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3.6 AVERAGE
3.6 AVERAGE
A juicy thick novel that allows for the inside perspective of multiple characters that are involved with a wealthy, ruthless empire. I liked the juicy and action packed plot with room for backstory and side plots.
This book is LONG at over 500 pages, but it didn’t feel long at all. When I was reading this, I was so caught up in it and didn’t want to put it down. When I wasn’t reading it, I found myself wanting to stop what I was doing to read it. Unlikable characters, multiple POVs, and a cliffhanger ending. The only thing I didn’t like was being introduced to a new character so close to the end, but I’m hoping that’s because they’ll be a focus in the second or third book of this trilogy. I need the second book now because that ending left me wanting more.
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Alcohol, Classism
Moderate: Child death, Cursing, Death, Gun violence, Blood, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent
I loved Ajax’s initial story and once I got into a different pace, I enjoyed Neda’s as well. I just hated Sunny’ POV. He wasn’t dark enough to be complex or tragic enough to gain sympathy. He didn’t deserve to be given any pages on his opinion.
He feels as though he is being portrayed as pathetic to hollowly cruel but he was always cruel!
He feels as though he is being portrayed as pathetic to hollowly cruel but he was always cruel!
I loved this book and the last 150 pages totally lost me… but still i’d rate it pretty high i think because i was so engrossed
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Too many mentions of Israel for my comfort.
This book starts off with a bang and keeps it up the whole way through. I usually don't like when books have a prose style that includes a lot of short sentences each on their own line—which often ends up feeling overwrought and overwritten—but this matched the pace of the book perfectly and seemed the only natural way to write these scenes. I love a multi-POV saga that spans years, so this delivered on that. It takes a twist to what is so in fashion these days (the family saga) and switches it up by giving us the POVs of people connected to the Wadia family without doing the typical three generations thing. The changes in POV helped fill in the story but also brought together an intriguing cast of characters.
My one biggest critique is, ironically, that the ending came too fast. So fast that I feel as though certain twists either had no time to settle in my brain or I'm still not quite sure what everything meant. There are some questions I have and it's unclear to me if that's because the fast-paced writing made it glide right over my head, there wasn't enough explanation of the twist, or it's supposed to be a bit of a mystery to keep us guessing for Book 2. Either way, I thought the ending was equally explosive as the rest of the book but didn't offer as much conclusion as I would have hoped. Regardless, it's an exciting new series and I'm glad I read it! I would say, don't be intimidated by its size. It's 540 pages but reads like a 350 page novel.
My one biggest critique is, ironically, that the ending came too fast. So fast that I feel as though certain twists either had no time to settle in my brain or I'm still not quite sure what everything meant. There are some questions I have and it's unclear to me if that's because the fast-paced writing made it glide right over my head, there wasn't enough explanation of the twist, or it's supposed to be a bit of a mystery to keep us guessing for Book 2. Either way, I thought the ending was equally explosive as the rest of the book but didn't offer as much conclusion as I would have hoped. Regardless, it's an exciting new series and I'm glad I read it! I would say, don't be intimidated by its size. It's 540 pages but reads like a 350 page novel.
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes