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3.74 AVERAGE
3.74 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
I think this book gives you just about everything you could hope for in a YA sequel: It expands on worldbuilding, it introduces new characters, it builds on the characterization of our beloved Amaya and Cayo, and it provides a satisfying tie to all the loose ends of book one.
I do find it odd that this book is being classified as LGBT. There are some side characters and extremely minor characters that are LGBT, but I don't think that's enough to call a book LGBT... Our standards are a bit low in that case.
HOWEVER, I really did enjoy Amaya's journey and Cayo's growth in this novel. The plot started to really consume this book and I missed out on some very emotional moments because I wasn't pulled into the characters enough. I could tell I was supposed to feel sad or angry, but I really didn't. I felt good about the ending, but overall I was disappointed by this book. Scavenge the Stars was a unique and exciting novel, but this one didn't add anything special for me.
I do find it odd that this book is being classified as LGBT. There are some side characters and extremely minor characters that are LGBT, but I don't think that's enough to call a book LGBT... Our standards are a bit low in that case.
HOWEVER, I really did enjoy Amaya's journey and Cayo's growth in this novel. The plot started to really consume this book and I missed out on some very emotional moments because I wasn't pulled into the characters enough. I could tell I was supposed to feel sad or angry, but I really didn't. I felt good about the ending, but overall I was disappointed by this book. Scavenge the Stars was a unique and exciting novel, but this one didn't add anything special for me.
challenging
emotional
medium-paced
3.5/5
I want to love this book very badly, but a lot of pieces felt almost hollow to me. It felt oddly paced with parts of the story told too quickly and other parts feeling circular. There was a lot of waffling about for a while, following intricate twists and turns that sometimes felt like they came with no foreshadowing and sometimes were far too obvious. There were moments with certain characters that were written like they were meant to have some real impact that just fell flat, probably because in the break between books I’d forgotten them entirely or why I cared about them. They didn’t have a whole lot to do or say here, just filler roles for the most part. Lastly, I understand that there’s a definite theme with the whole lack of trust and lying and everything, but one of my absolute biggest pet peeves is when major plot points could have been avoided if the characters had simply sat down and had an honest conversation. Perhaps it would have felt better for Amaya and Cayo to constantly have to force themselves into these leaps of trusts, laying it all out there (especially when what Amaya’s keeping secret is something she constantly wonders why she wasn’t told sooner; she actively laments the fact that it’d been kept a secret from her while continuing to keep it a secret herself while it festered). It would have been a more interesting character arc for either of them.
The good, though, is that this book holds the same level of technical writing that the first did and held some lines that I want to keep a tight hold on because they were so beautiful and they broke my heart. I still love Cayo and Amara in general and the side characters (for the most part) remained interesting even if I didn’t care about them as much (apart from Soria, that girl deserves an award for putting up with Cayo and Amara and the whole dang world). A lot of the twists and turns were fun to follow and made sense or caught me off guard in a good way the way the first book had. So I think I’ll continue to love this duology, even if this one let me down in some frustrating ways.
I want to love this book very badly, but a lot of pieces felt almost hollow to me. It felt oddly paced with parts of the story told too quickly and other parts feeling circular. There was a lot of waffling about for a while, following intricate twists and turns that sometimes felt like they came with no foreshadowing and sometimes were far too obvious. There were moments with certain characters that were written like they were meant to have some real impact that just fell flat, probably because in the break between books I’d forgotten them entirely or why I cared about them. They didn’t have a whole lot to do or say here, just filler roles for the most part. Lastly, I understand that there’s a definite theme with the whole lack of trust and lying and everything, but one of my absolute biggest pet peeves is when major plot points could have been avoided if the characters had simply sat down and had an honest conversation. Perhaps it would have felt better for Amaya and Cayo to constantly have to force themselves into these leaps of trusts, laying it all out there (especially when what Amaya’s keeping secret is something she constantly wonders why she wasn’t told sooner; she actively laments the fact that it’d been kept a secret from her while continuing to keep it a secret herself while it festered). It would have been a more interesting character arc for either of them.
The good, though, is that this book holds the same level of technical writing that the first did and held some lines that I want to keep a tight hold on because they were so beautiful and they broke my heart. I still love Cayo and Amara in general and the side characters (for the most part) remained interesting even if I didn’t care about them as much (apart from Soria, that girl deserves an award for putting up with Cayo and Amara and the whole dang world). A lot of the twists and turns were fun to follow and made sense or caught me off guard in a good way the way the first book had. So I think I’ll continue to love this duology, even if this one let me down in some frustrating ways.
Initial thoughts:
I'm torn and conflicted. Ravage the Dark is a fascinating follow-up and good conclusion to this dark, gritty fantasy duology. However, its boundless potential was not fully realized and that's largely due to the plot and pacing issues.
On one hand, I don't think that this story has enough material to be expanded into a trilogy. But on the other hand, I also feel that Ravage the Dark tried to cram in too many things within a finite number of pages. The change in pacing was hard for me to ignore, especially since I had reread Scavenge the Stars prior. And even more unfortunate, despite the sequel's brisk pacing, the plot did not carry the same level of energy. Much of the politics and conspiracies were left vague and lacking.
