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koistyfishy's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
This book's writing is absolutely phenomenal. If you are the type of person that adores a high fantasy, that has writing and descriptions, that are almost lyrical and prosaic, this is the book for you! As a result, it did take a little bit of time to get into as it can be quite metaphorical; but in my wildest dreams, this is the type of English I wish I could write!
This is a 3rd-person narrative book that follows Elynor and Sharek. Elynor is a wealthy heiress who has just lost her father as he was recently murdered. She wants vengeance for this murder, so she hires Sharek to help accomplish this task. Sharek is one of the "Blessed", which means that he has an innate, almost magical skill to complete certain tasks/actions. Sharek is "Blessed" with killing. Thrust together in trying to achieve retribution, the two of them uncover an even bigger plot filled with political secrets, betrayals, and possibly war.
This book has all the elements I love in Fantasy. There is a slight dusting of romance plot (that is pretty tame and on the YA level as there isn't much steam/spice - yet). There are elements of a journey, fantastic, and phenomenal world-building that is rich with history, lore and religion. You can clearly feel how much care and planning Renee Dugan did to piece all these aspects together. This story does however feel like the foundation and it was missing that extra oomph it needed to tip into AMAZING. I felt it ended too soon as not much happens really in the plot. I am not too upset with this though as it seems like this book's focus is to introduce us to Elynor and Sharek, as very much of the book is character development.
Both of them are dealing with quite a lot of internal trauma that has brought them to the situation where they are now. Elynor is distraught, desperate and on her last resort. She doesn't know what she wants to do except punish the person who took the only person in her life away from her. She deals with the grief and the death of her father throughout the entire book. You can see that she's just a girl that's been pushed into this situation that she's not necessarily ready for. She is sometimes selfish, sometimes even irrational. She's quick to anger, but through contemplation and reflection on her actions, she does grow and shows promise. The development of how she starts to where she was at the end of the book was really beautiful.
Sharek is at the end of his rope. He is tired of being used and abused as nothing but a tool to death. He is tired of being shrouded by death. He feels almost cursed by his innate ability to kill, and he does struggle quite a lot with his internal mental health and what it would mean if he just ended it all. He is a man of very few words, but I think this is because no one has ever really taken the time to know him and treat him as a person, except for Elynor. With her, he is cute, compassionate, and considerate. This is the slowest of slow burns as we haven't yet seen the payoff but we know this is the direction they are heading.
I am going to pick up the second book when this comes out purely because of how beautiful the writing is. I think that Renee Dugan has done a fantastic job and written an elegantly captivating story.
I would recommend this book if you like:
▶ Beautiful Writing
▶ Strong Worldbuilding
▶ Mostly Character Driven Story
▶ Elements of a Journey
This is a 3rd-person narrative book that follows Elynor and Sharek. Elynor is a wealthy heiress who has just lost her father as he was recently murdered. She wants vengeance for this murder, so she hires Sharek to help accomplish this task. Sharek is one of the "Blessed", which means that he has an innate, almost magical skill to complete certain tasks/actions. Sharek is "Blessed" with killing. Thrust together in trying to achieve retribution, the two of them uncover an even bigger plot filled with political secrets, betrayals, and possibly war.
This book has all the elements I love in Fantasy. There is a slight dusting of romance plot (that is pretty tame and on the YA level as there isn't much steam/spice - yet). There are elements of a journey, fantastic, and phenomenal world-building that is rich with history, lore and religion. You can clearly feel how much care and planning Renee Dugan did to piece all these aspects together. This story does however feel like the foundation and it was missing that extra oomph it needed to tip into AMAZING. I felt it ended too soon as not much happens really in the plot. I am not too upset with this though as it seems like this book's focus is to introduce us to Elynor and Sharek, as very much of the book is character development.
Both of them are dealing with quite a lot of internal trauma that has brought them to the situation where they are now. Elynor is distraught, desperate and on her last resort. She doesn't know what she wants to do except punish the person who took the only person in her life away from her. She deals with the grief and the death of her father throughout the entire book. You can see that she's just a girl that's been pushed into this situation that she's not necessarily ready for. She is sometimes selfish, sometimes even irrational. She's quick to anger, but through contemplation and reflection on her actions, she does grow and shows promise. The development of how she starts to where she was at the end of the book was really beautiful.
Sharek is at the end of his rope. He is tired of being used and abused as nothing but a tool to death. He is tired of being shrouded by death. He feels almost cursed by his innate ability to kill, and he does struggle quite a lot with his internal mental health and what it would mean if he just ended it all. He is a man of very few words, but I think this is because no one has ever really taken the time to know him and treat him as a person, except for Elynor. With her, he is cute, compassionate, and considerate. This is the slowest of slow burns as we haven't yet seen the payoff but we know this is the direction they are heading.
I am going to pick up the second book when this comes out purely because of how beautiful the writing is. I think that Renee Dugan has done a fantastic job and written an elegantly captivating story.
I would recommend this book if you like:
▶ Beautiful Writing
▶ Strong Worldbuilding
▶ Mostly Character Driven Story
▶ Elements of a Journey
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Murder, Death of parent, Grief, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Slavery and Violence
Minor: War and Child death
sbnita's review
adventurous
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
It was a fun light read for a fantasy. As usual, Renee's writing style blows my mind at times and it's very ebjoyable. The characters were easy enough to love and the premise was interesting.
It reminded me both if Fabel by Adrienne Young and Graceling by Kristin Cashore.
I missed what I've had with other books by Dugan I think, that love at first sight feel when I start reading her other stories, but I think lighthearted fantasy is a hard genre to come across and fitted perfectly there and in the easy to read category, too, so I'd recommend it :)
It reminded me both if Fabel by Adrienne Young and Graceling by Kristin Cashore.
I missed what I've had with other books by Dugan I think, that love at first sight feel when I start reading her other stories, but I think lighthearted fantasy is a hard genre to come across and fitted perfectly there and in the easy to read category, too, so I'd recommend it :)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Death of parent, Blood, Religious bigotry, Suicidal thoughts, Murder, and Violence
Minor: War and Slavery
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