Scan barcode
yodamom's review against another edition
4.0
Audiobook- Excellent narrator. Strong story with fully developed characters. The women in this book are not the meek sit aside types. :D
reader4evr's review against another edition
3.0
I am not a big fantasy fan but I enjoyed this. I did feel it was kind of long (hey, I'm a 250ish kind of reader lol) and there were a TON of characters.
The story had me from the beginning with a great 1st line. I really liked the Saf, the main character but I really liked her best friend Iseult. There was romance in here but it wasn't in your face romance.
I'm not sure if I will read on in the series (especially since I'm guessing it won't be out until next year) but I will definitely have it in my collection to recommend it to students!
The story had me from the beginning with a great 1st line. I really liked the Saf, the main character but I really liked her best friend Iseult. There was romance in here but it wasn't in your face romance.
I'm not sure if I will read on in the series (especially since I'm guessing it won't be out until next year) but I will definitely have it in my collection to recommend it to students!
silver_lining_in_a_book's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
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? Yes
4.75
It wasn’t freedom she wanted. It was belief in something—a prize big enough to run for and to fight for and to keep on reaching toward no matter what.
I am always somewhat hesitant to pick up older YA fantasy books due to the overuse of tropes such as not-like-other-girls, insta-love, women-hating main female protagonists, chosen-one, etc. However, something about this book just worked for me so so much. I really enjoyed reading this book and found the audiobook to stand-out particularly in my mind due to the narrator's use of different tones and accents in her reading - honestly, one of my favourite audiobooks though I can definitely see why it may well not work for other people.
A brief summary of my thoughts on the different aspects of this book:
- Plot: very fast-paced and engaging! I found it difficult to predict what would happen next and was constantly looking forward to learning more about the world and exploring whatever place we would go to next
- Characters: easily my favourite part of this book, I loved all the characters and enjoyed all the POVs equally, in fact, I would even be open to reading from more different perspectives
- Writing: again, really good and straight-forward, I did not find it to be over-the-top and would work equally well for younger and older readers
- Romance: somewhat obvious and insta-lovey but I'm a sucker for it so I cannot complain
- World-building: I know I am somewhat in the minority here, but I actually really enjoyed it. I think this was very much a case of show-and-not-tell because it took me a while to piece together different parts of this world, even though it is in no way complete in my mind yet. I cannot wait to pick up the next book!
- Friendship: fabulous! Exactly what I wanted - this book is like a better, more magical version of the Changeling series.
Overall, I loved this a lot more than I expected!
letsbebookfriends's review against another edition
4.0
Sisterhood over Romance!
I really enjoyed this. I agree with some reviewers that you are just kind of dropped into this world (a witchery guide and map in the front of the book would be really helpful), but after 15% of the way into the book you don't really care because its pretty good.
The relationships! The plotting and scheming! The mysteries! The myths!
Waiting for book 2 is going to suck eggs.
Plus, I have a ship for this series already, and I know its probably going to take the entire series to work out. Sooooo I'm already emotionally invested at this point.....don't judge me.
I really enjoyed this. I agree with some reviewers that you are just kind of dropped into this world (a witchery guide and map in the front of the book would be really helpful), but after 15% of the way into the book you don't really care because its pretty good.
The relationships! The plotting and scheming! The mysteries! The myths!
Waiting for book 2 is going to suck eggs.
Plus, I have a ship for this series already, and I know its probably going to take the entire series to work out. Sooooo I'm already emotionally invested at this point.....don't judge me.
dunder_mifflin's review against another edition
4.0
I really, really wanted to give this 5 stars, but I have to be honest, I had too many problems to actually give it that rating, no matter how much I'd like to.
