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3.91 AVERAGE
3.91 AVERAGE
I bit all over the place (some plot points felt a bit underdeveloped to me in the lead up), but overall entertaining.
I only remembered half of the events referenced in the prologue and it was just downhill from there. Too many characters and no action from pages 50-90, where I have up and moved on.
The Hunger Games meets Harry Potter if Voldemort had won – that’s a rough description of the Dark Gifts series from Vic James, although there are several main characters instead of one. Tarnished City, the second book in the series, definitely kept my attention, though parts of it were hard to read. (Blood Fair, anyone, where the masses are encouraged to attack captive prisoners with weapons of their choosing until the prisoners die in agony?)
A few character development “surprises” I saw coming from book one, but the author did throw in plot twists I did not anticipate (like the deaths of my two favorite characters, both nonheroic and without much drama). There is less romance and more action than in book one – and on the whole I’d say it is better written.
I can’t say I’m looking forward to book three, but I will read it.
A few character development “surprises” I saw coming from book one, but the author did throw in plot twists I did not anticipate (like the deaths of my two favorite characters, both nonheroic and without much drama). There is less romance and more action than in book one – and on the whole I’d say it is better written.
I can’t say I’m looking forward to book three, but I will read it.
(3.5) This is another swift and action-packed installment! I'm very intrigued by the world of the Skilled and the Commoners, and James crafts some interesting characters, but I don't feel very connected to them or their world once I'm done with the books. They make for a rollicking read though and an unnerving version of today's tyranny: "Whittam wanted only to make their country strong again." I've heard that before :-(
A very enjoyable read and a great follow-up to "Gilded Cage"! I appreciated the plot reminders of what had happened in the first book as I often forget the details. Well-developed, nuanced characters and terrific writing make this book another page turner. I'm definitely hooked with this series and can't wait for the next book. Thanks to NetGalley and Random House for the ARC!
I love the plot idea, but the execution was severely lacking. The first book was entertaining, though choppily written. I had hoped this would have been remedied in the next book. Nope.
-Too many characters and told from too many perspectives. No emotional connection could be made with any character because you do not get to spend more than a handful of pages with anyone.
-Too much "telling" rather than showing.
-Poor world building, info-dumping only when it is convenient to the plot.
-Personal pet peeve: always saying each characters first and last name. Silyen Jardine. Bouda Matravers. Luke Hadley. Maybe if you focused on 3 characters instead of 30, the readers wouldn't need to be reminded who they are all the time.
-Uneven pacing. It definitely suffers from 2nd book syndrome. Nothing happens until the last 50 pages.
Disappointing. Won't be continuing this series.
-Too many characters and told from too many perspectives. No emotional connection could be made with any character because you do not get to spend more than a handful of pages with anyone.
-Too much "telling" rather than showing.
-Poor world building, info-dumping only when it is convenient to the plot.
-Personal pet peeve: always saying each characters first and last name. Silyen Jardine. Bouda Matravers. Luke Hadley. Maybe if you focused on 3 characters instead of 30, the readers wouldn't need to be reminded who they are all the time.
-Uneven pacing. It definitely suffers from 2nd book syndrome. Nothing happens until the last 50 pages.
Disappointing. Won't be continuing this series.
This is the second book in the Dark Gift trilogy by Vic James.
I enjoyed the first book in the series and this book equally as much. The author writes so well and has such a creative bent to this entire story-line. The character development is so good and realistic between the commoners and the Equals. Plus, it takes place in Great Britain and includes many real-life locations in this fantasy world.
If you like dark fantasy, this is a great book series for you. It is a very easy and fun read. BUT, you need to read the FIRST book in the series first. I cannot wait to read the third and final book which is already out (somehow I missed THIS book release).
Definite recommend!
I enjoyed the first book in the series and this book equally as much. The author writes so well and has such a creative bent to this entire story-line. The character development is so good and realistic between the commoners and the Equals. Plus, it takes place in Great Britain and includes many real-life locations in this fantasy world.
If you like dark fantasy, this is a great book series for you. It is a very easy and fun read. BUT, you need to read the FIRST book in the series first. I cannot wait to read the third and final book which is already out (somehow I missed THIS book release).
Definite recommend!
Dark and exciting, this was a great follow up to [b:Gilded Cage|30258320|Gilded Cage (Dark Gifts, #1)|Vic James|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1498595232s/30258320.jpg|46130512]. Even though their family has been torn apart, Luke and Abi continue to stay strong and try to fight against the injustice visited on them and also the unSkilled population at large. Abi in particular steps up and her character is much stronger and self-assured than in the first book.
Tarnished City was filled with surprises and twists and turns, making it an exciting read right to the end. The final chapter set the stage for what is sure to be an explosive conclusion in the final book of the trilogy, [b:Bright Ruin|33206899|Bright Ruin (Dark Gifts #3)|Vic James|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/book/50x75-a91bf249278a81aabab721ef782c4a74.png|53909011]. I will definitely be reading it as soon as it comes out.
Tarnished City was filled with surprises and twists and turns, making it an exciting read right to the end. The final chapter set the stage for what is sure to be an explosive conclusion in the final book of the trilogy, [b:Bright Ruin|33206899|Bright Ruin (Dark Gifts #3)|Vic James|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/book/50x75-a91bf249278a81aabab721ef782c4a74.png|53909011]. I will definitely be reading it as soon as it comes out.
