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3.82 AVERAGE
3.82 AVERAGE
One of the books that got me out of my reading slump!! Honestly the writing wasn't the best or my favorite in this book but the plot, characters, and romance overpowered that little tid bit. Overall really solid!
I picked this up in the Libby, hooked until the end!
This book has both strong points; The story is nicely written, i love the climax and ending most! The ending feels sufficient enough and makes me anticipate for Book 2. I also love how each characters grow. Of course, the hopeless romantic in me adore Noc & Leena love story haha.
If you came across review mentioning "pokemon trainer", well they aint wrong about it. I found myself growing fond of the beasts although some I couldnt imagine. Thanks to the special "Bestiary" pages at the end!
By the way, I felt like this book can be made into movie :)
And oh I forgot to mention that whenever I fall asleep when reading, I’m a Charmer in my dreams
This book has both strong points; The story is nicely written, i love the climax and ending most! The ending feels sufficient enough and makes me anticipate for Book 2. I also love how each characters grow. Of course, the hopeless romantic in me adore Noc & Leena love story haha.
If you came across review mentioning "pokemon trainer", well they aint wrong about it. I found myself growing fond of the beasts although some I couldnt imagine. Thanks to the special "Bestiary" pages at the end!
By the way, I felt like this book can be made into movie :)
And oh I forgot to mention that whenever I fall asleep when reading, I’m a Charmer in my dreams
I read this SO FAST. It was so good though and such a different world and magic system than anything I’ve ever read I really enjoyed it!!
surprisingly good!
this was a really interesting story line that I haven't read before! Now I just feel sad that I cant call on cool monster-beast-things to do cool shit for me :(
this was a really interesting story line that I haven't read before! Now I just feel sad that I cant call on cool monster-beast-things to do cool shit for me :(
2.5/5
I don’t want to write an actual review so just have some thoughts. There are probably a lot of spoilers in here FYI, I’m just too lazy to properly hide said spoilers. There’s also no order to this, but there’s also more order than there is inside my brain.
1. Noc is constantly forcing himself to remain his distance from Leena, and I kind of feel like he’s being whiney and a baby
2. Leena just “draws people to her” which is kind of annoying even people like Ozias who apparently freezes around every other person of the female gender is suddenly able to share his whole life story with Leena. It is kind of explained by the fact that she is a charmer but really? Wouldn’t there be somebody that hates her?
3. I don’t understand why Leena would sell the animals that she obviously cares about, I realize that she has the charmer’s code which allows her to hurt the people who hurt the animals, but we don’t ever see any examples of that.
4. The whole Shadow travel thing reminds me of Nico di Angelo, although it is portrayed kind of differently in this book
5. I felt kind of bad for Kost since he essentially gave Noc up for Leena because Noc loved Leena, he wasn’t just friend zoned, he was “he’s like my brother” zoned.
6. The beasts that were portrayed in the book were genuinely interesting
7. The whole Wynn thing was a bit (more like a lot) disturbing, like torture is one thing, but Wynn essentially takes away Leena’s free will through torture.
8. The fact that the book is a Young Adult Edition makes me wonder what was taken out, though since it was a romance it’s not hard to guess.
9. I wasn’t really invested in any of the characters, the character that I liked the most was Calem who was a softie.
10. I enjoyed the short story at the end of the book because it did give a little more depth to Noc’s character, I genuinely would like to know how Leena will react to finding out about Noc’s past.
11. If I read the next book it’ll be because I kind of want Leena and Calem to end up together, although that won’t happen if the scene where he’s healed is anything to go by.
I don’t want to write an actual review so just have some thoughts. There are probably a lot of spoilers in here FYI, I’m just too lazy to properly hide said spoilers. There’s also no order to this, but there’s also more order than there is inside my brain.
1. Noc is constantly forcing himself to remain his distance from Leena, and I kind of feel like he’s being whiney and a baby
2. Leena just “draws people to her” which is kind of annoying even people like Ozias who apparently freezes around every other person of the female gender is suddenly able to share his whole life story with Leena. It is kind of explained by the fact that she is a charmer but really? Wouldn’t there be somebody that hates her?
3. I don’t understand why Leena would sell the animals that she obviously cares about, I realize that she has the charmer’s code which allows her to hurt the people who hurt the animals, but we don’t ever see any examples of that.
4. The whole Shadow travel thing reminds me of Nico di Angelo, although it is portrayed kind of differently in this book
5. I felt kind of bad for Kost since he essentially gave Noc up for Leena because Noc loved Leena, he wasn’t just friend zoned, he was “he’s like my brother” zoned.
6. The beasts that were portrayed in the book were genuinely interesting
7. The whole Wynn thing was a bit (more like a lot) disturbing, like torture is one thing, but Wynn essentially takes away Leena’s free will through torture.
8. The fact that the book is a Young Adult Edition makes me wonder what was taken out, though since it was a romance it’s not hard to guess.
9. I wasn’t really invested in any of the characters, the character that I liked the most was Calem who was a softie.
10. I enjoyed the short story at the end of the book because it did give a little more depth to Noc’s character, I genuinely would like to know how Leena will react to finding out about Noc’s past.
11. If I read the next book it’ll be because I kind of want Leena and Calem to end up together, although that won’t happen if the scene where he’s healed is anything to go by.
Hella entertaining start to a fantasy romance series. I can see this becoming a series that gets better with every book and makes you want to follow so many characters.
I’m not sure I really buy how quickly the main relationship goes from assassin/target to reluctant allies/maybe I’ll still kill you to hot and heavy/just physical to I love you forever/you’re the only one for me. But I kind of don’t care??? The world, magical creatures, and slowly unraveling backstories were entertaining enough to just go with the romance.
I need this to be at least a five book series. Count me in.
I’m not sure I really buy how quickly the main relationship goes from assassin/target to reluctant allies/maybe I’ll still kill you to hot and heavy/just physical to I love you forever/you’re the only one for me. But I kind of don’t care??? The world, magical creatures, and slowly unraveling backstories were entertaining enough to just go with the romance.
I need this to be at least a five book series. Count me in.
This book is pitched as Assassin’s Creed meets Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. Despite me not loving the Fantastic Beasts movie–I didn’t even finish it!–the description enthralled me. I read the full summary and was hooked.
The book is told in first person and alternates between Leena and Noc’s POVs. Leena is a Charmer, a person who is able to summon beasts. Basically, she connects with or “tames” them, and takes them to her beastiary, which is a magical world where all the beasts can live happily. She’s able to summon them back to her world, where they will do whatever she asks–protect, maim, kill etc. This makes for some pretty awesome fights.
Leena started out as a kickbutt character. As the book went on, she became a little too caught up in her feelings for Noc, but that didn’t make me put the book down. I devoured it in a few days, and am anxiously waiting for the next one.
Noc was intriguing. He’s the head Assassin of Cruor, a group of undead assassins. Fortunately, not zombie undead. Because I hate zombies. They’re more shadow-y undead. In fact, they can travel through shadows and hide in them. A super cool skill. Noc has a past that the author hints at from time to time. I’m pretty sure I know who he’ll turn out to be, but I’m looking forward to reading about it. I’m also looking forward to learning how he’s going to get out of his obligation to kill Leena.
The side characters were fun. Noc’s little gang of assassins reminded of Beta Team from Amanda Bouchet’s A Promise of Fire. They all have their own personalities, their own quirks, their own way of relating to Leena. I care about them. Always a good thing.
Overall, I think it’s the worldbuilding, Noc’s past, and the obligation to kill Leena that has me looking forward to the next book.
This is an entertaining fantasy romance, a genre which I’ve been wanting to see more of. If you like Amanda Bouchet’s Kingmaker Trilogy, you’ll love Kingdom of Exiles.
The book is told in first person and alternates between Leena and Noc’s POVs. Leena is a Charmer, a person who is able to summon beasts. Basically, she connects with or “tames” them, and takes them to her beastiary, which is a magical world where all the beasts can live happily. She’s able to summon them back to her world, where they will do whatever she asks–protect, maim, kill etc. This makes for some pretty awesome fights.
Leena started out as a kickbutt character. As the book went on, she became a little too caught up in her feelings for Noc, but that didn’t make me put the book down. I devoured it in a few days, and am anxiously waiting for the next one.
Noc was intriguing. He’s the head Assassin of Cruor, a group of undead assassins. Fortunately, not zombie undead. Because I hate zombies. They’re more shadow-y undead. In fact, they can travel through shadows and hide in them. A super cool skill. Noc has a past that the author hints at from time to time. I’m pretty sure I know who he’ll turn out to be, but I’m looking forward to reading about it. I’m also looking forward to learning how he’s going to get out of his obligation to kill Leena.
