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4.25 AVERAGE
4.25 AVERAGE
Possibly the best prequel I've ever read. This provided a lot of insight into the characters. I'm glad that I listened to the recommendation made by the author to read this after revelations. There were a lot of fun aha moments that I wouldn't have recognized if I had read this first. I'm sad I don't have any further books to look forward to at this point.
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Yes
TOO SHORT!!! This is another great continuation of a great series. I can't get enough. I just went through it too quickly and wish it were longer!
I really enjoyed this book. Hadrian and Royce are always an exciting duo to follow, but I was happily surprised to see that this installment gave us Reuben Hilfred's backstory, as well as a bit of the royal family. No matter who he writes about, Michael J Sullivan quickly establishes them as someone the reader loves and roots for.
Also, I loved the little foreshadowing jokes about dragons and Percepliquis :)
I can't wait to see what future books in the series explore...and I can't wait until the next one is released!
I really enjoyed this book. Hadrian and Royce are always an exciting duo to follow, but I was happily surprised to see that this installment gave us Reuben Hilfred's backstory, as well as a bit of the royal family. No matter who he writes about, Michael J Sullivan quickly establishes them as someone the reader loves and roots for.
Also, I loved the little foreshadowing jokes about dragons and Percepliquis :)
I can't wait to see what future books in the series explore...and I can't wait until the next one is released!
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
I thoroughly enjoyed the first book in this prequel series and was not disappointed by the second one! More interesting characters were introduced as well as an overarching plotline that obviously spans several books. The violence, while definitely evident, is handled simply and without much gore, making it an excellent read for my sensitive imagination. The characters are complex and multi-faceted, which I love. The plot is driving without being predictable. I am in love with this series!
I really loved this one! Definitely my favorite of the Sullivan novels so far! Cannot wait for the next one!
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
fast-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:
Yes
adventurous
dark
funny
fast-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
This felt like being in Riyria Revelations again, unlike the last one which felt like a mostly unnecessary prequel. Indeed, a character in this book summarized the whole plot thread from Gwen's POV which made those chapters from the Crown Tower doubly unnecessary.
We get a new POV in this one who I grew pretty attached to, and that is Reuben Hilfred -- and I loved how Sullivan withheld the Hilfred name for a little while so we got to see this bumbling, depressed youth for a little bit and not know who he would become later. I loved Reuben's arc in this one, and I'll always be sap for the earnest, shy, unconfident youth who acts heroically. Much of his POV was quite touching, as was Rose's brief POV as she fell for Reuben in her innocent way.
I very much enjoyed seeing the origin of how Albert Winslow came to work for Riyria, and I liked being back from the start in a comfortable friendship between Hadrian and Royce--but Sullivan still had them feel like new friends still learning each other, so that was very well done.
I have a pretty strong personal preference against knowing who the plotting villains are as we follow their secret scheming play out, so the prequel format hurt my enjoyment of a chunk of this one around Saldur/Braga and the conspiracy to kill the king. That being said, I think with that strike against the book by default, it beat my expectations coming out of the last book and had me itching to pick the book up and continue whenever I wasn't reading.
We get a new POV in this one who I grew pretty attached to, and that is Reuben Hilfred -- and I loved how Sullivan withheld the Hilfred name for a little while so we got to see this bumbling, depressed youth for a little bit and not know who he would become later. I loved Reuben's arc in this one, and I'll always be sap for the earnest, shy, unconfident youth who acts heroically. Much of his POV was quite touching, as was Rose's brief POV as she fell for Reuben in her innocent way.
I very much enjoyed seeing the origin of how Albert Winslow came to work for Riyria, and I liked being back from the start in a comfortable friendship between Hadrian and Royce--but Sullivan still had them feel like new friends still learning each other, so that was very well done.
I have a pretty strong personal preference against knowing who the plotting villains are as we follow their secret scheming play out, so the prequel format hurt my enjoyment of a chunk of this one around Saldur/Braga and the conspiracy to kill the king. That being said, I think with that strike against the book by default, it beat my expectations coming out of the last book and had me itching to pick the book up and continue whenever I wasn't reading.
Loved the character development and insights. It was a little confusing where at the beginning of the book is someone we've never been introduced to before, but it all worked out. It got a little graphic in the violence this time around.