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emilywemily6's review
adventurous
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
I ate this up!! If you like The Hunger Games + Divergent + The Selection, you’ll like this a lot. I really liked the premise with the Elites and the Ordinaries, as well as the different powers you see used by Elites throughout the book. The only reason this isn’t a 5 star is because the book felt a bit long (17.5 hr listen for a first book in a YA trilogy is a bit much). I am so excited to read the next book asap!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Deportation, Hate crime, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, Murder, Child abuse, Ableism, Police brutality, Death, Death of parent, Physical abuse, Body horror, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Blood, Classism, Gaslighting, Gore, and Violence
Moderate: Cursing, Kidnapping, Medical content, and Child death
linaslittlelibrary's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
tense
- 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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, and Violence
Moderate: Grief, Death of parent, and Torture
Minor: Alcohol and Panic attacks/disorders
kinsportch's review
adventurous
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Death, Murder, Blood, Body horror, Classism, Grief, and Violence
Moderate: Genocide
Minor: Animal death and Alcohol
beckyyreadss's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
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? Yes
4.0
I wanted to read this book because I enjoy fantasy and it kept popping up on my feed and trusting Booktok hits can either be hit or miss and this one was a hit. It was all my favourite fantasy books from when I was younger all wrapped into one.
This book has two points of view. The first is Paedyn Gray, and she has been pretending to be something she has not for her whole life. She has been surviving in the slums as an Ordinary and it’s no simple task, and she knows this. She has been trained by her father to be overly observant since she was a child, Paedyn poses as a psychic in the crowded city, blending in with the Elites as best she can in order to stay alive and out of trouble. When Paedyn unsuspectingly saves one of Ilyas princes, she finds herself the own into the Purging Trials. The brutal competition exists to showcase the Elites’ powers – the very thing Paedyn lacks. If the Trials and the opponents within them don’t kill her, the prince she’s fighting feelings for certainly will if he discovers what she is – completely Ordinary. The second point of view is Kai Azer, he has been trained his whole life to be the Enforcer. His father has been torturing him to “make him stronger” since he has been able to walk. The upcoming trials are going to be fixed so that he looks good for his kingdom, but Kai is sick of these games and sick of putting on a mask and killing people for his father. The one thing he didn’t encounter was Paedyn standing up for him and standing up against him. This book is a young adult fantasy romance.
You couldn’t tell this was a debut at all. This book was brilliantly written, and I enjoyed this book. I loved the characters – Kai and Paedyn were hilarious separately and together and how they were avoiding each other but then they didn’t want to avoid each other and wanted to be around each other. Paedyn could kick my ass and I would thank her for it. I love how blunt she was and how she didn’t give a shit that she was fully surrounded by the rich and powerful and she’s just like see where I live and it’s your fault. Kai was just a golden retriever; man needs to learn to cover his emotions better because she was easy to read as an open book.
My only issue was it was all a bit predictable, just like the Hunger Games and the Purging. The different between the rich and the poor and was just like the districts. Emma being the Cinna and wanting to make sure Paedyn stands out. President Snow looks like Santa Claus compared to the King in this book. You knew the best friend was going to die, like Katniss’s sister did.
The ending was cruel and I'm glad I've read it when I did because I only have to wait 2 or 3 months instead of 7 months. I hope Kitt doesn’t become cruel even though he was betrayed because it will just hurt my heart.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Blood, and Death
Moderate: Torture, Grief, and Death of parent
Minor: Alcohol, Cursing, and Panic attacks/disorders
lizzysk555's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Murder, Violence, Blood, and Death of parent
Moderate: Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Fire/Fire injury, Torture, Gore, and Medical content
Minor: Pandemic/Epidemic and Alcohol
tegan_watts's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- 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: War, Violence, Death, Death of parent, Physical abuse, and Blood
Moderate: Torture
Minor: Alcohol
bethy_joy's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
tense
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: Death of parent, Blood, Gore, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Grief, and Murder
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Child abuse, Colonisation, Emotional abuse, War, Physical abuse, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Sexual harassment, Torture, Mental illness, Alcohol, Pandemic/Epidemic, and Panic attacks/disorders
izzyreads13's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-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
5.0
There are not enough good things to say about this book, so for simplicity I’ll sum it up for everyone interested in my review!
➸ MMC who’s the embodiment of a man written by a women, everything he says about halfway through the book when he comes to terms with his feelings for the FMC are heartwarming and almost poetic, “Her. I only want to be deserving of her”.
➸ Interesting world building, while it’s definitely not the most out there world, the author does a good job at throwing parts of the lore around through out the book when needed, making everything easy to understand while also not feeling like you’re constantly getting information thrown at you left and right. Information comes up when it’s needed.
➸ interesting characters. While some are definitely more loveable then others, all of the characters are written with enough depth and background to at least make you build some sort of connection with them, good or bad
➸ our FMC is strong and despite what I thought at a few points of the book, does not need to and or always rely on our MMC to save her. There are of course a few instances when he does but there are enough scenes throughout the book that reinforce the fact that she can stand her own ground without his assistance which I definitely enjoyed.
