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moonlightjuju's review against another edition
- 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
frenchfrybri's review against another edition
5.0
this is not going to be a review of this book, it will be a persuasive essay on why you should read this series so adjust your expectations accordingly. spoilers to come at the end, i will label when they’re coming.
i’d like to open with the reason why i’m reviewing the whole series here rather than book by book was because after i finished each book i just immediately flew into the next one and couldnt be arsed to pause long enough to write a review. initially i was very against picking up sarah j maas (admittedly bc of the rep her books have on booktok, i assumed this would not be my cup of tea) but one of my favorite fantasy series is the poison study trilogy i read this fall and my boss relentlessly recommended this to me for months so i started it. SO glad i picked it up. i get very bored when romance is the main plot line of a book, and this had a nice sprinkling of it where it was a fun subplot but not overpowering. however, the story would NOT exist without the friendships and kinship between characters and i think what was what really sealed in how much i loved it.
you can really tell as the book series goes on that the author becomes better at writing her characters. the first book has some poorly written female characters that are super one dimensional, but she 10000000% redeems herself and everyone is a whole person. i ADORED lysandra’s character so much. and YRENE!!! AND MANON!! all the characters in general changed so much and it was so well done. their growth happened slowly and always had a reason. if you like a character driven story, this is for you. if you like a lot of moving parts that click together in a perfect and satisfying way at the end, then read it. i think that after finishing this series (and granted i haven’t read tons of fantasy) the ultimate hero in this story is unique because she is strong specifically because of her femininity. and i really liked that a lot. not a single person is the same as they were at the start, and also not a single character is perfect. they are all flawed and amazing. the world building was strong, and the plot twists all had the exact right amount of groundwork leading up to them in my opinion. also tbh thought it was interesting the series addressed menstruation and how that worked in the midst of like, fleeing your enemies through a forest and trying to figure out little intricacies of daily life while still saving the world.
some things i did not love, but was able to overlook bc the rest was good: why is everyone dating each other all the time. can we just chill for a little bit maybe? sometimes, there were too many moving parts and too many perspectives. HOWEVER having finished it, i think that’s buildup and those moving parts were necessary and needed to have all those perspectives. but in the midst of reading sometimes it could be a lil confusing. i simply refuse to believe the events of this 8 book series took place OVER THE COURSE OF A YEAR?!??? no. sorry miss sarah but you are wrong on that one! this was at least 4/5 years let’s be realistic. also the way the fae are all “male” and “female” i get that the point was to remind us that they’re not human, they’re fae, but it still gave me the ick every time. also she shamelessly recycled world building elements from cultures irl, i mostly recognized all the myths and names and holidays from pagan irish and scottish traditions, i’m sure there were others (eyllwe to me seemed based off india) and it was just so copy-paste with maybe a letter or two changed that i didn’t love it. (ie, samhuinn? really? where’s the creativity in that)
overall though, this was so so so good and i was a huge fan and i recommend it very highly and i also want more people to read it so i can talk about it with you!!
okay NOW! we are entering into ****spoiler territory*******
the ending was my absolute favorite. i LOVED that the moral of the story was that the greatest enemies cannot be defeated alone and i LOVED that it was not an assassin or a person with violent magic who finally took out erawan. it was YRENE it was a HEALER it was someone who was not a warrior but someone who believed in hope and in good and it was a mothers sacrifice that ultimately saved the world. it was not about revenge, it was about teamwork and LOVE and that was so beautiful. yrene is definitely my favorite character in the whole series, with manon a very close second. her character change was a work of art within itself. when she lost her 13?????? wanted to cry and books do not make me cry. asterin’s sacrifice and the way they loved each other was so incredible. i was really sad and wanted to hear more about how she rebuilds a coven and surrounds herself with amazing women after the war, but i will have to settle with her riding off into the sunset with petrah and bronwen.
i’d like to open with the reason why i’m reviewing the whole series here rather than book by book was because after i finished each book i just immediately flew into the next one and couldnt be arsed to pause long enough to write a review. initially i was very against picking up sarah j maas (admittedly bc of the rep her books have on booktok, i assumed this would not be my cup of tea) but one of my favorite fantasy series is the poison study trilogy i read this fall and my boss relentlessly recommended this to me for months so i started it. SO glad i picked it up. i get very bored when romance is the main plot line of a book, and this had a nice sprinkling of it where it was a fun subplot but not overpowering. however, the story would NOT exist without the friendships and kinship between characters and i think what was what really sealed in how much i loved it.
you can really tell as the book series goes on that the author becomes better at writing her characters. the first book has some poorly written female characters that are super one dimensional, but she 10000000% redeems herself and everyone is a whole person. i ADORED lysandra’s character so much. and YRENE!!! AND MANON!! all the characters in general changed so much and it was so well done. their growth happened slowly and always had a reason. if you like a character driven story, this is for you. if you like a lot of moving parts that click together in a perfect and satisfying way at the end, then read it. i think that after finishing this series (and granted i haven’t read tons of fantasy) the ultimate hero in this story is unique because she is strong specifically because of her femininity. and i really liked that a lot. not a single person is the same as they were at the start, and also not a single character is perfect. they are all flawed and amazing. the world building was strong, and the plot twists all had the exact right amount of groundwork leading up to them in my opinion. also tbh thought it was interesting the series addressed menstruation and how that worked in the midst of like, fleeing your enemies through a forest and trying to figure out little intricacies of daily life while still saving the world.
some things i did not love, but was able to overlook bc the rest was good: why is everyone dating each other all the time. can we just chill for a little bit maybe? sometimes, there were too many moving parts and too many perspectives. HOWEVER having finished it, i think that’s buildup and those moving parts were necessary and needed to have all those perspectives. but in the midst of reading sometimes it could be a lil confusing. i simply refuse to believe the events of this 8 book series took place OVER THE COURSE OF A YEAR?!??? no. sorry miss sarah but you are wrong on that one! this was at least 4/5 years let’s be realistic. also the way the fae are all “male” and “female” i get that the point was to remind us that they’re not human, they’re fae, but it still gave me the ick every time. also she shamelessly recycled world building elements from cultures irl, i mostly recognized all the myths and names and holidays from pagan irish and scottish traditions, i’m sure there were others (eyllwe to me seemed based off india) and it was just so copy-paste with maybe a letter or two changed that i didn’t love it. (ie, samhuinn? really? where’s the creativity in that)
overall though, this was so so so good and i was a huge fan and i recommend it very highly and i also want more people to read it so i can talk about it with you!!
okay NOW! we are entering into ****spoiler territory*******
the ending was my absolute favorite. i LOVED that the moral of the story was that the greatest enemies cannot be defeated alone and i LOVED that it was not an assassin or a person with violent magic who finally took out erawan. it was YRENE it was a HEALER it was someone who was not a warrior but someone who believed in hope and in good and it was a mothers sacrifice that ultimately saved the world. it was not about revenge, it was about teamwork and LOVE and that was so beautiful. yrene is definitely my favorite character in the whole series, with manon a very close second. her character change was a work of art within itself. when she lost her 13?????? wanted to cry and books do not make me cry. asterin’s sacrifice and the way they loved each other was so incredible. i was really sad and wanted to hear more about how she rebuilds a coven and surrounds herself with amazing women after the war, but i will have to settle with her riding off into the sunset with petrah and bronwen.
nrr581994's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
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
4.5
nad_ine00's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
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
4.25
leeugh's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
asusini's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
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? No
5.0
Genuinely this book is the five stars to end five stars. I’m speechless at the beautiful ending. Everything tied together so perfectly. Will be thinking about this for a long time to come.
livia_09's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
pia_fluxus's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-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? No
5.0
💔🔥✨