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3.72 AVERAGE
3.72 AVERAGE
adventurous
inspiring
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:
No
Ooookkkkkkk. So… I really liked that and it would have been perfect BUT HARPER DESERVES BETTER. Girly gets shat on at every turn and then the last time she speaks with her love interest he snaps at her?? Uhg Harper deserves better. I’m so mad. I can’t even think of the good things about this book because of it.
Like I enjoyed it thoroughly. Lia Mara continues to be pookie. Even if one of the ickiest troupes ever decided to show up at the end. Yuck. Disgusting. Anyway justice for Harper?? Just for the records sake, as I typed I would take off .25 when I thought about how Harper deserves a better ending.
Like I enjoyed it thoroughly. Lia Mara continues to be pookie. Even if one of the ickiest troupes ever decided to show up at the end. Yuck. Disgusting. Anyway justice for Harper?? Just for the records sake, as I typed I would take off .25 when I thought about how Harper deserves a better ending.
challenging
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
This book to me wasn't quite as good as the other 2 but wasn't bad.
At parts it felt like some filler was thrown in to make the book longer, I listened via Audiobook rather than reading, if I was reading I feel like I may have started skimming at parts.
I was definitely bummed to realise this is definitely a PG book because "we'll figure it out together" and then jumping to the next morning, I've never wanted a sex scene more in my life!
I love the different characters and the fact we get to learn little tid bits about many characters.
I did start to get sick of the lack of common sense, naivety & stupidity of the characters at some points. The "internal" dialogue in their head and then the action they took didn't seem to line up, or maybe that was a result of the tone the narrator was using to deliver those thoughts? But it just got a little "old". I was left thinking that Lia Mara would be a shit Queen as well. Wanting to govern with rainbows & flowers and no boundaries & laws. You don't have to be a horrific murderer or torturer to demand respect and enforce some law. The amount of times her sister should have been reprimanded to her chambers or someone simply thrown in the dungeons for just basic punishment. When Lia Mara "took charge" it didn't feel like she took charge. Gray on the other hand appears to have the makings of a Great King.
I could see how the author appeared to be trying to grow the character and work past these traits but it seemed to be an endless cycle of returning back to no faith or trust in themselves.
As I'm writing this I think it's almost the imposed weakness & daft nature (stupid like) of the female leads that annoys me. You can be vulnerable & kind, even naive and still have power.
Few too many twists at the end for my liking as well. Instead of 1 or 2 really good twists it seemed to be many "ok" twists.
I still enjoyed the storyline and the different Point of Views seemed to work well. The ending was sweet, it seemed to leave the door open for either the imagination or future stories.
At parts it felt like some filler was thrown in to make the book longer, I listened via Audiobook rather than reading, if I was reading I feel like I may have started skimming at parts.
I was definitely bummed to realise this is definitely a PG book because "we'll figure it out together" and then jumping to the next morning, I've never wanted a sex scene more in my life!
I love the different characters and the fact we get to learn little tid bits about many characters.
I did start to get sick of the lack of common sense, naivety & stupidity of the characters at some points. The "internal" dialogue in their head and then the action they took didn't seem to line up, or maybe that was a result of the tone the narrator was using to deliver those thoughts? But it just got a little "old". I was left thinking that Lia Mara would be a shit Queen as well. Wanting to govern with rainbows & flowers and no boundaries & laws. You don't have to be a horrific murderer or torturer to demand respect and enforce some law. The amount of times her sister should have been reprimanded to her chambers or someone simply thrown in the dungeons for just basic punishment. When Lia Mara "took charge" it didn't feel like she took charge. Gray on the other hand appears to have the makings of a Great King.
I could see how the author appeared to be trying to grow the character and work past these traits but it seemed to be an endless cycle of returning back to no faith or trust in themselves.
As I'm writing this I think it's almost the imposed weakness & daft nature (stupid like) of the female leads that annoys me. You can be vulnerable & kind, even naive and still have power.
Few too many twists at the end for my liking as well. Instead of 1 or 2 really good twists it seemed to be many "ok" twists.
I still enjoyed the storyline and the different Point of Views seemed to work well. The ending was sweet, it seemed to leave the door open for either the imagination or future stories.
Okay, here we go! The finale, the conclusion to the Cursebreaker trilogy which I actually read in its entirety in about a week.
I genuinely had no idea what to expect when going into this one. I read a lot of reviews before starting it and they are mixed to say the least. I am not one to leave a series unfinished however and I am certainly not one to be scared off by a few negative reviews! This book is yet more proof of why that is!
I typically love books that you all hate, so sue me? I don't care I really did like this one!
So picking up where we left off in AHSFAB we are now reading the story from all FOUR POV's.
We are back with Rhen, Harper (yay!), Lia Mara and of course Grey (Double yay!).
I don't usually like books with so many POV's but I feel this was done really well and I also think that the fact we have had two books previous to this that focused on only two character's that we now know all four on a pretty deep level and that makes it a lot easier to follow and to understand each of the characters separate thought processes. I thought that was all really well done.
Grey received more fabulous development and I absolutely fell in love with the scraver, Iisak. I thought he was an amazing character and I got really attached to him as well as Tycho who was completely adorable.
My one gripe would have to be with Lia Mara... I really liked her a lot in the last book but in this one she seemed like a bit of a pushover which was a real shame. I am not sure why the author took her down that path and it didn't ruin it for me or anything but I think it could have been better.
The book was full of action, especially in the later chapters. It just felt like it was none stop and at times my heart was in my mouth and the pages seemed to be turning of their own volition! I read it so quickly and just had so much fun with it.
The ending was good but a little bit open ended. It seemed to me that instead of wrapping up all the lose ends we were instead given something else that needs to be dealt with and knowing there are no more books that does feel a bit frustrating.
So despite the fact that ACSDAL was a bit of a let down for me, overall this series ended up being really enjoyable for me and definitely one to recommend!
I genuinely had no idea what to expect when going into this one. I read a lot of reviews before starting it and they are mixed to say the least. I am not one to leave a series unfinished however and I am certainly not one to be scared off by a few negative reviews! This book is yet more proof of why that is!
I typically love books that you all hate, so sue me? I don't care I really did like this one!
So picking up where we left off in AHSFAB we are now reading the story from all FOUR POV's.
We are back with Rhen, Harper (yay!), Lia Mara and of course Grey (Double yay!).
I don't usually like books with so many POV's but I feel this was done really well and I also think that the fact we have had two books previous to this that focused on only two character's that we now know all four on a pretty deep level and that makes it a lot easier to follow and to understand each of the characters separate thought processes. I thought that was all really well done.
Grey received more fabulous development and I absolutely fell in love with the scraver, Iisak. I thought he was an amazing character and I got really attached to him as well as Tycho who was completely adorable.
My one gripe would have to be with Lia Mara... I really liked her a lot in the last book but in this one she seemed like a bit of a pushover which was a real shame. I am not sure why the author took her down that path and it didn't ruin it for me or anything but I think it could have been better.
The book was full of action, especially in the later chapters. It just felt like it was none stop and at times my heart was in my mouth and the pages seemed to be turning of their own volition! I read it so quickly and just had so much fun with it.
The ending was good but a little bit open ended. It seemed to me that instead of wrapping up all the lose ends we were instead given something else that needs to be dealt with and knowing there are no more books that does feel a bit frustrating.
So despite the fact that ACSDAL was a bit of a let down for me, overall this series ended up being really enjoyable for me and definitely one to recommend!
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
emotional
tense
fast-paced
"Yield to yourself. Yield to forgiveness. Yield to happiness. Yield to this moment. It's not hers. It's yours. It's mine. It's ours.”
Ladies and Gentlemen, this is it. I found my most disappointing book of the year. I didn't expect to find it so soon, but I did it. A Vow so Bold and Deadly was one of my most anticipated novels of this year. I've read the first two books last year and absolutely loved them. They were even on my favourite books of last year list and this has managed to shatter that love completely.
After I finished reading this earlier, I was willing to give it 2 stars, just because of Rhen, but the more I think about it, the more I realise how much I actually hated this book, so I'm just gonna lower my rating to 1 star. This pains me. This actually pains me.
**mild spoilers for the first two books ahead**
Emberfall is a torn kingdom, devided between the people supporting Rhen and the ones supporting Grey. Grey has agreed to wait to months before attacking Emberfall with the help of Syhl Shallow and during this time Rhen has completely shut himself away from everybody. Harper is trying to get to him, to find peace between the two kingdoms, but she isn't having much success there. Meanwhile, Lia Mara is having a hard time trying to rule Syhl Shallow. Her subjects aren't happy of her decision to ally with an enchanted prince and with Grey's deadline approuching she isn't sure she is the queen her country needs.
I'm honestly not sure if my standarts when it comes to books have just raised since I read the ACSDAL and AHSFAB or this was just that bad. I couldn't even tell it was part of the same series. It had none of the epic moments that the previous books had, the characters had this sudden changes in them and, unlike the first books, this was so slow paced that it was actually painful.
I don't know what happened to the main characters in this book. I used to love them all, but in here the only thing they managed to do was piss me off.
Rhen
He was the only reason I did not DNF this book. I actually forgot how much I loved him and this book reminded me of that. He goes through so much in this series and I hate how, whenever we get scenes with him, the main focus was everything he did bad. About every bad decision he's made. Guess what? He's human. He makes mistakes so please let him be and also think about the good things he did. Thank you.
Honestly, out of all the characters in this series, he is the most loveable. Yes, I said what I said. Fight me.
Harper
Oh my poor Harper, what happened to you? She just wasn't the same character that I knew in ACSDAL. Yeah, it's obvious that she changed. But what she's had in this book cannot be called character development as it's not that. I feel like everything that I loved about her was erased by the end of the book. I did not recognize her anymore, She wasn't the brave girl that I knew anymore. End of story.
Grey
He was my favourite chararacter in the first two books and I'm just so mad. His character was completely ruined in this one. Utterly and completely ruined. His personality? Just gone. All of it, gone. His only personality trait in this one was that he loved Lia Mara. That's it. That's all. I'm just sitting here asking what was the author thinking? He had such a nice development in the previous books and now all of it gone. His chapters were so boring, I couldn't care less about what was going to happen to him. I just wanted more of Rhen's POVs while reading Grey's. That's the only thing I was thinking about. That I would much rather read from Rhen's perspective.
Lia Mara
I completely hated her in this one. I remember liking her in AHSFAB, but in here she managed to annoy me in every chapter that she was in. After the events of the second book, she is now the Queen of Syhl Shallow and she was just so unfit for that. She let her little sister undermine her on so many occassions. Girl, you are the Queen not your sister. Grow a spine and do what you have to do to be a good Queen for your people. I remember her being clever, but nope. She is as dumb as a brick in this one. I was just so aggravated by her unwillingness to do what she has to do in order to win the war and be the Queen she was needed to be, that I was screaming at the book. I wish I was kidding, but I am not. Her chapters were the most painful to read and honestly, I think I skimmed through more than half of them because of how bored and annoyed I was.
The way the chapters were devided was so wierd. In this one we follow the POVs of all 4 main characters we had previously and I just hated the way the chapters wee devided between them and honestly, I hated the decision to have all of tehir perspectives. I feel like Rhen and Grey would have been enough. Harper and Lia Mara felt more like side charcters in this one than main charcters really. Their POVs revolved constantly around the boys and the decision to also have their perspectives felt like a poor attempted on the author's part to show us that they are still main characters.
The plot dragged a lot. For the first 300 pages I was so bored and by the time the plot picked up I was just so over the story and I wanted it to be finished. The thing that I liked about this series was that it was an easy and fast read, but this one was everything but that. Also I'm not sure what we had can be actually called plot.
I hated the ending. Am I really supposed to like the way everything turned out? I will forever be bitter about this ending and this book in general. This was one of the worst endings for a series or a book that I've read. Rhen deserved so much better. He was basically the only character that I cared about by the end and he did not deserve what he got. He deserved so much better. And, now speaking in all honestly,do not come after me if you love Lia Mara and Grey both Grey and Lia Mara got more than they deserved. I'm not happy.
I'm just gonna erase this from my mind and pretend thisending whole book did not happen.
I'm not sure if this is the end in this world or if we are going to meet this characters again and to be honest I'm not sure what I actually want. For example, I would love to see Harper and Rhen again and them getting the ending they deserve instead of all this crap, but at the same time I'm not sure I would be able to endure another book with Lia Mara. Although with another book maybe my love for Grey would return. I miss the Grey I used to know.
This author has many possibilities for a return to this world and I'm curious to see what she would do if that happens.
This review was actually painful to write. I had such high expectations for this book and I'm not sure I have ever read a book that disappointed me this much. I wanted to love it, but it jsut wasn't meant to be.
On a very last note, Rhen, Harper, *reluctanly turns to Grey* and you too, Grey, I'm gonna miss you guys. I hope we get to meet again.
FOR THE GOOD OF EMBERFALL!
I don't care about Syhl Shallow
______________________________
I guess I just found my most disappointing book of the year.
RTC.
Ladies and Gentlemen, this is it. I found my most disappointing book of the year. I didn't expect to find it so soon, but I did it. A Vow so Bold and Deadly was one of my most anticipated novels of this year. I've read the first two books last year and absolutely loved them. They were even on my favourite books of last year list and this has managed to shatter that love completely.
After I finished reading this earlier, I was willing to give it 2 stars, just because of Rhen, but the more I think about it, the more I realise how much I actually hated this book, so I'm just gonna lower my rating to 1 star. This pains me. This actually pains me.
**mild spoilers for the first two books ahead**
Emberfall is a torn kingdom, devided between the people supporting Rhen and the ones supporting Grey. Grey has agreed to wait to months before attacking Emberfall with the help of Syhl Shallow and during this time Rhen has completely shut himself away from everybody. Harper is trying to get to him, to find peace between the two kingdoms, but she isn't having much success there. Meanwhile, Lia Mara is having a hard time trying to rule Syhl Shallow. Her subjects aren't happy of her decision to ally with an enchanted prince and with Grey's deadline approuching she isn't sure she is the queen her country needs.
