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3.72 AVERAGE
3.72 AVERAGE
I enjoyed being able to see how Rhen and Grey would end up in this storyline. I have always enjoyed multiple POV’s and this series really delivered that. Reading this book was a lot of ups and downs but I got to read about a different side of Grey and experience things that weren’t in the first two books.
I mostly skimmed through because this was so boring. Ending was bs
I enjoyed the series overall but this last book left me wholly unsatisfied. I felt like any chemistry Gray and Lia Mara had in book 2 actually disappeared. I think I might be in the minority of people who enjoyed their romance in AHSFAB but it just felt forced in this one. Even though there were 4 POV, Harper felt lost in the background. And Rhen, who has major trauma mind you, is just made to feel like the antagonist. Disappointing finale to a decent series.
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
fast-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
emotional
hopeful
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
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A vow So Bold and Deadly is following up on the conflicts set up in the two previous books.
Lilith is still the main antagonist, Emberfall and Syhl Shallow are still at the brink of war, the relationship between Rhen and Grey still fractured, the relationship between Rhen and Harper tense, Lia Mara tries to establish herself as queen with a differing style of ruling than the one of her mother and sister, Grey tries to establish trust in Syhl Shallow and with Lia Mara's soldiers. All around a tense situation and a lot of conflicts to be solved.
In the end, these conflicts were solved.
I always find it hard to talk about this type of book in a review, because this is what I want from a fantasy epos, the conflict, the politics, the intrigues, the magic, the human, but I can't seem to find the words to put into why I liked this in a way that is useful to anyone but me (or even to me in the future).
I can say in general terms that following two sides of a war, both of which don't want this war (or even when they do) is always interesting, so many different needs and wants warring with each others.
The idea of siblings on different sides (and in this book it's two and sometimes even three pairs of them) is also something that appeals to me, love and differences coexisting.
This series does these things well, but also many more.
The only thing that really bothered me is that in book 2 Rhen did something I didn't think he and his relationships could come back from, and I think at points the resolution of this was made quite easy, and while I think it's a valid point to move forward and give him a possibility to make better choices in the future, the whole "Should one bad action wipe out a thousand good ones?" didn't do it for me when the one bad action was THAT. When it was just one character I thought "why not, not everything is rational, and characters can be different from me", but it seemed to be the whole message at the end, which rubbed me the wrong way. There's more nuance to these thoughts which are way beyond the scope of this review, but the way this concept was presented in the book didn't sit well with me.
Still, I am mostly satisfied with the ending and the overall conclusion of the story.
As I said above, the politics, the drama, the intrigue, the emotions, and the relationships (except for that one thing I mentioned), as well as the magic, were very interesting, convincing, and kept me going with held breath until the very end.
Great series.
Lilith is still the main antagonist, Emberfall and Syhl Shallow are still at the brink of war, the relationship between Rhen and Grey still fractured, the relationship between Rhen and Harper tense, Lia Mara tries to establish herself as queen with a differing style of ruling than the one of her mother and sister, Grey tries to establish trust in Syhl Shallow and with Lia Mara's soldiers. All around a tense situation and a lot of conflicts to be solved.
In the end, these conflicts were solved.
I always find it hard to talk about this type of book in a review, because this is what I want from a fantasy epos, the conflict, the politics, the intrigues, the magic, the human, but I can't seem to find the words to put into why I liked this in a way that is useful to anyone but me (or even to me in the future).
I can say in general terms that following two sides of a war, both of which don't want this war (or even when they do) is always interesting, so many different needs and wants warring with each others.
The idea of siblings on different sides (and in this book it's two and sometimes even three pairs of them) is also something that appeals to me, love and differences coexisting.
This series does these things well, but also many more.
