Scan barcode
angelofthetardis's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
The second in the 'Five Crowns of Okrith' series, this story follows the second surviving Dammacus sister, Rua, as she remains behind at the Northern Court with its new King, Renwick, the Witchslayer, to counter a new threat and learn to deal with the darkness inside her.
As with book one, this is everything you'd expect from a standard romantasy book, so if you're looking for groundbreaking, probably best to go elsewhere. But for a continuation of an easy reading, reliable, engaging story, this checks all the boxes. It does get off to a bit of a slow start, but this improves as you settle in, aided by the writer's clear style - she uses each scene to illustrate the development of relationships between her characters, rather than to draw focus to action-packed moments, so while it's not a pacy book, by the end you feel can feel the characters' feelings with them, even if you don't like them that much.
I say that last specifically about Rua. Apologies for the obvious comparison, but she comes across to me very much like Nesta in ACOTAR; grumpy, moan-y and with no idea how to see past her own woes. But, where Nesta has been given a beautiful redemption arc, the depth for Rua is missing. It's odd, because while everything flows well and it doesn't come as a surprise, her self-discovery feels like a simple plot contrivance rather than actual development. I believe she could be a much stronger character with further time and energy put into her, but as it is the story definitely works, just not as well as it could. On the other hand, I feel like Renwick's character is fully fleshed out and I love the little twists he brings to the tale.
I am beginning to see Okrith and the Courts more as the series progresses, and the worldbuilding and description in this book make the Northern Court camp in particular a lot easier to picture. But overall I would say that, while certain settings are drawn out to the level of detail they deserve, it is still quite hard to immerse myself fully into the land and imagine myself within the story.
I did enjoy and am happy to continue the series, but don't think it'll be for a while as my library service doesn't carry the rest... ☹️
As with book one, this is everything you'd expect from a standard romantasy book, so if you're looking for groundbreaking, probably best to go elsewhere. But for a continuation of an easy reading, reliable, engaging story, this checks all the boxes. It does get off to a bit of a slow start, but this improves as you settle in, aided by the writer's clear style - she uses each scene to illustrate the development of relationships between her characters, rather than to draw focus to action-packed moments, so while it's not a pacy book, by the end you feel can feel the characters' feelings with them, even if you don't like them that much.
I say that last specifically about Rua. Apologies for the obvious comparison, but she comes across to me very much like Nesta in ACOTAR; grumpy, moan-y and with no idea how to see past her own woes. But, where Nesta has been given a beautiful redemption arc, the depth for Rua is missing. It's odd, because while everything flows well and it doesn't come as a surprise, her self-discovery feels like a simple plot contrivance rather than actual development. I believe she could be a much stronger character with further time and energy put into her, but as it is the story definitely works, just not as well as it could. On the other hand, I feel like Renwick's character is fully fleshed out and I love the little twists he brings to the tale.
I am beginning to see Okrith and the Courts more as the series progresses, and the worldbuilding and description in this book make the Northern Court camp in particular a lot easier to picture. But overall I would say that, while certain settings are drawn out to the level of detail they deserve, it is still quite hard to immerse myself fully into the land and imagine myself within the story.
I did enjoy and am happy to continue the series, but don't think it'll be for a while as my library service doesn't carry the rest... ☹️
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Torture, Violence, Sexual content, War, Blood, Body horror, Cursing, Drug use, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Slavery
aseel_reads's review
adventurous
dark
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
4.0
I liked this more than the first book because a) the MC had a much more complex character development/arc/intricacies and b) the overall world plot was much more interesting, though the big plot twist was a bit obvious
Content Warnings
Moderate: Confinement, Kidnapping, Torture, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Child abuse, Child death, Gaslighting, Gore, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Drug use, and Grief
pauluszanna's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
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
4.0
I liked Rua's journey much better than I liked Remi's. She had a lot more depth, trauma she was working on for being in a cave for like 13 years. She is angry, and she doesn't know how to control it, she is sad, but she doesn't want to be, she wants to focus but she doesn't know how. In my opinion, we got to see a nice character development of Rua that I was missing a little from Remi.
Rua is travelling to the North with its new king, Renwick, to ensure that there is no drama or rebellion towards the newly re-established High Mountain Court.
I really liked Rua's and Renwick's chemistry, both stubborn, strong on the outside but broken and yearning for love deep inside. It was a well-established enemies-to-lovers trope until Guess what - they are fated mates! Who would've thought? Why does every great love be Fated? Why is that a pre-requisite to be swept from your feet, to fall for someone?
Apart from that spoiler between the two of them, it was an intriguing and exciting storyline that I enjoyed getting lost in.
However, the third book is about Bri, the bodyguard to both Remi and Rua, and I'm hesitant as to how interested I'm in that plot. Maybe I will pick it up at some point.
Rua is travelling to the North with its new king, Renwick, to ensure that there is no drama or rebellion towards the newly re-established High Mountain Court.
I really liked Rua's and Renwick's chemistry, both stubborn, strong on the outside but broken and yearning for love deep inside. It was a well-established enemies-to-lovers trope until
Apart from that spoiler between the two of them, it was an intriguing and exciting storyline that I enjoyed getting lost in.
However, the third book is about Bri, the bodyguard to both Remi and Rua, and I'm hesitant as to how interested I'm in that plot. Maybe I will pick it up at some point.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Murder, and Torture
Moderate: Blood and Death
ka_ke's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
I’ll admit, I was a little disappointed when I realized this book was from Rua’s POV and not more about Remy/Hale and the rest of the original characters. I suppose this was because I found Rua to be intolerable for the first 55% of the book. I wish there had been more of a transition from miserable to confident and happy for her. That being said, I am looking forward to the third book!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Cursing, Death, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Body horror, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Sexual content, Addiction, Gaslighting, and Misogyny
Minor: War, Torture, Murder, Kidnapping, Suicidal thoughts, and Classism
More...