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amybraunauthor's review against another edition
4.0
The sequel to THE BRIGHT & THE PALE is an emotional roller coaster, but one that will surely resonate with readers who enjoy morally grey/villainous characters.
Much of the book follows Valeria as she becomes a champion, a general, and a veritable goddess as she battles to save her people and topple both czars and gods. Valeria is a complex character. She’s always been fairly intense, but it moved up a whole new level as Kosci continued to manipulate her. On the one hand, I understood why her temper rose the way it did, though part of me wished she’d tried a little harder to resist the lure of power. Still, her actions were understandable for the most part, and I think she remained fairly sympathetic.
I liked many of the side characters, including the new addition, Bataar. I wished he’d had more to do because he was a lot of fun. Valeria had important bonds with all of her friends and family, though her romance with Alik was a lot more complex. I appreciated his constant fighting for her, defying her until she saw reason, and loved how their bond was a challenging one.
The book was also packed with action scenes. They were visceral, inventive, and exciting. It was cinematic and immersive and made for an entertaining read.
This series is underrated, but I think it’s a solid choice for any reader who loves villain origin stories and dark fantasy. The writing is dramatic and the prose is good, and it has plenty of drama and emotional moments to draw in a reader. Check it out if it appeals to you!
Much of the book follows Valeria as she becomes a champion, a general, and a veritable goddess as she battles to save her people and topple both czars and gods. Valeria is a complex character. She’s always been fairly intense, but it moved up a whole new level as Kosci continued to manipulate her. On the one hand, I understood why her temper rose the way it did, though part of me wished she’d tried a little harder to resist the lure of power. Still, her actions were understandable for the most part, and I think she remained fairly sympathetic.
I liked many of the side characters, including the new addition, Bataar. I wished he’d had more to do because he was a lot of fun. Valeria had important bonds with all of her friends and family, though her romance with Alik was a lot more complex. I appreciated his constant fighting for her, defying her until she saw reason, and loved how their bond was a challenging one.
The book was also packed with action scenes. They were visceral, inventive, and exciting. It was cinematic and immersive and made for an entertaining read.
This series is underrated, but I think it’s a solid choice for any reader who loves villain origin stories and dark fantasy. The writing is dramatic and the prose is good, and it has plenty of drama and emotional moments to draw in a reader. Check it out if it appeals to you!
livinliterary's review
4.0
I had every intention of giving it a five star rating until I read the last chapter. It is surprising to me how a few final pages can so intensely impact my feelings of an entire book.
librarian343's review
slow-paced
3.0
I first read book 1 of this series last year for Polarthon. I found the book to be just okay. I reread book 1 and continued the series as part of my attempt to read all of my special edition books. While I still thing the story was mostly okay, I think the pay off for the romance was pretty well done and worth the read. I did appreciate the. folktale type story telling. I will probably read more from this author in the future.
booklover160's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars rounded down this time.
I was looking forward to this one for a few reasons; one, I was hoping that Val and Kosci would maybe have a romance? Two, I wanted to see Val delve into the dark side and become a villain, and three, I was curious to see how this ended.
While Val and Kosci didn't have a thing, there is a new player introduced to make a mild love triangle. And dang, I really liked him. Even more than Alik tbh... new guy supported Valeria through everything, he was devoted and loyal. I wish Alik had tried to explain more to Val when he "betrayed" her. I do like that Alik and Val were endgame though. Their love story was more believable in this one than the first one.
As for two, I was disappointed because Val was so wishy-washy. She would give in to her powers and got the dirty work done, but then double back and weakly claim she was a good girl. There's no reason a savior can't be a bad guy. I just wanted more darkness from her!
And three... well the ending wasn't bad. But holy heck did it wrap up FAST. I had like 15 pages left in the book and she still hadn't even seen Ladislaw on the battlefield???? Then BOOM, shit happens, it's over. It wasn't bad, but when I spent this whooooole book waiting for this confrontation, it was sad. Also, Yuri's part was just not well explained. Like I didn't get a good feeling as to why he'd. A lot of the plot seems to just be convenient for the characters. Also like Alik in the end .
It's worth the read, but wasn't worth the wait for me. If I read both of them back to back, I'm sure I'd have different opinions.
I was looking forward to this one for a few reasons; one, I was hoping that Val and Kosci would maybe have a romance? Two, I wanted to see Val delve into the dark side and become a villain, and three, I was curious to see how this ended.
While Val and Kosci didn't have a thing, there is a new player introduced to make a mild love triangle. And dang, I really liked him. Even more than Alik tbh... new guy supported Valeria through everything, he was devoted and loyal. I wish Alik had tried to explain more to Val when he "betrayed" her. I do like that Alik and Val were endgame though. Their love story was more believable in this one than the first one.
As for two, I was disappointed because Val was so wishy-washy. She would give in to her powers and got the dirty work done, but then double back and weakly claim she was a good girl. There's no reason a savior can't be a bad guy. I just wanted more darkness from her!
And three... well the ending wasn't bad. But holy heck did it wrap up FAST. I had like 15 pages left in the book and she still hadn't even seen Ladislaw on the battlefield???? Then BOOM, shit happens, it's over. It wasn't bad, but when I spent this whooooole book waiting for this confrontation, it was sad. Also, Yuri's part was just not well explained. Like I didn't get a good feeling as to why he'd
Spoiler
switch sides aND TRY TO KILL HIS DAD???? Like I was shocked that YURI came out of no where to land a blow on his dad. That was the only indication I saw that he thought his dad was a bad guy. Not the fact that he would PUT PEOPLE IN CONCENTRATION CAMPS. Like he did this because his dad wouldn't try to save him. Boo freakin hoo dude. AND NOW HE'S THE RULER?Spoiler
that he convinced Temujin to give Chinua up for exactly what Val offered him in the first place? Why did he change his mind now? He wasn't going to before, but now when it's most convenient, he lets her go and helps.... suuuuureIt's worth the read, but wasn't worth the wait for me. If I read both of them back to back, I'm sure I'd have different opinions.
macarooney42's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
sarahsbooklife's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
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
4.5
A really good conclusion to this duology! 👏 I loved reading about Valeria's decent into madness, the shift from subtly unhingedness to outright madness was so well done too I barely noticed to start with.
Honestly, this was such a good duology and I loved reading it!
Honestly, this was such a good duology and I loved reading it!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Death, Violence, Blood, and War
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Torture
Minor: Genocide, Vomit, Gaslighting, Gore, and Grief
skylarmarija's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0