Scan barcode
juliphamm's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I have heard very mixed reviews about this book, but it has been on TBR for a while. I was going to take it off, but decided to listen to the audio book. I had to rewind multiple times, because I got confused. The magic system and world-building didn't click until the end. Whoever labeled this book as a YA fantasy needs to be freaking fired. There are graphic s*x scenes (more than three pages long). I have no problem with that, but it is very clearly a NA fantasy book. I was very confused, but the whole timeline started to make sense in the end, and the plot picked up. For the first 50%, you just kind have to bear with it, but as I listened to more, Elliana and Rielle's story started to make sense. You follow two different timelines, except for the first chapter where there is a tiny glimpse of Rielle's future. The villian of the story reminds me of the Darkling - the manipulation and grooming. I like how its hard to identify the villian in the beginning. You get to walk through the process of Rielle trying to figure that out, and already knowing in Elliana's story. Aside from that, I thought this book was unnecessarily long? It was trying to cover and explain so much of the world. The timeline switches makes sense and was an interesting element, but I don't see the point of it in the next book. From Elliana's story (future) we already know what happens to Rielle. There is no reason to go on in the next book.
It was pretty predictable that Elliana was Rielle's daughter. It's not very clear how old any of the characters are. Specifically in the spicy scenes, I was like...aren't they a little young? Nope they are 18+. Reminder to self, don't look up wiki profiles. It spoils way too much. I found Elliana's story more interesting than Rielle's. I like Elliana better too. She more sarcastic and dark-humored. Rielle was to emotional for me...she moped around and complained a little much.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content
amkleio's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
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
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: War
Minor: Sexual content
jackie_b's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
There are two storylines with two main characters. I enjoyed one storyline much more than the other. The less enjoyable storyline felt really redundant and the characters less believable.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Sexual content, and Torture
nikkicampers's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
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
5.0
An amazing story that had me hooked from the very beginning.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content
jojo_'s review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Death of parent, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Violence, and War
Moderate: Death, Kidnapping, Murder, and Trafficking
Minor: Abandonment, Blood, and Child abuse
ka_ke's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
As the first book of the Empirium series, it’s a great read. The alternating POV’s flows well and the characters are understandable/relatable. I would probably list it as Adult Fantasy rather than Young Adult Fantasy.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Death, Death of parent, Murder, and Violence
Moderate: Sexual content and Violence
plutotoujors's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content and Violence
Minor: Suicide
moonytoast's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
best fantasy take on angels i've read in a hot minute
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship
Moderate: Murder and Violence
Minor: Body horror and Sexual content
starlessnights's review against another edition
1.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, Animal death, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, and Murder
Moderate: Pregnancy, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Confinement, Sexual content, and Trafficking
okays1331's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
3.75
"Don't pity me. When I can, I take the blows meant for you. You are my queen and my life is yours. It has been since the day you were born."
Rielle is a very different heroine. She has a lot of darkness in her. She craves the love of the masses and to prove her power. And she is POWERFUL. I think this confidence in her bearing turned some people off these books, but honestly, it's refreshing. Get it girl. That's not to say she doesn't have a lot of self doubt and self hatred, but to the world, she shows only the person she needs to be to get what she wants. Corien was always a creep, her father doesn't deserve a redemption arc, and Taliesin is not her friend. All of these men are abusive in different ways, and she savors every little bit of affection she gets from each of them. In the very first chapter of the book, we see her go supernova as the Blood Queen, and it is not hard to figure out how she got there when we see all the authority figures in her life and the manipulation, emotional abuse, physical abuse, and gaslighting. She does however, have the best friends.
Audric is perfect. I love him so much. He's mischievious, good to his core, loyal to a fault, blessed with sun magic, sweet and kind, and also gorgeous. He is the knight in shining armor you want on your side. He never falters from Rielle's side for one moment. Girl stop hiding things from you! He won't stop loving you!
Ludivine is a different kind of girl friend. I was waiting for the cringe-y jealousy and competition between women, but it never came. She is supportive through and through. Though of course, she's actually a centuries old angel who isn't actually interested in marrying the prince, and views Rielle and Aldric as her precious charges.
