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bisexualwentworth'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
3.5
I wish that this book had been better. I really do.
It wasn't bad. It just felt very rough around the edges and could have done with a lot more work in a lot of areas.
Shatter the Sky was hardly the best book I've ever read, but I enjoyed it so much. It played with familiar tropes in ways that I enjoyed. It was deliciously queer. I got attached to the characters.
Storm the Earth is similarly tropey. I like Maren and Sev, and they both get good arcs here. The dragon lore is great. But the whole story plays it safe in ways that frustrated me. I wanted Wells to take more risks here. I wanted the story to have room to breathe, not just in the romance aspect but in the revolution stuff as well.
A lot of basic writing stuff falls down a bit in this one. Characters who were never previously mentioned appear to help at the eleventh hour, which feels deeply unsatisfying and also hints at a whole chunk of plot that we never got. A longer book with more point of view characters actually might have been a smart move here, but that's something that Wells probably would have had to set up in book one since this was just a duology rather than a longer series.
And I'm not mad at how the romance stuff played out, but it did feel very safe. I think that if we'd gotten Kaia's perspective in this book (and maybe in the first one as well), things might have felt more satisfying. Or ifthings had just ended in polyamory , but that would have required large-scale changes to the whole book. Oh well.
Overall, I still mostly enjoyed this and would recommend the duology to fellow queer dragon book fans or just anyone looking for a YA fantasy novel with a bisexual lead. I just wish that book two had taken more risks and gotten some better editing and maybe been paced a bit better.
I would absolutely love to revisit this world if the author is interested in doing that cause I think there's a lot of potential to tell interesting stories in it.
It wasn't bad. It just felt very rough around the edges and could have done with a lot more work in a lot of areas.
Shatter the Sky was hardly the best book I've ever read, but I enjoyed it so much. It played with familiar tropes in ways that I enjoyed. It was deliciously queer. I got attached to the characters.
Storm the Earth is similarly tropey. I like Maren and Sev, and they both get good arcs here. The dragon lore is great. But the whole story plays it safe in ways that frustrated me. I wanted Wells to take more risks here. I wanted the story to have room to breathe, not just in the romance aspect but in the revolution stuff as well.
A lot of basic writing stuff falls down a bit in this one. Characters who were never previously mentioned appear to help at the eleventh hour, which feels deeply unsatisfying and also hints at a whole chunk of plot that we never got. A longer book with more point of view characters actually might have been a smart move here, but that's something that Wells probably would have had to set up in book one since this was just a duology rather than a longer series.
And I'm not mad at how the romance stuff played out, but it did feel very safe. I think that if we'd gotten Kaia's perspective in this book (and maybe in the first one as well), things might have felt more satisfying. Or if
Overall, I still mostly enjoyed this and would recommend the duology to fellow queer dragon book fans or just anyone looking for a YA fantasy novel with a bisexual lead. I just wish that book two had taken more risks and gotten some better editing and maybe been paced a bit better.
I would absolutely love to revisit this world if the author is interested in doing that cause I think there's a lot of potential to tell interesting stories in it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Death, Animal death, and Blood
Moderate: Toxic relationship
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