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4.01 AVERAGE
4.01 AVERAGE
4.5*
Very good sequel. In some ways better than first book, in other ways not as good.
Some weird decisions (or unusual at least), but a very good read. Excellent pacing for the most part, but some lurches in story that didn't flow quite as nicely. Some good revelations and also surprises.
A bugger that it's a year until the next book is out...
Very good sequel. In some ways better than first book, in other ways not as good.
Some weird decisions (or unusual at least), but a very good read. Excellent pacing for the most part, but some lurches in story that didn't flow quite as nicely. Some good revelations and also surprises.
A bugger that it's a year until the next book is out...
This book was tiring to say the least. I started it back in May and it’s only now that I finished it. And frankly, I couldn’t stop reading in the second half. I wanted to dnf it several times so kinda glad I didn’t. I cannot stand Adare -skimmed through her chapters, eventually, it was the only only way to make it through the book. She can die for all I care. And after what she did towards the end? I was done with her. One of the worst main characters in fantasy. Also, the secondary characters were more interesting than the main ones like Pyrre, Kiel and Nira (only reason I did not skip Adare’s chapters altogether).
I really like the fantasy concept but I was barely caring at one point because of the boring plot in the first half. It was killing me till the 50% mark. Too long scenes on useless events. And the mistakes! Damn. It was too much. Did I mention how much I hated Adare? I was cringing in most of her scenes. I know now that I’ll be skimming through her chapters too in the next book if I am going to read it (very likely). I’m curious now regarding how things will turn out.
I really like the fantasy concept but I was barely caring at one point because of the boring plot in the first half. It was killing me till the 50% mark. Too long scenes on useless events. And the mistakes! Damn. It was too much. Did I mention how much I hated Adare? I was cringing in most of her scenes. I know now that I’ll be skimming through her chapters too in the next book if I am going to read it (very likely). I’m curious now regarding how things will turn out.
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
Just barely 4 stars. This was way more politically intense than the first book. Not sure if I want to finish the series yet or not.
Despite enjoying this book for the most part, It definitely felt like the 2nd book in a trilogy. We get introduced to a handful of new characters and the story moves along in interesting directions, but we don't really learn too many new things and the few that we do learn about, are only really half revealed. I'm not sure this one needed all 600 pages though since it dragged on quite a few occasions.
The world, likewise, gets very little new development, with the only new elements introduced being a barbaric race of tribes that are brought together under a single leader for the first time ever(sounds awfully familiar, doesn't it?) and a secretive, yet brutal order hiding away on an island. We also get a few more details about some ideas brought up in the first book, but overall, I was quite disappointed regarding this aspect of the book.
The characters also seemed quite a bit weaker this time around. While I'm glad we got to see more of the female protagonist in this installment, her storyline basically just consisted of meeting a couple of incredibly useful characters by pure luck and then doing nothing useful for the second half of the book. Valyn, the warrior protagonist, was quite annoying in this book. His single-mindedness might have made more sense if his decisions didn't constantly backfire on him. Kaden's storyline was probably the most enjoyable, but the one criticism there would be the very slow pacing of it at times. Some of the new characters introduced felt very much story driven and some actually felt completely unnecessary which was one of the main reasons why this felt like the 2nd book in a trilogy rather than a good book in its own right.
I wasn't a big fan of the writing in general either. It felt like the author rambled on for ages, adding endless descriptions to things that didn't need them and going on and on about what the characters were thinking. The pacing was also quite on the slow side, making it feel like an editor could have cut a 100 or so pages without much consequence to the story or characters. The story itself though was quite fun at least. The twists were well handled and despite some very convenient coincidences, it all felt well thought out.
So this was actually quite a good book in the series, but not quite as good when viewed on its own. I'm still invested in the story and to some extent the characters, so I'll probably be continuing with the series. Based on the first two books, I'd still recommend this to most fantasy lovers.
The world, likewise, gets very little new development, with the only new elements introduced being a barbaric race of tribes that are brought together under a single leader for the first time ever(sounds awfully familiar, doesn't it?) and a secretive, yet brutal order hiding away on an island. We also get a few more details about some ideas brought up in the first book, but overall, I was quite disappointed regarding this aspect of the book.
The characters also seemed quite a bit weaker this time around. While I'm glad we got to see more of the female protagonist in this installment, her storyline basically just consisted of meeting a couple of incredibly useful characters by pure luck and then doing nothing useful for the second half of the book. Valyn, the warrior protagonist, was quite annoying in this book. His single-mindedness might have made more sense if his decisions didn't constantly backfire on him. Kaden's storyline was probably the most enjoyable, but the one criticism there would be the very slow pacing of it at times. Some of the new characters introduced felt very much story driven and some actually felt completely unnecessary which was one of the main reasons why this felt like the 2nd book in a trilogy rather than a good book in its own right.
I wasn't a big fan of the writing in general either. It felt like the author rambled on for ages, adding endless descriptions to things that didn't need them and going on and on about what the characters were thinking. The pacing was also quite on the slow side, making it feel like an editor could have cut a 100 or so pages without much consequence to the story or characters. The story itself though was quite fun at least. The twists were well handled and despite some very convenient coincidences, it all felt well thought out.
So this was actually quite a good book in the series, but not quite as good when viewed on its own. I'm still invested in the story and to some extent the characters, so I'll probably be continuing with the series. Based on the first two books, I'd still recommend this to most fantasy lovers.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Just plan on picking up the third book immediately after you finish this one. Budget for it, reserve a credit, do what you have to do.
If Book 1 was Varyn's - subtitle, "The Idiot" - then Book 2 is Adare's - subtitle, "The Fool".
Part of what got me started on this set was thinking that it was complete. My mistake. The force of "must complete!" might have been enough to take me through a book I could start now. But waiting for Book 3 ... not sure if Kaden's story is sufficient.
Part of what got me started on this set was thinking that it was complete. My mistake. The force of "must complete!" might have been enough to take me through a book I could start now. But waiting for Book 3 ... not sure if Kaden's story is sufficient.
