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3.58 AVERAGE
3.58 AVERAGE
CAWPILE Rating (Developed by G from Bookroast)
Characters - 4
Atmosphere - 4
Writing - 2
Plot - 3
Intrigue - 4
Logic - 3
Enjoyment - 2
--- SPOILERS AHEAD ---
This book wasn't really my cup of tea.
I'm not a massove romance fan so were off the a bad start but I really thought it was a shame that skme of the other plot points/backstory/world weren't more filled out.
The book definitely picoed up pace in the secpnd half and I flew through it but i did find the first third a bit slow going.
All in all a fun read to break up my big books and i'll probably read the sequal at some point.
IMPORTANT NOTE: These reviews are all my own opinion and a reflection of my personal tastes and mood at the time of reading, NOT a reflection of the books plot or authors ability.
Characters - 4
Atmosphere - 4
Writing - 2
Plot - 3
Intrigue - 4
Logic - 3
Enjoyment - 2
--- SPOILERS AHEAD ---
This book wasn't really my cup of tea.
I'm not a massove romance fan so were off the a bad start but I really thought it was a shame that skme of the other plot points/backstory/world weren't more filled out.
The book definitely picoed up pace in the secpnd half and I flew through it but i did find the first third a bit slow going.
All in all a fun read to break up my big books and i'll probably read the sequal at some point.
IMPORTANT NOTE: These reviews are all my own opinion and a reflection of my personal tastes and mood at the time of reading, NOT a reflection of the books plot or authors ability.
⭐️3.5/5 stars.
This is perfect for any fan of From Blood & Ash (especially back when we were all going crazy about the series).
Like with FBAA we have a main character who can fight and has a desire to leave her confines, but has a secret. And a love interest who is hot but has the weight of his kingdom and the war on his shoulders. Plus the fated mate trope and enemies to lovers.
While I enjoyed this story, there were two reasons why I gave it 3.5 stars. First, it is a personal reason. I really hate when the love interest says things like “good girl” during spicy scenes. It always feels so condescending to me and instantly annoys me out of a scene. The other reason is me knit picking but there were a few scenes where the pov character suddenly developed eyes in the back of their head and they could see what another character is doing even though they are turned away.
Now those two reasons are personal ticks and really doesn’t take away from the story. Overall, I think a lot of people will enjoy this book. Again, especially if you were fan of the early From Blood & Ash books.
Thank you to the author and BookFunnel for providing the ARC for my honest review.
This is perfect for any fan of From Blood & Ash (especially back when we were all going crazy about the series).
Like with FBAA we have a main character who can fight and has a desire to leave her confines, but has a secret. And a love interest who is hot but has the weight of his kingdom and the war on his shoulders. Plus the fated mate trope and enemies to lovers.
While I enjoyed this story, there were two reasons why I gave it 3.5 stars. First, it is a personal reason. I really hate when the love interest says things like “good girl” during spicy scenes. It always feels so condescending to me and instantly annoys me out of a scene. The other reason is me knit picking but there were a few scenes where the pov character suddenly developed eyes in the back of their head and they could see what another character is doing even though they are turned away.
Now those two reasons are personal ticks and really doesn’t take away from the story. Overall, I think a lot of people will enjoy this book. Again, especially if you were fan of the early From Blood & Ash books.
Thank you to the author and BookFunnel for providing the ARC for my honest review.
I recommended this book to my 2 book friends! This book is so freaking amazing, I adored Ara since the first chapter and fell head over heels in love with Rogue the first time we laid eyes on him! And don't get me started about the other characters. The suspense is unaliving me, I can't wait for book 2! Thank you so much JD Linton for writing this beautiful story, keep up the good work, much love from a 24 y.o. the Netherlands!
If I had to use one word to describe this book it would be: shallow. Character development was non-existent, interpersonal relationships were suddenly just there, and we had to care about a series of side characters both the FMC and we as readers have seen maybe 3 times, plot holes galore, and rogue assumptions made to drive the plot had me absolutely LOLing the closer this book neared it’s end. Oh someone died: it must have been murder and it must have been for this and this reason, and the murderer must be this guy. Proof? Circumstantial evidence? Real evidence? Ppffffff we don’t need that. We have a very circumspect theory already and it works just fine. The spy that lives in this castle, which we know about, whom we know has incentive and a foothold where the person was actually killed, nooooo it can’t be them… Here I, the reviewer, have shown more thought to this murder and possible murderer than any of the characters in this book. They just ASSUMED a bunch of things, stated it as truth, and went on their merry way. HOW!?!??? And this happens all the time in this book in multiple situations.
From the very first chapter you are thrown into this world, things are explained briefly and everything remains very surface and therefore you are not sucked into this world. This extends to the aforementioned character development, interpersonal relations, and world building. The FMC Ara and MMC Rogue (what a fucking name) are fated mates but don’t like each other. The book tries to go for an enemies to lovers vibe and does it like this: Ara: “I don’t like you” and Ara flees the castle. Rogue: chases Ara, catches up to her, they exchange 3 sentences, they fuck. SHE WAS JUST ESCAPING HIM AND NOW SHE LETS HIM DICK HER DOWN!?!?! Talk about a budding romance. And truthfully, this is the extent of the entire development of their relationship. Truly riveting.
