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3.48 AVERAGE
3.48 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
funny
sad
tense
medium-paced
I read 50 pages and just wasn't gelling with it. I felt like the writing was bad and don't see the point in persevering with a book with bad writing. Also, how many - can a book contain, it felt like every other sentence had one.
The world building was pretty weak. There wasn’t a whole lot of clarity surrounding the magic system. And the book could have been a solid 200 pages shorter if every other line wasn’t wasted on explaining over and over again that they’re only pretending to be obedient to their oppressors. Like I get it, I am in fact familiar with the concept of lying. If the story was only about galina and vasalisa I would have loved it. Fuck vitalik and his stupid love story with sera. It wasn’t believable and he just kept ruining everything. I don’t see why sera needed a love interest at all. She could have easily just been a loving sister devoted to the greater good. And the leader of the faithless could have been some side character that kept inconveniencing them.
I will start with the critique - but this is not to say I did not enjoy this read!
As much as I loved the final chapters, I found the rest of the book rather tiresome. The narration was oftentimes too erected with not much happening plot-wise. But paradoxically, I found myself struggling to keep up at first as I was thrown into a complicated world with a lot of history and was just a bit confused trying to understand what's going on and what are the main character's plans. I also missed the slow development of a certain relationship in the book, but I also understand why the author decided to make it the way it was.
But having that said - I actually enjoyed the book! I loved the relationship which Galya established throughout the book. I also liked that when reading this book, I was accompanied by a feeling that all will be alright - I knew I shouldn't expect a lot of roadblocks which characters would encounter, and that they will easily fight off any difficulty - I think I needed that this time.
I know it's expected to be a duology, but the Part I have such a nice closure at the end that I think I will not be getting at the Part II should it be published soon.
As much as I loved the final chapters, I found the rest of the book rather tiresome. The narration was oftentimes too erected with not much happening plot-wise. But paradoxically, I found myself struggling to keep up at first as I was thrown into a complicated world with a lot of history and was just a bit confused trying to understand what's going on and what are the main character's plans. I also missed the slow development of a certain relationship in the book, but I also understand why the author decided to make it the way it was.
But having that said - I actually enjoyed the book! I loved the relationship which Galya established throughout the book. I also liked that when reading this book, I was accompanied by a feeling that all will be alright - I knew I shouldn't expect a lot of roadblocks which characters would encounter, and that they will easily fight off any difficulty - I think I needed that this time.
I know it's expected to be a duology, but the Part I have such a nice closure at the end that I think I will not be getting at the Part II should it be published soon.
I think this was written well and had potential, but something about the plot and the characters was very hollow - I wasn’t moved or excited at all by anything I was reading. It felt very repetitive and I could have cared less for any of the characters or their relationships.
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
An intriguing premise that falls a bit short in execution. It starts off very slow-burn for most of the book, and at the end, it feels a bit rushed. The political intrigue chapters stand out, and despite the two sisters being the main characters, I especially liked Katya's POV. I could have done without Vitaly, though. While morally grey bad boys have their charm in this genre, he was just not likable. Overall, not a bad read, but the execution left room for improvement.
I got this arc in exchange for an honest review.
I got this arc in exchange for an honest review.
This might be the best book I read all year. There is no way for me to write an unbiased review at this point. I loved everything about this book: the story, the characters, the pacing, the romance, the writing. Prepare for this book to become my personality for the foreseeable future.
Our story begins with two sisters, and about fifty pages of world building. The world building wasn’t info dumpy, or frustrating to get through, but I did really struggle to remember names of people, places, things, and figure out who was on the good side or bad side politically. As I kept reading my understanding of my surroundings solidified and I was quickly able to let the story consume me.
In this world the elite have learned, and hidden the information on, how to cage gods (aka dragons) inside their human flesh bags. I honestly couldn’t think of a nicer way to phrase that, and I’m sure the dragons would agree with the sentiment. We learn early on that our two main characters are commoners who also happen to secretly have gods caged inside of them as well.
The book begins with POV’s for each sister, but as more characters are introduced our POV chapters begin to expand. By the middle of the novel our POV’s include about five different characters. We’re first introduced to these characters from the viewpoint of the two sisters, with enough introductions and time spent with these characters that when they are given their own chapters, we the reader are comfortable identifying them.
Each character felt so distinct. Their voice, purpose, and personality soaked through the pages. Even the villain, who was easy to hate, was humanized with reminders of their innocence before they began committing atrocities and murdering innocent citizens in droves.
Both love stories, including a sapphic pairing, were taut with forbidden longing. Each sister held back their true feelings to protect one another, knowing these secrets would unravel their tenuous relationships with their would-be partners. These torturous meetings full of flirtations and angst left me weeping towards the end of the novel. The declarations of devotion and love were breathtaking to read, and had me rooting for our characters' infinite happiness.
If you thought everything so far was great, the final selling point for this novel was how deftly it handled chronic illness and disability. It took me until the last 25% of the book to even realize what I was reading, because the character’s daily struggles were a mirror to my own. I didn’t realize they were chronically ill or disabled because it felt like I was simply reading about myself. They were just another character in the mix going about their daily life. Their story fit so seamlessly that it shocked me when I finally made the connection that oh, this is representation. This is what it feels like to see yourself on the page for the first time. Cue the waterworks.
I’m not sure if this is the first in a series. The ending could imply a standalone, but it was left open just enough that I could see a potential additional story in this world and with these characters. As it stands now it is a happily ever after with a minor cliff hanger. I’m not sure what else I have to do or say to convince you to read this. Here are some keywords to help you decide: sapphic, forbidden romance, political uprising, dragons, powerful magic, survival, cruel childhood, medicinal greenhouse, portals, overthrowing the corrupt governing class, disability rep.
Our story begins with two sisters, and about fifty pages of world building. The world building wasn’t info dumpy, or frustrating to get through, but I did really struggle to remember names of people, places, things, and figure out who was on the good side or bad side politically. As I kept reading my understanding of my surroundings solidified and I was quickly able to let the story consume me.
In this world the elite have learned, and hidden the information on, how to cage gods (aka dragons) inside their human flesh bags. I honestly couldn’t think of a nicer way to phrase that, and I’m sure the dragons would agree with the sentiment. We learn early on that our two main characters are commoners who also happen to secretly have gods caged inside of them as well.
The book begins with POV’s for each sister, but as more characters are introduced our POV chapters begin to expand. By the middle of the novel our POV’s include about five different characters. We’re first introduced to these characters from the viewpoint of the two sisters, with enough introductions and time spent with these characters that when they are given their own chapters, we the reader are comfortable identifying them.
Each character felt so distinct. Their voice, purpose, and personality soaked through the pages. Even the villain, who was easy to hate, was humanized with reminders of their innocence before they began committing atrocities and murdering innocent citizens in droves.
Both love stories, including a sapphic pairing, were taut with forbidden longing. Each sister held back their true feelings to protect one another, knowing these secrets would unravel their tenuous relationships with their would-be partners. These torturous meetings full of flirtations and angst left me weeping towards the end of the novel. The declarations of devotion and love were breathtaking to read, and had me rooting for our characters' infinite happiness.
If you thought everything so far was great, the final selling point for this novel was how deftly it handled chronic illness and disability. It took me until the last 25% of the book to even realize what I was reading, because the character’s daily struggles were a mirror to my own. I didn’t realize they were chronically ill or disabled because it felt like I was simply reading about myself. They were just another character in the mix going about their daily life. Their story fit so seamlessly that it shocked me when I finally made the connection that oh, this is representation. This is what it feels like to see yourself on the page for the first time. Cue the waterworks.
I’m not sure if this is the first in a series. The ending could imply a standalone, but it was left open just enough that I could see a potential additional story in this world and with these characters. As it stands now it is a happily ever after with a minor cliff hanger. I’m not sure what else I have to do or say to convince you to read this. Here are some keywords to help you decide: sapphic, forbidden romance, political uprising, dragons, powerful magic, survival, cruel childhood, medicinal greenhouse, portals, overthrowing the corrupt governing class, disability rep.
emotional
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes