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4.01 AVERAGE
4.01 AVERAGE
I can't, in good faith, give this more than 3 stars (which is more than the writing deserves), but I'll admit I'm hooked. It's trashy, sexy and full of intrigue. Great light summer reading. I'm on to Kushiel's Chosen. Thanks Nicole!
Oh why did this have to be so painful to read?!
It had the seeds of greatness. An interesting plot with awesome characters. BUT, it was so boring. I've never read such an interesting book that had the life sucked out of it by the writing. It was so ridiculously dull. There was no possibility of connection because everything seemed to happen in a detached way, as if this was the recount of a history in monotone. I wanted to like this, even love it. The potential was there, but nothing ever mattered in this book. Things would happen but it would be described in such a dull and unconnected way. I haven't been this disappointed in a book is such a long time. I'm so annoyed. It could have been epic but it was a chore.
It had the seeds of greatness. An interesting plot with awesome characters. BUT, it was so boring. I've never read such an interesting book that had the life sucked out of it by the writing. It was so ridiculously dull. There was no possibility of connection because everything seemed to happen in a detached way, as if this was the recount of a history in monotone. I wanted to like this, even love it. The potential was there, but nothing ever mattered in this book. Things would happen but it would be described in such a dull and unconnected way. I haven't been this disappointed in a book is such a long time. I'm so annoyed. It could have been epic but it was a chore.
I decided to read this book because I had a friend reading it at the same time. I heard it called an "erotic" and "BDSM" novel, so I was not really sure what to expect because I had never read any erotic or romance novels before. However, after reading this book, I don't think I would put it in either category. There are erotic scenes, of course, because sex plays an interesting role in this fantasy culture; however, they are not the main focus of the novel by a long shot, and other than a few choice moments they don't get into very graphic detail. The main focus of this novel is the politics, and the "supernatural" influence of the world's gods, and because of that I would place it squarely in the fantasy genre.
This book was very difficult to get into. The first two hundred or so pages felt lifeless to me. They described a sort of history and backstory, but I didn't feel like any action was occurring and I didn't really feel an emotional connection to any of the characters, not even the narrator. It wasn't until Phedre and Joscelin unwillingly left the City of Elua that I felt completely enthralled. It took me about three weeks to read the first two hundred pages. It only took me a week to read the final four hundred. That's how slow the beginning was, and how exciting and page-turning the rest is.
But if you get through the slog of the first two hundred pages, the rest is very rewarding. I felt excited for the action and I finally cared about the characters and their relationships with each other. I enjoyed watching a romance smolder slowly in the background before coming to fruition; nothing rushed, everything happening exactly when it was meant to. The ending seemed a bit too perfect to be true, garnering a slight eye-roll from me when Phedre was given her inheritance. But overall, once you are in the thick of the action, this story is exciting and fun and, at times, sexy.
My rating probably rests somewhere between a three and a four, but I enjoyed those final 400 pages so much that I'll overcompensate with a higher rating. I'm not sure that I want to continue on to the sequel, but it was a very good story nonetheless.
This book was very difficult to get into. The first two hundred or so pages felt lifeless to me. They described a sort of history and backstory, but I didn't feel like any action was occurring and I didn't really feel an emotional connection to any of the characters, not even the narrator. It wasn't until Phedre and Joscelin unwillingly left the City of Elua that I felt completely enthralled. It took me about three weeks to read the first two hundred pages. It only took me a week to read the final four hundred. That's how slow the beginning was, and how exciting and page-turning the rest is.
But if you get through the slog of the first two hundred pages, the rest is very rewarding. I felt excited for the action and I finally cared about the characters and their relationships with each other. I enjoyed watching a romance smolder slowly in the background before coming to fruition; nothing rushed, everything happening exactly when it was meant to. The ending seemed a bit too perfect to be true, garnering a slight eye-roll from me when Phedre was given her inheritance. But overall, once you are in the thick of the action, this story is exciting and fun and, at times, sexy.
My rating probably rests somewhere between a three and a four, but I enjoyed those final 400 pages so much that I'll overcompensate with a higher rating. I'm not sure that I want to continue on to the sequel, but it was a very good story nonetheless.
adventurous
challenging
slow-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
inspiring
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
the whole premise is batshit crazy but to enjoy this book you're just gonna just have to accept it.
okay so thousands of years ago,jesus's son (elua, who was conceived from his blood and mary magdalene's tears) walked the earth, collecting a posse of angels, and settled in a land named terre d'ange (aka bizarro alternate universe france). terre d'ange becomes blessed by his grace (and elua and his angels have children) so over generations, terre d'ange's people, d'angelines, become the most musical, smartest, beautiful people in the whole world!! because they have angel blood!! thus, terre d'ange becomes what it is in current day, sex-positive medieval france reinforced with indentured servitude and religion :D
lol but jokes aside, this was definitely an interesting read and there were a lot of things i liked. the religion aspect was really fascinating especially with how the worship and recognition of naamah, the deity of sexuality and one of elua's angel companions causes much of d'angeline society to perceive sex and prostitution as something holy. also i really loved hyacinthe and phedre's friendship. hyacinthe (as well as delauney) made the story for me, andhyacinthe's ending was genuinely the most tragic moment in the book . and it was very cool how the main conflict was political and the villain of the story is actually a villainess. and a cunning, competant villainess too! how refreshing.
however, i cannot believe i’m saying this but the sex was the most tedious part of this book; it's strange because it's quite graphic but it's written in such a detached, clinical way that i almost always skimmed past it. and there was a lot of sex, so i did a lot of skimming. also, i'm usually good at understanding the worldbuilding and keeping track of characters and relationships but i got SO lost while reading this. if i ever reread i'm gonna have to diagram.
