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okjaaaaa's review
I loved the first book in this duology, which is why this follow-up made me so disappointed. This book took lyrical writing to a whole other level, and not in a good way. Complex words seemed to be used just to use them, not because they had a purpose - as if the author had a list of big words they had to include. It made the whole reading experience tedious and exhausting, having to look up words every other sentence. It also made the plot super confusing and hard to follow. In the end, the writing ended up actively undermining the narrative or character development.
tellasdantes's review
2.0
rating before dnf: 1.5 stars
thank you to netgalley for providing me with the arc for me to provide an honest review.
i have never been more upset to dnf a book before. and i don't dnf books very often but something about this particular book didn't stick. at all.
i enjoyed .. maybe 2 chapters out of the many i read before giving up. the writing in the heartless divine was flowery, poetic, beautiful. and although i definitely had to look words up during it, it flowed so well you did not mind having to do that. but it wasn't the same with the forsaken souls unfortunately. it almost felt at times that i was putting more work into reading this arc and trying to work out what words meant, than i have in my entire educational life. i haven't looked up words that much in readings for university. i understand flowery language, as i said it worked really well in the heartless divine which i rated 5 stars because i loved it and surikiran so much. however, sometimes it felt with this book that these big words were used just to prove that the author could. and honestly, it took me right out of the plot (which was also all over the place).
surikiran is and will continue to be one of my favourite book couples. but if you're looking to see more of them together, i wouldn't read this book. they're barely in any scenes together and go off on their own plots (which is fine, apart from the fact i felt sometimes they jumped out of character). and i just .. expected more ? i don't know.
i however did really like the idea of kiran's storyline, and i felt it worked well following on from the heartless divine. it didn't however work with the 78 other plots that were currently happening at the same time.
maybe i'll be able to pick up a physical copy of the forsaken souls once published and actually get myself through the entire thing, but i unfortunately couldn't do it with the arc.
thank you to netgalley for providing me with the arc for me to provide an honest review.
i have never been more upset to dnf a book before. and i don't dnf books very often but something about this particular book didn't stick. at all.
i enjoyed .. maybe 2 chapters out of the many i read before giving up. the writing in the heartless divine was flowery, poetic, beautiful. and although i definitely had to look words up during it, it flowed so well you did not mind having to do that. but it wasn't the same with the forsaken souls unfortunately. it almost felt at times that i was putting more work into reading this arc and trying to work out what words meant, than i have in my entire educational life. i haven't looked up words that much in readings for university. i understand flowery language, as i said it worked really well in the heartless divine which i rated 5 stars because i loved it and surikiran so much. however, sometimes it felt with this book that these big words were used just to prove that the author could. and honestly, it took me right out of the plot (which was also all over the place).
surikiran is and will continue to be one of my favourite book couples. but if you're looking to see more of them together, i wouldn't read this book. they're barely in any scenes together and go off on their own plots (which is fine, apart from the fact i felt sometimes they jumped out of character). and i just .. expected more ? i don't know.
i however did really like the idea of kiran's storyline, and i felt it worked well following on from the heartless divine. it didn't however work with the 78 other plots that were currently happening at the same time.
maybe i'll be able to pick up a physical copy of the forsaken souls once published and actually get myself through the entire thing, but i unfortunately couldn't do it with the arc.
racecarnoise's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.0
This book dragged on a little. I was struggling to understand the plot as time went on as well, there were soooo many gods, plus the 2 worlds and 3 timelines just got a bit confusing.
existentialghost's review
1.0
dnfed :/ lawd knows i tried but this book single handedly put me in a slump
aangult's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
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
5.0
So very honoured to have been a part of this book’s journey as a beta reader.
Words can’t describe how much I loved this story and these characters— If I grew overly attached to them throughout The Heartless Divine, The Forsaken Souls only drove that attachment and love I have home in a way that will stay with me for a long time. For me as a reader the relationships between characters are the end-all, be-all of a story, and without giving too much away: the relationships in this end all and are all. That barely makes sense but it’s how I can best describe it.
True to form, the style and worldbuilding of the Messiah series weave together in an incredible and fantastical way that pulls you right along on the journey the four main characters go through together— the good, the absolutely heart-wrenchingly terrible, the unknown and the devastatingly familiar. The reader is right there with them, feeling with them, and, most importantly (and, again, I’m trying my hardest not to gush about all my spoiler-y emotions) we HOPE with them, even as they maybe can’t.
I absolutely cannot wait for the official release (February 6, 2022 !!) so I can recommend this book and this finished series to everyone I know <3
Words can’t describe how much I loved this story and these characters— If I grew overly attached to them throughout The Heartless Divine, The Forsaken Souls only drove that attachment and love I have home in a way that will stay with me for a long time. For me as a reader the relationships between characters are the end-all, be-all of a story, and without giving too much away: the relationships in this end all and are all. That barely makes sense but it’s how I can best describe it.
