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4.35 AVERAGE
4.35 AVERAGE
5/5⭐️
It’s so good??????
All I have to say is DRAGONS??? DONE RIGHT??
I am thoroughly impressed. I didn’t enjoy the first book that much, it felt a little slow and characters were kinda meh.
I was wrong. I’m sorry Ryan Cahill. This book is an insane improvement, in every aspect.
It’s mostly because of the bond between Valerys and Calen though, I won’t lie.
This read like a more modern Wheel of Time and I’m not mad about it.
Genuinely one of the best indie fantasy books (if not THE BEST) I’ve ever read. I’m so excited to continue this series!
It’s so good??????
All I have to say is DRAGONS??? DONE RIGHT??
I am thoroughly impressed. I didn’t enjoy the first book that much, it felt a little slow and characters were kinda meh.
I was wrong. I’m sorry Ryan Cahill. This book is an insane improvement, in every aspect.
It’s mostly because of the bond between Valerys and Calen though, I won’t lie.
This read like a more modern Wheel of Time and I’m not mad about it.
Genuinely one of the best indie fantasy books (if not THE BEST) I’ve ever read. I’m so excited to continue this series!
I was lucky enough to get an advanced review copy of this and that I was able to read it together with some other people, which made for some interesting conversations (yay buddy reads!).
Of Darkness and Light is the second book in Ryan Cahill's The Bound and the Broken series if you don't count The Fall, a novella about a historical event in this world (I loved reading that first before anything else but there are split opinions on whether you should read it before or after book 1). The Fall was an incredible intro to this world. For me, book 1, Of Blood and Fire, was fun but a bit predictable if you are familiar with Eragon. I have to admit that I was slightly hesitant about ODAL after that, though I still definitely enjoyed the first book.
Let me tell you though, if you felt similarly, do not worry about that at all! Of Darkness and Light is what happens when an author really is getting comfortable within their created world. You can really tell that Cahill got to know his own characters and world better throughout this book and he did a great job conveying that to his readers. There are a lot of additional POVs in this book that we didn't have previously and with the exception of maybe one, I enjoyed them all immensely. I do still have my favorite though, which of course is Farda. How could he not be?? He is such a fun villain to follow. I love his internal conflicts and the way he approaches situations. Ryan gives us a lot more insight into this character than I am used to for the bad guys. I cannot wait to learn more about him in coming books. I don't want to spend too much time fawning over Farda though in this review so let me move on... ;)
Along with introducing new characters to us, Cahill also showed us several new areas in his world that added an incredible amount of intrigue and dimension to the story. I loved seeing how differently these areas were affected by the history of the empire, how they've responded to that in the past and present, the fauna and flora development for them, and the people themselves.
The pacing in this book was great as well. I never felt like things were dragging out too long or that too much was going on at once. It started with some serious action, which is always good to get your heart pumping. But he also know where to slow things down so you can catch your breath. Apart from Farda's chapters though, I really enjoyed the last couple of chapters. It was an exciting way to end this book that gave it a good balance as it echoed its beginning and left us with a last "WHAT" that'll keep us on the edge until we can continue this story with the next book.
It's honestly hard to believe that Cahill has only been writing since... 2020? I think that's what he said. He's already shown an incredible improvement and I cannot wait to see where else he takes us. Big shoutout to his brother for the amazing art as well. It's absolutely stunning!
Of Darkness and Light is the second book in Ryan Cahill's The Bound and the Broken series if you don't count The Fall, a novella about a historical event in this world (I loved reading that first before anything else but there are split opinions on whether you should read it before or after book 1). The Fall was an incredible intro to this world. For me, book 1, Of Blood and Fire, was fun but a bit predictable if you are familiar with Eragon. I have to admit that I was slightly hesitant about ODAL after that, though I still definitely enjoyed the first book.
Let me tell you though, if you felt similarly, do not worry about that at all! Of Darkness and Light is what happens when an author really is getting comfortable within their created world. You can really tell that Cahill got to know his own characters and world better throughout this book and he did a great job conveying that to his readers. There are a lot of additional POVs in this book that we didn't have previously and with the exception of maybe one, I enjoyed them all immensely. I do still have my favorite though, which of course is Farda. How could he not be?? He is such a fun villain to follow. I love his internal conflicts and the way he approaches situations. Ryan gives us a lot more insight into this character than I am used to for the bad guys. I cannot wait to learn more about him in coming books. I don't want to spend too much time fawning over Farda though in this review so let me move on... ;)
Along with introducing new characters to us, Cahill also showed us several new areas in his world that added an incredible amount of intrigue and dimension to the story. I loved seeing how differently these areas were affected by the history of the empire, how they've responded to that in the past and present, the fauna and flora development for them, and the people themselves.
The pacing in this book was great as well. I never felt like things were dragging out too long or that too much was going on at once. It started with some serious action, which is always good to get your heart pumping. But he also know where to slow things down so you can catch your breath. Apart from Farda's chapters though, I really enjoyed the last couple of chapters. It was an exciting way to end this book that gave it a good balance as it echoed its beginning and left us with a last "WHAT" that'll keep us on the edge until we can continue this story with the next book.
It's honestly hard to believe that Cahill has only been writing since... 2020? I think that's what he said. He's already shown an incredible improvement and I cannot wait to see where else he takes us. Big shoutout to his brother for the amazing art as well. It's absolutely stunning!
I really enjoyed this installment. The connections are all starting to come together for the next book. I cant find much fault with it. It can be slow going at times, with all the moving parts but with so many characters' story lines going it definitely keeps you on your toes.
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
good but long
I thoroughly enjoyed this, but it definitely dragged somewhere around 60%
Again many of the usual fantasy tropes are present, but used in their own unique way.
Excited for the next one!
I thoroughly enjoyed this, but it definitely dragged somewhere around 60%
Again many of the usual fantasy tropes are present, but used in their own unique way.
Excited for the next one!
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I am so happy that I picked up this book, and continued the series. Ryan Cahill's writing is spectacular. The way it was written was amazing. The storyline/plotline was so intriguing it made it so that I didn't want to put the book down. The way the characters had even more development within this book, as just so great to see. As they had challenges in which they had to face. The battle scenes/fight scenes with the way that they are written they are so intriguing. With everything working together, all it made me want to do was to read the book as quick as I could. I wanted to be able to find out what happened. And I made sure that there wasn't anything in the way. And I am so glad that I picked this up to continue the series, as going into the second book there wasn't any slow start you were thrown back into the story. With the way in which this book ended it has made me definitely want to continue the series, and I don't want Ryan Cahill to stop writing.