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avybear_16's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
booklady83's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
necessitteem's review against another edition
4.0
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and series. It has a heavy focus on the characters and the plot was slow moving but it was still very enjoyable. I loved and really connected with the characters. The dragons were wonderful of course. And I like how the trilogy wrapped up. It didn’t reverse tragedies, but it did allow for new things to be built. It was a beautiful trilogy and I’m glad I read it!
bobarisu's review
4.0
3.5-4 stars
JODI YOU ALMOST HAD ME THERE.
A large chunk of this book takes place in the Algotti Empire and it was very interesting to see where Jodi's worldbuilding took us. TBH the worldbuilding is amaze-balls here and one of the main reasons I love this series so much. Jodi takes so much time to show how integrated dragons are into the Fallen Isles and contrasts that with the empire. I love! Mira's character arc is beautiful and is the second reason why I adore this series. Watching her go from a political mouthpiece to Dragon Jesus made me so emotional and proud of her growth. . Tbh this whole thing reads like a fire emblem script and I live for it. I must have compared the Fallen Isles to FE before askdjflaksjdf my point still stands.
The themes and tone of the Fallen Isles series have always been consistent and well done and When She Reigns is no exception. I do feel that some of the scenes involving Empress Apolla and the Algotti empire were repetitive and the lore surrounding the Noorestones was vague and the reason why the vague explanations are narratively justified is because Mira is this world's Dragon Jesus so she can "feel" her way through the noorestone power because it *IS* her power.
The escalation of the different isles/Fallen gods rising didn't work for me. When Idris rose in book 2, there was so much time dedicated to the devastation Aaru felt, but when the other islands started rising, it didn't have the same effect as the first time. This, coupled by the fact that the Apolla and Mira conflict was largely made up of ideological conversations and vague noorestone lore, makes me think there's some sort of imbalance with scale and/or escalation in this installment. I also have an issue with so many of the plot developing scenes beginning or ending with descriptions of people running around and screaming. Yes, it makes perfect sense this would happen in the story given the circumstances. However, everytime something bad happens, Mira has to describe this running and screaming. Like when another island rises, it left me thinking "AGAIN?!"
I loathe to end a series by rating the last book with my lowest rating of the trilogy, but that doesn't mean I think it was a weak book. WSR did its job and gave me a satisfying ending. I don't think anything is missing per se, but the WOW factor in As She Ascends wasn't present here. The focus was on wrapping up Mira's arc and revealing all the Mira Treaty's origins, which it achieved. Since most of the other characters didn't have too strong of an involvement in the plot, the exchanges between Mira and the gang from previous books are replaced by the Mira vs. Apolla ideology clash. Focusing so much on Apolla, a new character, in the last book felt a little unnecessary. Everyone else in Mira's friend circle was sidelined into cheerleaders.
ANYWAY I liked it. It was a good conclusion. I just have nitpicks, as always.
JODI YOU ALMOST HAD ME THERE.
A large chunk of this book takes place in the Algotti Empire and it was very interesting to see where Jodi's worldbuilding took us. TBH the worldbuilding is amaze-balls here and one of the main reasons I love this series so much. Jodi takes so much time to show how integrated dragons are into the Fallen Isles and contrasts that with the empire. I love! Mira's character arc is beautiful and is the second reason why I adore this series. Watching her go from a political mouthpiece to Dragon Jesus
Spoiler
to normal dragon-adoring girlSpoiler
Plus everyone from the Isles having no god-given powers at the end really made me appreciate the choice made to make Mira normal. Before she was placed on a pedestal away from everyone else but now she can finally be just Mira and the differences between the different islands aren't the defining factors for how they'll rebuild their society bc they were part of what lead to so many of the problems in the Fallen Isles before.The themes and tone of the Fallen Isles series have always been consistent and well done and When She Reigns is no exception. I do feel that some of the scenes involving Empress Apolla and the Algotti empire were repetitive and the lore surrounding the Noorestones was vague and the reason why the vague explanations are narratively justified is because Mira is this world's Dragon Jesus so she can "feel" her way through the noorestone power because it *IS* her power.
The escalation of the different isles/Fallen gods rising didn't work for me. When Idris rose in book 2, there was so much time dedicated to the devastation Aaru felt, but when the other islands started rising, it didn't have the same effect as the first time. This, coupled by the fact that the Apolla and Mira conflict was largely made up of ideological conversations and vague noorestone lore, makes me think there's some sort of imbalance with scale and/or escalation in this installment. I also have an issue with so many of the plot developing scenes beginning or ending with descriptions of people running around and screaming. Yes, it makes perfect sense this would happen in the story given the circumstances. However, everytime something bad happens, Mira has to describe this running and screaming. Like when another island rises, it left me thinking "AGAIN?!"
I loathe to end a series by rating the last book with my lowest rating of the trilogy, but that doesn't mean I think it was a weak book. WSR did its job and gave me a satisfying ending. I don't think anything is missing per se, but the WOW factor in As She Ascends wasn't present here. The focus was on wrapping up Mira's arc and revealing all the Mira Treaty's origins, which it achieved. Since most of the other characters didn't have too strong of an involvement in the plot, the exchanges between Mira and the gang from previous books are replaced by the Mira vs. Apolla ideology clash. Focusing so much on Apolla, a new character, in the last book felt a little unnecessary. Everyone else in Mira's friend circle was sidelined into cheerleaders.
