularly. I liked Kiram's tendency to speak his mind and Javier's attempt to respect that, while still flirting. I liked the world and the setting. I liked the writing. It's fairly simplistic, but the dialogue flowed well.
The things I didn't like are a little less about the broad strokes though. I disliked the slow pace of the plot. If I'm honest, this is probably more a case of expecting more than the book ever intended to deliver in this department. It is largely a story about boys in a boarding school, with a little time dedicated to a larger conspiracy and I was looking forward to a bit more of a sweeping adventure. I disliked how the book ended. I understand what Hale did with the brothel scene, not only forcing Karim to acknowledge the reality of loving a man in such a repressive culture, but also the understanding of the other characters' limited window to express affection. But I disliked it. I disliked that there are no women in the book, a couple mothers and whores are referenced but there are no female characters. I also thought the editing of the second half of the book started to falter.
I have book two and I'll be reading it. But the series has lost a little of the luster it held when I was first starting out. Hopefully I can regain it.
What can I say, I liked it but I didn't love it? The things I liked I liked a lot though. I liked the characters. I thought they were well rounded and engaging, even the side characters. Nestor and Fedeles struck me particularly. I liked Kiram's tendency to speak his mind and Javier's attempt to respect that, while still flirting. I liked the world and the setting. I liked the writing. It's fairly simplistic, but the dialogue flowed well.
The things I didn't like are a little less about the broad strokes though. I disliked the slow pace of the plot. If I'm honest, this is probably more a case of expecting more than the book ever intended to deliver in this department. It is largely a story about boys in a boarding school, with a little time dedicated to a larger conspiracy and I was looking forward to a bit more of a sweeping adventure. I disliked how the book ended. I understand what Hale did with the brothel scene, not only forcing Karim to acknowledge the reality of loving a man in such a repressive culture, but also the understanding of the other characters' limited window to express affection. But I disliked it. I disliked that there are no women in the book, a couple mothers and whores are referenced but there are no female characters. I also thought the editing of the second half of the book started to falter.
I have book two and I'll be reading it. But the series has lost a little of the luster it held when I was first starting out. Hopefully I can regain it.
A fun, exciting story with great worldbuilding and fantastic characters and writing. The narrative style was a delight and I spent most of the book reading the dialogue with almost a sense of indulgence in how fun the character voices were to read. Kiram is a delightful, stubborn, clever protagonist, and Javier is an enjoyable spin on the brooding sarcastic lordling (which the book itself nods to with tongue in cheek). Most of it, whenever it came near to something particularly trope-y, gave a nod to that trope and then put a unique spin on it. The setting itself felt phenomenally real and well-rounded in everything the world had to offer, negative and positive. Almost all of this book was exactly what I wanted to read!
That said, I had to drop down to 4 stars from 5 because the entire last story beat was just deeply unpleasant for me to read. It felt out of place with the rest of the book as a result.
I'm jumping right into book 2 regardless because I enjoyed the *rest* of book 1 enough to keep it at a 4 star review, however, and I'm still very excited to read the rest of this story through and see what happens next.
That said, I had to drop down to 4 stars from 5 because the entire last story beat was just deeply unpleasant for me to read.
Spoiler
I can see what Hale intended from the scene in terms of the societal barrier, but the execution of it felt discordant with the rest of the storytelling so far, to me. The scene itself was uncomfortable enough to me to make me reluctant to keep reading; I actually had to put the book down for a bit when the scene started. Part of my problem was that it contained some of my least favourite tropes, like faceless sex workers who aren't really portrayed as people doing a job, but I also ended up frustrated by the argument happening in a way the characters hadn't previously miscommunicated. It's not that they never miscommunicated at all, mind, but the way they did it tended to be different to that point, with Kiram building up problems and Javier being avoidant. I understood he'd been scared when Kiram hadn't returned and that fear turned into anger, but given that Javier seemed to understand that homosexual relationships were socially expected (not just accepted) for Kiram, his apparent total lack of understanding of or empathy for Kiram's pain seemed to come out of nowhere.I'm jumping right into book 2 regardless because I enjoyed the *rest* of book 1 enough to keep it at a 4 star review, however, and I'm still very excited to read the rest of this story through and see what happens next.
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
emotional
funny
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
“To fear what you do not understand is to mistake ignorance for safety.”
As always, a disclaimer. You do not have to share my thoughts and opinions on this book. If you loved the book, then I am so happy. Unfortunately, there are some things that I didn’t like that people might disagree with, but I need to say it in order to write an honest review.
Okay, so here is the thing. I had to wait half a day before I could finally get myself in the right mindset to write this review as honestly as possible. Because the truth is, I loved 90% of this book. I really did. But that final chapter? Had me ranting and raving and unable to finish it for at least 45 minutes. More on that later though.
Okay so what is this story about?
This is the story of Kiram, who is a Haldiim of extreme intellectual capabilities that is invited to attend the prestigious Sagrada Academy for his schooling. He is the second Haldiim to be enrolled, and if successful the first one to graduate from the academy. He is assigned to be Javier’s underclassmen and roommate, mostly because no one wants to room with either of them. (Haldiim are considered dirty and below the consideration of the Cadeleonians, while Javier, who is a Duke is considered cursed by his own people with something known as the White Hell). This is their story of instant attraction, lurking shadows, and untold secrets.
Plot wise, this book is slow. It’s not as fast-paced as some of the other books I have read, but it doesn’t exactly bore me to tears either. I found myself compelled by the story and interested in the characters. There were a lot of unanswered questions throughout the book, and often I found myself getting an answer that just led to three more questions. Which is why I am not that surprised that after the book ended I was less informed than I thought.
The characters of Javier and Kiram were interesting for different reasons. Javier, who is a Duke and cursed with the White Hell, is sort of the leader of the "cool kids/hooligans" club. I found his character interesting in the sense that he has two faces. He has the over-cocky, arrogant and confident side of himself that he uses in public. Then he has the slightly melancholy, wise and aloof side that he shows to Kiram. Interwoven through both facades is his moments of kindness and caring, such as with the way he treats his cousin or even his oldest friends.
But that doesn’t mean he is without flaws. Because this character is seriously flawed. He is almost too arrogant, especially in the first chapter where he assumes Kiram will (as Kiram said) become his bathhouse whore or his insane jealousy and possessive nature towards anyone female that Kiram mentions or even interacts with. I mean, I liked the subtle character growth but felt that growth was diminished in that final chapter. (I am serious when I say the final chapter had me hating him so much.)
Kiram is a smart and independent young man who I felt showed so much promise as a character but was slowly diminished into some swoony teenager who is constantly battling his internal attraction to Javier. I mean in the first few chapters I loved how he was this intelligent person who didn’t care what other people thought of him, who just wanted to be the best he could be at the academy. He was shrewd and resilient, and I loved him early on. But when his character growth was more focused on his relationship with Javier and trying to help Javier, I became less invested in the character.
The writing of this book was amazing, although sometimes I found it pretentious. The descriptions were sometimes too drawn out and made some of the scenes slightly boring and unnecessarily long. But I liked the universe, even if sometimes I struggled to read the names or keep track of the many characters, I soon got into the flow of it.
This was my first book by this author, and I have mixed feelings about it. I loved a lot of the story, but I hated the way the book was concluded. A lot of the time I wanted the author to just get to the point while simultaneously loving the writing style and descriptions. I guess I am just full of contradictions for this book. I guess I will be reading the next book, regardless of how much I didn’t like the ending to the first book. But unless the second book is a saving grace, I don’t think I will be reading this book again soon.
Overall, 2.5 stars rather than 3 rating.
As always, a disclaimer. You do not have to share my thoughts and opinions on this book. If you loved the book, then I am so happy. Unfortunately, there are some things that I didn’t like that people might disagree with, but I need to say it in order to write an honest review.
