Scan barcode
noor_ahmed's review
4.0
So I give this book a 3.7 out of 5.
I loved the beginning of this book so much, and everything about it, I loved the main character alessandra, and her plan. BUT DID NOT LIKE THE ENDING AT ALL. It was like the ending of a fairytale unoriginal and boring. There was a plot twist at the end that I did enjoy. Like not jaw dropping but veryyyyy good.
I loved the beginning of this book so much, and everything about it, I loved the main character alessandra, and her plan. BUT DID NOT LIKE THE ENDING AT ALL. It was like the ending of a fairytale unoriginal and boring. There was a plot twist at the end that I did enjoy. Like not jaw dropping but veryyyyy good.
usuallyaudio's review against another edition
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.75
mauvemeg's review
1.0
I really wanted to like this book. I did not like this book. At all.
I was excited to see an antagonist badass woman in a fantasy novel, probably with a slow-burn romance, action and killing and schemes. I was disappointed.
Alessandra does appear cold-hearted and set on her schemes and evil plan of getting all the power she deserves, in the beginning. But the second she meets the king and gets lost in his eyes i knew I will be so disappointed and the ending was so predictable.
My main issue with this book was not only the non-existent world building, but the writing. She starts off with how the Shadow King conquered many countries and never bothers to show a map. A sketch of one, describe it. Name the countries. Anything, except saying three random country names throughout the book. I was constantly rolling my eyes or laughing while reading this and 50 pages in I was determined to DNF. But it was picked in our bookclub and since everyone liked it, I said I will power through.
Her writing just felt like I was reading a draft of a fantasy book before it being finished. Or reading a fan fiction on Wattpad about a hot shadow king. Lol, literally a Shadow King. The short sentences, first person view and almost zero building to scenes or relationships just threw me off so much. I wished for this book to be so much more, but it made me so sad, when 20 pages from being done, the only parts I truly enjoyed reading was Kallias and Alessandra flirting over chocolate cake.
Not a fan, even though I really wished to be one.
I was excited to see an antagonist badass woman in a fantasy novel, probably with a slow-burn romance, action and killing and schemes. I was disappointed.
Alessandra does appear cold-hearted and set on her schemes and evil plan of getting all the power she deserves, in the beginning. But the second she meets the king and gets lost in his eyes i knew I will be so disappointed and the ending was so predictable.
My main issue with this book was not only the non-existent world building, but the writing. She starts off with how the Shadow King conquered many countries and never bothers to show a map. A sketch of one, describe it. Name the countries. Anything, except saying three random country names throughout the book. I was constantly rolling my eyes or laughing while reading this and 50 pages in I was determined to DNF. But it was picked in our bookclub and since everyone liked it, I said I will power through.
Her writing just felt like I was reading a draft of a fantasy book before it being finished. Or reading a fan fiction on Wattpad about a hot shadow king. Lol, literally a Shadow King. The short sentences, first person view and almost zero building to scenes or relationships just threw me off so much. I wished for this book to be so much more, but it made me so sad, when 20 pages from being done, the only parts I truly enjoyed reading was Kallias and Alessandra flirting over chocolate cake.
Not a fan, even though I really wished to be one.
justagurlbooks's review
3.0
It was cute. The main character is a breath of fresh air. It was a very quick read I finished it in a day. But overall I liked it.
jinxei's review
4.0
“Because happiness, however short-lived, is always worth it.”
I devoured this book in less than 24 hours.
Let me preface this with I love a well done morally grey character. I love characters that walk the fine line between light and dark and you don't know which way to root for them to go. Alessandra leans towards the dark. Her motivation, her mannerisms, the things she's done have all been for putting herself first and achieving as high as she can. She's ambitious and strong, cunning and takes what she wants. She isn't afraid to speak her mind and the discussion surrounding women and what they do was top notch. “Waiting. Not waiting. One lover. A hundred lovers. There should be no judgement either way. A woman is not defined by what she does or doesn‘t do in the bedroom.” This is what I want out of someone looking to rule a kingdom.