Another example: Ara is thinking about what would happen if she leaves the castle and goes back home: “but I won’t see Iona anymore, nor Doran and whatever the other guy’s name was.” Ara turns morose and reflective of all the relationships she has built here. She has literally had 2 short “good morning” conversations with these people. MAKE IT MAKE SENSE.
I feel like this was the first book for this author, or at least I hope so, because there was so much room for improvement. I would suggest actual conversations and interaction between your characters, some world building rather than: oh btw we are nearing the end of the book but here’s this new threat that comes out of nowhere and I won’t explain how I know about it or where it came from (even though it’s very essence would render me oblivious to its existence) but it’s really real! I promise.
Sigh… the premise is cool, everything I love in a fantasy romance, and I guess I liked some parts? If I lowered my standards. Which I did, since I finished it. I guess that’s a positive. I don’t know? I enjoyed (or annoyed) it enough to finish it so there had to be something keeping me reading. If I find out what it was I’ll let you know…
From the very first chapter you are thrown into this world, things are explained briefly and everything remains very surface and therefore you are not sucked into this world. This extends to the aforementioned character development, interpersonal relations, and world building. The FMC Ara and MMC Rogue (what a fucking name) are fated mates but don’t like each other. The book tries to go for an enemies to lovers vibe and does it like this: Ara: “I don’t like you” and Ara flees the castle. Rogue: chases Ara, catches up to her, they exchange 3 sentences, they fuck. SHE WAS JUST ESCAPING HIM AND NOW SHE LETS HIM DICK HER DOWN!?!?! Talk about a budding romance. And truthfully, this is the extent of the entire development of their relationship. Truly riveting.
Another example: Ara is thinking about what would happen if she leaves the castle and goes back home: “but I won’t see Iona anymore, nor Doran and whatever the other guy’s name was.” Ara turns morose and reflective of all the relationships she has built here. She has literally had 2 short “good morning” conversations with these people. MAKE IT MAKE SENSE.
I feel like this was the first book for this author, or at least I hope so, because there was so much room for improvement. I would suggest actual conversations and interaction between your characters, some world building rather than: oh btw we are nearing the end of the book but here’s this new threat that comes out of nowhere and I won’t explain how I know about it or where it came from (even though it’s very essence would render me oblivious to its existence) but it’s really real! I promise.
Sigh… the premise is cool, everything I love in a fantasy romance, and I guess I liked some parts? If I lowered my standards. Which I did, since I finished it. I guess that’s a positive. I don’t know? I enjoyed (or annoyed) it enough to finish it so there had to be something keeping me reading. If I find out what it was I’ll let you know…
Wanted to love this book… the storyline is so good but the writing is not there. It felt rushed and could be refined quite a bit. 3 stars because the potential is there and entertainment
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Had to put this one down. I will return to it when I have a little more patience. I am having trouble connecting to the characters and visualizing the world. The writing is just not drawing me in as I had hoped. I am curious how the story plays out but I'm going to pause reading it for now and try it again later.
I really wanted to like this story. It intrigued me from the very first chapters and it seemed like a refreshing story that didn't exactly follow established formulas. Filled with a lot of adventure, mystery and amazing supporting characters. Some of my predictions happened, most did not. Even though, I loved the romance, especially that even though they're fated mates, it wasn't easy and she hated him. The spicy scenes seemed kind of forced, and always ended up being a bit cringe. But the plot was interesting and I liked everything else so far so I still held out hope. This was a 4 star read until the end. When the climax occurs and you don't know how it will end for the characters you've come to love because they're outnumbered and war has come for them. Well how they survive and win this battle is a mystery never solved. The author just glosses over the battle. And throughout the book there are several inconsistencies and things that don't make sense but nothing as bad as this battle. Where characters die, enemies show up, power is displayed but the details are lacking, how they survive doesn't make sense and is never explained. And the ending, where the couple finally comes together feels like all previous times forced, not romantic and not even a good cliffhanger. I'm reading the next book in the series because like I said it's a good plot and has potential but if it lacks as much as this one I will probably not read anymore of this series or author.
“after a lifetime of being hated, forgotten, and alone, in that moment, I had wanted it so badly. I wanted her. A life. A mate. To be chosen. Wanted. I wanted to be wanted. I wanted her to want me.”
I literally only read this book because of this line. I saw it on TikTok and everyone said it would cure my iron flame hangover. It had so much potential but there was so much information given without fully explaining or letting it build.
I literally only read this book because of this line. I saw it on TikTok and everyone said it would cure my iron flame hangover. It had so much potential but there was so much information given without fully explaining or letting it build.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
surprisingly SUCH A GOOD BOOK. tension, yearning, enemies to lovers fr, just 🤌🏻🤌🏻🤌🏻