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4.26 AVERAGE
4.26 AVERAGE
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
It's so daaaark, but I really liked this story despite being dark, the character growth was perfect, and the hook and the end...! I need to know what happened next, and I need to know now! XD
This review contains potential triggers (violence) and mild spoilers.
My first thought: Royce, Royce, my dearly beloved Royce…
I honestly thought I was as invested in the characters as I possibly could be, when I finished The crown tower. I was wrong. I was very, very wrong. Sure, Hadrian might be cool and badass and all, with his swords, and his close quarter battle skills… but then there’s Royce. Brutal, cranky, bloodthirsty Royce.
And bloodthirsty he is. In the first book he seemed to be utterly unacquainted with the phenomenon “emotion”, but in The rose and the thorn he captures his victims, ties them up against stone fountains, and mutilates and then brutally murders them – publicly, for everyone to see.
“I don’t care who rules. I don’t care about your petty kings and silly bishops. This is bigger than all that. You hurt Gwen—nearly killed her. You beat the woman that I … that I … you know what? Less talk, more screaming.”
Royce began carving his own sculpture.
It is exactly the display of I-don’t-give-a-rat’s-ass Royce in The crown tower that makes his emotional investment in The rose and the thorn so much more powerful. And seeing him this ruthless, and this messed up, leaving an excess of blood trails and dead corpses wherever he goes, makes me want to grab him in my arms and hug him until he’s about to kill me. Which I have no doubt he’d do, but it’d be worth it. In The crown tower, I cared for Royce because he was badass and pretty much merciless to whomever crossed him; in The rose and the thorn, he was even more murderous – but he was also vulnerable in a way that I would never have expected. It might be that contrast that makes him such an interesting and fleshed-out character.
I can’t tell you how much I admire Sullivan’s writing style. There’s something that impacts me so much that sometimes I just had to close the book and let Royce’s story sink in. Maybe it’s the dramatic visuals of the blood and the corpses in my head (yes, I picture everything as a movie scene) that contrast brightly with Sullivan’s no-nonsense use of language. Maybe that’s his power, and he uses it wisely.
Anyway. Enough drooling overRoyce the characters. Let’s discuss the plotting here, because the storyline is just outstanding. For an author who claims not to plan his books too far in advance, he has managed to piece together a remarkable puzzle. Even something simple as horse theft, in the very beginning of the book, turns out to carry importance (and makes Royce look even more badass and attractive, heehee) and to play a role in the plot.
Not to mention the witty dialogues that were as smooth as a newborn microwave; I'm not lying when I say that I laughed aloud once or twice, and the people who know my reading habits, know how rare that is.
At first, I have to admit, I couldn’t quite wrap my head around all the names of the royal family – which I think is a flaw in many books. However, as I kept reading, I found out that not all of them were of equal importance, and that’s when the story became way easier to keep track of. I don’t naturally care about politics in novels, so I can’t say I could really care about what happened to the king and his family.
Wrapping up, I really can’t give this book anything lower than 5 stars – it doesn’t deserve any less, and I hope the other books in the Chronicles series will turn out to be just as good. I’ll soon find out. Might just start #3 tomorrow (in case you hadn’t noticed, I really can’t get enough of Royce).
My first thought: Royce, Royce, my dearly beloved Royce…
I honestly thought I was as invested in the characters as I possibly could be, when I finished The crown tower. I was wrong. I was very, very wrong. Sure, Hadrian might be cool and badass and all, with his swords, and his close quarter battle skills… but then there’s Royce. Brutal, cranky, bloodthirsty Royce.
And bloodthirsty he is. In the first book he seemed to be utterly unacquainted with the phenomenon “emotion”, but in The rose and the thorn he captures his victims, ties them up against stone fountains, and mutilates and then brutally murders them – publicly, for everyone to see.
“I don’t care who rules. I don’t care about your petty kings and silly bishops. This is bigger than all that. You hurt Gwen—nearly killed her. You beat the woman that I … that I … you know what? Less talk, more screaming.”
Royce began carving his own sculpture.
It is exactly the display of I-don’t-give-a-rat’s-ass Royce in The crown tower that makes his emotional investment in The rose and the thorn so much more powerful. And seeing him this ruthless, and this messed up, leaving an excess of blood trails and dead corpses wherever he goes, makes me want to grab him in my arms and hug him until he’s about to kill me. Which I have no doubt he’d do, but it’d be worth it. In The crown tower, I cared for Royce because he was badass and pretty much merciless to whomever crossed him; in The rose and the thorn, he was even more murderous – but he was also vulnerable in a way that I would never have expected. It might be that contrast that makes him such an interesting and fleshed-out character.
I can’t tell you how much I admire Sullivan’s writing style. There’s something that impacts me so much that sometimes I just had to close the book and let Royce’s story sink in. Maybe it’s the dramatic visuals of the blood and the corpses in my head (yes, I picture everything as a movie scene) that contrast brightly with Sullivan’s no-nonsense use of language. Maybe that’s his power, and he uses it wisely.
Anyway. Enough drooling over
Not to mention the witty dialogues that were as smooth as a newborn microwave; I'm not lying when I say that I laughed aloud once or twice, and the people who know my reading habits, know how rare that is.
At first, I have to admit, I couldn’t quite wrap my head around all the names of the royal family – which I think is a flaw in many books. However, as I kept reading, I found out that not all of them were of equal importance, and that’s when the story became way easier to keep track of. I don’t naturally care about politics in novels, so I can’t say I could really care about what happened to the king and his family.
Wrapping up, I really can’t give this book anything lower than 5 stars – it doesn’t deserve any less, and I hope the other books in the Chronicles series will turn out to be just as good. I’ll soon find out. Might just start #3 tomorrow (in case you hadn’t noticed, I really can’t get enough of Royce).
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Entertaining - love their creative problem solving
Still my new favorite fantasy series, still something I recommend over and over. Now that I've filled in the gaps before "Theft of Swords," I need to reread the original series. In fact, reading "The Crown Tower" and "The Rose and the Thorn" makes me want to revisit those stories all over again! Keep writing, Mr. Sullivan and I will certainly keep reading!