3.5 stars. I didn't enjoy this one quite as much as the first, which may partly be due to the fact that the first book had the novelty of learning about this world and meeting the characters, but is also because I felt like a large chunk of this one in the middle moved quite slowly and was repetitive. There were lots of conversations talking about plans and schemes and then re-hashing what happened, and so many characters that it was really hard to keep track of who had done what where. (Seriously, a cast of characters list is MUCH NEEDED for this series! Also a map would be nice.) Interspersed between all these dialogue scenes were a few dramatic scenes, but they didn't usually build momentum for the plot; it felt like nothing had really changed from before the dramatic scene, and people just carried on having their secretive conversations where they plotted things.
Nevertheless, I enjoyed the beginning and ending sections of the story. Abi and Luke are both still pretty bland characters, but we get to see the story unfold from a number of POVs (in third-person voice) – a technique that I think serves the story well and keeps things interesting. Certain characters don't know about secrets that other characters have, so it's kind of like the reader is "in on it" because we get to see everything -- and yet, because of the oblique nature of the way certain POVs or scenes are written, we really don't know everything. "Good guys," "bad guys," and those in-between (*cough*Silyen*cough*) -- we get glimpses into a variety of perspectives (although Silyen's still remains cloaked in mystery and ambiguity).
Some plot twists I saw coming (), others I did not (). There was also some interesting character development (or perhaps just further character revelation?) with Gavar, which was good to see.
And as I commented in one of my updates as I was reading, this dystopian series feels very realistic in how it presents the obstacles to the rebels. The governing class is Skilled and the rebels are not, and their continued failure reflects their poor odds of winning this fight. Time and time again they are beaten by the Jardines and their allies. It's dark, there's no doubt about it -- this book is full of death (so many characters died in this one!), torture (mental and physical), and at times a sense of hopelessness pervading the rebel cause. But they keep on fighting, at times acquiring curious and unexpected allies. While Abi and Luke are, as I've said, quite boring as characters, it's easy to root for them to win against Whittam Jardine and his crew. I also found myself rooting for certain characters to join the "good guys", even when it seemed like it was a fruitless hope (*cough*Silyen*cough*).
I was also struck by echoes of socio-political issues we are facing in our current political climate – for example, references to controlling the narrative through the media and the truth being, not facts, but what people are persuaded to believe... sound familiar? A couple of quotes sum it up nicely:
"Abi had dared imagine that the Equals' version of history could be fought with the truth, but how could you do that when they were making it up as they went along, and shouting it over and over and over through the media? They had everything at their disposal: power, money, connections. They hardly even needed Skill."
And then several pages later:
"'Stupid girl,' he said. 'Truth isn't what happened, it's what people will believe happened.'"
I have to wonder how heavily the author was influenced by recent political events in the US... the themes seemed too clear at times to be coincidence.
Anyway, pick this series up if you are looking for a dark, thought-provoking dystopian fantasy series, but be prepared for this book in particular to be slow-moving in the middle, heavy in dialogue scenes, and chock full of political manoeuvring.
Nevertheless, I enjoyed the beginning and ending sections of the story. Abi and Luke are both still pretty bland characters, but we get to see the story unfold from a number of POVs (in third-person voice) – a technique that I think serves the story well and keeps things interesting. Certain characters don't know about secrets that other characters have, so it's kind of like the reader is "in on it" because we get to see everything -- and yet, because of the oblique nature of the way certain POVs or scenes are written, we really don't know everything. "Good guys," "bad guys," and those in-between (*cough*Silyen*cough*) -- we get glimpses into a variety of perspectives (although Silyen's still remains cloaked in mystery and ambiguity).
Some plot twists I saw coming (
Spoiler
I guessed partway through that Coira was Crovan's childSpoiler
Jenner's betrayal came totally out of left field, although since I never really "shipped" the romance with Abi, I wasn't upset about it. Still, hopefully in the third book we'll get his perspective on that, because right now the reader has no idea why he flipped sides. Is it as simple as the reason he gave to Abi?And as I commented in one of my updates as I was reading, this dystopian series feels very realistic in how it presents the obstacles to the rebels. The governing class is Skilled and the rebels are not, and their continued failure reflects their poor odds of winning this fight. Time and time again they are beaten by the Jardines and their allies. It's dark, there's no doubt about it -- this book is full of death (so many characters died in this one!), torture (mental and physical), and at times a sense of hopelessness pervading the rebel cause. But they keep on fighting, at times acquiring curious and unexpected allies. While Abi and Luke are, as I've said, quite boring as characters, it's easy to root for them to win against Whittam Jardine and his crew. I also found myself rooting for certain characters to join the "good guys", even when it seemed like it was a fruitless hope (*cough*Silyen*cough*).
I was also struck by echoes of socio-political issues we are facing in our current political climate – for example, references to controlling the narrative through the media and the truth being, not facts, but what people are persuaded to believe... sound familiar? A couple of quotes sum it up nicely:
"Abi had dared imagine that the Equals' version of history could be fought with the truth, but how could you do that when they were making it up as they went along, and shouting it over and over and over through the media? They had everything at their disposal: power, money, connections. They hardly even needed Skill."
And then several pages later:
"'Stupid girl,' he said. 'Truth isn't what happened, it's what people will believe happened.'"
I have to wonder how heavily the author was influenced by recent political events in the US... the themes seemed too clear at times to be coincidence.
Anyway, pick this series up if you are looking for a dark, thought-provoking dystopian fantasy series, but be prepared for this book in particular to be slow-moving in the middle, heavy in dialogue scenes, and chock full of political manoeuvring.
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes