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areth_09's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
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
4.0
ek4therin4h's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
reflective
relaxing
fast-paced
4.5
ksophialydia's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
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
5.0
heyitsmeg777's review against another edition
5.0
Fun fact about my history with the School for Good and Evil series: This series practically owns my entire life. Book 1 started when I was in fifth or sixth grade and it ended when I was graduating high school in the pandemic year of 2020. And now, halfway through college, I get to read how this chaotic rolercoaster TRULY began.
And let's just say IT DID NOT DISAPPOINT.
It starts off with the cryptic riddles we absolutely love getting frustrated about but we still love them anyway and while the real mystery lies in why the brothers Rhian and Rafal get chosen, we don't get time to figure that out... so we go on to where the chaos begins.
CUE... Aladdin.
He gets sent to the school for good when all he does is evil things, but this is how the stoy goes, right?
Wrong.
Because then he steals the lamp that reverses his wish and he ends up conjuring a love spell on the guy who hasa crush on the girl he wanted. And that was a great arc while it lasted, reminding us that love is love and the acceptance of Hephaestus boldly declaring love for Aladdin and for it to be applauded and approved of... this is what helps LGBTQ+ kids feel seen. This book never fails to shine with queer characters that aren't afraid to be who they are and I'm here for it. It's Chainani's trademark after all, but in the prequel, we see a more accepting society rather than in the original SGE series which was a lot less accepting of differences which makes me wonder why it all went downhill.
Now... the SGE series focuses on Agatha and Sophie fighting for a guy.
And well, RISE focuses on two brothers... fighting for a guy.
Which is ABSOLUTELY HILARIOUS.
I still am not entirely sure if I found the parallels between Rhian and Sophie who both fell for the wrong people or Rafal for letting all of this happening all while falling into the trap himself funny. Both were equally worth laughing about because it was literally just disastrously gay brothers trying to figure out where their hearts truly lied and basically forgot about caring for their students because their hearts went first. Which I guess makes sense since they're also immortal and lonely and all the stuff we usually believe about immortals being selfish and whatnot.
Now, in the SGE series, Tedros was the resident himbo who I wanted to murder half of the time.
In this prequel, James Hook is the guy that I legitimatlely wish would teach a couple of lessons to Tedros because he is SMART AS HELL. And charming. And a good liar. And a great hypocrite that fooled me in the end.
Which goes back to the ending and what the hell happened.
For people who have read the series, the ending was more like a DUH WE KNOW answer.
For those who haven't read the SGE series, the ending must have been an amazing cliffhanger.
Unfortunately, I'm in the former, so to me the ending was a bit meh, but the overall book caused me a lot of laughs, a lot of OOOO and a lot of double takes because there were many plot twists and a lot of times where I predicted stuff and clearly got it all wrong.
The highlights: Rhian and Rafal and their tumultous relationship. Jame Hook flirting with both of them and successfully SPOILER ALERT kissing both of them. Marialena Sader who spooked me and annoyed me too, but couldn't help but enjoy. The Pen being good and evil. The Night crawlers and escaping from them and the Circus of Talents from the Nevers end because it was amazing to see their stunt. Rhian's horrible luck in getting toxic men to take away things from him.
The lows: Where does Rafal truly stand with James Hook and why could they take away their part of their souls from him without risking the fact that James could practically steal their immortality? The Fala brother arc was heartbreaking for me. The betrayal between the brothers was tough to deal with. NO ONE CARES ABOUT KYMA AND HER GOODY TWO SHOE NATURE. I hated her all the way through. Also, I wanted Hephaestus and Aladdin to end together becaue I thought the story would be like that. Alas, it was not.
It got me out of a reading slump and I loved it enough to know that I need book 2 in my hands and that I will re-read it again and recommend it to everyone I know and continue gushing about why Rafal is the better brother (Because Rhian can go ahead and rot in a graveyard or whatever).
*DEEP BREATH*
Let the rollercoaster trip be the reason you pick up this book.
And let's just say IT DID NOT DISAPPOINT.
