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4.27 AVERAGE
4.27 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I read Black Sun four years ago, and it played a large role in rekindling my love for reading. It has a special place in my heart and I still think it's the best book in this series. I put off reading Mirrored Heavens for a while because I didn't want the story to end, but I finally did it...
It isn't perfect - the politics got so muddy and complicated that I was tempted to get a piece of paper to write down who betrayed whom. There where character arcs I wasn't satisfied with, most particularly Naranpa's. I really enjoyed her POV in Fevered Star, with her rise as a representative of the Coyote clan. While I initially liked the idea of her traveling north to study the gods, ultimately it felt like she had little influence on everything that happened in Tova. I missed her as a powerful figure, and I even missed the Dry Earth characters. I thought Coyote clan would play a much bigger role after the second book :( My favorite part of Fevered Star was her confrontation with Serapio. There was SO MUCH to explore between them. The parallels! The interwoven destiny!!! And none if it panned out. :( This is my biggest gripe and it's unforgivable to me. :P
Okoa's arc was also confusing. His feelings toward Serapio were all-consuming but so one-sided that I felt bad for him. I never truly believed that Serapio thought of him as a brother, at least not with the same level of devotion as Okoa showed. Why was he even killed off? He survived so much just to be killed by some usurper, damn. Better for him to have died in battle with Tehrza.
What this book delivered in spades was more of Serapio and Xiala's relationship. I was surprised by the amount of pages dedicated to their longing for each other...so of course I rejoiced! There's not much to say except that I love them and I'm thankful to Roanhorse for giving me everything I wanted in that regard. Sue me, I'm a romantic.Except I wanted a longer epilogue. I understand it was more poetic to end it the way it did, but damn it, I wanted more dialogue! More of an explanation from Serapio!
I think the book could've been edited better, because there was a lot of backstory crammed in here, and while I enjoyed the discussion of destiny versus paving one's own path, the weight of expectations, the price of love and of ambition...we dwelled on that so much that it dulled the nuance of the characters. Does that make sense? Like there was a lot of telling instead of showing. Black Sun had this wonderful sense of discovery, of counting down the days to something mysterious, and Fevered Star had the players in a steady rise of power. We should have gotten an epic confrontation in Mirrored Heavens and that...didn't really happen. It feels like the story got away from the author a bit.
I know this review sounds negative but my love for the characters largely overshadows the book's weak points. For all its flaws, I cannot not love this series because it gave me Serapio, Xiala, and Naranpa.
PS. The chapter where Serapio kills Marcal had me bawling. We barely even heard anything about Marcal before that and yet it broke my heart. One of my favorite parts.
It isn't perfect - the politics got so muddy and complicated that I was tempted to get a piece of paper to write down who betrayed whom. There where character arcs I wasn't satisfied with, most particularly Naranpa's. I really enjoyed her POV in Fevered Star, with her rise as a representative of the Coyote clan. While I initially liked the idea of her traveling north to study the gods, ultimately it felt like she had little influence on everything that happened in Tova. I missed her as a powerful figure, and I even missed the Dry Earth characters. I thought Coyote clan would play a much bigger role after the second book :( My favorite part of Fevered Star was her confrontation with Serapio. There was SO MUCH to explore between them. The parallels! The interwoven destiny!!! And none if it panned out. :( This is my biggest gripe and it's unforgivable to me. :P
Okoa's arc was also confusing.
What this book delivered in spades was more of Serapio and Xiala's relationship. I was surprised by the amount of pages dedicated to their longing for each other...so of course I rejoiced! There's not much to say except that I love them and I'm thankful to Roanhorse for giving me everything I wanted in that regard. Sue me, I'm a romantic.
I think the book could've been edited better, because there was a lot of backstory crammed in here, and while I enjoyed the discussion of destiny versus paving one's own path, the weight of expectations, the price of love and of ambition...we dwelled on that so much that it dulled the nuance of the characters. Does that make sense? Like there was a lot of telling instead of showing. Black Sun had this wonderful sense of discovery, of counting down the days to something mysterious, and Fevered Star had the players in a steady rise of power. We should have gotten an epic confrontation in Mirrored Heavens and that...didn't really happen. It feels like the story got away from the author a bit.
I know this review sounds negative but my love for the characters largely overshadows the book's weak points. For all its flaws, I cannot not love this series because it gave me Serapio, Xiala, and Naranpa.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Murder
Moderate: Torture
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-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:
Complicated
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
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
I just wasn’t excited to pick the book back up. I kept renewing my library pain, but whenever I finished another book, I didn’t want to go back. I would like to finish it at some point to complete the series, but not right.
adventurous
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
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Violence
Moderate: Sexual content
adventurous
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:
No
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense