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veronicachp's review
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Not gonna lie, I'm pretty disappointed in this series. I loved the first one so much I hoped the rest of the series would follow suit, but they just don't do it for me. I really enjoyed the beginning of this one up until the middle and was pretty invested and optimistic, but after Takeo meets with the Teradas, it just all went downhill for me.
My gripes are: 1)the pacing, 2)Kaede's (lack of) character development, 3)the number and variety of stupid choices the characters make, and 4)the very unsatisfying ending.
1) Simply put, the pacing is really weird, and not helped by the fact that the different storylines are told asynchronously.
2) I hate that the second book focused so much on Kaede developing her independence and her mind and her right to rule, and set her up for a grand position as the Lady of Maruyama and Shirakawa, and then in this book she's relegated to just Takeo's wife and has very little agency or plot of her own and spends most of it just waiting around. Compared to the last book her character felt weak and flat and honestly pretty uninteresting.
3) I won't spoil what the stupid decisions are, but there are many.
4) After three whole books of buildup, the ending was so unsatisfying. Three books of prophecy, and characters dying, and the promise of revenge and a grand redemption, and the main climax takes maybe ten pages and is solved by Deus Ex Machina. I really expected more, a lot more. Sour taste in my mouth over it.
5) Bonus gripe! As a non religious person the not so subtle Christian propaganda got a bit obnoxious at a few points.
In some ways, these books were really enjoyable, particularly the first one. The author is really good at painting a beautiful picture of the Japanese scenery, and while I don't have much knowledge of Japanese history her portrayal of the warrior class and their actions felt believable. I did legitimately love these characters. I just feel that they could have benefited from a longer, more measured pace and storyline. I think what many of the problems boil down to is the second book didn't do enough with the plot, and the third one tried to do too much.
My gripes are: 1)the pacing, 2)Kaede's (lack of) character development, 3)the number and variety of stupid choices the characters make, and 4)the very unsatisfying ending.
1) Simply put, the pacing is really weird, and not helped by the fact that the different storylines are told asynchronously.
2) I hate that the second book focused so much on Kaede developing her independence and her mind and her right to rule, and set her up for a grand position as the Lady of Maruyama and Shirakawa, and then in this book she's relegated to just Takeo's wife and has very little agency or plot of her own and spends most of it just waiting around. Compared to the last book her character felt weak and flat and honestly pretty uninteresting.
3) I won't spoil what the stupid decisions are, but there are many.
4) After three whole books of buildup, the ending was so unsatisfying. Three books of prophecy, and characters dying, and the promise of revenge and a grand redemption, and the main climax takes maybe ten pages and is solved by Deus Ex Machina. I really expected more, a lot more. Sour taste in my mouth over it.
5) Bonus gripe! As a non religious person the not so subtle Christian propaganda got a bit obnoxious at a few points.
In some ways, these books were really enjoyable, particularly the first one. The author is really good at painting a beautiful picture of the Japanese scenery, and while I don't have much knowledge of Japanese history her portrayal of the warrior class and their actions felt believable. I did legitimately love these characters. I just feel that they could have benefited from a longer, more measured pace and storyline. I think what many of the problems boil down to is the second book didn't do enough with the plot, and the third one tried to do too much.
Content Warnings
Minor: Gore
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