Okay, so here is the thing. I had to wait half a day before I could finally get myself in the right mindset to write this review as honestly as possible. Because the truth is, I loved 90% of this book. I really did. But that final chapter? Had me ranting and raving and unable to finish it for at least 45 minutes.
Spoiler
Because in my honest opinion, the brothel scene was just not needed! There must have been another way to cause conflict, right? I know Javier isn’t gay, more bisexual, but the fact that he got sexual gratification from a female prostitute all while his male lover, Kiram, was watching, and then told Kiram that Kiram didn’t have to feel ashamed about leaving? I was honest to God fuming mad.Okay so what is this story about?
This is the story of Kiram, who is a Haldiim of extreme intellectual capabilities that is invited to attend the prestigious Sagrada Academy for his schooling. He is the second Haldiim to be enrolled, and if successful the first one to graduate from the academy. He is assigned to be Javier’s underclassmen and roommate, mostly because no one wants to room with either of them. (Haldiim are considered dirty and below the consideration of the Cadeleonians, while Javier, who is a Duke is considered cursed by his own people with something known as the White Hell). This is their story of instant attraction, lurking shadows, and untold secrets.
Plot wise, this book is slow. It’s not as fast-paced as some of the other books I have read, but it doesn’t exactly bore me to tears either. I found myself compelled by the story and interested in the characters. There were a lot of unanswered questions throughout the book, and often I found myself getting an answer that just led to three more questions. Which is why I am not that surprised that after the book ended I was less informed than I thought.
The characters of Javier and Kiram were interesting for different reasons. Javier, who is a Duke and cursed with the White Hell, is sort of the leader of the "cool kids/hooligans" club. I found his character interesting in the sense that he has two faces. He has the over-cocky, arrogant and confident side of himself that he uses in public. Then he has the slightly melancholy, wise and aloof side that he shows to Kiram. Interwoven through both facades is his moments of kindness and caring, such as with the way he treats his cousin or even his oldest friends.
But that doesn’t mean he is without flaws. Because this character is seriously flawed. He is almost too arrogant, especially in the first chapter where he assumes Kiram will (as Kiram said) become his bathhouse whore or his insane jealousy and possessive nature towards anyone female that Kiram mentions or even interacts with. I mean,
Spoiler
he glares down anyone who gives Kiram too much attention. But he himself slept with a female prostitute, and then went on to say he did nothing wrong and Kiram was the one with a problem. Like, dude. Stop being a contradicting dick.Kiram is a smart and independent young man who I felt showed so much promise as a character but was slowly diminished into some swoony teenager who is constantly battling his internal attraction to Javier. I mean in the first few chapters I loved how he was this intelligent person who didn’t care what other people thought of him, who just wanted to be the best he could be at the academy. He was shrewd and resilient, and I loved him early on. But when his character growth was more focused on his relationship with Javier and trying to help Javier, I became less invested in the character.
Spoiler
In the final chapter though, where he breaks things off with Javier because of the whole brothel thing, I loved him again. I was so proud of him for standing up for himself and telling Javier off. I mean, I went full on cheer squad for him. I just hope he won’t run back to Javier ASAP in the next book. In fact, a part of me wants him to just leave and not look back.The writing of this book was amazing, although sometimes I found it pretentious. The descriptions were sometimes too drawn out and made some of the scenes slightly boring and unnecessarily long. But I liked the universe, even if sometimes I struggled to read the names or keep track of the many characters, I soon got into the flow of it.
This was my first book by this author, and I have mixed feelings about it. I loved a lot of the story, but I hated the way the book was concluded. A lot of the time I wanted the author to just get to the point while simultaneously loving the writing style and descriptions. I guess I am just full of contradictions for this book. I guess I will be reading the next book, regardless of how much I didn’t like the ending to the first book. But unless the second book is a saving grace, I don’t think I will be reading this book again soon.
Overall, 2.5 stars rather than 3 rating.
adventurous
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