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tallnecked_pancakeface's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder and Fire/Fire injury
andreahrome's review against another edition
4.0
Well crafted, exciting fantasy! Has a little bit of everything: political intrigue, mystery, adventure, romance… I enjoyed the story and couldn’t predict the twists and turns that led to a satisfying ending. Between this and the Obsidian Tower, I’m looking forward to reading more from this author.
crocus's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
4.25
talasterism's review against another edition
i mean man this had great promise but its sooo repeptive and boring and i just googled if the girls get together an they don't.....the political intrigue is sooo weak too and amalia kinda does nothing
troutgirl's review against another edition
I usually enjoy YA fantasy of this type, but this one could have used a better editor, as there are waaayyyy too many similar scenes of the heroine -- whose major personality trait seems to be that she wishes she could wear pants and read books -- obsessing over her teenage problems. Also her "investigation" seems to largely entail various obvious baddies monologuing at her.
bibliophobe's review against another edition
5.0
A friend gave us a gift card for Barnes & Noble and so my wife and I decided to make an event of it. With Covid still raging, we planned a date night that involved some high-end take out fried chicken and followed that up with a trip to the book store. We ate our chicken in the great outdoors, and masked up to find some new bookly treasures.
We spent some time looking for a book that would interest us, and I kept finding book after book with great cover art, and sub par content. It took some time, but I finally decided I wanted something with fantasy magic and found this book. The back didn’t say much:
I actually only read the middle two paragraphs and decided it was interesting enough to give a go.
Right off the bat you’re introduced to a somewhat rebellious young woman sneaking about to get what she wants, and she encounters a dangerous situation, another young woman being attacked by a group of thugs.
These two women end up being the most prominent characters in the story and their lives become intertwined. They end up leaving their home town and traveling to another city in an effort to easy political tensions and find a horde of children that had been kidnapped. But neither of them is particularly skilled in diplomacy and they end up getting in a lot of trouble along the way.
The story gets a bit contentious with an underling plot of how mages are slaves in this society, their magic bound to serve the will of the government. This undercurrent was not only an undertone of the book, but expressly discussed and contrasted with the neighboring country that is ruled by mages. This topic was uncomfortable at times, but the author left the reader with the impression that our main character would be working toward the freedom of mages going forward and that result would likely be in a future book.
We spent some time looking for a book that would interest us, and I kept finding book after book with great cover art, and sub par content. It took some time, but I finally decided I wanted something with fantasy magic and found this book. The back didn’t say much:
In the Raverran Empire, magic is scarce and those born with power are strictly controlled-taken as children and conscripted into the Falcon army.
Zaira has grown up on the streets to avoid this fate, hiding her mage mark and thieving to survive. But hers is a rare and dangerous magic, one that threatens the entire Empire.
Lady Amalia Cornaro was never meant to be a Falconer. Heiress and scholar, she was born into a treacherous world of political machinations. But fate has bound the heir and the mage.
War looms on the horizon. A single spark could turn the city into a pyre.
I actually only read the middle two paragraphs and decided it was interesting enough to give a go.
Right off the bat you’re introduced to a somewhat rebellious young woman sneaking about to get what she wants, and she encounters a dangerous situation, another young woman being attacked by a group of thugs.
These two women end up being the most prominent characters in the story and their lives become intertwined. They end up leaving their home town and traveling to another city in an effort to easy political tensions and find a horde of children that had been kidnapped. But neither of them is particularly skilled in diplomacy and they end up getting in a lot of trouble along the way.
The story gets a bit contentious with an underling plot of how mages are slaves in this society, their magic bound to serve the will of the government. This undercurrent was not only an undertone of the book, but expressly discussed and contrasted with the neighboring country that is ruled by mages. This topic was uncomfortable at times, but the author left the reader with the impression that our main character would be working toward the freedom of mages going forward and that result would likely be in a future book.
kaeira's review against another edition
adventurous
inspiring
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
accidental_hermit's review against another edition
I didn't realize this was YA, but it very much reads that way. Not worth returning to.,
sunbean's review against another edition
4.0
Received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
This book was so great, I stayed up late to read it; in my world as a mother of five and working full time, that's about as high of praise as I can give.
Likes: I like how it took a familiar trope of a powerful street orphan in the hands of a militaristic government and told it from the point of view of the supposedly spoiled rich girl in the position of political power instead of the magical person's POV. The empire in question could easily been cast as the villain, but instead it showed how each country or political group did regrettable things both in the present and in the past, and how individuals could make questionable moral decisions for the overall benefit of the countries they cared about. Each person and country had believable reasons for their actions and thought processes, so I was very interested to see where characters would draw the line, ethically, to achieve their desires. I liked the characters as well, especially Amalia. I loved to watch her development as a reclusive scholar and heir to a woman stepping into her intelligence and power without ever losing her compassion. She's very brave but in a believable way, not a reckless way. The idea of Falcons and Falconers was also really cool to me and I would love to learn about other pairs, only a few were mentioned. I also loved the plethora of female characters, each distinct in personality and strength. Amalia's mom is so cool, I wanted more of her.
Dislikes: You know, I just didn't really find a lot to like in the Zaira, the powerful mage/warlock that is bound to Amalia. I understand her grief, fear, and anger, and also why her history would make it difficult for her to be anything but a borderline sociopath but. Of course her actions speak loudly, but she was still kind of a huge jerk and just once I kind of wanted Amalia to call her out. And there was sooo much political machinations that at times I just wanted Zaira to set something on fire just to spice things up. The entire magic system of this world was super interesting, but for all that I wish we would have seen it more in action.
Anyway, great book. I'll be looking forward to the sequels.
This book was so great, I stayed up late to read it; in my world as a mother of five and working full time, that's about as high of praise as I can give.
Likes: I like how it took a familiar trope of a powerful street orphan in the hands of a militaristic government and told it from the point of view of the supposedly spoiled rich girl in the position of political power instead of the magical person's POV. The empire in question could easily been cast as the villain, but instead it showed how each country or political group did regrettable things both in the present and in the past, and how individuals could make questionable moral decisions for the overall benefit of the countries they cared about. Each person and country had believable reasons for their actions and thought processes, so I was very interested to see where characters would draw the line, ethically, to achieve their desires. I liked the characters as well, especially Amalia. I loved to watch her development as a reclusive scholar and heir to a woman stepping into her intelligence and power without ever losing her compassion. She's very brave but in a believable way, not a reckless way. The idea of Falcons and Falconers was also really cool to me and I would love to learn about other pairs, only a few were mentioned. I also loved the plethora of female characters, each distinct in personality and strength. Amalia's mom is so cool, I wanted more of her.
Dislikes: You know, I just didn't really find a lot to like in the Zaira, the powerful mage/warlock that is bound to Amalia. I understand her grief, fear, and anger, and also why her history would make it difficult for her to be anything but a borderline sociopath but. Of course her actions speak loudly, but she was still kind of a huge jerk and just once I kind of wanted Amalia to call her out. And there was sooo much political machinations that at times I just wanted Zaira to set something on fire just to spice things up. The entire magic system of this world was super interesting, but for all that I wish we would have seen it more in action.
Anyway, great book. I'll be looking forward to the sequels.
majesstic8's review against another edition
1.0
DNF with a vengeance. This is what I get for picking a book from my TBR list at 4am without doing enough research. Reads like a YA novel, complete with cardboard characters, stilted dialogue, and a boring and unnecessary romance.