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4.35 AVERAGE
4.35 AVERAGE
adventurous
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Unfortunately, this series is just not for me. I think the world is very well thought out and has great potential. Sadly, I think the scope is just too large for the skill of the author. He is improving, but not enough for me to continue reading this very large series.
I am a character first reader and I need to have someone to root for. Thus, I was excited by The Fall, and very engaged with the first half of Of Blood and Fire. Sadly, when the broader scope of the story became more clear, I was less engaged. I'm pretty sure the direction for the series will be to continually push the characters into more and more morally gray decisions. Unfortunately, I have a hard time with grimdark stories for this very reason (not to say this is grimdark, but it feels like it wants to be).
My favorite POV characters are the ones with the least amount of page time, and I don't think that is a coincidence. Unfortunately, the longer we spent with each character the less I cared about them. The one relationship that should carry me through is the relationship between Calen and Valerys. Unfortunately, I find the dragons and the Draleid in general to be fairly homogeneous. The only thing that differentiates the dragons is the color of their scales. They have almost no personality beyond the bond itself.
I got so far in this book I really wanted to finish. At about the 80% mark I was fairly certain I was done with the series. I intended to finish the book, but then I started accurately predicting subplots and my apathy with certain characters grew to annoyance. At 90% I realized I was fully checked out.
I am a character first reader and I need to have someone to root for. Thus, I was excited by The Fall, and very engaged with the first half of Of Blood and Fire. Sadly, when the broader scope of the story became more clear, I was less engaged. I'm pretty sure the direction for the series will be to continually push the characters into more and more morally gray decisions. Unfortunately, I have a hard time with grimdark stories for this very reason (not to say this is grimdark, but it feels like it wants to be).
My favorite POV characters are the ones with the least amount of page time, and I don't think that is a coincidence. Unfortunately, the longer we spent with each character the less I cared about them. The one relationship that should carry me through is the relationship between Calen and Valerys. Unfortunately, I find the dragons and the Draleid in general to be fairly homogeneous. The only thing that differentiates the dragons is the color of their scales. They have almost no personality beyond the bond itself.
I got so far in this book I really wanted to finish. At about the 80% mark I was fairly certain I was done with the series. I intended to finish the book, but then I started accurately predicting subplots and my apathy with certain characters grew to annoyance. At 90% I realized I was fully checked out.
Again, Cahill reminded me why I like Fantasy. It hits all the boxes that I love: Dragons, Elves, Dwarves, and interesting villains.
I look forward to reading the long novella: [b:The Exile|61042606|The Exile (The Bound and the Broken, #2.5)|Ryan Cahill|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1651841940l/61042606._SY75_.jpg|94861883]
I look forward to reading the long novella: [b:The Exile|61042606|The Exile (The Bound and the Broken, #2.5)|Ryan Cahill|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1651841940l/61042606._SY75_.jpg|94861883]
Of Darkness and Light is everything a fantasy epic should be!! After the amazing first book, the sequel improves on pretty much every aspect and finally cements itself as its own thing with amazing new characters, world-building and fantastic emotional moments.
The only tiny negative I have is that a certain group of characters simply seem to go back and forth without doing much. That being send, I'm fairly certain that this group will have a much larger role in the following book which I'm extremely excited to read!!
adventurous
dark
emotional
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
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
dark
emotional
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
4.5/5 ⭐️
As good as Of Blood and Fire (if not better), but just more of everything, in a good way.
You know when the font gets smaller, shit gets serious. That’s the first thing I noticed when I first opened this book. The font is smaller than Of Blood and Fire and The Fall. I thought that was quite funny.
The scope of the story is bigger in this book. There’s more characters, new places, etc… There’s quite a few POV characters in this one, it’s remarkable how I was interested in all of them. Often times you’ll have one or two characters you just don’t really care about. Not with this book. In fact, I felt myself being incredibly emotionally invested in these characters. More than in most other books.
The book is reasonably long but the pacing is spot on. Not too slow, not too fast and it’s always interesting.
The only complaint I have is with Ryan’s somewhat “repetitive vocabulary”. He does tend to use the same words quite a bit, just on the verge of taking me out of the immersion. But that really is the only complaint and it’s quite insignificant.
As good as Of Blood and Fire (if not better), but just more of everything, in a good way.
You know when the font gets smaller, shit gets serious. That’s the first thing I noticed when I first opened this book. The font is smaller than Of Blood and Fire and The Fall. I thought that was quite funny.
The scope of the story is bigger in this book. There’s more characters, new places, etc… There’s quite a few POV characters in this one, it’s remarkable how I was interested in all of them. Often times you’ll have one or two characters you just don’t really care about. Not with this book. In fact, I felt myself being incredibly emotionally invested in these characters. More than in most other books.
The book is reasonably long but the pacing is spot on. Not too slow, not too fast and it’s always interesting.
The only complaint I have is with Ryan’s somewhat “repetitive vocabulary”. He does tend to use the same words quite a bit, just on the verge of taking me out of the immersion. But that really is the only complaint and it’s quite insignificant.
adventurous
emotional
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:
Complicated
adventurous
dark
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
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
sad
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