Scan barcode
lanid's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
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
4.5
Content Warnings
Minor: Blood, Drug use, Gore, Addiction, Classism, Death, Drug abuse, Genocide, Murder, and Violence
archcon's review against another edition
Not sure I like it, and have fallen out of headspace to try and read more of it
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug abuse and Drug use
bi_n_large's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
hopeful
mysterious
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Addiction, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Drug use, and Drug abuse
Moderate: Homophobia, War, Vomit, Blood, Gore, Sexual content, Torture, Toxic relationship, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, and Xenophobia
Minor: Religious bigotry
cameronreads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
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? It's complicated
4.0
I really liked this book! I struggled to get into it a little in the beginning, I think there was something a little off either with the pacing or the initial world building, but by the end I was really enjoying it. I think the characters brought it through for me, I really liked Lysande as a main character and think she provided a really interesting perspective, and I LOVED all of the side characters. I did guess who the traitor was very early, but that’s never really a problem for me in a book because it just makes me feel smart. I think sometimes the scenes felt a little jumpy, and there were times when the writing felt a little clunky and I had to reread a page or passage to fully get what was trying to be conveyed. I did like the plot overall though, and how it cumulated in a not-quite-ending. I liked the main relationship (despite just how much of a slow burn it was) and how they were constantly at each other’s throats until the end, it was very fun. I also loved the friendships between Lysande and Litany as well as her and Cassia. What can I say I love me a female friendship. I also appreciated the portrayal of addiction, though I’ve never experienced it so can’t say with certainty how accurate it is. I liked the world and the different cities (although I think it could have been set up better) and I think the magic system was interesting (although could have been a little more explored nearer the end).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Drug use, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Blood, Death, Drug abuse, and Violence
Moderate: Sexual content, Classism, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Death of parent, War, Torture, and Toxic relationship
marioncromb's review against another edition
adventurous
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.25
This book was a slog to get though, and especially tedious when the main character was just being horny all the time. Some of the reveals can be seen a mile off and it really wakes you wonder about the intelligence of this supposed scholar that she's oblivious. The reversal of patriarchal man-as-default to woman as default wasnt as progressive as it maybe thought it was, or at least it wasnt noticeably used to explore/point out sexism.
Also i didnt vibe with the writing style, particularly at the start. It felt a bit 'second mentions', like the writer thought good writing was just rephrasing things differently with fancy adjectives (i got particularly annoyed with a sentence that was along the lines of 'the mellifluous voice spoke in honeyed tones', like mellifluous literally means like honey, you've said the same thing twice, no wonder this book was twice as long as it needed to be.
Its not a terrible book but eh
Also i didnt vibe with the writing style, particularly at the start. It felt a bit 'second mentions', like the writer thought good writing was just rephrasing things differently with fancy adjectives (i got particularly annoyed with a sentence that was along the lines of 'the mellifluous voice spoke in honeyed tones', like mellifluous literally means like honey, you've said the same thing twice, no wonder this book was twice as long as it needed to be.
Its not a terrible book but eh
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Grief, War, Classism, Drug abuse, and Drug use
Moderate: Murder, Violence, Xenophobia, Alcohol, Sexual content, and Genocide
Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Slavery, and Vomit
misterwisp's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
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
The way the author writes about "inner world" things like addiction and grief has a lot of impact and resonance. The writing overall feels quite different in an interesting way. Some parts have a real elegance to them. If you like a component of emotional exploration this is definitely worth a try.
It is somewhat slow at times and initially felt hard to get into. There is a big focus on the main character's thoughts and perceptions of things. There is a lot of subtle interpersonal drama, which is broken up by occasional fast paced action.
It proved worth the effort. The ending was great and provided a satisfying payoff of the main story threads leading there. I am left feeling invested in the characters and the world and wishing I had a sequel in my hands already!
Overall it came across as a book of subtlety and understatement in a well done and intriguing way. I can't believe this is a debut novel! Everything in it seems well crafted and thoroughly thought out.
It is somewhat slow at times and initially felt hard to get into. There is a big focus on the main character's thoughts and perceptions of things. There is a lot of subtle interpersonal drama, which is broken up by occasional fast paced action.
It proved worth the effort. The ending was great and provided a satisfying payoff of the main story threads leading there. I am left feeling invested in the characters and the world and wishing I had a sequel in my hands already!
Overall it came across as a book of subtlety and understatement in a well done and intriguing way. I can't believe this is a debut novel! Everything in it seems well crafted and thoroughly thought out.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug use, Addiction, Classism, and Drug abuse
Moderate: Blood, Grief, and Death
Minor: Colonisation, Sexual content, War, Xenophobia, Murder, and Violence
thoughtsstained's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
LIKES:
- Lysande Prior. Oh boy, do I fucking love Lysande Prior? Like, I want to BE HER when I grow up!? The way she grows into a role thrust upon her and allows herself to feel ambition and use her unique talents and strengths is legendary. Her mind is fantastic. The tenacity. I bend a knee to Prior, gladly.
- The uniqueness of focus. I've read very few books where the scholar is the prime focus and it was positively refreshing. Plus, it felt like, in many areas, where we'd traditionally focus in one area, it was instead shifted to a different (and more interesting) conflict than the one we expected. (Being purposely vague here, due to avoiding spoilers.)
- It's GAAYYYYYYY. Queernorm world? Check. BISEXUAL MAIN CHARACTER!? Yes and my little bi heart did NOT realize how refreshing that would be. Queer relationships unapologetically on the page!? YES.
- Beautifully written. Like, holy shit, this was gorgeous!? Plus, it was written with a scholar's perspective in mind and I fucking loved that.
- Last 100 pages. So, I started reading the last 100 pages on my lunch break and then promptly turned off my camera during a Zoom meeting at 1pm and read for another hour during work because I couldn't stop (sorry day job). Everything had been set up so perfectly. The twists! The reveals! The sexual tension!!! Setting up a sequel!! I just!!!!
DISLIKES:
- Nothing. This is perfection.
The Councillor has skyrocketed to be one of my favorite books (and I don't say that lightly). Combining gorgeous writing with a main character I both admire and fear, with a cast of secondary characters that I'm attached to (hello Litany!!), despite (FUCK YOU, REDACTED) and am, um, way too attracted to (you all know who I mean here, surely). The plot was thrilling, I am 100% invested in what happens next and I am both kicking myself for waiting to read this and berating myself for reading it too soon before the sequel comes out, now stuck longing. Also, can I just saw that queernorm worlds are just so superior?
So, none of us are surprised that The Councillor by E.J. Beaton is getting 5 gems out of 5 gems, right? Gorgeous, shiny gems.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Blood, Classism, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Violence, and War
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, and Kidnapping
Minor: Alcohol
gingerale06's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug use, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Physical abuse, Violence, and War
totallyshelfaware's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
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
4.5
Oh wow, what a TRIP. I haven't been sucked in from page one by a book like that in a while.
This book has it all — drama! politics! questionable choices! morally dubious characters! achingly beautiful writing! characters that burrow their way into your heart! queer rep that feels completely organic to the story!
I'm so glad we're getting a sequel because I definitely want more of this world and its characters. ♥️
This book has it all — drama! politics! questionable choices! morally dubious characters! achingly beautiful writing! characters that burrow their way into your heart! queer rep that feels completely organic to the story!
I'm so glad we're getting a sequel because I definitely want more of this world and its characters. ♥️
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Death, and Drug abuse
Moderate: Grief, Hate crime, and Sexual content
sahibooknerd's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
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
4.5
This book was nowhere on my radar and I hadn’t even seen much promos or reviews of it. But then I saw my favorite author Tasha Suri gush about it endlessly on Twitter and I couldn’t resist the temptation.
The author seems to be a poet and this is her debut novel, and that doesn’t surprise me at all, because the prose in this book is exquisite. It has been a long time since I’ve highlighted so many lines and paragraphs in a fantasy novel and I can’t wait to revisit this again because I’m sure I’ll find more gems on a reread. The author is also extremely good at creating tension and the buildup is intense, with me waiting page after page to see where the next strike would come from, who would live and who would die, who is trustworthy and who isn’t. The plot is quite a bit of slow burn, and there’s more of planning and scheming and thinking involved rather than action, so it may not be for fans of more fast paced fantasy. The only little gripe I had was that I could guess who the traitor was very early on and I think the gut punch may have been stronger if it was more of a surprise.
I also enjoyed the world building and magic system here. First coming to the magic, it’s elemental - so not something very new, and the magic wielders are persecuted, which is also a tried and tested trope. And while we don’t get to see a lot of magic in action, the few fighting scenes were excitingly written and I can’t wait to see how much more explosive it will get when the main villain shows up in the next installment. The world also is interesting here, with a new ruler of Elira being chosen from among the leaders of five city-rulers by an appointed Councillor. There are existing tensions with two border kingdoms as well as an older foe, the White Queen - and I loved how the author wrote about strategies to implement in the conflict, not just limiting them to war but also to trade. However, even within Elira, each city has its own culture and traditions, and there are old feuds between them, and the author creates great tension between all the representatives as well as letting us experience the shifting dynamics when they all get to know each other. And to round off everything, we have unexpected magical beasts making an entrance which only takes the excitement up a notch.
Lysande is the kind of protagonist I love - a scholar who has read all the classic literature, military and strategy accounts and probably even some of the banned stuff - and who thinks through everything twice over before acting on it. She is an orphan who made it as a palace scholar only due to the benevolence of the Iron Queen Sarelin. But the nobles don’t like seeing her position elevated because she is a commoner, and she has to carefully thread the needle of showing the power of her new position as Councillor, as well as pick the nobles who might not mind her being their new patron. It is a fascinating interplay between power and privilege, never knowing which one will tip the balance of the scales.
