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cornflower's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
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? No
5.0
I'm so gutted and bereft that I finished. I enjoyed the characters, their relationships and the world.
mimibird's review against another edition
3.0
I could not bring myself to finish this book, or series, whatever, no matter how hard I tried. I've been trying to get into it for days, and it's just not happening for me. I can even relate to the main character and the distance she puts between herself and other people, but I just don't care for the main characters. It's not that I don't like them, it's that I have a complete neutral opinion concerning what could happen to them. Maybe I'll try to pick this up again later, but it's just not happening for me right now. I'm not enchanted, and I wish I was.
ladilira's review against another edition
4.0
I have a pile of books waiting to be read that could reach my ceiling, but I decided since this came from a personal recommendation I could squeeze one more in. Indeed, I thoroughly enjoyed the tale of griffins made of fire, and earth mages that burn with chilly fingers. I loved how each book centered around a different character and felt pulled in more each time I moved on to the next chapter.
The trilogy is an ongoing tale and should be read as one entire book. Characters from the first book come back in the second and third. You may loathe a character in book one and then find come book two they are not as bad as you thought. The way Neumeier shows us all the sides of many of her characters was in my opinion masterful. The good, the bad, and the ugly come out. But in the end you love them all because just like normal people they have many layers.
The magic system was unique and original and I enjoyed seeing how she twisted it. I cried with Mienthe, worried over Gereint, and even struggled with my love/hate of Kes.
My only gripe is where is the map? Epic fantasy needs a map and my edition did not have one, which was disappointing. I like to trace the journey and know exactly to which country a character is traveling to. In addition, in the first couple books the romance is very subtle to a point it almost feels like an afterthought. There was not much steam before the fire, and fire is not really what happened either. Therefore, I could have used more feelings expressed between the characters.
Other than those two issues, I have nothing but praise for this story. I would enjoy reading more from this author in the future and hope to stumble on more of her work.
Reviewed on https://cellardoorbooks.wordpress.com
The trilogy is an ongoing tale and should be read as one entire book. Characters from the first book come back in the second and third. You may loathe a character in book one and then find come book two they are not as bad as you thought. The way Neumeier shows us all the sides of many of her characters was in my opinion masterful. The good, the bad, and the ugly come out. But in the end you love them all because just like normal people they have many layers.
The magic system was unique and original and I enjoyed seeing how she twisted it. I cried with Mienthe, worried over Gereint, and even struggled with my love/hate of Kes.
My only gripe is where is the map? Epic fantasy needs a map and my edition did not have one, which was disappointing. I like to trace the journey and know exactly to which country a character is traveling to. In addition, in the first couple books the romance is very subtle to a point it almost feels like an afterthought. There was not much steam before the fire, and fire is not really what happened either. Therefore, I could have used more feelings expressed between the characters.
Other than those two issues, I have nothing but praise for this story. I would enjoy reading more from this author in the future and hope to stumble on more of her work.
Reviewed on https://cellardoorbooks.wordpress.com
mkpatter's review against another edition
3.0
Please don't judge me for taking a really long time to finish this, it's actually three books.
tvancort's review against another edition
3.0
Ok, I seem to have been confused: Rachel Aaron/Bach are one person, but Rachel Neumeier is somebody else. All three of them (well, both of them) write super-fun stuff. This series has a wonderful spin on different kinds of magic and its use, and several unique and well-written female characters. These books (because it turns out I got an omnibus version of a trilogy: [b:Lord of the Changing Winds|7069161|Lord of the Changing Winds (Griffin Mage, #1)|Rachel Neumeier|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1390237622s/7069161.jpg|7322293], [b:Land of the Burning Sands|7302399|Land of the Burning Sands (Griffin Mage, #2)|Rachel Neumeier|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1390237621s/7302399.jpg|8685001], and [b:Law of the Broken Earth|8271201|Law of the Broken Earth (Griffin Mage, #3)|Rachel Neumeier|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1282704768s/8271201.jpg|13119349], which is why it took me so long to finish — multiple re-downloads from the library and all of that).
grimread's review
3.0
I had quite many issues with this book trilogy.
This is the first book I just gave up on reading the names of characters and places the right way and just made them up my own. It seemed pointless to even try pronouncing them the way they were written. It doesn't much help that most of them were foreign words of verbs and adverbs that were made to be names. Most of them just sounded stupid.
The author really doesn't have a clue how to write a war. And she is really bad at writing a good build up. There just is no tension in the story. Plot twists are so basic and uninventive.
In the first book the only good thing about it are the griffins. everything else is boring.
The second book actually starts better. For exactly 100 pages. After that the predictable twists just keep on coming.
The third book. What was the point of it all?
This is the first book I just gave up on reading the names of characters and places the right way and just made them up my own. It seemed pointless to even try pronouncing them the way they were written. It doesn't much help that most of them were foreign words of verbs and adverbs that were made to be names. Most of them just sounded stupid.
The author really doesn't have a clue how to write a war. And she is really bad at writing a good build up. There just is no tension in the story. Plot twists are so basic and uninventive.
In the first book the only good thing about it are the griffins. everything else is boring.
The second book actually starts better. For exactly 100 pages. After that the predictable twists just keep on coming.
The third book. What was the point of it all?
wyvernfriend's review
3.0
When Griffins are pushed out of their parcel of land they move and with them they take their magic. Kes, a young healer, is taken by the Griffons to help heal their people but this changes her life forever. The second story, Land of the Burning Sands is about Gereint Enseichen, an indentured servant who is trying to escape servitude and become a more useful member of society. Law of the Broken Earth is about Mienthe, a young member of the aristocracy caught up in a war that could change the world forever.
The stories are interesting, as they come from different parts of the world with different attitudes and responses to what is going on and what to do about the changes. I did like them and look forward to more by this author.
The stories are interesting, as they come from different parts of the world with different attitudes and responses to what is going on and what to do about the changes. I did like them and look forward to more by this author.
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