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kjanet's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
sad
tense
fast-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
4.0
I will admit the first book had my attention all the way through with no stops. This one kind of lost me in some places. I feel like the buildup of beating these major powerful villains ended too easily (perhaps not for them, as they were fighting) but something about both major fights seemed anticlimactic. Also, the ending did wrap up MOST of the storylines, but left some open, which, was not horrendous. For some reason, the bigger threat at the end of the book reminded me a tiny bit of the ending of Dreams of Gods and Monsters by Laini Taylor.
Also, the main character’s personality also got kind of annoying. I know she is strong and powerful and whatnot, but her attitude did begin to grate on my nerves sometimes.
Also, the main character’s personality also got kind of annoying. I know she is strong and powerful and whatnot, but her attitude did begin to grate on my nerves sometimes.
Regardless, still a great Duology (and the author leaves it open to perhaps a companion/sequel duology that takes place some time later).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Genocide
Moderate: Racial slurs, Sexism, and Racism
Minor: Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, and Sexual content
kittykels's review against another edition
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
3.0
Unfortunately, I didn't enjoy this book very much. Instead of letting the action drive the story, everything was wordily explained, usually through the repetitive and annoying thoughts of the main character. One of my biggest complaints about the first book was that the main character felt very one-dimensional, only really experiencing anger and not much else. That changed a little in this book, but only barely.
I still feel as though the secondary characters weren't developed as well as they could have and should have been, which means I'm not particularly attached to any of them.
Many things, to me, didn't make sense. Sabine betraying Ikenna wasn't believable after over a decade of friendship. If it were only two or three years, maybe. But over a decade? There's no way someone can pretend a sister-like bond for that long without giving anything away. It felt like it was just a decision to add to the plot and move Sabine out of the way while Ikenna goes through a found-family moment with her new team.
I also think it would have been infinitely more interesting to have Ikenna be the daughter of the blood emperor. I thought that's where the story was going when someone pointed out that no one should have her powers because they belong to the emperor, not to his general population who are blood-gifted. Instead, her father ended up being some random guy working for the emperor. If the emperor were her father instead, Ijani would have been her brother, and I would have loved that. It would have given Ikenna an opportunity to gain a family member after losing so many. Literally, all of them. I also wouldn't have minded Ijani ending up as the second and final love interest of Ikenna, but I know not every relationship needs to turn romantic. Honestly, I got more of a brotherly vibe from their relationship anyway, which is why I'm disappointed Ikenna really wasn't the blood emperor's daughter.
I'm still giving 3 stars to this book due to the fact that I LOVE the overall ideas and world-building for this series. I obviously have some critiques, but there was still a lot to enjoy as well. I hope the author continues to write interesting sci-fi and fantasy stories because I would love to read more from her.
I apologize if I mispelled names. I'm an audio listener and can't find a list of characters online to correct my spelling.
I still feel as though the secondary characters weren't developed as well as they could have and should have been, which means I'm not particularly attached to any of them.
Many things, to me, didn't make sense. Sabine betraying Ikenna wasn't believable after over a decade of friendship. If it were only two or three years, maybe. But over a decade? There's no way someone can pretend a sister-like bond for that long without giving anything away. It felt like it was just a decision to add to the plot and move Sabine out of the way while Ikenna goes through a found-family moment with her new team.
I also think it would have been infinitely more interesting to have Ikenna be the daughter of the blood emperor. I thought that's where the story was going when someone pointed out that no one should have her powers because they belong to the emperor, not to his general population who are blood-gifted. Instead, her father ended up being some random guy working for the emperor. If the emperor were her father instead, Ijani would have been her brother, and I would have loved that. It would have given Ikenna an opportunity to gain a family member after losing so many. Literally, all of them. I also wouldn't have minded Ijani ending up as the second and final love interest of Ikenna, but I know not every relationship needs to turn romantic. Honestly, I got more of a brotherly vibe from their relationship anyway, which is why I'm disappointed Ikenna really wasn't the blood emperor's daughter.
I'm still giving 3 stars to this book due to the fact that I LOVE the overall ideas and world-building for this series. I obviously have some critiques, but there was still a lot to enjoy as well. I hope the author continues to write interesting sci-fi and fantasy stories because I would love to read more from her.
I apologize if I mispelled names. I'm an audio listener and can't find a list of characters online to correct my spelling.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Sexual content
Moderate: War
gaden35's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
hopeful
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I strongly detest unnecessary romances. It added nothing to the plot in my opinion and actually detracted from it.
I also believe the dialogue and plot felt less polished and a little hokey compared to the first book. And the pacing sometimes felt odd - as though she didn’t want to explain some things. Which is fine. It was still a fun read and hard to put down.
I also believe the dialogue and plot felt less polished and a little hokey compared to the first book. And the pacing sometimes felt odd - as though she didn’t want to explain some things. Which is fine. It was still a fun read and hard to put down.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Racial slurs, Racism, Xenophobia, Sexual content, Violence, Sexism, Sexual assault, War, and Rape
fleur____'s review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
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
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Colonisation, Cursing, Misogyny, Blood, Murder, Racism, Sexual assault, Violence, Gore, Death, Genocide, Racial slurs, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Religious bigotry, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Torture, and War
Moderate: Toxic friendship, Classism, and Alcohol
risaleel's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
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? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, Gore, and Sexual content
miraileah's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
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
4.25
4.25. I enjoyed this, I thought it was a good end to the duology (though the major sequel bait was a surprise to me). Some of the dialogue was super awkward and the pacing was a liiiittle too fast for me at times. I enjoyed the action, but I was a little thrown by the long section from like 50%-70% where most of the supporting cast is inaccessible to Ikenna and her emotional growth/opening up to her new friends takes a big pause. I don’t know how I would do it differently, it was just sort of weird to me. Overall, positive experience though! Definitely graphic, violence was a lot and if you’re sensitive to reading that sort of thing, definitely be careful.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Sexual content
konyino's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
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
4.0
I do think the first book was better but I did really like this one!! I feel like there should have been a third book, especially with how the epilogue was, but I had fun reading this!! Pushing me back to my fantasy era!!😋😋
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Sexual content, and Blood
shainabriley's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Gore
lqvekanej's review against another edition
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Racism, War, Violence, Cursing, Alcohol, Death, Sexual content, Murder, Racial slurs, and Sexism
alyanna_dm's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
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? It's complicated
4.0
I love this duology. Would've given it 5 stars except I feel like it was too fast-paced and would've been better off as a trilogy. It just didn't feel like a finale, I was hoping to see a third book was announced!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, War, Blood, and Violence
Moderate: Sexual assault