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4.06 AVERAGE
4.06 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
slow-paced
adventurous
dark
hopeful
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
Rating this book is hard because I feel like I read two different books.
The first half of the book is focused on the characters dealing with their turmoil from the events of book one. While it is well written it did nothing to move the plot forward and really wasn't what I was expecting after the grand adventure that was book one. I also found myself skimming the additional POV's so I could get back to Hallie and Kase.
The second half of the book however was excellent! We get back to adventure, danger, plot, and the will they wont they slow burn romance! I loved both Hallie and Kase's POV's! They are so much fun, especially when they are out gallivanting together and trying to deny there very obvious feeling for each other.
If you loved Cities of Smoke and Starlight then this is a must read! Book 2 does leave us on a bit of a cliffhanger and I can't wait to see what happens next.
Tropes:
The first half of the book is focused on the characters dealing with their turmoil from the events of book one. While it is well written it did nothing to move the plot forward and really wasn't what I was expecting after the grand adventure that was book one. I also found myself skimming the additional POV's so I could get back to Hallie and Kase.
The second half of the book however was excellent! We get back to adventure, danger, plot, and the will they wont they slow burn romance! I loved both Hallie and Kase's POV's! They are so much fun, especially when they are out gallivanting together and trying to deny there very obvious feeling for each other.
If you loved Cities of Smoke and Starlight then this is a must read! Book 2 does leave us on a bit of a cliffhanger and I can't wait to see what happens next.
Tropes:
Earnest delivers in this great sequel to an incredible debut (Cities)! The characters are relatable in a world that welcomes some familiarity, courtesy of the First Earth element, with magic and fantasy. I devoured it in one sitting and have the delicious post-read coma that comes from a good book. Can't wait to read it again and soak in details and am already excited for book 3.
I was lucky enough to win a giveaway from the author and read Realms before the release date. Thanks for the opportunity, Alli!
I was lucky enough to win a giveaway from the author and read Realms before the release date. Thanks for the opportunity, Alli!
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
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:
N/A
This series has caught me by surprise and never let go. I read the first one with low expectations and this one I was weary going into. Sequels never hit the same as the first. I was so wrong with this series. The story is beautiful and has so many Easter eggs if you know what to look for. The world is original but feels familiar to the reader. The adding of words and root words from languages we have now to ground it in reality of it being post-Earth is *chef's kiss*. I'm so excited for the next installment.
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
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
adventurous
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Okay... how to organise my thoughts on Realms...
I didn't like it as much as the first one. I feel like that's the easiest way to start this and it pains me to give this such a low rating but the more I think about it the more issues I have with it.
In the end, I didn't dislike it as much as I was worried I would, but I wasn't as gripped by the narrative as I had been through Cities. I think a big thing that affected my reading was a mix of the length and the pacing, it felt a lot slower than Cities did, and slow in the sense that, for half the book, it didn't feel like much of anything was happening but at the same time there was so much being thrown at me that I keep remembering things that were mentioned and never brought up again.
The first hundred or so pages were really strong, I managed to breeze through those because it had so many interesting things going on. Hallie and Kase are emotionally and mentally going through the aftermath of the last quest, Hallie gets introduced to Kase's world of elites and political appearances--she learns about his relationship with his father and just generally learns a lot more about him and how he is the way he is--and it's so interesting to see her thought processes and how she feels so out of place in this society meanwhile Kase feels like he needs her there. The first little bit also starts establishing Jove as a really strong character, a man suffering through the loss of one of his little brothers, through alcoholism and addiction and trying to break out of that but feeling like he can't. There's the beginnings of really good commentary surrounding the treatment of refugees and the potential for exploration about what it means to integrate into a city that doesn't want you to keep your culture and just ugh, the beginning had so much promise.
It really disappoints me that I had such a hard time getting through it. It really slowed down in the middle, I think because of how much Earnest tries to set up that weren't mentioned much in the beginning scenes nor in the previous book--not to mention things (like Ben) being all but forgotten about until the very end--and I think that hindered it a lot, to have that build up happening where it didn't fit. Plot kept moving, sure, Kase and Hallie were getting places, but it didn't feel like a whole lot happened with their characters or with the book's themes in this second act which I think is why it felt so slow.
The final act saved it from an even lower rating, it managed to bounce back both with character and relationship development but also with plot and having meaningful things happen. We got past the hurdle that was the slow-burn romance, it was starting to annoy me how little the characters were communicating, but they did eventually get over their hurdles and kiss and admit feelings!! I'm a little bugged that they'll be separated for who knows how long in the third book and Kase's jealousy issues were never resolved nor was Hallie having any sort of closure with Niels, but the kids are still cute, the characters definitely save the kind of lacklustre plot.
