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adventurous
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
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:
Yes
The audio production on this is magnificent, I quickly became addicted. I honestly didn't even realize how long this book is until I happened to see the physical copy in store one day. The world building, the slow unraveling of secrets, the perfect tension between the characters...ah!!! I knew there had to be a cliffhanger coming but it left me excited to read the next in the series rather than angry or disappointed with the direction of the story. Nothing but praise for this book.
Kaan jumped to my top spot of favorite book boyfriends. 😏🥵🥰
Kaan jumped to my top spot of favorite book boyfriends. 😏🥵🥰
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Confinement, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual content, Slavery, Torture, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
This was a very fun book, and it was exactly what I needed in a very challenging week. I thought the setting was really fantastic and I loved a lot about it, but I definitely had some editing/writing complaints. I think that Sarah Parker has a lot of potential, and I hope that, now that she has been picked up big a traditional publisher, she'll get the editing that her books need to really shine. I think this series has potential to be really excellent, but it needs a good editing team to push it the rest of the way.
The things I loved:
The setting. I think this whole world is so freaking cool, especially the dragon moons.
I really liked the climate-divided world, and I especially liked the detail that people on one half of the wall always got sunset and the other half always got night. And I loved that Raeve intentionally picked night so she could see the moons.
Loved the climate-based dragons. I really liked how distinct and creative they were physically—the Moltenmaws were closer to birds, for example, with their rainbow feathers. And I loved how the more polar dragons were truly not equipped for the other side of the world. I thought she went just brutal enough on that front, showing the blistering that the Moonplumes would suffer in the sun.
In terms of characters, I think I was most intrigued by the Other, and I'm excited to learn more in future books. I liked seeing Kaan's relationships with other people honestly as much as I liked seeing him with Raeve. I think seeing how someone acts around people they don't want to bang is really important to character development, so that was key for me. Raeve's motivations were clear and consistent, which I appreciated. For most of the story, she didn't have the tie to Dohmm that Kaan wanted her to have, so of course she wanted to get back south to continue her revenge.
For the things I did not love:
The writing didn't really work for me. I'm particularly distracted by things like the speech tags, and everyone rasping and growling their dialogue got really annoying for me really fast. In Kaan's first chapter (about four pages long), he rumbles something once and growls things twice—and this is all from his own perspective. I also found the cadence of the writing a bit jarring, and I found the swearing from all the characters a bit much.
In terms of how she named things, it annoyed me a bit that so many of the fantasy terms were our words but just spelled a little differently. Why bother spelling it "dae" instead of "day"? It adds nothing. The names of the Creators were all along this line—Rayne is the water Creator; Igni is the fire Creator; Bulder is earth. It felt at odds with how creative and different the world as a whole was; it's such a cool world, but the names are so unimaginative.
I really dislike the whole male/female thing as their nouns, even if they are fae, but I did get used to it. I found it super jarring at first, though, which hindered me getting into it. It wasn't totally clear early on that they were fae instead of human, and I think making that clearer would have helped.
In terms of the story, I thought it could have used more developmental editing; I think there were some slow sections that could have been trimmed a bit to keep the story a bit tighter in the middle. It's very long, and I think it probably could have told the same exact story in 500 pages instead of 700.
For their relationship, I would have liked to see Kaan falling for her, rather thanjust her falling for him. Of course he already loved Elluin, but as Raeve says to him near the end, she is not just Elluin returned to life. I would have loved it if he found her and then got really put off by how un-Elluin she was, requiring him to fall for Raeve as her own person rather than waiting for her to remember her old love for him.
And then, the last thing I can think of right now, I wish so badly that she had come up with another name besides The Great Flurrt. I really hated the Great Flurrt.
The things I loved:
The setting. I think this whole world is so freaking cool, especially the dragon moons.
I really liked the climate-divided world, and I especially liked the detail that people on one half of the wall always got sunset and the other half always got night. And I loved that Raeve intentionally picked night so she could see the moons.
Loved the climate-based dragons. I really liked how distinct and creative they were physically—the Moltenmaws were closer to birds, for example, with their rainbow feathers. And I loved how the more polar dragons were truly not equipped for the other side of the world. I thought she went just brutal enough on that front, showing the blistering that the Moonplumes would suffer in the sun.
In terms of characters, I think I was most intrigued by the Other, and I'm excited to learn more in future books. I liked seeing Kaan's relationships with other people honestly as much as I liked seeing him with Raeve. I think seeing how someone acts around people they don't want to bang is really important to character development, so that was key for me. Raeve's motivations were clear and consistent, which I appreciated. For most of the story, she didn't have the tie to Dohmm that Kaan wanted her to have, so of course she wanted to get back south to continue her revenge.
For the things I did not love:
The writing didn't really work for me. I'm particularly distracted by things like the speech tags, and everyone rasping and growling their dialogue got really annoying for me really fast. In Kaan's first chapter (about four pages long), he rumbles something once and growls things twice—and this is all from his own perspective. I also found the cadence of the writing a bit jarring, and I found the swearing from all the characters a bit much.
