Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.85 AVERAGE
3.85 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
it feels like something more should’ve happened in this toward the end but either way i‘m hooked and gonna go straight onto the next one!
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood
The tagline on Goodreads says “Cleopatra meets Throne of Glass” so I kept reading hoping for something to change. I was fairly disappointed — there is a smidgen of character development but not until the very end.
The positive: The setting is different, which is fun, the lore is fairly interesting although the book is bogged down by a few too many similar invented words that took me out of the story because I had to remember what each one meant. The MMC is interesting enough with a bit of a brutal backstory.
The negative:
Lyr. There is no ToG (or cleopatra…) to this girl at all. Even at her most annoying, Celaena/ Aelin never reached this level of whining and spoiled privilege. Lyr gets a second chance and just complains; she expects exceptions because she’s special; and she keeps making foolish decisions while petulantly whining about how nothing is fair. For me, the fun thing about this type of book is how the protagonist usually has a zero-to-hero journey. Lyr remains essentially the same — she doesn’t get stronger or faster, and she rejects all of Rhyan’s attempts to help her tap into her supposed strengths. Only at the very end of the book, is there a small promise of change but it’s a lot of pages for very little payoff.
As a side note, the whole “hello lover” feels wildly over the top for one dance and one kiss with a 16-yo three years in the past.
The positive: The setting is different, which is fun, the lore is fairly interesting although the book is bogged down by a few too many similar invented words that took me out of the story because I had to remember what each one meant. The MMC is interesting enough with a bit of a brutal backstory.
The negative:
Lyr. There is no ToG (or cleopatra…) to this girl at all. Even at her most annoying, Celaena/ Aelin never reached this level of whining and spoiled privilege. Lyr gets a second chance and just complains; she expects exceptions because she’s special; and she keeps making foolish decisions while petulantly whining about how nothing is fair. For me, the fun thing about this type of book is how the protagonist usually has a zero-to-hero journey. Lyr remains essentially the same — she doesn’t get stronger or faster, and she rejects all of Rhyan’s attempts to help her tap into her supposed strengths. Only at the very end of the book, is there a small promise of change but it’s a lot of pages for very little payoff.
As a side note, the whole “hello lover” feels wildly over the top for one dance and one kiss with a 16-yo three years in the past.
adventurous
challenging
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
challenging
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes