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3.94 AVERAGE
3.94 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
sad
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:
Yes
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
This was a valiant effort as a first book, but ultimately it read like a debut book.
For the first few chapters there was a lot of telling instead of showing. It felt like the narration was repeating itself trying to make sure we understood the power dynamics of the world when half the information was easily inferred from character interactions.
The romance between Keera and [redacted] felt very surface level. I feel like there were a lot of good moments for them to connect and build an emotional relationship, but they didn’t reach their full potential. I feel like the whole romance was riding on this electric spark between them and a very shaky foundation of trust.
I was excited to see an Indigenous author's take on the very popular "morally grey assassin" character and the "over throw the colonizing kingdom" plot. There has been a lot of similar combinations over the years in various series. The tired but prime example being Sarah Janet's Thr*ne of Gl*ss series. I think Blair did a great job writing Keera as morally grey. Keera truly felt sorry for the inconsequential people she had to kill, but nothing was getting in the way of the plan. As for overthrowing the kingdom, there’s three more books for me to get through to see if she pulls it off.
Overall, I think there was an equal amount of strengths and weaknesses in this debut. But I think with more experience and more novels under her belt that Blair will write a solid fantasy romance.
For the first few chapters there was a lot of telling instead of showing. It felt like the narration was repeating itself trying to make sure we understood the power dynamics of the world when half the information was easily inferred from character interactions.
The romance between Keera and [redacted] felt very surface level. I feel like there were a lot of good moments for them to connect and build an emotional relationship, but they didn’t reach their full potential. I feel like the whole romance was riding on this electric spark between them and a very shaky foundation of trust.
I was excited to see an Indigenous author's take on the very popular "morally grey assassin" character and the "over throw the colonizing kingdom" plot. There has been a lot of similar combinations over the years in various series. The tired but prime example being Sarah Janet's Thr*ne of Gl*ss series. I think Blair did a great job writing Keera as morally grey. Keera truly felt sorry for the inconsequential people she had to kill, but nothing was getting in the way of the plan. As for overthrowing the kingdom, there’s three more books for me to get through to see if she pulls it off.
Overall, I think there was an equal amount of strengths and weaknesses in this debut. But I think with more experience and more novels under her belt that Blair will write a solid fantasy romance.
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
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
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
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
I'm sooo conflicted about this book because for the most part, I really enjoyed it. The world-building was really intriguing and I loved the addiction representation. But I found the romance and the love interest really irritating. It has so many of the tropes that are just not my cup of tea that I feel conflicted about reading the sequels. Is it worth being irritated for 1500+ more pages? 🥲