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3.82 AVERAGE
3.82 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
This was so good! I can definitely tell the author has grown in her writing style and it absolutely shows.
Although: funny aside: there was a scene where the main female character and one of the male characters were sitting in front of the fire. Then they were standing with no indication they had stood. Then the male character stood up from the couch two more times.
Overall, I really enjoyed this and can’t wait to read the next one!
Although: funny aside: there was a scene where the main female character and one of the male characters were sitting in front of the fire. Then they were standing with no indication they had stood. Then the male character stood up from the couch two more times.
Overall, I really enjoyed this and can’t wait to read the next one!
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
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:
Yes
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
There’s a lot of reviews for this book that say it’s hard to get into. This is not fully untrue, but there’s a very good reason for it. The author gives you a lot of information up front that you don’t yet know why it’s important. She has cleverly woven in details that make later events more intense, leaving your knuckles white, gripping the cover of the book.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
3.5⭐️ I enjoyed this story and will continue with book 2 but I do wish that there were more details in some of the scenes.
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Yes
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
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:
Yes
Ich schwanke etwas zwischen 3 und 4 Sternen, aber da der Anfang recht langsam war und ich etwas gebraucht habe um reinzukommen bin ich jetzt bei 3 gelandet.
Normal kann ich mit Geschichten über Götter nicht viel anfangen, aber diese hat mich irgendwie gepackt. Das Love Triangle ist recht interessant, am Anfang hatte ich einen Favoriten, dann fand ich beide gleich gut und am Ende weiß ich nicht was ich von beiden halten soll. Lore hat da echt ein Chaos vor ihr …
Normal kann ich mit Geschichten über Götter nicht viel anfangen, aber diese hat mich irgendwie gepackt. Das Love Triangle ist recht interessant, am Anfang hatte ich einen Favoriten, dann fand ich beide gleich gut und am Ende weiß ich nicht was ich von beiden halten soll. Lore hat da echt ein Chaos vor ihr …
This is probably one of the more unique worlds I have read about in a novel series! There is a lush religiosity to the book that feels pretty thought out. Mortem I thought was a very cool concept. I will say I was hooked in the first perhaps half of the book then it slowly became harder to progress.
The writing was well-done, but it felt prolonged. There wasn't a lot of balanced pacing. It was coined as this romance, ball-like, luxurious gothic world and while it is set in this palace - the description, the details of this setting for me lacked greatly. There wasn't any court drama, and there wasn't much epic-ness to this supposed grandeur of a setting. I also was put off by the lack of curiosity when Lore and Gabe entered the court. It was just kind of there, and it wasn't expanded upon. I wished the "court" was a more layered concept in the book since it seems that it was supposed to be a large part of this book's setting.
For romance lovers - romance was but a speck in this novel...and it didn't even actually start until page 320 or so which is BRUTAL to me. Lore kissed both Bastian and Gabe within pages of each other and it just felt rushed. I wouldn't even call it a slow burn - it just wasn't there until it just was - way more than halfway in. Nothing came of any of that, either.
The relationships in general didn't really - work. Lore describes just a familiarity with them but there weren't many slower moments that worked on character and relationship dynamics. So, I didn't feel connected to any of these supposed connections.
Lore also didn't present any greater personality to me. She just kind of was - there and cussed a lot and was supposed to be this baddie. To me, she wasn't. She had a strong presence, for sure, but not personality - there wasn't a lot of depth to her. Gabe was the most interesting figure for me with deeper complexities. He was the most realistic too, at battle with himself, with his beliefs, with his values, feelings etc and we see that - I was really intrigued by him and I wish he said more or we had more time with his feelings and mind - he was always quiet and retreated. Ah, Bastian. He had so much potential but it felt like he was worked on briefly - I didn't get any deeper sense of who he was, what he wanted. what he thought or felt. I like him, I do! I just feel robbed of knowing and seeing more layers to him.
I also wanted more magic. There wasn't a lot in here - Lore just kind of understood the magic there wasn't much of a struggle with it which I thought there would be since it was kind of new to her in learning how to control it.
I get Mortem and Spiritum - death and life - but it sometimes felt cheesy. It was predictable who was who and Lore just didn't know that the SUN PRINCE was also a wielder of life and of the sun until the end of the book? I don't know that was odd. Also poison runners are a cool thing - why did we not get more exploration of what this was? Who these people were? Other poisons or potions?
All in all - interesting concept, not bad writing, and original worldbuilding. BUT characters for me fell flat, as did the setting and the pacing of the novel was brutal. There were a lot of cool concepts but they just halted mid-thought. I think it's a fun, good read if you're looking for something a tad different.
BUT NO this is not a court romance intrigue kind of book - even if it's marketed as one.
The writing was well-done, but it felt prolonged. There wasn't a lot of balanced pacing. It was coined as this romance, ball-like, luxurious gothic world and while it is set in this palace - the description, the details of this setting for me lacked greatly. There wasn't any court drama, and there wasn't much epic-ness to this supposed grandeur of a setting. I also was put off by the lack of curiosity when Lore and Gabe entered the court. It was just kind of there, and it wasn't expanded upon. I wished the "court" was a more layered concept in the book since it seems that it was supposed to be a large part of this book's setting.
For romance lovers - romance was but a speck in this novel...and it didn't even actually start until page 320 or so which is BRUTAL to me. Lore kissed both Bastian and Gabe within pages of each other and it just felt rushed. I wouldn't even call it a slow burn - it just wasn't there until it just was - way more than halfway in. Nothing came of any of that, either.
The relationships in general didn't really - work. Lore describes just a familiarity with them but there weren't many slower moments that worked on character and relationship dynamics. So, I didn't feel connected to any of these supposed connections.
Lore also didn't present any greater personality to me. She just kind of was - there and cussed a lot and was supposed to be this baddie. To me, she wasn't. She had a strong presence, for sure, but not personality - there wasn't a lot of depth to her. Gabe was the most interesting figure for me with deeper complexities. He was the most realistic too, at battle with himself, with his beliefs, with his values, feelings etc and we see that - I was really intrigued by him and I wish he said more or we had more time with his feelings and mind - he was always quiet and retreated. Ah, Bastian. He had so much potential but it felt like he was worked on briefly - I didn't get any deeper sense of who he was, what he wanted. what he thought or felt. I like him, I do! I just feel robbed of knowing and seeing more layers to him.
I also wanted more magic. There wasn't a lot in here - Lore just kind of understood the magic there wasn't much of a struggle with it which I thought there would be since it was kind of new to her in learning how to control it.
I get Mortem and Spiritum - death and life - but it sometimes felt cheesy. It was predictable who was who and Lore just didn't know that the SUN PRINCE was also a wielder of life and of the sun until the end of the book? I don't know that was odd. Also poison runners are a cool thing - why did we not get more exploration of what this was? Who these people were? Other poisons or potions?
All in all - interesting concept, not bad writing, and original worldbuilding. BUT characters for me fell flat, as did the setting and the pacing of the novel was brutal. There were a lot of cool concepts but they just halted mid-thought. I think it's a fun, good read if you're looking for something a tad different.
BUT NO this is not a court romance intrigue kind of book - even if it's marketed as one.