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chickwen's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
tense
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? Yes
4.75
jjjasper12's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
informative
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? Yes
4.75
ladypunk's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
shahnaz_akhtar's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
vondav's review against another edition
4.0
To help with grief Kara loved to hike, but a strange gazebo in the middle of the forest takes her to another world. Ending up in Ourea, she unintentionally becomes involved in the politics of the world, but can she bring peace. To do this she needs to master the Grimoire and learn who to trust.
Kara was a bit of a loner, this has always helped her avoid uncomfortable issues, especially after her mom died. However, once in Ourea, she was thrown in to situations that she had to had no control over and had to learn to fight or die. Not knowing who to trust made her vulnerable but it also made her stronger. Teaming up with Braedon helped her in a lot of ways and even when she knew his secret she wanted him around and was willing to take him into her confidence. My only moan was that I felt that Kara took to it so easy and it was only at the start that she freaked out. However, throughout this story she does rely a lot on Braedon and others to get the results she needs.
With a large world like Ourea and with 4 major houses in charge, there are quite a few characters. However, this is not confusing story to read, as the author concentrates on each ruling family separately. This also helps you understand the bigger task that Kara must accomplish. As this is a fantasy story there are a lot of weird and exotic creatures and whilst some are familiar, there are others that I had not heard of. This is the start of an epic fantasy journey and you find that much of the story is setting the scene to what is to come. Throughout this story you have the feeling that something big is going to happen and the author has a way of building up the suspense. With this book being the 1st in the series of four, you know that Kara’s task will not be easy. As a new author to me, I enjoyed this book and will read the rest of Kara’s story.
Kara was a bit of a loner, this has always helped her avoid uncomfortable issues, especially after her mom died. However, once in Ourea, she was thrown in to situations that she had to had no control over and had to learn to fight or die. Not knowing who to trust made her vulnerable but it also made her stronger. Teaming up with Braedon helped her in a lot of ways and even when she knew his secret she wanted him around and was willing to take him into her confidence. My only moan was that I felt that Kara took to it so easy and it was only at the start that she freaked out. However, throughout this story she does rely a lot on Braedon and others to get the results she needs.
With a large world like Ourea and with 4 major houses in charge, there are quite a few characters. However, this is not confusing story to read, as the author concentrates on each ruling family separately. This also helps you understand the bigger task that Kara must accomplish. As this is a fantasy story there are a lot of weird and exotic creatures and whilst some are familiar, there are others that I had not heard of. This is the start of an epic fantasy journey and you find that much of the story is setting the scene to what is to come. Throughout this story you have the feeling that something big is going to happen and the author has a way of building up the suspense. With this book being the 1st in the series of four, you know that Kara’s task will not be easy. As a new author to me, I enjoyed this book and will read the rest of Kara’s story.
shortstack1030's review against another edition
Found it difficult to get into and it jumps around a lot without explaining much.
lin_wat_'s review
adventurous
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
pasparugovna's review
3.0
Well, this book is catchy and delicious.
I am kind of sad because it took me so much to read it but it's really an awesome book, but school is school.
Characters: 5/5
Kara, Braeden, Lorraine are probably my favorites. They are really well introduced. There's no character that was left in a TOTAL mystery, but of course there were some I couldn't understand perfectly, like Muses' guy who see everything.
Story: 4.5/5
Nice story! Great! Sara is a genius when it comes to an awesome plot. But I had to make it be only 4.5 because of few paragraphs that made me close the book at late night when I felt(only for that paragraph) that from now it's going to be something that I will do not be a super fan of it. But honestly it wasn't. I really loved that each time you didn't knew what could happen after the next page. Such a beautiful story.
Awesomeness: 4/5
There's no need for such a category, because I already said it very well. This book ranks high in tops of best books. I am sad only because the promotion wasn't good enough for the book to reach true charts.
Overall: 4.5/5
It's a very good score, thinking about everything that could happen in this book, what happened, what we wanted to happen but didn't, what we didn't wanted but happened. But overall, Sara choose the best thing for each chapter, she chose, out of all options, the best one that could be.
I am proud to have read this book.
And honestly, this one is going to a "going to/a must re-read" category in near future.
I am kind of sad because it took me so much to read it but it's really an awesome book, but school is school.
Characters: 5/5
Kara, Braeden, Lorraine are probably my favorites. They are really well introduced. There's no character that was left in a TOTAL mystery, but of course there were some I couldn't understand perfectly, like Muses' guy who see everything.
Story: 4.5/5
Nice story! Great! Sara is a genius when it comes to an awesome plot. But I had to make it be only 4.5 because of few paragraphs that made me close the book at late night when I felt(only for that paragraph) that from now it's going to be something that I will do not be a super fan of it. But honestly it wasn't. I really loved that each time you didn't knew what could happen after the next page. Such a beautiful story.
Awesomeness: 4/5
There's no need for such a category, because I already said it very well. This book ranks high in tops of best books. I am sad only because the promotion wasn't good enough for the book to reach true charts.
Overall: 4.5/5
It's a very good score, thinking about everything that could happen in this book, what happened, what we wanted to happen but didn't, what we didn't wanted but happened. But overall, Sara choose the best thing for each chapter, she chose, out of all options, the best one that could be.
I am proud to have read this book.
And honestly, this one is going to a "going to/a must re-read" category in near future.
acas29's review
4.0
I really enjoyed this book. I thought the character development and world building was excellent. Ourea is an intense and fascinating land. Each of the kingdoms that Kara visited was distinct and unique in its own way. Hillside has protected Braeden for years from his past, but holds its own secrets. Losse is a magical underwater world, and Kirelm is a traditional world, where men are warriors and women embody beauty.
I loved Braeden. I fell for him the moment he called Kara, Miss Kara. I think he will always protect Kara. His intentions were not noble at first, but I think he would always put her first. I don't know if I trust him entirely. His weakness to his father is obviously his greatest downfall, but it will be something he will struggle with. He thinks in order to protect Ourea from his people is to destroy the Stelian race. I don't think a massive genocide of one race in his world is the answer. I think this is something he will be struggling to come to terms with throughout the series. Kara's right in which it is not up to us to decide who deserves to live or die. He does want peace, but peace must come from compromise, not bloodshed.
Kara I truly liked. She was a sarcastic and quick witted, which is my favourite kind of heroine. She's just a regular girl who got sucked into another world and told she was the one everyone has been waiting a millennium for. She will have a long, lonely road ahead of her, but she can trust and rely on Braeden. There are a few characters that can go either way in helping or betraying her along the way, the Muses, Twin, Heir Aurora, etc. She will need to learn who to trust in order to succeed.
I wish I had a Xlijnuhl. Flick sounds adorable. A miniature fox with massive ears, zebra stripes, random magical powers, and hatches from an egg! I think every girl should have one of those.
I think I will definitely be reading the next book very soon.
I loved Braeden. I fell for him the moment he called Kara, Miss Kara. I think he will always protect Kara. His intentions were not noble at first, but I think he would always put her first. I don't know if I trust him entirely. His weakness to his father is obviously his greatest downfall, but it will be something he will struggle with. He thinks in order to protect Ourea from his people is to destroy the Stelian race. I don't think a massive genocide of one race in his world is the answer. I think this is something he will be struggling to come to terms with throughout the series. Kara's right in which it is not up to us to decide who deserves to live or die. He does want peace, but peace must come from compromise, not bloodshed.
"Life requires balance. Though a dandelion is never as stunning as an orchid, we would never appreciate a flower's beauty without also appreciating a weed's simplicity. Therefore we must accept that there is evil if we are to understand what it means to be good."
Kara I truly liked. She was a sarcastic and quick witted, which is my favourite kind of heroine. She's just a regular girl who got sucked into another world and told she was the one everyone has been waiting a millennium for. She will have a long, lonely road ahead of her, but she can trust and rely on Braeden. There are a few characters that can go either way in helping or betraying her along the way, the Muses, Twin, Heir Aurora, etc. She will need to learn who to trust in order to succeed.
"If this world didn't want her, she would try to save it anyway: for her dad, for her mom, and because being the Vagabound was all she had left."
I wish I had a Xlijnuhl. Flick sounds adorable. A miniature fox with massive ears, zebra stripes, random magical powers, and hatches from an egg! I think every girl should have one of those.
I think I will definitely be reading the next book very soon.
bec_sherman's review
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0