The romance was wonderful, the characters all developing in their own ways and together at once. The twist at the end caught me off guard in more way than one. Though it is more YA than NA and less steamy than I anticipated, it does not make it a worse read. I highly recommend this to fill your enemies-to-lovers, morally grey character void.
I devoured this book in less than 24 hours.
Let me preface this with I love a well done morally grey character. I love characters that walk the fine line between light and dark and you don't know which way to root for them to go. Alessandra leans towards the dark. Her motivation, her mannerisms, the things she's done have all been for putting herself first and achieving as high as she can. She's ambitious and strong, cunning and takes what she wants. She isn't afraid to speak her mind and the discussion surrounding women and what they do was top notch. “Waiting. Not waiting. One lover. A hundred lovers. There should be no judgement either way. A woman is not defined by what she does or doesn‘t do in the bedroom.” This is what I want out of someone looking to rule a kingdom.
The romance was wonderful, the characters all developing in their own ways and together at once. The twist at the end caught me off guard in more way than one. Though it is more YA than NA and less steamy than I anticipated, it does not make it a worse read. I highly recommend this to fill your enemies-to-lovers, morally grey character void.
bookish_kenzie's review
4.0
This was good. Incredible, no, but it was enjoyable enough. It was a quick, easy read and I enjoyed our two main characters.
I think my biggest issue with this was that I think it would have worked better as a series, or even a longer standalone. I appreciate a standalone fantasy, however I feel like this was missing a lot of the worldbuilding and atmosphere and honestly left me feeling a little confused at times. I didn't completely understand why Alessandra wanted to take over the kingdom for herself, and I would have liked to learn more about the Shadow King's background and story.
However, despite those few flaws, this definitely wasn't bad. Like I said, it was a quick, easy fantasy read and I definitely enjoyed my time. I liked Alessandra as a character, she was badass and driven and knew exactly what she wanted. The Shadow King was intriguing and written in a way that definitely did him justice, I definitely found him attractive and loved reading about Alessandra's interactions with him.
The plot was definitely lacking a bit, there was a mystery element however I found myself not really caring about it and instead just focusing on the relationship. I predicted parts of the ending and the parts I didn't predict still didn't really shock me. It all felt rushed.
I really did like Alessandra and the Shadow King together, though. I felt that they had a good connection and I definitely had an enjoyable time reading about them.
CAWPILE: 8 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 9 (x2) avg: 7.6
I think my biggest issue with this was that I think it would have worked better as a series, or even a longer standalone. I appreciate a standalone fantasy, however I feel like this was missing a lot of the worldbuilding and atmosphere and honestly left me feeling a little confused at times. I didn't completely understand why Alessandra wanted to take over the kingdom for herself, and I would have liked to learn more about the Shadow King's background and story.
However, despite those few flaws, this definitely wasn't bad. Like I said, it was a quick, easy fantasy read and I definitely enjoyed my time. I liked Alessandra as a character, she was badass and driven and knew exactly what she wanted. The Shadow King was intriguing and written in a way that definitely did him justice, I definitely found him attractive and loved reading about Alessandra's interactions with him.
The plot was definitely lacking a bit, there was a mystery element however I found myself not really caring about it and instead just focusing on the relationship. I predicted parts of the ending and the parts I didn't predict still didn't really shock me. It all felt rushed.
I really did like Alessandra and the Shadow King together, though. I felt that they had a good connection and I definitely had an enjoyable time reading about them.
CAWPILE: 8 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 9 (x2) avg: 7.6
niyannx's review
3.0
Not really perfect by any means, but I really enjoyed the social events and the main character's inner dialogue during them.
IDK, could've been better.
Spoiler
Kallias didn't seem as powerful and intimidating as I thought he would be... He just seems like a shy boy, not a king that 'has conquered numerous kingdoms'. Also, Alessandra absolutely not caring about being a murderess and there being absolutely NO consequences was kind of a let-down.IDK, could've been better.
danima's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
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? It's complicated
4.5
springreader's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
3.5