1. 'Cleaving' seemed to be an important part of the novel. We see it occur throughout, and the people who cleave are obviously dangerous, but that's as much as we know. I thought maybe, by the end, that I was just slow to understand it, or that that I had just missed whatever explanation there was. But then I googled it, and found quite a few others who were just as confused as I was. I mean, sure, maybe it's vague on purpose and more information will be released on it later on in the series, but it just meant that I got a little confused whenever there was a cleaving scene.
2. Safi/Merik had no build up whatsoever. From both of their sides it was pretty much just "oh wow I'm so attracted to him/her but I hate him/her but I can't hate him/her because he/she's hot" and it just seemed that they had no development at all together. Which is quite sad, actually, because I think with a decent amount of build up, at least, I wouldn't have hated the ship so much. I wouldn't be bothered if they were just attracted to each other and that was that, but it's the fact that the romance is forced from that alone, and it's just, ugh.
3. I got confused about the world and the people in it so many times throughout the book. Like, there were all these different kingdoms and different titles that people held and yet there wasn't enough explanation about what title meant what and who was above who, and who was part of which empire and which empire was which because it just wasn't developed enough.
So these were my three biggest complaints, although I really did enjoy the book despite these - it was captivating and I sped through it, wanting more. I saw a lot of things coming, I won't lie, but it was a fun read anyway, and I often don't mind seeing what's coming, which was true with this book. Iseult was an amazing character, as was Aeduan, and I'm really excited to see how their relationship plays out, and Evrane was awesome too. I liked the others too, but these three just stood out to me. Also, the friendships are a+++ especially between Iseult and Safi. All in all it was a good read and I'd recommend it, just be prepared for a bit of confusion and insta-love.
1. 'Cleaving' seemed to be an important part of the novel. We see it occur throughout, and the people who cleave are obviously dangerous, but that's as much as we know. I thought maybe, by the end, that I was just slow to understand it, or that that I had just missed whatever explanation there was. But then I googled it, and found quite a few others who were just as confused as I was. I mean, sure, maybe it's vague on purpose and more information will be released on it later on in the series, but it just meant that I got a little confused whenever there was a cleaving scene.
2. Safi/Merik had no build up whatsoever. From both of their sides it was pretty much just "oh wow I'm so attracted to him/her but I hate him/her but I can't hate him/her because he/she's hot" and it just seemed that they had no development at all together. Which is quite sad, actually, because I think with a decent amount of build up, at least, I wouldn't have hated the ship so much. I wouldn't be bothered if they were just attracted to each other and that was that, but it's the fact that the romance is forced from that alone, and it's just, ugh.
3. I got confused about the world and the people in it so many times throughout the book. Like, there were all these different kingdoms and different titles that people held and yet there wasn't enough explanation about what title meant what and who was above who, and who was part of which empire and which empire was which because it just wasn't developed enough.
So these were my three biggest complaints, although I really did enjoy the book despite these - it was captivating and I sped through it, wanting more. I saw a lot of things coming, I won't lie, but it was a fun read anyway, and I often don't mind seeing what's coming, which was true with this book. Iseult was an amazing character, as was Aeduan, and I'm really excited to see how their relationship plays out, and Evrane was awesome too. I liked the others too, but these three just stood out to me. Also, the friendships are a+++ especially between Iseult and Safi. All in all it was a good read and I'd recommend it, just be prepared for a bit of confusion and insta-love.
c0uldyimagine's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
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? Yes
5.0
tencutepuppies's review against another edition
4.0
(3.5) This book is definitely not for everyone, as I can see how the general lack of worldbuilding in the beginning could turn people off. I will say that I was confused for a good seventy-five pages in about everything other than Safi and Iseult’s relationship and the way they interacted. That was very clear, which makes sense because they are the central part of the book.
Frankly, in this case, I can look past a bunch of names and places being thrown at me out of the blue with no prior knowledge. The characterization makes up for it. I wasn’t immediately hooked, but it did get a lot better with the addition of Aeduan, who was instantly very interesting.
