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4.25 AVERAGE
4.25 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Dance of Shadows essentially picks up right where Sons of Darkness ended, and it goes a hundred miles a minute from there. It is relentless in not just action but atrocities, and when I say I genuinely tried to figure out how I could cover my eyes and still read something, I mean that with every fiber of my being. And I can promise you in what thirty-ish years of a reading a scene has never been so devastating, so violent, so just fucking messed up that I instinctively attempted to cover my eyes. And yet through all of the blood, gore, and political machinations it still ended up laughing through much of it.
This all means that it was absolutely amazing. I'm not sure how many books this is going to end up being but this was almost the perfect middle book if it's going to be a trilogy. Mohanty doesn't get bogged down in anything unnecessary here and while this is absolutely brutal that's absolutely the point. He could have drug this out so much longer and genuinely never even gained or completely lost the momentum that the violence of this book builds, there is something very wrong happening in this world and this volume drove home a desperate need to see that violence ended. Which is the perfect way to ensure that humans want to read book three!
Just a heads up I think given everything I've said here this is painfully violent and the scene that I referenced earlier will be especially difficult for women, mothers especially to read, so there's your trigger warning. This is definitely not a series for the faint of heart.
Overall, I highly recommend this one, especially if you read book one. It certainly ends many threads and then throws us right back into the fire.
As always thanks to NetGalley and Head Of Zeus/Bloomsbury USA for the eArc!
This all means that it was absolutely amazing. I'm not sure how many books this is going to end up being but this was almost the perfect middle book if it's going to be a trilogy. Mohanty doesn't get bogged down in anything unnecessary here and while this is absolutely brutal that's absolutely the point. He could have drug this out so much longer and genuinely never even gained or completely lost the momentum that the violence of this book builds, there is something very wrong happening in this world and this volume drove home a desperate need to see that violence ended. Which is the perfect way to ensure that humans want to read book three!
Just a heads up I think given everything I've said here this is painfully violent and the scene that I referenced earlier will be especially difficult for women, mothers especially to read, so there's your trigger warning. This is definitely not a series for the faint of heart.
Overall, I highly recommend this one, especially if you read book one. It certainly ends many threads and then throws us right back into the fire.
As always thanks to NetGalley and Head Of Zeus/Bloomsbury USA for the eArc!
My jaw literally dropped. Multiple times.
Dance of Shadows is the sequel to Sons of Darkness, but it's a parallel story in that most of it takes place at the same time as the events of the first book, only we follow different characters. Before I go any further, I just want to acknowledge that a) I don't typically read adult epic fantasy, so any confusion on my part may be the result of that and b) I just started a semester at school, which may also play a role in my comprehension of certain parts of this book. I wanted to throw that out there so you can take this review with a grain of salt.
I think I preferred this book to the first, and the main reason is that it follows one of my favorite story structures: the characters are all split up at first but come together by the end. There are so many moving plotlines it can be hard to follow at times. Mati (yes, the same pirate princess) and her appointed knight, Dantavakra (yes, Shishupal's womanizing brother) are supposed to be traveling for diplomatic reasons. Karna finds Marzana, a dancer who may just save his life. Nala, Masha, and Parshuram embark on a journey to save the world. Vahura is simply a bookworm princess searching for a way to save her sister. I can't say much more without dropping spoilers, but the last 20% of the book was incredibly shocking in a variety of different ways and I don't know if I'll ever recover. My main issue was that the pacing dragged at some points, and yet at other times I was confused as to how characters had progressed from place to place so quickly.
I also enjoyed the characters from this book way more than the first. I also appreciated that they are all morally complex and there's not really any character who doesn't do things you'll disagree with at some point. I found Mati's chapters very enjoyable (they had a fair amount of action), but she's also just a fun narrator. I didn't like Dantavakra at first, but by the end, he was probably one of my top three characters (we love the noble knight types). I didn't care much for Karna and Marzana's sections, mostly because they were the most "romance" heavy. While Nala was my favorite in the first book, she kind of annoyed me in this one...mostly because her role of favorite was usurped by Taksha. Taksha was, hands down, my favorite character and I can't really explain why. I didn't care much for Masha again, especially with the dynamics between her, Nala, and Taksha that left me with mild secondhand embarrassment. I also didn't love Vahura, which was surprising because I usually love characters similar to her. I did love Vauri, though.
Fans of Sons of Darkness will not be disappointed by this stunning sequel, Dance of Shadows, and its epic scale, rich worldbuilding, and fascinating characters.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the free e-ARC!
3.5/5
Dance of Shadows is the sequel to Sons of Darkness, but it's a parallel story in that most of it takes place at the same time as the events of the first book, only we follow different characters. Before I go any further, I just want to acknowledge that a) I don't typically read adult epic fantasy, so any confusion on my part may be the result of that and b) I just started a semester at school, which may also play a role in my comprehension of certain parts of this book. I wanted to throw that out there so you can take this review with a grain of salt.
I think I preferred this book to the first, and the main reason is that it follows one of my favorite story structures: the characters are all split up at first but come together by the end. There are so many moving plotlines it can be hard to follow at times. Mati (yes, the same pirate princess) and her appointed knight, Dantavakra (yes, Shishupal's womanizing brother) are supposed to be traveling for diplomatic reasons. Karna finds Marzana, a dancer who may just save his life. Nala, Masha, and Parshuram embark on a journey to save the world. Vahura is simply a bookworm princess searching for a way to save her sister. I can't say much more without dropping spoilers, but the last 20% of the book was incredibly shocking in a variety of different ways and I don't know if I'll ever recover. My main issue was that the pacing dragged at some points, and yet at other times I was confused as to how characters had progressed from place to place so quickly.
I also enjoyed the characters from this book way more than the first. I also appreciated that they are all morally complex and there's not really any character who doesn't do things you'll disagree with at some point. I found Mati's chapters very enjoyable (they had a fair amount of action), but she's also just a fun narrator. I didn't like Dantavakra at first, but by the end, he was probably one of my top three characters (we love the noble knight types). I didn't care much for Karna and Marzana's sections, mostly because they were the most "romance" heavy. While Nala was my favorite in the first book, she kind of annoyed me in this one...mostly because her role of favorite was usurped by Taksha. Taksha was, hands down, my favorite character and I can't really explain why. I didn't care much for Masha again, especially with the dynamics between her, Nala, and Taksha that left me with mild secondhand embarrassment. I also didn't love Vahura, which was surprising because I usually love characters similar to her. I did love Vauri, though.
Fans of Sons of Darkness will not be disappointed by this stunning sequel, Dance of Shadows, and its epic scale, rich worldbuilding, and fascinating characters.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the free e-ARC!
3.5/5
What a way to end the year
This book topped sons of darkness in the best way. Far more brutal but layered with humour that made this book shine.
Gourav’s writing excelled in this book. It felt more of a his book than sons of darkness did. There were phrases that flowed and felt magical, points where I was glued to the page and forgot the world around me. I was IMMERSED
The characters were well rounded and I loved each and every one of them. Even those I wasn’t meant to like. With such a short amount of time I fell in love with these characters.
I was horrified.
I laughed
I loved
A book of the year for sure.
This series may not be for everyone but I urge you to try. Even if you weren’t a fan of SOD this deserves a try. What an epic book
WHERE IS BOOK 3?!!
This book topped sons of darkness in the best way. Far more brutal but layered with humour that made this book shine.
Gourav’s writing excelled in this book. It felt more of a his book than sons of darkness did. There were phrases that flowed and felt magical, points where I was glued to the page and forgot the world around me. I was IMMERSED
The characters were well rounded and I loved each and every one of them. Even those I wasn’t meant to like. With such a short amount of time I fell in love with these characters.
I was horrified.
I laughed
I loved
A book of the year for sure.
This series may not be for everyone but I urge you to try. Even if you weren’t a fan of SOD this deserves a try. What an epic book
WHERE IS BOOK 3?!!
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
This book was absolutely amazing and took me by surprise a couple of times. There were a lot of chapters with twists in them I didn't expect at all.
I was firmly kept on the edge the whole time.
The characters are, just like in book 1, we'll write have a lot of depth and the author have me the feeling they're real people. I didn't like all of them, but there are some I extremely favor, like Nala. Loved her in book 1 and it was the same here.
The world building is detailed and rich, and I had a lot of fun experiencing the different places with the characters.
Another big plus is the prose and the writing style of the author. Beautiful, not always easy to read, but worth the time and focus.
If you liked book 1, you're gonna like this one as well...happy reading!
Big thanks to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for providing me with a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
I was firmly kept on the edge the whole time.
The characters are, just like in book 1, we'll write have a lot of depth and the author have me the feeling they're real people. I didn't like all of them, but there are some I extremely favor, like Nala. Loved her in book 1 and it was the same here.
The world building is detailed and rich, and I had a lot of fun experiencing the different places with the characters.
Another big plus is the prose and the writing style of the author. Beautiful, not always easy to read, but worth the time and focus.
If you liked book 1, you're gonna like this one as well...happy reading!
Big thanks to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for providing me with a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.