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a_reader_obsessed's review
2.0
2.5 Stars
Look I’m not going to rehash every single reason why this didn't work for me, but if you like the idea of an enchanted island that houses both Fae and human alike, where relations have remained civilly contentious at best, and where a prince is finally freed from a coerced sleep alongside an enemy hell bent on destroying humanity, then this might catch your fancy.
Let me stress that this is not a poorly written story. It is full of detail and interesting world building and sets up a premise that obviously caught my eye. There’s a slow burn romance, plenty of action and magic, and a satisfying ending that I find no fault with. However, this took me forever to finish. I had absolutely no momentum or drive and whether that’s on me or the book, I can’t really say. All I know is that I have another Ringle book on my shelf, and I hope when I get to it, it will be more of a success. Please wish me luck!
Look I’m not going to rehash every single reason why this didn't work for me, but if you like the idea of an enchanted island that houses both Fae and human alike, where relations have remained civilly contentious at best, and where a prince is finally freed from a coerced sleep alongside an enemy hell bent on destroying humanity, then this might catch your fancy.
Let me stress that this is not a poorly written story. It is full of detail and interesting world building and sets up a premise that obviously caught my eye. There’s a slow burn romance, plenty of action and magic, and a satisfying ending that I find no fault with. However, this took me forever to finish. I had absolutely no momentum or drive and whether that’s on me or the book, I can’t really say. All I know is that I have another Ringle book on my shelf, and I hope when I get to it, it will be more of a success. Please wish me luck!
lunaballz's review
5.0
This was a super compelling read for me. I loved the premise: accidentally woke the sleeping prince and also the fae intent on destroying all humans.
I felt the pacing of the story was good, and the characters were all distinctive.
I loved Merrick, with all his insecurities and fears, and same with Larkin. They both felt incredibly relatable and human. I also REALLY appreciated that.
LGBTQ+ rep: the two main characters are gay and have a romance, there's a non-binary side character
I felt the pacing of the story was good, and the characters were all distinctive.
I loved Merrick, with all his insecurities and fears, and same with Larkin. They both felt incredibly relatable and human. I also REALLY appreciated that
Spoiler
after their quest, they weren't just recovered from it. They had long term effects and bad days and needed time to recover, which still left them with lifelong fearsLGBTQ+ rep: the two main characters are gay and have a romance, there's a non-binary side character
winters's review
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
2.0
ameserole's review
5.0
I have received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Wow. I can't believe that I waited so freaking long to dive into Lave Red Feather Blue. Man, oh man, I'm so happy that I got this book. Even though I waited like 84 years to finally read it's magical pages, I am very happy that I got the chance to dive into it. I'm just sorry that I waited for it to be published in order to do so.
Honestly, there's so much to fall in love with when it comes to this amazing book. The world building, characters, and everything else in between was just completely entertaining from start to finish. I mean everyone was completely realistic in my eyes. They made mistakes, countless mistakes people, but they learned from them and it made them a better person in the end. Which was really refreshing because most books these days characters will magically be perfect at anything (even if it's there first time knowing it existed) and then make decisions without thinking things through or facing any sort of consequence.
So, yeah, this book wasn't like that and that's probably why I devoured it so freaking quickly. Again, I'm not even sorry about it one bit. I am, however, really disappointed in myself for waiting so long to read this. I feel like I need to redeem myself by going out and buying the actual book now.
In the end, I fell in love with everything. The twists, romance, drama, and fights kept me on the edge of my seat. I also feel like Merrick and Larkin are both my spirit animals just because I loved everything about them. The bantering and such gave me life. I just loved the damn book.
Wow. I can't believe that I waited so freaking long to dive into Lave Red Feather Blue. Man, oh man, I'm so happy that I got this book. Even though I waited like 84 years to finally read it's magical pages, I am very happy that I got the chance to dive into it. I'm just sorry that I waited for it to be published in order to do so.
Honestly, there's so much to fall in love with when it comes to this amazing book. The world building, characters, and everything else in between was just completely entertaining from start to finish. I mean everyone was completely realistic in my eyes. They made mistakes, countless mistakes people, but they learned from them and it made them a better person in the end. Which was really refreshing because most books these days characters will magically be perfect at anything (even if it's there first time knowing it existed) and then make decisions without thinking things through or facing any sort of consequence.
So, yeah, this book wasn't like that and that's probably why I devoured it so freaking quickly. Again, I'm not even sorry about it one bit. I am, however, really disappointed in myself for waiting so long to read this. I feel like I need to redeem myself by going out and buying the actual book now.
In the end, I fell in love with everything. The twists, romance, drama, and fights kept me on the edge of my seat. I also feel like Merrick and Larkin are both my spirit animals just because I loved everything about them. The bantering and such gave me life. I just loved the damn book.
saracat's review against another edition
5.0
I first want to thank NetGalley and Central Avenue Publishing for giving me early access to this title in exchange for an honest review.
I absolutely adored this book. I laughed, squeed, sobbed, was in suspense, felt anxious, was surprised, and so much more. I truly appreciate the complexity Ringle brought to each character. I loved how even though reading the book felt like an escape, it also remained realistic, in that, it was not a perfect, fairytale story. That being said, by the end of chapter one, I had a lot of assumptions and expectations of some of the key plot points that might happen in the book. However, I found the book and story so well written, that even when those things did happen, I still thoroughly enjoyed reading every page of the book.
There is so much more I want to say about this book, but I am not sure how else I can express my love for this book without giving away spoilers. If you love fantasy, fae, quests, LGBTQ representation, magic, and/or well written, complex characters, I highly encourage you to pick up this book once it's out. Once you start, you won't be able to think about anything else until you've reached the end. And then you'll still be thinking about it.
Content Warnings: fighting, death, one sex scene
I absolutely adored this book. I laughed, squeed, sobbed, was in suspense, felt anxious, was surprised, and so much more. I truly appreciate the complexity Ringle brought to each character. I loved how even though reading the book felt like an escape, it also remained realistic, in that, it was not a perfect, fairytale story. That being said, by the end of chapter one, I had a lot of assumptions and expectations of some of the key plot points that might happen in the book. However, I found the book and story so well written, that even when those things did happen, I still thoroughly enjoyed reading every page of the book.
There is so much more I want to say about this book, but I am not sure how else I can express my love for this book without giving away spoilers. If you love fantasy, fae, quests, LGBTQ representation, magic, and/or well written, complex characters, I highly encourage you to pick up this book once it's out. Once you start, you won't be able to think about anything else until you've reached the end. And then you'll still be thinking about it.
Content Warnings: fighting, death, one sex scene
sarina_langer's review
3.0
Can we just take a second to admire this beautiful cover, please? *drools* It's stunning, I can look at it all day long <3
As for the story, it took me a moment to get into it. There was some explaining for the reader's sake, especially in the beginning, which made it harder for me to lose myself in it.
The romance side plot plays a big part in the story. It was quite clear right away that these two characters would get together, but I still enjoyed seeing their relationship progress and how everything came together for them. It was a sweet build-up, and I'm always up for more LGBTQ+ rep! What did surprise me was how steamy this relationship got. I didn't mind it, but it's important to note that one heavy chapter makes this unsuitable for younger. The details didn't leave much to the imagination and caught me off-guard since the rest of the book was nothing like this. Again, I didn't mind it, but it was unexpected.
For me, the overall tone was a little confused. It reads like a YA novel that wants to be a middle grade at heart. Or maybe the author comes from a middle grade background and tried to make this one more grown-up? I think that's a big part of what made the steamy scene such a surprise, too. Besides that, there's a tiny bit of swearing, but it's really not much (and to be honest, kids hear much worse at school anyway). I would have liked it to be more YA or A all the way, but that's personal preference and quite possibly me overthinking it.
The world building is great with heaps of potential and intrigue! I'd definitely visit Eidolonia given half the chance, and the diverse characters were a huge plus for me.
There were a few moments where I thought it might be setting up for a sequel, but the ending wrapped everything up. If you're looking for a standalone epic fantasy (it is sort of set in our world, but none of the action leaves Eidolonia or the fae realm), then this could be a great read for you!
Lava Red Feather Blue will be out on January 5th 2021. My thanks to Netgalley and the author for sending me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
As for the story, it took me a moment to get into it. There was some explaining for the reader's sake, especially in the beginning, which made it harder for me to lose myself in it.
The romance side plot plays a big part in the story. It was quite clear right away that these two characters would get together, but I still enjoyed seeing their relationship progress and how everything came together for them. It was a sweet build-up, and I'm always up for more LGBTQ+ rep! What did surprise me was how steamy this relationship got. I didn't mind it, but it's important to note that one heavy chapter makes this unsuitable for younger. The details didn't leave much to the imagination and caught me off-guard since the rest of the book was nothing like this. Again, I didn't mind it, but it was unexpected.
For me, the overall tone was a little confused. It reads like a YA novel that wants to be a middle grade at heart. Or maybe the author comes from a middle grade background and tried to make this one more grown-up? I think that's a big part of what made the steamy scene such a surprise, too. Besides that, there's a tiny bit of swearing, but it's really not much (and to be honest, kids hear much worse at school anyway). I would have liked it to be more YA or A all the way, but that's personal preference and quite possibly me overthinking it.
The world building is great with heaps of potential and intrigue! I'd definitely visit Eidolonia given half the chance, and the diverse characters were a huge plus for me.
There were a few moments where I thought it might be setting up for a sequel, but the ending wrapped everything up. If you're looking for a standalone epic fantasy (it is sort of set in our world, but none of the action leaves Eidolonia or the fae realm), then this could be a great read for you!
Lava Red Feather Blue will be out on January 5th 2021. My thanks to Netgalley and the author for sending me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
abrittlebee's review against another edition
3.0
Relatively standard fantasy novel with a queer twist. In general, I found Lava Red Feather Blue an enjoyable read with cute characters. However, it was a little bulky.
As far as protagonists go, I really liked Larkin and Merrick. Personality-wise I found them similar, but because of their upbringing their perspectives were different enough to make them unique from one another. Larkin was an idealist who had yet to see his ideals fail, while Merrick was someone who had suffered due to the abuse and practical application of those ideals. It was a very comprehensive display of how privilege and power dynamics work. Plus their relationship with all it's “does he like me or is this just a medieval/modern thing?” was really frigging cute.
Story wise I found the world a little underwhelming. There were snippets of explanation that kept everything understandable, but a lot of the aspects of the world were told through dialogue, not shown or they were told before they were shown. An example would be that Cassidy and Merrick both tell Larkin not to trust the government because they think it is corrupt long before Larkin has any back and forth contact with any legal officials.This sort of pulled double duty in that it was both expository and it made some of the dialogue awkward. It also padded out the novel, which was another issue I had with it. So much of this book, especially in the first half, could have been streamlined.
As an urban fantasy, I think this works really well. I generally tend to prefer mine a little darker, but sometimes it’s nice to have something a little more Disney fairytale and a little less Grimm’s.
As far as protagonists go, I really liked Larkin and Merrick. Personality-wise I found them similar, but because of their upbringing their perspectives were different enough to make them unique from one another. Larkin was an idealist who had yet to see his ideals fail, while Merrick was someone who had suffered due to the abuse and practical application of those ideals. It was a very comprehensive display of how privilege and power dynamics work. Plus their relationship with all it's “does he like me or is this just a medieval/modern thing?” was really frigging cute.
Story wise I found the world a little underwhelming. There were snippets of explanation that kept everything understandable, but a lot of the aspects of the world were told through dialogue, not shown or they were told before they were shown. An example would be that Cassidy and Merrick both tell Larkin not to trust the government because they think it is corrupt long before Larkin has any back and forth contact with any legal officials.This sort of pulled double duty in that it was both expository and it made some of the dialogue awkward. It also padded out the novel, which was another issue I had with it. So much of this book, especially in the first half, could have been streamlined.
As an urban fantasy, I think this works really well. I generally tend to prefer mine a little darker, but sometimes it’s nice to have something a little more Disney fairytale and a little less Grimm’s.
phngtrnreads's review against another edition
1.0
While I appreciate the author's effort to bring cultural diversity into this book as well as its interesting concept, I found the writing lacking flexibility and creativity. So as I was trying to dwell myself in this faerie-inspired island that she has created, it's hard to thoroughly enjoy it. I had been informed before reading that I might find some typing errors, but I doubt that even such an incident would be a sufficient explanation for the anti-climatic feeling I got from her conduction of penmanship.
The main couple itself and the whole cast overall didn't leave me any remarkable impressions either. As I have mentioned above, the author tried to fill this book with a wide range of characters from many ethnics (especially the Hawaiian cultural references) and sexualities being normalized of which I always want to see more in this particular genre, I can't help but find them tokenized and didn't receive much representation in this story. If Ms. Ringle had to dump down clarifications for that in the acknowledgment, I'd say, her effort was not satisfactory, and it could have been done so much better.
As for the concept of this book, it was really enticing to me, since we don't normally see the supernatural factorials being blended into daily life in urban fantasy, but usually seen as some secret society unknown to humans. But this idea was so poorly handled it lacks consistency. Many details went unexplained, many others were unnecessary, and some didn't make any sense.
Overalls, great concept, and well-intended. But with bad writing and terrible execution.
The main couple itself and the whole cast overall didn't leave me any remarkable impressions either. As I have mentioned above, the author tried to fill this book with a wide range of characters from many ethnics (especially the Hawaiian cultural references) and sexualities being normalized of which I always want to see more in this particular genre, I can't help but find them tokenized and didn't receive much representation in this story. If Ms. Ringle had to dump down clarifications for that in the acknowledgment, I'd say, her effort was not satisfactory, and it could have been done so much better.
As for the concept of this book, it was really enticing to me, since we don't normally see the supernatural factorials being blended into daily life in urban fantasy, but usually seen as some secret society unknown to humans. But this idea was so poorly handled it lacks consistency. Many details went unexplained, many others were unnecessary, and some didn't make any sense.
Overalls, great concept, and well-intended. But with bad writing and terrible execution.