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3.81 AVERAGE
3.81 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I still love this series, and relished reading this book, I just preferred the first one. The gripe I have with this book is one I have with other action-based YA novels, where conditions are always the epitome of extreme. Part of this has to do with keeping the momentum by having even greater stakes than there were previously. Adeyemi handles this well. From where the first book left of bringing back magic, the fact that the monarchy wants to retaliate by utterly decimating all magi makes sense, as do the stakes related to who rules the kingdom. It’s more the sentence to sentence levels of intensity and pacing that bother me. I’m on board for all the other new world building and magic expanding aspects like titans, centres, the moonstone etc. They add an important new layer of nuance to the politics and power dynamics each main character must learn to navigate. The themes of justice, resilience, compassion, and fighting oppression without succumbing to hatred continue to shine through in very difficult decision our protagonists have to make. While the ending cliffhanger felt abrupt, I’m eager to learn how Zelie Amari, Tzain Roen, and even Inan, will cope with this latest plot twist.
adventurous
tense
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I like seeing more of the world that’s being crafted. I find myself frustrated with the characters, which is a good sign that Adeyemi has given them layers and allowed them to be unlikable sometimes. The themes are important and they certainly hit hard.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
2.5 Stars
I'm going to preface with the fact that I thought this book was the last of the series. I was under the impression it was a duology, and not a trilogy.
So of course, while I'm at home with nothing to do because of the coronavirus, I thought, hey, why not finish a series? But no...
To put it simply, this book was great and stunning but also a total crapfest.
It's definitely a middle book. As a final book, the first 400 pages are all there and it's chugging towards an ending that I could see in sight. And then... it didn't. Then it fell over and ran straight into a wall that we have to wait another year for. Oh well.
Before I get slightly spoilery, this book just didn't work because it reads as a series that I am now confused on where it goes from here. It's all action, death, armies, magic, and then very little of the character work that I remember liking in the first book. There's a reason why I marked the first book with OTP, cause I liked the romance.
It's pacing is atrocious, it's a nonstop ride through war and death (it's reminiscent of A Reaper at the Gates and a Torch Against the Night in that regard). The main two characters are incredibly insufferable, and I thought they initially were our POVs alone, but thank goodness, no.
Okay... venturing into mild spoilery territory...…
I can't. I really can't with Zelie. I just can't. There's a difference between pain/crappy background and a character flaw and she has all of them that make her horrible. She doesn't get any sympathy from us because she's just an embodiment of rage and stubbornness that represents the reason this story even exists. The plot is centered around a lot of miscommunication and people making stupid decisions. I kept telling my mom how stupid everyone is acting. She's like "just stop reading the book."
Tzain has literally no presence in this book anymore, he just sort of floats around. The lack of a POV makes him extremely distant from the rest of the characters, and his relationship has no arc with Amari until like the last ten pages of the story.
Inan makes this story bearable. He is the most human, and the one who faces the most heart-wrenching and relatable decisions. He doesn't summon deus ex machina magic tricks to save himself the way that Amari and Zelie have a habit of doing (it reminds me of Throne of Glass, where the characters survive deathly attacks with some secret reservoir of power that just sort of comes out of nowhere); instead, he spends half the book getting hurt or being pushed around by everyone in the palace.
On the plus side, the world building is great and the action and vivid descriptions make this world feel alive and breathing. But the nauseating main character and some horrible pacing problems make this book an inbetweener action dumpsterfire instead of a layered story with an arc and strong characters (which it had the potential to be).
I'm going to preface with the fact that I thought this book was the last of the series. I was under the impression it was a duology, and not a trilogy.
So of course, while I'm at home with nothing to do because of the coronavirus, I thought, hey, why not finish a series? But no...
To put it simply, this book was great and stunning but also a total crapfest.
It's definitely a middle book. As a final book, the first 400 pages are all there and it's chugging towards an ending that I could see in sight. And then... it didn't. Then it fell over and ran straight into a wall that we have to wait another year for. Oh well.
Before I get slightly spoilery, this book just didn't work because it reads as a series that I am now confused on where it goes from here. It's all action, death, armies, magic, and then very little of the character work that I remember liking in the first book. There's a reason why I marked the first book with OTP, cause I liked the romance.
It's pacing is atrocious, it's a nonstop ride through war and death (it's reminiscent of A Reaper at the Gates and a Torch Against the Night in that regard). The main two characters are incredibly insufferable, and I thought they initially were our POVs alone, but thank goodness, no.
Okay... venturing into mild spoilery territory...…
I can't. I really can't with Zelie. I just can't. There's a difference between pain/crappy background and a character flaw and she has all of them that make her horrible. She doesn't get any sympathy from us because she's just an embodiment of rage and stubbornness that represents the reason this story even exists. The plot is centered around a lot of miscommunication and people making stupid decisions. I kept telling my mom how stupid everyone is acting. She's like "just stop reading the book."
Tzain has literally no presence in this book anymore, he just sort of floats around. The lack of a POV makes him extremely distant from the rest of the characters, and his relationship has no arc with Amari until like the last ten pages of the story.
Inan makes this story bearable. He is the most human, and the one who faces the most heart-wrenching and relatable decisions. He doesn't summon deus ex machina magic tricks to save himself the way that Amari and Zelie have a habit of doing (it reminds me of Throne of Glass, where the characters survive deathly attacks with some secret reservoir of power that just sort of comes out of nowhere); instead, he spends half the book getting hurt or being pushed around by everyone in the palace.
On the plus side, the world building is great and the action and vivid descriptions make this world feel alive and breathing. But the nauseating main character and some horrible pacing problems make this book an inbetweener action dumpsterfire instead of a layered story with an arc and strong characters (which it had the potential to be).
adventurous
challenging
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
One thing I like about Tomi is how she can make you feel so many mixed emotions about so many of her characters. On one hand, I find myself face palming every time Amari makes another bad choice, on the other hand, the gods chose her for a reason so it has to mean something for her to live right? And you almost hope Inan gets the redemption arc that we all crave.
My favorite is how both book 1 and 2 have introduced the title of the next book into the ending of the previous book. (So Book 1 hints at book 2, and book to hints at book 3). Cant wait to read the finale.
Spoiler alert:
Favorite line is “i dont bow for anyone I can kill”
My favorite is how both book 1 and 2 have introduced the title of the next book into the ending of the previous book. (So Book 1 hints at book 2, and book to hints at book 3). Cant wait to read the finale.
Spoiler alert:
Favorite line is “i dont bow for anyone I can kill”