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3.76 AVERAGE
3.76 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I really enjoyed reading this book! The plot and characters were perhaps a little underdeveloped (the romance coalesced fairly quickly and the world building, while interesting, could have borne more complexity; specifically I wished the story had leaned more into the dystopian elements). The prose was quite skilled compared to other romantasy titles I’ve read (read: perfunctory and nice, relative to total dreck). To me the magic bond read a LOT like the ACOTAR mate bond thing. I might suggest this as a readalike for younger/teen audiences.
DNF @ 15%
I'm already not vibing with this. The world-building is too surface-level. The two enemy clans are so similar that I'm not even sure why they are fighting. The start of the story was boring, with dialogue that felt awkward and out of place. I'm only five chapters in and Isadora is already getting on my nerves. She's too docile. I don't like how she's so against killing the enemy. This is one of those books that prioritizes the romance over everything, and unfortunately, the romance isn't interesting enough for me to continue.
I'm already not vibing with this. The world-building is too surface-level. The two enemy clans are so similar that I'm not even sure why they are fighting. The start of the story was boring, with dialogue that felt awkward and out of place. I'm only five chapters in and Isadora is already getting on my nerves. She's too docile. I don't like how she's so against killing the enemy. This is one of those books that prioritizes the romance over everything, and unfortunately, the romance isn't interesting enough for me to continue.
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
|| Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Fire for providing me this arc in exchange for an honest review ! ||
First of all, I have to say I don't know the Tristan and Isolde story from which this book is a retelling, so I can't say if it's done well or not - I've read (and requested) this book purely based on the blurb which sounded great.
I really enjoyed this story, the dystopian side of it. At first I was kind of looking for the fantasy part in that romantasy, thinking it'd be purely dystopian so it felt weird - but it comes on later, which Tristan! And I really enjoyed this 'magical' connexion, even if there were barely infos about how it worked (but themselves didn't know). The way it works, the multiple possibilities depending on how Isadora and Tristan were getting closer and closer - it was honestly really good (and practical).
I wish there would be a double POV. But Isadora was a great POV on its own, with her discovery of this new town, discovering the lies she's been told, the betrayals, the real story from both sides of this war. As for the romance, I really enjoyed the connexion she had with Tristan, and the way they found each others and the way they got to discover more about the other - but I felt like it went a bit too fast between the "I'm attracted to you and starting to like you and believe you" to "I love you", but I might put that on the one shot syndrom!
Overall I really enjoyed the dystopian story, which kind of reflect our current situation with some sides and politician and men of our time, some ways to think, some behavior, things that should have stayed 300 years in the past but is sometimes surfacing back to some people ; all of that is in small doses in this book's men, rules, restrictions.
First of all, I have to say I don't know the Tristan and Isolde story from which this book is a retelling, so I can't say if it's done well or not - I've read (and requested) this book purely based on the blurb which sounded great.
I really enjoyed this story, the dystopian side of it. At first I was kind of looking for the fantasy part in that romantasy, thinking it'd be purely dystopian so it felt weird - but it comes on later, which Tristan! And I really enjoyed this 'magical' connexion, even if there were barely infos about how it worked (but themselves didn't know). The way it works, the multiple possibilities depending on how Isadora and Tristan were getting closer and closer - it was honestly really good (and practical).
I wish there would be a double POV. But Isadora was a great POV on its own, with her discovery of this new town, discovering the lies she's been told, the betrayals, the real story from both sides of this war. As for the romance, I really enjoyed the connexion she had with Tristan, and the way they found each others and the way they got to discover more about the other - but I felt like it went a bit too fast between the "I'm attracted to you and starting to like you and believe you" to "I love you", but I might put that on the one shot syndrom!
Overall I really enjoyed the dystopian story, which kind of reflect our current situation with some sides and politician and men of our time, some ways to think, some behavior, things that should have stayed 300 years in the past but is sometimes surfacing back to some people ; all of that is in small doses in this book's men, rules, restrictions.
adventurous
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
emotional
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
slow-paced
This is a dystopian retelling of Tristan & Isolde that had a lot of potential & a really interesting premise. Unfortunately I just struggled to enjoy it. It read more like historical fiction & didn’t really touch upon the topics and themes I expected to see in a dystopian.
It was especially jarring as there was people alive from before the world became what it is now so surely there would be more knowledge and information than what we saw.
There also wasn’t a lot of worldbuilding to understand how the world became what it is. We do get more much later in the story but it left me frustrated for a lot of the book.
The romance itself felt very insta love and I wish there had been more build up to truly believe they loved each other especially because of the lengths they go to, to keep each other alive.
I did like Isadora’s character arc as she had to unlearn a lot of what she had believed as truth & learn to stand up for herself.
I do wish that there had been more to Tristan than just helping Isadora see there’s more than what she had been told.
I did enjoy the second half of the story more especially as we started to see more of the world and get some answers as why the world is this way.
adventurous
funny
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
The main character is annoying af for the first third. She also accepts the new information way too fast (although she stops being so annoying then). It’s a fun book and I was definitely invested in the HEA by page 250, but it’s not a mind-blowing book. It’s a romance novel in a post-apocalyptic fantasy world without smut. It’s cute and fast paced but not spectacular
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
Loveable characters:
Yes