Safi...was not my favorite. I don’t have much to say about her, honestly. She was struggling with the repercussions of her brash, sometimes downright selfish, actions and on paper that sounds like it would make for an interesting character. But something about the execution didn’t really connect with me. She’s cool to read about, but only because she’s the main character.
Iseult, on the other hand, connected with me immediately. She’s quieter, more calculating. She doesn’t show all of her cards. Girls like her are the ones I’m most often drawn to in stories because you never know what she might do next. My favorite part of hers was in the Nomatski tribal group with her mom and seeing her jealousy as she realizes that she’s been replaced by another better girl. The whole cult aspect of the Purists with Corlant was really well done too. I felt the horror Iseult felt when they were going to sacrifice her.
Merik, I don’t really care about. He’s just neutral. There was not much in his favor that made him more interesting than the girls besides his struggle with his cruel sister Vivia, who is also vying for the throne. I would much rather see her POV than his, although I do think he is so brave for willing to lay down his life so that his people can finally be fed. He’s not a bad character, it’s just the other three characters outshone him. I also found his and Safi’s romance to be kind of rushed. They didn’t have that many bonding scenes before they were getting all mushy gushy and making out, so it felt a little fast.
We didn’t get to see much of Aeduan and how his mind works, but I am excited to get more of him in the later books. By the end, I could already tell he and Iseult are going to be good. “Trust me as if my soul were yours”? Uhhh yeah. Ruin me please.
All in all, I think this was a good start that laid the foundations for what is going to happen later. I think that foundation-laying is kind of what was its downfall; it’s like it was just getting started at the end. Not to say that the story was boring or that nothing happened, because there was near-constant action. It just wasn’t anything that felt hugely consequential until the end.
I’ll definitely be reading the rest of the series because I’ve heard it only gets better from here and I believe it.
Frankly, in this case, I can look past a bunch of names and places being thrown at me out of the blue with no prior knowledge. The characterization makes up for it. I wasn’t immediately hooked, but it did get a lot better with the addition of Aeduan, who was instantly very interesting.
Safi...was not my favorite. I don’t have much to say about her, honestly. She was struggling with the repercussions of her brash, sometimes downright selfish, actions and on paper that sounds like it would make for an interesting character. But something about the execution didn’t really connect with me. She’s cool to read about, but only because she’s the main character.
Iseult, on the other hand, connected with me immediately. She’s quieter, more calculating. She doesn’t show all of her cards. Girls like her are the ones I’m most often drawn to in stories because you never know what she might do next. My favorite part of hers was in the Nomatski tribal group with her mom and seeing her jealousy as she realizes that she’s been replaced by another better girl. The whole cult aspect of the Purists with Corlant was really well done too. I felt the horror Iseult felt when they were going to sacrifice her.
Merik, I don’t really care about. He’s just neutral. There was not much in his favor that made him more interesting than the girls besides his struggle with his cruel sister Vivia, who is also vying for the throne. I would much rather see her POV than his, although I do think he is so brave for willing to lay down his life so that his people can finally be fed. He’s not a bad character, it’s just the other three characters outshone him. I also found his and Safi’s romance to be kind of rushed. They didn’t have that many bonding scenes before they were getting all mushy gushy and making out, so it felt a little fast.
We didn’t get to see much of Aeduan and how his mind works, but I am excited to get more of him in the later books. By the end, I could already tell he and Iseult are going to be good. “Trust me as if my soul were yours”? Uhhh yeah. Ruin me please.
All in all, I think this was a good start that laid the foundations for what is going to happen later. I think that foundation-laying is kind of what was its downfall; it’s like it was just getting started at the end. Not to say that the story was boring or that nothing happened, because there was near-constant action. It just wasn’t anything that felt hugely consequential until the end.
I’ll definitely be reading the rest of the series because I’ve heard it only gets better from here and I believe it.
kishma_'s review against another edition
2.0
Concept was great and intriguing but it didn't really click with me... I'm probably not going to continue with this series.