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3.38 AVERAGE
3.38 AVERAGE
3.5
Having read this, I can now say that I enjoyed it a lot more than I expected. I thought both Amris and Darya were lovely characters. They were just so unfailingly kind to one another and those around them—good people. Plus, they’re both well into adulthood. I also very much appreciated being given a bisexual hero (without it being any drama) and several LGBTQ side characters. Similarly, Darya and Amris had different skill-sets, but both were allowed to excel together and apart. (And they do fight apart, even after getting together.) So often, us readers are given a ‘badass heroine’ who goes limp in the presence of the hero. Cooper didn’t do that to us. Darya stays just as competent and dangerous after meeting Amris as she was before and I loved that.
I did feel a bit thrown into the story. The book starts at the re-ignition of a magical war and there is a lot of history to absorb quickly. I never felt like I got a real feel for the villain. For that matter, I don’t really feel like I got to know Darya and Amris particularly deeply either. I liked them, but they are on the go for the entirety of the book and I didn’t feel like there was ever a chance to pause, breathe, and get to know them outside of the circumstances of the story.
All in all, however, I can’t wait to jump into book two. Though I do want to make a quick point about the cover. One presumes that is Amris, the male lead. He spends the entire book in plate armor. He briefly takes it off to bathe, sleep, and for the single (very mild) sex scene. But he is notably in armor the whole book. So, why are we given a shirtless cover? It’s not that I dislike the cover, or that I’m a prude about skin. But I do feel like it misrepresents the sort of story one will find under that cover. Just, sayin’.
Having read this, I can now say that I enjoyed it a lot more than I expected. I thought both Amris and Darya were lovely characters. They were just so unfailingly kind to one another and those around them—good people. Plus, they’re both well into adulthood. I also very much appreciated being given a bisexual hero (without it being any drama) and several LGBTQ side characters. Similarly, Darya and Amris had different skill-sets, but both were allowed to excel together and apart. (And they do fight apart, even after getting together.) So often, us readers are given a ‘badass heroine’ who goes limp in the presence of the hero. Cooper didn’t do that to us. Darya stays just as competent and dangerous after meeting Amris as she was before and I loved that.
I did feel a bit thrown into the story. The book starts at the re-ignition of a magical war and there is a lot of history to absorb quickly. I never felt like I got a real feel for the villain. For that matter, I don’t really feel like I got to know Darya and Amris particularly deeply either. I liked them, but they are on the go for the entirety of the book and I didn’t feel like there was ever a chance to pause, breathe, and get to know them outside of the circumstances of the story.
All in all, however, I can’t wait to jump into book two. Though I do want to make a quick point about the cover. One presumes that is Amris, the male lead. He spends the entire book in plate armor. He briefly takes it off to bathe, sleep, and for the single (very mild) sex scene. But he is notably in armor the whole book. So, why are we given a shirtless cover? It’s not that I dislike the cover, or that I’m a prude about skin. But I do feel like it misrepresents the sort of story one will find under that cover. Just, sayin’.
I recieved an E-Arc on Netgalley from the Publisher for an honest review!
My Review
I was so excited to get this book. I love love the cover even though it was an E-Arc. Perhaps I will buy the book when it comes out in December. Anyways, the story is so epic! It’s fantasy, adventure, fighting, love, magic, swords and more. So if you like all those type of things then this book may be for you.
The main characters are Amris and Darya and Gerant. I love their interaction with each other. Darya is connected with magic which ties her to Gerant. I thought their relationship was interesting on so many levels. She is also a warrior who can kick butt. To me she has the same level of fighting as men do. I love how that women and men in this story are on the same page. The fighting is awesome. The jumps, the swords and moving was just fantastic. I felt like I was watching a movie when this was happening in the book. The whole vibe is fantasy. Darya has so much strength in many rules which makes me like her!
Amris is such a male warrior. He thinks and acts like a warrior. I think that is one of the reasons why he connects so well with Darya other than the fact he also knows Gerant. I loved the description of Amris armor. You can actually picture Amris wearing such an armor. I liked this character too.
Other than the fighting the bad guys and magic happening, Amris and Darya are fighting an attraction against each other. I thought those bits were pretty fun to read. I loved Darya’s thoughts this matter. I even had to smirked at some of the thoughts. Amris had some thoughts that were interesting as well. It was kind of interesting to see how male and female thoughts were portrayed here. They tried to suppress their feelings for the sake of Gerant, does that happen? You got to go get the book to find out.
The creatures mentioned in this book, oh my gosh! My imagination went wild and I had to stop myself. It was like “no no don’t think of those creepy things!” Then I was also trying to picture how they would make those creatures in a movie. I loved how the author had such a vivid description of the creatures. Very very cool!
At the end of the book I wanted to know what was going to happen next. Plus I had questions of how did Germany become how he is, what is the background on Olivr, will there be more awesome fighting and strange creatures? Who will win? I admit that now I want to own a sword. Can I find one like Darya? Should I get a chakram like Xena? Or a cool ax like Buddy had that the end? Or sais like Elektra? I can dream can’t I?
My Review
I was so excited to get this book. I love love the cover even though it was an E-Arc. Perhaps I will buy the book when it comes out in December. Anyways, the story is so epic! It’s fantasy, adventure, fighting, love, magic, swords and more. So if you like all those type of things then this book may be for you.