I'm honestly not sure if my standarts when it comes to books have just raised since I read the ACSDAL and AHSFAB or this was just that bad. I couldn't even tell it was part of the same series. It had none of the epic moments that the previous books had, the characters had this sudden changes in them and, unlike the first books, this was so slow paced that it was actually painful.
I don't know what happened to the main characters in this book. I used to love them all, but in here the only thing they managed to do was piss me off.
Rhen
He was the only reason I did not DNF this book. I actually forgot how much I loved him and this book reminded me of that. He goes through so much in this series and I hate how, whenever we get scenes with him, the main focus was everything he did bad. About every bad decision he's made. Guess what? He's human. He makes mistakes so please let him be and also think about the good things he did. Thank you.
Honestly, out of all the characters in this series, he is the most loveable. Yes, I said what I said. Fight me.
Harper
Oh my poor Harper, what happened to you? She just wasn't the same character that I knew in ACSDAL. Yeah, it's obvious that she changed. But what she's had in this book cannot be called character development as it's not that. I feel like everything that I loved about her was erased by the end of the book. I did not recognize her anymore, She wasn't the brave girl that I knew anymore. End of story.
Grey
He was my favourite chararacter in the first two books and I'm just so mad. His character was completely ruined in this one. Utterly and completely ruined. His personality? Just gone. All of it, gone. His only personality trait in this one was that he loved Lia Mara. That's it. That's all. I'm just sitting here asking what was the author thinking? He had such a nice development in the previous books and now all of it gone. His chapters were so boring, I couldn't care less about what was going to happen to him. I just wanted more of Rhen's POVs while reading Grey's. That's the only thing I was thinking about. That I would much rather read from Rhen's perspective.
Lia Mara
I completely hated her in this one. I remember liking her in AHSFAB, but in here she managed to annoy me in every chapter that she was in. After the events of the second book, she is now the Queen of Syhl Shallow and she was just so unfit for that. She let her little sister undermine her on so many occassions. Girl, you are the Queen not your sister. Grow a spine and do what you have to do to be a good Queen for your people. I remember her being clever, but nope. She is as dumb as a brick in this one. I was just so aggravated by her unwillingness to do what she has to do in order to win the war and be the Queen she was needed to be, that I was screaming at the book. I wish I was kidding, but I am not. Her chapters were the most painful to read and honestly, I think I skimmed through more than half of them because of how bored and annoyed I was.
The way the chapters were devided was so wierd. In this one we follow the POVs of all 4 main characters we had previously and I just hated the way the chapters wee devided between them and honestly, I hated the decision to have all of tehir perspectives. I feel like Rhen and Grey would have been enough. Harper and Lia Mara felt more like side charcters in this one than main charcters really. Their POVs revolved constantly around the boys and the decision to also have their perspectives felt like a poor attempted on the author's part to show us that they are still main characters.
The plot dragged a lot. For the first 300 pages I was so bored and by the time the plot picked up I was just so over the story and I wanted it to be finished. The thing that I liked about this series was that it was an easy and fast read, but this one was everything but that. Also I'm not sure what we had can be actually called plot.
I hated the ending. Am I really supposed to like the way everything turned out? I will forever be bitter about this ending and this book in general. This was one of the worst endings for a series or a book that I've read. Rhen deserved so much better. He was basically the only character that I cared about by the end and he did not deserve what he got. He deserved so much better. And, now speaking in all honestly,
I'm just gonna erase this from my mind and pretend this
I'm not sure if this is the end in this world or if we are going to meet this characters again and to be honest I'm not sure what I actually want. For example, I would love to see Harper and Rhen again and them getting the ending they deserve instead of all this crap, but at the same time I'm not sure I would be able to endure another book with Lia Mara. Although with another book maybe my love for Grey would return. I miss the Grey I used to know.
This author has many possibilities for a return to this world and I'm curious to see what she would do if that happens.
This review was actually painful to write. I had such high expectations for this book and I'm not sure I have ever read a book that disappointed me this much. I wanted to love it, but it jsut wasn't meant to be.
On a very last note, Rhen, Harper, *reluctanly turns to Grey* and you too, Grey, I'm gonna miss you guys. I hope we get to meet again.
FOR THE GOOD OF EMBERFALL!
______________________________
I guess I just found my most disappointing book of the year.
RTC.
Even though I am happy about how it ended and how everything turned out, I still feel a little disappointed at how it is so different from the first book and how it truly ended. It feels like there could be more but no risk were taken.
Decisamente sottotono per essere il libro conclusivo della saga e a tratti tremendamente noioso.
2.5 ⭐️
2.5 ⭐️
medium-paced
A bit disappointed with book 3. Was expecting it to be as good as book 1