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ddog8's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
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? It's complicated
4.25
Updated review
I took a better look at reviews and spoilers for the second book.There are unfortunately love triangle vibes. Two tropes I will not read are love triangles and surprise pregnancy.
Suuuuuuch a pity 😞😞😞😞
Regardless, the first book was great! Highly recommend if you can deal with the above for the second book.
------------------------
Initial Review
I randomly picked this up at an airport waiting to fetch my mom and it's been on my bookshelf for a month. I picked it up last night as I felt like reading something romantasy.
I am so glad that I did.
While I am a sucker for Fae/Elves, assassins, strong FMCs, found family and enemies to lovers; I am not a fan of politically driven, deception focused, series of books.
Having said that, this book kept my attention the whole way. I am sure that the second book will contain more politics, deception betrayals and misdirection (which I will suffer through 😃) but I am excited to follow the band of friends.
I love Keera (FMC), she is a flawed character but her growth is fantastic to watch. Plus, she is just really bad-***
I feel that Riven (MMC) pales in comparison. I hope we get to know him more in the following books.
Spice level🌶 1/5 but much tension
I took a better look at reviews and spoilers for the second book.
Suuuuuuch a pity 😞😞😞😞
Regardless, the first book was great! Highly recommend if you can deal with the above for the second book.
------------------------
Initial Review
I randomly picked this up at an airport waiting to fetch my mom and it's been on my bookshelf for a month. I picked it up last night as I felt like reading something romantasy.
I am so glad that I did.
While I am a sucker for Fae/Elves, assassins, strong FMCs, found family and enemies to lovers; I am not a fan of politically driven, deception focused, series of books.
Having said that, this book kept my attention the whole way. I am sure that the second book will contain more politics, deception betrayals and misdirection (which I will suffer through 😃) but I am excited to follow the band of friends.
I love Keera (FMC), she is a flawed character but her growth is fantastic to watch. Plus, she is just really bad-***
I feel that Riven (MMC) pales in comparison. I hope we get to know him more in the following books.
Spice level🌶 1/5 but much tension
Content Warnings
Graphic: Self harm
sophia_teknoe's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Self harm and Alcoholism
bammys's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
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? Yes
3.25
Im torn over how to rate this book because it shifted from being really engaging and hooking at times to bland at others. I think it was a good book but overall it felt more like a bunch of scenes were written separately and strung together later rather than a coherent step by step plot. It had some good twists and great character development for the MC, but other parts (like the relationship with the antagonist and the plan the MC enacted to reach the end point) felt underdeveloped. I liked how some things were left unanswered for the next book and I liked the cliffhanger ending, both left enough room for me to want to pick up the sequel.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism and Self harm
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, and Racism
molls's review against another edition
Bog standard tiktok fantasy. Not written in a way that kept me wanting to get through it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Self harm, Alcoholism, Xenophobia, Blood, Slavery, Racism, and Murder
daysireads's review against another edition
I was so excited to get this book! Which makes it even worse that I am almost half way through and am feeling so disappointed. I may return to it, but my initial feelings are holding me back from spending more time on it.
The world we are thrown into seems vicious and terrible, but it lacks a bite. Keera is very juvenile for someone who is supposedly a highly competent soldier/leader. TBH I am squinting to see the qualities that would enable her to hold such an important position in her kingdom. Hint: I still can’t see them. It’s unfortunate, but for the role she holds and from what we’re told about her character, she doesn’t seem to be very fleshed out. And even though the book is exclusively from her POV, I hesitate to say I know anything of substance about her.
It feels like this book is an amalgamation of several other popular books which wouldn’t be so bad if it executed those tropes and themes well. Ultimately, I think you either love it or you just walk away feeling meh about it.
The world we are thrown into seems vicious and terrible, but it lacks a bite. Keera is very juvenile for someone who is supposedly a highly competent soldier/leader. TBH I am squinting to see the qualities that would enable her to hold such an important position in her kingdom. Hint: I still can’t see them. It’s unfortunate, but for the role she holds and from what we’re told about her character, she doesn’t seem to be very fleshed out. And even though the book is exclusively from her POV, I hesitate to say I know anything of substance about her.
It feels like this book is an amalgamation of several other popular books which wouldn’t be so bad if it executed those tropes and themes well. Ultimately, I think you either love it or you just walk away feeling meh about it.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Classism, Genocide, Blood, Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Self harm, and Slavery
Minor: Death of parent, Misogyny, and Torture
leiaariel's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
tense
fast-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
Moderate: Alcoholism and Self harm
opaquehour12's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Violence, and Self harm
Moderate: Blood and Physical abuse
embark19's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
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
4.25
A bit slow in the beginning for me personally, but a decent pace after the first 100 pages. A good intro fantasy series for anyone getting into the genre. The lore and magic system isn’t two complicated to start out. Character growth, lgbt themes, and strong women characters
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcoholism and Self harm
selena13's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Self harm, Alcoholism, Death, Xenophobia, and Sexual content
boyshouts's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
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? Yes
4.0
Listened to this as an audiobook and finished it in like a day and a half, parts of it weren’t exactly my jam but I found the exploration of themes like (de)colonization and substance abuse in a fantasy context really interesting.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Self harm and Torture
Moderate: Addiction, Colonisation, Sexual assault, Violence, War, and Alcoholism