ANYWAY I liked it. It was a good conclusion. I just have nitpicks, as always.
miraswan's review against another edition
4.0
I started last year by reading the first book of this series, and started this year by reading the last one. This was an intense ride from beginning to end, and even when I was fairly positive what the ending would be, I was surprised by the final twist at the end, one that should have been fairly obvious with hindsight.
It was a good conclusion to the trilogy, I really enjoyed seeing Mira's story from beginning to end, and how far she's come without losing any of the things that made her... her.
It was a good conclusion to the trilogy, I really enjoyed seeing Mira's story from beginning to end, and how far she's come without losing any of the things that made her... her.
nica2006's review
5.0
Amazing ending to the series! I am sad to see the journey with Mira, Aaru, and the gang end, but it was such a great ride. Mira is one of my favorite characters and her development through these three books was so well written. If you enjoy adventure and dragons, I highly recommend this series.
tiareleine's review
3.0
I'm not sure I understand this series at all. The mythology is just all... real...? It was a fun adventure with a great cast but, like, the islands were gods all along? How does that work, I mean, logistically?
poeandhiscats's review against another edition
3.0
This was okay/good. Wish goodreads had half stars to appropriately capture my feelings on this. Nothing happened here that was overall surprising. It was a nice chance to see more of the world and if you enjoyed the previous books in this series you should enjoy this one too.
debthebookworm's review
5.0
1st, I'm not sure what version I have, but there are definitely more than 496 pages. That said come of this will be littered with spoilers.
Tldr (though, really??): The Great Abandonment was always supposed to happen. It's a human notion to think you can do anything to stop destiny. Prophecies are prophesies for a reason. They were never supposed to try to keep the Fallen Gods. They fell. And then they got up. What the people didn't realize, except for Paorah, and it's such a human thing to do to twist the will of God to their own agenda, was that a new world was coming. Of course, had Mira never found the first dragon, it wouldn't have, and that's all the prophecies were warning them about: your gods are getting up in 2,000 years, so find their child before that happens, because she is the new world.
And the amount of sacrifices made were deep: the gods having to rise and (basically accidentally) losing hundreds of thousands of their human children, Mira losing her dragon self to save the rest of her people, the first dragon never even getting to be with her parents again because they were always meant for the sky, and she was meant to replace them in the water, all the islanders losing their gifts and their gods' proximity.
Now, let me gush over this story. The writing was just spectacular. I could feel every moment, see every instance so well. Read-seeing the first dragon GET UP in Apolla's throne room?? Being able to imagine the gods standing there when the crew got back to the Fallen Isles, imagining what they looked like (Damyan reaching and waiting for Damina!!)! And then Anahera rising! And then Damina?? And then they're gone? Just the way Jodi painted these pictures is great writing. She's so good. The characters were all fleshed out and their arcs so perfect, especially Mira. We started in Before She Ignites with this panic-stricken girl who cried at the thought of a pimple and a little ashiness and ended with this strong, proud-of-her-scar warrior who fought through her anxieties, gets the boy, and saves the world! Not the way she wanted, but she still did it. I'm so proud of her, even though it was funny how broken up she was about losing her dragon soul over her first assumption that she had to give up her humanity.
And I'll just throw this in here: I'm on the Miru ship for life. I just made that up, but I've loved Aaru since Before She Ignites, loved when he and Mira finally kissed in As She Ascends, and the moments in this here book were still innocent but STEAMY. I loved it. I love the two of them. They are my heart.
This series is one of my top 5 favorites, and I'm so happy to have gotten to experience it. Not just read it. It was an experience.
Tldr (though, really??): The Great Abandonment was always supposed to happen. It's a human notion to think you can do anything to stop destiny. Prophecies are prophesies for a reason. They were never supposed to try to keep the Fallen Gods. They fell. And then they got up. What the people didn't realize, except for Paorah, and it's such a human thing to do to twist the will of God to their own agenda, was that a new world was coming. Of course, had Mira never found the first dragon, it wouldn't have, and that's all the prophecies were warning them about: your gods are getting up in 2,000 years, so find their child before that happens, because she is the new world.
And the amount of sacrifices made were deep: the gods having to rise and (basically accidentally) losing hundreds of thousands of their human children, Mira losing her dragon self to save the rest of her people, the first dragon never even getting to be with her parents again because they were always meant for the sky, and she was meant to replace them in the water, all the islanders losing their gifts and their gods' proximity.
Now, let me gush over this story. The writing was just spectacular. I could feel every moment, see every instance so well. Read-seeing the first dragon GET UP in Apolla's throne room?? Being able to imagine the gods standing there when the crew got back to the Fallen Isles, imagining what they looked like (Damyan reaching and waiting for Damina!!)! And then Anahera rising! And then Damina?? And then they're gone? Just the way Jodi painted these pictures is great writing. She's so good. The characters were all fleshed out and their arcs so perfect, especially Mira. We started in Before She Ignites with this panic-stricken girl who cried at the thought of a pimple and a little ashiness and ended with this strong, proud-of-her-scar warrior who fought through her anxieties, gets the boy, and saves the world! Not the way she wanted, but she still did it. I'm so proud of her, even though it was funny how broken up she was about losing her dragon soul over her first assumption that she had to give up her humanity.
And I'll just throw this in here: I'm on the Miru ship for life. I just made that up, but I've loved Aaru since Before She Ignites, loved when he and Mira finally kissed in As She Ascends, and the moments in this here book were still innocent but STEAMY. I loved it. I love the two of them. They are my heart.
This series is one of my top 5 favorites, and I'm so happy to have gotten to experience it. Not just read it. It was an experience.