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koistyfishy's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
inspiring
lighthearted
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? It's complicated
4.0
4 Blue Jewel Stars ⭐️
Spicy Level: 🌶️/5
What an aptly named series - Elements of Cadence, given that is what it feels like reading this. It's poetry, prose and lyrical magic transporting you into a tale of folk and Scottish lore. The story, characters and writing should be cherished, as you feel surrounded by the spirits of the realm.
This book is such a vibe...
There is something in Rebecca Ross's writing that elevates a book. I cannot get over how this entire book just flows through musical words and imagery. It's an amazing work of art that blends in the Scottish land, lore and imagery with a tale of fairy folk wrapped with intricate worldbuilding. It's just absolutely astounding.
I read the first book a very long time ago, so I had completely forgotten how much I enjoyed this world and these characters. But stepping back into this, feeling the world, being back with Adaira, Jack, Torin and Sidra while they have to overcome a blight that is affecting both the East and West of the Isle and battle Bane (the North Wing and King of the Folk's) Ire.
I loved that I felt like I was living in this world. I could smell the air. I could taste the food and feel the plants under my feet and I could hear Jack's music. Even though the characters are simplistic in their ways, I love their growth and development in this book. I loved how Torin and Sidra stepped into their roles of Laird and Laird's Consort. I loved how Adaria stepped into learning her place in the West and exploring her new relationship with her real parents and I adored how much deeper it felt that her and Jack's relationship grew. I loved how sacrificing these characters are for each other and their people.
Overall a fantastic story that if you love fantasy should be picked up instantly!
Trope Summary:
▶ Cosy Fantasy
▶ Unique Magic System
▶ Fairytale Vibes
▶ Who Did This To You?
▶ Touch Him and Die
▶ JUST VIBES MAN!
Spicy Level: 🌶️/5
What an aptly named series - Elements of Cadence, given that is what it feels like reading this. It's poetry, prose and lyrical magic transporting you into a tale of folk and Scottish lore. The story, characters and writing should be cherished, as you feel surrounded by the spirits of the realm.
This book is such a vibe...
There is something in Rebecca Ross's writing that elevates a book. I cannot get over how this entire book just flows through musical words and imagery. It's an amazing work of art that blends in the Scottish land, lore and imagery with a tale of fairy folk wrapped with intricate worldbuilding. It's just absolutely astounding.
I read the first book a very long time ago, so I had completely forgotten how much I enjoyed this world and these characters. But stepping back into this, feeling the world, being back with Adaira, Jack, Torin and Sidra while they have to overcome a blight that is affecting both the East and West of the Isle and battle Bane (the North Wing and King of the Folk's) Ire.
I loved that I felt like I was living in this world. I could smell the air. I could taste the food and feel the plants under my feet and I could hear Jack's music. Even though the characters are simplistic in their ways, I love their growth and development in this book. I loved how Torin and Sidra stepped into their roles of Laird and Laird's Consort. I loved how Adaria stepped into learning her place in the West and exploring her new relationship with her real parents and I adored how much deeper it felt that her and Jack's relationship grew. I loved how sacrificing these characters are for each other and their people.
Overall a fantastic story that if you love fantasy should be picked up instantly!
Trope Summary:
▶ Cosy Fantasy
▶ Unique Magic System
▶ Fairytale Vibes
▶ Who Did This To You?
▶ Touch Him and Die
▶ JUST VIBES MAN!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Death
Minor: Pregnancy, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Grief
bg_oseman_fan's review against another edition
challenging
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
This was a great conclusion to the story. Everything in the story fit well together. It was an enjoyable read
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Death, and Blood
Moderate: Sexual content, Injury/Injury detail, and Pregnancy
Minor: Alcohol, Vomit, Grief, and Death of parent
boba_n_books's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
inspiring
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
5.0
Spice Rating: 🌶️ / 5
Rebecca Ross writes a gorgeous finale to the Elements of Cadence duology in A Fire Endless.
We pick up a couple of weeks where we left off at the end of A River Enchanted. Adaira is struggling to find her place in the West with her birth parents, wondering if she would ever fit in. Jack, Torin, and Sidra are left to pick up the pieces in the East and try to lead the clan in Adaira's absence. One day, Torin discovers a blight in an orchard in the East that has somehow spread to the people, and he and Sidra work together to find a cure for their clan. Jack feels lost without Adaira until he finds purpose in a mission from a fire spirit named Ash. Adaira, Jack, Sidra, and Torin are all pushed to their limits as they come together with the spirits to try and finally stop the northern wind spirit, Bane, who is tyrannically ruling over the spirits. Unknown history will be discovered, and sacrifices will need to be made by everyone in order to stop Bane and unite the isle of Cadence once again.
Rebecca Ross has quickly become one of my favorite authors. Her writing style captures lyrical prose, atmospheric settings, and multi-dimensional characters. One thing I love about her female characters is that they don't fall into the typical popular "strong FMC" umbrella; they are, instead, quietly strong and sacrifice and fight in their own unconventional ways. This novel especially captures the resilience of women as well as the importance of connection to the Earth, understanding amongst each other, and constantly learning from history to avoid making the same mistakes. Ross paints a beautiful picture of what life can look like when we work together, forgive, and simply communicate with one another.
Readers who love Ross' Letters of Enchantment duology or anything by Stephanie Garber would be remiss to ignore this series.
I was so concerned that this was going to end with Jack remaining in the spirit realm and was so pleasantly surprised when he was able to return as a mortal. I would've been okay with the bittersweet ending, but after all he and Adaira had gone through, I was really happy to see their happy ending.
Rebecca Ross writes a gorgeous finale to the Elements of Cadence duology in A Fire Endless.
We pick up a couple of weeks where we left off at the end of A River Enchanted. Adaira is struggling to find her place in the West with her birth parents, wondering if she would ever fit in. Jack, Torin, and Sidra are left to pick up the pieces in the East and try to lead the clan in Adaira's absence. One day, Torin discovers a blight in an orchard in the East that has somehow spread to the people, and he and Sidra work together to find a cure for their clan. Jack feels lost without Adaira until he finds purpose in a mission from a fire spirit named Ash. Adaira, Jack, Sidra, and Torin are all pushed to their limits as they come together with the spirits to try and finally stop the northern wind spirit, Bane, who is tyrannically ruling over the spirits. Unknown history will be discovered, and sacrifices will need to be made by everyone in order to stop Bane and unite the isle of Cadence once again.
Rebecca Ross has quickly become one of my favorite authors. Her writing style captures lyrical prose, atmospheric settings, and multi-dimensional characters. One thing I love about her female characters is that they don't fall into the typical popular "strong FMC" umbrella; they are, instead, quietly strong and sacrifice and fight in their own unconventional ways. This novel especially captures the resilience of women as well as the importance of connection to the Earth, understanding amongst each other, and constantly learning from history to avoid making the same mistakes. Ross paints a beautiful picture of what life can look like when we work together, forgive, and simply communicate with one another.
Readers who love Ross' Letters of Enchantment duology or anything by Stephanie Garber would be remiss to ignore this series.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Sexual content, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Vomit, Grief, and Alcohol
kbowles24's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
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? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death and Chronic illness
Minor: Blood, Vomit, Sexual content, Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, Child death, Alcohol, Grief, Death of parent, and Violence
linneak's review
adventurous
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? It's complicated
4.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Pregnancy, Sexual content, Torture, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Police brutality, Abandonment, Murder, Child death, Death, Grief, and Violence
redheadorganist's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
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? It's complicated
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Death, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, and Confinement
Moderate: Sexual content and Pregnancy
jessiereads98's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
medium-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
3.75
A Fire Endless follows Jack, Adaira, Torin, and Sidra across the Isle of Cadence as they handle the fall out of Adaira going west. It’s a solid sequel, and Rebecca Ross expands the world beautifully. This story was unexpectedly darker and heavier than the A River Enchanted, but it still maintains its atmospheric charm through lush and lyrical prose. A Fire Endless was more plot heavy than A River Enchanted, and I felt this was to its detriment.
This story had almost too
much going on for a final book of a duology. Adaira is learning the culture and politics of the West, Torin is adjusting to his role as laird of the East, Jack, Sidra, and Torin must save the Isle of Cadence from a mysterious plague affecting both the land and people. With this much ground to cover things felt rushed and choppy at times. The character development and main relationships which shone in the first book remain, but to a lesser degree. I felt the relationships were the biggest strength of the first book, and putting them to the side to focus on too many plot elements made this a weaker story. I especially didn’t likethe separation of Torin and Sidra. I expected to see them working on their relationship together, however we instead only got individual character development (mostly Torin) and their relationship was just healed through that at the very end seemingly. I also just didn’t care for the pregnancy plot. It felt unnecessary given everything else going on.
While the main relationships between Jack and Adaira, and Torin and Sidra remain we unfortunately don’t get to continue exploring the familial relationships from A River Enchanted in A Fire Endless. Mirin, Fraeda, and Maisie who played a prominent role in the first book are all but absent here. There was an attempt to explore the fraught relationship between Adaira and her biological parents here, but it ultimately gets lost and falls flat amongst everything else happening. Jack interacts with his paternal relatives 2 or 3 times total in 500 pages despite not having known his father being central to his character. I was disappointed by the lack of connections outside of the two main romantic relationships.
While there seemed to be more magic overall in A Fire Endless, there was less bardic magic. I loved the uniqueness of Jack’s powers as a bard in A River Enchanted and the way it was written. In A Fire Endless the interactions with the spirits are more direct, and initiated by the spirits. This made the magic seem more mundane, and like a plot device that Ross used to get us from one point to another.
Finally, I was disappointed by the ending. It felt rushed to make sure every loose end was tied up neatly, rather than those endings having been earned and making sense. I also didn’t like howJack became king of the spirits then gave up his powers entirely. There was very little build up for this ending to make sense with either the world or his character. I don’t think it was necessary to strip him of his bard magic entirely to prove the point that he loves Adaira.
Overall, this was a fine conclusion to the duology despite being a little disappointing.
This story had almost too
much going on for a final book of a duology. Adaira is learning the culture and politics of the West, Torin is adjusting to his role as laird of the East, Jack, Sidra, and Torin must save the Isle of Cadence from a mysterious plague affecting both the land and people. With this much ground to cover things felt rushed and choppy at times. The character development and main relationships which shone in the first book remain, but to a lesser degree. I felt the relationships were the biggest strength of the first book, and putting them to the side to focus on too many plot elements made this a weaker story. I especially didn’t like
While the main relationships between Jack and Adaira, and Torin and Sidra remain we unfortunately don’t get to continue exploring the familial relationships from A River Enchanted in A Fire Endless. Mirin, Fraeda, and Maisie who played a prominent role in the first book are all but absent here. There was an attempt to explore the fraught relationship between Adaira and her biological parents here, but it ultimately gets lost and falls flat amongst everything else happening. Jack interacts with his paternal relatives 2 or 3 times total in 500 pages despite not having known his father being central to his character. I was disappointed by the lack of connections outside of the two main romantic relationships.
While there seemed to be more magic overall in A Fire Endless, there was less bardic magic. I loved the uniqueness of Jack’s powers as a bard in A River Enchanted and the way it was written. In A Fire Endless the interactions with the spirits are more direct, and initiated by the spirits. This made the magic seem more mundane, and like a plot device that Ross used to get us from one point to another.
Finally, I was disappointed by the ending. It felt rushed to make sure every loose end was tied up neatly, rather than those endings having been earned and making sense. I also didn’t like how
Overall, this was a fine conclusion to the duology despite being a little disappointing.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pregnancy, Vomit, Blood, and Death
Moderate: Murder, Violence, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Child death
Minor: Sexual content, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Alcoholism, Confinement, Drug use, and Grief
stormeno's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence, Grief, and Confinement
Minor: Sexual content and Alcohol
beautifulpaxielreads's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
A Fire Endless is a fitting end to the Elements of Cadence duology and an equally fitting sequel to A River Enchanted.
Rebecca Ross has crafted these twin books with great care, and it shows in the writing. Whilst reading Fire, I could feel her expert hand guiding the plot and characters, rather like (at least as it seemed to me) a chess master moving all their pieces into place to reach - in this case - a winning conclusion.
There were times when it seemed that Ross's writing held me under some magic spell, that to stop reading would be to break it. I realise that may sound odd and faintly ridiculous, but it is a testament to the immersiveness of the world and characters Ross has created that I felt this way.
I don't mean to say that this book was without flaws. Sometimes in between reading sessions I would lose the thread of certain plot elements, and had to accept that they had already been explained so I did not have to go back and reread. And that phrase I referred to earlier, about the chess master? Well, there were times when the chain of events seemed a little too convenient, too planned, too predictable.
But these quibbles didn't affect my overall enjoyment of the novel, and I am greatly looking forward to reading more from the extremely talented Rebecca Ross.
Rebecca Ross has crafted these twin books with great care, and it shows in the writing. Whilst reading Fire, I could feel her expert hand guiding the plot and characters, rather like (at least as it seemed to me) a chess master moving all their pieces into place to reach - in this case - a winning conclusion.
There were times when it seemed that Ross's writing held me under some magic spell, that to stop reading would be to break it. I realise that may sound odd and faintly ridiculous, but it is a testament to the immersiveness of the world and characters Ross has created that I felt this way.
I don't mean to say that this book was without flaws. Sometimes in between reading sessions I would lose the thread of certain plot elements, and had to accept that they had already been explained so I did not have to go back and reread. And that phrase I referred to earlier, about the chess master? Well, there were times when the chain of events seemed a little too convenient, too planned, too predictable.
But these quibbles didn't affect my overall enjoyment of the novel, and I am greatly looking forward to reading more from the extremely talented Rebecca Ross.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Murder, Physical abuse, and Violence
Moderate: Abandonment, Child death, Sexual content, Blood, and Pregnancy
Minor: Alcohol, Death of parent, Kidnapping, Torture, and War
A major plot point in the novel revolves around the Breccan Laird and her family takingkirstym25's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
medium-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? No
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Grief, and Death
Moderate: Pregnancy