(And I'm sure addressing the jealousy and getting the closure will happen in the third book, it just concerns me that they split off with those issues that, knowing their characters, will make them think too much and I don't want to have to deal with forced conflict when they've just sorted themselves out, I really don't--and it still bugs me that Hallie not being able to draw because of trauma was mentioned a lot in the beginning and then basically never brought up again to the point that I swear Kase never found out; not to mention it was talked about so little that I forgot until right now that Hallie was missing fingers.)
Anyway, yeah, the first and third acts were really strong, really promising, but the second act was so weak that it really dragged everything else down unfortunately and while I will be continuing with the series, I stand by the fact that this book should have either been shorter, paced faster, or actually picked themes and concepts to focus on and develop instead of tossing everything in the pot--it happened with the worldbuilding in Cities, worldbuilding that felt a little non-existent in Realms, so I think just condensing ideas is something Earnest needs to work on--and this book will probably be my least favourite in the series even if I did like the relationship development going on more than I did the bulk of the plot.
I didn't like it as much as the first one. I feel like that's the easiest way to start this and it pains me to give this such a low rating but the more I think about it the more issues I have with it.
In the end, I didn't dislike it as much as I was worried I would, but I wasn't as gripped by the narrative as I had been through Cities. I think a big thing that affected my reading was a mix of the length and the pacing, it felt a lot slower than Cities did, and slow in the sense that, for half the book, it didn't feel like much of anything was happening but at the same time there was so much being thrown at me that I keep remembering things that were mentioned and never brought up again.
The first hundred or so pages were really strong, I managed to breeze through those because it had so many interesting things going on. Hallie and Kase are emotionally and mentally going through the aftermath of the last quest, Hallie gets introduced to Kase's world of elites and political appearances--she learns about his relationship with his father and just generally learns a lot more about him and how he is the way he is--and it's so interesting to see her thought processes and how she feels so out of place in this society meanwhile Kase feels like he needs her there. The first little bit also starts establishing Jove as a really strong character, a man suffering through the loss of one of his little brothers, through alcoholism and addiction and trying to break out of that but feeling like he can't. There's the beginnings of really good commentary surrounding the treatment of refugees and the potential for exploration about what it means to integrate into a city that doesn't want you to keep your culture and just ugh, the beginning had so much promise.
It really disappoints me that I had such a hard time getting through it. It really slowed down in the middle, I think because of how much Earnest tries to set up that weren't mentioned much in the beginning scenes nor in the previous book--not to mention things (like Ben) being all but forgotten about until the very end--and I think that hindered it a lot, to have that build up happening where it didn't fit. Plot kept moving, sure, Kase and Hallie were getting places, but it didn't feel like a whole lot happened with their characters or with the book's themes in this second act which I think is why it felt so slow.
The final act saved it from an even lower rating, it managed to bounce back both with character and relationship development but also with plot and having meaningful things happen. We got past the hurdle that was the slow-burn romance, it was starting to annoy me how little the characters were communicating, but they did eventually get over their hurdles and kiss and admit feelings!! I'm a little bugged that they'll be separated for who knows how long in the third book and Kase's jealousy issues were never resolved nor was Hallie having any sort of closure with Niels, but the kids are still cute, the characters definitely save the kind of lacklustre plot.
(And I'm sure addressing the jealousy and getting the closure will happen in the third book, it just concerns me that they split off with those issues that, knowing their characters, will make them think too much and I don't want to have to deal with forced conflict when they've just sorted themselves out, I really don't--and it still bugs me that Hallie not being able to draw because of trauma was mentioned a lot in the beginning and then basically never brought up again to the point that I swear Kase never found out; not to mention it was talked about so little that I forgot until right now that Hallie was missing fingers.)
Anyway, yeah, the first and third acts were really strong, really promising, but the second act was so weak that it really dragged everything else down unfortunately and while I will be continuing with the series, I stand by the fact that this book should have either been shorter, paced faster, or actually picked themes and concepts to focus on and develop instead of tossing everything in the pot--it happened with the worldbuilding in Cities, worldbuilding that felt a little non-existent in Realms, so I think just condensing ideas is something Earnest needs to work on--and this book will probably be my least favourite in the series even if I did like the relationship development going on more than I did the bulk of the plot.