Reviews with content warning for Body horror - For the Throne

I don’t often enjoy multiple POV but this series was done well. It wasn’t jarring to change narrators, and it was nice to be given the whole picture without any one character knowing everything. (Love me some dramatic irony) But where the first book seemed to be building building building, this one felt a little weighed down. Like there was too much exposition in order to make the climax make sense. (I’m still not sure what exactly happened in the end) but it was an enjoyable read with plenty of grey characters. I liked where everyone ended up, at the very least all characters were accounted for in the epilogue.

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alexijai98's review against another edition

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adventurous 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? It's complicated

3.5

I have to get one thing out of the way first: the Wilderwood duology could certainly use a map. Usually, sequels end up being my favorite books in series/duologies, so I’m a bit disappointed in For the Throne. Other reviewers have said this, but the pacing was strange. The first 300ish pages felt like a slog, especially when the POV wasn’t Neve’s. The last 100 pages felt like a Sonic speed run to resolve all conflict,

including a classic “pair up everyone into couples.”

I also came out of this book more confused about the magic system than I was when I read For the Wolf. Maybe I just can’t wrap my head around it, but the rules of magic (especially towards the conclusion) felt inconsistent and hand-wavey for the purpose of moving the story along. For the Wolf is a fine sequel, but after seeing it hyped up by some of my faves on Tik Tok (bombastic side eye), I am a bit disappointed.

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alliebliterary's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective 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

5.0

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mckiheather's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

The story did a great job resolving what was left over from the first book, and it was very interesting to get to see so much from the “villain” characters (relatively speaking). It keeps your attention when stories don’t exist in black and white and this one is basically all in gray.

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lanid's review against another edition

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dark

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.5

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whatiskatelynreading's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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