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bookph1le's review against another edition
3.0
I am of two minds about this book:
1) Heloise was annoying and made me face palm repeatedly. She's young and immature, so having her act young and immature in the book doesn't make her actions seem out of character, but she is very frustrating to watch. I guess I would have liked to see her learn from one of the dumb things she did, rather than go on to do even more dumb things. Yet, as I said, she's young and immature, so it also felt conceivable to me she'd keep messing up. It just frustrated me, and it made me hard to really get into the beginning parts of the book.
2) I really liked the setting, I liked the tension between the villagers and the holy order run amok, and I liked the concept of wizards in this book. This is what kept me reading. I'm not an extensive reader of fantasy fiction, so my experience is limited, but what hooked me about this particular fantasy concept was it felt fresh. Part of the reason why I don't read much fantasy is the same reason why I don't read some other types of genre fiction. I am not big on genre conventions, and I find it boring when I feel like I'm reading the same basic plot and tropes, only with a different set of characters driving the action. This book feels like it has new ideas, and I wanted to explore those new ideas at length.
I do plan to read the next book in the series because I do want to see how it develops--and how Heloise develops--over time.
1) Heloise was annoying and made me face palm repeatedly. She's young and immature, so having her act young and immature in the book doesn't make her actions seem out of character, but she is very frustrating to watch. I guess I would have liked to see her learn from one of the dumb things she did, rather than go on to do even more dumb things. Yet, as I said, she's young and immature, so it also felt conceivable to me she'd keep messing up. It just frustrated me, and it made me hard to really get into the beginning parts of the book.
2) I really liked the setting, I liked the tension between the villagers and the holy order run amok, and I liked the concept of wizards in this book. This is what kept me reading. I'm not an extensive reader of fantasy fiction, so my experience is limited, but what hooked me about this particular fantasy concept was it felt fresh. Part of the reason why I don't read much fantasy is the same reason why I don't read some other types of genre fiction. I am not big on genre conventions, and I find it boring when I feel like I'm reading the same basic plot and tropes, only with a different set of characters driving the action. This book feels like it has new ideas, and I wanted to explore those new ideas at length.
I do plan to read the next book in the series because I do want to see how it develops--and how Heloise develops--over time.
yeti_vs_sasquatch's review against another edition
5.0
This book... It was heartbreaking and heartwarming. The anxiety it conjured up in me started from the first few pages and kept growing and growing as the story unfolded. The tension is almost unbearable at parts. Characters frustrated the hell out of me, but also made me smile with empathy or squirm at their cruelty. I wish I could follow their lives in a dozens more books. The pacing shifts in the last third of the book to where I could have done with more time, but maybe that was just me not wanting to face inevitable struggle that sat waiting in the final chapters. I'm eager to start book 2, but also hesitant as it's been such a heavy journey so far, and because doing so would bring me closer to the conclusion of a series I don't want to see end.
itsfreelancer's review against another edition
3.0
One of the most dumb and annoying protagonists I have ever met. The amount of times I cursed when I had to put up with her idiotic shenanigans is ridiculous and god, they made her the main character. The plot was predictable, the payoff didn't come till the last 50 pages and while there is promise in the next few books, I do not know if I am going to continue unless there is a major character level up. Because Heloise, woman, you're insane right now.
djerri's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
fast-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
3.0
zach1100's review against another edition
4.0
Good story that continually goes against your expectations. Excited to read the next books in the series.
maudjuliette's review against another edition
Artist Cara McGee accused him of harassing her at the Emerald City Comic Con bar get-together, which Cole himself seemed to admit to and apologize for.
ladylizardxvii's review against another edition
5.0
I absolutely LOVED this world, and how even for such a short book, it felt very well fleshed out. I loved Heloise as a character, who wants to be a brave adult but is still a teenager and struggles to make her voice heard -- that felt very true to life. The only thing I wasn't a fan of was that the fight scene at the end seemed to drag on and on...reminded me of a bad action movie. But everything else about this book was brilliantly executed!
mary_soon_lee's review against another edition
This is the first book in the Sacred Throne trilogy, described on the back cover as epic fantasy. Spoilers abound ahead. 3.5/5 stars.
About my book reviews: I try to review every book I read, including those that I don't end up enjoying. The reviews are not scholarly, but just indicate my reaction as a reader, reading being my addiction. I am miserly with 5-star reviews; 4 stars means I liked a book very much; 3 stars means I liked it.
Spoiler
The protagonist, Heloise, is a teenage girl, and the book opens with a familiar young-adult sensibility. Heloise and her father confront religious warriors belonging to the Order, a group that kills wizards. Heloise is plucky, but still yearns toward her father for comfort and protection. She is in love, but hasn't voiced it. I liked Heloise. I liked the secondary characters, and note that both the sympathetic and villainous were drawn well, which is far from always true. I very much liked the message that love is love, which is expressed through the course of the book, and particularly in chapter 11. I very much liked the worldbuilding, especially the passages that begin each chapter. A late plot turn startled me and added extra weight to the earlier worldbuilding. By the end, if the book still qualifies as young-adult fantasy, it is right at the border with adult dark fantasy: the climactic action scenes are brutally harrowing. My one substantial gripe is that I received mixed impressions of Heloise's maturity. Sometimes she felt very young to me, closer to an eight-year-old than a sixteen-year-old, which seemed at odds with her being, by the standards of her community, on the brink of being marriageable.About my book reviews: I try to review every book I read, including those that I don't end up enjoying. The reviews are not scholarly, but just indicate my reaction as a reader, reading being my addiction. I am miserly with 5-star reviews; 4 stars means I liked a book very much; 3 stars means I liked it.