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4.05 AVERAGE
4.05 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
tense
medium-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
adventurous
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
adventurous
dark
emotional
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
dark
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
Honestly a miracle that I finished this. I cared about no one and nothing in this book. Almost DNFed like 6 different times, only finished it for the buddy read 🤡
Sylvia was a drag, Arin only developed a personality in the last 15% of the book, and Sefa and Marek were like damsels in distress that were only brought out as a plot device for Sylvia. And the LORE DUMPING. Bruh, pls, show, don't tell. There was so much info dumping in the first 20% that I honestly just stopped trying to keep track of anything I was reading. Subsequently, any bombs dropped in the story did not hit because I didn't know or care what was happening. Still don't understand the magic system.
Sylvia was a drag, Arin only developed a personality in the last 15% of the book, and Sefa and Marek were like damsels in distress that were only brought out as a plot device for Sylvia. And the LORE DUMPING. Bruh, pls, show, don't tell. There was so much info dumping in the first 20% that I honestly just stopped trying to keep track of anything I was reading. Subsequently, any bombs dropped in the story did not hit because I didn't know or care what was happening. Still don't understand the magic system.
3.8.
The third act was unfortunately underwhelming, the trials a bit confusing, the pacing and story choppy. Somehow, not only were the trials under-explained, but they were also boringly formulaic. Sylvia arrived at (insert) kingdom, learned about the culture/met one stand-out character, fought in a short trial that wasn't convincingly threatening, and promptly passed out and woke up on the way to the next kingdom. There also wasn't a strong foundation for why the trials existed or what happened to the victors after winning. There was seemingly no point to any of it, and I found myself a bit bored by them.
In retrospect, not much truly happened for the first 3/4ths of the book until suddenly everything was happening at once in a vague amalgamation of a checklist. There was no time to breathe between the final trial (or lack thereof), the predictable attack of the Mufsids, Arin and Sylvia finally getting together, and the final feast. There were so many moving parts that Soraya's ending didn't have the impact it should have, and was in fact spelled out for the reader during the last 1/4th of the book, killing all anticipation and build-up. It was still an enjoyable read, but I'm crossing my fingers that the next book is a bit better.
"I had made a vow against intoxication, but I would recant immediately for a chance to savor the decadence of him."
Also, if you liked A Broken Blade, you'll probably like this.
The third act was unfortunately underwhelming, the trials a bit confusing, the pacing and story choppy. Somehow, not only were the trials under-explained, but they were also boringly formulaic. Sylvia arrived at (insert) kingdom, learned about the culture/met one stand-out character, fought in a short trial that wasn't convincingly threatening, and promptly passed out and woke up on the way to the next kingdom. There also wasn't a strong foundation for why the trials existed or what happened to the victors after winning. There was seemingly no point to any of it, and I found myself a bit bored by them.
In retrospect, not much truly happened for the first 3/4ths of the book until suddenly everything was happening at once in a vague amalgamation of a checklist. There was no time to breathe between the final trial (or lack thereof), the predictable attack of the Mufsids, Arin and Sylvia finally getting together, and the final feast. There were so many moving parts that Soraya's ending didn't have the impact it should have, and was in fact spelled out for the reader during the last 1/4th of the book, killing all anticipation and build-up. It was still an enjoyable read, but I'm crossing my fingers that the next book is a bit better.
"I had made a vow against intoxication, but I would recant immediately for a chance to savor the decadence of him."
Also, if you liked A Broken Blade, you'll probably like this.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
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
This is a FANTASTIC debut novel! High Fantasy with a slow burn enemies to maybe lovers subplot - just what I like! The pacing was solid and the writing beautifully described this Egyptia inspired world. I love when a book goes into detail about the cuisine!!
The political intrigue and God lore really kept me invested and I did not call any of the plot twists! The wit and banter was also stunning! Loved this! There were a couple minor plot holes that dug at me otherwise I would have given this a full 5 stars!
Read if you like
☆Trials
☆Reluctant Heros and Allies
☆ Rich world building
☆ Enemies to Lovers
The political intrigue and God lore really kept me invested and I did not call any of the plot twists! The wit and banter was also stunning! Loved this! There were a couple minor plot holes that dug at me otherwise I would have given this a full 5 stars!
Read if you like
☆Trials
☆Reluctant Heros and Allies
☆ Rich world building
☆ Enemies to Lovers
emotional
inspiring
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
informative
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Considerando che il libro è un debutto letterario, lo considero niente male. Gioca molto nella zona grigia fra romantasy e fantasy con subplot romance.