At times, I was frustrated with how much Lysande idolized the now dead Queen but also appreciated when she came to see her faults as well, and learnt how she could be a different kind of ruler, prioritizing all of her people who are in need. She starts off with only the good intention of wanting to protect her kingdom, and maybe make the lives of people better while fighting their prejudices - but power is heady and it was so engrossing to see her get slowly seduced both by the idea of being powerful as well as being an object of adulation for the people. But she also has a drug problem which she is in constant denial of and I can’t wait to see how that will affect her during the long run.
The story is essentially about how Lysande deals with the four city-rulers who are up for the throne next, while navigating treacherous waters within, as well as from outside the kingdom from an older and powerful enemy. I enjoyed her observations about whomever she meets, and how she analyses their behaviors and decides how much she can trust them. All of the city-rulers were fascinating in their own right but Luca Fontaine was an enigma right from when his name was first mentioned, and me along with Lysande only wanted to know more about him. Litany is another amazing young woman who starts off as Lysande’s personal attendant, but grows to her shadow and confidant and I couldn’t love their bond more.
In the end, this was an exquisitely crafted political fantasy from the perspective of a scholar. If you are interested in a book with slow burn Machiavellian politics, a whole cast of very contrasting characters, a smart protagonist whose mind will wow you, a queernormative world where there are dangers and betrayals at every turn - then this debut fantasy will not disappoint you. And now I’m just sad that I have wait atleast an year for the next one.
The author seems to be a poet and this is her debut novel, and that doesn’t surprise me at all, because the prose in this book is exquisite. It has been a long time since I’ve highlighted so many lines and paragraphs in a fantasy novel and I can’t wait to revisit this again because I’m sure I’ll find more gems on a reread. The author is also extremely good at creating tension and the buildup is intense, with me waiting page after page to see where the next strike would come from, who would live and who would die, who is trustworthy and who isn’t. The plot is quite a bit of slow burn, and there’s more of planning and scheming and thinking involved rather than action, so it may not be for fans of more fast paced fantasy. The only little gripe I had was that I could guess who the traitor was very early on and I think the gut punch may have been stronger if it was more of a surprise.
I also enjoyed the world building and magic system here. First coming to the magic, it’s elemental - so not something very new, and the magic wielders are persecuted, which is also a tried and tested trope. And while we don’t get to see a lot of magic in action, the few fighting scenes were excitingly written and I can’t wait to see how much more explosive it will get when the main villain shows up in the next installment. The world also is interesting here, with a new ruler of Elira being chosen from among the leaders of five city-rulers by an appointed Councillor. There are existing tensions with two border kingdoms as well as an older foe, the White Queen - and I loved how the author wrote about strategies to implement in the conflict, not just limiting them to war but also to trade. However, even within Elira, each city has its own culture and traditions, and there are old feuds between them, and the author creates great tension between all the representatives as well as letting us experience the shifting dynamics when they all get to know each other. And to round off everything, we have unexpected magical beasts making an entrance which only takes the excitement up a notch.
Lysande is the kind of protagonist I love - a scholar who has read all the classic literature, military and strategy accounts and probably even some of the banned stuff - and who thinks through everything twice over before acting on it. She is an orphan who made it as a palace scholar only due to the benevolence of the Iron Queen Sarelin. But the nobles don’t like seeing her position elevated because she is a commoner, and she has to carefully thread the needle of showing the power of her new position as Councillor, as well as pick the nobles who might not mind her being their new patron. It is a fascinating interplay between power and privilege, never knowing which one will tip the balance of the scales.
At times, I was frustrated with how much Lysande idolized the now dead Queen but also appreciated when she came to see her faults as well, and learnt how she could be a different kind of ruler, prioritizing all of her people who are in need. She starts off with only the good intention of wanting to protect her kingdom, and maybe make the lives of people better while fighting their prejudices - but power is heady and it was so engrossing to see her get slowly seduced both by the idea of being powerful as well as being an object of adulation for the people. But she also has a drug problem which she is in constant denial of and I can’t wait to see how that will affect her during the long run.
The story is essentially about how Lysande deals with the four city-rulers who are up for the throne next, while navigating treacherous waters within, as well as from outside the kingdom from an older and powerful enemy. I enjoyed her observations about whomever she meets, and how she analyses their behaviors and decides how much she can trust them. All of the city-rulers were fascinating in their own right but Luca Fontaine was an enigma right from when his name was first mentioned, and me along with Lysande only wanted to know more about him. Litany is another amazing young woman who starts off as Lysande’s personal attendant, but grows to her shadow and confidant and I couldn’t love their bond more.
In the end, this was an exquisitely crafted political fantasy from the perspective of a scholar. If you are interested in a book with slow burn Machiavellian politics, a whole cast of very contrasting characters, a smart protagonist whose mind will wow you, a queernormative world where there are dangers and betrayals at every turn - then this debut fantasy will not disappoint you. And now I’m just sad that I have wait atleast an year for the next one.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Drug abuse