It starts off with the cryptic riddles we absolutely love getting frustrated about but we still love them anyway and while the real mystery lies in why the brothers Rhian and Rafal get chosen, we don't get time to figure that out... so we go on to where the chaos begins.
CUE... Aladdin.
He gets sent to the school for good when all he does is evil things, but this is how the stoy goes, right?
Wrong.
Because then he steals the lamp that reverses his wish and he ends up conjuring a love spell on the guy who hasa crush on the girl he wanted. And that was a great arc while it lasted, reminding us that love is love and the acceptance of Hephaestus boldly declaring love for Aladdin and for it to be applauded and approved of... this is what helps LGBTQ+ kids feel seen. This book never fails to shine with queer characters that aren't afraid to be who they are and I'm here for it. It's Chainani's trademark after all, but in the prequel, we see a more accepting society rather than in the original SGE series which was a lot less accepting of differences which makes me wonder why it all went downhill.
Now... the SGE series focuses on Agatha and Sophie fighting for a guy.
And well, RISE focuses on two brothers... fighting for a guy.
Which is ABSOLUTELY HILARIOUS.
I still am not entirely sure if I found the parallels between Rhian and Sophie who both fell for the wrong people or Rafal for letting all of this happening all while falling into the trap himself funny. Both were equally worth laughing about because it was literally just disastrously gay brothers trying to figure out where their hearts truly lied and basically forgot about caring for their students because their hearts went first. Which I guess makes sense since they're also immortal and lonely and all the stuff we usually believe about immortals being selfish and whatnot.
Now, in the SGE series, Tedros was the resident himbo who I wanted to murder half of the time.
In this prequel, James Hook is the guy that I legitimatlely wish would teach a couple of lessons to Tedros because he is SMART AS HELL. And charming. And a good liar. And a great hypocrite that fooled me in the end.
Which goes back to the ending and what the hell happened.
For people who have read the series, the ending was more like a DUH WE KNOW answer.
For those who haven't read the SGE series, the ending must have been an amazing cliffhanger.
Unfortunately, I'm in the former, so to me the ending was a bit meh, but the overall book caused me a lot of laughs, a lot of OOOO and a lot of double takes because there were many plot twists and a lot of times where I predicted stuff and clearly got it all wrong.
The highlights: Rhian and Rafal and their tumultous relationship. Jame Hook flirting with both of them and successfully SPOILER ALERT kissing both of them. Marialena Sader who spooked me and annoyed me too, but couldn't help but enjoy. The Pen being good and evil. The Night crawlers and escaping from them and the Circus of Talents from the Nevers end because it was amazing to see their stunt. Rhian's horrible luck in getting toxic men to take away things from him.
The lows: Where does Rafal truly stand with James Hook and why could they take away their part of their souls from him without risking the fact that James could practically steal their immortality? The Fala brother arc was heartbreaking for me. The betrayal between the brothers was tough to deal with. NO ONE CARES ABOUT KYMA AND HER GOODY TWO SHOE NATURE. I hated her all the way through. Also, I wanted Hephaestus and Aladdin to end together becaue I thought the story would be like that. Alas, it was not.
It got me out of a reading slump and I loved it enough to know that I need book 2 in my hands and that I will re-read it again and recommend it to everyone I know and continue gushing about why Rafal is the better brother (Because Rhian can go ahead and rot in a graveyard or whatever).
*DEEP BREATH*
Let the rollercoaster trip be the reason you pick up this book.
abby_readsalot's review against another edition
4.0
Excellent. I listened and read this book on paper! The narrator (Kit Young) was amazing, and it was so cool to see the forming of some of the parts I loved best about the SGE. Highly recommend, I will be starting the next one soon. :)
rosie_03's review against another edition
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
mesreader2013's review against another edition
Honestly got sick of the series after the first 3 books and wanted to give this book a try, but I can't continue.
lsparrow's review against another edition
3.0
my obsession with fairy tales makes this series totally up my alley. I also love origin stories. Not epic as far as books go but a great weekend read. exploring ideas of good/evil within all of us and of love - not just romantic but also those of family and friends.