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3.26 AVERAGE
3.26 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I received an e-ARC of this book thanks to NetGalley and Angry Robot in exchange for a review.
I was ready to give this book a 4-star rating pretty soon after I started reading it just for the worldbuilding alone. I'm not sure what this says about the kind of reads I've been completing recently but I do have to say that having an interesting and immersive world is always one of the best ways to get me into a book. However, that's never enough. By the time I got to the end of the book and started thinking more about what I read, the cracks started to show.
Right from the get-go, I think that labelling this book as an adult fantasy is what causes the disconnect for me as a reader. For one thing, the main character acts very much like a teenager despite the crimes that have been pinned on her and the burdens she carries. The violence is quite graphic, so perhaps that's why. However, I think it's still quite reasonable considering that the magic is based on power coming from one's own blood. There are depictions of sex but those seemed so forced and came out of left field for me. The romances she gets entangled in are so extraneous to me, especially because much of the feelings there were developed off the page.
In fact, the same can be said for many other things, such as part of the action, why Shade was so feared as the Black Witch, everything of her past that seemed to have made her who she was. The pacing of the book is middling, with things happening to push things along, but it's all to make the plot progress, not due to any conscious choice of the characters. There's even a part where Shade says the sacrifice she needs to make to raise her Veil is too great that she can't pay it. But she'll still do it. And I hated that, thanks.
The characters in the book are so one-dimensional, often taking one aspect and turning it extreme. This aspect makes it much harder to relate to the characters and you need to invest yourself into the overall point of the book, the raising of a new Veil, to push through to the conclusion. The story also makes it seem like we're being set up for a full and expansive series, yet Obsidian is meant to be a standalone. Even the worldbuilding reflects this, as well as the ending of the book.
Definitely read the book if you want to discover a new world and be swept away from your problems by reading about someone else's. This is an entertaining and adventurous book that will give you some fun. There are so many aspects to the world that you can learn about and it never really feels enough. It's really hard to put down the book once you pick it up because there are so many things that keep you coming back for more. Still, I wish we did get more--more plot, more action, more nuance--because the worldbuilding really deserves it.
I was ready to give this book a 4-star rating pretty soon after I started reading it just for the worldbuilding alone. I'm not sure what this says about the kind of reads I've been completing recently but I do have to say that having an interesting and immersive world is always one of the best ways to get me into a book. However, that's never enough. By the time I got to the end of the book and started thinking more about what I read, the cracks started to show.
Right from the get-go, I think that labelling this book as an adult fantasy is what causes the disconnect for me as a reader. For one thing, the main character acts very much like a teenager despite the crimes that have been pinned on her and the burdens she carries. The violence is quite graphic, so perhaps that's why. However, I think it's still quite reasonable considering that the magic is based on power coming from one's own blood. There are depictions of sex but those seemed so forced and came out of left field for me. The romances she gets entangled in are so extraneous to me, especially because much of the feelings there were developed off the page.
In fact, the same can be said for many other things, such as part of the action, why Shade was so feared as the Black Witch, everything of her past that seemed to have made her who she was. The pacing of the book is middling, with things happening to push things along, but it's all to make the plot progress, not due to any conscious choice of the characters. There's even a part where Shade says the sacrifice she needs to make to raise her Veil is too great that she can't pay it. But she'll still do it. And I hated that, thanks.
The characters in the book are so one-dimensional, often taking one aspect and turning it extreme. This aspect makes it much harder to relate to the characters and you need to invest yourself into the overall point of the book, the raising of a new Veil, to push through to the conclusion. The story also makes it seem like we're being set up for a full and expansive series, yet Obsidian is meant to be a standalone. Even the worldbuilding reflects this, as well as the ending of the book.
Definitely read the book if you want to discover a new world and be swept away from your problems by reading about someone else's. This is an entertaining and adventurous book that will give you some fun. There are so many aspects to the world that you can learn about and it never really feels enough. It's really hard to put down the book once you pick it up because there are so many things that keep you coming back for more. Still, I wish we did get more--more plot, more action, more nuance--because the worldbuilding really deserves it.
adventurous
dark
emotional
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:
No
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
This was definitely one of the more solid fantasy books I’ve read in the past year! I went into Obsidian blind and was absolutely delighted by not only the story, but especially the characters. Plot wise, this reminded me a lot of The lord of the Rings, Shadow and Bone, and (a less wordy) FBAA. The storyline is wonderfully done in my opinion and I just adored the main characters from the get go. The Italian influences were so welcome too, not something I usually see incorporated into fantasy worlds. Shade, the female mc, was very Celaena-esque which I LOVED. There was a little bit of a romance subplot (YA, not spicy) and, while I loved it and it added to the plot perfectly, it was not a main focus imo.
{I was given an eARC in return for an honest review}
{I was given an eARC in return for an honest review}
adventurous
medium-paced
Reminded me a lot of Leigh Bardugo's Grishaverse, but where that had the shadows this has the waste lands. Hardly a unique idea to either series so hopefully it appeals to the same fanbase whilst avoiding critiques of copying.
Did a lot things that I disliked such as flaunting with the enemies to lovers trope and dealing with the death of a loved one by immediately having sex with the nearest warm body, but again that isn't uncommon in the subgenre.
If you like the blurb you'll like the story. It doesn't lie to you.
Did a lot things that I disliked such as flaunting with the enemies to lovers trope and dealing with the death of a loved one by immediately having sex with the nearest warm body, but again that isn't uncommon in the subgenre.
If you like the blurb you'll like the story. It doesn't lie to you.
adventurous
dark
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
*I was able to read this book early via NetGalley thanks to Angry Robot Books*
Sometimes you come across a book where you never quite manage to get your bearings. For me, Obsidian was that sort of book.
First of all, I do want to say that the worldbuilding was terrific. The setting of this book was vibrant and complex, with diverse cultures and gorgeously-described landscapes. I could really picture the city streets and the Wastes as if I was walking right alongside the characters. Plus, the world's system of bloodmagic was both vicious and beautiful - I never once found myself confused about how or why it worked.
For me, it was the characters that were the issue. I never quite connected to any of them and often found myself confused by their actions. Splitting the narration between Shade, Raiden, and Dante never quite gave me the chance to know - and by extension, care about - any of them. Shade, of course, stood out the most as she carries most of the plot, but even her personality occasionally seemed thin. As for Raiden and Dante - I would have preferred more depth from one of them rather than little from either. As it was, both of them seemed mostly defined by the fact that they were pining after Shade.
The romantic element of this story felt like an afterthought, and Shade's actions in that arena never quite made sense. Attraction seemed to bloom out of nowhere, leaving me confused rather than satisfied when characters got together. The gender imbalance of the story didn't help on this front; with Shade being the only female character, every man was lusting after her, which at times didn't seem quite believable. There seemed to be a lack of nuance in this quarter; I wish the author had chosen one love interest and let the passion simmer under the surface rather than have Shade bounce from paramour to paramour seemingly at random.
I do think all in all that the world of this story saved this book for me. Wanting to know what would happen kept me reading, even as I was often scratching my head about the characters' choices, wondering if I had missed something along the way.
Sometimes you come across a book where you never quite manage to get your bearings. For me, Obsidian was that sort of book.
First of all, I do want to say that the worldbuilding was terrific. The setting of this book was vibrant and complex, with diverse cultures and gorgeously-described landscapes. I could really picture the city streets and the Wastes as if I was walking right alongside the characters. Plus, the world's system of bloodmagic was both vicious and beautiful - I never once found myself confused about how or why it worked.
For me, it was the characters that were the issue. I never quite connected to any of them and often found myself confused by their actions. Splitting the narration between Shade, Raiden, and Dante never quite gave me the chance to know - and by extension, care about - any of them. Shade, of course, stood out the most as she carries most of the plot, but even her personality occasionally seemed thin. As for Raiden and Dante - I would have preferred more depth from one of them rather than little from either. As it was, both of them seemed mostly defined by the fact that they were pining after Shade.
The romantic element of this story felt like an afterthought, and Shade's actions in that arena never quite made sense. Attraction seemed to bloom out of nowhere, leaving me confused rather than satisfied when characters got together. The gender imbalance of the story didn't help on this front; with Shade being the only female character, every man was lusting after her, which at times didn't seem quite believable. There seemed to be a lack of nuance in this quarter; I wish the author had chosen one love interest and let the passion simmer under the surface rather than have Shade bounce from paramour to paramour seemingly at random.
I do think all in all that the world of this story saved this book for me. Wanting to know what would happen kept me reading, even as I was often scratching my head about the characters' choices, wondering if I had missed something along the way.
This was a solid book. I liked the characters and the romance part kept me on my toes (the pair I thought would happen didn’t so that was fun). The magic was a little hard to follow because there’s many way to wield it in this world. Overall, I enjoyed the pacing and the ending. Would read a book 2.
Thanks to NetGalley for the review copy.
Thanks to NetGalley for the review copy.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
3.5 ✨
“If anyone can upend a century’s worth of planning, it is Shade Nox.” (For Trigger warnings see the end of review)
Obsidian had me gripped from the first few pages and in due course I devoured it in a day. A great read for fans of A Court of Thorns and Roses
introducing the cast and setting the scene
We follow
Shade Nox - infamous black witch; powerful, daring, desperate, and full of daddy issues
Captain Raiden Mad - morally focused, law abiding, Imperial Emissary, short and similarly riddled with parental issues
Dante Safire - high prince, high power, high risks playboy... seemed somewhat free of daddy issues
And then the backup boys of Petra, Manoli, Cyril, Matteo and Angelo
Obsidian 1
I love this writing style, it felt so easy to immerse myself in Malavita. In a fantasy post apocalyptic-seque world, a devastating war left the land burned by black magic and uninhabitable. Through powerful blood magic the Brotherhood raised Veils which protect the population. Only the morals of the Church and Brotherhood leave a lot to be desired.
