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3.94 AVERAGE
3.94 AVERAGE
I received an eARC of this from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
It definitely took me longer to get into this book than the first one, but I loved all the political scheming! The characters really grew a lot and I loved how they interacted with one another. It did take a while for the plot to pick up and for me to get back into this world but once I did I was hooked.
Full review: https://picturethisliteraturecom.wordpress.com/2020/10/01/court-of-lions/
It definitely took me longer to get into this book than the first one, but I loved all the political scheming! The characters really grew a lot and I loved how they interacted with one another. It did take a while for the plot to pick up and for me to get back into this world but once I did I was hooked.
Full review: https://picturethisliteraturecom.wordpress.com/2020/10/01/court-of-lions/
This is probably one of my favorite sequels. I love how she expanded and developed the character arcs. There are also no loose ends leftover at the of the story.
I received an e-ARC from Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.
An exciting sequel in this series which was highly anticipating for me! I loved the character development and the plot as nothing is as it seems! Maram and Amani were amazing! And the surprises kept coming!
An exciting sequel in this series which was highly anticipating for me! I loved the character development and the plot as nothing is as it seems! Maram and Amani were amazing! And the surprises kept coming!
Unfortunately this was just extremely shallow. The worldbuilding was interesting, as was the concept but it never lived up to it's potential. I don't want to be too harsh on it as I am not the target audience and I don't read YA too often, but I am sad to see all that potential squandered regardless.
(okay I said I don't want to be too harsh but I will complain a bit anyway. This book was probably the perfect example of why "show don't tell" is such a common writing tip. This is something I never even cared about before and I rolled my eyes at this criticism. I get it now! Everyone is making such grandiose statements about their relationships. Not just the romantic relationships either. Amani goes on and on about how Maram and she are like sisters and how Maram would be a great queen but I never felt like either was the case. All Maram does is shift responsibility onto Amani, honestly I thought everyone would be better off if she just stepped off as a Queen. As for being like sisters, there were the seeds of it in the last book but in this they barely interact in this book. Amani just read as having the biggest case of Stockholm syndrome. Maram on her end had a romantic relationship with a woman in this book, which was barely touched upon. I can't believe I am saying this but I almost wish it just wasn't there at all. I was excited for Maram's pov but it is all in flashback, not relevant to the current plot thread. Her love interest shows little personality and has barely any pagetime. I wish she was scrapped and we got Maram's actual thoughts on the real plot more, or else that her love story was actually more relevant somehow. This series originally fell on my radar because someone sold me it as "there is an evil lesbian princess in this one". If you are also interested for this reason just keep in mind it's an extremely minor and imo not well executed plot)
(okay I said I don't want to be too harsh but I will complain a bit anyway. This book was probably the perfect example of why "show don't tell" is such a common writing tip. This is something I never even cared about before and I rolled my eyes at this criticism. I get it now! Everyone is making such grandiose statements about their relationships. Not just the romantic relationships either. Amani goes on and on about how Maram and she are like sisters and how Maram would be a great queen but I never felt like either was the case. All Maram does is shift responsibility onto Amani, honestly I thought everyone would be better off if she just stepped off as a Queen. As for being like sisters, there were the seeds of it in the last book but in this they barely interact in this book. Amani just read as having the biggest case of Stockholm syndrome. Maram on her end had a romantic relationship with a woman in this book, which was barely touched upon. I can't believe I am saying this but I almost wish it just wasn't there at all. I was excited for Maram's pov but it is all in flashback, not relevant to the current plot thread. Her love interest shows little personality and has barely any pagetime. I wish she was scrapped and we got Maram's actual thoughts on the real plot more, or else that her love story was actually more relevant somehow. This series originally fell on my radar because someone sold me it as "there is an evil lesbian princess in this one". If you are also interested for this reason just keep in mind it's an extremely minor and imo not well executed plot)
I really loved the world-building and characters and themes, but this book was difficult to get through. I wish there had been more conflict and consequences—unfortunately most of this book consisted of people talking to each other or thinking about the situations, with not as much action or negative consequences. I was much more curious about what was happening with the rebellion (which we only ever hear about rather than seeing it), and I wanted much more of Maram’s storyline. I understand that we were seeing everything from Amani’s perspective, but she was mostly in rooms talking to people the whole time, so I just kept wondering what the others were up to. I feel like this had so much more potential, and I just want more from this world and its characters.
loved this book,, loved the characters,, loved the ending
i couldn't tell you a single detail about the world in which this takes place. love the characters tho
I really, really enjoyed this! I loved the characters, the political factions, the romance *swoon*. I loved the world-building--the religion, the legends, the way this book blends sci-fi and fantasy seamlessly.
One of the only things I took issue with was the climax. It feels like it is over pretty quickly and though we're told about the consequences, we don't see any of them happen, so it doesn't feel very close. It just feels a little too easy.
However, that was really my only qualm with the book. The only other reason it's getting 4 instead of 4 1/2 or 5 stars is that while I loved a lot of the aspects of the book and enjoyed the story overall, I just didn't desperately love it. It's not a book I will think about constantly after finishing it. But I highly recommend it!
One of the only things I took issue with was the climax. It feels like it is over pretty quickly and though we're told about the consequences, we don't see any of them happen, so it doesn't feel very close. It just feels a little too easy.
However, that was really my only qualm with the book. The only other reason it's getting 4 instead of 4 1/2 or 5 stars is that while I loved a lot of the aspects of the book and enjoyed the story overall, I just didn't desperately love it. It's not a book I will think about constantly after finishing it. But I highly recommend it!
adventurous
hopeful
reflective
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