Reviews

I really love this series. I don't quite know what it is, but there's something about it that just feels like comfort reading for me. It's definitely not the best written or most original fantasy I've read, but even so, it kept me wanting to stay up late to finish.

clockworkbook's review against another edition

Go to review page

4.0

4.5 - I love this series. Powerful themes and beautifully written. I would have rated this 5 stars, except the beginning was a bit slow.

guardyourhonor's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous emotional 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? No

4.0

Technically not much happened and the slow burn is not yet burnt, but I still really enjoyed it. I could critique some things (pace, one dimensional characters) but honestly none of it took away from my enjoyment of the book.

jaide_monroe's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous emotional sad tense 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

3.5

Finally finished this. Took me more than a month, but I can’t entirely blame the book for that (life got busy); although it did get a bit dry with all of the politics, but for this story, that was necessary.

If I’d have had more time to dedicate to this book, the rating would’ve been higher. I think I’ll take a bit of a break from this series and wait until I have more time to easily digest this story.

emilav's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

sjvind7's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

katyanaish's review against another edition

Go to review page

4.0

(Again, no original review, so these notes are from my Dec 2023 re-read.)

I enjoy this series, even as it stresses me out. The stress is just from good storytelling with legitimately scary possibilities looming, and awful things happening to our characters...or scary near-misses (but in a way justified by the story, not gratuitous bullshit).

Ellie is coming into her own, though she's been compelled to be afraid of her magic ... both literally (a weave cast on her as an infant, to hide her magic from the bad guys) and by her adoptive mother (she's a religious zealot asshole who equates all magic with evil). It means the parts where she's wobbly about it are justified, even if they are annoying. But it also means seeing her slowly embrace all that she is is a really gratifying story.

Some heartbreaking stuff happens in this book (hence the stress), so have some kleenex at hand.

Also, in case it isn't obvious from the "religious zealot asshole" comment above, I hate her mother. Nothing justifies what she does, how she acts, or what she brings about. Fuck her.

Spoiler

I'm glad she's gone, because there is no way she could have survived that shitshow and been part of Ellie's life without me shitcanning the series. You don't forgive and embrace someone who is so fucking racist and holier-than-thou that they willingly set you up for torture. She's a bitch, and her death trying to help stop the horror she caused is the only fucking thing that wipes that slate clean.

Additionally, fuck the Celierians, across the board. They deserve what's coming, especially with their bitch of a queen doing her best to make things worse.

Anyway, enjoying the re-read of this one.

More...