La prima parte del libro è intrigante abbastanza da alimentare la voglia di continuare a girare pagina pur sapendo di dover smettere. Mi spiace che questo spirito non sia stato mantenuto per la seconda parte: nonostante l'innalzamento della posta in gioco, la trama si trascinava a fatica, incastrata da un torneo reso insignificante dalla sicurezza che Sylvia dovesse vincere perchè la storia potesse progredire in modo significativo, e da un superficiale training montage che non giustifica in alcun modo come la protagonista potesse sperare di vincere.
Rimango un po' perplessa sul worldbuilding: le descrizioni sono molto vivide e atmosferiche, con una cacofonia di sapori e profumi a me familiari, che ho molto apprezzato (#representationFTW). Un po' carente invece il focus sulla magia, al punto da tendere un po' troppo verso un deus ex machina verso la fine. Non capisco se sia una scelta intenzionale che enfatizza l'infamiliarità della protagonista nel gestirla, o se sia stato troppo complesso da gestire scrivendo il libro.
Il punto di forza dell'autrice sta sicuramente nei suoi personaggi, di base dinamici e complessi a sufficienza da creare relazioni vive, che risaltano anche di fronte a scelte narrative che mi hanno lasciato un po' perplessa. Non posso dire altrettanto del loro sviluppo troppo sbrigativo, specialmente la parte romantica, rendendo la storia un po' troppo YAggiante negli ultimi capitoli.
Ottime anche le basi sugli intrighi politici che diventano sempre più rilevanti man mano che la protagonista si ritrova sempre più incastrata in un mondo che cerca di ripudiare da anni. Sono curiosa di vedere come continueranno nel secondo libro, visto il trattamento molto conveniente e sbrigativo nello sbarazzarsi di un'importante antagonista.
Penso che la mia critica principale risieda proprio nell'eccessiva convenienza nella storia.
Tutto sommato, specialmente perchè una duologia, leggerò anche il volume conclusivo visto che molti parlano di un grande salto di qualità, per cui mi aspetto una esperienza più positiva.
Ribadisco il mio solito ripudio per la prima persona in questi contesti, enfatizzata ancora di più dal paio di capitoli con Arin in terza. </3
La prima parte del libro è intrigante abbastanza da alimentare la voglia di continuare a girare pagina pur sapendo di dover smettere. Mi spiace che questo spirito non sia stato mantenuto per la seconda parte: nonostante l'innalzamento della posta in gioco, la trama si trascinava a fatica, incastrata da un torneo reso insignificante dalla sicurezza che Sylvia dovesse vincere perchè la storia potesse progredire in modo significativo, e da un superficiale training montage che non giustifica in alcun modo come la protagonista potesse sperare di vincere.
Rimango un po' perplessa sul worldbuilding: le descrizioni sono molto vivide e atmosferiche, con una cacofonia di sapori e profumi a me familiari, che ho molto apprezzato (#representationFTW). Un po' carente invece il focus sulla magia, al punto da tendere un po' troppo verso un deus ex machina verso la fine. Non capisco se sia una scelta intenzionale che enfatizza l'infamiliarità della protagonista nel gestirla, o se sia stato troppo complesso da gestire scrivendo il libro.
Il punto di forza dell'autrice sta sicuramente nei suoi personaggi, di base dinamici e complessi a sufficienza da creare relazioni vive, che risaltano anche di fronte a scelte narrative che mi hanno lasciato un po' perplessa. Non posso dire altrettanto del loro sviluppo troppo sbrigativo, specialmente la parte romantica, rendendo la storia un po' troppo YAggiante negli ultimi capitoli.
Ottime anche le basi sugli intrighi politici che diventano sempre più rilevanti man mano che la protagonista si ritrova sempre più incastrata in un mondo che cerca di ripudiare da anni. Sono curiosa di vedere come continueranno nel secondo libro, visto il trattamento molto conveniente e sbrigativo nello sbarazzarsi di un'importante antagonista.
Penso che la mia critica principale risieda proprio nell'eccessiva convenienza nella storia.
Tutto sommato, specialmente perchè una duologia, leggerò anche il volume conclusivo visto che molti parlano di un grande salto di qualità, per cui mi aspetto una esperienza più positiva.
Ribadisco il mio solito ripudio per la prima persona in questi contesti, enfatizzata ancora di più dal paio di capitoli con Arin in terza. </3
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse, Violence
Minor: Sexual assault
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
4.5/5
The Jasad Heir by Sara Hashem questioned the boundaries of loyalty and power in a complex world attempting to make sense of narratives to excuse the sins of their "fathers" so-to-speak. There is no coherent answer, no single story that truly establishes the political war between kingdoms - specifically, Jasad and Nizahl.
The histories of the past between these kingdoms were layered, a bit fluid depending on which character was interacting with whom. It caused me to wonder differently and change my perception of the kingdoms and the figures behind them which was refreshing compared to other weak political plots in some other fantasy books. There were times I understood Arin, others I understood Sylvia, and others I understood Essiya.