The only thing that really bothered me is that in book 2 Rhen did something I didn't think he and his relationships could come back from, and I think at points the resolution of this was made quite easy, and while I think it's a valid point to move forward and give him a possibility to make better choices in the future, the whole "Should one bad action wipe out a thousand good ones?" didn't do it for me when the one bad action was THAT. When it was just one character I thought "why not, not everything is rational, and characters can be different from me", but it seemed to be the whole message at the end, which rubbed me the wrong way. There's more nuance to these thoughts which are way beyond the scope of this review, but the way this concept was presented in the book didn't sit well with me.
Still, I am mostly satisfied with the ending and the overall conclusion of the story.
As I said above, the politics, the drama, the intrigue, the emotions, and the relationships (except for that one thing I mentioned), as well as the magic, were very interesting, convincing, and kept me going with held breath until the very end.
Great series.
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
❌‼️SPOILERS: YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED‼️❌
Buckle up, this will be a ride.
I have so many feelings about this book I don't think I will ever be able to write them all down!
The Characters:
Rhen: The Reason I’m Reading This Series
I will forever be convinced that Rhen deserved so much better! I easily prefer Rhen to Grey, so if you are a diehard Grey fan, maybe skip their parts.
I just feel bad for him, he was done so dirty in A Heart So Fierce and Broken, and everyone made him out to be this terrible monster when Grey should have just told him from the start! Going into this book, after Rhen’s chapter in AHSFAB, I knew that he would probably get a redemption arc and I am glad that we saw it! BK delivered! The whole time I read his parts I was feeling bad for him... and swooning.
Grey: The Guy That Messed Everything Up
You cannot tell me that this guy did not instigate the whole time during AHSFAB! He, more than anyone, was pinning Rhen out or being a monster when he should have been sympathizing with him!
Grey didn’t do anything in this whole book but worry about Lia Mara, fight, and ask himself the age-old question from AHSFAB “what would Rhen do?” Well maybe if you think Rhen is the all-knowing, you should think that he‘d be the better king? Like.. what?!?! Uggh, I’m sorry Grey fans but I cannot see why you love him so much!
Harper: The One Who’s Strong Character Went Out The Window in Book Two
Let’s start by saying, I like Harper, but I thought the way she acted in AHSFAB was really out of character. Though, I will let it slide because she is not half as strong as a character as she was in book one but ten times in book two.
I liked how she acted in this one but I really think Lia Mara and her took a back seat in this one. I’m okay with that to an extent but I wish she had more moments where she could have demonstrated how awesome of a character she was back during ACADAL.
Lia Mara: The Girl Whose Only Personality Traits are Peace and Harmony
This girl just isn’t my favourite. I understand where she is coming from, wanting peace and saving lives, but she gets nothing done when all she does is sit around preaching about peace and not doing anything to prevent the war!
Relationships:
Lia Mara and Grey
Okay. This relationship is just not for me. I felt like the whole relationship was rushed. Lia Mara was just way too dependent on Grey for me to like them together. In this book, I felt I liked them more than in the second because Grey and Lia Mara were focusing on more important things and Lia Mara kind of had to drop her insecurities and step up (even though she really didn’t). And also even though it was terribly cliché for Lia Mara to be pregnant it still made me smile and be a little bit happy for them at the end.
Rhen and Harper
This is a relationship I will be supporting until the day I die! Even though many people liked Grey and Harper together in the first book, I can’t picture Rhen and Harper with anyone else. The second book made Harper seem like a push-over so I was a little disappointed that Rhen didn’t have to, I don’t know, prove himself worthy of her, or something along the lines. I am definitely bitter about the ending because I wanted so much more for them!
Rhen and Grey
I’m really glad that these two were able to defeat their common enemy at the end, and (sort of) channel their inner sibling! And when Rhen begged for Grey to kill him I was literally bawling... I felt so bad for him! Their relationship was complicated off the bat in ACSDAL and even worse in AHSFAB, so I am very happy they are all good now.
Overall Rating:
This would be an easy 5 stars if Rhen and Harper ended up being the rulers of Emberfall and Lia Mara and Grey were the rulers of Sylh Shallow. I hate how this book’s whole build-up was going to be the war between Grey and Rhen, even though it never happened. This made me feel like the ending was kind of disappointing, which it basically was. Although I love this series, I can admit that it’s not all perfect! If you forget the ending this is a great book with excellent characters!
4 ⭐️
Buckle up, this will be a ride.
I have so many feelings about this book I don't think I will ever be able to write them all down!
The Characters:
Rhen: The Reason I’m Reading This Series
I will forever be convinced that Rhen deserved so much better! I easily prefer Rhen to Grey, so if you are a diehard Grey fan, maybe skip their parts.
I just feel bad for him, he was done so dirty in A Heart So Fierce and Broken, and everyone made him out to be this terrible monster when Grey should have just told him from the start! Going into this book, after Rhen’s chapter in AHSFAB, I knew that he would probably get a redemption arc and I am glad that we saw it! BK delivered! The whole time I read his parts I was feeling bad for him... and swooning.
Grey: The Guy That Messed Everything Up
You cannot tell me that this guy did not instigate the whole time during AHSFAB! He, more than anyone, was pinning Rhen out or being a monster when he should have been sympathizing with him!
Grey didn’t do anything in this whole book but worry about Lia Mara, fight, and ask himself the age-old question from AHSFAB “what would Rhen do?” Well maybe if you think Rhen is the all-knowing, you should think that he‘d be the better king? Like.. what?!?! Uggh, I’m sorry Grey fans but I cannot see why you love him so much!
Harper: The One Who’s Strong Character Went Out The Window in Book Two
Let’s start by saying, I like Harper, but I thought the way she acted in AHSFAB was really out of character. Though, I will let it slide because she is not half as strong as a character as she was in book one but ten times in book two.
I liked how she acted in this one but I really think Lia Mara and her took a back seat in this one. I’m okay with that to an extent but I wish she had more moments where she could have demonstrated how awesome of a character she was back during ACADAL.
Lia Mara: The Girl Whose Only Personality Traits are Peace and Harmony
This girl just isn’t my favourite. I understand where she is coming from, wanting peace and saving lives, but she gets nothing done when all she does is sit around preaching about peace and not doing anything to prevent the war!
Relationships:
Lia Mara and Grey
Okay. This relationship is just not for me. I felt like the whole relationship was rushed. Lia Mara was just way too dependent on Grey for me to like them together. In this book, I felt I liked them more than in the second because Grey and Lia Mara were focusing on more important things and Lia Mara kind of had to drop her insecurities and step up (even though she really didn’t). And also even though it was terribly cliché for Lia Mara to be pregnant it still made me smile and be a little bit happy for them at the end.
Rhen and Harper
This is a relationship I will be supporting until the day I die! Even though many people liked Grey and Harper together in the first book, I can’t picture Rhen and Harper with anyone else. The second book made Harper seem like a push-over so I was a little disappointed that Rhen didn’t have to, I don’t know, prove himself worthy of her, or something along the lines. I am definitely bitter about the ending because I wanted so much more for them!
Rhen and Grey
I’m really glad that these two were able to defeat their common enemy at the end, and (sort of) channel their inner sibling! And when Rhen begged for Grey to kill him I was literally bawling... I felt so bad for him! Their relationship was complicated off the bat in ACSDAL and even worse in AHSFAB, so I am very happy they are all good now.
Overall Rating:
This would be an easy 5 stars if Rhen and Harper ended up being the rulers of Emberfall and Lia Mara and Grey were the rulers of Sylh Shallow. I hate how this book’s whole build-up was going to be the war between Grey and Rhen, even though it never happened. This made me feel like the ending was kind of disappointing, which it basically was. Although I love this series, I can admit that it’s not all perfect! If you forget the ending this is a great book with excellent characters!
4 ⭐️
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes