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literarymary95's review
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
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Sexual content, and Violence
Moderate: Sexual assault and Death of parent
Minor: Rape
brecox's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
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? It's complicated
4.0
Throne of Glass meets The Bachelor. It was fun! Go into the book expecting to have a fun time- the book is not perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but I loved binging it so that’s why I gave it 4/5. It’s perfect brain rot.
The world was interesting, but not overly complex. Lor is stuck in what is essentially a concentration camp for the Aurora kingdom. She’s thrown into a pit (sort of like solitary confinement) after a brawl over a bar of soap. She’s stolen from the pit only to be thrown into the Sun King’s contest to be the next Sun Queen. Lor must compete against 9 other “tributes.” The problem is that they’re all elite Fae with training while Lor is a lowly human. Meanwhile, Nadir (the Aurora Prince) is looking for the mysterious prisoner that escape from the pit.
Lor’s development was interesting because despite learning bits about her throughout the book we still have no idea who she really is (though she’s probably who we all predict). Gabriel was a brute and a jerk yet somehow likable? Nadir was the typical brooding prince. I can’t wait to see more of him in the second book.
My biggest complaint would be the way the dual POV is written. I like dual POV but first person in present tense to third person omniscient in past tense was too much.
The world was interesting, but not overly complex. Lor is stuck in what is essentially a concentration camp for the Aurora kingdom. She’s thrown into a pit (sort of like solitary confinement) after a brawl over a bar of soap. She’s stolen from the pit only to be thrown into the Sun King’s contest to be the next Sun Queen. Lor must compete against 9 other “tributes.” The problem is that they’re all elite Fae with training while Lor is a lowly human. Meanwhile, Nadir (the Aurora Prince) is looking for the mysterious prisoner that escape from the pit.
Lor’s development was interesting because despite learning bits about her throughout the book we still have no idea who she really is (though she’s probably who we all predict). Gabriel was a brute and a jerk yet somehow likable? Nadir was the typical brooding prince. I can’t wait to see more of him in the second book.
My biggest complaint would be the way the dual POV is written. I like dual POV but first person in present tense to third person omniscient in past tense was too much.
Content Warnings
Minor: Rape and Sexual assault
bailey0414's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
inspiring
mysterious
sad
fast-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? It's complicated
4.25
I tore through this book so fast. It's like if Hunger Games, Divergent, and ACOTAR all had a baby and put it into one book. Though this book is a simple read and I did see quite a few things coming, I couldn't put it down because I just wanted to know I was right every step of the way. Lor is a great main character with her temper, her lack of self control after growing up in a prison, and even her conflicting feelings we see first hand. I loved also reading the small moments of Nadir and knew he would have a much bigger role coming up for future books.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Child abuse, Sexual violence, Murder, Death of parent, and Violence
givemehappyendings's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
As far as the performance and narrations, the FMC was great with differentiating characters, I was a bit put off with how whiny Lor was and I don’t know if that is her character or the narrators choice. I hope we get more of the MC narrator in book 2.
This was a fun read, action packed, the bachelorette meets the hunger games.
10/10 plot twists
This was a fun read, action packed, the bachelorette meets the hunger games.
10/10 plot twists
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death
Minor: Sexual assault
misswillacolyns's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
I love the diversity (race, LGBTQIA+) of the characters. There is mystery to what has been happening throughout Ouranos since Lor and her siblings were imprisoned. I like Nadirs “fuck you” attitude towards his father. I’m lookin forward to where this series takes us.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Bullying and Violence
Minor: Death of parent and Sexual assault
ashlynn_17's review
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Sexual assault
arwyn_1926's review
adventurous
tense
fast-paced
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual assault
rachelglazer's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
There are a few familiar beats, and some of the chatacters were underdeveloped, but overall it was entertaining and had enough intrigue to keep me going
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Violence, Kidnapping, Sexual assault, and Sexual content
Minor: Death of parent
LGBTQIA friendlythereaderkristle's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
the bachelor x high stakes fantasy?? yea i was sold. and then i read it, and i was like “hell yea.”
our main character is fiery, determined, with a heart of gold. also this book was ACTUALLY diverse, and that makes every story all the richer.
our main character is fiery, determined, with a heart of gold. also this book was ACTUALLY diverse, and that makes every story all the richer.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence
Minor: Sexual assault
savannahpwalker's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
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? No
4.75
This book was a bit of an ACOTAR ripoff with the romance portion, but other than that I really enjoyed the plot. It’s rare that i don’t see where the author is going with a certain plot line, so I am excited to see what happens in the next book with the fmc’s backstory. Honestly, this book could do without any of the smut and I would still read it which is saying a lot.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual assault
There are mentions of SA/ allusions to it with some details. Everything is mentioned in the TW at the beginning of the book.