The main characters are Amris and Darya and Gerant. I love their interaction with each other. Darya is connected with magic which ties her to Gerant. I thought their relationship was interesting on so many levels. She is also a warrior who can kick butt. To me she has the same level of fighting as men do. I love how that women and men in this story are on the same page. The fighting is awesome. The jumps, the swords and moving was just fantastic. I felt like I was watching a movie when this was happening in the book. The whole vibe is fantasy. Darya has so much strength in many rules which makes me like her!
Amris is such a male warrior. He thinks and acts like a warrior. I think that is one of the reasons why he connects so well with Darya other than the fact he also knows Gerant. I loved the description of Amris armor. You can actually picture Amris wearing such an armor. I liked this character too.
Other than the fighting the bad guys and magic happening, Amris and Darya are fighting an attraction against each other. I thought those bits were pretty fun to read. I loved Darya’s thoughts this matter. I even had to smirked at some of the thoughts. Amris had some thoughts that were interesting as well. It was kind of interesting to see how male and female thoughts were portrayed here. They tried to suppress their feelings for the sake of Gerant, does that happen? You got to go get the book to find out.
The creatures mentioned in this book, oh my gosh! My imagination went wild and I had to stop myself. It was like “no no don’t think of those creepy things!” Then I was also trying to picture how they would make those creatures in a movie. I loved how the author had such a vivid description of the creatures. Very very cool!
At the end of the book I wanted to know what was going to happen next. Plus I had questions of how did Germany become how he is, what is the background on Olivr, will there be more awesome fighting and strange creatures? Who will win? I admit that now I want to own a sword. Can I find one like Darya? Should I get a chakram like Xena? Or a cool ax like Buddy had that the end? Or sais like Elektra? I can dream can’t I?
Isabel Cooper created magic when infusing this book with the perfect mix of paranormal, fantasy, and romance. It hits all the good spots of all three in such an organic way that the plot flows perfectly from one element to another. Plus the battle at the end is a total page-turner that totally had my heart racing.
Both Darya and Amris are engaging characters with believable personalities and quirks that make the bizarre situation they find themselves in somehow make perfect sense. The fact that they're surrounded by characters whose own stories I would love to know more of only adds to the appeal of this book.
It's definitely a very strong beginning to what is sure to be an action-packed series that I can't wait to read more of.
Many happy thanks to Netgalley and Sourcebooks Casablanca for the introduction to a great series!
Both Darya and Amris are engaging characters with believable personalities and quirks that make the bizarre situation they find themselves in somehow make perfect sense. The fact that they're surrounded by characters whose own stories I would love to know more of only adds to the appeal of this book.
It's definitely a very strong beginning to what is sure to be an action-packed series that I can't wait to read more of.
Many happy thanks to Netgalley and Sourcebooks Casablanca for the introduction to a great series!
Not very engaging. I know it can take a while to create a world but I was just waiting for it to end instead of actively following the storyline.
Really good fantasy romance with some excellent action scenes and a great epic fantasy setup, as well as great worldbuilding and a strong central romance. I feel like this book and its cover exemplify one of the issues with traditional publishing, because the cover belongs to another era of romance - revise this with a moody cover with, like, an axe in the middle and some sparkles, and you have an excellent romantasy novel ready for anyone who is eagerly waiting for the next Milla Vane book and needs to keep themselves occupied.
I really enjoyed the creative world building in this fantasy romance. Amris has been trapped in a magical sleep for a hundred years when Darya wakes him (with the help of her magical sword) and he finds the world both strange and familiar. It takes a deft hand with world building to make that kind of time shift make sense in terms of culture and technology, and the contrast between the new and the old is handled very well in this novel. Aside from the top-notch world building, including some horrific monsters and interesting deities, I found the characters in this story very compelling and sympathetic in their reactions to the unique position they are in. The side characters are interesting and complex and I can't wait to read more stories in this world.
This book was certainly a solid start to a new series. It took a little bit to warm up to the characters and there was a lot of world building built in, which slowed things down at the beginning. Once I got through that, though, the pacing was really good and the characters really came into their own through the events happening around them. Overall, I greatly enjoyed this book and will definitely be picking up the next in the series.
Delighted to read a book that was not advertised as LGBTQA, but definitely celebrates having a bisexual character. As the blurb on the back of the book makes clear you’re still looking at a generally cis heterosexual relationship, but the fact that it was a non-issue that the man was bisexual, and had sexual history with other men, was just such a relief from other romance novels.
I’m not sure I felt too strongly about the characters or that they were developed quite enough for me to care strongly about them, but the world building was really creative and pretty good. I read it in two nights so I’ll probably read the next in the series.
I’m not sure I felt too strongly about the characters or that they were developed quite enough for me to care strongly about them, but the world building was really creative and pretty good. I read it in two nights so I’ll probably read the next in the series.
I enjoy this kind of storyline.. where a character somehow comes to the future. But I didn’t like these characters or this world. It was rushed and nothing was really explained. It felt like a second book.
And the weird love triangle thing with the soul of the past love in the sword was just weird. Idk. I felt like there was waaaaay more of a connection with the guy and the soul sword
And the weird love triangle thing with the soul of the past love in the sword was just weird. Idk. I felt like there was waaaaay more of a connection with the guy and the soul sword