With the support of Dante and through Raiden, the empire, Shade hopes to open a new Veil. One that is far from the tainted powered of the Capomagji. One in which the Golondrina, the people who saved her and raised her can live in peace.
My only wish with this book is that we could have seen more of Shades badassery. It felt like every hundred pages she got saved by Raiden. Which I’m not saying in itself is a bad thing, I liked that she wasn’t a “strong independent woman “ ( I.e a man with boobs) but I felt that a) this wasn’t expanded on enough outside of the combat side of things and b) I didn’t feel like there was a full scene where we saw her full power and why she was so feared without her being saved.
I loved the found family aspect between Shade and the Golondrina - especially Cyril. To be honest I love all the drama friendship relationships and arcs. The Romance arcs on the other hand fell slightly flat for me. Too much happened to fast for me to get behind relationships, also a small love triangle makes an appearance and I am really not a fan of that trope.
Overall it’s the writing of this book that I really enjoyed, it was like a perfect combination of pacing, world building and dialog. Completely compatible to binge reading
Trigger warnings:
Self harm and mentions of suicide.
The self harm isn’t exactly self harm, but the magic system is such that wizards cut themselves to release magic.
Suicide is only mentioned once in the book.
Massive thanks to Sarah Daley and Angry Robot Publishing for the opportunity to read this book !
“If anyone can upend a century’s worth of planning, it is Shade Nox.” (For Trigger warnings see the end of review)
Obsidian had me gripped from the first few pages and in due course I devoured it in a day. A great read for fans of A Court of Thorns and Roses
introducing the cast and setting the scene
We follow
Shade Nox - infamous black witch; powerful, daring, desperate, and full of daddy issues
Captain Raiden Mad - morally focused, law abiding, Imperial Emissary, short and similarly riddled with parental issues
Dante Safire - high prince, high power, high risks playboy... seemed somewhat free of daddy issues
And then the backup boys of Petra, Manoli, Cyril, Matteo and Angelo
Obsidian 1
I love this writing style, it felt so easy to immerse myself in Malavita. In a fantasy post apocalyptic-seque world, a devastating war left the land burned by black magic and uninhabitable. Through powerful blood magic the Brotherhood raised Veils which protect the population. Only the morals of the Church and Brotherhood leave a lot to be desired.
With the support of Dante and through Raiden, the empire, Shade hopes to open a new Veil. One that is far from the tainted powered of the Capomagji. One in which the Golondrina, the people who saved her and raised her can live in peace.
My only wish with this book is that we could have seen more of Shades badassery. It felt like every hundred pages she got saved by Raiden. Which I’m not saying in itself is a bad thing, I liked that she wasn’t a “strong independent woman “ ( I.e a man with boobs) but I felt that a) this wasn’t expanded on enough outside of the combat side of things and b) I didn’t feel like there was a full scene where we saw her full power and why she was so feared without her being saved.
I loved the found family aspect between Shade and the Golondrina - especially Cyril. To be honest I love all the drama friendship relationships and arcs. The Romance arcs on the other hand fell slightly flat for me. Too much happened to fast for me to get behind relationships, also a small love triangle makes an appearance and I am really not a fan of that trope.
Overall it’s the writing of this book that I really enjoyed, it was like a perfect combination of pacing, world building and dialog. Completely compatible to binge reading
Trigger warnings:
Self harm and mentions of suicide.
The self harm isn’t exactly self harm, but the magic system is such that wizards cut themselves to release magic.
Suicide is only mentioned once in the book.
Massive thanks to Sarah Daley and Angry Robot Publishing for the opportunity to read this book !
Content Warnings
Moderate: Self harm
Minor: Suicide attempt
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I wish I could I say I was truly disappointed with how this book went down, but upon further reflection after reading this and letting some time settle between this review and my actual reading experience, I'm more ambivalent if anything.
And that's almost worse.
At approximately the 13% mark of the novel, the world building had placed the groundwork in to structure the world and setting, but the execution had a lot left to be desired because there simply just wasn’t enough exposition to satisfy my curiosity. Nothing was delved into to the extent that I would've preferred and it’s a shame because I think the premise had potential.
