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4.01 AVERAGE
4.01 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
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:
Yes
adventurous
dark
emotional
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Right book, wrong time. Too complex for current brain power. Will be trying again in future
Books often get lost in my TBR, especially ebooks. That's what happens when you own a ridiculous number of them. That's also how I've owned a copy of this book since 2017 and basically forgotten about it, or about owning it. Because I've seen it on the library shelf several times and passed it up (not realizing I had a copy at home). I gave it a pass because the blurb made me think the story would be really seedy and I just wasn't up for immersing myself in that.
Then it happened that I stumbled across a Best of Fantasy Romance list that included Kusiel's Dart. The thing about this list was that I'd read 4 of the 13 books on it and didn't think any of them were best-of worthy. (1 I flat out disliked.) So, I decided to read the remaining 9 books, over the next few months, and see how I feel about the list, as a whole, once I'd read them all. And in investigating them, I rediscovered that I own this book. So, I started here.
On a humorous side note, since I have an ecopy and didn't think to check the page count on Amazon or GR, I didn't realize I was leaping into a 1,000 page epic. Surprise! (I think that if this book was published today, instead of almost 20 years ago, the publishers would have broken it into several books. I'm glad they didn't though.)
In a bit of a petty huff, I have to admit that I liked it a lot. (I still don't know if I'd call it best-of material, but it's certainly closer than the others on the list that I'd read.) The world building here is wide and deep. The politics intricate and complicated. I admit I occasionally got lost in who's who and what's what. But it is wonderfully complex and diverse. I laughed, I cried, I rooted for the underdogs, and I appreciated the variety of love and friendship on display throughout the book.
To address my fear of seediness, it wasn't. There was sex in the book, but I would almost say there wasn't a single sex scene, as I would normally think of them. Never did I feel sex was used erotically. It was there, but the point wasn't to titillate. If anything, her masochism—not that the words sadist or masochist were used in the book—was far FAR more prominent. And while I agree it had use to the story and plot, I still can't help sneering a bit at anything that glorifies women's sexual suffering (just not my thing). But I was gratified to find that role of sadist was filled by both men and women. So, there wasn't the strict man = abuser, women = victim correlation some such themes are reducible to.
I imagine I'll continue the series at some point. But I'm not leaping into book two just yet. I've got too many other commitments to dedicate myself to another epic just now.
Then it happened that I stumbled across a Best of Fantasy Romance list that included Kusiel's Dart. The thing about this list was that I'd read 4 of the 13 books on it and didn't think any of them were best-of worthy. (1 I flat out disliked.) So, I decided to read the remaining 9 books, over the next few months, and see how I feel about the list, as a whole, once I'd read them all. And in investigating them, I rediscovered that I own this book. So, I started here.
On a humorous side note, since I have an ecopy and didn't think to check the page count on Amazon or GR, I didn't realize I was leaping into a 1,000 page epic. Surprise! (I think that if this book was published today, instead of almost 20 years ago, the publishers would have broken it into several books. I'm glad they didn't though.)
In a bit of a petty huff, I have to admit that I liked it a lot. (I still don't know if I'd call it best-of material, but it's certainly closer than the others on the list that I'd read.) The world building here is wide and deep. The politics intricate and complicated. I admit I occasionally got lost in who's who and what's what. But it is wonderfully complex and diverse. I laughed, I cried, I rooted for the underdogs, and I appreciated the variety of love and friendship on display throughout the book.
To address my fear of seediness, it wasn't. There was sex in the book, but I would almost say there wasn't a single sex scene, as I would normally think of them. Never did I feel sex was used erotically. It was there, but the point wasn't to titillate. If anything, her masochism—not that the words sadist or masochist were used in the book—was far FAR more prominent. And while I agree it had use to the story and plot, I still can't help sneering a bit at anything that glorifies women's sexual suffering (just not my thing). But I was gratified to find that role of sadist was filled by both men and women. So, there wasn't the strict man = abuser, women = victim correlation some such themes are reducible to.