In terms of how she named things, it annoyed me a bit that so many of the fantasy terms were our words but just spelled a little differently. Why bother spelling it "dae" instead of "day"? It adds nothing. The names of the Creators were all along this line—Rayne is the water Creator; Igni is the fire Creator; Bulder is earth. It felt at odds with how creative and different the world as a whole was; it's such a cool world, but the names are so unimaginative.
I really dislike the whole male/female thing as their nouns, even if they are fae, but I did get used to it. I found it super jarring at first, though, which hindered me getting into it. It wasn't totally clear early on that they were fae instead of human, and I think making that clearer would have helped.
In terms of the story, I thought it could have used more developmental editing; I think there were some slow sections that could have been trimmed a bit to keep the story a bit tighter in the middle. It's very long, and I think it probably could have told the same exact story in 500 pages instead of 700.
For their relationship, I would have liked to see Kaan falling for her, rather than
And then, the last thing I can think of right now, I wish so badly that she had come up with another name besides The Great Flurrt. I really hated the Great Flurrt.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Death, Gore, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Blood
Moderate: Sexual assault
Minor: Trafficking
adventurous
challenging
dark
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Confinement, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual content, Blood, Grief, Murder, Abandonment, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
Minor: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Blood, Death of parent, Alcohol, Classism
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Physical abuse, Sexual content, Torture
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
despite the YA writing style and unnecessary spice (the actual spicy scenes weren’t bad but must every other sentence refer to sexually illicit imagery ??) often is the case with YA romantacy, so i might just give myself a slap on the wrist and tell myself to get over myself in this instance.
in terms of world-building, i thoroughly enjoyed this book - the types of dragon (oh how i love dragons), the different cities and their harsh environments, brutal to those who aren’t brought up within said city’s walls, the diverse range of characters and worshipping of natural gods ?? it wasn’t perfect no, but i was absolutely immersed in this world - i could hear the mischievous whispers of Clode, the agonising hiss of Rayne. in all honestly, what a truly interesting concept.
the multiple POVs worked nicely to pepper information throughout the narrative - and whilst the plot twists weren’t major, they were so very satisfying to see unfurl across the pages (or in my case my kindle screen). though if you had given me a random chapter, i wouldn’t be able to tell you straight off the bat which character POV i was privy to. though Parker’s writing style is distinct, the voices of her character are not so much so. even when reading a specific character’s chapter i’d sometimes forget who was narrating. though the most disappointing thing about this book was the indistinct character voices (strangely through their POV and scarcely their dialogue) it does not dampen my love for this fantasy world in the slightest.
the sexy slow burn relationship between Raeve and Kaan is the most prominent drive of the plot. the teasing tension between the two characters is heatingly well done, yet the relationship is so much more than the physical. there is something so complicated yet pure between the two of them - an intrinsic connection that is as damaging as it is nurturing. it is by no means a perfect relationship but by Creators is it thrilling.
i can’t wait for the sequel to this book, but i just don’t know if i can wait over half an aurora phase for its release
in terms of world-building, i thoroughly enjoyed this book - the types of dragon (oh how i love dragons), the different cities and their harsh environments, brutal to those who aren’t brought up within said city’s walls, the diverse range of characters and worshipping of natural gods ?? it wasn’t perfect no, but i was absolutely immersed in this world - i could hear the mischievous whispers of Clode, the agonising hiss of Rayne. in all honestly, what a truly interesting concept.
the multiple POVs worked nicely to pepper information throughout the narrative - and whilst the plot twists weren’t major, they were so very satisfying to see unfurl across the pages (or in my case my kindle screen). though if you had given me a random chapter, i wouldn’t be able to tell you straight off the bat which character POV i was privy to. though Parker’s writing style is distinct, the voices of her character are not so much so. even when reading a specific character’s chapter i’d sometimes forget who was narrating. though the most disappointing thing about this book was the indistinct character voices (strangely through their POV and scarcely their dialogue) it does not dampen my love for this fantasy world in the slightest.
the sexy slow burn relationship between Raeve and Kaan is the most prominent drive of the plot. the teasing tension between the two characters is heatingly well done, yet the relationship is so much more than the physical. there is something so complicated yet pure between the two of them - an intrinsic connection that is as damaging as it is nurturing. it is by no means a perfect relationship but by Creators is it thrilling.
i can’t wait for the sequel to this book, but i just don’t know if i can wait over half an aurora phase for its release
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Death, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Torture, Blood, Grief, Murder
adventurous
challenging
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Physical abuse, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Confinement, Gore, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Blood, Murder
Moderate: Mental illness
Minor: Animal death, Death of parent, Sexual harassment
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Physical abuse, Sexual content
dark
emotional
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book has NO CLIMAX. It basically serves as a bunch of info-dumping and poor world-building for whatever next book that’s actually going to start the action. The pacing is terrible. The writing is clunky, overly wordy, and often grammatically incorrect. It’s all telling instead of showing. The author overcomplicates everything in this world and crams in a bunch of random details and concepts that are never brought up again. This book was self-published and it was VERY obvious—no editors in sight. Don’t waste your time.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Physical abuse, Sexual content, Violence, Fire/Fire injury
The main character endures physical trauma via flashbacks; some are explicit, and some are more vague. In both cases, the emotional aspect of the trauma is gut-wrenching but an essential aspect of character development and Storytelling.