You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.27 AVERAGE
4.27 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
adventurous
emotional
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I’ll start by saying I enjoyed the first book in the series. This one is airless and joyless, a dry book about court intrigue and politics, with occasional action scenes where the Avatar freezes up inexplicably and gets her ass kicked. Like the worst Harry Potter books, the main emotional lever in the story is people being peevish and irritated with themselves and each other. Nobody (including Kyoshi) fundamentally grows, learns or changes in this story. There are no arcs, just a series of events that are supposed to be more and more devastating and saddening until somehow it’s all over. The final battle reads like an action-figure game of pretend; ultimately they turned the tide in some unexplained way by…putting on improvised makeup. Two of the characters weep and hug each other while the villian who has been shooting to kill the whole time inexplicably decides to just stand there and watch. I was just cringing the whole time I read this book.
3.5
I didn’t care for Yun and his villian arc. Kyoshi should’ve killed him when he had Hei-Ran by the neck to spare me the rest of his angst. I also didn’t care for Kuruk and his sprite hunting ventures… something about killing the spirits feels a little off as far as Avatar lore goes and feels a little unnecessary but I guess I’ll have to read Yangchen’s book to know why.
Lastly, I was expecting a fully realized avatar for the second book in her part of the series and she was not giving that… I wanted the Kyoshi we know who splits continents and doesn’t take anyone’s shit
I didn’t care for Yun and his villian arc. Kyoshi should’ve killed him when he had Hei-Ran by the neck to spare me the rest of his angst. I also didn’t care for Kuruk and his sprite hunting ventures… something about killing the spirits feels a little off as far as Avatar lore goes and feels a little unnecessary but I guess I’ll have to read Yangchen’s book to know why.
Lastly, I was expecting a fully realized avatar for the second book in her part of the series and she was not giving that… I wanted the Kyoshi we know who splits continents and doesn’t take anyone’s shit
This isn’t as great as the first book, but it’s great to see how much Kyoshi developed from the first book to the second. The only part that I wished I learned more about would be the development between Kyoshi and Rangi. Their love story is one that’s talked about especially in the LGBTQIA+ but it felt lacking.
adventurous
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
adventurous
emotional
reflective
sad
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
3.5 stars. This book was super good, a little slower than the original but it came together nicely. I’m real sad that Yee doesn’t have another one planned.
Not as strong as the first one, but still a bona fide Avatar story through and through. I will say, though, that freezing your opponents lungs solid with water bending is the Hodlo maneuver of thr Avatar-verse and I can’t say that I approve.