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lawbooks600's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-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
3.0
Representation: Implied Brown character
Score: Six points out of ten.
One year ago, I read Astrid Scholte's debut, Four Dead Queens--a massive disappointment. One year later, it was time to read her latest book (at the time of writing,) League of Liars. However, it turned out to be equally underwhelming. I thought League of Liars was enjoyable until I picked out the flaws. I'm done with this author.
It starts with the first character I see, Cayder Broduck, studying to be a lawyer after magic, or edem, killed his mother. He seizes an opportunity to be a public defender's apprentice to learn every trick to dismantle arguments, as the blurb said. However, when Cayder meets his clients in the prison, Jay and Leta, they are not what they seem at first glance. League of Liars revolves around a mystery concerning who burnt a town to the ground. If it's not the suspect, then who is it? Unfortunately, nothing happens in League of Liars except the characters living their lives, creating a monotonous reading experience. I couldn't connect or relate to them. The worldbuilding doesn't exist, and the worst part is the magic system. Why is there a veil where all the edem comes from? How did it get here? Why hasn't the country the author set League of Liars set in progressed compared to others? There's no explanation for any of my questions. The conclusion is a cliffhanger and more action-packed than the rest of League of Liars. The sequel, Shadows of Truth, will arrive this year, but I don't want to read any more of the author's fictional compositions for now.
Score: Six points out of ten.
One year ago, I read Astrid Scholte's debut, Four Dead Queens--a massive disappointment. One year later, it was time to read her latest book (at the time of writing,) League of Liars. However, it turned out to be equally underwhelming. I thought League of Liars was enjoyable until I picked out the flaws. I'm done with this author.
It starts with the first character I see, Cayder Broduck, studying to be a lawyer after magic, or edem, killed his mother. He seizes an opportunity to be a public defender's apprentice to learn every trick to dismantle arguments, as the blurb said. However, when Cayder meets his clients in the prison, Jay and Leta, they are not what they seem at first glance. League of Liars revolves around a mystery concerning who burnt a town to the ground. If it's not the suspect, then who is it? Unfortunately, nothing happens in League of Liars except the characters living their lives, creating a monotonous reading experience. I couldn't connect or relate to them. The worldbuilding doesn't exist, and the worst part is the magic system. Why is there a veil where all the edem comes from? How did it get here? Why hasn't the country the author set League of Liars set in progressed compared to others? There's no explanation for any of my questions. The conclusion is a cliffhanger and more action-packed than the rest of League of Liars. The sequel, Shadows of Truth, will arrive this year, but I don't want to read any more of the author's fictional compositions for now.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Death, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Confinement
Full trigger warnings: Fire, death of parents and others in the past, near-death experience, imprisonment, murder, gun violenceforeverinastory's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Thank you to Penguin Teen and Netgalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
This was fun but I think the comparisons to Six of Crows are hurting this book by giving people the wrong impression about this book. There is no heist. And honestly the synopsis has a huge spoiler about the book so... 🙃
League of Liars follows four teenagers: Cayder Broduck, a young man who wants to become a public defender and knows his apprenticeship under one of the premier public defenders can make his dreams come true. The other three main characters are prisoners of Vardean, a high security prison. One of them is Cayder's sister, Leta. Cayder doesn't know how his sister has been accused of mass murder, but he's determined to find out what really happened. As Cayder gets caught up in these three cases, he finds surprising connections and treachery.
I really enjoyed this story. I found all the court politics and trials fascinating. The magic system was kind of confusing but I was curious nonetheless. I really want to know if there will be a sequel because this was 100% set up for one and even ends on a cliffhanger (of sorts) so...powers that be please make it happen.
Cayder was all right. I liked him well enough even though he was quite stubborn. But I really enjoyed his character growth throughout this. He uncovers a shit ton of info throughout this novel and the way his actions change were really amazing. I loved Leta and I always wanted to know more about her character. Even though this book is multi POV with four narrators, Cayder and his journey is the focal point. We get to know Eleanor, Jey and Leta well, but their arcs are not as complete as Cayder's was in this one. Regardless I really came to like them all. Though Cayder's estranged childhood best friend, Kema, was my absolute favorite.
Lastly, I really enjoyed the parallels of discovering how frustrating injustice is and seeing a system you thought worked and was good fall to corruption. The themes in this book definitely parallel 2020-2021 and the things we've seen happen in the US justice system.
Rep: white male cishet MC, white female cishet MC, white female cishet MC (royalty), vegetarian male cishet MC (I think Jey is white but I don't remember), BIPOC sapphic female side character, BIPOC male side character (lawyer).
CWs: Imprisonment, forced institutionalization, corruption of trial process, grief, death of parent, violence. Moderate: fire, mass murder (whole town dies), murder, fascist government regime attempting to take over.
This was fun but I think the comparisons to Six of Crows are hurting this book by giving people the wrong impression about this book. There is no heist. And honestly the synopsis has a huge spoiler about the book so... 🙃
League of Liars follows four teenagers: Cayder Broduck, a young man who wants to become a public defender and knows his apprenticeship under one of the premier public defenders can make his dreams come true. The other three main characters are prisoners of Vardean, a high security prison. One of them is Cayder's sister, Leta. Cayder doesn't know how his sister has been accused of mass murder, but he's determined to find out what really happened. As Cayder gets caught up in these three cases, he finds surprising connections and treachery.
I really enjoyed this story. I found all the court politics and trials fascinating. The magic system was kind of confusing but I was curious nonetheless. I really want to know if there will be a sequel because this was 100% set up for one and even ends on a cliffhanger (of sorts) so...powers that be please make it happen.
Cayder was all right. I liked him well enough even though he was quite stubborn. But I really enjoyed his character growth throughout this. He uncovers a shit ton of info throughout this novel and the way his actions change were really amazing. I loved Leta and I always wanted to know more about her character. Even though this book is multi POV with four narrators, Cayder and his journey is the focal point. We get to know Eleanor, Jey and Leta well, but their arcs are not as complete as Cayder's was in this one. Regardless I really came to like them all. Though Cayder's estranged childhood best friend, Kema, was my absolute favorite.
Lastly, I really enjoyed the parallels of discovering how frustrating injustice is and seeing a system you thought worked and was good fall to corruption. The themes in this book definitely parallel 2020-2021 and the things we've seen happen in the US justice system.
Rep: white male cishet MC, white female cishet MC, white female cishet MC (royalty), vegetarian male cishet MC (I think Jey is white but I don't remember), BIPOC sapphic female side character, BIPOC male side character (lawyer).
CWs: Imprisonment, forced institutionalization, corruption of trial process, grief, death of parent, violence. Moderate: fire, mass murder (whole town dies), murder, fascist government regime attempting to take over.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Death of parent, Death, Forced institutionalization, and Grief
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury and Murder
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