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esme_may's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Takes a while to get going but picks up once you get familiar with the world. I was worried that I wouldn't be as into this one as I thought because I'm not that interested in rebellion stories these days, but it wasn't what I was expecting at all. Really excited to see where this series goes!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood and Death
Moderate: Cursing, Death of parent, Child death, Confinement, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Self harm, Torture, Violence, War, and Xenophobia
Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Sexual content, and Alcohol
ericadawson's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
It's unfortunate that I didn't begin really enjoying the story until past the halfway mark.
My issues with the book are small but many: a magic system that's complex (good) but poorly explained, with new additions piled on whenever the plot needs it; a political world that is also complex, but which has so many moving parts that it got difficult to keep track of what was happening where and why; a strong voice that occasionally got a bit too thick with prose; and characterization that annoyed me.
Ira annoyed me in the beginning, I'll admit. I just couldn't understand how she'd seriously think her initial plan would work, unless maybe the lack of sunlight got to her. Her complex ancestry made it difficult for me to understand her as a character, and I couldn't quite grasp why she didn't want to lead as an empress. Her reasoning boiled down (to me) to "I don't want to be cooped up in a palace" which....why not just say you'd rather be a Warrior leader instead? Beyond that, Delyse was one of my favorites before she started to annoy me, too. Ira's romance with Kirdan was cliche, but I liked the direction it went in.
Jazyme was a more well-rounded character to me, but her wishy-washyness on romance annoyed me, as well. Otherwise, I had no real issues with her character, and I liked how the author was able to describe Ira through Jaz's POV.
Ultimately, I think there were too many moving parts. Witch's council, Nameless, Obeah/Alumbrar, Unlit, Pirates, Jade Guild, Yielding, Aiyca/Zesia/Skylands and probably another region I'm forgetting, etc.
My issues with the book are small but many: a magic system that's complex (good) but poorly explained, with new additions piled on whenever the plot needs it; a political world that is also complex, but which has so many moving parts that it got difficult to keep track of what was happening where and why; a strong voice that occasionally got a bit too thick with prose; and characterization that annoyed me.
Ira annoyed me in the beginning, I'll admit. I just couldn't understand how she'd seriously think her initial plan would work, unless maybe the lack of sunlight got to her. Her complex ancestry made it difficult for me to understand her as a character, and I couldn't quite grasp why she didn't want to lead as an empress. Her reasoning boiled down (to me) to "I don't want to be cooped up in a palace" which....why not just say you'd rather be a Warrior leader instead? Beyond that, Delyse was one of my favorites before she started to annoy me, too. Ira's romance with Kirdan was cliche, but I liked the direction it went in.
Jazyme was a more well-rounded character to me, but her wishy-washyness on romance annoyed me, as well. Otherwise, I had no real issues with her character, and I liked how the author was able to describe Ira through Jaz's POV.
Ultimately, I think there were too many moving parts. Witch's council, Nameless, Obeah/Alumbrar, Unlit, Pirates, Jade Guild, Yielding, Aiyca/Zesia/Skylands and probably another region I'm forgetting, etc.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, War, and Gore
Moderate: Alcohol, Child death, and Cursing
puttingwingsonwords's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
slow-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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Genocide, Grief, Physical abuse, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Alcohol, Child death, Cursing, Grief, and Xenophobia
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