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kylieqrada's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
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
4.0
2024 reread: 4-4.5 ⭐️s. I completely forgot about this series and then I found out there’s a spin-off?? So we’re doing a reread. And I’m live laugh loving!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture, Violence, and Death
Moderate: Cursing, Rape, and Suicide attempt
Minor: Gore, Grief, and Child death
mayastone's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
eblyth's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
internetrichie's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
thorium0232's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
faithtrustpixiedust's review against another edition
4.0
"The world isn't a romantic stage play; it's not all love or glory."
The Writing and Worldbuilding
This was a fun, wish-fulfillment fantasy, with altogether too many swordfights but just the right amount of Brasti. The writing itself was probably the best part, though the plot was a bit too repetitive. For a debut, it's really good. I enjoyed it a lot!
The world was a bit confusing, and some of the more magical elements were introduced a bit too late in my opinion, but on the whole I liked it enough. For a fictional country, it felt real and I got a pretty good grasp on the land, the people, and the differing cultures.
The very ending was alright, albeit cliché. Kind of wished some things had remained in place, but I guess you can't have a series if it stayed as it was. Overall, it wasn't a particularly deep or original story, nor was it well plotted. But it had some fun characters and read like a mindless action movie. So I enjoyed it.
The Characters
Falcio: He was an impulsive idiot, but at least that was kinda recognized in the story. He was very much a Gary Stu but I liked him enough. Again, mindless action hero.
Aline: No action movie is complete without a young girl the male lead has to protect, and this book was no different! For the most part, she didn't have a personality and seemed to know things the plot said she didn't know, but she was fine.
Brasti and Kest: They may be on the cover, but they're barely in the book. I liked them though, especially Brasti. He's a riot.
The interchangeable hot women who are either daughter-like or lover-like, and there's basically no difference, which is disturbing but I try not to think about it: They're okay, I guess. They're usually almost villainous, which was odd. One of them quite literally comes out of nowhere and then promptly disappears. Like a good woman ought to 🙃
Tailor: She was an icon, honestly.
The villains: Were they really even a thing?
Conclusion
It was okay. I say if girls can get their mindless wish-fulfillment fantasy books, like Caraval, then boys should get them too.
"That's what being free means—not the right to do whatever you want, but the right to take a stand and say what you'll die for."
kbc1239's review against another edition
2.0
The story was just okay. It started strong and I enjoyed the Greatcoats together. Then after they split the story started sliding. The plot bounced around a lot. Never really got into the plot.
taxiforone's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
ribshack2012's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0