Nonetheless, I am impressed that the author managed to tie all loose ends - because believe me, there were plenty - in ways that are sensible and satisfactory. I also liked how this sequel handled grief, trauma, and healing. My main gripe lies in wishing the author had more time and more pages to work with.
Recommended!
I'm torn and conflicted. Ravage the Dark is a fascinating follow-up and good conclusion to this dark, gritty fantasy duology. However, its boundless potential was not fully realized and that's largely due to the plot and pacing issues.
On one hand, I don't think that this story has enough material to be expanded into a trilogy. But on the other hand, I also feel that Ravage the Dark tried to cram in too many things within a finite number of pages. The change in pacing was hard for me to ignore, especially since I had reread Scavenge the Stars prior. And even more unfortunate, despite the sequel's brisk pacing, the plot did not carry the same level of energy. Much of the politics and conspiracies were left vague and lacking.
Nonetheless, I am impressed that the author managed to tie all loose ends - because believe me, there were plenty - in ways that are sensible and satisfactory. I also liked how this sequel handled grief, trauma, and healing. My main gripe lies in wishing the author had more time and more pages to work with.
Recommended!
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Trigger Warnings for Death of a sibling, death of a parent, addiction (alcohol and gambling), illness/plague, violence
This was a solid conclusion, though the very end kept it from being a 5 star. Reading about this disease in 2021 after enduring 2020 was definitely difficult at times, and just very interesting considering Sim wrote this book in 2019, before Rona.
I really enjoyed getting to know some of the minor characters better, such as Remy, Liesel, and Deadshot (also I'm not sure why I didn't realize Deadshot was a woman and Liesel and Deadshot were an f/f couple? Whoops). Avi was in it a bit, too, but he still felt somewhat two-dimensional and wasn't in it nearly as much. Mostly he was just the trans-man. Again, I appreciated him being there, but like the last book, his comment about his binder felt a little bit out of left-field and forced in to let us know he's a transman who wears a binder. (And I do love how casually queer this book is, even if it sometimes feels a little stilted to explain 'this character is trans/enby'.) Still, I really liked Liesel who was a pretty prominent character in this book when she was a minor character in the first book. Ramora, sadly, was not in this one as much.
I did like the element of trying to figure out how the counterfeit coins came into circulation and who was making and distributing them. This story was definitely more of a mystery story than the first one, so that was intriguing. Mostly though, it's a story about family, and having complicated relationships with your parents, and dealing with grief, and learning how to mend trust. That was really the strong suit of this story and I really loved seeing Amaya and Cayo grapple with their relationships with their fathers as well as their relationship with each other. All of that was so wonderfully done.
So the very end left a bit to be desired and did disappoint me a little, but I found the rest of the book to be deeply enjoyable. I can't wait to read what Tara Sim has in store next.
This was a solid conclusion, though the very end kept it from being a 5 star. Reading about this disease in 2021 after enduring 2020 was definitely difficult at times, and just very interesting considering Sim wrote this book in 2019, before Rona.
I really enjoyed getting to know some of the minor characters better, such as Remy, Liesel, and Deadshot (also I'm not sure why I didn't realize Deadshot was a woman and Liesel and Deadshot were an f/f couple? Whoops). Avi was in it a bit, too, but he still felt somewhat two-dimensional and wasn't in it nearly as much. Mostly he was just the trans-man. Again, I appreciated him being there, but like the last book, his comment about his binder felt a little bit out of left-field and forced in to let us know he's a transman who wears a binder. (And I do love how casually queer this book is, even if it sometimes feels a little stilted to explain 'this character is trans/enby'.) Still, I really liked Liesel who was a pretty prominent character in this book when she was a minor character in the first book. Ramora, sadly, was not in this one as much
Spoiler
and honestly felt like she and her story as Slum Queen kind of got shoved in last minute to wrap things up with herI did like the element of trying to figure out how the counterfeit coins came into circulation and who was making and distributing them. This story was definitely more of a mystery story than the first one, so that was intriguing. Mostly though, it's a story about family, and having complicated relationships with your parents, and dealing with grief, and learning how to mend trust. That was really the strong suit of this story and I really loved seeing Amaya and Cayo grapple with their relationships with their fathers as well as their relationship with each other. All of that was so wonderfully done.
Spoiler
The very ending left a bit to be desired. The cloth in Rin's Widow Vault gets a really quick wrap-up that didn't feel fully explained, nor did it have much set-up to it so the pay-off didn't feel earned. It felt like it came out of nowhere. Same with Boon, as he was dying, telling them who the Benefactor was, just like that, after they had spent so long and done so much work trying to figure it out themselves. And then the actual wrap-up happens off page and we learn about it in a letter from Liesel. I suppose it makes sense that Amaya and Cayo wouldn't be there for the whole government part of it, but I still felt a little cheated out of an ending. And again, the Ramora plotline of her being the Slum Queen and fighting her father felt a bit forced in all of a sudden.So the very end left a bit to be desired and did disappoint me a little, but I found the rest of the book to be deeply enjoyable. I can't wait to read what Tara Sim has in store next.
Fun read but the end of the book feel a little flat.
adventurous
challenging
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated