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bella613's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
I'm going to be honest, it's not particularly well written. It's a little YA at times. The world building isn't spectacular and I got annoyed at some of the fantastical bits especially at the beginning, because it didn't feel real like a good fantasy story when it sucks you in.
This was a recommendation from a coworker, and for the first couple chapters I was pretty sure it was going to be one I barely finished.
However, it's worth sticking around because the book gets better as it goes (in my opinion). Once I was into it, I was really into it. Looking back, I don't know if it deserves as high a rating as I'm going to give it, but I'm doing it anyway because of how much I simply liked it. I enjoyed listening to this more than I've enjoyed a fantasy book since I was a teenager, so it kinda brought me back. I honestly felt nostalgia for my Eragon-reading tween days. I loved the dynamic between Violet and the dragons, and I'd like to see that with more characters. I want to know more about the dragons in general.
I think the author could do a lot better with the relationships between characters. The main romantic relationship feels too lovesick and kinda exaggerated. And the friendships need deeper interactions and better dialogue.
I also want to mention I definitely disliked the telepathy bits. It seemed unnecessary and weird and too much like the trashy werewolf stories you get on fanfiction apps. That and the fact that the sex scenes were more violent than the fight scenes LOL.
But it's pretty easy to ignore that because there's a lot more to the story than just the romance.
I'll be reading the second book and I hope to get more developed backstories and get into the dragons' characters a bit more. This book felt very present-tense focused and didn't do a lot for story besides telling you what's happening. My favorite character was Liam, so.. well.
Anyway, the world is built now and it feels like the story is just beginning. So I'm excited to see what Iron Flame will bring.
Graphic: Child death, Death, Sexual content, Grief, Death of parent, War, Murder, Blood, Child abuse, and Violence
bookswithpao's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Violence, War, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Body horror, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, and Cursing
Moderate: Animal death, Fire/Fire injury, Child death, and Classism
dlsmk's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
3.25
Graphic: Cursing, Murder, Sexual content, Violence, Toxic friendship, Body horror, Bullying, Child death, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Grief, Animal death, and Blood
rowstream's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Graphic: Death, Murder, War, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, and Bullying
Moderate: Sexual content, Death of parent, War, Death, Violence, and Grief
Minor: Vomit
luminescify's review against another edition
- 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
4.75
Graphic: Cursing, Death of parent, Sexual content, Bullying, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, War, Classism, Grief, Emotional abuse, and Murder
bookfox28's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Death, Sexual content, Murder, Torture, War, and Violence
meg_read's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: War, Murder, and Sexual content
Moderate: Animal death
chanlo1994's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Fire/Fire injury, Blood, Death, Gore, Bullying, Sexual content, War, Animal death, Death of parent, Genocide, Murder, Forced institutionalization, and Violence
Minor: Child death
shubka's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: War, Medical trauma, Fire/Fire injury, Physical abuse, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Classism, Sexual content, Blood, and Death
Part of a 5 book serieslynx9010's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Moderate: Death, Violence, Sexual content, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Chronic illness