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chthonicgod's review
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
cinder10's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
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? Yes
4.0
pannyrin's review
1.0
I'm tempted to keep the paperback copy of this book that I bought because I really do like the cover, but its purpose would be entirely ornamental. This was not actually a hard book to finish and I tore through it in a couple of days, but I would never read it again because easy read =/= enjoyable read in this case. At all. I still felt almost bad hitting the one star rating because I don't actually loathe the book the way I do some of my other one star reads, but I couldn't justify anything higher. It would have felt insulting to the books I've previously rate two stars that had far more to speak of in terms of redeeming qualities.
The premise is very promising and in some ways that's part of the problem. This book is billed as an enemies to lovers story (my jam!), but it's not. Like at all. The lacuna fires up the main couples' tempers (supposedly this is a big change for them, but considering they're both shallowly characterized to the point of being so nearly indistinguishable that I frequently forgot which point of view I was reading and everything kicks off so fast that I have no idea what they were like before the bond anyway, it feels like a moot point) and they have a bit of "Grrr! I want to fight you!" posturing at almost entirely random intervals in between thinking about how much they like each other and find each other attractive, but at no point are they at cross purposes--they are explicitly allies for the whole story! And they want to fight anyone who breathes the same air as their love interest anyway, so the fighting doesn't even stand out as being particularly personal! And it pretty much gets dropped like a hot potato with no real explanation later anyway!
The lack of conflict is actually a problem that extends far beyond the story's main characters. Everyone is just in agreement all the time and whole scenes are spent on everyone nodding very agreeably about the right thing to do (which is...nice, I guess, but it's not interesting). Unless you're evil in which case you're the most evil and don't expect complexity from anybody's motivations here because it doesn't exist. The good guys are incorruptibly good and the bad guys are irredeemably bad and nobody particularly struggles with determining what the right thing to do is except in a very shallow way that never has any meaningful consequences. To be fair, there are a handful of characters (though that feels like a generous term) who I have trouble labeling as "good" or "evil"...because I'm still genuinely not sure what they actually did or didn't do or what their motivations for either actually were. I'm not even sure what the point of them was except to be, I guess, a red herring? Unless they weren't? Is this questioning the whole point there? Were they just meant to be inscrutable in the most boring, forgettable way imaginable?
The plot drove me absolutely up the wall! I want to personally apologize to every book I've criticized with "I really liked it, but the pacing was a little off" because they all come up smelling like roses in comparison. It wasn't even necessarily that the pacing was too fast or too slow (although both were the case at different points--it felt like the author didn't know what part of the plot to prioritize). It was that it was all strangely circular and it felt like we were either constantly backtracking or taking a roundabout way to get from point A to point C when B was right there. It just got very frustrating. It didn't help that the stakes alternated between getting dropped/forgotten about, being easily resolved, changing completely, and being blown out of proportion until I couldn't fathom why anyone would possibly care what was happening. The villain's "plan" felt like nonsense and made less sense the more it was featured, the heroes' priorities felt all out of whack, there were plenty of big dramatic moments where it felt like there should be meaningful danger to the characters that were immediately undercut, plenty of other big moments where it felt like the characters should have been accomplishing something meaningful only for it to be irrelevant to the point that entire scenes could have been cut out and nothing would have been missed, and plot holes large enough to march an army through. At the end of it, I was still scratching my head over how the characters were meant to have dealt with ONE OF THE EARLIEST OBSTACLES INTRODUCED IN THE STORY because it had been such a big deal and had driven so much of the decision-making and then the characters seemed to suddenly stop caring without a clear explanation.
It was honestly kind of a baffling and bizarre reading experience for such a basic plot.
And on a nitpicky technical note...there were a lot...of ellipses...and I found their...constant usage...very...distracting.
I've heard nothing but good things about Walker's contemporary romance fiction. Contemporary romance isn't typically my bag (there are exceptions), so I haven't read any of it myself, but that reputation was a selling point here. Especially for a romantic fantasy novel (very much my bag) about two kings forced together by circumstances beyond their control (the bag is filled with goodies) who develop from enemies to lovers while facing down a threat greater than themselves (I'm there with bells on). I wish this wasn't my first impression of Walker because it wasn't a good one. With how much she struggled to juggle the plot, I wonder if it would have been better if she'd just focused in on the relationship development and written a romance with vague fantasy trappings, but the relationship didn't feel particularly deep or developed or earned here either, so there's really just nothing. What a shame.
The premise is very promising and in some ways that's part of the problem. This book is billed as an enemies to lovers story (my jam!), but it's not. Like at all. The lacuna fires up the main couples' tempers (supposedly this is a big change for them, but considering they're both shallowly characterized to the point of being so nearly indistinguishable that I frequently forgot which point of view I was reading and everything kicks off so fast that I have no idea what they were like before the bond anyway, it feels like a moot point) and they have a bit of "Grrr! I want to fight you!" posturing at almost entirely random intervals in between thinking about how much they like each other and find each other attractive, but at no point are they at cross purposes--they are explicitly allies for the whole story! And they want to fight anyone who breathes the same air as their love interest anyway, so the fighting doesn't even stand out as being particularly personal! And it pretty much gets dropped like a hot potato with no real explanation later anyway!