True to form, the style and worldbuilding of the Messiah series weave together in an incredible and fantastical way that pulls you right along on the journey the four main characters go through together— the good, the absolutely heart-wrenchingly terrible, the unknown and the devastatingly familiar. The reader is right there with them, feeling with them, and, most importantly (and, again, I’m trying my hardest not to gush about all my spoiler-y emotions) we HOPE with them, even as they maybe can’t.
I absolutely cannot wait for the official release (February 6, 2022 !!) so I can recommend this book and this finished series to everyone I know <3
perfectplaces's review
challenging
emotional
mysterious
slow-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
5.0
was honoured to have betaed this!
so everyone who knows me knows i’ve been singing the praises of THD since it came out two novembers ago and the second book? does not disappoint in the slightest
personally this is exactly what i wanted from this book! even more delving into the idea of deification? check. unhinged characters doing unhinged things? check. kiran’s loose thread to the concept of being a person? check. doomed romance? check. viro my number one dream boy? check. it really feels like it was written to be up my alley entirely.
if THD was about the concept of deification and of being turned into a myth and of what it means to become a god, TFS is about what it means to be human. and this isn’t just told through kiran who is excellent here (varsha ravi ur nightmare godboy looks personhood issues as fuck) but also suri in the past plot and viro in the modern plot and tarak in the. well. everything. all of whom have to do some serious reckoning with being turned into weapons/tools/treated as subhuman in some way. THD talked a LOT about myths and stories but TFS talks about ending those stories and ending the cycles and imo it’s a perfect ending thematically.
some of my favorite highlights:
- suri and viro’s dynamic is incredible and insane and the yelling i’ve done about them being actual irl found family siblings? it’s a lot. personally i think viro deserves all the siblings bc he is in fact my poor meow meow.
- the first third or so of the past plot is insane. it’s almost entirely kiran centric with some new god characters weaved in and it does oh so much to hammer home how the kiran we know from the past plot becomes the kiran we known from the modern plot (which of course is one of the biggest questions of the first book).
- the villain gives me brain worms. i will not be elaborating.
- there is fake dating in the past plot! fake dating and reluctant friendships and found family and actual family like what is there to not like.
- the prose is beautiful. as it always is. i can’t quote direct favorite lines atm out of fear of spoilers but there are some real bangers in here.
- i love you kiran “athrasakhi” the heartless divine my little meow meow my favorite little mistreat your altar boys long enough and this is what you get bitch.
the whole duology is an immensely ambitious project but i think it’s pulled off insanely well and i’d recommend really sitting on it because when i finished it i felt so empty before i started to Think. And Perceive. personally this duology has ticked off not just everything i want in a ya fantasy romance but also has set the standard for media i consume regarding gods and myths and fairytales at all. i’m so unbelievably envious of how varsha writes (like how do you even DO that!!) and i can’t wait to see what she does next!
so everyone who knows me knows i’ve been singing the praises of THD since it came out two novembers ago and the second book? does not disappoint in the slightest
personally this is exactly what i wanted from this book! even more delving into the idea of deification? check. unhinged characters doing unhinged things? check. kiran’s loose thread to the concept of being a person? check. doomed romance? check. viro my number one dream boy? check. it really feels like it was written to be up my alley entirely.
if THD was about the concept of deification and of being turned into a myth and of what it means to become a god, TFS is about what it means to be human. and this isn’t just told through kiran who is excellent here (varsha ravi ur nightmare godboy looks personhood issues as fuck) but also suri in the past plot and viro in the modern plot and tarak in the. well. everything. all of whom have to do some serious reckoning with being turned into weapons/tools/treated as subhuman in some way. THD talked a LOT about myths and stories but TFS talks about ending those stories and ending the cycles and imo it’s a perfect ending thematically.
some of my favorite highlights:
- suri and viro’s dynamic is incredible and insane and the yelling i’ve done about them being actual irl found family siblings? it’s a lot. personally i think viro deserves all the siblings bc he is in fact my poor meow meow.
- the first third or so of the past plot is insane. it’s almost entirely kiran centric with some new god characters weaved in and it does oh so much to hammer home how the kiran we know from the past plot becomes the kiran we known from the modern plot (which of course is one of the biggest questions of the first book).
- the villain gives me brain worms. i will not be elaborating.
- there is fake dating in the past plot! fake dating and reluctant friendships and found family and actual family like what is there to not like.
- the prose is beautiful. as it always is. i can’t quote direct favorite lines atm out of fear of spoilers but there are some real bangers in here.
- i love you kiran “athrasakhi” the heartless divine my little meow meow my favorite little mistreat your altar boys long enough and this is what you get bitch.
the whole duology is an immensely ambitious project but i think it’s pulled off insanely well and i’d recommend really sitting on it because when i finished it i felt so empty before i started to Think. And Perceive. personally this duology has ticked off not just everything i want in a ya fantasy romance but also has set the standard for media i consume regarding gods and myths and fairytales at all. i’m so unbelievably envious of how varsha writes (like how do you even DO that!!) and i can’t wait to see what she does next!
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