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katelynk's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
juliasadokha's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
sumayyaha's review against another edition
4.0
Rating - 3.5 Stars (Listened to audiobook narrated by Charlie McWade - Read with Clean YA Book Club)
____________________________________
It was a good book, I liked it, I enjoyed it, but I'm not left in awe as I would usually be with Nielsen's books. I read another review that said it might've needed another round of editing, and I have to agree. A lot of sentences seemed dull and some scenes seemed rushed. I was having trouble focusing on the scenes because as soon as we were in one, the author would switch to the next one. Maybe it was just not the pace I like reading at or maybe it was the audiobook. Still, that's how I felt.
Then, there were the characters. I don't like the coupling up trope. So, when Mott and Roden were found out to be interested in someone I was just wondering "Why does everyone have to get someone?" I thought it took away from the characters goals and ambitions. It seemed like they were just doing things for the person they had a crush on or loved. I don't like that, I think it shows the readers that the author didn't really know a reason for the characters to do things, so they just used another character and their emotions to drive them. And, don't get me wrong, I'm not saying you can't use that trope here and there but it also needs to make sense with the characters. I thought of some of the characters as more logical thinkers, less with their heart and more with their mind. This especially rubbed me the wrong way because it seemed like they abandoned Jaron for the same reason. I didn't understand that.
The plot: It was great, I loved it. It was new; the Island and them being at seas were pretty cool. However, there was one catalyst, one character, driving the plot that I do not understand. It was the Monarch who I will not name. But this person was a probably just a teenager, and yet, they were able to go around making orders and everyone would follow them. If I had known them in real life, I'm pretty sure I would walk away from them because they were incredibly obnoxious. Still, everyone followed them, including their mother. This just didn't seem right to me. I wondered why their mother wasn't the monarch, she seemed to be doing most of the work anyway. The reasoning behind the monarch being the monarch was non-existant. I hope this was deliberate and will be explained in book five.
The best part of the whole book has to be the ending for me. It definitely makes me want to continue because I just have to know what Jaron will do now. And the excerpt at the end of the book really has me wondering behind the motives of the monarch, how deep are they?
From this review, it sounds like I didn't like this book, but it's the opposite. It doesn't hold up to the previous books for me (which I call the original trilogy) but it wasn't bad either. I'd give it a read if you miss the world.
[I might add to this if there's something I remember.]
____________________________________
It was a good book, I liked it, I enjoyed it, but I'm not left in awe as I would usually be with Nielsen's books. I read another review that said it might've needed another round of editing, and I have to agree. A lot of sentences seemed dull and some scenes seemed rushed. I was having trouble focusing on the scenes because as soon as we were in one, the author would switch to the next one. Maybe it was just not the pace I like reading at or maybe it was the audiobook. Still, that's how I felt.
Then, there were the characters. I don't like the coupling up trope. So, when Mott and Roden were found out to be interested in someone I was just wondering "Why does everyone have to get someone?" I thought it took away from the characters goals and ambitions. It seemed like they were just doing things for the person they had a crush on or loved. I don't like that, I think it shows the readers that the author didn't really know a reason for the characters to do things, so they just used another character and their emotions to drive them. And, don't get me wrong, I'm not saying you can't use that trope here and there but it also needs to make sense with the characters. I thought of some of the characters as more logical thinkers, less with their heart and more with their mind. This especially rubbed me the wrong way because it seemed like they abandoned Jaron for the same reason. I didn't understand that.
The plot: It was great, I loved it. It was new; the Island and them being at seas were pretty cool. However, there was one catalyst, one character, driving the plot that I do not understand. It was the Monarch who I will not name. But this person was a probably just a teenager, and yet, they were able to go around making orders and everyone would follow them. If I had known them in real life, I'm pretty sure I would walk away from them because they were incredibly obnoxious. Still, everyone followed them, including their mother. This just didn't seem right to me. I wondered why their mother wasn't the monarch, she seemed to be doing most of the work anyway. The reasoning behind the monarch being the monarch was non-existant. I hope this was deliberate and will be explained in book five.