okay so thousands of years ago,
lol but jokes aside, this was definitely an interesting read and there were a lot of things i liked. the religion aspect was really fascinating especially with how the worship and recognition of naamah, the deity of sexuality and one of elua's angel companions causes much of d'angeline society to perceive sex and prostitution as something holy. also i really loved hyacinthe and phedre's friendship. hyacinthe (as well as delauney) made the story for me, and
however, i cannot believe i’m saying this but the sex was the most tedious part of this book; it's strange because it's quite graphic but it's written in such a detached, clinical way that i almost always skimmed past it. and there was a lot of sex, so i did a lot of skimming. also, i'm usually good at understanding the worldbuilding and keeping track of characters and relationships but i got SO lost while reading this. if i ever reread i'm gonna have to diagram.
dark
tense
slow-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
Rereading this after like 20 years and it's more fun than I remembered!
Oh, I don't even know, so I'll just call it 3 stars.
Look, I like epics. I LOVE epics. Most of my favorite books are epics. I used to think a book could not be too long. I always wanted More Detail about the characters and What Happened Next and I like diving into a book for a good long time and not having to find a new one. And I read fast, so long books are good for me. This, and GRRM, have proven me wrong. This was like three books in one, or at least two. This is more than an epic. The only thing I can compare it to is ASOIAF, and at least I like it better.
Good: interesting and strong world building; some great characters; it's quite creative (especially the religion); strong female characters and lots of them; interesting alternate history Europe; very sex-positive (no bashing women for liking sex here!); some really good plot twists.
Bad: the sex. I think sex-positive is good and all, I'm fine with the main character being a courtesan, and down with the virgin-whore complex, but I just cannot get comfortable with the level of violence involved in the sex here. It gets fairly graphic in parts and I am just squicked out; having a major part of her sex life involve being beaten severely bothers me. (not a spoiler, and I think potential readers need to know this!) Other bad: the problems/crazy situations/twists just kept coming, to where I started rolling my eyes. In some parts the writing is great and in others it's really repetitive and overwritten. To quote an earlier review, this prose is so purple it's black. The prose is the color of an anguisette's cloak, a color so dark as to be the color purple under a midnight moon, a color so rare that a great search was involved to relearn how to create a color not seen in three generations, a color instantly meaningful to Those In The Know.
Overall, this was a good travel read--lasted me through two cross-country flights as well as a week long trip, which is a LOT for me--and I am reading the next book due to the cliff-hanger at the end as well as curiosity about how a particular thing happens that I was spoiled for by reading the summary for book 3, so it's not that bad, but I am glad I am reading it on my kindle since damn this thing is long. Also, I like it better than ASOIAF, and I've read all of those so far.
Recommended for: someone looking for a very, very long, mostly feminist, distraction read. It's not light, exactly, but it is very escapist!
Look, I like epics. I LOVE epics. Most of my favorite books are epics. I used to think a book could not be too long. I always wanted More Detail about the characters and What Happened Next and I like diving into a book for a good long time and not having to find a new one. And I read fast, so long books are good for me. This, and GRRM, have proven me wrong. This was like three books in one, or at least two. This is more than an epic. The only thing I can compare it to is ASOIAF, and at least I like it better.
Good: interesting and strong world building; some great characters; it's quite creative (especially the religion); strong female characters and lots of them; interesting alternate history Europe; very sex-positive (no bashing women for liking sex here!); some really good plot twists.
Bad: the sex. I think sex-positive is good and all, I'm fine with the main character being a courtesan, and down with the virgin-whore complex, but I just cannot get comfortable with the level of violence involved in the sex here. It gets fairly graphic in parts and I am just squicked out; having a major part of her sex life involve being beaten severely bothers me. (not a spoiler, and I think potential readers need to know this!) Other bad: the problems/crazy situations/twists just kept coming, to where I started rolling my eyes. In some parts the writing is great and in others it's really repetitive and overwritten. To quote an earlier review, this prose is so purple it's black. The prose is the color of an anguisette's cloak, a color so dark as to be the color purple under a midnight moon, a color so rare that a great search was involved to relearn how to create a color not seen in three generations, a color instantly meaningful to Those In The Know.
Overall, this was a good travel read--lasted me through two cross-country flights as well as a week long trip, which is a LOT for me--and I am reading the next book due to the cliff-hanger at the end as well as curiosity about how a particular thing happens that I was spoiled for by reading the summary for book 3, so it's not that bad, but I am glad I am reading it on my kindle since damn this thing is long. Also, I like it better than ASOIAF, and I've read all of those so far.
Recommended for: someone looking for a very, very long, mostly feminist, distraction read. It's not light, exactly, but it is very escapist!
Everything you hear about Carey's writing style is true. There is preponderance of words, there is a breathless tone to, and Phedre is, quite frankly, at times a bit annoying and a bit princess perfect.
Yet, this is a damn good book. I've read it more than twice. Just recently re-read it, and despite the flaws, Carey draws you into the word. In many ways, it really is what 50 Shades and the like wants to be. Phedre's talent or curse is what she resents at time; her own sexuality never. Additionally, unlike many books I can name, rape is handled in an adult manner.
It is also a wonderfully good political fantasy.
Does anyone else wonder if this book was written in part as a response to Martin's work?
Yet, this is a damn good book. I've read it more than twice. Just recently re-read it, and despite the flaws, Carey draws you into the word. In many ways, it really is what 50 Shades and the like wants to be. Phedre's talent or curse is what she resents at time; her own sexuality never. Additionally, unlike many books I can name, rape is handled in an adult manner.
It is also a wonderfully good political fantasy.
Does anyone else wonder if this book was written in part as a response to Martin's work?