Rielle must complete a series of trials to prove her power and more importantly her control and become the Sun Queen, the long prophesied savior of the world. Or fail, and mark herself the Blood Queen, the downfall of humanity.
Cut to the other half of the story:
Eliana, who should be the heartless one in the story being trained from a young age to be an assassin and all, is actually full of love and loyalty for her family. And, despite how often she denies it and shoves it down, she is also full of love and compassion for the innocent and helpless. She feels no loyalty to home and country and has seen way too much to have much faith in anyone but herself.
Navi is again such a good friend. I hope we get more depth on her, but for now, she's a person to trust for Eliana and a maternal figure for Remmy (who is viewed by Eliana as a child to be protected, but I think he will surprise her with his own capabilities).
Finally, Simon! Gruff, sarcastic, stoic, dangerous, and troubled. Yep he's my favorite. He's constantly getting under Eliana's skin by pretending to flirt with her. Well, maybe not pretending. He's got a cause to fight for, and he will do literally anything for that cause.
Simon and Eliana are assassins/spies operating on opposite sides of the war. Simon working for the rebels and Eliana working for the Empire turning in rebels to be executed. But Eliana agrees to team up with Simon on a secret mission when her mother goes missing along with girls all over the country.
-------------------------------------------------
I had some issues at the beginning because I am so bad with names, so I was not making the connections between the characters that I should have. Hopefully this review will help me keep them straight when I read book two!
Rielle is a very different heroine. She has a lot of darkness in her. She craves the love of the masses and to prove her power. And she is POWERFUL. I think this confidence in her bearing turned some people off these books, but honestly, it's refreshing. Get it girl. That's not to say she doesn't have a lot of self doubt and self hatred, but to the world, she shows only the person she needs to be to get what she wants. Corien was always a creep, her father doesn't deserve a redemption arc, and Taliesin is not her friend. All of these men are abusive in different ways, and she savors every little bit of affection she gets from each of them. In the very first chapter of the book, we see her go supernova as the Blood Queen, and it is not hard to figure out how she got there when we see all the authority figures in her life and the manipulation, emotional abuse, physical abuse, and gaslighting. She does however, have the best friends.
Audric is perfect. I love him so much. He's mischievious, good to his core, loyal to a fault, blessed with sun magic, sweet and kind, and also gorgeous. He is the knight in shining armor you want on your side. He never falters from Rielle's side for one moment. Girl stop hiding things from you! He won't stop loving you!
Ludivine is a different kind of girl friend. I was waiting for the cringe-y jealousy and competition between women, but it never came. She is supportive through and through. Though of course,
Rielle must complete a series of trials to prove her power and more importantly her control and become the Sun Queen, the long prophesied savior of the world. Or fail, and mark herself the Blood Queen, the downfall of humanity.
Cut to the other half of the story:
Eliana, who should be the heartless one in the story being trained from a young age to be an assassin and all, is actually full of love and loyalty for her family. And, despite how often she denies it and shoves it down, she is also full of love and compassion for the innocent and helpless. She feels no loyalty to home and country and has seen way too much to have much faith in anyone but herself.
Navi is again such a good friend. I hope we get more depth on her, but for now, she's a person to trust for Eliana and a maternal figure for Remmy (who is viewed by Eliana as a child to be protected, but I think he will surprise her with his own capabilities).
Finally, Simon! Gruff, sarcastic, stoic, dangerous, and troubled. Yep he's my favorite. He's constantly getting under Eliana's skin by pretending to flirt with her. Well, maybe not pretending. He's got a cause to fight for, and he will do literally anything for that cause.
Simon and Eliana are assassins/spies operating on opposite sides of the war. Simon working for the rebels and Eliana working for the Empire turning in rebels to be executed. But Eliana agrees to team up with Simon on a secret mission when her mother goes missing along with girls all over the country.
-------------------------------------------------
I had some issues at the beginning because I am so bad with names, so I was not making the connections between the characters that I should have. Hopefully this review will help me keep them straight when I read book two!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Sexual assault
Moderate: Violence, Physical abuse, and Emotional abuse