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3.97 AVERAGE
3.97 AVERAGE
great battle scenes, but really uneven pacing. I often found myself bored and not really paying attention, and then later very intrigued/excited. Curious where the series is going.
I haven't read a lot of flintlock fantasy books, only the first book in the Powdermage trilogy which quite honestly was a let down. This one, however, was really interesting. Sometimes battles can be a bit boring or hard to understand but the writing here makes it understandable what is happening. I also really liked the characters. It took me a bit of time to warm up to Marcus, but I ended up liking him. I'm interestered to see where the next book will lead the story.
adventurous
challenging
funny
informative
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I really enjoyed this book, but one thing really seemed too far fetched to be believed - that Winter could pass as a man in an army for two years. There's really no other women around, they're on the move often, difficult conditions and no one notices she's a girl? Really? She never pees in front of anyone? She manages to hide getting her period from an entire army of people in super close quarters? It just seems super unrealistic. Still a good book though. I'm already started on the 2nd one...
I still don't know whether I like this book. Parts are very good. I love Winter and the cameraderie she has with her squad even though she's confused by it. I like Marcus and the conflict he has between doing his job and supporting his friend.
The plot however didn't grab me. This is partly because it's not really my sort of book being military in nature, which I always tend to struggle with. Also, it felt a bit jerky in pacing, although that may have been how I read it.
In short, if I do read the next one, it'll be to get my fix of the characters not necessarily for the plot.
The plot however didn't grab me. This is partly because it's not really my sort of book being military in nature, which I always tend to struggle with. Also, it felt a bit jerky in pacing, although that may have been how I read it.
In short, if I do read the next one, it'll be to get my fix of the characters not necessarily for the plot.
adventurous
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
adventurous
medium-paced
This was an interesting enough read that I read the last 300 pages of this book in a single evening, but I'm unsure if I want to continue on with this series as military fantasy isn't really my thing. I've heard that the second book focuses more on political intrigue though, so I'll probably check it out from the library should I feel like continuing on.
I received a copy of this book free from the Goodreads Firstreads program in exchange for an honest review.
This book kind of tricked me. I was interested and engaged the whole way through before reaching the end and realizing that I actually didn't like it all that much. I enjoyed it, but not enough to continue with the next books in the series.
There was good pacing, solid action, and a classic quest-type premise. Everyone is after a mystical thing called "The Thousand Names." But I wish we had been told more about what this object was and why everyone was after it. It could have been neat for the item to remain shrouded in mystery, if the characters had felt deeper and more real, so that you really felt their drive in spite of not really understanding their end goal. But when the action passed its climax at the end of the book, I felt like I didn't really know or care about any of the characters or their reasons.
Something deeper was missing from this book, for me at least. Maybe I've read too much fantasy and my standards are too high.
This book kind of tricked me. I was interested and engaged the whole way through before reaching the end and realizing that I actually didn't like it all that much. I enjoyed it, but not enough to continue with the next books in the series.
There was good pacing, solid action, and a classic quest-type premise. Everyone is after a mystical thing called "The Thousand Names." But I wish we had been told more about what this object was and why everyone was after it. It could have been neat for the item to remain shrouded in mystery, if the characters had felt deeper and more real, so that you really felt their drive in spite of not really understanding their end goal. But when the action passed its climax at the end of the book, I felt like I didn't really know or care about any of the characters or their reasons.
Something deeper was missing from this book, for me at least. Maybe I've read too much fantasy and my standards are too high.
adventurous