The side characters were fun. Noc’s little gang of assassins reminded of Beta Team from Amanda Bouchet’s A Promise of Fire. They all have their own personalities, their own quirks, their own way of relating to Leena. I care about them. Always a good thing.
Overall, I think it’s the worldbuilding, Noc’s past, and the obligation to kill Leena that has me looking forward to the next book.
This is an entertaining fantasy romance, a genre which I’ve been wanting to see more of. If you like Amanda Bouchet’s Kingmaker Trilogy, you’ll love Kingdom of Exiles.
Okay but this is such an underrated, underhyped book. It's just amazing!!! I loved every second.
It follows a magical beast charmer (think pokemon trainer but the beasts have cool magical abilities) who is exiled from her people and selling beasts as a way to get by. An assassins guild is assigned to kill her, and they try too but she manages to bargain for her freedom in exchange for gifting them (noc the leader and his 3 brethren) a beast each.
This book follows the journey of her finding them the perfect beasts, while her and the dark and quiet Noc get closer. He spends the whole book trying to deny his feelings for her because of a curse hes under, but they're so drawn to each other.
This is such a good enemies to lovers. And I absolutely loves the magical beast aspect, it wasnt like anything I've seen much in books and it was really interesting to see the different ways they were tamed.
The plot was so amazing, the characters, both the main couple and the other assassins were so fun and interesting and I just could not stop reading. I cant wait to get onto the next one
It follows a magical beast charmer (think pokemon trainer but the beasts have cool magical abilities) who is exiled from her people and selling beasts as a way to get by. An assassins guild is assigned to kill her, and they try too but she manages to bargain for her freedom in exchange for gifting them (noc the leader and his 3 brethren) a beast each.
This book follows the journey of her finding them the perfect beasts, while her and the dark and quiet Noc get closer. He spends the whole book trying to deny his feelings for her because of a curse hes under, but they're so drawn to each other.
This is such a good enemies to lovers. And I absolutely loves the magical beast aspect, it wasnt like anything I've seen much in books and it was really interesting to see the different ways they were tamed.
The plot was so amazing, the characters, both the main couple and the other assassins were so fun and interesting and I just could not stop reading. I cant wait to get onto the next one
Actual Rating 3.75
I thought this was a solid fantasy romance debut with some really interesting magics and engaging characters. Leena is a beast charmer with a bounty on her head. Noc is an assassin who must fulfil that bounty. And so another angsty romance is born. (No sarcasm intended, I love a good angsty romance).
What really captured me was the world building and magic of this story. Leena can bond with magical beasts who all have different powers. I loved the imagery of the different beasts, they are so varied and vibrant. Noc and his fellow assassins use shadow magic, and the history and lore of their order really intrigued me. Though it's told from their two P.O.V's I also really enjoyed the secondary characters.
I think if you enjoyed the Kingmaker Chronicles by Amanda Bouchet, then you will enjoy this. The growing camaraderie and friendship between Leena and the assassins gave me Beta Team vibes which I really enjoyed.
There were a couple of scenes that felt disjointed and threw me as I tried to make sense of them, but overall, I flew through this. This first book is focused more on Leena and Noc's romance, but given the various hints of something larger at work, I think the sequel will be much more expansive and we will learn even more about the magic and history of this world. I'm looking forward to it.
I thought this was a solid fantasy romance debut with some really interesting magics and engaging characters. Leena is a beast charmer with a bounty on her head. Noc is an assassin who must fulfil that bounty. And so another angsty romance is born. (No sarcasm intended, I love a good angsty romance).
What really captured me was the world building and magic of this story. Leena can bond with magical beasts who all have different powers. I loved the imagery of the different beasts, they are so varied and vibrant. Noc and his fellow assassins use shadow magic, and the history and lore of their order really intrigued me. Though it's told from their two P.O.V's I also really enjoyed the secondary characters.
I think if you enjoyed the Kingmaker Chronicles by Amanda Bouchet, then you will enjoy this. The growing camaraderie and friendship between Leena and the assassins gave me Beta Team vibes which I really enjoyed.
There were a couple of scenes that felt disjointed and threw me as I tried to make sense of them, but overall, I flew through this. This first book is focused more on Leena and Noc's romance, but given the various hints of something larger at work, I think the sequel will be much more expansive and we will learn even more about the magic and history of this world. I'm looking forward to it.