The best part of the whole book has to be the ending for me. It definitely makes me want to continue because I just have to know what Jaron will do now. And the excerpt at the end of the book really has me wondering behind the motives of the monarch, how deep are they?
From this review, it sounds like I didn't like this book, but it's the opposite. It doesn't hold up to the previous books for me (which I call the original trilogy) but it wasn't bad either. I'd give it a read if you miss the world.
[I might add to this if there's something I remember.]
ria_ray's review against another edition
5.0
4.8/5
DO NOT READ THE BACK OF THIS BOOK I REPEAT DO NOT READ THE BACK. It contained a plot twist that I was not ready for. OH MY GOD, THIS BOOK WAS SO GOOD AND CUTE AND I LOVED IT. It made me go through some emotional damage but for these characters it's fine
DO NOT READ THE BACK OF THIS BOOK I REPEAT DO NOT READ THE BACK. It contained a plot twist that I was not ready for. OH MY GOD, THIS BOOK WAS SO GOOD AND CUTE AND I LOVED IT. It made me go through some emotional damage but for these characters it's fine
jacobhart25's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
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
5.0
dosiadigital's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
bibliobrandie's review against another edition
3.0
This was fine but I think I am just sick of King Jaron. I’ve listened to all 4 books in about a month, that’s 35 hours of listening to King Jaron and that’s just too much. But also, he's annoying and arrogant and selfish and is constantly putting his friends in danger but he just has to do it because he knows what’s right. I did enjoy the plot twist in this one, didn't see it coming.
bookmaster4's review against another edition
5.0
So I was fortunate enough to find The Ascendant Series after it was no longer a trilogy and I was very excited. I immediately fell in love with the characters and I would have participated in every petition for a fourth book if necessary.
When I started this book I was a bit disappointed. Sure the dynamic characters were the same and the plot was interesting but it felt too transparent. In the first three books you don’t know that you are missing information. It seems like you know what is going on and you have all the answers. With the introduction of a never before mentioned nightmare people it just was too obviously unknown. Many questions were posed straight up such as “What does Captain Strick want?” “Is Darius actually alive?” “What has he been doing this whole time?” “Is Rodan still my friend?” etc I know that she wasn’t planning on writing more so these things couldn’t have been foreshadowed in the other books but it still felt too obvious.
But... as I kept reading(especially after they reached Belland and I started getting answers to the obvoius questions) the familiar mystery came back. The questions were deeper and not so blatant. The story started to weave together details from the other books. And I was pleased. I liked how Jaron’s flaws were pointed at, especially his inability to share information. Jennifer Nielsen did a great job working with that specific flaw because I understand Jaron’s reasons for keeping things to himself but I also understand how his friends would get frustrated easily because of that.
All in all I’m glad for this book and I will be reading the fifth book as soon as it comes out.
When I started this book I was a bit disappointed. Sure the dynamic characters were the same and the plot was interesting but it felt too transparent. In the first three books you don’t know that you are missing information. It seems like you know what is going on and you have all the answers. With the introduction of a never before mentioned nightmare people it just was too obviously unknown. Many questions were posed straight up such as “What does Captain Strick want?” “Is Darius actually alive?” “What has he been doing this whole time?” “Is Rodan still my friend?” etc I know that she wasn’t planning on writing more so these things couldn’t have been foreshadowed in the other books but it still felt too obvious.
But... as I kept reading(especially after they reached Belland and I started getting answers to the obvoius questions) the familiar mystery came back. The questions were deeper and not so blatant. The story started to weave together details from the other books. And I was pleased. I liked how Jaron’s flaws were pointed at, especially his inability to share information. Jennifer Nielsen did a great job working with that specific flaw because I understand Jaron’s reasons for keeping things to himself but I also understand how his friends would get frustrated easily because of that.
All in all I’m glad for this book and I will be reading the fifth book as soon as it comes out.
robyn_bramwell's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
medium-paced
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
3.5
crosby88's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0