The book felt like it gave me room to make up my mind and form opinions on the stories we were receiving from all different types of characters in the book, which I loved.
The characters took center stage, with beautiful prose and language to describe Sylvia's battle with identity, history, and belief system. I felt like I got to not only see her but feel her. Her emotional, spiritual, and mental battle was threaded through the book consistently and was never set aside.
The extreme slow-burn between Arin and Sylvia was also tasteful, realistic, and complex. Their relationship and dynamic felt natural and it unraveled naturally.
That being said, it did take me a whole month to get through the book which is way longer than I usually take. The beginning is agonizingly slow. The middle of the book is where the book could have begun, but seemed to be weighed down by a lot of information dumping that was told and only briefly shown. The end, however, was the most enrapturing. The pace dramatically and quickly increased. This is where the most amount of action happened. This only lasted the last 100 pages out of 500, however.
The weakest points in the book mostly related to the pacing of the book.
This includes the very redundant dialogue Sylvia had with Arin multiple times about how Jasad was done wrong. I understand this, however it was so frequent with not a lot of new information in these conversations that I even noticed and thought, "Didn't we just read this exact conversation 50 pages ago?" multiple times.
I also would say that Sylvia's perception of Jasad changed for a while, then reverted back to what she had previously believed about it again, with constant reminders with beliefs that they were victims. They were, but so were Nizahl's people. The same story about Jasad's demise started to lose its impact after hearing about this for 300+ pages. BUT, Sara did a great job of challenging Sylvia's beliefs about Jasad to signal to the reader that even Sylvia's idea of her own country might not be as sound as she says it is.
Another concept is that I still don't feel like I understand Hanim enough. Maybe I missed some things but I wanted to understand their dynamic and relationship more BEFORE Jasad was ruined. And why was it Hanim's voice she heard in her head for so long? Hanim's voice became Sylvia's secondary identity - why? What was the greater impact of Hanim for Sylvia to adopt that voice as a central part of her?
All in all though, the writing was exquisite, it was character-driven, plot balanced with great worldbuilding, that questions the lines of power and identity. I can't wait to read the second one!
The Jasad Heir by Sara Hashem questioned the boundaries of loyalty and power in a complex world attempting to make sense of narratives to excuse the sins of their "fathers" so-to-speak. There is no coherent answer, no single story that truly establishes the political war between kingdoms - specifically, Jasad and Nizahl.
The histories of the past between these kingdoms were layered, a bit fluid depending on which character was interacting with whom. It caused me to wonder differently and change my perception of the kingdoms and the figures behind them which was refreshing compared to other weak political plots in some other fantasy books. There were times I understood Arin, others I understood Sylvia, and others I understood Essiya.
The book felt like it gave me room to make up my mind and form opinions on the stories we were receiving from all different types of characters in the book, which I loved.
The characters took center stage, with beautiful prose and language to describe Sylvia's battle with identity, history, and belief system. I felt like I got to not only see her but feel her. Her emotional, spiritual, and mental battle was threaded through the book consistently and was never set aside.
The extreme slow-burn between Arin and Sylvia was also tasteful, realistic, and complex. Their relationship and dynamic felt natural and it unraveled naturally.
That being said, it did take me a whole month to get through the book which is way longer than I usually take. The beginning is agonizingly slow. The middle of the book is where the book could have begun, but seemed to be weighed down by a lot of information dumping that was told and only briefly shown. The end, however, was the most enrapturing. The pace dramatically and quickly increased. This is where the most amount of action happened. This only lasted the last 100 pages out of 500, however.
The weakest points in the book mostly related to the pacing of the book.
This includes the very redundant dialogue Sylvia had with Arin multiple times about how Jasad was done wrong. I understand this, however it was so frequent with not a lot of new information in these conversations that I even noticed and thought, "Didn't we just read this exact conversation 50 pages ago?" multiple times.
I also would say that Sylvia's perception of Jasad changed for a while, then reverted back to what she had previously believed about it again, with constant reminders with beliefs that they were victims. They were, but so were Nizahl's people. The same story about Jasad's demise started to lose its impact after hearing about this for 300+ pages. BUT, Sara did a great job of challenging Sylvia's beliefs about Jasad to signal to the reader that even Sylvia's idea of her own country might not be as sound as she says it is.
Another concept is that I still don't feel like I understand Hanim enough. Maybe I missed some things but I wanted to understand their dynamic and relationship more BEFORE Jasad was ruined. And why was it Hanim's voice she heard in her head for so long? Hanim's voice became Sylvia's secondary identity - why? What was the greater impact of Hanim for Sylvia to adopt that voice as a central part of her?
All in all though, the writing was exquisite, it was character-driven, plot balanced with great worldbuilding, that questions the lines of power and identity. I can't wait to read the second one!