It started off slow on the character analysis front, and while I was hoping this would pick up, that never actually happened. I was really hit and miss with all of the character relationships, and I think it was the incorporation of romance that really ruined things for me. There appeared to be some sort of reverse harem setup at play, and it really just felt low effort and not emotionally worth investing in at all. Plus, when it was coupled with the fact that the chosen one trope was alive and thriving at the same time? All I can say is the struggle was real and that the reading experience had me disgruntled because I felt like I knew what the author was trying to aim for and how awesome it could've been if achieved, but there was a distinct lack of fluidity to the plot which was exacerbated by it's fast pace.
One of my main issues with the world building was how new concepts and characters were introduced, because it was done in a way that was very brusque, and with a tone that implied that it all should make sense, when very often, it didn’t. And it’s a shame because foundationally there was a lot to like, but it never seemed to build and layer upon itself in any concrete sort of fashion.
Thus, at the halfway mark ,I decided nonchronological was the way to go with respect to story consumption if I wanted to finish it at all. This resulted in me realizing that the story was very clearly intending to build upon itself as a series, even though I don’t have anything that would actually verify that a sequel is imminent and in the works. And then as I read further it became evident that I was just not enjoying myself. The romance just continued to snowball on itself in the worst possible way because the character relationships and dynamics were not fleshed out.
At ~75% of the way through, I just wanted it to be over. This is also when I noticed that the sex scenes were fade to black. Now that in itself is not a problem, but the fact that it highlighted that so much of novel seemed to be missing or off-page? That's where it fell short for me. And that's completely bypassing the fact that Shade was screwing around with two brothers at the time, which is brushed to the side with a simple, *oh, it was just the heat of the moment* kind of mentality.
The further into the plot I got, the less that made sense and the less inclined I felt towards the book as a whole because the characters never felt like fully-fledged individuals. More like fragments of characters, or rather glimpses of people, but never enough to constitute any sort of compassion out of me towards their plight. And even then, something else was just off. I’m not sure if it was the choice to have multiple POV’s and yet not be terribly bothered by their lack of structure that just set me off or what. But something was rotten in the novel known as Obsidian, and it’s still irking me in the most bothersome way.
At the end of the day, I didn't enjoy it. Not to the point of active dislike, but still.
I hope things change with the actual release, but at this point, I wouldn't pick the finished product given the choice.
And that's almost worse.
At approximately the 13% mark of the novel, the world building had placed the groundwork in to structure the world and setting, but the execution had a lot left to be desired because there simply just wasn’t enough exposition to satisfy my curiosity. Nothing was delved into to the extent that I would've preferred and it’s a shame because I think the premise had potential.
It started off slow on the character analysis front, and while I was hoping this would pick up, that never actually happened. I was really hit and miss with all of the character relationships, and I think it was the incorporation of romance that really ruined things for me. There appeared to be some sort of reverse harem setup at play, and it really just felt low effort and not emotionally worth investing in at all. Plus, when it was coupled with the fact that the chosen one trope was alive and thriving at the same time? All I can say is the struggle was real and that the reading experience had me disgruntled because I felt like I knew what the author was trying to aim for and how awesome it could've been if achieved, but there was a distinct lack of fluidity to the plot which was exacerbated by it's fast pace.
One of my main issues with the world building was how new concepts and characters were introduced, because it was done in a way that was very brusque, and with a tone that implied that it all should make sense, when very often, it didn’t. And it’s a shame because foundationally there was a lot to like, but it never seemed to build and layer upon itself in any concrete sort of fashion.
Thus, at the halfway mark ,I decided nonchronological was the way to go with respect to story consumption if I wanted to finish it at all. This resulted in me realizing that the story was very clearly intending to build upon itself as a series, even though I don’t have anything that would actually verify that a sequel is imminent and in the works. And then as I read further it became evident that I was just not enjoying myself. The romance just continued to snowball on itself in the worst possible way because the character relationships and dynamics were not fleshed out.
At ~75% of the way through, I just wanted it to be over. This is also when I noticed that the sex scenes were fade to black. Now that in itself is not a problem, but the fact that it highlighted that so much of novel seemed to be missing or off-page? That's where it fell short for me. And that's completely bypassing the fact that Shade was screwing around with two brothers at the time, which is brushed to the side with a simple, *oh, it was just the heat of the moment* kind of mentality.
The further into the plot I got, the less that made sense and the less inclined I felt towards the book as a whole because the characters never felt like fully-fledged individuals. More like fragments of characters, or rather glimpses of people, but never enough to constitute any sort of compassion out of me towards their plight. And even then, something else was just off. I’m not sure if it was the choice to have multiple POV’s and yet not be terribly bothered by their lack of structure that just set me off or what. But something was rotten in the novel known as Obsidian, and it’s still irking me in the most bothersome way.
At the end of the day, I didn't enjoy it. Not to the point of active dislike, but still.
I hope things change with the actual release, but at this point, I wouldn't pick the finished product given the choice.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Self harm, Blood