The story is a little hard to get into at first, I found myself picking the book up at least once every day for about 50 pages at a time but by the halfway mark I definitely felt more inclined to read more and more each time and by the last 100 pages not only was I devastated but satisfied. Devastated that it was over, yet satisfied as to how the book came together at the end. I’m eagerly awaiting the second book in a few months, but the rest of my review will just be some things I noted and felt while reading the book.
➸ definitely a slow burn. While the banter is continuous throughout the book from start to finish, it takes a while to get to a point where the characters verbalize those feelings to one another and by the end of it, only Kai does, our MMC (definitely a “he fell harder” situation). That doesn’t stop the tension between characters however, if anything it elevates it and I loved feeling the love through the words written on the page.
➸ I loved paedyns character as a whole, but through out a lot of the beginning of the book there’s numbers mentions of her deceased father and while it does subside a bit throughout the book, it was definitely very hard to get through for a while and almost made me eye-roll at his mention every time something bad happened. But like I did mention, this does subside mid book and does come back into play at the end.
Overall I truly did enjoy this book, I cried, squealed and everything else you could imagine while getting through this book, it was a fantastic read through and through and I know I’ll be sad when the trilogy ends, even though it has just started. I look forward to the rest of this trilogy and however many novellas Lauren decides to release alongside it in the future. I recommend this read to anyone who loves tension, banter, slow burn, and tropes such as “he fell harder” and the “who did this to you” trope! And please be aware that they are not joking when they market this book as a YA romantasy, because that’s really what it is. If you’re expecting some high end romance that’s more sophisticated, you won’t find it here, but the romance is definitely satisfying, heartfelt and beautifully written. I’d say it’s definitely one you at least have to pick up and try. Happy reading!
➸ MMC who’s the embodiment of a man written by a women, everything he says about halfway through the book when he comes to terms with his feelings for the FMC are heartwarming and almost poetic, “Her. I only want to be deserving of her”.
➸ Interesting world building, while it’s definitely not the most out there world, the author does a good job at throwing parts of the lore around through out the book when needed, making everything easy to understand while also not feeling like you’re constantly getting information thrown at you left and right. Information comes up when it’s needed.
➸ interesting characters. While some are definitely more loveable then others, all of the characters are written with enough depth and background to at least make you build some sort of connection with them, good or bad
➸ our FMC is strong and despite what I thought at a few points of the book, does not need to and or always rely on our MMC to save her. There are of course a few instances when he does but there are enough scenes throughout the book that reinforce the fact that she can stand her own ground without his assistance which I definitely enjoyed.
The story is a little hard to get into at first, I found myself picking the book up at least once every day for about 50 pages at a time but by the halfway mark I definitely felt more inclined to read more and more each time and by the last 100 pages not only was I devastated but satisfied. Devastated that it was over, yet satisfied as to how the book came together at the end. I’m eagerly awaiting the second book in a few months, but the rest of my review will just be some things I noted and felt while reading the book.
➸ definitely a slow burn. While the banter is continuous throughout the book from start to finish, it takes a while to get to a point where the characters verbalize those feelings to one another and by the end of it, only Kai does, our MMC (definitely a “he fell harder” situation). That doesn’t stop the tension between characters however, if anything it elevates it and I loved feeling the love through the words written on the page.
➸ I loved paedyns character as a whole, but through out a lot of the beginning of the book there’s numbers mentions of her deceased father and while it does subside a bit throughout the book, it was definitely very hard to get through for a while and almost made me eye-roll at his mention every time something bad happened. But like I did mention, this does subside mid book and does come back into play at the end.
Overall I truly did enjoy this book, I cried, squealed and everything else you could imagine while getting through this book, it was a fantastic read through and through and I know I’ll be sad when the trilogy ends, even though it has just started. I look forward to the rest of this trilogy and however many novellas Lauren decides to release alongside it in the future. I recommend this read to anyone who loves tension, banter, slow burn, and tropes such as “he fell harder” and the “who did this to you” trope! And please be aware that they are not joking when they market this book as a YA romantasy, because that’s really what it is. If you’re expecting some high end romance that’s more sophisticated, you won’t find it here, but the romance is definitely satisfying, heartfelt and beautifully written. I’d say it’s definitely one you at least have to pick up and try. Happy reading!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Emotional abuse, and Domestic abuse
Moderate: Death of parent, Murder, Child abuse, and Violence
Minor: Classism, Alcohol, Death, Blood, and Grief
lorenmarie7's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
tense
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
Content Warnings
Moderate: Classism, Violence, Death of parent, Gore, Alcohol, Murder, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Child death, Physical abuse, Torture, Genocide, and Death
steen19's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.75
If as a kid, you stayed up all night to read the Hunger Games, read this book. Just know that the trials don’t start until around page 200.
Also, f*ck Blair.
Also, f*ck Blair.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood, Classism, Death, and Body horror
Minor: Alcohol and Death of parent