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momam's review against another edition
I got bored with this book, was taking forever to get going anywhere.
hsecen's review against another edition
3.5
I think this is definitely a book that is more enjoyable after several reads. This was my first time reading it, and I got confused enough that I actually started the whole book over to clarify things. Even still I think I’d benefit from another read through. The military has a heavy presence in this story - there’s a lot of talk with strategy and maneuvering that confused me. I think it only detracted from the experience a little bit. I did like the chemistry between the main characters and I’m interested to see where their journey will take them next.
charlieteuthis's review against another edition
3.0
Over all, this was a pretty good book, but I'd sooner read others. I enjoyed the friendships between certain characters, and the plot was really interesting. The main romance was a bit rushed, but other than that, it was good. I would have liked to see some more world building, but I loved reading from the perspective of spies from semi-opposing sides. The characters could have had a little more depth, but they were fine enough. I won't be continuing the series.
unicyclegirl's review against another edition
1.5
I finished this book through sheer force of will, and a consistently dimming hope that it would get better at some point. The world building was nearly non existent to the point where I genuinely didn't understand why any of these characters were so intently spying on each other, or for who. I didn't understand why MC had to go 'undercover' as one of the brides, why there were brides at all, what the concordium was, or generally anyone's motivations. I thought the matchmaker might be up to something and was a little disappointed she wasn't (it was mighty suspicious that she kept asking Sage to spy on the soldiers. So...why??) I also thought Claire was 100% a spy for the Duke (would've been more interesting) the plot twist was just dumb. Ok fine, the prince needed to be undercover...but why as Quinn? Who is then undercover as the princes half brother? Because... ?? I also had a really hard time following whose POV we were currently hearing from, as the audiobook narrator made no pauses, different voices, anything to denote that we'd swapped perspectives. It felt like pov changes happened back and forth within a single scene often, so I was just really confused. Mostly I'm confused why I even bothered finishing it. And for the life of me, I can't see how anyone would compare this with Austen beyond "women must get married because societal expectations", which is an incredibly superficial reading of Austen as it shares no other similarities I can see. Extra half star for the pretty cover.
spiderdrac's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
slow-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
4.25
I honestly wasn't a huge fan of this book at first, but I was bored after finishing another amazing series so I kinda just picked it up. For me, it was hard to get into since I'm used to reading more fantasy romances where the romance is clear from the get go. Honestly, the romance confused me until the middle because it seemed sudden and not well developed, I wish we could understand the love interest more.
I personally got confused a couple times when it came to the war aspects of the story but that's just me.
I personally got confused a couple times when it came to the war aspects of the story but that's just me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and War
ecranheim's review against another edition
4.0
This book is fantasy at its finest. It balances politics, action and romance perfectly.
A lot of reviewers of this book have compared it Mulan and I think that is just stupid. Yes, Sage is told she has to go to a matchmaker and get married because that is all she is good for and ends up messing everything up. But that’s where the similarities end. Instead of posing as a boy for the entire book, Sage embraces her unique femininity in a world where wearing pants is taboo for women. Her character shows that you don’t have to be or act like a man to be brave and smart. Sage Fowler is the perfect feminist.
While this book wasn’t all consuming and something I obsessed over, it had just the right amount of intrigue and twists to keep you interested. The complex and confusing spying in the book was really cool and constantly kept you making predictions and doubting them and thinking you were right again.
One thing that would have made the book even better was if the ending was more ambiguous. While it’s nice when authors try to wrap everything up, I appreciate it when they give us heart attacks.
A lot of reviewers of this book have compared it Mulan and I think that is just stupid. Yes, Sage is told she has to go to a matchmaker and get married because that is all she is good for and ends up messing everything up. But that’s where the similarities end. Instead of posing as a boy for the entire book, Sage embraces her unique femininity in a world where wearing pants is taboo for women. Her character shows that you don’t have to be or act like a man to be brave and smart. Sage Fowler is the perfect feminist.
While this book wasn’t all consuming and something I obsessed over, it had just the right amount of intrigue and twists to keep you interested. The complex and confusing spying in the book was really cool and constantly kept you making predictions and doubting them and thinking you were right again.
One thing that would have made the book even better was if the ending was more ambiguous. While it’s nice when authors try to wrap everything up, I appreciate it when they give us heart attacks.
callistag1's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Classism and Child death
Moderate: Sexism, Murder, Vomit, War, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Grief, and Death
Minor: Death of parent, Body shaming, Rape, Sexual harassment, and Sexual assault
kivt's review against another edition
3.0
Really fun! Some of the plot seemed kind of superfluous, which the characters themselves seemed to realize & repeatedly justified for the reader. It didn’t work. The main love story worked fairly well, though I think the end was very rushed.
ol_lie's review against another edition
adventurous
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0