The lack of conflict is actually a problem that extends far beyond the story's main characters. Everyone is just in agreement all the time and whole scenes are spent on everyone nodding very agreeably about the right thing to do (which is...nice, I guess, but it's not interesting). Unless you're evil in which case you're the most evil and don't expect complexity from anybody's motivations here because it doesn't exist. The good guys are incorruptibly good and the bad guys are irredeemably bad and nobody particularly struggles with determining what the right thing to do is except in a very shallow way that never has any meaningful consequences. To be fair, there are a handful of characters (though that feels like a generous term) who I have trouble labeling as "good" or "evil"...because I'm still genuinely not sure what they actually did or didn't do or what their motivations for either actually were. I'm not even sure what the point of them was except to be, I guess, a red herring? Unless they weren't? Is this questioning the whole point there? Were they just meant to be inscrutable in the most boring, forgettable way imaginable?
The plot drove me absolutely up the wall! I want to personally apologize to every book I've criticized with "I really liked it, but the pacing was a little off" because they all come up smelling like roses in comparison. It wasn't even necessarily that the pacing was too fast or too slow (although both were the case at different points--it felt like the author didn't know what part of the plot to prioritize). It was that it was all strangely circular and it felt like we were either constantly backtracking or taking a roundabout way to get from point A to point C when B was right there. It just got very frustrating. It didn't help that the stakes alternated between getting dropped/forgotten about, being easily resolved, changing completely, and being blown out of proportion until I couldn't fathom why anyone would possibly care what was happening. The villain's "plan" felt like nonsense and made less sense the more it was featured, the heroes' priorities felt all out of whack, there were plenty of big dramatic moments where it felt like there should be meaningful danger to the characters that were immediately undercut, plenty of other big moments where it felt like the characters should have been accomplishing something meaningful only for it to be irrelevant to the point that entire scenes could have been cut out and nothing would have been missed, and plot holes large enough to march an army through. At the end of it, I was still scratching my head over how the characters were meant to have dealt with ONE OF THE EARLIEST OBSTACLES INTRODUCED IN THE STORY because it had been such a big deal and had driven so much of the decision-making and then the characters seemed to suddenly stop caring without a clear explanation.
It was honestly kind of a baffling and bizarre reading experience for such a basic plot.
And on a nitpicky technical note...there were a lot...of ellipses...and I found their...constant usage...very...distracting.
I've heard nothing but good things about Walker's contemporary romance fiction. Contemporary romance isn't typically my bag (there are exceptions), so I haven't read any of it myself, but that reputation was a selling point here. Especially for a romantic fantasy novel (very much my bag) about two kings forced together by circumstances beyond their control (the bag is filled with goodies) who develop from enemies to lovers while facing down a threat greater than themselves (I'm there with bells on). I wish this wasn't my first impression of Walker because it wasn't a good one. With how much she struggled to juggle the plot, I wonder if it would have been better if she'd just focused in on the relationship development and written a romance with vague fantasy trappings, but the relationship didn't feel particularly deep or developed or earned here either, so there's really just nothing. What a shame.
ismendes's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
brnreads's review against another edition
4.0
4.5
I loved this book. I loved the MCs and the chemistry and relationships. I loved their trusted guards and closest friends. I love the birthmarks and bond and what it all meant and allowed.
My biggest complaint is that there wasn't enough. I needed more. More angst prior to them falling more jokes and times with them getting used to each other. I wanted things to go a bit deeper exploring the characters and for the story to be a bit longer.
It did end with the possibility of another book which gives me hope I can get the more I crave.
I loved this book. I loved the MCs and the chemistry and relationships. I loved their trusted guards and closest friends. I love the birthmarks and bond and what it all meant and allowed.
My biggest complaint is that there wasn't enough. I needed more. More angst prior to them falling more jokes and times with them getting used to each other. I wanted things to go a bit deeper exploring the characters and for the story to be a bit longer.
It did end with the possibility of another book which gives me hope I can get the more I crave.
a_smith231's review
adventurous
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
pshelling's review against another edition
2.0
First of all, I love the cover. Much of the anxiety/dread of looking at my TBR books in my library is offset just by looking at this cover. Gorgeous!
For additional context, I'm currently looking for fantasy novels with gay male protagonists, which is why I finally finished this book now, so I basically read this book across two days, even though it had been languishing on my "Currently Reading" shelf for years.
Back to the book... there are number of things that didn't work for me, some which are typical of my experience reading an N.R. Walker (I'm not the ideal reader for an M/M romance; I'm just that starved for representation) and some of which weren't. One of the things that keeps me coming back to N.R. Walker is their consistent ability to take me someplace. No matter how much I disliked a book, if it took me somewhere, it was worth it. There's was plenty of worldbuilding in Lacuna, but I just didn't connect with it the way I have in other books.
This might been aggravated by point two, which is that I found most of the characters to be annoying and/or unlikable. The bickering and posturing between Crow and Tancho got on my nerves, as did EVERYONE's threat to kill EVERYONE else if they so much as did something (mostly looking at Crow or Tancho wrong). That kind of attitude could have been for a singular interesting, but when spread throughout most of the cast, it was a lot.
This leads into point three, which is that the romance was not compelling to me. Because Crow and Tancho were so annoying to me and each other, I wasn't rooting for them to get together.
For additional context, I'm currently looking for fantasy novels with gay male protagonists, which is why I finally finished this book now, so I basically read this book across two days, even though it had been languishing on my "Currently Reading" shelf for years.
Back to the book... there are number of things that didn't work for me, some which are typical of my experience reading an N.R. Walker (I'm not the ideal reader for an M/M romance; I'm just that starved for representation) and some of which weren't. One of the things that keeps me coming back to N.R. Walker is their consistent ability to take me someplace. No matter how much I disliked a book, if it took me somewhere, it was worth it. There's was plenty of worldbuilding in Lacuna, but I just didn't connect with it the way I have in other books.
This might been aggravated by point two, which is that I found most of the characters to be annoying and/or unlikable. The bickering and posturing between Crow and Tancho got on my nerves, as did EVERYONE's threat to kill EVERYONE else if they so much as did something (mostly looking at Crow or Tancho wrong). That kind of attitude could have been for a singular interesting, but when spread throughout most of the cast, it was a lot.
This leads into point three, which is that the romance was not compelling to me. Because Crow and Tancho were so annoying to me and each other, I wasn't rooting for them to get together.
layla87's review against another edition
4.0
4.5 stars
I received an ARC from the author through Author's Direct and this is my honest review.
I was absolutely entranced with this story. I love fantasy and PNR and ever since Cronin's Key, I wanted more of it from her.
What I Loved:
1. The Characters:
Tancho: The King of the Westland, with beautiful long red hair. He was delicate but powerful and has been intrigued with Crow since he saw him as a young lad. #Enthralled
Crow: The King of the Northlands, a mountain man through and through who was swept off his feet by the pretty Tancho. He was power and grumpiness and strength, but Tancho softened his edges little by little. #BestPartOfMe
2. The Plot:
The four kings of the land were summoned to the same place for the eclipse. they had a job today, but fate had other ideas. Tancho and Crow are two pieces of a puzzle, they were complete together, and they ae the key to a peaceful existence for everyone. #WrittenInTheStars
3. The Romance:
At first, these two men don't like each other, but deep down they are intrigued with the other and can feel that there is something there...something important. Slowly but surely, they become closer and discover the other's qualities and secrets. they discover that are #MeantToBe
4. Steam-o-meter: Medium steam but with loads of UST!! #CanYouFeelItToo
5. Angst-o-meter: Lowish angst, mostly due to their fate and what they should do to save everyone. #StrongerTogether
6. The HEA:
There's a twist, which is sweetly and sexily overcome. These men are in it for the #LongHaul
7. The audiobook:
Nick Russo is one of my fave narrators and he did an excellent job with this book. He nailed everything... the emotions, the voices and the tones... all except the British accent. it took a while for me to get used to him using it because it didn't really sound right. #AlmostPerfect
I received an ARC from the author through Author's Direct and this is my honest review.
I was absolutely entranced with this story. I love fantasy and PNR and ever since Cronin's Key, I wanted more of it from her.
What I Loved:
1. The Characters:
Tancho: The King of the Westland, with beautiful long red hair. He was delicate but powerful and has been intrigued with Crow since he saw him as a young lad. #Enthralled
Crow: The King of the Northlands, a mountain man through and through who was swept off his feet by the pretty Tancho. He was power and grumpiness and strength, but Tancho softened his edges little by little. #BestPartOfMe
2. The Plot:
The four kings of the land were summoned to the same place for the eclipse. they had a job today, but fate had other ideas. Tancho and Crow are two pieces of a puzzle, they were complete together, and they ae the key to a peaceful existence for everyone. #WrittenInTheStars
3. The Romance:
At first, these two men don't like each other, but deep down they are intrigued with the other and can feel that there is something there...something important. Slowly but surely, they become closer and discover the other's qualities and secrets. they discover that are #MeantToBe
4. Steam-o-meter: Medium steam but with loads of UST!! #CanYouFeelItToo
5. Angst-o-meter: Lowish angst, mostly due to their fate and what they should do to save everyone. #StrongerTogether
6. The HEA:
There's a twist, which is sweetly and sexily overcome. These men are in it for the #LongHaul
7. The audiobook:
Nick Russo is one of my fave narrators and he did an excellent job with this book. He nailed everything... the emotions, the voices and the tones... all except the British accent. it took a while for me to get used to him using it because it didn't really sound right. #AlmostPerfect