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spl2d's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death, Bullying, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, and War
Minor: Torture and Death of parent
dododenise's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
For a book that I went into that I fully expecting to dnf I really enjoyed myself. You know, this is just a very fun story. The setting makes for a great story to tell and it definitely took advantage of that. I also really enjoy YA fantasy, more so than adult fantasy, and for the most part this book feels like YA. The story it’s telling and the writing style could easily be YA, if it were not for the very horny 20 year olds. Loved the dragons. Dragons are great and these dragons specifically are my favourite characters in the entire book.
I rushed through the first half and had a really good time. Then the second half started.
In the second half the story starts to feel too long. It becomes a bit repetitive. This story should’ve been told in 300-400 pages otherwise it looses its charm. And that gave me the opportunity to think. And thinking when reading this book is dangerous business.
The world building is lacklustre. We barely know anything about it and the things we know are so basic and really not that exciting. I definitely wouldn’t call it intricate. The book should’ve kept to its magical school vibe but no, it tried to do bigger things. And I’m not sure I like it or think it works well. It’s just not giving me enough to think “oooh interesting world building here”. And that ruined a lot for me. If it had kept to a simpler story than it would’ve been easier to stay in the moment and just enjoy it. Now I’m thinking about how it’s all not that deep.
Now something very much from my personal taste: this book is very straight. And I am not and I don’t really enjoy straight books. An added factor for me not really enjoying the second half as much was that Violet and Xaden’s relationship became a bigger focus. And well, I did not care for them at all. Their relationship didn’t work for me. And quite frankly, their horniness for each other was very exhausting. I like Violet and Xaden as a characters but their relationship I did not.
The other characters were lacking a bit. I already forgot about most of them. There’s Dain of course, an annoying walking red flag. Liam was a very cool character. I can’t tell you about anyone else to be honest so that’s a shame. I did not feel like getting to know them anyway because people kept dying so I knew if it wasn’t the main couple, well, they’re probably going to die.
Did have fun? Surprisingly yes. Would I say this book is good? I don’t know.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Cursing, Death, Sexual content, and Violence
Moderate: Death of parent, Toxic friendship, War, and Injury/Injury detail
thatswhatshanread's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
I took off half of a star just because some of the world building and descriptions were a little too confusing to me and could have been done better in keeping me engaged within this fantasy world; the imagery wasn’t quite there for me. And I’ll admit the writing in general was not my favorite, though the characters and plot made up for it for the most part.
But alas!!! This was a fun one!!
You’ve got dragons, you’ve got a war college, you’ve got enemies to lovers, you’ve got mysterious happenings outside of the border that are kept hush hush, you’ve got redacted history and rebellion, you’ve got strong friendships and literal soulmates… I loved it. Our female protagonist Violet is not unlike any other leading character in these kinds of books—she’s weak and fragile, not cut out for the life she’s forced to take on, a disappointment to her mother, the least impressive of her siblings. UNTIL! She proves everyone wrong, even herself, as she is meant to do for the story to exist of course. Which isn’t a bad plot, even if it’s been done many times before, because it clearly works. Violet goes from meek little sister who prefers books over battle, to the incredible dragon rider who packs a striking punch. And Xaden—pretends he loathes her and wants to kill her, broody and closed-off, strong and intimidating to everyone else, but in reality a very kind, caring person who would do anything for Violet. Their chemistry was sizzling, and I loved learning more about their fated connection. The YOU DIE, I DIE trope to a T.
Dain—basically Gale from The Hunger Games but even worse—however, can suck a dozen eggs.
Overall, an intriguing and heart-pounding introduction to the Empyrean series! Great mix of fantasy and romance! You’ll want your own dragon and wingleader boyfriend asap.
But alas!!! This was a fun one!!
You’ve got dragons, you’ve got a war college, you’ve got enemies to lovers, you’ve got mysterious happenings outside of the border that are kept hush hush, you’ve got redacted history and rebellion, you’ve got strong friendships and literal soulmates… I loved it. Our female protagonist Violet is not unlike any other leading character in these kinds of books—she’s weak and fragile, not cut out for the life she’s forced to take on, a disappointment to her mother, the least impressive of her siblings. UNTIL! She proves everyone wrong, even herself, as she is meant to do for the story to exist of course. Which isn’t a bad plot, even if it’s been done many times before, because it clearly works. Violet goes from meek little sister who prefers books over battle, to the incredible dragon rider who packs a striking punch. And Xaden—pretends he loathes her and wants to kill her, broody and closed-off, strong and intimidating to everyone else, but in reality a very kind, caring person who would do anything for Violet. Their chemistry was sizzling, and I loved learning more about their fated connection. The YOU DIE, I DIE trope to a T.
Dain—basically Gale from The Hunger Games but even worse—however, can suck a dozen eggs.
Overall, an intriguing and heart-pounding introduction to the Empyrean series! Great mix of fantasy and romance! You’ll want your own dragon and wingleader boyfriend asap.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Vomit, Stalking, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Alcohol
Minor: Chronic illness, Genocide, and Classism
jessicabearbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
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
4.0
"Let me save you. Please let me save you"
What a story. This book is unique whilst having clear inspiration from series such as ACOTAR and Divergent. I loved the story and loved the characters, and the story as a whole was just so cool.
I was a little disappointed with the writing. There weren't really enough detailed descriptions throughout the world building for me. However, the use of quotes at the start of each chapter (Book of Brennan, The Codex etc) I found really useful and interesting as they always related to either what had just been, or what was to come in a chapter, therefore resolving any confusion and some questions. Rebecca Yarros is a genius but again, I'm not sure if her writing style is 100% for me. But could I have written this story better? No.
The cast of characters is diverse and somewhat believable. I still can't believe that some of these people are genuinely so dramatic, heartless, obnoxious, cowardly, and toxic BUT this is another world I gues, and who am I to say that these character traits are unrealistic? Some characters I hated with a passion, and some I wanted to protect from everything. Yarros is very clever in her ability to make these feelings switch and fluctuate for almost every character throughout the book.
This book did feel a little YA in places, so the smut felt a little strange. There's a sort of weird balance between brief explicit descriptions of body parts, but three pages of U rated descriptions of the bedroom and what the character's hair looks like in the moment. However, the scenes are written well and are 100% effective. I did love how open all characters were about sex. Often, even in adult novels, there are no mentions of normal human conversations and experiences that, I'm sorry, would definitely be felt/happen to characters aged 20-24. Having the breakfast table catch up of who was 'getting some' and who wasn't, made the characters again more believable and really humanised them.
The plot twists are great, sometimes foreshadowed a little too much - but not the ending. Do not look at the last page of this book to check how many pages you have left. Wow. I was shocked BUT I also don't feel the need to immediately rush out and buy the next book. Overall a great story; engaging, exciting, frustrating, and unique. Wow.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Violence, Murder, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Animal death, Vomit, Death of parent, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Fire/Fire injury
iamjana95's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Bullying, Death, Sexual content, Blood, Death of parent, War, and Injury/Injury detail
dkamada's review against another edition
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Ableism, Animal death, Bullying, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Genocide, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail
14greentrees's review against another edition
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? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Chronic illness, Death, Sexual content, Violence, Grief, War, and Injury/Injury detail
sarahcrowell's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Gore, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
steenmies's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
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
5.0
Very nice book. I love the plot, even though I’m not big on fantasy books, I really liked this one though. I also really liked the characters and their relationships with each other & the character development. The book has some plot twists which makes it very easy to keep on reading.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Sexual content, Violence, and War
Moderate: Blood, Vomit, Grief, and Death of parent
Minor: Animal death, Infidelity, and Classism
deven2276's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
medium-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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Gore, Blood, Grief, Murder, and War
Minor: Death of parent