Scan barcode
cynic_reader's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Confinement, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Sexism, Grief, Torture, and Violence
Minor: Classism, Bullying, Physical abuse, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Child abuse, and Emotional abuse
pages_with_panda's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
I wonder if I wouldve liked this book more knowing that there was another one after this. I thought this series was going to be a trilogy - and in hindsight maybe it should've been.
I did like that the author put content warnings (and their locations) at the beginning of the book, and we're given another recap about the past two books.
The first half of the book was incredible slow and boring. We know at this point that the Bastardmaker and Imperator are misogynist assholes. What we didn't need was two super formal events where Lyr is forced to sit still and do nothing but stomach them. I feel like we got a lot of that from the last two books.
What I also thought would be interesting in this book was that we got a POV from Morgana - but unfortunately that was incredibly dull too and more of a way to add some backstory to make this book make sense. Her scenes felt like something added after the fact, especially with the twist at the end and yet added nothing beyond that.
Given how little information we were given during her POVs, I knew something was coming, but the twist that was added still felt completely out of nowhere and completely forced for shock value, different from the twist from the last book that at least had some lead up.
There was some scenes that grounded our characters that I never see in fantasy stories - like a woman period's being brought up which I thought was neat.
Between Morg's POV, and Lyr and Rhyan being a couple now, there were also plenty of spicy scenes. The author seemed to have written very specific scenes for fans, and then tried to tie a plot around them. There was definitely more action and fighting in the previous books.
The second half of the book seemed a bit faster paced, with super important things happen in less than one page, and yet we still somehow ended up with a cliffhanger that was frustrating.
I think if the previous books had been setup with half the information from this book and a lot of the boring, unnecessary scenes cut, we could've wrapped up the entire story in three books. I felt like more hints leading up to the twist would've helped a lot too.
I was super excited for this book and really let down. I think I'll get the next book because I'm curious to see how it wraps up, but not very enthusiastic for it.
I did like that the author put content warnings (and their locations) at the beginning of the book, and we're given another recap about the past two books.
The first half of the book was incredible slow and boring. We know at this point that the Bastardmaker and Imperator are misogynist assholes. What we didn't need was two super formal events where Lyr is forced to sit still and do nothing but stomach them. I feel like we got a lot of that from the last two books.
What I also thought would be interesting in this book was that we got a POV from Morgana - but unfortunately that was incredibly dull too and more of a way to add some backstory to make this book make sense. Her scenes felt like something added after the fact, especially with the twist at the end and yet added nothing beyond that.
Given how little information we were given during her POVs, I knew something was coming, but the twist that was added still felt completely out of nowhere and completely forced for shock value, different from the twist from the last book that at least had some lead up.
There was some scenes that grounded our characters that I never see in fantasy stories - like a woman period's being brought up which I thought was neat.
Between Morg's POV, and Lyr and Rhyan being a couple now, there were also plenty of spicy scenes. The author seemed to have written very specific scenes for fans, and then tried to tie a plot around them. There was definitely more action and fighting in the previous books.
The second half of the book seemed a bit faster paced, with super important things happen in less than one page, and yet we still somehow ended up with a cliffhanger that was frustrating.
I think if the previous books had been setup with half the information from this book and a lot of the boring, unnecessary scenes cut, we could've wrapped up the entire story in three books. I felt like more hints leading up to the twist would've helped a lot too.
I was super excited for this book and really let down. I think I'll get the next book because I'm curious to see how it wraps up, but not very enthusiastic for it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Injury/Injury detail, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Child abuse, Rape, Panic attacks/disorders, Misogyny, Adult/minor relationship, Kidnapping, and Confinement
katiehuns's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
fast-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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Sexual assault, Rape, Torture, and Panic attacks/disorders
caseythereader's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
slow-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
3.5
Thanks to the author for the free advance copy of this book.
- LADY OF THE DROWNED EMPIRE is the third book in this series, so this is where I try to convince you to read this series without spoiling the plot twists so far! If you love fantasy romance of the A COURT OF THORNS AND ROSES variety, Lyriana's story is for you. She's a headstrong but flawed heroine doing the best she can with what she has, and she falls in magnificent love along the way.
- I loved that this book gave more detail on the complex political system of this continent, as well as further backstory to the ancient gods and goddesses still influencing the world today.
- I thought this series was going to be a trilogy but LADY ends on a cliffhanger, and I'm already looking forward to spending more time in this world.
- LADY OF THE DROWNED EMPIRE is the third book in this series, so this is where I try to convince you to read this series without spoiling the plot twists so far! If you love fantasy romance of the A COURT OF THORNS AND ROSES variety, Lyriana's story is for you. She's a headstrong but flawed heroine doing the best she can with what she has, and she falls in magnificent love along the way.
- I loved that this book gave more detail on the complex political system of this continent, as well as further backstory to the ancient gods and goddesses still influencing the world today.
- I thought this series was going to be a trilogy but LADY ends on a cliffhanger, and I'm already looking forward to spending more time in this world.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Kidnapping, Child abuse, Cursing, Confinement, Death, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Alcohol, Blood, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Murder, Sexual assault, Violence, and Pedophilia
Moderate: Death of parent and Rape
More...