I imagine I'll continue the series at some point. But I'm not leaping into book two just yet. I've got too many other commitments to dedicate myself to another epic just now.
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
medium-paced
i loooooooved this. naomi novik and nk jemisin’s intricate worldbuilding structures crossed w cs pacat’s deeply plotted political thrillers w the same flavor as captive prince. absolutely fantastic. will 1500% be reading more
Not sure exactly what I expected going in to this book but I had a wonderful time with it.
The story spans 3 distinct periods of Phèdres life, and I think Carey writes each part wonderfully. I was never bored or annoyed by plot contrivances, and the perk of first person narration is that the next chapter picks up right where the last left off, so there's no frustrating cliffhangers either.
For a book of this size I got through it faster than I expected, and I think that's because it's so easy to read, but so much happens in the story that I didn't feel cheated.
Carey's prose is oft-remarked on in reviews, personally I really enjoyed it, it's very refreshing to read a novel that maintains a consistent tone, and while it was very elevated, I didn't find it to be difficult.
I loved the amount of time we spend with the characters, especially the Cruithne and the Dalriada, and Rousse. I thought some of the minor peerage characters had some lovely scenes that really endeared them to me.
Joscelin's arc was very well done, we got enough time to see him as a proper Casseline before he's challenged, so that his unbending feels realistic and satisfying.
Phèdre herself is a joy, and I loved watching her journey unfold.
The blending of sexuality and religion is very well done, and the world is fleshed out brilliantly. I really enjoyed the lore dumps about the history, and was actually surprised when I realised about a third of the way in that the book isn't technically fantasy? It hits all the same high notes for me however. The political intrigue is great, and the cast of characters at the beginning is very helpful for keeping the machinations straight.
Can't wait to read the next one!
The story spans 3 distinct periods of Phèdres life, and I think Carey writes each part wonderfully. I was never bored or annoyed by plot contrivances, and the perk of first person narration is that the next chapter picks up right where the last left off, so there's no frustrating cliffhangers either.
For a book of this size I got through it faster than I expected, and I think that's because it's so easy to read, but so much happens in the story that I didn't feel cheated.
Carey's prose is oft-remarked on in reviews, personally I really enjoyed it, it's very refreshing to read a novel that maintains a consistent tone, and while it was very elevated, I didn't find it to be difficult.
I loved the amount of time we spend with the characters, especially the Cruithne and the Dalriada, and Rousse. I thought some of the minor peerage characters had some lovely scenes that really endeared them to me.
Joscelin's arc was very well done, we got enough time to see him as a proper Casseline before he's challenged, so that his unbending feels realistic and satisfying.
Phèdre herself is a joy, and I loved watching her journey unfold.
The blending of sexuality and religion is very well done, and the world is fleshed out brilliantly. I really enjoyed the lore dumps about the history, and was actually surprised when I realised about a third of the way in that the book isn't technically fantasy? It hits all the same high notes for me however. The political intrigue is great, and the cast of characters at the beginning is very helpful for keeping the machinations straight.
Can't wait to read the next one!
A book to get lost in. I love the way in which Carey took certain elements, such as religion, culture, history, geography, and made them part of her world, in her own way. I found the subterfuge fascinating, as well as her twist on religion; although, this was one of the books I had to set aside to return to later - only to wonder why I stopped reading it, I then proceeded to finish the remainder of the series within the week.
Obviously, considering Kushiel's "gift", there's some pretty heavy BDSM, but I found that I was far more moved by Carey's world building and character development than the means by which the concubines acquired information.
Obviously, considering Kushiel's "gift", there's some pretty heavy BDSM, but I found that I was far more moved by Carey's world building and character development than the means by which the concubines acquired information.
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
adventurous
dark
emotional
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:
Complicated
adventurous
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
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:
Complicated