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3.55 AVERAGE
3.55 AVERAGE
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
slow-paced
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, War
Moderate: Grief, Death of parent
Minor: Colonisation
adventurous
emotional
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
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:
Complicated
Smart is incredible at world-building! I really enjoyed this duology but unfortunately found the pacing of this book to be slower than its predecessor.
Additionally, while I really enjoyed how Iraya and Jazmyne were evenly matched in the first book, in this half of the duology there was such a wide gap in character development and depth. Iraya was portrayed as flawed but complex, constantly learning from her mistakes, taking the reigns and leadership opportunities in stride. She was cunning, tactful, strategic, while still demonstrating her love & care for the people around her. When she was hurt, the readers hurt along side her. Whereas Jazmyne seemed to get the short, short end of the stick. Her chapters felt more repetitive. Her character came off as whiny, naïve, entitled as heck, and just not particularly useful at times. Neither FMC could catch a break most of the time, but Jazmyne's story felt confusing and contradictory quite a bit. Jaz and Iraya's arguments felt over-done and somewhat shallow.
This felt particularly noticeable when at the end of the story, Jazmyne and Iraya have this tense stand off about who loves Kirdan. What?? Why! There is a war going on and you're being frosty about a man who the whole second book has been about I&K's romantic/sexual relationship. Why did Jazmyne have to come off as petulant, angsty, "wish-it-was-me" type?
Overall, this would still be a series/book to recommend, especially to YA fans.
Additionally, while I really enjoyed how Iraya and Jazmyne were evenly matched in the first book, in this half of the duology there was such a wide gap in character development and depth. Iraya was portrayed as flawed but complex, constantly learning from her mistakes, taking the reigns and leadership opportunities in stride. She was cunning, tactful, strategic, while still demonstrating her love & care for the people around her. When she was hurt, the readers hurt along side her. Whereas Jazmyne seemed to get the short, short end of the stick. Her chapters felt more repetitive. Her character came off as whiny, naïve, entitled as heck, and just not particularly useful at times. Neither FMC could catch a break most of the time, but Jazmyne's story felt confusing and contradictory quite a bit. Jaz and Iraya's arguments felt over-done and somewhat shallow.
Overall, this would still be a series/book to recommend, especially to YA fans.
adventurous
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
slow-paced
This seemed to take me ages to read. When I chose to read Witches Steeped in Gold, I thought it was a standalone novel which is why I decided to read it. But then I found out there was a sequel and I just cannot leave series unfinished unless it's just way too much. And it was only one more book so I picked up the sequel.
It was very slow at the beginning and middle (or maybe it had to do with my reading pace since it took me a over a month to finish the book.) The ending was better, but not nearly as intense as the ending of the first book.
Around halfway through the book, I did highlight a section of the book with the words "what if [the imposter is] whatshername? the girl iraya was friends with back at prison?"
So I was initially disappointed when the imposter was revealed to be Captain Shah. It just...wasn't a satisfying answer. Was very glad it was Kaleisha by the end of it. Really brought things around full circle because I was wondering what happened to her.
There's also a part, around 95% of the way through the novel, where everyone's in the midst of battle and Kirdan asks Jazmyne if she's been poisoned and she says she's "just dazed" and I thought for sure we were going to get a death scare. Like, Jazmyne faints at the end of the chapter because she didn't tell the others about being bit (like she was afraid of them focussing on her rather than more important things) but it never came.
It was very slow at the beginning and middle (or maybe it had to do with my reading pace since it took me a over a month to finish the book.) The ending was better, but not nearly as intense as the ending of the first book.
So I was initially disappointed when the imposter was revealed to be Captain Shah. It just...wasn't a satisfying answer. Was very glad it was Kaleisha by the end of it. Really brought things around full circle because I was wondering what happened to her.
There's also a part, around 95% of the way through the novel, where everyone's in the midst of battle and Kirdan asks Jazmyne if she's been poisoned and she says she's "just dazed" and I thought for sure we were going to get a death scare. Like, Jazmyne faints at the end of the chapter because she didn't tell the others about being bit (like she was afraid of them focussing on her rather than more important things) but it never came.
slow-paced
adventurous
tense
slow-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
I liked this one a lot more than the first. The writing style improved, and the characters felt more real. Towards the end, there was definitely a lot going on, and some of the big reveals felt rushed or like there wasn't a good explanation for motivation or reasons. Regarding pacing, it was mostly fine until a certain character's true identity is hinted at--after that, I felt like I was waiting for the characters to catch up. Both Iraya and Jasmyne do a lot of learning and growing, and this book was a good escape.
adventurous
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No