Reviews

I know I'm late to the party but I now get why this book has remained so highly rated for so long. Ps. I think I'm obsessed with books with cruel characters. Is it because the stakes are that much higher for our heroes? Idk

Definitely looking forward to book two

lindasdarby's review against another edition

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4.0

Loved it - couldn't put it down!

ellaobaapa's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious medium-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? It's complicated

4.25

rlisaacs's review against another edition

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5.0

Wow. Just... wow. I really loved this book. It draws you in. From the very first moment, there's mystery about it with Darin and Laia's conversation. And from that point on, there's nothing but more secrets, more danger, more action, more trials! Even the pauses the book takes to give you space in between all of that, where you're not holding your breath for a second while you wait to see what happens? They don't slow down the book. They don't feel like lulls to me. It just gives us time to get to know these characters even better.

I'm not sure I'm a fan of Helene yet. That's not to say I don't like her. I do, in some sense. But... some of her perspective is just... I'm not sure I can get on board. Not unless she changes her mind about some things. (Like her viewpoint on the Scholar slaves.)

I like Laia. She's our main leading lady here. I like her because she's definitely not the perfect heroine. She's not the 'Lioness' that her mother once was, and she's not as daring as her brother. She's fearful, unsure, and half the time she doesn't know what she's doing. But she was also raised in a fashion so that, in the environment she puts herself in, it makes sense for her to stumble and fumble her way through certain things. She takes some massive steps of growth in this book, but there is also still plenty of room for her to continue to grow into... into... I don't even know what. But I have high hopes that whatever she becomes and decides to do by the end of this, it will be amazing.

Elias is my absolute favorite. I love him. He's, in many ways, incredibly the opposite of Laia. Where she starts out a fearful little thing, he's had fear trained and beaten out of him. He's a deadly warrior, one of the absolute best, but he hates what he is. His views on the Scholar slaves? Those I can get behind.

And in one beautiful moment in this book, we also see that, for all that they are incredibly different people, they are also the same. There is a similarity in their stories that, while it took them down different paths at first, still strikes the same chord inside both of them.

And the ending? AH! I'm so happy. I was so worried that something was going to happen to make me hate this... but I'm so happy! I am going to the store tomorrow to buy the next book. I just... I have other books I need to read too, but at the same time, I HAVE to know what happens next.

Loved it. Sabaa Tahir did an amazing job bringing this world and it's characters to life. I just... I loved it.

kerrisbooks13's review against another edition

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5.0

I loved this just as much the second time. Violence and loyalty and just a touch of magic. It’s a good refresher before the last book comes out in December

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